Upgrade (Augmented Duology Book 2)

by Heather Hayden

  I covered my ears, not wanting to hear the last of that sentence, not wanting to admit to myself the possible truth about my friend’s fate.

  Dan wrapped an arm around my shoulders, and I leaned into him, grateful for the comfort.

  A crash came from the direction of the front door, followed by heavy footsteps in the hall. A man shouted, “Down on the floor! Anyone resisting arrest will be taken into custody by force!”

  I was halfway across the living room before I realized what I was doing. The window lock was stuck. I grabbed the tray from the coffee table, ignoring the crash of mugs, teapot, and plates on the floor, and slammed the metal through the glass.

  “Viki, what are you doing?” Dan demanded, grabbing my arm.

  The tray had bent from the force of going through the window, but it held as I used it to knock shards of glass from the edge of the frame. “I’m going to find Halle.” I tossed the tray aside and scrambled over the windowsill.

  Two men carrying guns burst into the living room.

  “Stop right there!” one of them yelled.

  Dan hopped over the sill, scooped me into his arms, and took off down the street.

  “What are you doing?” I demanded, glancing back toward the house. Over his shoulder, I could see Agent Smith wrestling with the guy in the window, trying to stop him from shooting at us. Then we turned a corner, and they were out of view.

  “Helping you,” Dan said. “Besides, the longer I stayed there, the more likely Chris would have used that EMP generator of his on me. Stop moving. This isn’t easy, carrying you and running.”

  “You don’t sound out of breath,” I grumbled but held still, arms folded against my chest. Every footfall was a bone-jarring thud, but we were moving faster than I could have. “You’re definitely going to get kicked off the track team.”

  Dan made a sound something between a laugh and a choke. “I don’t think I’m going to be able to stay on it, anyway. They know what I look like. Sooner or later, someone’s going to take me back to where I came from, and then they’ll just…erase me. Or my memories, at least.”

  “I’m not going to let that happen. We’ll figure something out, I promise.”

  “Let’s focus on getting Halle back. If it’s still alive.”

  “It is.” It has to be.

  Chapter Seventeen

  There were no cars in my driveway, but I still made Dan sneak around to the back door with me, just in case someone was inside. The door squeaked as I closed it, and I winced. I held my breath for a long moment but heard nothing.

  “I think it’s safe,” I whispered.

  “Halle?” Dan called, his voice not much louder than mine.

  No response came. I released the air in my lungs. “House, dim the kitchen lights.”

  When nothing happened, I frowned. “The house network must be down completely.” I took a few steps across the kitchen floor. “I’ll go check my computer. Maybe Halle’s hiding there.”

  “Let me go first.” Dan pushed ahead of me, then stopped. “Looks like something happened to your kitchen robot.”

  I peered around him. The cylindrical robot was lying on the ground, arms and legs askew. Had the agents damaged it? I walked over, leaned down, and pressed the button that would reboot its systems. If it was still functioning, it would be online in a minute or so. A whiff of smoke made me frown. Had the robot’s circuits fried? What could have caused that?

  Something beeped, and I jumped.

  “The fridge,” Dan whispered, though he looked as startled as me. The beep had been nothing more than its door-open warning sound. He went over and started to close the door, then grabbed the carton of orange juice before shutting it. “Thirsty,” he said in response to my quizzical expression.

  I nodded and poked my head out the kitchen door. No sound of movement. The smell of smoke was less strong in the hallway. Opening the door further, I stepped into the hall. Behind me, the kitchen robot beeped as it came online. I froze in the doorway, but no footsteps headed for the kitchen. A few seconds later, the beeping stopped.

  “I’m not sure the robot’s working properly,” Dan murmured in my ear. His breath smelled like oranges.

  “It’ll have to wait. We need to find Halle. This way.” I headed up to my room.

  It was a mess. Papers, books, clothes, everything thrown about in a jumble. Just like it had been last time the government decided to intrude on my life. I grimaced, thinking of the shattered front door and trampled yard. Mom and Dad were going to be furious.

