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

the programmer was a day away on a tram from the meeting point with Reed. A plane might be an option, but security would be harder. That gave her a bit of time to work with Marco and Joe then figure out a way to lose them. It’s not that she discounted their mission or even lied about her desire to help. Even if that message about Reed never came, she’d want to be in on this.

The guilt about Tricky had gnawed away at her. It just combined with all the guilt she felt for Reed, and she would do whatever she could to save them both.

Joe traveled quietly and sat apart from Ari and Marco. He thought it best to avoid undue attention. Ari tried to sleep as much as possible on the flights. Any conversation with Marco led to questions Ari didn’t want to answer, and feigning sleep helped avoid lying. Marco watched her a little too closely, but she ignored him and focused at the job at hand.

They arrived in the middle of the night, but amid the cosmopolitan town they didn’t stand out. They landed in the German sector of Europe, but simple translators helped with any needed communication. Grabbing a cab, they drove to a hotel for the night. They caught a few hours of sleep and then headed out with the rest of the morning rush.

Ari found a small cafe near Echo’s apartment. Busy enough to blend in but close enough to get a feel for the land. They sat on the outside patio, a cool crisp chill to the air countered by the steaming latte in front of her. She picked at her muffin while Marco pulled out a smoke.

“When did you start doing that again?” Ari asked.

He shrugged, not answering.

“He is an ant in a hive,” Joe ignored her worry and focused on the twenty-story apartment building across the street. “How do we step inside without tripping the alarm?”

“How do we even catch a glimpse of this Echo without setting off every alarm he has in place? And trust me, he has more than we can imagine.” Marco took another drag of his electronic cigarette.

“I can put up some discreet cameras and watch the building. We should be able to rule out most people as we use their face to research their digital history,” Joe suggested.

Joe would suggest something like that, Ari thought. He could sit for hours waiting, combing through data. She didn’t have that kind of timeline.

“How about I approach?” Ari wasn’t scared of some antisocial hermit programmer.

Both Joe and Marco disagreed.

“No,” Marco exhaled. “We need to see what we’re dealing with before we chance that he might research you and find out more than we want.”

Ari bit the inside of her check and wondered how to chase a rabbit from its hole. “How about a fire?”

“Flush him out?” Joe arched a brow in interest.

“They have cameras, expert fire suppressant systems, and more. We can’t just flick a switch and he appears,” Marco said.

“Our answer lies in the building.” Joe stood up, signaling they were leaving.

Ari grabbed the last bite of her muffin and picked up her coffee to go. “Guess the sight-seeing tour is over.”

Marco chuckled. “Can you see Joe on a tour?”

Joe ignored them both and headed in the direction of the hotel a few blocks away. Marco trailed behind, letting the space between them widen.

“What are you planning?” He spoke in quiet tones, but loud enough for her to hear.

She glanced at him dismissively, then turned her gaze forward. “What are you talking about?”

“You’ve never been able to lie to me, so don’t try to start now. You look like that time you snuck out to go dancing.”

Ari didn’t want to know how he knew about that. “I’m just nervous about Tricky.”

“Ariana. Don’t lie to me. You better not be planning anything stupid with this guy Echo. Trust me, you don’t know men like this.”

Ari was surprised and happy, her brother was so off track with her intentions. “And you do?”

He took another drag. “Yes, I do. I worked with them a lot. They are more paranoid than all of us put together and have the smarts to protect themselves.”

“So how are we going to get the drive then?” Ari asked.

“Not sure. But we’ll come up with something.”

They spent the rest of the day placing cameras all over to cover the building. They couldn’t be too conspicuous, so they took turns, planting them in any bushes or vegetation, on the back of streetlights, windowsills, and anywhere else Joe could think of. Then, back in their room, they began the process of elimination, painstaking and boring.

Marco picked up dinner, and they all sat around the small table in their room eating an Asian-inspired dish.

“Only you, Marco, would pick up an Asian dish while in the German sector.” Ari picked at a noodle.

“It was close and smelled amazing. Don’t be picky.”

As she took another bite, she realized she was grateful for his choice.

“We will be here long enough to try all the local food.” Joe told her as he opened a bottle of water.

Her fork froze in her dish. “What do you mean?”

“I messaged Patrick and told him the situation. We’ll be here for a while until Echo surfaces.”

“A while?” Ari would have to jump ship sooner rather than later. It wasn’t like she was abandoning them, though. This was just gathering information. Nothing they couldn’t do without her.

“What’s wrong? You need to get back?” Marco asked.

“No.” She shook her head. “Just didn’t think it’d be that long.”

“We’ll need to start hitting up local VR joints to see if there is any hint of him around. Here’s his list of aliases.” Joe pulled up his screen, and they began discussing the case again.

Ari struggled to stay present, her mind continually wandering back to the clock counting down. For all she knew, that cryptic message was fake or some kind of trap, just like seeing him in VLEX. Or maybe,