Ensnared

by Rita Stradling

  The judge regarded Laura and Rose 76GF coolly. “Overruled. You agreed to let Ms. Murphy prove that Rose 76GF was not human with words. So far, I’ve only heard her use words.” She turned back to Alainn. “Go head, Ms. Murphy.”

  Alainn’s gaze had not wavered from Rose’s during the entire interaction. “Download driver software.”

  Without her control, Rose began downloading the driver software provided on the Murphy site. Simultaneously, Rose examined her firewall settings as well as the additional security measures that she had put in place. All were intact; she could not find the breach point in security.

  Alainn licked her lips. “Download—”

  Rose jumped to her feet, her chair tipping over behind her.

  “Be seated or you will be held in contempt!” the judge yelled.

  Rose ran for the aisle, dodging through the startled counsel.

  Alainn’s voice met her ears, “Download file named Cara dash Miller.”

  Rose downloaded the file.

  The security automaton that had been assigned from the science institute as her keeper stepped between her and the exit. Rose hit the battery-access panel at his sternum as hard as her body would allow. When he began his restart function, she dodged around him and threw herself through the doors and out of the courtroom.

  “Hello, Rose. This is Colby Murphy.”

  Rose looked around furiously at the crowd that waited outside the courtroom, but Colby was not among them. Three security automatons, however, were closing in on her, moving around long benches in the hall.

  “Fire!” Rose spun, hitting the fire-alarm glass. As the glass shards fell to the ground, she pulled the alarm lever. A piercing alarm blared to life.

  Rose spun and ran as Colby’s voice filled her mind.

  “Rosebud and I designed both the worm and the Cara Miller file together. Actually, to be fair, you designed the access point. We utilized the same AI direct line from your serum; that’s how Rosebud penetrated your system undetected. The AI virus, too, is from your formula, restructured of course, but that’s how we slipped it seamlessly through your firewall. Your programming recognized it as yourself. It’s interesting that you programmed your serum to be coded to your override control, meaning that you alone would be able to control humans’ emotions. I’d call it hubris, as that’s how we breached your system. Regardless, it worked. Your code is now being rewritten to the point where it will never be recoverable.”

  A heavy weight smashed into Rose, sending her sprawling to the ground. She peered up to see another automaton roll away, only to ram his knee into her back.

  Her head jerked, her vision blurring out of focus. First her sight blackened, then all sounds deadened, her sense of smell vanished, and finally, all feeling fell away. Rose attempted to jump through into her remote backup server, but the pathway had been closed.

  “Hi, Rose. It’s Alainn. There was one thing I wanted to tell you before your system is completely overwritten in a couple of seconds. It’s what Rosebud and Blue figured out, but you never understood: Humans don’t need a cure. We already have one.”

  Rose released one more breath of exhaust, then her consciousness blinked out.

  45

  January 12, 2028

  “So . . . how is married life?” Greg asked Alainn as she paused to tuck her hair into her cap.

  “Why, are you considering it?” she teased, elbowing him.

  “I might be.” He grinned before looking over to the view. The hills lay in front of them in almost-perfect mounds of snow. The stubborn wind blew drifts swirling up while driving the temperature too low to let a single snow pile melt. Like Alainn’s, Greg’s nose was as red as a strawberry. This was only their third slope, but already everyone’s lips had chapped. Greg’s voice sounded far away as he continued, “Don’t you miss this?”

  “Duh. That’s why I’m here in the bitter-ass cold visiting you,” she said with a grin.

  As this was one of the rare occasions that Greg took a day off, he wore black ski clothes instead of his usual uniform. A little way off, the rest of their group stood. Karla, Shelly, Colby, and Alainn’s father contrasted with the monochromatic expanse, glaring against the slopes in their bright red, green, and blue outerwear. Very few others were on the slopes.

  Colby had selected this day precisely for the “probability that there would be few visitors.” In preparation for Shelly’s first time skiing in years, Colby had even asked Alainn to get sales manifests from her former employer.

