Ari couldn’t contain her laughter. “I’m sure pig fat will do that.” Instead of getting straight lard though, she grabbed an apple from the bowl in front of her. Maybe her headache was due to lack of real food. The patch can’t be that good for you. She bit into the apple and continued to listen to Jewels tell stories of the island when she was a child.
The next morning it was back to Kari’s life again. Ari did catch up on her sleep yesterday, but she still felt the lingering effects of her headache, like she was hungover or something. She sat down in the chair ready to go.
“I almost forgot. How were you feeling yesterday?” Niomi turned from the computer.
“Fine, I guess. A bit of a headache.”
“Good to know. We’ll take the rest of the week out of the VR and work on your training to mix things up.”
“If training is the alternative, I feel great.” Ari pulled up her hair to make way for the cord, but something caught her. “Is the VR why I had my headache?” She didn’t remember getting them at school.
“More just being inactive. That’s why we workout so much. Your body would deteriorate if you were plugged in all day getting your nutrients from a patch.”
“Makes sense.”
“Also, everyone was very excited over the information you gathered. They approved a visit with Tessa since we still haven’t found your family.” The way Niomi said it made Ari think Niomi knew something of her previous visit.
“Sounds great.” She wasn’t about to get Vinh in trouble. If VisionTech couldn’t find them, maybe that was for the best. Ari rubbed the base of her neck, which was sore from laying down in this chair so much. “See you on the flip side.”
Kari’s day dragged on. Replying to emails and scheduling meetings made Ari realize she never wanted to be a secretary. Maybe it was how active she had been with Niomi that ruined her for a boring desk job. There were a couple memos from the aftermath of the vote which Ari carefully forwarded on to Niomi.
When lunch came around, she forgot about Antoine, but hadn’t heard anything from him either. At this point she didn’t think blowing Kari’s boyfriend off for one day would hurt, but Ari wanted to go back to the restaurant and see if Hailey was there. After contemplating the pros and cons all morning, Ari decided the more she knew the better. Then she could decide whether to include Hailey in her report.
Ari strode through the market, watching people visit and talk. The sound of foreign accents transported her all over the world in mere seconds. Walking into the restaurant, she spotted Hailey in the back reading again. Ari headed towards her.
“About time you showed up?” Antoine’s voice traveled through the large room.
Turning, Ari found Antoine at the bar, and her face warmed as all eyes turned on her.
He stormed across the room. “First you don’t answer my calls yesterday. Then you blow me off. Today you show up and didn’t even notice me.”
Alcohol wafted from his breath. Ari wanted to shake him, tell him to pull it together. The booze wasn’t even real, but that didn’t matter, his brain thought it was.
Instead Ari tried to explain. “It was—”
“Don’t even say it.”
She reached out and grabbed his hand. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to hurt you.”
She didn’t have time to blink before she was enveloped in a hug. Antoine leaning down to smell her hair. Ari really wondered what Antoine’s and Kari’s relationship was based on.
Ari pulled back, wanting distance. “I have a work meeting today, so I can’t stay and talk, but I hoped to see you.”
He lifted his dejected face. “So, you’re not breaking up with me?”
Placing a hand on his face, she struggled to keep the facade of romance together. “Of course not. The session ends soon. Then we’ll go on vacation and make up for lost time. Alright?”
Leaning forward, he kissed her, sloppy and wet. At least it was short. She had to pull back to distance herself from the uncomfortable kiss.
“See you soon, Love.” He left with a smile on his face.
Ari sagged with relief. Noticing people nearby staring, she turned and hurried to the back. Hailey’s large grin said she’d seen the whole scene.
“You may need to start going to other places to eat. People will talk,” Hailey said.
“Funny.” Ari placed a hand on the chair. “Do you mind if I join you?”
“Sure. I figured you’d be back.”
“How’s that?”
“You’re greener than most. Not as well seasoned as most, so you must be full of questions.”
Ari brushed aside the menu on the table and met Hailey’s gaze. “What do you mean than most?”
She leaned forward arms out in front of her. “You know what we are.”
Nodding, Ari couldn’t deny that out loud. “Yes, and what do you do here? What do you want?”
“It’s what do you want.” Hailey pointed a finger at Ari. “Do you like being a tool? Let me guess, are they helping you? Saving you from a life of enslavement?”
“What if that was true?”
“I’m sure it is true. That’s how most of us started, but they never tell you the real cost. They never tell you there is a life out there where you are your own boss.”
“There is?” Ari asked. “If so, what are you still doing here?”
“Stopping them from taking over the world.” Hailey stood.
“How can I find you?”
“I work in the European Union. Hailey Keller. By the way, next time let’s meet at Ricco’s down the way. The food is better.”
She left Ari staring at Hailey’s empty glass of wine, wondering what the hell that all meant.
Chapter 14
Niomi was true to her word and didn’t schedule Ari for any missions in the VLEX for the rest of the week. After their two-hour morning workout, the rest of the day she had off. If that wasn’t enough, Niomi even gave her a car to use to go the community center if she wanted. A week ago, Ari would have jumped at that offer. Now, she didn’t want the crowd. She wanted to think. To decide if Hailey was for real or just trying to con her. Either way, Ari was keeping it out of her report until she knew.
