Hooked

by DeAnna Browne

  But she worried he didn’t feel the same. She’d invited him to come with her, but she also knew how important his mom and his life was here—a life that she would no longer be a part of.

  “What was that?” He turned towards her, his breath tickling her ear.

  “Nothing. Just be glad we had one last night together.”

  “Don’t talk like that.”

  Before she could reply, a beep sounded in the kitchen. Startled, she sat up.

  “It’s the coffee.” He reached for her.

  The sound of the machine dripping echoed throughout the small apartment. The smell of coffee soon permeated the room, and like a magical alarm, Tessa began to stir.

  Ari left the unspoken words floating stagnant in the air.

  Tessa eyed the makeshift bed the two of them had made on the floor. “I’m glad I passed out last night.”

  With a sly grin on his face, Reed ran a hand through his tousled hair. “Oh, this was from this morning.”

  “Spare me.” Tessa flashed Ari a sarcastic grin.

  Ari headed to the bathroom to clean up a bit. After the run in at the rest stop and sleeping in her clothes, not much was going to help. She ran a brush she’d found through her hair and braided it.

  She returned to Reed’s room to find him digging through his dresser. Tessa had barely moved.

  “Ready to break into a hospital?” Ari faked a smile, hoping if she kept pretending that maybe it would be easier. She hadn’t seen her father, talking or moving, for over six years, and the idea of going back into a virtual with him overwhelmed her.

  Tessa pulled out a hair tie and shook her hair like a dog shaking off water. She sat up and tried to tame her hair down. “How about some coffee first?”

  “Sounds good,” Ari agreed.

  As they headed out of Reed’s bedroom, his mother came in the front door. She had on a gray uniform, dark hair wrapped up in a bun, and an inquisitive look on her face that quickly turned into a scowl. Tired eyes lined her face as she hung up her keys and waited for them to come into the kitchen.

  “Hey, Mom,” Reed appeared shortly behind them, in a new navy shirt and jeans.

  “I don’t know if I’m more tired than normal, or I’m getting old. Why are you not at school, but coming out of your bedroom with two girls and a flush on your face that tells me you’ve been up to no good?”

  “Hey, I’m the innocent one in this.” Tessa pulled up a chair to their small kitchen table. “I was just passed out the whole time.”

  “I don’t think that helps anything,” Ari said, trying to keep a guilty look off her face.

  “Come here.” Reed’s mom pulled him into a hug, breathing in his scent. “You’re going to give me gray hair.”

  She released him and ran a hand over his hair. “Have a seat, kiddos. I don’t have much for breakfast since it’s usually only me, but I’ll fix something while you tell me the whole story.” Her fiery gaze, focused on Reed, would have shot laser beams if possible.

  “Thanks,” Ari said.

  “It’s good to see you, Ari. Hope Reed has been treating you right.”

  “Of course.” If anything, she wished he was a little less gentleman-like, but she didn’t think anyone would like to hear that, especially not his mother.

  Reed made Ari sit down while he helped his mom pour coffee for everyone, and he told their story. Ari listened to the whole thing, adding pieces here and there, but pretty much let Reed tell the tale. Gratefully, he left out the part of being attacked at the rest stop. By the time he was done, Ari had finished her coffee. Tessa refilled her own cup and sat down again, holding her mug tightly.

  Reed’s mom took another drink. “So why are you guys here instead of at Ari’s?”

  She’d never missed much, and often had to keep Reed and Marco in line when they were younger. Reed had her same intelligent hazel eyes.

  “Ms. Ramses,” Ari started.

  “Ari, you are too old for that anymore. Call me Monique,” she told Ari.

  Ari swallowed briefly and adjusted the foot tucked under her on the chair. “Well, you see—”

  Reed broke in. “We think we’re being followed. There is this guy at school, a real jerk. We’re worried he might have said something to someone, so we came here instead. Since I have Dad’s last name and you have yours, we were hoping they wouldn’t be able to find us.”

  “While I don’t love the circumstances, it’s good to see you.” Monique wrapped her son in a hug, holding tight. When she released him, she turned her attention to Tessa. “And how do you fit into this mess?”

