by DeVere, Taya
This again? But he’s already agreed to help Maria. And she should know that it’s not a bluff. Not because he thinks she should trust him, but because if Dennis learned anything about the woman during the years she worked for him at the mansion, it’s that she can read most people like an open book.
“I’ve already agreed to help you. My men are setting up as we speak.”
“Yeah? And what kind of instructions did they get? Knock me out cold and cut my brain open?”
Dennis swallows and pauses to consider his words. Don’t say the wrong thing, he thinks. Whatever that wrong thing is, just don’t say it.
“I would never hurt you, Maria.”
Her demeanor relaxes a bit, but something tells Dennis it’s not relief or trust that softens that gorgeous face.
“Goodness of your heart. That it?”
“Maybe I want to make up for the suffering you’ve—”
“Bullshit.”
“Okay. Maybe I do believe something fishy is going on.”
“Not fish. An assassin. A good one, too. Deadly as fuck.”
So fierce. So sexy.
“Right, yes. Deadly. But I doubt the headquarters would find anyone as deadly as you, Maria. Maybe I’m just confident in your ability to protect me. Why would I need to worry when I’ve got you by my side?”
“Bull. Shit.”
Dennis laughs, fixing his tie. The suit is too much—thermo-lining or not—in this weather. But it’s a small price to pay to impress Maria. “Okay, okay. It is a bold claim, this assassin theory. Bold and a bit ridiculous.”
“Really?”
“Well, maybe it was my fourth glass of whiskey last night, but something about your story just doesn’t fit right. I mean, you said Laura Solomon wants me dead, yet she gave me full control of the Happiness-Program. Why would she do that, just to have me killed?”
“Maybe lay off the whiskey for a while and stick with the program. Might just save your life.”
“Meaning?”
“Meaning that I already told you last night. It’s not Solomon who’s after your head.”
Dennis blinks, unsure how to react. Maria’s serious when she turns to face him.
“It’s Nurse Saarinen. She’s the one who hired the assassin.”
Dennis holds his breath, his heart bouncing wildly against his chest. This changes things. This he can see happening. That it’s the truth. That witch. That emotionless piece of work. Nurse fucking Saarinen.
“Why didn’t you tell me that last night?”
“What, inside the city? In the ocean of drones and other spyware?”
Dead serious, Dennis stares back at Maria. “Has Laura really gone away?”
“She has.”
“To have a vacation? Is she in Iceland?”
“No, she’s not at the resort. And no, it’s not a vacation. It’s more… complicated than that.”
“Tell me.”
“You wouldn’t get it.”
“Why not?”
“You said it yourself. The science is not your strongest suit.”
“Why hasn’t she contacted me personally? Is the letter a scam?”
“It’s not. It’s very real.”
“How do you know?”
Maria sighs but doesn’t reply. She gives Dennis time to gather his muddled thoughts. His head is starting to hurt. He longs for the AR-glasses, for the simplicity that the simulations and his alternate life bring. But if there’s an assassin out there, hired to take him out, sitting in a gaming chair with his eyes blindfolded wouldn’t be safe. Would it? Could this assassin really get to him? And how does Maria know so much about all of this?
“So, if Laura is away,” he says slowly. “And the document is real, sent from Laura’s personal AR-glasses to mine. That means that the only way you and Margaret Lewis would possibly know about it is if you…” Dennis closes his eyes to focus. “Two options. A. You somehow managed to hack through the headquarters’ cybersecurity. Which is unlikely, considering the recent updates.”
“Just give us some time,” Maria says. “But you’re right. We don’t have access to any Happiness-Program files at the moment.”
“Right. Which leaves us with option B. You know about the affidavit because Laura…”
Maria raises her brows at him.
“…because Laura told you about it herself.”
“Bingo.”
***
Maria walks into the tent that houses the temporary OR, Dennis following her in. He keeps his eyes on the gun the Unchipped woman carries so naturally in her hand while he’s talking to his crew.
