Hard Wired Trilogy DeAnna Pearce (if you give a mouse a cookie read aloud txt) 📖

Vinh, unsure of what she was allowed to say to Tessa. Granted, she was already breaking a million rules of her contract today. “Do you mean VLEX?”

“That’s one of them. I don’t go in myself, but my father has an office in there for messages, meetings and whatever. Look up the CEO of Ryope Industries, a subsidiary of my father’s corporation. I’ll get your message.”

Ari could somehow manage that. “I’ll be in touch then. You don’t know what this means to me.”

“Don’t worry. I’m even trying to get Marco to work for me and finally put his shady skills to honest work.”

“Thanks again.” Ari reached out to hug Tessa.

Even though Tessa wasn’t known for her touchy feely behavior, she returned the hug. “Just take care of yourself. That’s what your mom would want me to say.”

Ari laughed. Tears pooled in the corner of her eyes at the idea of her mother.

“We need to go,” Vinh said.

“Okay. Give them my love, Tessa.”

“I will.”

Pulling out of the game was hard. It was only a game, Ari reminded herself. Tessa didn’t even look like herself, but still… it was Tessa. Ari took off the gear, missing her old roommate.

“You alright?” Vinh leaned over and touched her arm. “You know I don’t do crying girls very well.”

Realizing her cheeks were wet, she wiped at her eyes. “I’m good. Thanks for this. I hope I don’t get you in trouble.”

“What’s a little trouble when it comes to a friend?”

Chapter 12

The next morning, Ari pulled herself out of bed and wondered if they made a patch with straight caffeine. Since she forgot to collect her uniform from the center lockers, she wore an older model Fit Suit, brushed her teeth, and ignored the messy hair. She refused to apologize for yesterday. She did what she had to do. They kept her trapped like a lab rat, isolated and alone. When she reached Niomi’s lab, she steadied her resolve as she marched inside.

Niomi’s steely gaze focused on Ari. “Did you enjoy your temper tantrum yesterday?”

“Really?” Ari wished she’d had another cup of coffee before she dealt with this. She stopped and started again. “So anytime I escape my cage, you’re going to call it a temper tantrum? My family is missing.”

“Your cage?” Niomi motioned to the window in the back of her room. “The ocean at your doorstep, your boyfriend at your call. Is this what you call a cage?”

“Yes, if I can’t leave unescorted? You trust me in the VR but not in the community center.”

“We were just limiting your exposure not banning it. Your work now is so much more important than gambling on games.”

“So, I’m bound to never have friends?”

Ari bristled at the idea that Niomi tracked her, even if limited.

Her trainer didn’t notice though and continued the lecture. “Oh, by the looks of your late-night tryst, it seems you became better friends with Vinh.”

“We’re just friends.”

“If you pull that again, Vinh will be re-assigned. Romances are forbidden with personal designers. If you want to keep Vinh as your tech liaison, keep it to one boy.”

Ari bit her lip to keep her initial retort in. She didn’t want Niomi to think it was anything else. “Are we done? Or do we not have to work at this ungodly hour?”

“It’s not my fault you only got two hours of sleep.” Niomi turned to her console, and with a flick of her wrist, her screen displayed a man. “You have a new assignment today. We’ve got a short window of opportunity to sit in on a vote. You’ll be Representative Tao.”

“Tao?” She didn’t think he was one of the main profiles she’d memorized, though after focusing so hard on Kari the other twenty-five tended to blur together.

“Yes. I wish we had more time to work on this, but we don’t. You’ll only be in for a couple of hours today. He’s an older man so move slow. We have a program to help with his accent.” Niomi handed her a small screen with a picture of him. “Here is his file. Look over it. If anyone asks you something you don’t know, feign not feeling well, mention heartburn.”

Ari scanned his file. Two children, one boy and one girl. He had three grandchildren. Wife of 30 years. Worked in the state department for most of his life and recently assigned as a representative. She didn’t have the time to memorize co-workers or acquaintances but studied their faces so she’d recognize them. “You said something about a vote? Are you sure I’m ready for this?”

“You have an assistant who will direct you to the meeting. Tao rarely goes in VLEX and is only there for the vote. Your vote will be ‘Yes’ as we expect Tao’s would be. It’s important to see the other votes. Remember any ‘No’ votes and any conversations you overhear.”

Ari felt overwhelmed and underprepared, but Niomi didn’t seem to care. She directed Ari to the chair. At least they didn’t need a patch since she wouldn’t be as long.

“Tao wouldn’t take notes, but if you need to, then do so. You can transfer them out if you need. We need the details of the bill and the votes. Good luck.” Niomi plugged her in.

Ari took a deep breath and plunged herself into the VR. She found herself sitting at a sleek black desk. It was bare except for a single screen set off to the side.

An Asian man entered the room, in a simple black suit. “Glad to see you made it alright, sir.”

From the movement of the man’s lips, Ari knew the translator Niomi sent her with was working. She nodded and scanned the screen in front of her for any news or information she would need but found only messages from other representatives discussing their worry about the Roman and Middle Eastern votes.

“Are you ready, sir?” The man, presumably Tao’s assistant, stood with the door open.

Ari stood with a slow precise movement, hoping this man didn’t know Tao too well. Tao