Hard Wired Trilogy

by DeAnna Pearce

  Glancing around her, Ari began to load the firmware. It took a couple minutes, during which Ari prayed the tech would be compatible. Something stirred behind her, and Ari jumped and spun around. The old man in the nearby chair mumbled something. With his eyes closed, she could see the movements behind those closed lids. She exhaled a breath. He was still plugged into his own world.

  As she turned back to the computer, Blur and the woman’s conversation drew closer. The program continued uploading, as Ari swore under her breath. This old tech moved so slow.

  The competition box flashed, and Ari exited the screen, removing the USB. The manager entered the room with Blur as Ari slipped the drive into her pocket. Her hands trembled with nerves.

  “Can I help you?” The woman asked in a heavy accent.

  “Just waiting for you.” Ari turned to Blur.

  “Let’s get going then.” Blur laid down in the chair.

  Ari gave him one last look and saw his eyes swimming with emotion at what they were about to do.

  “Of course.” Climbing into the chair, she plugged in and melded into the program.

  Ari had spent so much time in VLEX while she was working for VisionTech that the world became intimately familiar to her. So, as she awoke in the program, she immediately recognized her surroundings as the center of town. Her skin was that of a woman, not too far from her own nationality. Harini had given them the skins of junior diplomats from the same country.

  Blur and Ari didn’t have time to waste in the program, since the people who really owned these skins were only offline for lunch breaks. Blur took off, his pace a little too fast. He excelled at hacking and coding, but maybe not so much at wearing others’ skins. The goal was to blend in, not sprint across the square.

  She hurried to catch up. “Let’s not draw too much attention to ourselves.”

  “We’re on a timeline,” he said, but slowed his pace a bit.

  As they headed to the industrial section of VLEX, filled with tall buildings and offices from all over the world, Ari gave him a slight tap as she veered to the correct building. While he may know the code part better, she knew the layout. Maybe that’s why Patrick placed her with Blur.

  They found President Salomon’s office and stepped on the elevator. From their previous research, Ari knew she was an older woman who had worked hard. She was the president of a smaller country in the South Americas but had proved herself through years in world politics, and was recently elected to be Vice President of the United Federation of Virtual Countries.

  Arriving at her office, they were prepared for a variety of scenarios they went over last night. Starting with basic and proceeding to them using their power and forcing a download through her connection. That was the last resort, of course. Most people would take that as a full attack. Either way, she was going to get that file and hear them out.

  “Hello,” a young male assistant greeted them as they entered the office. His dark hair was styled to perfection, matching his sharp suit. “How can I help you?”

  “We have a meeting with President Salomon.” Ari took lead on the conversation. She showed him her credentials and waited for him to search for a meeting that she never scheduled.

  “I can’t find anything on the calendar.” He scanned the screen in front of him. “I would have remembered anything from your office.”

  “Check again.” Blur stepped forward. “We must show her edits from the BIO 2B bill. It’s going up this afternoon, and it’s important she sees it beforehand.”

  “One minute.” The assistant turned to his computer and typed on the keyboard with the speed of a hummingbird.

  Blur manipulated the code while the assistant continued to work.

  Finally, he turned to them. “I must have missed it before. Odd. She can see you right now for a few minutes.”

  They were escorted to her office. The bland professional décor of her office highlighted a large picture of a woman with her hand lifted in the air. Her face had a sad yet inspiring look to it. Ari wished she had the time to learn the story about that picture.

  President Salomon moved from behind her desk. Her short black hair curled around her face as her dark serious eyes watched them. Her file said she was around fifty, she looked a lot young inside—most people do.

  The woman reached forward to shake their hands. “Hello. I’m sorry I don’t have time to sit down with you. Hopefully, you can understand given that the session is about to close. I didn’t know there was any additional input for the BIO 2B bill.”

  “We won’t waste your time. There is something you need to see.” Blur handed over the paper file he created on the way up.

