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

Leaning against the wall, he closed his eyes as they traveled up to the thirty-eighth floor. The doors opened, and he still didn’t move. Ari gently shook his shoulder.

“We’re almost there.” With effort, she moved him down the hall. “Which one is yours?” she asked, already knowing the answer.

“Right here.” He used an arm to hold himself up while the security scanned his retina.

As bloodshot as his eyes were, Ari worried it wouldn’t work. The click sounded though, and with a swoosh the door opened. She followed him in.

The smell of body odor and stale food hit her together. Cluttered electronics and left-over food containers filled the small apartment. He half-walked, half-stumbled to the kitchen that stood on one side of the room and grabbed a dirty mug to fill. She glanced around at the cluttered kitchen table. Instead of couches or a social area, a large desk sat against the wall with monitors scattered on old tables. The bedroom door stood ajar and was just as messy as this room. The other door must be the bathroom.

“Give me a minute, and I’ll be up and going again. I just need to find that TAB.” He opened a filthy cupboard in search of the tab, shoving random cups and papers out of the way.

Any drug that would get him up and going was the one thing Ari didn’t want. “Can I get a drink as well?” She slipped out the needle while his back was turned and approached.

He turned around with a colored cup in hand, and after he took a drink, handed it to her. She swallowed her disgust and reached for the cup. It wasn’t water, but some other type of liquid or drug. She barely swallowed the sickly sweet drink before setting it down. The few drops that made it past her lips tasting of citrus and honey.

Forcing a seductive smile, she stepped towards him, the needle hidden in her other hand. “Hey.”

As he pulled her close, she stabbed him in the side, the needle easily piercing his shirt. Before she could inject the full the full amount, he swatted her hand away.

Confusion flashed over his face. “What did you do?”

“Nothing, Echo. Just relax.”

Anger focused his attention on her. “What did you just call me?”

“Echo? You told me that was your screen name.”

“No. I’d never say that.” He gripped her by her shoulder, squeezing. “Who the hell are you?”

Trying not to be overwhelmed by his size or his smell, she forced herself not to fight. “I’m Jewel.”

He shook her once, then paused blinking repeatedly. “What the hell did you do to me?”

“I promise, I’m not here to hurt you. You’ll be okay.” As his hold lessened, Ari stepped back, leaving him next to the kitchen counter.

He staggered, trying to balance. Eventually, he slumped to the ground. His eyes were still open, but there was no fight left.

A light knock sounded on the door. “We’re here.” Joe’s voice sounded through the com behind her ear. Ari hurried to the door and let them in.

Joe evaluated the room with a quick once-over and headed through the bedroom door without a word. His calm, commanding presence soothed her nerves. The sooner they got out of there, the better.

“You did well, sis.” Marco stood next to her. “Want me to watch over him and you can help Joe?”

She shook her head. “You’re better at that stuff. I’ll watch him and see if I can find anything out here.”

“Okay. Holler if you need anything. He doesn’t seem to be as out of it as Patrick said he would be.” Marco motioned to Echo, who remained on the kitchen floor, eyes still open and partially aware.

Ari worried about the same thing. “They gave him MAT at the club. Maybe there’s some weird interaction?”

“MAT is a heavy duty stimulant, but I have a feeling this guy is a walking pharmacy. Who knows what he is on? Be careful.”

“I will.” With another disapproving glance at her outfit, Marco headed off into the bedroom with Joe.

Ari searched through the papers on the round kitchen table. She found small tech, but nothing that held their program. Echo had to be smarter than that.

“That’s your brother?” Echo’s deep voice startled Ari.

She cursed Marco when she realized he had called her sis. Turning around, she found him watching her.

He coughed slightly. “Are you robbing me? I don’t have money. Not much anyway.”

“We’ll find any tech we can sell.” She knew money was the better option for most thieves, but it was a lie, anyway.

“Take it all. I don’t care anymore.”

She tilted her head and wondered if he really meant that. If he wrote that program for Maxim, he should have enough money to retire on. Could he have really blown through that so fast?

“Why?” she asked sincerely.

He laughed. “Why do you care?”

“I don’t,” she remained callous, cold. She had to. “But I’m curious.”

“We torture each other in virtuals, commit acts we’d never do in person, and then wonder why we’re dying. We’re dying inside. Every bit of poison trickles into our heart, our body, and our minds.” He tapped the side of his head.

Ari struggled to follow his drunk speak, but there was something there. Some truth of his fighting to get out. “Then why do you keep going back?”

“To die.” His eyes still red, held a sadness in them, and she realized he was being truthful. “I’m a coward. I kill people with characters and die byte by byte.”

Was he referring to his actions in the VR program, or the virus sitting on one of his hard drives? Either way his conscience was getting to him like a good old drunk. She wished there was something to knock him out. Maybe if he felt guilty enough, he would help them out. She decided to push him for more information.

“Who do you kill?” she asked, hoping to clarify his drug rambling.

A scowl appeared on his face. “You’re going to rob me