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

white walls. Only the pictures and furnishings were different.

“Don’t mind us, Charlie. Just passing through.” Reed gave a quick wave to the man sitting at the kitchen table.

The balding man sat nursing a drink and gave a curt nod with no more surprise on his face than if it were an everyday occurrence. “And here I thought you outgrew your old antics. Be safe and be fast.” The man shook his head and mumbled into his cup. “Kids.”

Chapter Thirty-One

Ari’s lungs burned as she followed Reed through the rundown buildings. She briefly thought back to her days as a child where they would race around the neighborhood for hours, playing hide-and-seek or tag. The joy of those days was replaced with fear as the three of them sprinted down a shady corridor. Adrenaline pushed them further and faster than any child’s game ever would.

As they finally maneuvered out of the maze of old buildings, they found themselves within view of the tram entrance. The three of them stood in the shadows of a small convenience store, catching their breath. Tessa bent over, and Ari clutched a cramp in her side. Reed’s face was flushed but showed no sign of fatigue. If anything, his face was more determined.

“It was Williams,” Ari said once that her breath slowed, but the stitch in her side still ached. “He followed us here. Why?”

“Why not sooner? It doesn’t take a genius, if they reviewed your VRs to figure out what you’re capable of.” Reed continued watching the street.

“He probably didn’t think you’d escape school or maybe he wanted to see who you’d run to.” Tessa pulled back her wild strands of hair into a tight bun above her port.

“Time to go, now.” Reed grabbed Ari’s hand.

As the three of them walked down the street, she noticed Reed’s fierce expression. “Let’s try not to look like escaped convicts.”

Tessa gave Ari a toothy smile. It was quite disturbing. Ari focused on the tram, hoping no one noticed them.

Morning commuters filled the platform, and Ari hoped to hide amongst the tired, bleary-eyed workers. They squeezed inside the crowded tram. The stench of sweat and dirt assaulted them as they found seats in the back.

“We might be a little early for Marco. He was supposed to meet us outside the center with your mom’s visitor pass,” Reed said quietly.

“What? When did you talk to him?”

“Last night when I was driving. You two were passed out. I caught him up on the situation. I thought it would raise too many flags if you went in as a student, not in school, asking for a visitor’s pass.”

Ari’s gut tightened with worry, not for herself but for her friends and family. How much was she really risking for this? Her brother would be willing to bear the cost. “We’ll need to be careful. Advisor Williams may be looking for Marco, possibly tracking him.”

“Marco wouldn’t keep his old school gear. He can get around on the streets better than anyone. He’ll be okay,” Reed said.

Ari squeezed his hand, turning her gaze to the window. Buildings, old homes, and cluttered lots passed by in a blur. She had taken this route several times with her mother to visit her father. Ari had hated seeing his weak, pale frame, barely clinging to life through the tubes and machines. But she’d rarely visited him in the VR despite her mother’s requests. Marco went once but never spoke to her about it. Ari wanted to see her father, but part of her worried that if she went in, he might convince her to never leave either.

The last time she had seen him conscious was her eighth birthday. Her parents had been fighting that morning over money and VRs, the usual things they’d argued about. Both of her parents stopped when Ari entered the room.

“We’re talking about some important things right now, sweetie. Go and play with your brother.” Red rimmed her mother’s heavy eyes.

“No.” Ari straightened up, angry at her dad for using all their money on VR vacations, especially when she hadn’t seen one birthday present anywhere in the house. “It’s not fair. You take all the money. You make Mom cry. It’s not fair. We don’t need you.” Tears streamed down her little face, but she stood strong, cutting her father with a few words. She’d never seen him conscious again.

That same summer, Ari surgically received her own port through school.

Eight years later, guilt and anger gnawed at Ari, but today she had a chance at redemption. She would convince him to leave or make that VR a living hell.

“Hey, you still here?” Reed squeezed her hand, pulling her back to reality.

“Yeah, just thinking,” Ari murmured.

“Me too.” He leaned over and briefly brushed her lips with a kiss.

Her stomach did that happy flip-flop dance that she associated with Reed.

“Get a room,” Tessa added. “A room without me in it.”

“Love you, too.” Ari smiled. She turned back to the window and spent the rest of the ride imagining life without Reed, without her family, in a foreign land by herself. And she’d thought going away to school was bad.

They made it to their stop and found Marco drinking coffee outside at a table.

“Good to see you.” She wrapped her brother into a hug. Stale smoke clung to him, like he now lived in a bar, but she didn’t care.

“Glad to see you’re causing more trouble than I am,” he murmured into her hair.

She pushed him back. “Difference is this isn’t my fault.”

“If you say so.” His eyes had that mischievous sparkle that he’d had as a child. Reaching into his pocket, he pulled out an old HUB and handed it to her. “This is linked to Mom’s account, so you shouldn’t have any problems getting into the facility. Good thing you look like her.”

The small device didn’t have a bracelet like most did, so she slipped the device into her pocket.

Tessa headed to the counter to buy drinks, mumbling something about decent coffee while the others