Hard Wired Trilogy by DeAnna Pearce (smart books to read .TXT) 📕

muscles. Wrapping her hair up into a bun, she put on PJs and headed to the kitchen.

By the time Vinh showed up, she had already finished off her soup and was halfway through the carton of ice cream. Vinh set the suit on the back of the chair. “Is there enough for me?”

“If you hurry.”

He grabbed a spoon and dug out his own bite of chocolate ice cream. “You gave Niomi a real scare today.”

“Really?”

“Yeah. She screamed at me for letting you forget your suit in the common lockers. Not that the suit would have helped you, but it would have helped Niomi watch your vitals.”

She took another bite, savoring the cold chocolate in her mouth. “I should have gone back for it. Thanks for getting it for me.”

“What happened in there?”

He asked the question casually, but it felt off. She watched him until he noticed. “What? Do I have something on my face?”

The medicine must still be in her system. Things felt off; Vinh felt off. She shook off the feeling and tried to answer. “Sorry, I’m still a little foggy from the meds. I just started getting a bad headache and instead of coming back, I pushed through it. It just made things worse.”

“You better take care of yourself, and I’m doing my part by eating some of this ice cream for you.”

Ari laughed, but then quieted down and thought about his comment of taking care of herself. What wasn’t he telling her?

The rest of the evening passed with them talking, opening another tub of ice cream, and watching crappy old movies. Vinh loved adding horrible accents to the villains. She wondered why she even thought something was wrong with him.

Chapter 17

Niomi wanted to keep Ari out of VLEX longer, but Kari needed to go back to work. Anxious for her own answers, Ari pushed to go back in as well. Her fortitude faltered slightly when her alarm went off at 2:30 in the morning, but after some caffeine she was ready for work.

“If the headache returns, come back in. Even a slight headache can improve with some rest at your lunch break.” This time, Niomi put Ari on the patch before she was plugged in.

“I will.” Ari planned to lie low today. No Latin dancing for sure.

“Be careful,” Niomi said as she slid the cable in Ari’s neck.

Ari leaned back and closed her eyes.

She arrived at Kari’s usual desk, not a thing out of place. Her usual in-box was piled with messages, but one stood out to her. It came from Worldwide News Source, a VLEX newspaper that usually held headlines from all over the world, along with design changes and other pertinent information for those inside the VLEX. This message caught her eye with the mention of President Tao, the man she impersonated last week.

Opening the news, she learned President Tao had a heart attack. His picture, stoic and strong emerged in 3D from the screen. Being eighty-three, the attack wasn’t a total surprise given his family history, but his last doctor appointment reported the Representative was in good health.

Watching his picture, a heavy feeling settled in her gut. Was there even such a thing as coincidence when dealing with a business as successful and precise as VisionTech? And the fact that Ari currently worked in the office of President Higgins, who co-founded that she just voted, must not be a surprise either.

She didn’t have time to panic. Not yet. Not without the facts. Checking President Higgin’s schedule, she realized she had an hour before he made it in. Hopefully that would be enough.

Instead of the normal tasks of forwarding emails and scheduling meetings, Ari started searching Kari’s computer. Any possible important information had been copied and sent over to VisionTech, but that wasn’t what Ari wanted this time.

She began in Kari’s personal files and found that on the days Ari had been absent Kari had taken personal days.

Her home country was the Icelandic States, where her parents and younger brother still lived. Kari moved into the city and probably didn’t stay in contact much anymore. After the political session was over soon, Kari’s schedule inside the VLEX shortened, leaving only a few hours a day to schedule meetings. She didn’t have the vacation with Antoine scheduled for a couple weeks. Some snowy mountain resort, Ari gathered by the notes left in the computer.

Then she found a picture. Ari thought it would be of Antoine, he was handsome enough to keep a few of those on hand, but it was of Kari’s family. All pale skinned with scattered freckles. Her father had a strong build with blond hair; her mother had the red hair, like Kari, and was just as pretty. Kari and her brother were younger, maybe in their teens. Instead of the serious pose of their parents, Ari could tell the kids were trying hard not to laugh. Their green eyes lit up the picture, and their mouths were pressed hard into a tight smile.

It reminded Ari of her own family. Not perfect, but family. She had to find out what happened to Kari. Hopefully Tessa would have some answers. Ari owed it to her. It was one thing to be a stand-in worker, but to stand in as a girlfriend was a whole other thing. One Ari still wasn’t sure how she felt about.

After closing Kari’s personal files, she did a search for VisionTech on Kari’s database. It pulled the corporation, with the familiar blue and white logo. Clicking on it, Ari could see the company directory inside VLEX.

VisionTech was listed as an electronic technology and software company residing in the United Asian States. The CEO appeared to be an older man with Asian heritage. It could have been Vinh’s grandpa for all Ari knew. Ari recognized the photo below it. It was the Director of Special Projects, no other name listed. He was the director of her division that met with Niomi weeks ago.

Recognizing the director didn’t help with the rest