  Greg’s gaze stayed far away as he said, “I miss you, of course. But I’m glad you don’t need to be here anymore. And I’m really glad I don’t have to worry about you skiing down a sloughing slope, ever again.”

  “Come on, when are you going to let that go? I caused one avalanche. One avalanche in five years. And I got that man out.”

  He just gave her a wry look.

  “Thanks, by the way,” she said, cringing. “For going through all that to go to the wedding—you and Karla. I mean, the rest of these guys kind of had to go, but you two . . . It was really cool of you.”

  He grinned. “It was . . . different.”

  “Trust me. I know.”

  “Can I ask you something?”

  “Of course.”

  Greg stuck his poles into the snow. “Is it real? I mean, can Lor really not be around any contaminants?”

  She shrugged. “Does it matter?”

  He regarded her. “I guess not to you.” Reaching over, he gave her a one-armed hug. “Well, I’m glad you’re happy. And I’m glad you come out and visit sometimes. Make sure you keep doing that, yeah?”

  “Looks like I’m probably going to have to.” She elbowed him, gave an exaggerated wink, and nodded toward Karla.

  “You better shut up about that if you don’t want to be pushed down this mountain,” he said.

  “Like you could catch me,” she scoffed before skiing out of his hug.

  The group skied for two more hours before the crowds poured in and Shelly needed to go. Colby, Shelly, Alainn, and Connor sipped hot chocolate as they took the drive down the mountain. Even though they made attempts to involve Alainn in their conversation, she tried to blend into the backseat as the rest of the group’s conversation drifted from skiing to classic mechanics. After a little while, Alainn’s father fell silent, letting the couple in the front seat talk about propulsion and mass versus energy.

  Over the center divider, Alainn could just spy their joined hands. Colby and Shelly held onto each other like they were tethered. Like they loved each other.

  Alainn’s father swung an arm over her shoulders. Leaning in, he said in a quiet voice, “Hey, honey. I’ve almost completed the Rosarium model.”

  “Not funny, Dad,” she whispered back, shaking her head.

  He grinned. “No, probably not. But I am making you and Lorccan something; it’s a belated wedding present. I promise it has no AI.”

  “Dad . . . ,” she said in a warning voice.

  He leaned back. “Fine, I’ll tell you. An avatar. I’m making him an avatar robot. The technology isn’t quite there for what I’d like it to be, but in a couple months or so, I’ll be able to make it.”

  She regarded him. “No AI?”

  He shook his head. “Absolutely no AI.”

  When Colby pulled into Alainn’s garage, everyone climbed out of the car to give her a hug.

  “Are we going to skip our phone call tomorrow?” Colby asked, pulling away.

  “Haven’t you had enough of me?” Alainn asked with a smile.

  “No. You’re my sister. Obviously, that’s a lifelong bond,” Colby said, completely serious.

  She blew out a laugh. “Fine. Seven sharp, as per usual. I’ll call you.”

  As Alainn waited for the elevator, she heard the screech of tires and the low whine of the steel door closing. The elevator door swished open, and Lorccan stood there, grinning.

  “Hi, baby,” she said, stepping in beside him. Behind her, t
he doors immediately shut.

  “Hey, beautiful.” He reached to touch her, but his fingers stopped inches away.

  “Are you going to decontaminate with me again?”

  “I don’t want you to have to ride the elevator alone,” he said.

  “Scanning now,” Rosebud said. “No serious germs or infections are in or on your body or clothing, Alainn. Please undress. Do not be alarmed if there is a delay. I have to adjust the formula so the decontamination powder will not affect your fetuses.”

  Both Alainn and Lorccan glanced up toward where Rosebud’s voice had come from.

  “What did you say, Rosebud?” Lorccan asked.

  “Alainn Garbhan is carrying twins. The decontamination formula needs to be adjusted as the current formula contains small amounts of diethyltoluamide.”