“Okay, listen up. I know it’s been a while since we’ve had the field hospital up and running. But it there is no room for errors today. Consider this surgery the most crucial one you’ve ever performed. And consider it a chance to prove your value to my organization. Anyone cutting corners or not doing their part will be excused—and not just from the field hospital, but from all duties.
Maria and Dennis continue into the tent. A few of the whitecoats freeze as they see the weapon.
“And don’t worry about her weapon. Or the fact that I asked our security detail to remain in the vans. We are all safe—you have my word.”
Maria ignores the nervous glances in her direction and stops next to a row of machines with screens. At the center of the space are a gurney and a metal table with wheels. Doctors and their assistants move around, organizing objects and checking the wiring on a chipping helmet. Men and women wearing green coveralls pop in and out of the tent, bringing in more supplies that Dennis knows the weight, materials, and cost of—but not how to use them.
Maria looks around, clearly searching for something.
“Whatcha looking for?” Dennis asks. He has no idea why he’s half-whispering.
“A chair.”
A chair? Does she think that the gurney is optional? That she can be awake for the procedure?
“Sorry, sweethea… Maria. I don’t know much about this stuff, but even I know that they’ll need to put you under while they work.” Dennis considers laying his hand comfortingly on Maria’s shoulder but changes his mind when the woman raises her weapon at him. “You seriously need to stop doing that, Maria.”
“Bring me a chair, and I will.”
“Like I said, they need to put you under for the procedure—”
“No. No drugs. I stay awake. And my gun will be pointing at your tiny head the entire time.”
Tiny head. She thinks Dennis has a small head? Compared to what? His body? An ex-lover’s head? Has she been studying his head? Maybe she is interested—
The gun goes off, a bullet ripping a hole in the tent’s fabric ceiling. Everyone freezes to stare at Maria and Dennis. Not helpful, sweet cheeks. Not helpful at all.
“I said. Bring me a fucking chair.”
Dennis is the first one to recover from his shock. He clears his throat, looking around the room. He snaps his fingers at a young man wearing green coveralls. He’s with the equipment crew. “You heard the lady. Check the van. Bring us what we got.”
Oh, lordy, he thinks and rubs his eyes. Let there be a chair in that van.
The green coveralls disappear out of the tent. A minute later, he runs back inside, carrying a folding chair. He places it next to the gurney and backs away from it, his eyes fixed on Maria’s gun, which is still pointed at Dennis’s head. Maria lowers her weapon and walks over to the chair. After sitting down, she looks around, again searching for something. Dennis inhales sharply. With careful steps, he makes his way over to the unpredictable woman.
“What, you need a pillow, too? A blanket? How about a nice cup of cocoa? This is your show, after all. Nice touch with the shooting. Hopefully it was worth the wasted bullet.”
Maria shrugs, not meeting Dennis’s gaze. “Got me a chair, didn’t it?” she mumbles, still investigating the objects and instruments around her. “I need a razor.”
“A what now?”
Maria stares back
at Dennis. “I’ll need to shave my head for the helmet, right?”
“Right, but we have people for that—”
“No one fucking touches my head. I’m shaving it myself.” Before Maria has time to waste another bullet, a young woman wearing a white coat hurries over and hands Maria a wireless shaver. Then she steps back and awkwardly holds up the wet cloth she carries in her shaking hands. “For when you’re done.” Maria gives the young woman a half-smile. “Why, thank you.” The shaver buzzes to life. Tufts of black hair fall between the gurney and Maria’s chair. Three crew members hurry over with tiny cordless vacuums, collecting the curls as they fall.
“You do understand that the surgeon will have to touch you, right?” Dennis asks, raising his voice for Maria to hear him over the buzz of the clippers. Maria keeps shaving her head and doesn’t answer. “I mean they need to put the helmet on, at least—”
“I get it, Texas.” The last of her hair falls onto her lap. She doesn’t bother to wipe it off onto the ground. “Let’s just get started.”
As Maria is removing shaved bits of hair from her scalp with the damp cloth, the surgeon walks over with the wired helmet in his hands. He stops a few feet away from Maria and clears his throat. “Hello, Maria. I’m Doctor Baldwin, and I’ll be taking care of you today. I understand that you’d rather we not touch you, is that correct?”
