My Twig avatar shimmers as the code in the gorget washes over me. I look down. My breasts become triple Es. I’m wearing a skin-tight red vinyl leotard and matching knee-high boots. I’ve got blond hair pulled back into a tight ponytail and a waistline that wouldn’t be healthy on a Barbie doll.
I decide not to contemplate what Zed and Billy would do in an avatar like this.
I guess we couldn’t risk accessing our real VIs. Global would likely be monitoring those. Everyone in the Cube will know I’m not Naked. Naked avatars are exact replicas of their real-world owners. No one in the real-world can ever resemble my current avatar—at least, not without drastic cosmetic surgery.
What is Gun going to say when he sees me like this? Will I even get a chance to see him tonight? It’s not like we had an appointment. It’s been over a month since our last meeting in the Cube. How will he even recognize me?
I stand there for a moment, trying to decide what’s worse: having Gun see me in this skanky avatar, or not seeing him at all.
I bite my lower lip. I went to great lengths to get into Vex tonight. I can’t let a pair of triple Es and red vinyl stand between me and Gun.
“Site,” I say. “The Cube. Locker 266.”
41
Locker 266
MY PREP ROOM IN THE CUBE is exactly as I remember it: battered red lockers, a single lightbulb hanging from the middle of the ceiling, and a wooden bench bisecting the middle of the room.
A rough carving mars the bench: 32-13-18-N, 110-55-35-W. They’re coordinates to Gun’s location in the real-world. He gave them to me before I moved to the Dome.
My homecoming is interrupted by flashes of static, but I barely notice. I’m home. God, how I’ve missed this place.
Memories of the happy times I spent here come crashing back to me. Gun and I, lying side by side on the floor as we watched Merc reruns together. The two of us rifling through the weapons lockers, deciding which weapons to train with. Me whooping with delight after our first win over the Dread Twins. Gun’s sparkling blue eyes whenever he shared a triumphant grin with me.
The months I spent here were happy months. I miss them. So much has changed since then. I’ve changed.
A yearning for Gun opens up inside me like a crevice. We never traded numbers so there’s no way for me to query his Vex set. I’ve been so focused on getting back into Vex that I never thought past what I would do once I got here.
It wasn’t as if I imagined Gun wasting away in our locker room, waiting for me to come back. I’d hoped he’d have rigged the room with software to alert him if I showed up, but I never got a chance to ask him.
A bitter laugh breaks from my throat. I have one precious hour in Vex. Who knows when I’ll get the chance to come back? Half of the students from Virtual High must be on a waiting list. All this effort to see Gun and it might not even happen.
I slide down against a locker, pulling my knees up to my chest. The vinyl leotard creaks. I rest my forehead against my knees, feeling defeated. I’m such an idiot.
“Short Stuff?”
My chin jerks up. Gun stands in front of me, looking just as I remembered him: shiny shaved head; big, well-muscled shoulders and arms; and intense, dark blue eyes. He’s dressed in his customary white T-shirt and loose black pants.
“Gun?” I rise to my feet.
He peers at me, almost like he doesn’t recognize me. I recall my skanky avatar.
“Like the triple Es?” I gesture to my enormous breasts, swallowing around the lump in my throat.
His eyes never leave my face. “It is you,” he breathes.
The space between us disappears. He sweeps me up in an embrace, squeezing me tight and spinning me in a circle. A wordless sound of happiness escapes from between my lips. I don’t care that unanswered questions have created a chasm between us. I don’t care that he’s kept secrets from me. I don’t even care that I’m dressed like a skank. Gun is here.
“I’ve been so worried about you,” he says at last, putting me back on my feet.
“I got back into Vex as soon as I could. Global doesn’t make it easy.”
We sink onto the bench beside each other. I’ve spent weeks rehearsing this scene in my head, planning everything I wanted to say. Now that I’m here, my mind is blank.
“I’ve watched all your public appearances,” he says. “I couldn’t reveal myself, but I’ve been at every single one of them.”
“You have?”