  “I’m the get-a-way car.” Tessa grinned.

  “Oh, that’s yours? I was wondering about that. And you go to their school?”

  “She’s my roommate,” Ari chipped in.

  “No, more like her idol,” Tessa added.

  “I can see why,” Monique added sarcastically, looking at Tessa’s piercings.

  “Tessa has helped me a lot,” Ari said.

  “Okay.” Monique nodded as if coming to some sort of agreement within herself. “I’m glad you’re a good friend.”

  Tessa never once moved her gaze from under Monique’s inspection. “I do try.” Of course, Tessa followed it with, “By the way, I’m not sure I’d call this coffee.” Before Monique could respond, Tessa held up a hand and interrupted her. “Don’t worry, I’ve had worse. Once in another country, I think.”

  Tessa smiled at Monique who pinched her mouth closed. Tessa was like that.

  “Let me fix some toast for you guys before you head down to the center,” Monique offered.

  The care center where Ari’s dad lay in his coma handled long-term medical and psychiatric care patients, a lame name for a place that changed a lot of tubes and bedding.

  “Here, let me help with the toast.” Ari stood as a ring sounded, signaling someone at the front door.

  Everyone froze. Ari knew no one should be coming around at that time of the morning, at least not any neighbors.

  Reed went to the door and looked at the small electronic screen. The way his hands clenched, Ari knew it wasn’t good. Williams, he mouthed the words. Ari cringed, wondering how her Advisor knew where they were. He must have been tracking them. Reed motioned for them to all follow him out the back. Monique grabbed Reed briefly on his way, placing a kiss on his cheek. The front bell rang again.

  “Ugh, let me get decent please,” she said in a loud voice. She locked eyes with her son for a moment, communicating as only a mother and child could. Monique nodded briefly and then waved him off.

  Ari grabbed her bags from his room. If they were running, she would have to dump them somewhere else so Monique wouldn’t get in trouble. She headed towards the fire escape, but Reed caught her arm, pulling her into her mother’s room.

  “What?” Ari whispered.

  Reed pointed up. Tessa’s black boots dangled from a hole in the ceiling. Ari wanted to ask all sorts of questions, but Reed only offered his knee for her to climb aboard. There might be a time for questions later. But that moment wasn’t it.

  Monique spoke loudly from her spot at the front door. “What? My son? He’s supposed to be at school. Are you saying you lost him?”

  Ari pulled herself up into a cramped space with several long jackets. Tessa pulled her up and out through the maze of winter wear. They were in the bedroom of a completely different apartment.

  “Hey,” Tessa whispered and lifted her eyebrows in amusement.

  Reed appeared next out of the closet. “We need to ditch our gear. They’re tracking us.”

  Ari pulled off her ring and dropped it in her bag.

  “I hope you know how painful this is.” Tessa reluctantly emptied her pockets.

  “I’ll pay you back,” Ari said.

  “It’s not the money, but the hours I spent setting it up to my specifications.”

  Once everything was stashed in the neighbor’s closet, Reed left the bedroom with the two girls right behind him. They followed
him running through an apartment almost exactly like his, with brown shag carpeting and faded white walls. Only the pictures and furnishings were different.

  “Don’t mind us, Charlie. Just passing through.” Reed gave a quick wave to the man sitting at the kitchen table.

  The balding man sat nursing a drink and gave a curt nod with no more surprise on his face than if it were an everyday occurrence. “And here I thought you outgrew your old antics. Be safe and be fast.” The man shook his head and mumbled into his cup. “Kids.”

  CHAPTER 32

  Ari’s lungs burned as she followed Reed through the rundown buildings. She briefly thought back to her days as a child where they would race around the neighborhood for hours, playing hide-and-seek or tag. The joy of those days was replaced with fear as the three of them sprinted down a shady corridor. Adrenaline pushed them further and faster than any child’s game ever would.

