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

disagree, when a man approached. Ari recognized Dave from the gaming store. He had tanned skin, probably Hispanic like she was. She wondered if whoever sent him did that on purpose.

“Hello, Ari.” He reached out to shake her hand and then reached out to Reed. “You must be Reed.”

Hesitantly, Reed returned the hand shake.

“How did you know?” She shouldn’t have been surprised in this digital age, but she still found that he knew her boyfriend’s name disturbing.

“We research our candidates thoroughly. I know a lot, just like I know this must be your roommate—”

“Tessa.” She cut him off. “Her roommate, best friend, and representation.”

“Yes, I’m familiar with your father.”

If Dave really had known Tessa, he wouldn’t have brought up her father. She ran a hand through her purple bangs but didn’t reply.

“Okay then. We better order something.” Dave pulled up the menu on the table. “Please, it’s on me.”

Tessa entered her order.

“No, thanks,” Reed said.

Ari wasn’t interested in food either. She wanted information.

“Oh, please,” Tessa huffed. “I’ll order for the both of you.”

“Thanks,” Dave commented. “If nothing else, we need to keep up appearances.”

Once orders were entered, he turned to Ari. “You’re probably wondering what VisionTech can do for you?”

“For starters.”

A wide smile spread on Dave’s face. “We would love to offer you a job, with immediate on-site training.”

“Terms,” Tessa said before Ari could even respond.

“Okay then.” He pulled out a small screen and uploaded a document. “This is our standard employee contract. Who wants it first?”

Tessa grabbed it. “Ari is not your standard employee so this better not be insulting.”

She dove right into reading over the agreement.

Dave raised an eyebrow to Ari. She nodded. Dave appeared to be a regular guy, more like an uncle or neighbor, not someone who was trying to steal kids to work for his employer. Maybe “steal” was too harsh of a word, for if things were as bad as he’d told Ari, then he might use the word “rescue.”

Ari coughed briefly to clear her throat. “There are some ... umm ... complications also?”

Dave remained silent and waited for her to continue.

“I have a mom and brother that I will need to take care of.”

“Many of our employees financially assist their families. We can assist in sending money without it being traced.”

“So how often can I visit them or have them visit me?” Ari couldn’t even consider never seeing them again.

“Our offices are a twelve-hour flight from here, and the location is not open knowledge to the public. Once you join our company, you cannot leave for vacations or trips. There are families there, but they all work if they are capable. We have the highest level of security available and go to great lengths to protect our employees.”

Ari leaned back into her chair. Marco would never come live with her, and her mother would never leave Marco or her father. Her heart weighed heavily in her chest. It took effort to breathe. Was she exchanging one prison for another?

Despite her shocked reaction, he added, “I also can’t guarantee contact with the outside world.”

“I can’t leave my family, my life.” Ari couldn’t help but feel the presence of Reed next to her. She wasn’t sure she could walk away.

“You won’t have a choice, Ari. Once the government knows what you can do, you will be moved to a secure facility. Foreign governments and dark companies will kidnap warpers if necessary. VisionTech believes that incentives work better than coercion. We like people to choose to work for us, and we pay then handsomely for it.”

Ari reached for Reed’s hand under the table. A large lump was stuck in her throat and she struggled to swallow. With her free hand, she reached for the water on the table. A waitress arrived with an assortment of exquisitely plated food and drinks. Ari didn’t have an appetite. She stood on the top of a mountain, and any step might send her careening down.

Tessa set the electronic contract down and took a drink of the swirling peach and blue beverage in front of her.

“Of course, you won’t want to sign until you read it all thoroughly, but it looks pretty standard.” Tessa turned to Dave. “Ari will need triple the signing bonus to start as she is pretty broke and double the yearly salary. She wants it reviewed yearly as the market fluctuates and her skills increase.”

Before Ari could get a word in, Tessa continued, “Also, she must have contact with the outside world. You reached us without getting caught, so figure something out. Her family, boyfriend, and of course myself, must remain in contact so we know she is safe and happy.”

“Done,” Dave didn’t hesitate.

Tessa smiled and grabbed some sushi to eat. With some type of fish still in her hand, she turned to Ari, “Did I miss something?”

Miss? I’m still trying to figure out what you just said. Overwhelmed, Ari shook her head. Dave’s serious, yet kind face, let her relax a bit.

“One question,” Dave said. “How have you been able to hide what you do this long?”

“I never finished my school VR eval. I was terrified of VRs and couldn’t last longer than a few minutes until the last couple months.”

A look of doubt crossed over his face. “And they never finished your testing?”

“They never needed to,” Reed said.

Ari coughed lightly, interrupting him. “Advisor Williams wants me to take the eval on Monday, before I leave on break.”

Tessa spat chewed rice across the table before sputtering, “When did this happen?”

“Yesterday, after Wake stole my program, which I’m supposed to have completed by the end of this week.” Ari wondered if she would even make it to Christmas break. The project felt small in comparison to the rest of her problems.

“You can’t take that test.” Dave said. “We’ll rush the contract and you can sign it on the plane. I can get transportation here within the hour.”

Still in her chair, Ari pushed back from the table. “What are you talking about? I’m not getting on a plane