“Of course. I’ve been keeping tabs on you as best I can. Sulan, I …” His voice trails off. “I have some things I need tell to you. How much time do we have?”
“Less than an hour. Daruuk only has two Vex sets, both of them homemade, and a whole bunch of students want to use them. Everyone who contributed to their construction is in rotation. There are others in line after us tonight.”
“Less than an hour.” Gun rubs his face. “That isn’t nearly enough time.” He meets my eyes. “Sulan, I haven’t been totally honest with you.”
I nod, letting out a breath. “I know. That was pretty obvious when you showed up at the League auction to rescue me and my friends.” I smile to let him know it’s okay. “I wasn’t totally honest, either. I never told you who I really was, or who my father was.”
“You won’t like what I have to tell you.” The muscles in his neck and shoulders bunch. “I care about you, Sulan. Do you believe me when I tell you I’m your friend?”
There’s something not right about him, Taro had said after Gun helped us kill Imugi. Isn’t some part of you wondering how he found you? How he got into an Anti-American League black-market auction? How he had access to an EMP bomb?
I swallow and brace myself, wondering what’s coming. I’ve rehearsed this scene in my mind, too. All of them end with Gun’s secret being something silly, like his avatar not really being Naked. Maybe in the real-world, he’s a skinny, pimply pre-teen or a fat old man. Or maybe he’s an undercover journalist looking for juicy stories from fringe Vex societies. I’ve prepared myself for these scenarios. For some reason, as I look at him now, I have a sinking feeling my suspicions are way off.
“You’re my friend,” I say, not sure if I am trying to reassure him or myself. “No matter what.”
“Yes. No matter what.”
Seconds pass, all of them silent. We stare at each other.
“I’ve only got forty-five minutes left,” I remind him.
“Right.” He draws a breath. “I risked a lot when I helped you at the League auction. I showed more cards than I wanted to.”
“How so?”
“Global keeps intimate tabs on all their assets. Before you moved to the Dome, your homes were bugged. I can’t say for certain, but I’d bet your homes in the Dome are bugged, too. Don’t imagine for a moment that anything you’ve done is a secret from the Winns.”
Before we arrived at the Dome, Dad said something about our apartment in San Francisco being monitored. My mind flicks to Dad and Aston and their secret meetings at the buffet. It would be hard to filter out private conversations in the cafeteria. And their occasional rendezvouses with Riska. If our homes are bugged, did they have some way to block the surveillance? Does Riska have something to do with that?
As the reality of my life in the Dome shifts, dread balloons within me.
Gun watches me intently. “You know I’m telling the truth.”
“Does that—does that mean the Winns might know about Daruuk’s homemade Vex set?” I shake my head, frowning. “That can’t be. They’d have shut us down weeks ago if they knew.”
“Not necessarily.” He gives me a searching look. “Not if they wanted one of you to go into Vex for a reason.”
“Why would they want any of us to go into Vex? They’ve done everything they can to keep us out.”
“I don’t know.” He laces his fingers together in his lap. “The point is, Claudine and Mr. Winn keep tabs on their assets. That’s what you are, Sulan. You and all your friends from Virtual High. Assets.�
��
He raises his chin, meeting my eyes. The determination I see there—the will to forge ahead into something unpleasant—makes me uneasy.
“I’ve been investigating Global for several years. You were a part of that investigation. I knew who you were when I chose you for a training partner. I knew who you were when you walked into the Cube. I followed you here.”
His words are like a slap in my face. They hurt more than I anticipated.
“So,” I say, my voice hoarse, “you didn’t pick me for a partner because you saw something special in me?” That’s what he’d told me, back when we first met. He quoted some famous Chinese general and flattered my fighting tactics, even though we both knew I’d performed horribly.
“I should have known,” I say, shaking my head. Anger and hurt pull at me.
“No, I saw something special in you,” he says. “Just not … just not your fighting skills. I was after your mind, Sulan. My company has … an interest in you. You were my assignment.”
“Your assignment?” I jump to my feet. The hurt is gone, dethroned by anger. “I was your assignment?” My voice rises.