  In a virtual, a file could be transferred in a variety of methods, but for this purpose they felt giving her the paper form would be the fastest for her to read. As she opened the file, an alarm sounded throughout the entire VR realm.

  Ari’s heartbeat spiked and she glanced around. If Maxim wanted a fight, Ari was ready to give it to him. The freshly buried rage began to surface. But no one appeared as the alarm continued its incessant screaming.

  The assistant arrived in the doorway of the office. “President, we need to leave.”

  Beep. Beep. “This is not a drill. Please evacuate as soon as possible.” An announcement sounded from overheard. “This is not a drill.”

  “Is this because of you?” the president asked, looking between them.

  Ari had to hand it to President Salomon, she was made of strong stuff to not run at the first sound of trouble. Ari’s heart raced as she wondered who in their team set it off. She prayed it wasn’t them.

  “Maybe,” Ari said. “The powers that rule this realm don’t want you to see what’s in that file.”

  “Is it about the virus?” The president didn’t move to open it.

  “Yes.” Blur remained where he was, his hands open with vulnerability. “It shows the murder, illegal money and weapons laundering, and human trafficking that the VLEX board members are knowingly let happen. And the virus Maxim unleashed on India.”

  “Maxim? As in the new board member?” Her eyes narrowed. It was obvious she wasn’t a fan of that name. “You don’t work for President Torres’s office? Who are you?”

  Ari stepped forward. “I’ve worked in VLEX long enough to understand that you’ll want to know what’s in that file. You fight for the underdog. You fight for your country. Please fight for it now.”

  The woman nodded. As she started to read the file. She scanned the first sheet, the surprise evident on her face. As she turned the page, it fluttered to the ground along with the rest of the folder. She collapsed in front of them, gripping her temples.

  Her assistant hurried forward.

  Ari rushed to her side and yelled at the young man. “Go! Now! Pull her out.”

  He left with no hesitation and within seconds the woman followed.

  Kneeling on the ground, Ari tried to reel her breath back in. With most of the people in VLEX gone with the evacuation, Maxim must be targeting whoever was left. Taking a moment to look into the code, Ari realized someone had been testing Ari and Blur’s defenses. Attacking them without successes, and eventually they stopped.

  But while Blur and Ari used safe VR machines, this woman hadn’t. Ari prayed Salomon made it back in one piece. She wasn’t exposed for long.

  Standing, Ari turned to Blur. “Do you think she saw enough?”

  “Maybe.” Blur’s eyes turned icy cold but vacant, as if he watched code float by. “It looked like she downloaded the file before she was attacked. I’m not sure the file got across with the virus, but she should survive.”

  With Ari’s heart racing, she searched the code herself. “Where is everyone else?”

  “Patrick and Harini are in the building over. The others are already gone.”

  Ari stood up. “I know we should go. You should go. But if Patrick and Harini are still here, they may be in trouble. I’m going to stay.”

  “Me too.” His hand remai
ned clenched and his anger almost had a hungry feel to it.

  They would need that anger, Ari thought.

  They could have gone down the elevator and walked over to the other building, but they were warpers. And with most of the inhabitants of the program gone, they had nothing to hide. Ari concentrated on the code and found Harini and Patrick. Within seconds, Blur and Ari appeared next to Harini and Patrick.

  They stood in a large conference room across from Maxim, the only person to wear his true face. Blur tensed at the sight of him. She was surprised Harini and Patrick remained inside. They all were supposed to leave after delivering the information. This was an unexpected departure to the plan they had, but maybe it would work in their favor. Ari itched to tear him apart.

  “Oh, I see some more friends showed up. All the better,” Maxim said with a smile.

  Chapter 32

  Maxim waved a hand towards the chairs that surrounded the sleek table. It appeared like a typical conference room with seating for fifteen or so people and a food cart in the corner. Boring in comparison to Maxim’s normal digs. But the thirty-story view overseeing VLEX was more his style.

