Hard Wired Trilogy

by DeAnna Pearce

  “Unless they found them first.” A chasm of fear threatened to overwhelm her.

  “With our most recent intelligence, we have no reason to believe that. Marco probably took your mother underground.”

  “We need to pull them out. They needed to leave as soon as my mother lost her work.” Ari stormed over to Niomi’s computer and tapped it on. “Contact Security. I’ll go back if I need to. I know some of Marco’s old joints.”

  Niomi stepped towards Ari, gently pushing her to the side. “You can’t go back. It’s too dangerous.”

  “If it’s too dangerous for me, it’s too dangerous for them.” She faced her trainer.

  About the same height, they stood less than a foot apart. Heat flooded Ari’s face and body, like if she didn’t do something right now, she would explode. Niomi’s gaze gave nothing away as it bore into Ari.

  “I don’t think I feel well enough to exercise today.” Without giving Niomi a chance to respond, Ari stormed out of the room. She kept going until she made it outside, passing the hoverboards and bikes, knowing she didn’t have the patience for them and ran.

  She headed away from the ocean and towards the center of the complex. The ocean held peace for her, and she didn’t want peace but answers. Though her heart thrummed with every step, she didn’t feel a thing. A numbing fear or rage took over. Niomi needed to learn that until Ari found her family, she wouldn’t work for them. Not ever.

  Checking her watch, she realized Reed was still working. He wouldn’t be able to break for a couple hours. She didn’t want to cause trouble for him. Maybe Vinh.

  Unsure of the last name she gave her AI, she pressed the button on her suit instead. “Call Vinh.”

  “Calling Vinh.”

  After a moment he picked up. “Hey, Ari. What’s going on?”

  “I need to talk to you.”

  “I thought we were talking right now.”

  “No, in person. I’m in front of the center community of the Wave, but not sure where you live, or work, or whatever it is you do right now.” She paced in front of the doors as several other workers flowed in and out. Talking without an earpiece she probably looked crazy.

  “Are you alright?”

  “Yes. No. I’m really not sure right now. I just need to talk to you.”

  “Stay where you are. I’ll be down in a minute.”

  She picked at a seam on her Fit Suit and realized Niomi knew exactly where she was and was probably monitoring her blood pressure or something insane. “Hey, can you also bring me some clothes?”

  “I don’t even want to ask.” He ended the connection.

  She ran a hand through her hair and ended up pulling out the tie and redoing the whole braid. By the time Vinh made it out, she had worn a good path in the dirt with her pacing.

  “Hey, want to go bowling?”

  “I’m not in the mood for bowling.”

  “They have bathrooms to change in and so much noise and chaos that we’ll blend right in.” He cocked an eyebrow the best that he could and ended up with an odd face looking like he was trying to wink at her.

  Thinking past his odd face, she realized the noise might give them the privacy they need. “Okay.”

  Ari changed into an old gray shirt that said something in a foreign language, with crossbones behind it. It fit well, though she had to roll the cotton pants a couple times. Her necklace rested again on her skin, a comforting reminder she wasn’t alone. She couldn’t throw out her smart suit—Vinh would kill her. She remembered lockers nearby and stored it inside.

  Looking around, she realized the bowling she remembered from old games and movies was nothing like the bowling they had here. There were anti-gravity vacuums where people flew across to knock down some sort of rings that hung in space. People cheered loudly after a girl flipped into several rings, scattering them. Even though the normal workday wasn’t over, everyone had different shifts, and the room was littered with people drinking and playing different games.

  She quickly found the bar, where Vinh sat in front of a drink. “Thanks for the clothes. I’m just not in the mood for Niomi, you know.”

  “She can still find where you are,” he said, referring to the chip in the back of her neck.

  “I try not to think about that. At least she can’t check my heart rate and perspiration levels.”

  “So, what’s going on?”

  Ari briefly closed her eyes, trying to rein in her emotions. “Niomi can’t find my brother or mom. Which means they haven’t been getting money either.”

  “Dear God, I’m so sorry, Ari.” He placed a hand on her arm. “It doesn’t mean that anything bad has happened to them though.”

