Ari pulled her attention to the screen in front of her set into the bar. It was a directory of worldwide governments and companies wealthy enough to purchase permanent office space here. As she scanned the hundreds of names, the thought entered that VisionTech probably had an office here. She never went to it before because she was never supposed to be associated with them in any way.
Just as she thought, after scrolling to the bottom, she found a listing for VisionTech. They were in the electronic trade division not too far from here, even. She wondered how much she could look into VisionTech before getting noticed.
Popping back into the code, she now searched for VisionTech where she knew they would be. Unfortunately, they held all real information close to their chest. They weren’t dumb enough to do otherwise. Ari did make note of the listed CEO and contact representative for out in the real. It wasn’t much, but who knew.
Using the same method as she did with VisionTech, she scrolled for any of the shell companies that they knew that Maxim worked with, which turned out to be over twenty. When rich, immoral people want to hide things, they make it extremely complicated. On about her tenth name she was about to give up, but then found something. Windsor Corp traded stock from the Icy North of the Americas. It focused on European holdings. Maxim had used it several years ago, Ari remembered. It was a small company but knowing that it was big enough to get a holding in VLEX might mean something.
She stood and walked over to Tricky’s table, where she pretended to read a book. Those eyes were blank though, not taking in the table in front of her.
“Hi, do you remember me?” Ari extended a hand, keeping up the facade of their characters.
“Yes, it’s good to see you.”
“You too. I was just here for a meeting with Windsor Corp, but their representative stood me up.”
“That’s too bad. I just saw their information cross my desk.”
“Good to know.” Out of the corner of Ari’s vision, she saw an all-too familiar face.
Reed?
Ari looked out of instinct mostly, reflex like when someone looks just like your best friend and you can’t help but do a double-take.
As she turned, the familiar-looking guy with a strong jaw and light brown hair scattered with gold turned slightly to glance in a nearby window. This was no doppelganger. It was Reed.
Chapter 13
Heart speeding, reality ticked by like it always does, and Ari just stared. Reed’s hazel eyes scanned the store window as if he was looking for someone. For an instant, Ari wanted to strip her electronic skin and stand in front of him as herself. A woman on the street stole Reed’s attention, and his lips pulled up in a smile. God, Ari had missed that smile.
“I think I found something.” Tricky remained at the table, not aware of the significance of Ari’s silence.
“One second.” Ari walked out the storefront towards Reed. He had been in her thoughts every day since she lost him. What was he doing here? Why would VisionTech have him in VLEX?
Mere feet from Reed, she stopped. Was it a trap? VisionTech could have put him inside to get her. A trap she was tempted to walk into, damn the consequences. Biting her lower lip, she remembered her responsibilities and glanced at Tricky who looked focused and angry.
Ari struggled for a minute between finding out more about Reed and her responsibility to the team. He glanced up at her, as if feeling the weight of her gaze, and smiled. And for a moment she bought it, his soft lips drawing her in. Yet, something was off. There was no pull at the corner of his mouth that would make his smile a bit crooked. As he turned back to his conversation with the other woman, Ari noticed his stance looked off too, more relaxed. Reed would never be this relaxed in VLEX.
She blinked, focusing her vision to the code that surrounded her but couldn’t find much out. This was the skin he entered with. This person wearing Reed’s skin wasn’t a warper, but that was just like everyone else who come in. This was a skin, maybe with only the eyes changed or the whole package. Either way it wasn’t Reed. Or was it?
Ari. The pained words from Tricky pushed through Ari’s thoughts, a trick only warpers could do. Ari spun around and hurried back inside to find Tricky with her head in her hands.
Ari rushed to her side. “What’s wrong?”
Tricky voice came out in a pained, almost horse, whisper. “They are in my mind.” She looked up, her eyes bloodshot. “Get help.”
Again, focusing on the code, Ari couldn’t figure out what code was attacking Tricky. Something was keeping her friend trapped here in this program while it attacked her.
As she was trying to break the invisible chains on Tricky, the foreign code started towards Ari. A blinding pain started in her forehead. As a warper she could manipulate the code, change it as quick as a painter with a swipe of the brush. As she tried to delete the code that entered her mind, the pain increased. If Tricky couldn’t fight this, Ari didn’t know what she could do.
“Get. Help.” Tricky bit out the world, and Ari knew she meant Blur.
Ari pulled out of the program while she still could. Back in reality, spots danced in front of her vision. “Help Tricky!” she shouted as she yanked out her own cable.
“What’s going on?” Patrick rushed to Tricky’s side.
“Pull her out.” Ari almost fell out of her chair, and she fought the pain in her head to get to Tricky. “Pull out the cable!”
With a quick twist of hand, he pulled it out. He began to say something, but Ari could no longer understand him. All of a sudden, Marco was holding her as her legs turned to mush and the world spun dark around her.
Ari must have passed out, because when she woke she found herself lying on the ground. Her head was in Marco’s lap and Patrick stood over her, his eyebrows furrowed in concern. She felt alright, just a headache that often accompanied use of her abilities.
“What happened?” The words came out gravely and she wished for a cup of water.
“You passed out.” Marco’s brow rumpled with worry, an unusual look for him.
