He leaned back and laughed, his eyes jovial. His sister turned away from him, acting annoyed but struggling to not smile. Ari missed that sibling rivalry with her own brother, even missed how he would frustrate her.
As she approached, Tamar finally noticed her. “There’s our desert girl. Surprised you made it out in this, you might have drowned.”
“Desert girl?”
“Yeah, Jewels told us how enchanted you are with all this green. You must be from the desert.”
“She’s right. But it doesn’t mean I don’t know how to swim.”
He appraised her, looking her up and down like an analyst. “Not bad for a desert rat, but do you know how to surf?”
“No.” Reed tried to teach her, but it wasn’t her favorite. Flipping upside down with water up her nose wasn’t her idea of fun.
“Don’t let him give you crap. Not all of us run away to surf instead of working.”
Ari chuckled and asked Oliana, “Tamar ditches to surf?”
“Since he was three.”
“Three? Impressive.”
A smile lit up his face as he took a seat nearby and kicked off his shoes.
Oliana turned a disappointed look at Ari. “Haven’t you learned not to complement him yet?”
“Sorry. I’ll restrain myself in the future.” Ari fell into a nearby plush chair as well. “So, Oliana, what do you do for fun? Are you a surfer?”
“No.” She shook her head dismissively. “I’d rather dance.”
“That was pretty impressive.” Ari remembered the islanders at the party with their rhythm dancing.
Keeping her smile to a minimum, Ari could still see the pride in her eyes. Going back to work, Oliana stood on a stool that raised her up to the large gaming screens. These screens showed inside the VR where people competed and gambled. It surprised Ari that the islanders, who worked with the gaming and electronics so closely, seemed to shun it at the same time. Maybe they didn’t?
“Do you guys ever play in the games?” Ari asked.
Oliana turned, the scathing look on her face spoke plenty. “No,” she said, before returning to her cleaning the screens.
“Sorry… I didn’t mean…” Ari turned to Tamar for help.
He reclined in the chair, obviously not as bothered as his sister. “Don’t worry. VRs are a sensitive subject among our people.”
“Not that I blame them, but why?” Ari asked.
He shrugged. “The usual stuff. Many of the islanders became addicted. The elders banned them. There is still a battle as each generation grows.”
“Can’t say I blame the elders.” Visions of her father trapped in a VR coma flooded her mind. Struggling to keep composure, she stuffed that back into its neat little box in her mind. There was nothing she could do about that now.
“You too?” He leaned forward. “You have loved ones that are lost as well?”
“Yeah.” She must not have hidden it as well as she thought.
“Then why are you here?”
“Money. Safety. I could ask you the same thing.”
With a small tilt to his smile he replied. “Sometimes the only way to survive the devil is dance with him.”
“Huh?” Ari leaned back in the chair.
“Idiot.” His sister mumbled under her breath and he smiled.
“So, you’ve never gone in?”
He cocked an eye.
“You don’t have to lie on my account. I know you do occasionally.” Oliana finished cleaning the screens and hit the button to lower the stand.
“Many islanders try them now and again, but for the majority of the time, I try to steer clear.”
“I wish I could.” And normally, Ari did, but right now she wanted to get inside to check on her family. She didn’t feel like she could trust Vinh to relay messages to Tessa and was sick of going through ten channels to get a hold of her family. But what about other channels?
Tamar stood and got a drink for his sister. With a steaming cup of coffee in her hand, she took a seat next to Ari. “What are you up to?” Oliana asked, snapping Ari out of her thoughts.
“What do you mean?”
“I can tell your wheels are turning. What’s going on?” Oliana sipped her drink.
Glancing around, Ari leaned forward a bit. “Do you have a way to contact people off the island?”
“Why would we need that?” Oliana had a tension to her words.
When Ari turned to her brother, he shook his head. Obviously, it wasn’t something they could talk about here.
“You should come dancing again.” Oliana gently sipped her coffee. “You really are horrible. Practice may help.”
Ari’s gaze flashed in between the two siblings trying to read what they didn’t say. “Sure, I’d love that.”
Oliana set down her drink and stood, signaling the end to the conversation. “Good. We’ll let you know when.”
As Ari headed back into the stormy weather to her unknown appointment, an inkling of hope stirred. Could the islanders help her talk to Marco and her mother? Maybe, maybe not. But it’d be better than sitting in an empty room like a grounded little girl.
Chapter Twenty-Eight
Making it back through the rain with her guards close behind, Ari had time to grab lunch before hurrying down to her appointment. She wore her normal clothes, jeans and a shirt, to the appointment. She didn’t want to give Niomi anymore of an advantage with her smart suit by letting Niomi know just how nervous she was.
Heading down the hall, she passed Niomi’s offices and stopped at conference room C. Standing at the door, she waited for it to open and resisted the impulse to bite her lip. Finally, with a swoosh, the door slid open.
A long smooth white table stood in the middle of the room. Along one side, Niomi sat next to the director and another woman Ari didn’t recognize. The woman had pitch black hair, a feature perfected to a fine edge. Ari reminded herself this wasn’t her fault—maybe if she really believed that the knots in her stomach would ease.
