Hard Wired Trilogy

by DeAnna Pearce

  “Deep thoughts?” Jewels sat down next to her in the sand. “I’ve seen what work is doing to you lately. I hoped a party would help you forget your troubles.”

  “Thanks. I’m just hiding out before someone else offers me food that I can’t turn down.”

  “That might be my fault.”

  “What? How?”

  “You’ve lost weight lately, so I told everyone you needed some fattening up.”

  “Not sure I should thank you for caring or curse you for the stomach ache. Two plates were fattening, four plates are just torture. Trust me, I eat when I can.”

  “Okay.” Jewels shrugged. Her silver hair glistened in the moonlight.

  “Jewels, have you met any other people like me since you worked here?”

  She continued staring out to the water for a moment before replying. “One.”

  “Who was it? What were they like?”

  “He was cocky, arrogant, and good at his job. But he was sick. I was new to work here, and he was sick soon after I arrived.”

  “What was wrong?” With her diet, physical training, and resources available to VisionTech, she’d been in the best health of her life.

  The older woman tapped on Ari’s temple. “Something up there. Something not right.”

  “Oh…” Ari was hoping for more, but not sure what. Some guide or some person that told her this job got better, that she was on the winning side.

  “Doesn’t matter. You’ll do the job your way and that will be the right way.”

  “I wish it was that easy.” Ari felt responsible for Reed and her family, and worried how fighting with Niomi would affect them.

  “It is, if you want it to be.”

  Chapter 20

  Ari was unable to avoid Reed all weekend. Sunday afternoon he came over with dessert—and not just any dessert, but a tower of dessert. The bottom contained a variety of small cupcakes, then it proceeded to climb like a pyramid.

  “Do you really think we can eat all of that?” She couldn’t help the smile that crept up on her.

  His brown eyes glimmered with delight as they barely peeked over the chocolate top. “I’m making it a personal goal to see it done. Hope you have an appetite?” He headed down to the kitchen.

  She followed him, trying to remember why she didn’t want to see him this weekend. Oh, yeah. He’s happy here, and I don’t want to destroy his future… again. The reason got lost in other thoughts as she watched his backside.

  He placed the massive tower of baked goods in the center of the table and scrounged around for utensils.

  “Let me get some milk.” Ari headed to the drink dispenser.

  “Good thinking, we’ll need something to help get it all down.”

  She chuckled as she filled the glasses and sat down. He scooted closer and handed her a fork. His spicy scent greeted her, and she fought the urge to lay her head on his shoulder. Maybe she was a selfish creature deep down inside, wanting Reed. Maybe she didn’t have to leave. Staying here with him felt right.

  “Do I have something on my face?” He rubbed his cheek. “Why are you staring at me? I swear, I only tried a bit of the frosting.”

  She shook her head. “No. I’m just happy to see you.”

  “Me too.” Leaning over, he placed a light kiss on her lips. He pulled back, a small rolled chocolate piece in his hand. “Now, you have some catching up to do.”

  She bit down on the candy, her lips brushing against his finger. A warm feeling swirled inside, and she realized just how much she missed him. Not only did she miss his soft lips, but the way his personality could light up a room.

  Starting at the top with a caramel chocolate, they worked their way down through the tower. At first with their forks, but when they found something good, they’d always share. Miniature pastries covered in a smooth frosting covered the tower in a variety of shapes but bright corresponding colors, like some type of party or circus.

  When Ari picked up one square type cake, the top full of bright red frosting, she couldn’t resist temptation. Reed opened his mouth, so trusting. She pushed it into his nose instead.

  “Oops.” Shrugging her shoulders, she donned her most innocent expression.

  He wiped the frosting from his face, a mischievous flicker to his hazel eyes. “Oh, I’ll show you oops.”

  And it was on. They destroyed the last of the tower, only random pieces ending up in their mouths and mostly by accident. Racing around the kitchen, they managed to have the dessert cover every surface.

  Reed wrapped Ari in his arms from behind. “Surrender, and I’ll let you go.”

  Ari hoped he’d never let go. She loved his strong arms and tight grip. But she couldn’t tell him that. “Only if you don’t make me eat any more sweets.”

  “Make you?” He turned her in his arms. “And here I thought you enjoyed them.”

  “I did, until my stomach felt like it would burst.” Raising on her tiptoes, she kissed the red frosting still on the tip of his nose. “I enjoyed you more.”

  He held her tight. “Good.”

  She leaned her head against his chest, ignoring the sticky sugar covering them. “It’s going to take forever to clean this.”

  “Don’t you have a maid or a bot or something?” He wiped her hair and a blob of cake fell on to the ground.

  “I’ll call out the bots, because I can’t make Jewels clean this mess. Not after she invited me to the party.” Against her desire, she pushed back and reached for a kitchen towel. Maybe if she got it all in the sink, it could wash down.

  “How did that go?” He reached for the second towel. “Did a bunch of islanders hit on you?”

  “I mostly danced with the women. It was fun.”

  “Dancing, huh?” He grabbed her hand, twirled her around, and pulled her into his arms.