“I’m in the real. I’m back.” Accidentally speaking her mantra out loud, she wasn’t sure if those were questions or statements. Sitting up, her headache increased, but nothing unbearable.
“You’re in the real. What happened in there? Tricky is still out.” With gentle hands, Patrick helped her up and moved her to a nearby chair.
Sue, the best medic they had, and Blur, stood over Tricky. An IV was placed in her arm, giving her nutrients that helped that the stress warping placed on the brain.
“She was searching for Maxim and said she found something. Then I got distracted…” She didn’t know if she wanted to mention Reed right now. Not with Tricky still unconscious.
“Distracted.” The way Patrick said it, Ari knew he wasn’t going to forget.
“Tricky called out to me and by the time I made it to her she was frozen. There was a code of some sort attacking her, keeping her inside VLEX.”
“What did she say exactly?”
Ari bit her lip, remembering the fear in her words. “They are in my mind.”
Blur snapped his head towards her words, his eyes wide with panic. “What the hell did they do to my sister?”
“I don’t know…”
He stepped towards Ari. “You saw the code, you said? What was it?”
“I’m not sure. Why the hell did I not notice this sooner?” Ari wondered if Reed was there on purpose to distract her. Trying to figure this out didn’t help her headache, but how could she complain of a headache when at least she woke up. Trick’s gorgeous white-blonde hair hung down to the side of the chair, while Sue continued to check her over.
Patrick turned to Sue. “Is it a classic VR coma?”
“Her vitals are stable, but no. It’s different. In a VR coma the mind is active like they are dreaming, living or reliving whatever fantasy they choose to relive. This,” she motioned to Tricky, “presents more as a classic coma. I’m not giving up yet, though. Her mind is
probably resetting or resting to protect itself.”
“Thanks, Sue.” Patrick moved next to Ari. “Let’s replay what happened.”
“I’m not sure. It happened so fast. Reed walked by the window, and I turned for a moment.”
“Reed?” Marco turned at the mention of his best friend.
Ari didn’t mean for it to come out, but she was still trying to figure it out. “It was him, or a skin programmed to look like him. They had his appearance down perfectly, but he seemed different, too.”
“It was probably just a skin,” Patrick said. “A way to find you. Anyone that stares too long or tries to contact him will hit the program and alert them. Blur has done enough of them.”
Guilt made Ari feel heavy at the idea that she could be so easily tricked. Could Ari staring at Reed have sent Tricky into a coma? She hoped not.
“How can we be certain it wasn’t Reed? What if it was him?” Marco asked.
Patrick shook his head, standing. “It’s a rooky move. They know your connection and that you’ll do anything to get him back. Don’t fall for it.”
“But what if they are connected?” Ari stood as well, ready to do something to help. “Could this be an attack from VisionTech?”
“I don’t know,” Patrick rubbed his neck and paced in the small room. “Ballsy, if so.”
“I will bury them.” Blur’s voice held a cold edge.
“Let’s figure out what’s going on in the program, and what can do this to one of us.” Patrick turned to Ari. “Do you think you can recreate the code they used?”
“Maybe? It happened so quick. I tried to delete it, but that’s when it crawled to me. Leaving was the only way to help.”
“We can work with ‘maybe’. Blur, we’re going to set up camp in the meeting room to work on this. Everyone will be on this.” He turned to Ari and Marco. “I’ll talk to the others and meet you there.”
“Okay,” Marco answered.
Blur nodded his agreement and continued to watch his sister. Ari remembered being in that same position a year ago, watching her brother and feeling helpless. But this was different, more dangerous. Someone was out to hurt warpers, and with Reed nearby Ari wondered if this attack was specifically planned for her.
“Ari.” Marco tapped her shoulder, pulling her out of her thoughts. “Ready to go?”
Patrick had already headed out.
“Of course.” She walked out with Marco, heading down the hall.
“I’m sorry.” He whispered next to her.
“What?” She turned to him. “That wasn’t your fault. You weren’t even in the program.”
He shook his head. “No, not that. I’m sorry that I put you in that position at school. I must have been hard.”
“It was.” Watching people get stuck inside a program was hard. Difficult with her dad and now Tricky. But it was damn near impossible with Marco. She wanted to tell him that but didn’t. Those words would come out in a mess of tears and emotions, and right now Tricky needed her to work. “You’re here now though and can help with Tricky.”
“I don’t have your ability, but I’ll do what I can.”
“We don’t need my ability. We need to find out what this is and who sent it. You’re better geared for that any day.”
They continued to the extra meeting room next to Patrick’s room and found their seats around the table, while Patrick set up various tech. Even Sue and her mom brought some drinks and light snacks. Ari worried that her mom would give another lecture—or worse, demand she quit—but it was quite the opposite.
While Ari reached for a sleek computer and logged in, her mother stepped behind her and kissed the top of her head.
She murmured a Spanish phrase Ari often heard from her grandmother, which roughly translated meant, “God protect you and guide your hand.”
“Thanks,” Ari said as her mom continued out the door.
Sometimes moms were just awesome like that.