  “Please have a seat.” Maxim wore his black hair short with a neatly trimmed beard. This time, though, he wore a dark suit and a striped tie that spoke of money.

  His pleasant demeanor unsettled Ari. Did he think he still had the upper hand? She scanned the code and found an impressive defensive code built around him. She wondered how he’d feel about all those programmers he hired when they tore that code to shreds.

  When no one moved, Maxim repeated the invitation with a smile. “Please. We don’t want to hurt you.”

  Ari glanced at Patrick who nodded his approval, and she moved to take a seat. Blur was the only one that remained standing, she could feel him at her back. In the VR, warpers could attack just as easily sitting or standing, but it was hard for Ari to sit still and pretend to be cordial with this murderer.

  “I’m grateful for the opportunity to talk for a moment. I believe we’ve met before,” Maxim flashed a smile at Ari.

  A cold chill scratched along her spine. He shouldn’t have known it was her; she’d worn a different skin last time they met. She didn’t give him the satisfaction of agreement.

  He crossed his legs and leaned back in the chair. “You’ve created some problems for us in the VR realms.”

  “You caused them when you started treating people like price tags,” Blur said from behind.

  Without losing his smile or missing a beat, Maxim continued. “I know we’ve disagreed on certain things, but it doesn’t mean we can’t get along.”

  Blur started again, but Patrick lifted a hand to silence him. “No, we disagree on most of the things you do. So, how do you suggest we, as you put it ‘get along’? I’m not going to let you continue this genocide until everyone bows to you.”

  Maxim shrugged. “You know what I’m capable of. It doesn’t have to be this way. I’m willing to provide you all positions within my company. If you choose to decline my generous offer, I only ask for you not to return. I cannot guarantee your safely in any realm anymore.”

  “I’m not interested in employment or compromise.” Patrick kept his hands still on top of the table, with a patience Ari couldn’t feign. “We alerted a variety of diplomats to your activities and illegal behavior. You’ll be done. There will be other realms that the world uses to host the governments.”

  “One realm is just as easy to overthrow as another. And while there may be a rumor of danger in the realms, the world would never give up on virtuals. It’s the break, the drug, the love, and the living everyone is scared to do in the real world. Everyone’s life is a pathetic shell in comparison.” Maxim sat up now, straightening his suit jacket before continuing.

  “I’m not worried about the diplomats or gamers you thought you alerted. You can keep trying, and I’ll keep putting you in your place. You guys aren’t leaders. You’re the worker bees created for the good of all. And you’re dying off quicker than you can repopulate. And while your gifts are valuable—”

  “How did you know about the others?” Ari couldn’t fathom where he got the information on the mission so fast. There was no way he could have known… or was there?

  “People find security in working for us.” He kept a pleasant grin pasted on, as if he was a child holding onto a secret. “My offer for employment wasn’t false. One of your friends has already taken me up on it.”

  Ari spun towards the others. Did that mean what she thought it did? Someone on their team worked for Maxim? No. No one could ever stoop that low. Fury etched deep in every line on Patrick’s face as he pieced together the traitor before Ari could. His hot gaze rested on Harini.

  “Harini?” Patrick voice sounded vulnerable. “I thought we were family.”

  “A family that hides out in the woods? And, what? You’re the dad, feigning no romantic interest in anyone until she shows up?” She motioned to Ari with her chin. Harini pushed back from the table tears in her eyes.

  “Don’t.” Patrick reached a hand towards her. “They’ll use you up and then what?”

  “Then I’ll have the money to rest comfortably. Not bumble around like Sketchy.” Harini’s hands trembled with emotion.

  “You don’t get to even say his name. Not anymore,” Ari said, her throat tight with rage. Harini had been the first person she really bonded with on the team, the first person she really trusted. “This isn’t about money. Why did you do this?”

  “You haven’t been around long enough to know what it’s really about. It’s been the golden era since you arrived. And you’re so not worth it.” The contempt on Harini’s face was etched into ugly lines as she stood to move into the chair next to Maxim.