  “It sure can’t mean anything good.”

  “Don’t panic until they find out.”

  She flung her hands in frustration. “I’m not going to wait around for them. I need to find them myself. And I need your help.”

  Vinh pulled back slightly. “What are you talking about? I signed a similar contract as you did when they hired me. Everyone did.”

  Ari leaned forward, resting a hand on his forearm. Anyone watching may think it was romantic how she whispered into his ear. “If my government finds them before me, there is no hope. They’ll keep both to get to me. They won’t be safe. You know that.” She bit down for a moment, pushing back the tears in her eyes. “I refuse to work until I find them. Your job is to help me work. Help me, please.”

  After a long moment, he nodded. “I don’t know if I can help, but I can try.”

  She leaned back in her chair, taking a deep breath. “I’ll take all I can get. I thought about starting with Tessa.”

  He looked around him and scooted to the edge of his seat, closing the distance between them. “We can go for a walk on the beach if you want, or maybe we could meet for a late-night bite to eat in my rooms?” His words were formal, his gaze intent as if trying to say more than he could.

  “I want to talk to her directly.” She kept her voice soft but strong.

  “Let’s plan on tonight then. 11:30 in my rooms. I can get a guest pass for personal reasons.”

  “Of course.” Ari didn’t care what the company thought of why they were meeting.

  He checked the HUB on his wrist. “I better get back to work.”

  “One more thing. Where is your room?”

  He pointed behind her to a huge information screen. “That will give you directions to the campus. Please don’t get into too much trouble before I see you next time. You don’t want Niomi calling Security on you.”

  “I don’t think she wants that either,” Ari mumbled under her breath.

  As Vinh took off, Ari realized she had quite a bit of time until 11:30 and had no desire to head back to the lonely rooms she was assigned to. She tried to reason why Niomi tried to keep her from the other employees on the island. Niomi said it was because if the others found out what Ari really was then she’d be in danger. But if they trusted Ari to go inside VLEX and lie all day, couldn’t she be trusted to do it here?

  She ordered a large ice coffee and was determined to stay awake and avoid Niomi. Grabbing her drink to go, she headed over to the information desk to find where not only Vinh’s room was, but also Reed’s workplace and sleeping quarters. He had a break in thirty minutes, and she wanted to surprise him.

  Meandering through the rest of the community center, she got to check out the variety of restaurants and recreational sites, including some intense VR gaming. She saw the ranking on a huge scoreboard along with a couple guys betting on the outcomes. After the chaos got to her, she stepped outside and took the path to the apartments on the inner island.

  An afternoon shower rolled in and starting raining down, so she hurried inside. She realized how she must look, like a wet dog in oversized clothes, and a shirt she worried may be from an Asian death cult. Searching the room, she continued down the hallway, and Reed’s office door stood out down the hall with glass lining either side. She glimpsed the rows of desks a
nd little boxes geared up to be offices.

  An attractive young woman stood outside the door. Her strawberry-blonde hair was pulled into a high bun, and her face accented with bright makeup. Ari stayed back, a bit self-conscious of her own appearance.

  People began filing out the door, speaking to each other. Reed emerged after a handful or so people. Once the pretty girl spotted him, she headed over to give him a hug. He stepped back after the hug but continued talking to her. He didn’t even notice Ari and continued their conversation to the woman as they walked down the hall.

  “I loved the color in that one though.” The woman briefly touched her shoulder.

  Ari smothered any jealously remembering just how Vinh and her must have looked in the community center. Looks can be deceiving. Instead she stepped out into the center of the hall.

  Reed glanced up and stopped, surprise freezing him in place. “Ari? What are you doing here?”

  She shrugged, not wanting to go into it with the woman nearby.

  He hurried towards Ari. “Where’s your suit? What happened?” He wrapped her into a tight hug, and Ari could breathe for the first time in hours despite his grip.

  “I’ll tell you later.” She whispered in his ear.

  When they separated, the pretty woman watched them, waiting for something.

