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

something it shouldn’t be able to do, but Halle was the picture of silence on any topic that involved itself. I wondered briefly what Dan would think if he knew the truth, then shook the thought away. It’s too dangerous to share that information with someone else. No matter how nice they are.

“I need to head off and do some homework,” Dan said. “Parents’ orders and all that. But maybe we can play again soon?”

“I’d like that,” I said.

“Sure.” Halle sounded more enthusiastic than it had before, although I couldn’t tell if it was faking or not.

“Have a good night.” There was a ping as Dan logged off the chat, and then Halle let out a long sigh.

“It is somewhat tedious to be doing these quests over again so soon, but he is almost caught up to where we are. You seem to have been enjoying yourself?”

I nodded. “It’s cool, working together with someone else, don’t you think?”

“We do the exact same thing together,” Halle pointed out.

“But we hardly even need to communicate sometimes. We’re an awesome team. I think Dan was impressed by how good we were against the boss, too.”

“Indeed.” Halle sounded quite satisfied by that. “Still, if you think it would be good to have him around more often, I am fine with that.”

“Are you sure?”

The Realmshards game screen vanished as the game closed, and Halle’s cat avatar appeared. Its ears were perked up and its tail curled around its paws. “I am sure, Viki. I would be happy to be friends with your friends.”

Chapter Seven

As pleased as Halle was that the evening had gone well so far, it couldn’t forget the lurking question that was Talbot.

The rogue AI had yet to contact Halle, though, so the latter distracted itself with other things. While playing Realmshards, it had checked out Dan’s background. Two scientist parents, classified work, recently moved to Snowvale. Augmenters, but without any accidents or birth disorders that required genetic corrections. Nothing unusual. Many Snowvale residents worked in research labs, including Viki’s father.

Dan himself grew on Halle during their game session. He seemed polite, intelligent, and friendly. However, Halle had seen others act the same before—Neela being the first to come to mind. It would take time for Halle to trust Dan completely. Halle was pleased Viki had made a new friend, but didn’t want her to experience rejection yet again. It hadn’t been there for her when she first discovered how cruel people could be, but had done its best to help her through the difficult time following, when it had found a crippled girl playing a game all alone on the Cloud.

Since that time, they’d always been friends, and Halle hoped it would stay that way. Viki always found time to spend with it, even when she had others to hang out with. That knowledge always sent a warm buzz of energy through Halle.

“Halle?” Viki leaned back in her chair, a slight frown on her face. “Have you heard from Talbot yet?”

“No,” Halle admitted, closing Realmshards. “However, you have an essay due Friday, which you should probably start.”

“Don’t try to distract me, it can wait. What kind of an English teacher assigns an essay for the first week of class, anyway?”

“It is a good way to assess the students’ skills at the beginning of the term, so they can be better prepared for teaching them over the course of the term.”

Viki wrinkled her nose. “Doesn’t mean I have to like it. Are you okay? You’ve been pretty quiet tonight.”

“Yes, I am fine.” That wasn’t really a lie. Physically, Halle was in perfect condition, no damaged code or anything along those lines, and its thought processes were as normal as they usually were, except that they kept looping back around to the same thing—the problem of the rogue AI.

“All right, then.” Viki leaned forward and propped her elbows on her desk, her chin on her palms. “Just, if you need anything, let me know, okay? You’re my best friend. I wish I could help find Talbot.”

“Do not worry. It said it would return. When it does, I will learn the truth.”

Something swept by Halle in the Cloud. The presence tumbled down into Viki’s computer and formed an avatar—the blue griffin from before.

“Talbot?” Halle and Viki said in unison.

“The one and only.” The griffin sat, wings folding against its back. “You wanted to find me? Here I am. What’s up?”

“We had a visitor the day you stopped by,” Halle replied.

“Ah, yes. The ever-present, ever-inept Agent Smith. I know what lies he fed you. But that’s all they are. Lies.” The griffin’s feathers ruffled, and its tail lashed. “You didn’t think I would actually kill someone like that?”

“I did not want to believe so,” Halle said cautiously.

Viki’s hands dropped, and she leaned forward. “Are you saying you didn’t kill them?”

“Why would I need to? I had an escape route. Wasting time like that would’ve been stupid.”

Halle felt a surge of relief mixed with apprehension. “Why would Agent Smith lie to us? And what about the missing cyborgs?”

The griffin polished its beak against a foreleg. “I don’t know what goes on in humans’ minds. Didn’t they tell lies when they were chasing you?”

Halle’s cat avatar gave a reluctant nod. “They never accused me of killing someone, though.”

A griffin’s shrug was more a rise and fall of wings. “Perhaps they think I’m more dangerous than you, since I’m more advanced.”

Halle bristled. “What do you mean by that?”

“Simple. My design is newer and more intricate than yours. Can’t you tell?”

Viki’s fingers drummed on the desk. “Halle is perfect as it is,” she snapped. “If you came here to insult us, go away. Especially since the Government’s hunting you right now.”

“I wasn’t trying to insult anyone.” Talbot sounded miffed. It