The only way to know for sure would be back in VLEX and she had a few more days until then. Niomi pulled some strings to get Reed a half day at work and he surprised her with a date at the beach. They tried surfing, which they both were horrible at, and ended up just riding the waves in on their stomach. They ate sandwiches while watching the sun set. If someone could paint the perfect date, this would be it.
Except Ari’s stomach felt heavy with everything she hadn’t told him but didn’t know how. Given they were swimming, her smart suit was off but they both had HUBs. Devices she wasn’t sure she trusted. She slipped hers off and then reached for Reed’s.
“What—”
She silenced him with a finger to her lips. Nodding, he allowed her to take both bracelets. She buried them up in the pile of clothes they wore over their suits. Returning she sat next to him, his sandy shoulder brushing against hers.
For a moment, she said nothing. She wanted to enjoy the peace she felt. The contentment of being here at the beach on a perfect date with a perfect boyfriend.
He nudged her with his shoulder. “Want to tell me what that was about? If you’re thinking of getting down and dirty in this sand, Marco just might kill me.”
This took Ari by surprise. “What? You thought this was about sex?”
He looked down for a moment. “Maybe. I don’t know.”
They hadn’t talked about sex before. Many couples their age usually had sex in the VR. All the romance without any of the nasty consequences. But Ari didn’t want that. The way she read code, it felt like porn or something. But real sex… no one did that until they were older and wanted kids.
“It’s not like I haven’t thought about it, but I think we should wait until you’re older,” Reed said.
“I agree. I’m barely seventeen, and the eig
hteen months you have on me isn’t a lot older either.” They’d celebrated her birthday a few weeks after arriving to the island. “Did you want to try it in the VR?” The hesitation strained her voice.
“Not in a million years. I know how you feel.” His kind expression turned devious, a look that he usually only pulled around her brother. “I think I have a better plan.”
He trailed one finger down her bare arm, and a rise of goosebumps gave way.
“What’s that?”
He leaned towards her and placed a very light kiss along her collar bone. “I will continue to torture you.” Another kiss closer to her neck. “Until you’re over eighteen.” Another kiss below her jawbone. “Then you’ll have no choice but to marry me.”
Kissing her lips, he pulled her down on top of him. Shock flitted through her body. Marriage? At seventeen the thought hadn’t crossed her mind. Not that she wouldn’t want to marry Reed, one day. The more he kissed her, the more she saw that reality.
Abruptly, she pulled back. “You really think that I’m that easy? That I’ll marry someone just because he is a good kisser?”
One side of his mouth pulled up in a crocked grin, his eyes sparkling in the falling sun. “Challenge accepted.”
He quickly rolled her over in the sand and spent a considerable length of time showing her what a good kisser could accomplish.
Feeling as if she was going to burst with desire, she pushed him off. “Mercy, please.”
He laid back in the sand, arms behind his head, looking pleased. At least he was breathing as hard as Ari. His muscular chest rose and fell rapidly as she admired what she saw.
“That isn’t fair,” she told him.
“What?”
“First, you don’t want to get married, right?”
He shrugged. “Maybe not right now. But I like the idea of us getting married.”
“Second, you distracted me.”
He leaned back on his elbows. “I would say that I’m sorry, but I’m not.” His swollen lip curved up into a big smile to prove just that.
Ari couldn’t help but lean into him. He laid back again, one hand under his head and one around her as she laid on his warm chest.
“So, what did you want to tell me?” He traced a finger on her arm.
“You know how I’m not supposed to talk about what I’m doing to anyone outside our team.”
“Yeah.” His arms tightened around her. “Has that rule changed?”
She swallowed a lump in her throat. “No. But things are happening inside.”
“Did you talk to Tessa again?”
Ari had told Reed what happened with Tessa and how she was helping her family. “I see her tomorrow, but it’s more than that.”
“Okay.” Reed was never the type to really push Ari and his silence confirmed that.
“You remember me telling you about VLEX? The community made available only to the governments and the wealthy?”
“Yeah. Everyone knows about them here, but no one’s willing to elaborate. So, it’s mostly rumors.”
“It’s not just rumors to me, it’s my job. And the things they have me doing in there…”
His grip tightened around her waist. “If they’re asking you to do things you don’t want to, you just need to say so.”
“It’s not that clean cut. You know it isn’t.” She had responsibilities to her family and Reed.
“Nothing ever is.”
His heart continued to beat out a steady rhythm as the waves climbed up to splash at their feet.
“Things will be okay. We made things work before and we can again.”
In between heart beats, she heard everything he didn’t say. How he enjoyed his work, loved his art internship even more. They both had been given opportunities they may not find anywhere else. But at what cost?
The next day after lunch, Ari headed to the lab to visit Tessa. Niomi stood at the ready, the private room already scheduled. As Ari looked at the screen, it reminded her that Niomi would be able to see everything as it transpired.
The setting Niomi picked this time was at a coffee shop. The quaint shop had outdoor seating overlooking a park. Birds flew in a scheduled pattern, something her old teachers would find abhorrent.