  “Oh, Kimmy, this is my girlfriend, Ari. Ari, this is Kimmy. She’s my adviser in my art internship.”

  A brief look of confusion crossed Kimmy’s face before, her bright pink lips curled up in a fabricated smile. “Here I thought you were making your girlfriend up.”

  “Nope. Here I am in the flesh.” Ari offered a hand.

  They quickly shook hands. Kimmy’s long nails were each painted with a united scene. Ari might have found them fascinating if those same claws weren’t just touching her boyfriend. Okay, maybe she couldn’t bury all her jealousy.

  After a moment of awkward silence, both girls looked to Reed.

  “Kimmy, can we meet later to talk about my project?” He motioned to Ari.

  “Yes, of course. We’ll talk later tonight.” She walked past Reed, that same plastic smile glued to her face.

  “Let’s go outside,” Ari suggested.

  “Okay. I have ten minutes or so.” He led her to a nearby door, which opened for them. They headed towards a bench with a large umbrella to block out the slow drizzle of rain. He kept her hand and sat down next to her. There were only a couple of people across the courtyard.

  “Where did your suit go to?

  “These are from a teenager with angst issues, Vinh.”

  “What?” His brows lowered in confusion.

  “Sorry, I better start at the beginning.” She told the story, and her fury and frustration built.

  “Do you think it’s safe?” he asked about Vinh helping her. “I could go with you?”

  “That would look odd, since our cover is a romantic guest in his room that late.”

  “Romantic? Should I be worried?”

  “No. I’m not his type. He’s told me more than once.” She leaned a head on his shoulder, his strong frame comforting. “I’m more worried about what Marco is up to. My mom has to be okay.”

  “Marco knows how to land on his feet. I’m sure they’re alright.” He traced little circles on the back of her hand. “Maybe you should just wait for Niomi. They would have more resources to find them.”

  “I can’t. This is too important to trust them. They should have never lost them.”

  Reed’s hub beeped. “Crap. I gotta go. Keep me posted and message me later.”

  “I’ll call you when I get home.” Ari lifted her wrist to show she didn’t have a HUB on. Hers was embedded in the suit crammed in a bowling locker.

  “I can grab you an old one, if you stick around until I’m done with work.”

  “It’s okay. It’s nice to be free for a bit.”

  He leaned over and kissed her goodbye. It may have been sweet, but it was enough to warm Ari’s insides. When he tried to pull away, she wrapped a hand around his neck and pulled him closer. He tasted a bit like his favorite mint coffee, and she loved it.

  “I really…” he spoke in between kisses, “don’t want… to go… but have… to.”

  She hated letting go. Somehow, with Reed by her side, everything felt like it was going to be okay, like her crazy plan would work. “I’ll call you tonight.”

  “Be safe.” He placed one more kiss on her head before leaving.

  Ari remained on the bench, watching the end of the rain trickle down and hoped she and Vinh could pull this off.

  Chapter 11

  An evening rain shower kept things dark and wet, so Ari stayed inside. The evening passed in a blur of greasy foods and hot drinks. More than once, she wondered if Niomi would show up and drag her back to her rooms. Granted, she probably had cameras watching Ari now.

  As the center and nearby restaurants filled up when the five o’clock shift let out, she found herself drawn to the gaming counter. Anti-gravity bowling wasn’t for her, but betting on it was much more entertaining. The cheers and moans as people wiped out helped her push aside the worry that she couldn’t do anything about.

  “Are you going to watch the game all night or bet on it?” a short islander asked. Her pretty, petite features were overshadowed by the woman’s brisk manner. “Huh?”

  Feeling like she could do just as well as the semi-drunk people around her, she said, “Sure?”

  The woman placed Ari’s hand on the scanner. It beeped with a green reading.

  “Yes. Good credit. What do you want to bet?”

  Ari scanned the board looking at the upcoming matches, realizing she had no idea what to do.

  “Come on. I don’t have all day.”

  “Yes, you do, Oliana. It’s our job.” A man stepped up to Ari’s side. “I’m Tamar. Forgive my sister. She’s used to dealing with the belligerent all night and forgets we have other customers too. Do you want a recommendation?”

