Lester's house was a claustrophobic maze of server towers, empty pizza boxes, and the faint, ozone smell of overworked cooling fans. It was exactly as Jax remembered: the lair of a man who saw the world as a series of exploitable backdoors.
"Well, look who it is," Lester wheezed, his wheelchair whirring as he spun around. "The son of an old ghost. I never thought I'd see those eyes looking at me again."
Jax didn't waste time. He stepped forward and helped Lester maneuver the chair away from a tangled nest of Ethernet cables.
"You've got a better touch than Michael," Lester grunted, reaching for his cane to pull himself upright. "That bastard would've just let me get stuck. Your father... he was different. He chose a life over the score. Put him miles ahead of Mike in my book."
"He's gone now," Jax said flatly.
Lester's gaze softened for a fraction of a second behind his thick lenses. "I know. And I know he left you with enough debt to sink a yacht. That's why you're standing in my living room, isn't it?"
Jax didn't deny it. In Los Santos, honesty was a luxury he couldn't afford, but money was a necessity he couldn't ignore.
"Money in this city doesn't come easy, kid. It chews you up and spits out the marrow." Lester tapped a key, and a face flashed onto the wall of monitors. Jay Norris. CEO of Lifeinvader. "I bet you know this visionary. The man who wants to own everyone's private thoughts."
Jax looked at the screen. He didn't care about the man's "vision." He only cared about the stock price. "If he helps me pay my bills, I'm his biggest fan. If not..."
Lester chuckled, a dry, rattling sound. "Good. No fanboy nonsense. I need a professional, not a disciple. Here." He tossed a small blue backpack toward Jax. "You're in your twenties. You look the part. Go to a boutique, get some thick black-framed glasses, and play the role of the 'introverted tech prodigy.' Corporate security sees a face like yours and assumes you're there to fix their Wi-Fi."
"What's the play?" Jax asked, checking the weight of the bag.
"There's a modified prototype in that bag," Lester said, his fingers already back on the keyboard. "Norris is unveiling his new mobile device today. I need you to slip into the Lifeinvader offices and swap his personal phone with this one. Do it before the 3 PM keynote."
Lifeinvader HQ, 12:15 PM.
The building was a temple of glass and fake "innovative" energy. Jax stood near the smoking area, leaning against a pillar. He'd swapped his leather jacket for a plain hoodie and the glasses Lester suggested. He looked exactly like a stressed-out coder on his lunch break.
He caught the eye of a mid-level manager heading back inside. Jax held up a lighter just as the man reached for his pocket.
"Thanks, man," the manager sighed, taking a long drag. "This launch is killing me. The dev team is falling apart, Norris is screaming about 'synergy,' and I'm three coffees away from a heart attack."
Jax nodded sympathetically, echoing the weary cynicism he'd learned from Michael. "Typical. Management dreams it up, we have to make it stop crashing."
"Tell me about it." The man swiped his keycard at the security door. Jax followed a half-step behind, looking at his phone as if he were mid-text. He moved like he belonged there, and in a building full of young, overworked faces, no one looked twice.
Jax took the stairs to the third floor. The air smelled of stale pizza and desperation. Through the glass walls of the main conference room, he saw Jay Norris—the man himself—pacing like a caged tiger while a dozen assistants watched with cult-like devotion.
Jax ducked into Norris's private office. It was empty. The phone sat on the mahogany desk, charging. With the steady hands of a surgeon, Jax swapped the battery cover, installed Lester's "gift," and slid the device back into place.
Knock, knock.
Jax turned. A janitor stood in the doorway, holding a broom.
"Sorry," Jax said, his voice calm and authoritative. "Mr. Norris asked for a quick diagnostic before the speech. I'll be out of your way in a second."
The janitor nodded, deferential to the "tech guy," and waited in the hall.
Jax grabbed his bag and walked out, pausing just long enough to see Norris through the glass one last time. The CEO was holding the modified phone, smiling at his reflection.
"Poor Jay," Jax whispered to himself as he headed for the exit. "You're about to be the biggest 'market adjustment' in the history of this city. But don't worry. You're going to turn into a lot of crisp hundred-dollar bills for me."
He walked out into the bright California sun, pulled up his stock app, and watched the Lifeinvader ticker. It was hovering at $100 a share.
"Time to go home," Jax muttered, starting his car. "The show starts at three."