“It’s not like that.” Gun gets to his feet. “I swear, Sulan, it wasn’t like that for me. At least, not once I got to know you.”
“Then what was it like?” I demand.
“My company wanted to see if you could be recruited. It was my job to find you. Assess you. Turn you against Global and bring you to my company if I could.”
My mouth hangs agape. My brain is scrambled, making it impossible to form a coherent thought.
“It started out as a job,” Gun says, “but after I got to know you, I couldn’t follow through. I told my company you were a Global loyalist, that there was no way to subvert you. I got a new assignment, but I continued to see you anyway.”
“Who—” I struggle to form a sentence, resisting the urge to punch him in the jaw.
“I’m your friend,” Gun says. “You have to believe me.” His blue eyes are earnest.
“Your company.” I have a sick feeling in my stomach. I’m pretty sure I know which company he works for. “Tell me the name of your company.”
Gun shifts. It’s a subtle movement, one most people wouldn’t notice. But I know him too well. That movement reveals how uncomfortable he is.
Everyone tried to warn me about him. God, I am the stupidest girl on the planet.
“What’s the name of your company?” My voice is shrill.
The door to our locker room is thrown open. Men in black Global uniforms swarm in, rushing toward us.
Standing in their midst, like a flower in the middle of a black vortex, is Claudine Winn. She’s dressed in a smart pastel pink business suit. Her makeup is perfect, her teeth a gleaming white.
What’s she doing here? I wonder stupidly.
42
First Date
THE NEXT FEW SECONDS pass in slow motion. Gun’s giant hand snakes forward and encircles mine. A black leather whip appears in his other hand. He flicks his wrist. The whip flies toward me, wrapping tightly about my vinyl-clad waist.
As soon as the tip touches me, Gun and I are sucked into the blue vortex of Vex. I glimpse the outraged face of Claudine before the blue blots her out.
We spin through cyberspace, Gun and I.
“Hold on, Short Stuff,” he says. “I’m taking us someplace we can talk.”
I nod to show him I understand, wrapping both hands around the taut whip that connects us.
“Site: Relaxation Room,” he says. “Authentication code X11Z217J.”
The blue vortex of Vex fades away. I find myself standing in an elegant living room. The floors are marble tiles. A fire burns in a marble hearth. Black leather wingback chairs sit in front of the fire.
“What’s going on?” I wriggle free of the whip. “What happened back there?”
I collapse into one of the wingbacks, pressing my hands to my temples. “How did Claudine find us? Daruuk is going to kill me!” I bury my face in my hands. “If she knows I’m in Vex, why doesn’t she yank me out? What’s with the cybermercs?”
I drop my hands and stare at the fire, mind racing. If Claudine knows I’m here, she must know how I got here. And if she knows about Daruuk’s modem, she’ll shut us down. All our weeks and weeks of hard work will be for nothing.
Daruuk isn’t going to just kill me. He’s going to torture me slowly first.
I groan again. What about Billy? Does Claudine know he’s here, too? Is he fending off cybermercs at this very moment?
That’s when I notice Gun’s silence. He sits beside me in the other wingback, tense lines around his face and eyes as he studies me. The whip hangs in a coil from one hand.
“Gun?”
Seconds tick by as he continues to study me. I frown, feeling uncomfortable under his scrutiny.
“Gun?”
“You didn’t know she was coming,” he says at last.
“Claudine? Of course I didn’t know she was coming. How could I?” My eyes narrow. “Did you think this was a set up?”
His silence is my answer.
Indignation rises in me. “Do you know what I did to get into Vex? To see you? I planted a Highjacker in Mr. Winn’s communication tower. Do you know what would’ve happened if I’d been caught? They probably would’ve chucked me out in the snow in nothing but my underwear. And they still might do that. Why would I risk everything just to hand you over to Claudine? Why does Claudine want you, anyway? Who are you?”
My voice rises steadily. By the time I’m done, I’m on my feet yelling in his face. He looks up at me, face expressionless. I don’t know if I’m more hurt or angry.
