Chapter 64:

"Samantha, you could have at least warned me."

"Oh hello dear grandson, is everything ok?", the tinge of sarcasm was evident

"Please just don't, the government is gunning for you, so you better have some good dirt on them, because the airspace is theirs."

"Do not worry, I have it covered, whenever we need it, that airspace will be theirs. And as for the launchpad, what rich person would not want to brag to his buddies that he was in the same place where a rocket was launched? It is an absolute cash cow."

"Ok then, you do you, but if you want me involved, you have to tell me these things, otherwise, they will catch me by surprise."

"Bah, you dealt with it did you not?"

"Yes, you know I did."

"Good. You are my grandson after all.", then she hung up, and Ace sighed.

'These conversations are getting weirder and weirder', not too long ago, they would talk about how much pain he was in - if he could talk at all. Now, it was all about how to conquer the world, and Ace loved it.

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"Ace, I am warning you, there is going to be a mock test and it is mandatory. It is on Monday, you don't need to worry or study honestly, it will be the mock test for your age group, so you should be able to get a good score.", Leilah as the caller ID, Ace had picked it up fast, wondering what it could be, but now he was not even bothered.

"How well do you want me to do?"

"What do you mean, I want you to do well."

"No, I mean, will there be any problems if I get 100%?"

"Well, some people may think it weird…"

"Oh well, I don't care, I'm going to ace the test, they can complain all they want."

"That might not be -"

"Goodbye, thanks for the call. Have a good day." And he hung up, Ace laughed out loud, imagining her face on the other side of the line. Ace would do good and she knew it, but his behaviour pissed her off.

Ace relaxed on the couch with his laptop, watching a show in Mandarin with English subtitles, his mind learning by the second. Meanwhile, in other houses around the city, people his age were furiously studying for a test that would determine their future ranking, and their ending to the trimester.

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"Should we even ask if you studied?", Sophie asked him as soon as she saw him, her and Amy had seen him come into homeroom one minute before the start, while some had been there for two hours, studying and preparing for the test.

"Probably not, at least if you studied.", Ace replied with a grin

"Uggghhh, how are we even supposed to compete? You are probably going to get over 80% without even studying.", Amy groaned frustration showing on her face

"80%? You wound me, if I get less than 100%, I will be more than a bit sad."

"Just hearing you makes me get ulcers.", Sophie said with a sigh, "You do know that about 20% of the test is stuff way over what we should even be considering learning? I mean, most are happy enough passing, we are happy getting 70%, and if we get more than 80, we are over the moon. I mean seriously, some of that stuff is mental, not even a senior could do it.", she shook her head.

"Don't worry, I am sure you will do wonderfully, plus, it's not like you need points anyways. I mean, the others are not even close to you. You guys are pretty much set for the whole year already."

"Yeah, and you are set for your whole school career, I mean, what did you do? Make a deal with the Mafia? The amount of points is not even funny, even considering the fact that you have pretty much been perfect at anything we have actually done."

Ace shrugged, not moved in the slightest, and as they began to file into the rooms where they would be tested, he smiled at them and wished them good luck, with them grumbling it back at him. After these tests, it would be Christmas, and he could relax for a long time, most likely, no celebration would happen, the most would be him and his grandmother eating together some days. I mean, they did not even do presents on Christmas. It would give him time to work on his grandmother's present anyways, her birthday was coming up in a few weeks, a few days before Christmas, so the holidays would be perfect. He would play games, streaming them of course, make a few new videos, and do some exercise. All the while stuffing himself with food.

Ace only noticed he was daydreaming when the examiner announced the fact that the time had started. They had the whole day to do as much as they could. Ace picked up the first paper, Biology, he worked through it, not stopping to think once, simply answering one question after each other. Once he had finished, he put it away and picked up the next one, Physics, and in this way, he did test after test. In three hours, he had finished reading over his last essay, and picked up all the papers, handing them in and walking out of the room.

Most people looked up, but at seeing him, they looked back down, not surprised in the slightest. Everyone in their year knew about the kid that got perfect grades every test, and yet did not even pay attention in class. Now, all they could do was focus on themselves.

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Ace walked around the school for a while, before finally, his chauffeur arrived and he got in his car to make his way home. It was only a Monday, but the school would close after this, giving students that needed it an extra four days of classes, while the others would have extra holidays.

Ace was as of now finished with school - at least until next year. Once he got home, he made a plan for his holidays, ensuring everything was optimised and his time was maximised. Then, he sat down in the art room, and got to sketching on a piece of paper, beginning to draw his first try. Unlike most rooms where artists worked, this one was clean and held no art. The white walls were pristine, the white lighting and cleanness giving it a surgical look. Not a single speck of paint or mote of graphene could be seen. The room was cleaned thoroughly daily to ensure that nothing ruined the atmosphere. This way, nothing could influence his ideas, and he could focus on what he wanted.

Ace knew it was most likely a flawed thought process, but he appreciated the state of the room nonetheless. It allowed him plenty of space to work without having to worry about dirtying his pieces. And as he sat down on the stool, and began adding shape and shade to the sketch, time ebbed away. 8 hours later, as he finished his first try, he looked down at it, there were a few mistakes he would have to correct, and a few things he wanted to remove or add, but the overall theme of the painting had been achieved. Now, all he would have to do was spend at least 10 times the amount of time on the proper one, and he would hopefully add enough detail to make him satisfied.

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In a Conference Room

In an Underground Facility

USA

"So what you are telling me is that he got played by a kid?", the fury was clear, and both disgust and mockery tinged the words

"It is not just any kid, it is her kid. And you know, I warned you of trying anything against them. She tells him everything - or so he makes it seem. And she clearly values his council, which means that he is smart and skilled enough for him to make it worth her while. You know she does not have any preference against her family, she made that clear years ago…", this voice seemed younger, belonging to a female. She sounded to be tired, yet it wasn't from lack of sleep. It was a tiredness that stemmed from working with incapable yet entitled people all day long.

"Bah! He is only 14, there is not much he can know or do."

"That was exactly what the Secretary of Defense thought before he got his ass handed to him, and he revealed any chances we had of surprising them. Furthermore, he threatened the boy, warning him that we controlled the airspace, how long di you think that will last? You do realise that she has enough dirt on every single one of us to make us forfeit or political careers? Sure, a lot of it is not even true - at least for some of the more decent of us. But the mere fact that we know about certain things and have not reported them, is enough to completely discredit us in the eyes of the public. Trust me, she was going to get the airspace anyways, but now, all you monkeys have ensured is that she will go for it hard. And I have no plans on being the one telling that woman no. Because at the end of the day, she will get it, and when she does, we will have absolutely no bargaining chip, and that launching bay will be up for bids to the highest bidder. And I can assure you, there are some people that have much more to offer than we do. For starters, the truth.", after the spiel, the woman sat back on the chair, she had said her piece, and now, it was up to the others to decide. She had said her bit, and if they decided to go against her, well she would resign faster than they could call their doom, Goldsign Industries was looking better and better anyways. She was sure that with her CV she could get one job or another.