  Close to him once more, the warmth in her chest grew. Arms wrapped around each other, they swayed to the silence. Their steps small but steady. Reed hummed something simple.

  He paused only to ask, “What do you call your AI lately? I’ll pick out a nice tune.”

  “I think it’s perfect like this.” Unfortunately, in the recesses of Ari’s mind, she knew perfect didn’t last.

  Chapter 21

  The following week returned to the normal drudgery of her job. Copying files for Niomi didn’t take much extra effort, and even Kari’s job slowed as the political season wound down for a break. Unfortunately, that left a lot of time for Ari to wonder if Kari’s petite body would now only be alive here, electronically, and to guess how long VisionTech’s reach really was.

  They didn’t seem to be a bad company. Even the islanders didn’t complain too much, as VisionTech worked with them to preserve the island and gave islanders work. Vinh, Reed, and hundreds of others enjoyed their work, and it gave them an opportunity they may not get under their government. But did that negate what she was doing? Stealing people’s lives for insider trading and political privilege?

  Trying to get out of her head, she met Antoine for lunch on Wednesday. Part of her hoped to see Hailey and get some answers about her meeting with Emil. That meeting had been occupying her thoughts constantly, but with no luck at answers. And with no contact, she didn’t know where to go next.

  Instead of Hailey, she only saw Antoine, which made the guilt-ridden hole in her stomach only grow more. Was she ready to tell him the truth? In doing that she wouldn’t ever be able to come back here as Kari.

  By the time she walked back to her offices, she decided she needed to do something. Maybe talk to Niomi or even her supervisor. If she laid down the line, they couldn’t force her to do anything against her will. They had to have other work for her to do.

  Due to the lack of work, President Higgins let Kari go home early. Ari pulled out of the VR. She woke to the lab, bright lights radiating around her.

  “You’re done early.” Niomi turned away from her computer and helped Ari up from the chair.

  While Niomi cleaned the cable, Ari walk
ed over to the work station. Niomi usually never left her work open, so Ari took the chance to glance at the screen. It was some type of correspondence.

  VP238: How much longer will the assignment be viable?

  TR41-A: The team says one week. No one will notice the absence until the session is over.

  VP238: Push for more information. We need to know who was behind the final vote?

  TR41-A: We are.

  “Close screen,” Niomi said from behind her and the computer obeyed.

  Ari had read enough though to know Tessa was right. If they hadn’t killed Kari, they had restrained her in some way. Ari prayed it was the later.

  “I thought you knew better than to pry into things that don’t concern you.”

  Ari had buried her irritation for so long, it bubbled near the surface, ready to explode. “I think it does concern me.”

  “Really?” Niomi cocked one brow, her tone dismissive.

  Ari fisted her trembling hands. “I stole a woman’s life. Not to mention Representative Tao. Are you killing them? I didn’t sign up for this.”

  Niomi barked a harsh laugh. “You don’t begin to understand how this all works. The information you get changes life, saves lives sometimes. These international laws affect everything, trickling down to every shabby home town. And you’re saving your family’s life with the money you send them. You have no idea how good you really have it.”

  “I want out.” She blurted out the sentence before she could stop herself.

  That stopped Niomi’s usually snarky response. Her sharp jaw tightened, and her steely eyes watched Ari. “Have a seat.”

  She placed a hand on the nearby table. “I’d rather stand.” Honestly, she had lost all feeling in her feet but needed to keep strong while it lasted.

  “Okay. I will.” Niomi pulled up her metal stool. “Maybe I’ve been too hard on you. My sarcasm has a stronger bite than I intend.”

  Ari didn’t reply.

  “You want the truth. I’ll do my best.” She flipped up the screen, with a couple of movements of her hands she opened to Representative Tao. “He had a heart attack and died in the middle of the night. VisionTech intercepted the call for health services. They had a short window of time to fake that he pulled through, send in a team member to hack his VR feed and get you in. You voted the same way he did to avoid detection, but you got us the information we needed. He was an isolated member, so it was easier to pull it off, but it was far from easy.”

  Ari let go a breath, glad she wasn’t responsible for his death. “What about Kari?”

  Niomi closed her screen before turning back. “I’m not exactly sure. They don’t tell me details. Representative Tao was in the news thread.”

  “Not good enough.”

  “It’s all I have. In the past, they have picked loners, people without a lot of friends who are willing to skip town for a bit for a price. Some are sick and would take the payout to let someone else replace them at work for a while.”

  “Kari didn’t seem like that type. Especially with Antoine.” Why wouldn’t Kari break up with Antoine before she left the VLEX?

  “When you’re young, love is all encompassing. Kari has had lovers before and will have them again. You are more in love with the idea of them then Kari probably ever was with him.”

  Ari rubbed a spot on the edge of the desk. Something wasn’t setting right. Was she really just young and stupid? Would she really be willing to sacrifice Reed and everything for her family, because she was naive? What about what Tessa found?

  “Look,” Niomi said. “You only have a week left before session is out. I’ll ask for an extended break. It will be good for you.”