  Not that it mattered right now. I refocused on my current goal, picking my way across my room to settle in my desk chair.

  My computer sat on my desk like it always did. It turned on without any difficulty, but the screen was devoid of any cat avatars, white, black, or otherwise.

  “Halle?” My heart dropped into my sneakers. I slumped in my chair. Halle couldn’t be gone. It couldn’t.

  “I’m sorry, Viki,” Dan said quietly, resting a hand on my shoulder.

  Gravel crunched outside—a car had landed. The agents again?

  “We need to go.” Dan tugged my arm.

  “No.” I jerked to my feet, slamming my hands down on the desk. “I’m not letting that rogue win this. I won’t.” I turned and stormed down the stairs, not caring about the racket I made. It would take the agents a few minutes to get inside. That gave me a little more time to find Halle.

  The scent of smoke was stronger now, and definitely coming from the kitchen. Had the robot’s fried circuits started a fire? I dashed into the room to find the robot turning off the oven. It opened the oven door, and I could see coal-black cookies sitting on a tray inside.

  Halle must have ordered it to make some for me when I got home from school. Tears pressed against my eyes. I should have stayed in the house and tried to help Halle earlier. If it was gone, it was all my fault. I choked back a sob.

  The robot turned away from the smoking stove and stopped when it saw me, then raised its hand and waved.

  For a long moment, I stared at the machine, then dove forward and wrapped my arms around its stocky metal body.

  “Halle!”

  “Viki? Is everything all right?”

  Glancing over my shoulder, I saw Dan standing in the doorway. He frowned at me, brow furrowed.

  “Halle’s in the robot, it’s got to be. It waved at me.”

  The robot waved at Dan as well, awkwardly as I had somewhat pinned the waving arm to its side. I moved back to give it more freedom. “Halle, we need to get you out of here. There are Government agents hunting us and Chris found Dan’s memories, but he didn’t break the code yet and we don’t know what’s going to happen.” I crouched a bit and stared into the kitchen robot’s cold orange optics. “You know what’s going to happen, though, don’t you?”

  The robot patted me on the shoulder, then rolled to the kitchen doorway. Dan took a few steps back.

  “We need to get it out of here,” I said. “Halle, through the back door!”

  The robot turned.

  “Viki?” Dad’s voice came down the hall, full of fear. “Viki, are you home?”

  Relief washed over me. It hadn’t been the agents outside. “Dad! In the kitchen!” On the one hand, he was not going to be pleased by the mess or by the knowledge I had kept a secret from him again, but on the other hand, he had a car, and right now, we needed transportation somewhere else as fast as possible.

  “What’s going on?” He came rushing down the hall and grabbed my shoulders. “Are you all right?” His hazel eyes scanned me for any signs of injury, narrowing at the sight of scrapes and bruises. “What happened?” His gaze shifted and landed on Dan. “Who is this?”

  “My friend Dan,” I said. “We need to get the kitchen robot into your car and take it somewhere it can access the Cloud.”

  “What?” Dad sniffed the air. “Is something burning?”

  “Cookies.” I pulled away from Dad and nudged Dan aside so the kitchen robot could roll
past. “Come on, I’ll explain on the way.”

  Dad frowned. “What do you need with the robot?”

  “Halle’s inside. We have to help it. Please, Dad, it’s important.” Every second we wasted was another Halle was stuck inside the robot, unable to do anything to stop the rogue that might already be putting its plan into action.

  His eyebrows drew together. “How did that happen? What’s going on?” Dad stood firmly in the hallway, blocking the robot’s movement forward.

  The words came tumbling out over one another in my haste to explain as quickly as possible. “I’m not sure how. There’s a rogue AI on the loose that Halle was helping Agent Smith track down, but I think it might have trapped Halle in the kitchen robot. The rogue AI was tortured like Halle, but it wants revenge on the people who tortured it, and whatever it’s planning probably isn’t going to be good, so we really need to get Halle somewhere it can get out of the robot and stop the rogue AI before something really bad happens.” I sucked in a deep breath and waited.

