I felt the blood drain from my face. If I pressed the button I would kill Rogan?
No. That couldn't be possible.
"It would be better if this was being taped," Gareth said, almost regretfully. "The subscribers would all tune in to see this. Such a waste of good entertainment."
He pressed a button on the remote control and Rogan yelled out in pain again.
"Step away from the screen, Kira," Gareth said. "And Rogan will live."
"No!" Rogan gasped through his agony. "Do it, Kira. Launch the program. Don't worry about me."
I chewed my bottom lip. My brain was working overtime, going through all the scenarios that might occur. Press the button and nothing happens. Gareth has my psi abilities studied until he's bored with me and kills me anyhow. He changes Rogan into a monster like him. Or press the button and launch the antivirus, killing Gareth but also killing Rogan.
No. It was too much. I didn't know what to do.
My hand wavered from the screen. My arm ached from holding it up.
"Forget about me," Rogan urged in pain-filled gasps. "You have to stop him. It's not just me. He wants to take The Countdown and the implants wider, to Offworld. More people will be hurt. More will be killed."
He was glancing down at the floor in front of him as he spoke. I followed his line of vision to the gun he'd dropped when his implant kicked in.
The gun.
I could injure Gareth, not kill him. Just incapacitate him long enough to figure something-
Gareth took his finger off the button as he noted where my attention had flickered to. With a soft sound of amusement he walked straight to Rogan, leaned over, and snatched the gun off the ground.
He inspected it, pulling out the chamber and gazing inside.
"Humans and their weapons," he mused. "So violent. So bloody." He smiled. "So very entertaining."
He turned, aimed, and pulled the trigger at Rogan.
I screamed.
Blood flowed red from the fresh wound in his shoulder. Rogan's teeth were clenched and his forehead drawn, but he hadn't made a sound when the bullet pierced his skin. He still couldn't move.
"I had my people injure you before," he snarled. "You would be dead right now if it wasn't for Jonathan's interference."
"I'm going to kill you," Rogan growled.
Gareth was inspecting the gun again. "If I'm counting correctly, I have ten more bullets available to me in this gun. I'm sure after the fifth or sixth you may start begging for your life. Kira? What do you think? Or would you prefer I continue to torture him through his implant?"
Tears slid down my cheeks. "Don't hurt him anymore. Please."
"But don't you understand yet? You're the one who's hurting him now. Every moment you wait will cause him that much more pain. Do you really want the man that you love to experience such anguish?"
Kill me … Gareth had begged. Please.. I can't go on like this….
Rogan would be like that. Like the real Gareth once the artificial intelligence was uploaded to his implant. He would be trapped somewhere down deep. Always in pain with no chance for relief.
Either way I would have lost him forever.
"Do you want him to be in pain like this?" Gareth said again, louder. "I wouldn't wish this on anyone. The world I will create will be a perfect one, with no pain, no doubt, and no fear."
"Being human means that you have to feel pain and doubt and fear, Gareth." I blinked and more tears splashed to my cheeks. "But that doesn't always make it a bad thing."
"Do it," Rogan said, his words a raspy, pain-filled croak.
Gareth raised the gun again.
"I love you, Rogan," I said softly, and then touched the screen's enter button.
CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE
A long string of code that I didn't recognize or that, in my opinion, didn't make any sense began to flow down the screen.
That seemed to be the only change that occurred since I had pressed the button.
After another moment the screen froze and two lines of readable type appeared, surrounded by asterisks.
***************************************
ELLIS ENTERPRISES HACKED.
REVENGE IS SWEET BY NUCLEARXXX.
***************************************
Then, to add insult to injury, a picture of Joe appeared, giving his Web cam a very clear shot of his raised middle finger.
Just a prank? He'd given us a disk with a stupid prank on it?
I felt a wave of nausea flooded over me and I fought it. I'd known that it was a long shot at best.
Rogan was still alive. The thought mixed some relief in with the horrible feeling of dread.
"Twit," Gareth said, and it was directed at me. He laughed and, if you asked me, looked somewhat relieved. "I told you that you couldn't stop me with some ridiculous progra-"
He stopped talking and frowned. Then he cleared his throat.
I glanced back at the screen. The image of Joe was gone again and was replaced with more of the scrolling computer code.
Gareth brought a hand to his head.
"Not feeling so hot all of a sudden?" I asked.
"I… I'm not-not… sure."
I studied him. "I think maybe an antivirus is a lot like the chicken soup my mom used to make for me when I was sick with a cold. Sometimes you're so stuffed up that you can't taste it right away. Takes a minute."
His hand that was holding the gun was shaking.
The code raced on the screen.
"A big black hole," I said to him, the fear I'd been feeling slowly being replaced by a line of rage so hot that it began to burn through my pores. 'That's all I saw when I read you. You have no soul. You're nothing but a fucked-up computer program. I can't even feel sorry for the fact that you're being deleted right now, because you don't even really exist."
"Bitch!" He lurched the gun up and shot at me. "I'm going to kill you!"
I leaped out of the way, and the bullet smashed through the display screen behind me. It sputtered and smoked and the screen went black, but a small green light pulsed in the corner where the disk was. The antivirus was still working even without the display, sinking further into the Ellis Enterprises network.