Maria stares at the doctor, narrowing her eyes. “I know you,” she says. “You’re not a surgeon. No… you’re Bill’s shrink. From the Chip-Center.”
The doctor clears his throat and exchanges a look with Dennis. “That is correct. I work as the leading therapist at the center. But I’m also a surgeon. My expertise is chip malfunctions and reprogramming the pico bots.”
“The pico what now?” Maria asks. Maria’s eyes flicker to Dennis and then back to Doctor Baldwin.
“They’re something that were installed in your brain during the initial chip procedure. Mr. Jenkins’s too. These microscopic robots are there to rewire your brain and create connections with the CS—”
“Hold on. Back up.” Maria stands, but the sudden movement makes her wobble on her feet, and she has to sit back down. Dennis has been sure to bring only Unchipped-friendly equipment from the Chip-Center. Maria must be in bad condition to feel this weak even without green blinking lights around her, this far away from the city.
“I do not want to get rechipped,” she says, her gun hand shaking. “That’s not what I’m here for.” She stares down Doctor Baldwin. “Texas didn’t explain this to you?”
“Texas?”
Dennis waves his hand. “That would be me, my good doctor. A nickname, you see. Maria and I go way back.” He turns to face Maria and continues before she has time to object to the idea that they are friends. “Of course I told the doctor what the situation is. We won’t touch your chip. You will walk out of here as good as new, but as Unchipped as you ever were. I promise.” Dennis turns back to Doctor Baldwin. “Right, doc?”
“Right. I will only go through the coding to check for possible malware or misaligned routing. I understand you were recently hacked?”
Maria stays silent for a while before answering. “I was.”
“And this was a full takeover? Mind and body, not just voices in your head?”
“They made me kill two innocent people.” Maria nods at the ground under the doctor’s feet. “Not far from where you’re standing now, actually.”
Dennis opens his mouth to tell his side of the story, but then switches his weight from one foot to another instead, remaining quiet. That mission—Maria killing those hippies—is what brought her back to him. But maybe he shouldn’t point this out at this moment. Maybe she’s not ready to see the pros yet.
“I see.” The doctor snaps his fingers. Two of his assistants hurry over, one carrying a CS-key and the other a chipping helmet. Baldwin murmurs something to his assistant with the computer and takes the helmet from the other woman. He takes a step closer to Maria and lifts the helmet to her eye-level. “Take this. I’ll tell you what to do.”
Maria takes the helmet but doesn’t put it on her head. “I don’t want you to put me under. No drugs either.” She points the gun briefly at Dennis. “Or your chief here is as good as dead.”
Dennis inhales sharply. “Good lord, woman. Would you stop waving that thing in my face? It’s not up to me if they touch you or not. Obviously, they’ll need to—”
“We won’t touch you, Maria,” Doctor Baldwin interrupts Dennis’s rant. “Just put the helmet on, and we’ll take it from there. You may experience some discomfort and feel nauseated, but we do have something that’ll take the edge off—”
“No. No drugs. I can take it.”
The doctor shrugs and gives a small smile.
Maria shakes her head and mumbles something in Spanish. Hesitating, she slowly puts the helmet on. After a moment of silence, she exhales and closes her eyes. Once her breathing has evened out, she gestures at her head. “That it?”
“That’s not it, no. You’ll need to press the two buttons on both sides of the helmet, right near your temples. The mechanism will then close around your skull, and you’ll feel a slight pain as the electrodes attach to your skin.”
To Dennis’s surprise, Maria does as she’s told. A low whooshing sound fills the otherwise silent tent as the helmet closes around Maria’s head. She balances the gun on her thigh, pointing it at Dennis. But he’s not worried. After all, she has no reason to shoot him. Arranging this surgery for her really is the ideal way for him to prove his devotion and sincerity. Dennis will never let anyone hurt or use Maria again. Doctor Baldwin works solely for him now, and Dennis will be damned if he lets anything happen to this magical creature sitting in front of him.