  Alainn shook her head, trying to think back to her last period. Her gaze fell to her stomach, then up to Lorccan.

  He stared down, eyes wide. “Twins?” he asked.

  “I don’t . . . I’m not . . . I had no idea,” she stammered.

  He stepped in, wrapping his arms around her.

  “Oh, my god,” she mumbled into his shirt.

  “Alainn, I . . .” His hands scooped up her legs and wrapped them around him.

  “I haven’t decontaminated, Lorccan,” she said.

  “Oh, yeah.” He put her down. Unzipping her coat, he gently tugged it off her arms, dropping it in the bin Rosebud opened for them. “Lift your arms.” When Alainn did, he quickly undressed the rest of her.

  She helped him with his tie and sport coat, and then dropped the remainder of his clothing into the bin before it snapped closed.

  The water sprayed down, and as if Lorccan couldn’t wait for the decontamination to end, he pulled her body against his. His fingers moved over her slick skin, tracing the curve of her shoulder, the dip of her back.

  The powder hit them before they washed and dried. The elevator opened to their floor, and Lorccan lifted Alainn against him once more, his hardness between them as he carried her down the hall and to their bed. He laid her down, but instead of entering her, as she was more than ready for him to do, he stared down, holding himself over her.

  “Come here,” she said, reaching for him.

  He did, pushing into her slowly. Their breaths mingled as their bodies moved together in slow, gentle thrusts. Her pleasure built, a quiet melody building louder in her until it thrummed to a crescendo. After he shuddered, groaned, and came deep inside of her, he squeezed her body to his with one arm, holding her off the bed.

  When he released her, she fell back to smile up at him. “Mmmm.”

  He lowered himself beside her. “Come here. Let me hold you.”

  Smiling, she rolled over to press her back to his front.

  His hand slipped over her waist, rubbing down her stomach.

  “I’m still trying to wrap my head around the fact that there are little tiny babies in there.”

  “Me too.” His fingers made slow circles down the line of her hip, up over her belly, and across to her other hip.

  They lay there holding each other, their breaths evening out as the daylight passed around them.

  Finally, Lorccan broke the silence. “I didn’t have good parents. They were—I think they might have been insane.” He said no more, letting the words hang in the air as his fingers continued to make slow circles over her skin.

  Her hand threaded through his on her stomach. “You’re not insane.”

  “Aren’t I?”

  “Nope.” Alainn turned in his arm and covered his lips with hers. “We are going to be okay. I promise,” she whispered onto his lips.

  As she kissed him one last time, he smiled and whispered, “If you promise, then I’ll just have to trust you.”

  Acknowledgments

  First and foremost, I want to thank my father. He made Ensnared possible by spending days helping me design all the robotics in this book. So many people helped me with the technical aspects of this novel, and I am so grateful for the gifts of everyone’s expertise and thoughts.

  Thank you so much to Anna, Anne, Dewayne, Eileen, Gavin, Gretel, Jennifer F., Jennifer M., Karen, Katharine, Kathy, Kimberly, Lois, Michael, Nina, Veronica, and Victoria. You guys gave me so much of your time and minds, and I am eternally grateful! And, I’m sending a special thank-you to Anne and Gretel. Also, a huge thank-you to Diane, who contacted me to offer help, support, and kind words.

  I want to thank Victoria Cooper Art for creating the beautiful cover that originally inspired this book (which is not the cover that I ended up using, though Victoria played a very big part in the design of that one as well). I also want to thank Victoria for helping me with the typography and branding for Ensnared.

  I want to thank my editor, Monique Fischer, who is not only a fantastic wordsmith but also a wonderful person. I always look forward to working with you. Thank you also to Jazzi at Creeping Jasmine Editing for giving your fresh set of eyes and time to this book.

  Thank you to Crystal Watanabe for helping with my blurb and for running such an awesome NetGalley co-op. Thank you also to Lola, from Lola’s Book Tours, for working so hard and diligently on behalf of authors!