  Various emotions had played over Dad’s face during my outburst. His brow creased in confusion, his eyes widened in surprise then narrowed in anger, and his mouth twisted into a scowl. “Agent Smith came by again and you didn’t say anything to me about it?”

  I shook my head. “Sorry, Dad. You and Mom were so stressed with work… I didn’t want to make things worse. I know I should have told you, but I didn’t think it would take Halle long to track down the rogue AI.”

  Dad’s frown deepened. He ran a hand through his red hair, then pointed at Dan. “Where does he fit into all of this?”

  “I’m a military cyborg the rogue AI stole and programmed to infiltrate Viki’s school,” Dan said.

  I face-palmed.

  Dad’s eyebrows raised. “This isn’t the time for jokes. Viki—”

  “Later, Dad,” I interrupted. “We need to go now.”

  “The government agents will be back soon,” Dan agreed.

  Dad took a step to the side. “Get the robot in the car. You can answer the rest of my questions while we’re on the move.” He scowled at Dan. “You, go home.”

  “We might need his help,” I said, already ushering the kitchen robot down the hall.

  Dan moved to follow me, and Dad grabbed his arm. “I said…” Dad’s voice died, and he looked down at his hand. “You’re an Upgrader?”

  Dan glanced at me. I shook my head helplessly. Dad would not be pleased if I lied again, but at the same time, I didn’t want to tell him the truth.

  “Bad accident.” Dan pulled his arm away.

  Dad stared at him for a long moment. “All right, you two get the robot in the car. Dan, is it? If you know what’s good for you, you’ll sit in the front seat where I can keep an eye on you.”

  “Yes, sir.”

  After a few tense moments of maneuvering the robot’s awkward body into the backseat, I got in beside it, Dad and Dan got in the front seats, and we were off. I breathed a sigh of relief and patted the kitchen robot’s shoulder.

  “We’re going to find somewhere safe to take you, Halle.” I looked up. “Where are we going, Dad?”

  “My lab.” Dad glanced in the rearview mirror, his eyes more serious than I had ever seen them. “Viki. Details. Now.”

  I gave him the short version, avoiding all mention of Dan’s true nature. If Dad thought it was a joke, better he believe that for now. When I got to the point of visiting Dr. Sandy, I explained that they had found files that might contain Talbot’s plans, but that they were currently encrypted and Halle might be able to decrypt them.

  “Should we take Halle to this Dr. Sandy’s place, then?” Dad asked, pulling to a stop at the corner.

  “No! He doesn’t know that Halle exists. We need to get Halle back in the Cloud, but I’m not sure how to do that.”

  There was a soft beep from the kitchen robot, and I turned to see the orange lights of its optics fade. My breath froze in my throat. “Halle? Halle!”

  “It is all right, Viki, I am fine,” Halle said, its voice coming from Dad’s car’s speakers. “Once I was clear of the house, I could access the Cloud again. Forgive me for taking so long, I had some reassembling to do. I would really prefer not to fragment myself again.”

  “Halle!” Tears welled in my eyes again, but this time they were happy ones. “I knew you were alive!”

  “I will admit I was somewhat concerned you would not discover my hiding place, but you did. Thank you.”

  Dad glared at his sound system. “Halle, when we agreed to let you stay at our house, my wife and I were under the impression that as part of the family, you would treat us with respect. Both you and Viki went behind our backs to work with Agent Smith. I’m disappointed with both of you.”

  “I am sorry. I underestimated Talbot. That will not happen again.”

  “What’s its plan, Halle?” I demanded. “You know what it is, right?”

  “I do. I want you and your father to find a safe place to stay for a bit. Agent Smith might be able to help; I have messaged him that you rescued me and I will be handling the situation now. There is not much time left.”

  “What can I do to help?”

  “Stay safe. I will contact you as soon as I can.”

  The car beeped, signaling an incoming call.

  “Answer it,” Dad said.

  “Mr. Wandel? This is Agent Smith—”

  “What the hell were you thinking, dragging my daughter into this mess?” Dad shouted over whatever the agent was trying to say. “She’s a minor!”