  Patrick paused for a moment. In the real, he was closest to Harini if he wanted to stop her. It depended where he thought the biggest threat was. She already made her decision and betrayed the team. What more could there be? Turning back to the others, Patrick still had his mask in place, only now it had an edge to it.

  Ari could feel Blur grip the back of her chair. Having been around longer than Ari, Harini must have known what Blur and his sister went through with Maxim and she still chose to betray everyone.

  Reeling in shock, frantic thoughts of all the implications of Harini being a traitor spun through Ari’s mind. Did she tell Maxim when Ari and Tricky went inside VLEX? Was Tricky hurt because of her? She remembered Harini’s help while Tricky struggled in her coma. Was it guilt? Ari blinked back the outrage and fury at Harini and concentrated at the bigger threat.

  There wasn’t time to think about Harini. This meeting wasn’t over. Not at all. One of the most dangerous people in the world sat across from them with a smile on his face and, because of Harini, he knew where they all lived.

  Maxim let them soak in the betrayal and then continued. “Would you three please reconsider my offer? I value your gifts. Mankind always has a dark side. If we can monitor it and keep it under control, mankind benefits in the real.”

  “Really?” The disgust turned Ari’s stomach. With losing her dad to a VR addiction, she had firsthand knowledge of the darker side of the VR. “Don’t try to tell us that dark dealings are for the benefit of mankind. They are for the benefit of your pocketbook. I’ve seen what you do.” She had studied him enough with Tricky and those nightmares were hard to shake off.

  “That is all I can offer.” Standing, Maxim dusted his hands as if he got dirty by just associating with them. “Please head our warning, we may not be allies, but we don’t have to be enemies.”

  Patrick stood as well. “If you think I’m going to let you steal my people, filling their heads with poison and lies—”

  While Patrick continued his string of attacks on Maxim, Blur began slowly tearing apart Maxim’s defenses. Concentrating on the code around them, Ari witnessed Blur’s beautiful anger. Though he was systematic in not triggering an alarm, he forgot that Maxim now had a warper on his arm.

>   Harini pushed back, challenging Blur. But no one usually got the upper hand on Blur’s speed.

  She motioned to Maxim. “We need to leave.”

  He chuckled, obviously not ready to admit defeat. With the tools and power at his disposal, he posed a major threat. And who knew what Harini was willing to do for him.

  Maxim tried to attack Blur with the virus. The code fell away, doing nothing. Maxim’s eyes widened in fierce anger. It didn’t faze Blur. He continued towards him, wiping away the business room, the expensive décor, and pointless office.

  Ari continued to watch Harini, making sure she didn’t interfere. The hatred built and soon she realized she was on her feet walking towards the traitor. She didn’t know what she would do and didn’t care.

  Harini stepped backwards, then in a last ditch effort flung something at Patrick and left the VR. Confused at why she left so easily, Ari turned to find Patrick was on the ground, hands clasping his temples. Harini had infected him with the virus.

  The moment of strength she felt stalking her prey shattered on the ground as she sprinted to Patrick’s side. She shouted to Patrick, gripping his shoulders. Why wouldn’t he leave?

  The pained expression remained on his face, and he struggled to not call out. Ari scanned the code and the familiar virus flowed into him. Searching the code, she found what kept him there. A small line of characters that kept him tied to the program. It was something she had never noticed before. Similar to what Tricky had, and Ari could do nothing to change it. Why didn’t the old tech protect Patrick?

  Harini. She set him up. He was supposed to be on the old tech, but if Harini was his partner who knew if she installed the right firmware to protect him. She knew he would die in here while she ran away.

  Fighting down the rising panic, Ari continued working in the code. Despite her efforts, she couldn’t touch the virus that ate away at Patrick’s mind. Blur appeared at her side, and with a quick glance she realized that Maxim had left too. Her chest tightened as the seconds ticked by, Patrick’s eyes now dark and unfocused.