“Ahh…” Maria’s eyes close. Her pain is so evident that it makes Dennis rub his own head, which he realizes is pounding.
“While she’s too stubborn to take the pain meds,” he says to Doctor Baldwin, “I have no such issue. Go on. Hand them over.”
Baldwin stares into the CS-key’s screen and doesn’t lift his gaze to answer his boss. “Janine, bring Mister Jenkins a happy-bandage, would you?”
The young woman who earlier rushed to Maria with the shaver now fast-walks to Dennis. Smiling nervously, she gestures for him to roll up his sleeve. She sticks a small bandage to Dennis’s arm, sending a warm wave across his body. The headache is gone in a matter of a few seconds.
“Maria, you should really consider using a happy-bandage. This stuff is amazing.”
“Maybe you should consider shutting that hole in your face.”
So feisty. So bold. Dennis can’t help his grin.
“I like you, Maria. I really, really do.”
He’s not sure if it’s the morphine talking, or if he’s finally reached capacity when it comes to his overwhelming feelings toward this woman.
“She’s a clone,” Maria says, ignoring Dennis’s confession. Her voice is stern but steady.
“Who is?”
“The assassin.” Maria fixes her weight on the chair, trying to get more comfortable.
“Like a sheep or a monkey?”
“Yes Texas, she sent a deadly sheep after you. Can we be serious here please? She’s a breathing, feeling human being. A copy of someone’s mind in a cloned human body. Nurse Saarinen’s newest pet.”
“Ah, you mean the mind augmentation project? But the tech is still in development. Early trials at most. How do you know this?”
“Margaret.”
Dennis takes a look at Doctor Baldwin to see if hearing Margaret’s name makes him react somehow. But the doctor is too focused on whatever chart he’s reading on the CS-key’s screen.
“Margaret. Of course. She tells you all kinds of little stories, doesn’t she?”
Maria raises her gaze to look at Dennis but doesn’t say a word. Dark circles under her eyes tell a tale of sleepless nights. They match Dennis’s almost perfectly, though usually he can hide the bags under his eyes wi
th the AR-glasses he wears twenty-four-seven.
“Let’s say that Lewis told you the truth. That Laura really is gone, and Nurse Saarinen is after the throne. I get it, she needs me out of the equation. Makes sense. But why a clone? Surely Nurse Saarinen has other ways to fuck with my head.”
“She needs to do it quietly. Off the record. You are the new Doctor Solomon, after all. Butchering the world leader would raise a few too many questions, don’t you think?”
Doctor Baldwin’s eyebrows twitch, but Dennis ignores the curious look on his face.
“So she worked after hours and created a personal killing machine. Has Laura seen this assassin? Whose mind did they clone anyway?”
Maria shrugs a shoulder, clearly pretending she’s not in tremendous pain. Her gun still points at Dennis, but her finger has moved away from the trigger. “I don’t know who they cloned, exactly.” She grips the gun more tightly. The way she handles the weapon—with ease, like it’s part of her body—mesmerizes Dennis. If she were to kill him, here in the middle of rotting grape plants and cockroaches, it wouldn’t be the worst way to go.
“You don’t know exactly?”
“I don’t, no. Just that it’s some kid’s mind they copied.”
Dennis shakes his head to refocus. Did he hear that right? “I’m sorry. A kid?”
“Yeah. Amelia, Olivia… something like that.”
Shit.
“Owena?”
Maria’s brow furrows in surprise. “Yes. Owena. You know this child?”
Dennis has heard of her. A chipless kid who survived project Kinship and murdered her caretaker and the leading Chip-Charity earner—a woman named Enyd. A tough woman, too, a prison guard before The Great Affliction. Then the girl ran away and joined the rebel leader, Kaarina. After the Iceland incident, Owena had been taken back to City of Finland where Doctor Solomon and Nurse Saarinen chipped the girl and made her the leading test subject in Saarinen’s mind augmentation project.
“Cat got your tongue?”