There was silence for a few solid moments.
Then Gareth screamed and dropped to his knees.
"Rogan!" I called, staring across the room to where he still stood in place.
But Rogan clutched his head and his eyes went wide. He yelled out in pain, and the sound of it pierced through me like an arrow to my heart. Then the sound of the Ellis security alarm started up, so loud that I felt it like a slap shuddering through my entire body.
'The disk!" Rogan shouted. "Kira, you have to remove it from the server! It's doing too much damage. My… my implant-"
His eyes rolled back into his head and he collapsed to the floor.
Then every light in the room went off as the power in the entire building shut down and the alarm stopped ringing.
I dropped to my knees. I moved my gaze around, but I couldn't see anything. Nothing. Everything was black.
"Rogan?" I whispered. "Are you … are you still there?"
I was answered only by complete silence.
Total darkness and total silence. It was like being dead. Maybe I'd died. Maybe we were dead and this was what it was like. Maybe there was no heaven. Maybe this darkness was all there was.
I couldn't save my family in the darkness. I was a coward, and I'd crawled under my bed to hide while I listened to them die.
And now it was the same. I was petrified. Unable to move. And I couldn't do anything to save Rogan. I'd killed him. It was my fault.
I was shaking, and I grabbed my knees and drew them closer to me.
There's still hope. We 're not dead yet.
I shook my head. No. It was over. I couldn't do anything. I was too afraid.
Just pretend there's a countdown, a small part of me thought weakly.
I had to get the antivirus
disk out of the display screen. It was in the server. The server must still have energy and it was frying the implants.
It was killing Rogan, but he might still be alive.
He's dead.
No, I thought firmly. He might still be alive. There's still hope.
Countdown. Come on, I prompted myself. The darkness was nothing. It doesn't mean anything. It has no power over me anymore. I'd been through too much with Rogan to give up now over something like a little darkness.
I began to count down in my head.
Fifteen.. fourteen… thirteen…
I squeezed my eyes together and breathed out in a great huff. And then I pushed myself halfway up and began crawling. I wasn't sure which way was which anymore. I felt along the floor until I found the leather sofa. Until my hands passed over the gold Buddha.
Then the wall, smooth and cold. I smelled smoke, acrid in my nostrils.
Up farther and farther.
Nine… eight… seven…
I could hear my sister screaming.
I pushed the memory away.
Think of Rogan. Rogan is here. He's here right now.
Five… four… three…
The edge of the display screen. I felt the sharp edge of the broken glass of the screen cut my finger. Along the side. Yes, there. The green light pulsed dimly next to the slot I'd shoved the disk into. There was a little release button. I pressed it and the minidisk slipped out and into my hand.
I slid it into my pocket and got back down to the floor, moving quicker now. I was searching for him. Searching for Rogan through the darkness.
"Where are you?" I whispered, my voice catching on the words.
There was no answer.
I tried to picture the room in my mind. Pretend that it was still light in there. I saw where Rogan fell to the ground holding his head, and crawled toward him.
Hand over hand I felt my way along until finally I touched something. A boot. A big boot that seemed familiar. Up a calf and a leg to a hard-muscled stomach. Yes. Collarbone. Throat. Whisker-stubbled chin. Cheekbones. Nose. Lips.
My hands slipped into his hair and I pulled him up and against me. He wasn't moving.
"Rogan," I murmured. "Don't leave me. Not after everything we've been through."
I touched his neck, pressed my fingers against it. Tears of relief streaked down my face when I felt a pulse. Then through the darkness I found his lips and pressed mine against them.
A distant, fleeting memory came to me of a fairy tale my mother once had told me. "Sleeping Beauty." The handsome prince woke the beautiful princess up with the perfect kiss.
This is one fucked-up fairy tale I'm in, I thought absently.
Rogan gasped against my lips. I felt his eyelashes flicker against my face as he opened his eyes.
"Kira?" he said.
Happiness flooded through me. "Well, who else would molest you in the middle of a dark room?"
"I'll… I'll take that as a yes."
"You're alive."
"Is that a question?"
"I'm going to kick your ass." I said it sternly, but I couldn't keep the smile out of my voice.
"Take a number. I have a fucking bullet in my already injured shoulder. And my head is killing me."
"Mine too."
"What about Gareth?" he asked tentatively.
I rested my head against his chest. "He's gone. I'm sorry."
"I see." He was quiet for a long moment. "It's dark in here."
"Yeah, it really is."
"Aren't you afraid of the dark?"
"Petrified," I said.
"Just checking." Another pause, and I felt his arms come around my waist. "I'm surprised that the backup generator hasn't kicked in yet."
"Yeah. I'm thinking that Joe had a few more surprises on that disk than just the antivirus. The guy's a genius."
His fingers slid through my hair. "Maybe I should have hired him when I had the chance."
"If you had to go back and change one thing in your history, I'd say that you really should have hired him. Yes."
There was another pause. "But then I never would have met you."
My heart swelled and I kissed him again. After a moment I frowned and pulled away. "Okay, Rogan, are you double-jointed or something?"