“Welcome, dear Arianna.” The director stood, motioning with a hand to the seat across the table from them. His appearance was perfect, not a strand of hair out of place.
Ari slid into the seat, trying to paste on an innocent, totally relaxed smile. “Hi.”
“Relax, Ari,” Niomi said. “We’re here to help you.”
“Yes,” the director replied. “Also, here with us today is Dr. Davis.”
The word ‘doctor’ pulled Ari up short. With the machines today able to function better than any human doctor, it was rare to meet one in person. Usually there were just nurses to help administer treatments. “Is there a reason I need a doctor?”
“Dr. Davis is a psychiatrist that specializes in… well, in you.”
The doctor was what Ari and her old friends from school would call a plastic. A very expensive one at that. Some people’s plastic surgery was so good, they looked flawless. But humans aren’t flawless. So, their perfected bodies almost looked plastic to Ari, who grew up in a neighborhood where nobody even bothered with cosmetic surgery.
The woman gave a light laugh. “The director means to say I specialize in people with your ability, commonly known as warpers, as well as holding advanced degrees in neuro-psychology. I heard you’ve been having headaches, and I came to help you.”
Looking between the three adults on the other side of the table, Ari couldn’t help but wonder what they weren’t saying. “Why now?”
Doctor Davis pulled back a second, but then asked, “What do you mean?”
“Well, the headaches have been happening for a while, but you show up after my first failed mission.” She left out meeting another warper. Maybe they didn’t buy Ari’s story as much as she thought.
The director lifted a hand. “Let me, Doctor.” He focused on Ari. “You are a highly intelligent young woman, but you’re still young. After recent events on assignment, we decided it would be best for us to ensure your mental and physical health by recruiting the best in
the business. It took us a while to hire Dr. Davis, but she is worth it.
“We’re hoping she can help you process things like being away from your mother and brother, and give you the tools you need on assignment as well. Being young, others can influence you, especially people inside VLEX that can appear as friends. And after certain self-destructive behavior in the VR, we want to make sure you are getting everything you need.”
So, it does come around to the assignment. “Okay.”
“Does that mean you’re willing to work with me?” Doctor Davis’s grin was a tad too large for Ari’s taste.
“Yes.” What could it hurt?
“Also, we want you to take a break from work for a week.” The director motioned to Niomi who had remained quiet for most of the meeting. “Exercise with Niomi and spend time with Dr. Davis.”
Her stomach dropped. Not that Ari wanted to go into VLEX, but how else could she contact Tessa or her family? The islanders may be able to help but she doubted they had that kind of access unnoticed or unmonitored. “I’d be willing to participate in the required therapy, but I want to go back in to check on my family.”
“I’m sorry. It’s too dangerous right now. We need to do what’s best for your health.” The smug smile on the director’s face burrowed under Ari’s skin.
“You mean what’s best for you and your investment.” Ari knew she was a tool for this company and nothing more. It came down to money and she was worth a lot.
Niomi leaned forward, elbows on the table. “Ari, we both want you healthy and strong. Don’t be stubborn about this. You get a week off to hang out with Reed and go to the beach. This isn’t that bad.”
“Is my assignment with Kari closed?”
The director answered in his condescending tone. “Let us worry about that.”
Ari gritted her teeth. Of course, she’s just the dumb teenager. Forget about the fact that Kari had a life, a boyfriend and a job, that’s just silly responsibility. Niomi narrowed her eyes at Ari, like when they’d fight, and Ari would lose her temper. She forced herself to calm down and remain silent. If she learned anything here at VisionTech, Niomi taught her the best fighters kept their temper, and Ari felt like this battle had just begun.
Chapter Twenty-Nine
Seething as she returned to her rooms, Ari couldn’t figure out why she was mad at first. Given an opportunity to not work or go into VLEX was a true vacation. She could spend more time with Reed, at the beach, or even with Tamar and Oliana. Yet, this was a punishment. Not going inside the VLEX or a VR meant she couldn’t reach out to her family. Yes, being grounded on a tropical paradise was nice, but she was still grounded.
She headed to the cafeteria to grab a bite before her next meeting but stopped short. What about Antoine? He and Kari were supposed to go on vacation at the end of the week. She still needed to end things with him. If Kari failed to show up, that may be more suspicious than safe.
Turning around, Ari headed to Niomi’s office. After a brief scan the door opened for her. Niomi and the director stood near the door, in what appeared a heated discussion that they promptly stopped once she walked in.
“Sorry to bother you, but I needed to talk to Niomi.” Ari touched the necklace Reed gave her, which was becoming a nervous habit.
“I’ll be with you in a moment. Wait over there.” Niomi waved Ari away.
Not one to revel in awkward conversations, Ari headed over to Niomi’s long work bench. It held several stools in front of her array of computers.
When she sat down, she saw one of Niomi’s computers was still logged in. The argument behind her vanished as Ari read the file in front of her, her file. Niomi must have left it open by accident or maybe they had been talking about her.
