Upgrade (Augmented Duology Book 2) by Heather Hayden (the top 100 crime novels of all time .TXT) 📕

drawer and headed for the dining room. “I don’t suppose there’s dessert tonight, too?”

“Chocolate pudding in the fridge. I also had the robot make a salad.”

“Salad?” Viki made a face, but she went back to the kitchen and pulled the bowl out of the fridge, along with salad dressing.

“If you want to be in top shape for running, you need to eat properly.”

“Yeah, I know, you don’t need to remind me.” Viki stuck her tongue out at the nearest camera, then dumped a pile of lettuce and tomatoes on her plate. She added a heavy dollop of dressing before shoving the bowl and bottle back into the fridge.

Once she was seated at the table, Viki dug into her dinner.

“Tell me more about your new friend?” Halle prompted.

“Well, he likes running—he’s on the track team, too.” Viki blew on a forkful of lasagna to cool it. “Oh, and he plays Realmshards as a warrior! He wanted to know if he could join us for quests some time. He’s behind us, but not too far.”

Halle pushed aside a welling of jealousy. “What did you tell him about me?”

“Only that I had a friend I played with, who’s a healer. I’m not going to tell anyone who you are, don’t worry.”

“I have never been worried about that,” Halle said. Not quite the truth—when it had first met Viki, it had lived in constant fear of the girl saying the wrong thing to someone, but years of friendship and trust had erased any such worry.

“So, what do you think?” Viki’s expression was a guarded one, but the AI could see the hope in her eyes.

“I am fine with him joining us, though I would prefer if my secret did not get found out by one of your school friends.”

“As far as he knows, you’re someone I met online.”

“Good.” Halle tensed as the doorbell rang. It had to be Agent Smith. “I believe that is for us.”

“Oh.” Viki sighed and set down her glass. “So much for getting into the lasagna early. I wonder if Agent Smith likes lasagna?”

“I somehow doubt that your parents would be very pleased with you should you decide to invite him in for dinner.”

“I would be very much not pleased with myself.” Viki laughed, then sobered. “Do you think he has any new leads?”

“I do not know. When I last checked his computer, it did not appear to be the case.”

“Oh.” Viki glanced at the nearest camera, her fingers tapping on the table next to her plate. “You hacked his computer?”

“It was not the first time I have done so. I doubt it will be the last time, either. If he has any information pertinent to the case, I want to know it, and I do not want to be reliant on him for information.”

The tapping quickened, then stopped as Viki squeezed her fingers into a fist. “Makes sense.” She stood and headed for the front door. “Just don’t let them catch you poking around on his computer. It’s probably loaded with Government spyware.”

“Thankfully, I am more than capable of dealing with a little spyware.”

Chapter Six

A glance through the front door’s peephole confirmed it was Agent Smith outside, holding his usual clipboard as well as a plastic-wrapped package. I opened the door.

“Good afternoon,” he said.

It would be better if you weren’t here. I bit my tongue and moved aside to let him in, giving the street a quick scan as he walked by me. No sign of Mom, but that didn’t mean anything—she could be just around the corner. “Halle, any chance you can track the position of Mom’s phone?”

“I could if it were on. But it is not.”

I groaned and shut the door. “You’d better make this fast.”

“Your mother had an unexpected shift change and won’t be home for another few hours,” Agent Smith replied. “Thankfully, that gives us time to talk.”

“What was so important you had to mess with Mom’s shifts?” I demanded. “Halle said you didn’t have any new information regarding the rogue AI.”

Agent Smith frowned. “It told you that? But I didn’t share everything I knew yesterday.”

“No,” Halle said, its voice coming from the house’s nearest speaker. “However, you should share your plan with Viki regarding the lab.”

My stomach sank. “What lab?”

“I need you to accompany me on Wednesday to the research laboratory the rogue AI escaped.”

My arms fell to my sides as my body went slack with shock. “Halle’s the one who needs to be with you,” I protested. “And it can’t enter the lab. What’s the point of taking me along?”

“You are the point. Or, more precisely, your leg implants are. They aren’t programmed in the same way as those used by the scientists in the laboratory, so they should still maintain a link to the Cloud while you are inside. Halle will reprogram them in a way that will allow it to monitor conversations and possibly pick up information we would otherwise not have access to.”

“Halle, is that possible?”

“Yes. I did not want to ask you to do this, Viki—”

“I can do it,” I said before my nerves failed. My fingers curled into fists. I don’t want to, but for Halle, I’ll do it. “It’s just walking through the lab, right?”

“Yes. As long as I do the talking, we shouldn’t have any issues.”

“Won’t they wonder why I’m there at all?”

“You will be posing as my intern. My superiors are aware that your position is actually that of a consultant, but given your age, that would be difficult to explain to the lab staff. An intern is the best excuse we have available.”

I swallowed a grimace at the thought. I’m glad we’re just pretending.

The agent held out the package he had brought. “This contains an appropriate uniform as well as