"What do you mean?"
"How are you touching my sprained ankle right now?"
"I'm not touching your ankle."
A hand clamped down on my ankle and I screamed.
The lights flickered and then came on fully with a sick whirring sound.
Gareth was holding on to my ankle with an iron grip. He looked up at me, his eyes bloodshot, his face drenched with sweat.
Rogan scrambled away from me and grabbed the gun, pointing it down at the man.
"Let go of her right now!" he yelled.
"Rogan …" Gareth let go of my ankle and reached up toward Rogan. "Please …"
And then he slumped face-forward. Unconscious.
Rogan dropped the gun and fell to his knees at his brother's side, rolling him over.
"Gareth!" he said. Then he touched his chest, pressing down to feel the heartbeat. He turned to me. "He's still alive!"
I went to Rogan's side next to Gareth and studied the sleeping man with a mix of suspicion and hope.
After a couple of minutes his eyes flickered open and he looked up at us.
He blinked. "I thought I asked you to… to kill me, Kira."
I shrugged. "I don't take orders too well. Sorry about that."
He gave a small smile, and it looked as though it hurt him. 'The … the antivirus …"
Rogan nodded. "It was Jonathan's plan. And it worked. It actually worked."
"I'm … I'm so sorry, Rogan. I'm sorry for everything."
He shook his head. "None of this is your fault; it's mine. I brought this all on myself. But it's over. It's finally over."
I held on to Rogan's arm. "I don't know much about computers, but I think the antivirus just wiped out your entire system."
Gareth raised his hand and clutched Rogan's. "We'll rebuild it. We'll make it better. I've been watching. Jonathan … he did some good research when he had the chance. Things that will help humanity. Help build Offworld into a truly wonderful place to live. Maybe even help repair some of the damage that's happened here at home."
Rogan gripped his brother's hand. "You really think we can rebuild?"
"Hell yeah, we can." Gareth smiled, and his eyes-the same color as Rogan's-twinkled. 'Thank God that monster didn't spend all of our money."
Rogan snorted. "Yeah, thank God."
"So you'll help me?"
Rogan nodded. "Of course I will." Then he looked at me. "Now we can all get what we've always wanted." He grabbed my hand and brought it to his lips.
"May I suggest something?" I asked.
"What's that?" Gareth asked.
"Consider putting your artificial intelligence research on indefinite hiatus?"
Gareth laughed softly. "It's a deal."
"And The Countdown is over," Rogan said. "Completely over. The implants will be disengaged across the board."
"What about the subscribers?" I asked.
Rogan raised an eyebrow at me. "Fuck the subscribers."
I laughed out loud at that.
"I totally agree." Gareth closed his eyes. 'The game was a disaster from beginning to end. A complete travesty. But I guess when all is said and done you could say that The Countdown did teach you one very important thing."
"Oh, and what's that?" Rogan asked.
He smiled and kept his eyes closed. "You two do make the perfect team."
CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR
It was about twenty-four hours after Ellis Enterprises' computer system had been breached by an imaginative and vengeful hacker that I stood on a train platform with Gareth and Rogan. No one else was there. It was a secret location known only to those who knew the right people.
I guess I did now.
I crossed my arms and
waited. Rogan stood silently next to me, with Gareth to his right.
The shuttle that would take me on my journey to Offworld would be there in a couple of minutes.
After the lights had come back on yesterday it was only a matter of minutes before security arrived at the subbasement room. Gareth was immediately taken to the hospital. So was Rogan. Both were treated for serious injuries.
I was also treated for more minor injuries, including my sprained ankle, which was now bound tightly and feeling much better. I required a few stitches for some of my nastier cuts and scrapes. An IV also helped to return my body to fairly normal working order.
Rogan and I hadn't had a single moment of private time.
Ellis Enterprises was in a major upheaval. An investigation was already under way of who could and could not be trusted. Those who couldn't be were fired on the spot. They deserved worse, as far as I was concerned.
It would take a lot of time and a lot of money to help rebuild Ellis Enterprises, especially now that it would cease its technology-based research program. Gareth and Rogan had come to a mutual agreement that they would now fund medical research. Not quite as sexy as shiny new computers, but ultimately more beneficial to mankind. They seemed single-minded in their quest to right their wrongs-Rogan of his past before he went to prison, and Gareth of the four years he'd spent as a prisoner in his own body.
Gareth had contacted an Offworld scientist who worked with Ellis Enterprises, and he would be at the other end to greet me. It was the same guy Jonathan had mentioned at the safe house. He'd help me adjust to my new environment. And he'd help me understand and develop my psi abilities, which were now classed as high-level.
And who knew? Maybe I would help out the police as a human lie detector one day. Sure. I could do that. I didn't know whether or not I actually had the power to see into someone's soul, but I was willing to keep an open mind about it. No pun intended.
Rogan wasn't coming with me.
He would be too busy helping his brother rebuild everything they'd lost.
I totally understood.
My throat constricted and tears stung at the backs of my eyes as I stood on the platform waiting for the shuttle with a big fake smile plastered on my face.
My new life was about to begin.
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