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

Patrick reassured her of the plan. “Get on a computer, and we’ll find out where they are. Being physically inside the building gives us an ability to break in easier. You’ve done these kind of missions for VisionTech before. You’ll be great.”

“Inside a program, I have a bigger arsenal.”

“You have more than you know here too.” He handed her the communication tab that stuck to the back of her ear and hid neatly under her hair.

He set down his cup. “Putting it off won’t make it any easier.”

“I really hoped Tessa would just walk out the front door but, alas, life is never that easy.” Ari took one last drink and stood to leave. “See you in a few.”

He nodded.

Walking towards the tall building, Ari remembered the first time she met Tessa at her first day of school. Tessa had been gaming and could barely spare thirty seconds to acknowledge her new roommate. Tessa didn’t let people into her world easily, but if she did, she was loyal to the end. While at VisionTech, Tessa had even helped Ari funnel money to her family. Ari knew if she could find Tessa, she’d be fine. It was the finding part which was not guaranteed.

Walking up to the receptionist, Ari was directed to one of the nearby screens to check in. Ari scanned her credentials. A picture of a pleasant woman appeared. “Welcome to Ryope Industries. Your appointment is on the tenth floor. Please go to the right for the elevators.” The image motioned with her arm to the right. “Have a nice day.”

Ari stepped onto the crowded elevator, hoping to blend in. Arriving early to her interview, she hoped to meander unseen. Once on board, the tab behind her ear buzzed quietly. She pressed it, and Patrick’s voice entered her ear. Several people spoke to each other and some on their phones, so her conversation didn’t draw any undue attention.

“Head up to the eighteenth,” Patrick said. “I pulled up their map with your temporary guest credentials.”

Ari didn’t bother replying. The elevator stopped on almost every floor, with people getting off. As the tenth floor came and went, the crowd thinned considerably.

“Going up to the fifteenth?” An older man motioned to the last highlighted button.

Reading the panel, she noticed all floors over twenty required ID verification. “Actually, I’m on the eighteenth.” She leaned over and selected the level on the screen.

“Huh?” The older man raised a heavy brow.

She gave a small smile.

“I’m Mitch.” He offered a hand.

Ari took his hand in a firm shake and stared him right in the eye. “I’m Cyn.”

“Nice to meet you, Cyn. Well, here’s my stop.” He left without a backwards glance.

She exhaled once the doors closed, trying to shake out her nerves.

“Cyn?” Patrick hissed in her ear. “I thought you were Stella for the interview?”

“I forgot. Cyn will be my nickname. Stella Cyn, okay?”

“You’re doing great,” Patrick spoke in her ear, and Ari couldn’t tell if he was being sarcastic or not.

“Have you found her office on the map?” Ari asked him.

“Not yet. From what you told me about her, I figured she’d be on this floor. We need a directory or free computer. We hack into some better information from the inside.”

The elevator stopped at the eighteenth floor, and she exited.

“Take your next left,” Patrick said.

Turning around the corner, she found rows of cubicles with people bustling about. At the end of a hall, she turned left again which was the only option and continued forward with purpose. A few people glanced her way, but they quickly returned to their work.

“Your next right should have a map of sorts.”

As she turned another corner, she found the interactive map. It listed all the offices on their floor. It mentioned who was in, who was at lunch, that sort of thing.

Scanning the map, she didn’t see Tessa’s name anywhere, not that Ari was surprised. Even if she was here, Tessa was not the type to have her name on a directory. The map offered other floors, but there were too many people to search one by one. She tried to access the directories on the upper floors, but they were locked. She wasn’t too surprised as she didn’t expect the VPs to have to report when they went to lunch, but she hoped it would at least mention who was on what floor.

“There’s nothing here,” Ari finally admitted to Patrick. There had to be another way.

“If you can find a computer, we can access a broader company directory, I bet.”

Glancing around she found a couple of desks and computers unattended. While hacking wasn’t her specialty, Patrick knew enough to help her break through. With a quick look around, she took a place at a desk and touched the screen to awaken it.

“I’m here,” she spoke to Patrick through the earpiece. “Help me get in.”

“Okay, see the login method—”

Someone approached down the hall, and Ari spun in the chair, ignoring the rest of his directions.

“Can I help you?” A small woman in a tight fitting green dress entered the cubicle.

“Actually, you can. I have an appointment but forgot where the office was.” Ari showed the woman a picture of the electronic appointment card on her HUB.

The woman frowned. Her dark hair was pulled back into a high bun. With her attention to detail and precise mannerisms, if Ari was in a VR, she’d swear this woman was part of the program.

“I wanted to make a good impression and not ask like an idiot.” She tried for an air-headed smile. “But here I am.”

Finally using the HUB on her wrist, the woman scanned through several screens. The fact she didn’t just tell her where to go didn’t calm Ari’s nerves. She scanned the floor, looking for another exit, but nothing stood out.

“Let me get you some help. They can escort you to the right place.”

‘To the right place’ could mean a lot of different things.

Patrick overhearing their conversation, obviously thought the same thing.