  As they finally maneuvered out of the maze of old buildings, they found themselves within view of the tram entrance. The three of them stood in the shadows of a small convenience store, catching their breath. Tessa bent over, and Ari clutched a cramp in her side. Reed’s face was flushed but showed no sign of fatigue. If anything, his face was more determined.

  “It was Williams,” Ari said once that her breath slowed, but the stitch in her side still ached. “He followed us here. Why?”

  “Why not sooner? It doesn’t take a genius, if they reviewed your VRs to figure out what you’re capable of.” Reed continued watching the street.

  “He probably didn’t think you’d escape school or maybe he wanted to see who you’d run to.” Tessa pulled back her wild strands of hair into a tight bun above her port.

  “Time to go, now.” Reed grabbed Ari’s hand.

  As the three of them walked down the street, she noticed Reed’s fierce expression. “Let’s try not to look like escaped convicts.”

  Tessa gave Ari a toothy smile. It was quite disturbing. Ari focused on the tram, hoping no one noticed them.

  Morning commuters filled the platform, and Ari hoped to hide amongst the tired, bleary-eyed workers. They squeezed inside the crowded tram. The stench of sweat and dirt assaulted them as they found seats in the back.

  “We might be a little early for Marco. He was supposed to meet us outside the center with your mom’s visitor pass,” Reed said quietly.

  “What? When did you talk to him?”

  “Last night when I was driving. You two were passed out. I caught him up on the situation. I thought it would raise too many flags if you went in as a student, not in school, asking for a visitor’s pass.”

  Ari’s gut tightened with worry, not for herself but for her friends and family. How much was she really risking for this? Her brother would be willing to bear the cost. “We’ll need to be careful. Advisor Williams may be looking for Marco, possibly tracking him.”

  “Marco wouldn’t keep his old school gear. He can get around on the streets better than anyone. He’ll be okay,” Reed said.

  Ari squeezed his hand, turning her gaze to the window. Buildings, old homes, and cluttered lots passed by in a blur. She had taken this route several times with her mother to visit her father. Ari had hated seeing his weak, pale frame, barely clinging to life through the tubes and machines. But she’d rarely visited him in the VR despite her mother’s requests. Marco went once but never spoke to her about it. Ari wanted to see her father, but part of her worried that if she went in, he might convince her to never leave either.

  The last time she had seen him conscious was her eighth birthday. Her parents had been fighting that morning over money and VRs, the usual things they’d argued about. Both of her parents stopped when Ari entered the room.

  “We’re talking about some important things right now, sweetie. Go and play with your brother.” Red rimmed her mother’s heavy eyes.

  “No.” Ari straightened up, angry at her dad for using all their money on VR vacations, especially when she hadn’t seen one birthday present anywhere in the house. “It’s not fair. You take all the money. You make Mom cry. It’s not fair. We don’t need you.” Tears streamed down her little face, but she stood strong, cutting her father with a few words. She’d never seen him conscious again.

  That same summer, Ari surgically received her own port through school.

  Eight years later, guilt and anger gnawed at Ari, but today she had a chance at redemption. She would convince him to leave or make that VR a living hell.

  “Hey, you still here?” Reed squeezed her hand, pulling her back to reality.

  “Yeah, just thinking,” Ari murmured.

  “Me too.” He leaned over and briefly brushed her lips with a kiss.

  Her stomach did that happy flip-flop dance that she associated with Reed.

  “Get a room,” Tessa added. “A room without me in it.”

  “Love you, too.” Ari smiled. She turned back to the window and spent the rest of the ride imagining life without Reed, without her family, in a foreign land by herself. And she’d thought going away to school was bad.

  They made it to their stop and found Marco drinking coffee outside at a table.

  “Good to see you.” She wrapped her brother into a hug. Stale smoke clung to him, like he now lived in a bar, but she didn’t care.

  “Glad to see you’re causing more trouble than I am,” he murmured into her hair.

  She pushed him back. “Difference is this isn’t my fault.”

  “If you say so.” His eyes had that mischievous sparkle that he’d had as a child. Reaching into his pocket, he pulled out an old HUB and handed it to her. “This is linked to Mom’s account, so you shouldn’t have any problems getting into the facility. Good thing you look like her.”