“Ever since the League auction, I’ve known you had your secrets,” I say. “I knew there were things I didn’t know about you. My friends all told me to be careful, but I defended you. I defended you! Because we’re friends. Doesn’t that mean anything to you?”
“I’m sorry.” His expressions spasms, emotion leaking across the planes of his face. “When you arrived in the Cube, I thought it might be a trap.”
“But you came anyway?”
“Of course.” A brief smile flickers across his mouth. “My Short Stuff was waiting for me. I had to see you, no matter the risk.”
My Short Stuff. Some of my anger fizzles out. When our eyes meet, I know he’s telling the truth. About that, at least.
“I’m sorry, Sulan.” He reaches a hand in my direction.
I step out of his reach. “I want to know what’s going on. Now. Who do you work for and why are they investigating Global?”
Gun sighs. “Why don’t you sit back down?” He gestures to the elegant wingback. “This is my private site. We’ll be safe here for a little while. So long as Claudine doesn’t yank you out of Vex in the real-world. I can’t protect you from that.”
It’s true. Claudine can yank me out of Vex anytime she wants. Well, Claudine can’t yank anything, but she can have someone else do the yanking. So this couldn’t be about me. She clearly knows what I’m up to. If she didn’t want me in Vex, I wouldn’t be here.
Gun is right. Our homes must be under surveillance. What other things could Claudine and Mr. Winn know?
“Sulan, will you please sit?”
I lower myself back into the chair, vinyl leotard creaking. “What’s going on?” I ask, my voice soft. “Tell me everything, Gun. Please.”
“When I befriended you in the Cube, I knew Claudine would have me checked out. She hacked my Virtual Identity. Or at least, she thought she hacked my VI. I set up an Infinity Mirror to hide my true VI.”
I nod. This, at least, coincides with some of what Claudine told me.
“Claudine’s tech guy was fooled,” Gun continues. “My record came up clean. Claudine was satisfied. When I exposed myself at the League auction, she realized her mistake. She was there, you know. She was the Grecian urn. Ever since that day, she’s been trying to track me down. She wants to know who I am. You’re only here tonight because C
laudine wants to find me. She’s using you.”
Things are starting to make sense. “She interrogated me for over an hour after she caught us together at the anarchist rally.”
He nods. “There’s something happening that’s more important than either of us. Lives are at stake. Thousands of lives. Global is at the heart of it. I need your help, Sulan.”
“How—”
A bolt of lightning stabs down through the middle of the room, exploding as it strikes the floor. I’m blinded by the light.
My chair is thrown through the air. I roll across the marble floor. Debris rains down. I blink, wiping grit from my face, and peer through the smoke and fire.
The room is in ruins. Gun’s wingback is in pieces. Shattered marble floor reveals the glowing blue of Vex underneath.
“Gun!” I shout. “Gun!”
“Sulan!”
I hear the sound of shifting debris. I push through the dust and smoke and spot Gun. He’s buried up to his neck in a pile of rubble. I skid to his side, heaving aside chunks of marble.
“I thought we’d have at least another twenty minutes before she figured out how to hack her way into this site,” Gun says. “She’ll be here any second now.”
He doesn’t have to tell me who she is. I know. Claudine.
“What if she pulls me out of Vex?” I say.
“I don’t think she will. She wants to catch me. You’re the only thing keeping me here.”
“Then go.” I make a broad gesture. “Protect yourself. Log off.”
In the back of my mind, I wonder if I’m a complete idiot. Why do I want to protect Gun? I don’t even know who he really is. Even so, I can’t stand the thought of anything happening to him.
Gun gives me a fierce look. “I came here to have a conversation with you. I’m not leaving until we’re through. She is not going to come between us anymore than she already has.”
With that, he heaves his massive shoulders. One arm emerges from the pile of rubble. The whip is grasped in his fingers.
Another bolt of lightning lances into the room. I’m thrown to the ground. When I open my eyes, I see Global cybermercs scaling down black cables into Gun’s site. Claudine, adorned with a pair of giant, pink feathered wings, glides down.
The Dome Page 24