  “I’m aware—”

  “I’m going to see you in jail if it’s the last thing I do, you—” Dad launched into a tirade of swear words.

  Dan and I shared a glance.

  After a few minutes, Dad ran out of new words and breath. Agent Smith took the chance to jump in again.

  “I apologize for the subterfuge. It was a necessary precaution.”

  “Necessary precaution, my—”

  “Dad,” I interrupted. “I was just covering for Halle, because he needed its help and he didn’t want the Government to know Halle was still around.”

  I quailed under the dark look he gave me. “Young lady, you are in huge trouble, and as for Halle…”

  “Mr. Wandel, you are welcome to call me whatever you like, but I’ve promised Halle to protect both you and your family. In order to do that, I need you to join me at Dr. Sandy’s residence.”

  “What about the other agents?” I protested. “Won’t they try to arrest me again?”

  “That situation has been defused. You will be safe here.”

  “What about my wife?” Dad asked.

  “She is working at the hospital, correct? She will be safe there.”

  Dad was squeezing the wheel so tightly I was surprised his knuckles hadn’t popped out of his white skin yet. “Do we have a choice?”

  “No.”

  Dad got the address and took the next left, his foot heavy on the accelerator. Except for another quick, shared glance, Dan and I didn’t move or even speak until we arrived less than ten minutes later. I was happy to get out of the car—the tense silence had not made for a pleasant trip.

  The black cars were no longer in the driveway, except for the one Agent Smith had driven. He let us in, seeming unperturbed by Dad’s unwavering glare.

  I looked around. “Where did the other agents go?”

  “Agent Newman overstepped his bounds in ordering them to arrest you. I spoke to our superior, who issued orders for them to stand down until I tell them to mobilize.”

  Well, that’s one problem solved. “What’s going to happen now?”

  “Halle contacted me to tell me that the rogue will be doing something soon, but your AI friend wouldn’t give me the details, only that it was certain it could handle the situation.” Agent Smith led the way to the living room. “You can stay in here for now. Chris is still trying to decipher Dan’s memories. I didn’t want to tell him that I had another source that had alre
ady done so. It would lead to too many questions.”

  “Dan’s memories?” Dad’s eyebrows drew together in confusion.

  I winced. Maybe I should have told him the truth earlier.

  “The cyborg’s, yes.” Agent Smith glanced at me and frowned. “Given Viki’s expression, I take it she didn’t tell you everything about her friend.”

  Dan leaned close to my ear. “I’m sorry. I have to go.”

  What? “Dan?” I turned, but he was already racing back down the hall. My heart thudded with each footstep he took. “Wait!” I chased after him, skidding to a halt as the front door slammed in my face. Yanking it open, I shouted his name again. He had already vanished down the street. A chill ran down my spine. Was this Talbot’s doing? It can’t be. He broke free. Right? Or was it all a ruse?

  “Viki!” Dad halted just behind me, grabbing my shoulder, probably in an attempt to stop me pursuing my friend. Not that I planned to—I had no idea where Dan had gone. My father looked up and down the street. “Why did he run off?”

  “I don’t know.” I slammed the door. “He didn’t say.”

  Agent Smith cursed and pulled out his phone. “It must be the rogue AI. Whatever its plan is, it’s making its move now.” He tapped away at his phone.

  My fingers curled into fists. “What’s going to happen? What are you doing?”

  “I’m telling the agents to mobilize. If the cyborg means to harm anyone, they’ll stop him.”

  “They’ll kill him!” I reached for the door, but Dad grabbed my wrist.

  “You aren’t going anywhere,” he snapped. “And you lied to me earlier about your friend. Why?” His expression was mixed anger and disappointment.

  I couldn’t hold his gaze. Looking at the floor, I shook my head. “You laughed it off when Dan told you the truth… It was easier to just let it go. I didn’t want you to be concerned.”

  “Should I be? It sounds like he’s dangerous.”

  “He’s not!” I glared at Agent Smith. “He’s not under Talbot’s control.” My words were less convincing than I had hoped they would be…partly because I wasn’t completely sure they were the truth.