  The small device didn’t have a bracelet like most did, so she slipped the device into her pocket.

  Tessa headed to the counter to buy drinks, mumbling something about decent coffee while the others waited at a table in the corner.

  “I have something to give back to you too,” Reed told Marco. Her brother reached a hand out, but Reed shook his head. “Not here. But as pissed as I was to have to bring it to you, I’m glad I had it on the way here.”

  The gun. As lucky as they were to have it, Marco could face ten years in prison for having one.

  “Maybe you should toss it,” Ari said, but Marco instantly rejected that idea.

  “I can get good cash for that.”

  “It’s not the cash I worry about.” Ari watched her brother. She hoped he would be doing better at home, but somehow, he looked worse. His face had thinned, and his eyes had a haunted, dark look about them.

  “Don’t worry, sis. I always land on my feet,” he said with a familiar smile that Ari had a hard time buying.

  Tessa sat with a small drink in front of her. “So, what’s the plan?”

  “I’m going to go see my dad, then meet up with Dave. He should be here in a couple hours.”

  “When are we heading back?” Tessa turned to Reed.

  “After Ari leaves, I suppose. The sooner the better. I have a feeling Williams might be waiting for us.”

  Tessa nodded and took a sip of her coffee. “Probably, but I wonder if we took a detour by my father’s condo we could claim we’d been there all along? It may require some hacking, but you could manage.”

  “What about your car?” Ari said.

  “I let you borrow it,” Tessa told Ari. “We can order a service to take us back. I can figure it out after I have some decent caffeine in my system.”

  “I wish I could take you all with me.” Ari took time to look at each of them, trying to memorize their faces.

  Marco scoffed. “And leave this great life? I’ve got too much going on.”

  “It’s a single ticket, dear, but worth it. Even I’m jealous of your contract.” Tessa took another drink of her large coffee.

  “I’m with her, sis. I don’t know why you fell into the pot at the end of the rainbow with our gene pool. I’d kil
l for that ability.”

  “I’d give it to you both in a heartbeat.” And Ari meant it.

  The plan was simple—well, simple enough. Reed was going to use Marco’s visitor pass to get into the facility with Ari, while Tessa and Marco hacked the system from the outside. Marco was going to try to erase her trail, or the record of her being there. It wasn’t a guarantee though. Neither Marco nor Reed could guess all the security measures the facility might have in place. Either way, time was of the essence.

  Ari’s heart raced as she walked through the large glass doors of the hospital’s entrance. The middle-aged woman at the desk was focused on the screen in front of her. Ari and Reed scanned their cards, and the cards’ pictures appeared on her screen. Reed looked nothing like her brother, but Reed didn’t care. He was going with her. The women glanced at their pictures, gave them an annoyed look, and waved them through. Maybe security wasn’t too tight here. It was only a hospital.

  “I would like a private virtual visit,” Ari said, hating that her voice sounded so young and shaky.

  The woman had already turned back to the screen. “Fill out the request and pay on the screen.”

  Ari entered the required information, her fingers shaking so bad she had to re-enter her father’s name twice, and then she paid with a card Tessa had given her. Ari had only consented to let Tessa pay with the promise that she would pay her back, and that if Ari was caught she would say she had stolen the card from her roommate.

  The monitor beeped, and the virtual was scheduled. The woman, eyes still on her screen, pointed to the scanners in front of the double doors. Ari steadied her steps and remained calm though every fiber in her body wanted to run.

  Once through the scanners, Reed reached for her hand. “It’ll be okay.”

  As they walked through the doors, she wasn’t sure she believed him. The smell of bodies mixed with cleaner hit them first. She’d been in health care centers before, but this dying scent made her gag.

  Rows and rows of beds filled one side of the room. Unconscious people were laid out with white sheets covering them. Tubes trailed out from under the sheets into a metal device hanging off their beds. Fluorescent lights shined down on their gaunt empty faces. The only thing moving on these bodies were their eyes, flickering with random disturbing movements.