  Good for me? Ari wasn’t sure she could even tell what was good for her anymore. But she wasn’t about to trust anyone with that either. “I’m not sure I’ll ever want to go back. I hate lying about who I am all the time. Stealing other people’s lives, even if they are okay with it. Isn’t there another division I could work with?”

  Niomi let out an exasperated huff. “You don’t get how rare you are. You’re the sole warper employed by VisionTech. If it’s getting to be too much, ask for more money, ask for your family to come here. There isn’t another division for you. This is it. And life outside of this is a hell of a lot harder. Trust me. You have nowhere else to go. No papers. And your government would be more than happy to find you, charge you for all types of espionage, and haul your ass to forced labor for life. You’ll be forced to do the same thing without any of the perks. Do you understand?”

  Biting down on her lip, Ari fought to keep her emotions locked down. She gave a curt nod. She understood. She understood that when she first lined up to get her assignment, she was signing her life away. This may be a different cage, but it still was a cage to her. One she’d never be happy living in.

  Chapter 22

  Ari wanted to wait before she contacted Emil to think things over, but she didn’t have time, not if Niomi expected her to take a vacation when the session was out. If she wanted answers, she needed them now.

  Friday morning, Ari entered VLEX as Kari. Before she started the day, she reached out to Hailey using her contact info with the European Union. Unfortunately, she didn’t reply right away. So, Ari turned to her work for a distraction. Even with a long conversation with President Higgins, she finished before lunch. When she was about to give up and head out to meet Antoine, a message came through from Hailey.

  Meet me by the fountain.

  After messaging Antoine a lame excuse, she headed out. The sun lit up the fountain in the courtyard, the one of a merman rising up out of the colored stone waves. The statue mirrored those of old, the colored marbles with flecks of gold shimmered in the sun. She approached the fountain and with no sign of Hailey, Ari dipped her hand into the cool water.

  “You ready to know the truth?” Hailey spoke behind her.

  Ari spun around. “Where did you come from?”

  “I asked if you’re ready to take off your training wheels.”

  She couldn’t help her eye roll and was more than a bit tired of being treated like an idiot. “I want some answers.”

  “Do you know the questions?” Hailey’s demur look held a lot more of an attitude today with her lips pursed tight.

  “Stop playing games or I’m gone.” Ari stepped away from her.

  “Okay.” Hailey reached out a hand to stop her. “It’s this way.”

  Ari followed her down a row of shops. They turned towards a coffee shop, but before they went through the door, Hailey entered a code. When she opened the door, there wasn’t anything that resembled a coffee shop in sight.

  A long corridor of a shiny black material stretched out towards them. The never-ending hall had no decorations, only black doors with silver door knobs.

  Ari glanced at Hailey. “If you’re going for a dark ominous bad guy feel, you nailed it.”

  It was Hailey’s turn to roll her eyes as they stepped into a room. “It’s to protect our butts, and it keeps the look of the regular code in place for the others.”

  “Is it like a different dimension?”

  “If you want to consider it that.” Hailey continued down the hall to the fifth door on the right.

  “What do these other doors hold?”

  “Nothing but place holders.” She knocked once and then entered. “Hey, Emil.”

  He sat at a desk but when he saw the girls, he waved it away with a wipe of his hand. The desk disappeared, and he stood to greet them. “Good to see both of you. Please have a seat.”

  Ari sat down in the dark chair and sank back into the smooth interior.

  “What I can help you with?”

  “What do you know about VisionTech? How do you do what you do? What did you mean when—”

  He held up a hand. “One at a time. First, VisionTech. The company you work for is one of many that have a limited role in the government here. I’m not personally familiar with them, but I had Hailey conduct some research
.” He turned to Hailey.

  “As far as blood-sucking corporations go, they aren’t the worst.” She gave Ari a look like that was supposed to be comforting. “They were one of the first to jump on the VR bandwagon and soon pulled ahead as a major competitor.”

  “Skip ahead to the essentials.” Emil urged with a wave of his hand.

  “They have been searching for a warper for some time. You first appeared on their radar when playing online games.” Hailey glanced at her. “Not your best move showing off in a public arena.”

  “I didn’t know what I was doing.”

  “That’s obvious.” Hailey’s lips drew up in a smug smile.

  “Continue, Hailey,” Emil ordered.

  “Since that point, they have monitored all of your family. They have detailed notes, pictures, and information on your mother, your father in the VR coma, even your boyfriend’s family.”

  Ari straightened, remembering the folders VisionTech had on the people for Ari to impersonate. She was just like Kari, her life scrutinized to the last detail. It was no accident when Dave ran into Ari and Reed on their date. They must have been watching her at school. “What about the people I impersonate?”

  “That varies. No one has seen Kari personally. So that usually means she’s hidden away in some induced coma of some sort.”

  “Is it possible they paid her to leave?” Ari hoped some of what Niomi said was true.

  “Anything’s possible,” Hailey laughed. “But you’re still not asking the right questions.”

  Ari leaned back and thought for a moment. She wanted to know the truth about VisionTech but that seemed impossible. Not until she talked to Kari herself. That may be impossible now, but maybe one day. She did think of one thing.

  “What about your powers? How can you manipulate this world so easily?”