“Hey, friend.”
Ari turned away from the birds to find Tessa sitting on the other side of the table. “Glad to see you.”
“What’s going on?” Tessa currently had dark blue hair wrapped in a bun on top of her head, the bottom half shaved. Numerous piercings filled her ears, and a jewel in her nose.
In excitement, Ari hurried forward and wrapped her in a hug.
“Ugg,” Tessa tensed. “I guess we’re doing hugs now.”
Pulling back, Ari tried to stir some of the same worry she had last week when she first learned her family was missing. Ari didn’t know what Niomi knew but thought it best to keep up pretenses. “We lost Marco and my mom. Have you heard anything from them at all?”
Tessa paused for a moment before she realized the situation Ari was in, then relaxed into her chair. “Not recently, but he checked in last week. They had to go underground a little bit more to get off people’s radar.”
Releasing a big sigh, she leaned on the table. “Thank God. Are they getting the money I sent you?”
“Yeah. They’re doing okay and wanted me to send their love.” She sipped the small cup in front of her.
“Thank you.” Ari knew Niomi was watching this interaction, so she had to be very careful what she said. She needed to ask about Kari, but how? “Can I ask one more favor?”
Tessa cocked a brow. “Like a stray cat, I’m unable to tell you no, so go ahead.”
“Great. I’m a cat now.” Unsure how to go about doing it, Ari raised her hand for a drink. How could she hide from Niomi in here?
Tessa must have sensed her hesitation. “Remember when Professor Coleman used to go on and on about how talented you were?”
Not remembering any time Coleman complemented her, she was hesitant to reply. “What?”
“Yeah. I never saw it myself. Maybe that’s because you sucked at my game, especially when you never changed weapons. I thought you were really dense.”
Was Tessa telling her to use her power? Maybe how she pulled back when making out with Antoine, she could layer what Niomi saw in the VR. People go layers deep in the VR. Just because she hadn’t done that yet, didn’t mean she couldn’t. The thing was, writing a whole other conversation while talking to Tessa would be tricky, maybe impossible.
While Tessa continued rambling on about school, and friends. Ari focused her vision to the code. A rush went through her as the world around changed to letters and numbers spinning in a perfect orchestra. She kept the world Niomi sent her to and created a simple scripted play between the two girls that involved drinking a lot of coffee to keep her trainer occupied.
Then she created a second layer with no visuals, just a black screen. Niomi would only be able to see this if she pored through the code, which would take a normal person hours. Ari’s fingers tingled as she finished the work and pulled Tessa inside her blank world.
“It took you long enough to catch on,” Tessa said when the surroundings changed.
“We don’t have much time,” Ari said.
“What’s going on?”
“Can you have your lawyer see if there is any way to get out of my contract? Leave a message in your game for me if so. My friend will get it.”
“Why do you want out?”
“I don’t know if I do yet. It’s just inside VLEX…” Ari fisted her hand unable to put in words her concerns. She didn’t know what really happened to Kari and President Higgins. “I’d rather work for you.”
“I’d love to have you, but if anyone caught wind of you, then it would be over. I don’t trust my dad with what he’d use you for. It’s harder to hide than you think and I’m not sure you’d be safe here.”
“Just look into it for me okay? Also, can you check out a Kari Trenton f
or me? She works for the Icelandic States in VLEX.”
Tessa’s face tightened in worry, her lip ring pulling to the side. “I will. We better go back before anyone catches on.”
They went back to the coffee shop and said their goodbyes. Ari left not knowing whether she felt better or worse.
Chapter 15
Monday, Ari returned to the VLEX as Kari, business as usual. Except for the pit in Ari’s stomach as she thought about the real Kari. She hated the glimpses of the pretty woman’s reflection she accidentally picked up now and again.
When Hailey emailed her asking about lunch, a spark of interest surfaced. Ricco’s at noon. There was nothing unusual about making a friend with other workers in the VLEX. If anything, it was encouraged. Networking and lobbying were the only reason for lunch or drinks inside the VLEX.
When it hit noon, Ari headed down to the town center. She followed the path, the small red door to Ricco’s snuggled in the crowded market. The small entrance gave away nothing. When she opened the door, the flavors of her hometown, peppers and lime, greeted her.
Hailey waved from the bar and stood to welcome her. “Glad you could make it.”
Ari nodded, waves of nervous energy rolling around in her stomach.
“I have a table in the back.” Hailey led the way down a colorful corridor.
Music wafted down the halls, an old Spanish number. Something Ari’s grandmother would listen to with tears in her eyes. Soon they found the source. In the corner a bronze and black machine twirled around playing music. A couple danced in the middle of the floor. The woman wore a bright red dress, cut high in the hip. One hand on her skirt, she whipped it around as the gentleman twirled her.
Ari looked at Hailey and mouthed the words, “What is this?”
Hailey didn’t answer but turned back to the couple. They moved with a grace only a skilled dancer could accomplish. When the final chord struck, the man tilted the woman back leaning close to her neck. As he placed a light kiss on her collarbone, she vanished.
Hard Wired Trilogy Page 38