Patrick cleared his throat and stood at the front of the table. “Here’s what we know so far. Tricky was searching Maxim’s account records with Windsor Corporation. She said she found something and was attacked with a virus of sorts.
“Now here is where we have to guess. Maybe Maxim left a file to decode, a trap and she triggered it. At the same time, Ari saw Reed, who she last left with VisionTech, and that is another avenue that needs to be explored. Until then VLEX and the realms will be restricted unless you talk to me. Even our off-grid offices in the VLEX will be abandoned.”
He made assignments through the team. “While you guys work on the who, Ari and I will work on re-creating this virus she saw. Once we can figure out what this is, we can figure out a way to fight it. Any questions?”
Everyone’s expression was serious and determined. There were no questions. Everyone appeared ready to work and nail whoever did this.
With one final look around the room, Patrick said, “Let’s do this.”
Chapter 14
Everyone knew about Sue’s coffee addiction. It was an essential staple to any morning meeting, and whoever was on grocery duty didn’t forget it if they wanted to eat the following week. Ari had never been so grateful for Sue before.
They worked around the clock for two days. Patrick demanded people sleep, telling them if they need to go in the program, they have to be on the top of their game. So, between caffeine highs, everyone tried to catch what sleep they could. The only plus side of the round-the-clock work was Ari was too tired to dream about Reed or her father. Those memories brought a heartache that she couldn’t deal with right now.
The downside to the caffeine was that it didn’t help her anxiety. After Tricky’s coma, Ari felt nervous around the VRs, like a panic attack from the old days just threatening to make an appearance. Maybe she couldn’t blame it completely on the coffee.
Every morning and evening they sat around the conference table to report on their progress. The large screen in the corner counted how many hours Tricky had been under. It was almost up to forty.
Patrick looked recently showered and waited for the team to be seated. Ari watched him. He was almost twenty-four, and shouldered responsibility for this whole team. She didn’t know many twenty-four-year-olds that could handle that. Maybe it helped that he learned that he was a warper at a young age. It sounded like his parents did everything they could to prepare him. She wondered where they were now.
“Where are we with progress at VisionTech?” Patrick asked.
“They are hard to track, at least with regard to Reed or any new programming positions. They have their fingers in a lot of pots.” Harini pushed back the floral headband that had slipped down. The messy ponytail that held up her black hair looked about to explode. “If they have anything to do with the virus, they are being very tight-lipped. They don’t really have a reason to attack Tricky, unless it was a warning that they want Ari was back. I did find an IP address associated with Maxim that I sent over for Blur to trace.”
“Did it trace back to Maxim?” Patrick turned to Blur.
“Not that IP address. It went higher up. Locked down by VLEX’s top security. I’m still asking around and will let you know when something comes up.” Blur’s dark eyes told Ari that he hadn’t been taking his prescribed naps. She didn’t blame him. “But Maxim has been busy. He’s hiring more and more programmers for better security. But the names I’ve heard that have gone that way work on the dark net. Maxim is paying a lot for it. More than he should, in fact. He has the motive and the money. Doesn’t mean he is working alone. The owners of VLEX, or any other of the worldwide virtual realms, would be more than happy to have a virus like this to keep people in check.”
“Governments that work with Maxim will be going against the last Geneva accords. They can’t risk the world cutting them off,” Patrick said. “If Maxim wants to screw with us, then let’s show him what we’re really capable of. We’re not going for a front door attack. He’ll be prepared for that. Get creative, Blur. Hurt him
where he doesn’t expect it. I’m going to work on the virus with Ari this morning. You’re in charge of the team, and we’ll meet up this afternoon.”
Blur nodded his agreement, his jaw tight.
“Let’s get to work then.” Patrick turned to Ari. “Follow me?”
“Of course.” With a quick goodbye to Marco, who was in deep discussion with Joe, Ari followed Patrick out of the room. She had to quicken her pace to keep up. It didn’t take long to figure out where they were headed. He turned into the VR room, where Tricky and Ari last went online.
She wiped her palms on her jeans and realized her old anxiety of VR programs decided to rear its ugly head again. Her phobia, created early on with her father’s VR addiction, had been a constant fear in her life. After school and her work on the island, it became more of a nagging reminder of the danger each time she entered. Watching Tricky be attacked had done a number on Ari’s anxiety levels. She would deal if it meant saving Tricky, though.
“What’s the plan?” She turned to Patrick, who stood at the computer.
“I know you’ve been struggling to identify or recreate the virus, but you’ve been working in reality where your abilities are constrained.” He typed a final key then looked up. “We’re going in a simple closed program where it will be easier to reconstruct code.”
“That makes sense.” The tightness in her throat eased up. At least with a constrained program, it was limited to the confines of this computer with no access to the outside world. Ignoring her anxiety, she climbed into the chair and began hooking up.
“Are you alright?” Patrick settled into the chair next to her.
“Fine.” With a deep breath, she clicked the cable into place. Closing her eyes, she saw her father hooked up to the machines.
Opening her eyes, she stared at the ceiling, a vise tight around her heart. I’m not my father. I’m Ariana Mendez, and right now my friend needs my help. Swallowing a couple times, she forced herself back into the program before Patrick noticed her absence.
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