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

“Great. I worried two names would be too easy for me to remember.”

“We have to be authentic,” her brother said.

“Here,” Joe handed her a table. “Start memorizing the details while I create your new prints. Not that Echo will care too much about your birthplace, but in case you run into any authorities.”

“I’m just a nice girl who randomly wants to go to his place?” Ari worried if he’d buy it.

“People believe what they want too.” Joe pulled out a small printer to create new prints. “These prints won’t be as good as the ones Sketchy makes but will protect your identity at a club.”

“I’m sure they’ll work fine.” Ari didn’t plan on scanning into any games.

“Back to Echo,” Marco said, worry tightening his eyes. “If he really gets as wasted as you guys say he does, how do we know he isn’t already compromised?”

“I don’t think so. It took a lot of work to find him. Not many people could, and how many people even know about this software? For all we know, Tricky is the first victim.” Joe looked up as the printer began its steady hum.

Patrick sat in one of the chairs. “Or Tricky is one victim in a long line. We can’t go making assumptions.”

“True,” Joe agreed and turned to Ari. “How is the profile coming along? I tried to keep it simple. I have another camera and audio bug to put on you as well. We’re going to be nearby the whole time.”

“Great.” Ari wasn’t sure if that came out sarcastic or not. She was grateful for the backup, but having them all watch her hit on another man would be awkward.

Chapter 23

As the sun descended over the small German town, Ari studied the profile of the girl she would pretend to be. Marco quizzed on her new skin while Patrick picked up food. The nervous knots in her stomach wouldn’t let her eat much. The nerves before a mission were worse than the mission itself.

Joe had been gone for a while following Echo’s movements. He had checked into CLUB IV, and Joe had been monitoring what he could electronically and visually. Marco left next to get in position at the club for extra backup. Ari clenched and unclenched her hands while she watched the clock. Just two more minutes.

“You okay?” Patrick reached out a hand, then switched directions and smoothed out a spot on the bed instead. “Nervous?”

“No. Yes.” She rubbed her bare arm. “Just ready to get it over with.”

“Well…” He motioned to the clock as it ticked by and it was time to go.

Standing, she looked over her outfit one more time. Was the needle still in place? She tugged on the corset.

He placed a hand on her wrist, and she stilled.

“You look great. I wish I could be there, but your brother fought for the position. I’ll be close. Not that it matters, because you got this. You are amazing in and out of the VR.” He didn’t look at her clothes but stared deep into her eyes. “But, I do ask one thing.”

Sometimes she thought she had everything figured out, but when he stared at her that way, she could feel all sense and will power crumbling away. She hated he could affect her like that. Her voice disappeared on her and she nodded. He could ask a lot of her.

“Be safe.” He stepped back, dropping her hand.

Glancing away helped her to compose herself, and she focused on the role she needed to play. She was no longer Arianna for the next couple hours. “I will.”

Once she stepped onto the street a strange sense of calm washed over her. While donning a different skin, she pushed back her normal worries and focused on the mission. The mission was imperative, she owed Tricky that much. Ari would get that program, if she had to claw it from Echo herself.

With a confidence she hadn’t found until she was all alone on the street, Ari strolled out of the hotel and grabbed a car to take her to the VR district a couple of blocks away. Stepping out of the automated car, she headed towards the VR bar. Walking with a sway in her hips, she casually scanned her surroundings. The nightlife filled the walkways with noise and music. Couples flirted and smoked at the store fronts. Ari walked past several stores then turned into Club IV.

It was late and the bar was packed, standing room only. IV was popular because it went beyond the normal VR experience, as if plugging your brain into a machine wasn’t enough. Club IV set up a separate blood line to dose you according to what you do in the VR. Do drugs in the program, you’ll do drugs in the real. Jump out of a plane, get a shot of adrenaline. People wanted to get the VR as close to the real as possible.

Echo was that type of person who, for some reason, had too much of reality. Ari scanned the crowd but didn’t see anybody she knew. Joe had seen him come in a couple of hours earlier. And if Echo followed the same pattern that he did for the last few days, then he’d be due out any minute. She ordered a drink at the bar, alcohol and drug free, not that anyone else would need to know that.

A young man with long braids intertwined with a metal of some sort approached Ari. “Already hit the IV or on the wait list?” His accent sounded French.

“I’m actually meeting a friend.”

“A friend or a friend?” He raised his eyebrows while emphasizing the last word.

Remembering who she was supposed to be, she softened her eyes and licked her lips before responding. “The night’s still young, and I’m always up for making new friends.”

“I see. Well if it doesn’t work out, I’ll be in the 8pm game if you want some company or someone who can be more than a friend.”