  “It would help. I’m new to all of this.”

  “Number forty-five’s breath reeked of alcohol when he registered. I think the only reason he’s competing is because he’s tired of fighting against gravity. He’s one drink away from falling over.”

  “Thanks for the tip.” She placed her bet with Oliana and a few minutes later was ecstatic to find she won.

  She people-watched the rest of the night. Measuring up the contestants’ build and guessing on how they will do. She even placed some bets on the VR gaming going on. People could watch inside the game and place bets as the game went on. After watching Tessa’s game for hours at school, Ari knew what to look for and made out pretty well with that. Most people left her alone, only Oliana and Tamar make the rounds to offer her drinks and congratulate her.

  At eleven o’clock she called it.

  “No more? Come on, the next one will be a big one.” Oliana said.

  “Sorry, I have to meet a friend.”

  “Like that?” The woman looked Ari’s outfit up and down like a disgruntled mother.

  “Yes, I don’t have much else right now.”

  “There’s a shop down the street. You don’t want a man to think you are cheap and easy.” With a dismissive wave of her hand, she moved on to another customer.

  Maybe the woman was right. As a romantic guest, she sure didn’t look the part. Jumping into the store, she picked up a pair of jeans and a dark blue shirt. It didn’t scream date, but it was practical, so Ari could always wear it later. She usually chose her clothes from a screen, so picking them out in person was a nice change of pace.

  A few minutes later, she entered Vinh’s apartment corridor. Sleek gray tile, highlighted in soft lights, gave it a nice calming atmosphere. Unlike Ari’s rooms though, these had no view. Just gray walls with different panels highlighting community events. She pressed her hand on the panel to the left of the door to let him know she arrived. Soon the door opened, and she stepped through.

  She didn’t know what
she expected Vinh’s room to look like. Maybe a high-tech automated room where he didn’t even have to brush his own teeth? Instead cartoon graphics covered the walls, and the rest was covered with… junk. Maybe not junk, she found a computer drive on one counter next to a bowl.

  “In here,” he hollered from the next room.

  She headed into his bedroom, where the surfaces were just as cluttered. “Don’t they have a cleaning bot you can use? Or maybe a closet I can put these clothes in.” She held up the clothes he lent her.

  “Not one I trust. The chute is in there.” He pointed to the hole in the wall partially covered by a shirt. “Last time they cleaned, I couldn’t find stuff for a month.”

  Ari doubted that but didn’t want to criticize him as he was about to put his neck on the line for her. “How can we talk to Tessa from here? I thought—”

  He spun around. “Every night at 11:30 they send a backup of the daily files to the mainland. I have a friend who works in the backup department. He’s willing to dump our records between 11:30 and midnight for a price.”

  “And what would that price be?”

  “It should only cost a week of work for you.”

  “Of course. But aren’t they going to trace where my money went to?” Money didn’t matter to her right now, but she didn’t want to get Vinh in trouble if she could help it.

  “He can run it through the center under gaming or something. And this way, you can have a conversation instead of a message.”

  Ari grabbed a nearby chair, and after moving the pile of junk on it to the nearby table, pulled it up next to Vinh. “How are we going to reach her?”

  “Through her game. She’s on it nightly. Just ask for a private room.”

  After adjusting the headset, she put in an extra pair of gaming contacts he had and wrist sensors. He planned on joining the game too with his own gear.

  “Are you familiar with the game? It’s a basic RPG.”

  “Yeah, I’ve played before.” She turned on the game and her world changed around her. Tessa’s game wasn’t as immersive as a VR, but with excellent graphics, it was the closest thing to it.

  Ari and Vinh dropped in the game atop of a cliff. Below them, a battle raged on: above them, a dark icy mountain with mysterious challenges. The choices were clear: prove oneself in battle or fight your fears of the unknown in the mountains above. Each of them were an elf type species with basic armor they could only upgrade after they earn enough points. They picked the elves because they were simple characters to create with decent speed and fighting ability.