Ari didn’t have time to read the lengthy file, especially where Niomi and the director would quickly notice. Glancing at the two still arguing, she pulled out the small drive in the necklace and slid it in Niomi’s computer. The file would have been protected for outside copying or transferring the file, but hopefully not her old school hardware. Adrenaline raced through her veins as she quickly shifted over to copy the files. Nervous fingers flew over the keyboard as she tried to silence the keystrokes.
“She’s only seventeen!” Niomi’s voice raised to a new level.
Yanking her hands back she turned to find them looking at her. She tightened them in the lap, unable to think up anything plausible to say in the moment. “Want me to come back?”
“No,” The director’s lips were drawn into a tight line. “I’m done here.”
As he walked out, Ari glanced at the screen. The file had copied. She turned back to find Niomi facing the door and pulling a hand through her hair. Ari yanked out the drive and jammed it in in her pocket before standing up.
“I’ll head out of here, Niomi. I’m sorry, my timing sucks.” The drive felt heavy in her pocket. She itched to race out of here and read through it. But on what? VisionTech watched everything she did. She’d worry about that later as she headed out. “We can talk later.”
“No. Stop.” Composure returned, Niomi faced Ari. “You have a right to know what we were talking about, or some of it at least.”
Truly curious, Ari paused. “What happened?”
“I recommended a longer suspension.”
“What?” Niomi always seemed to push the mission, the goal before all else. “Why?”
“Because of what I just told the director. You’re seventeen years old.”
“Oh…” Ari didn’t know how to take that.
“Don’t get me wrong, Ari. I think you’re intelligent, capable, and talented beyond belief, but you’re still a kid. You need to be dating your own boyfriend, not figuring out how to break up with Kari’s lover.”
Ari let out a breath. She never saw Niomi as the protector, just the person who pushed her to constantly be better. Thoughts spun together in Ari’s mind.
“Didn’t you ever wonder why we worked on self-defense so much?”
“I thought you loved to torture me?”
A sly smile pulled up on Niomi’s bright red lips. “At times, yes. But for the most part I wanted you to be able to protect yourself in and out of the program. Growing up alone as a woman in this world is tough. And a major thing you lacked when you came to me was confidence.
“You may be able to do all the missions VisionTech asked of you, but it doesn’t mean you should have to. I asked them to extend your suspension, but they denied. They gave you a week, and then they want you back inside.”
The strong stone statue, that Ari always viewed Niomi as, started to soften a little. Maybe there was more to her trainer than Ari thought. The data sat heavy in her pocket, burning with her betrayal. As much as she wanted to race out of there to look at the file, Ari did come here for a reason. “I need to get a message to Antoine, by the way.”
“Really? Why?” Exasperation heavy in her voice.
“He’s expecting to go on vacation with Kari by the end of the week.”
“That’s even more stupid. I told you to break up with him and instead you plan a vacation with him.”
“Kari planned it,” Ari said. “And if Kari returned, I didn’t want to ruin her plans. When is Kari coming back?”
Niomi’s eyes flickered down before meeting Ari’s gaze. “We should operate under the assumption that she isn’t coming back.”
A flood of emotion tightened her throat. “Is she dead?” She wasn’t sure how or why she got so attached to a woman she never met, but somehow living her life connected them.
“Honestly, I don’t know. Maybe. Or maybe she took a sweet payout and is off vacationing on her own.”
‘I don’t know’ wasn’t good enough for Ari. Burying the guilt, anger reared its head for a moment. “Guess it doesn’t matter if we work for murderers, does it?”
Niomi’s shoulders tightened, the muscles in her neck standing out. “It matters. But every major company has dirt under its nails, Ari. Don’t be naive. Let’s foc
us on the task at hand.”
Dread bubbled at what Ari had to do next.
“I’ll authorize a short trip inside the VR. We can’t send a message to Antoine from here. It can’t be traced back to us. Break up with Antoine or cancel the trip, I don’t care which. Just be quick. You’ll go in for lunch and then head out. We already contacted your boss to let him know you’ll be out. It won’t be a surprise to check in with a boyfriend.”
Forcing herself to uncurl her fist, she concentrated on slowing her breath. Angry, Ari didn’t always think straight, and she needed to concentrate if she was going back in. “Okay. If I plug in now, I can catch him before he heads off for the day.”
“No, not today. Tomorrow at lunch, okay?”
Ari hated not being able to get this over with. It was one thing to have to end things with Antoine but having to dread it for the next day would be even worse. He deserved better, but didn’t they all? Ari headed to the door.
“Ari?” Niomi called.
She turned back around, “What?”
“Do you understand what needs to happen? You can no longer afford to be emotionally attached to these people. Tell me you understand.”
“I get it.” Her body felt cold and empty. “Break up with Antoine because that’s easier than knowing I stole his girlfriend’s life, and she may be dead.”
Niomi and Ari watched each other for a moment, a room full of secrets between them. Without another word, Ari turned and left. If Niomi couldn’t be honest with her, she would find her own answers, starting with the file in her pocket.
Chapter Thirty
Unable to read the drive without notifying VisionTech, she stashed it in her room for now. Yet being so close to a file full of answers made it difficult to stay asleep. Awake before six, Niomi had messaged Ari to call her when she woke. Her trainer must have had her own problems sleeping because they ended up outside at their exercise area just as the sun was rising.
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