His Reboot Girl (Emerald City #3) (4 page)

A noise caught my attention, and I looked at the woman on the floor. Her eyelids fluttered again, before her gaze locked on to me. Did she look frightened? Relieved? She opened her mouth to speak, but I shook my head and mouthed
no
. They might ignore her, if they thought she was still unconscious.

Her eyebrows tugged together in a frown, and then understanding flooded her eyes. Quietly and slowly, she moved her right hand across the floor to me, to tangle her fingers with mine. It seemed like the most natural thing in the world. Her trust in me was absolute.

I wouldn’t let her down.

Who are you? And why are you so important to me?
I skated my thumb over her hand, and the corners of her lips tugged up, but it looked strained. Her eyes drifted closed again, and my heart clenched. She needed a doctor. Christ, I probably needed one myself. My vision was blurring around the edges.

  I hated being out of control. I hated being helpless. I slammed the brakes on my pity party, and backtracked.
Control
.

I’d built control tags into the security infrastructure. I fought to keep the grin from my face, and ducked my head while my brain whirred furiously, more jigsaw pieces slotting into place.  It was a simple construct, and one I’d used across all my systems. Every folder in the vault included a hidden control file, a switch that ran in two positions. If the control tags weren’t set to the right position, the files would be useless. Donny and Adele could take the entire contents of the vault, but the minute they tried to open the files, they would auto-corrupt. Not only did my system protect the most valuable data, it also raised red flags for the network team. They would
know
the system had been compromised. They’d be on their way with a security team.

We’ll get you out of here soon
, I silently promised the young woman who clung to my hand. Her fingers were cold. My right hand was tethered to the bench leg, and I couldn’t get any closer. Another cascade of images smashed into my head, dizzying in their intensity.

“My hands are always cold.” She’d laughed softly when I held them against my chest, rubbing her fingers to warm them up. “I’ll never get used to the chill in Emerald City.”

“Bet I can warm you up,” I said.

“Are you offering?”

“Nope. I’m promising.”

The echo of her voice seared into my brain, and I gazed at the woman lying on the floor.
You
? Jagged memories shifted and rearranged themselves, and I saw her properly.

I’d made the breakthrough at work, and needed to share it with someone. Forgetting the time, oblivious to the early hour, I’d gone to her apartment and caught her as she stepped out of the shower. The scent of her skin had been intoxicating. I’d wanted to lick her all over.

As I stood there, watching her make coffee for me, I knew I was about to cross a line. She was my assistant. My closest aide. The woman I wanted more than anything. If I touched her, let her see how she affected me, it would jeopardize our working relationship. Even as I sorted through the arguments in my head, tallying up the
pros
and
cons
, I knew I’d ignore the logical outcome.

It was like she was a magnet, and I was made of cheap metal. I could no more keep my distance, than I could un-invent the internet.

I’d closed my hands around her slender hips and buried my nose in the crook of her neck. Orange spice filled my senses and I’d realized how hungry I was for her. “If you don’t want this, for God’s sake, tell me now.” My voice had been rough. For the first time in my life, I surfed the knife-edge of control.

I blinked, and the images faded. “It’s you,” I whispered, staring at her in wonder.
I don’t know your name.
Why was she here? Posing as a cleaner? Touching her—
remembering her
—was rebooting my brain, firing up my synapses, and resetting all my thought processes.

Losing her wasn’t an option. I took a rapid breath, pushed past the pain, and looked at the clock.

Ten minutes left.

A security team would be on their way, but whether or not they’d be here before the data had finished downloading was a gamble I couldn’t take. There was only one feasible course of action open to me. To play for time.

I remembered Adele now. She’d spent a summer internship in my lab, a year ago. She’d have been there for the last major wetware trial. Was that when she got the idea of stealing the protocols? Or had she infiltrated my rigorous background checks with that aim?

Either way, she had to have a buyer in mind. She wasn’t smart enough, and didn’t have the resources available to pick up the research and close the final loops. Donny was the hired muscle. That was obvious.

I sifted through possibilities and discounted options, my brain crunching through data, as I concentrated.

Donny had held her, called her
babe
. That was the only weakness he’d showed. I had to exploit it.

What did I remember about Adele? I watched her as she leaned over the counter, her fingers moving rapidly on the data screen. I catalogued everything I knew about her:

- she drank green tea and ate muesli

- I’d seen her giggling and whispering with one of the techs, Miguel

- she had an L-shaped scar above her left elbow. I’d seen it once when she pushed up the sleeves of her overalls

Not much to go on, but it was all I had. With a huge amount of reluctance, I squeezed the woman’s fingers, and then released her hand. This was going to get ugly. I couldn’t risk them seeing our connection. Her eyes stayed closed, and fear coiled tighter in my chest.
Please don’t let it be too late.

I took a rapid breath, and then a deeper one, forcing myself to look calm.

Show time!

Stretching my legs, I yawned. “Miguel was asking about you.” I managed a lazy drawl, and smirked for good measure. “We compared notes.”

Donny glanced at me, a puzzled frown on his face, but he went back to work when Adele snapped his name.

“I’m curious. What did she promise you, Donny? Money? Eternal gratitude? Her allegiance only lasts until a better prospect comes along.”

He flashed me a scowl, and I smirked some more. “She’s not even that hot in bed. You know what a good actress she is, and yeah, I fell for that too, but her faked orgasms are pitiful. Too many hang-ups about her body, I think. And that scar… You know the one I mean. What did she tell you about that?”

I scratched at my stubbled chin, looking for all the world like a relaxed man. At least I hoped I did.

“Tell me, Adele,” I asked, getting into the part, “did you fake it with me
every
time?”

“What?” She stared at me over her shoulder.

Donny shifted his feet. “I thought you said you never—”

“I didn’t.” She was indignant.

I pushed on, taking advantage of the disjointed conversation. “You didn’t tell him about us? What about Miguel?” I wanted to unsettle her.

Adele turned around this time, and glared at me, the data theft momentarily forgotten. “What about Miguel? What the fuck are you talking about?”

Raising my eyebrows, I continued in an amused tone. “How did Miguel describe you? Oh yeah. As exciting as fucking a dead chicken.”

“How
dare
you.” She took a step toward me, twin red spots appearing in her cheeks. Meanwhile, Donny looked more pissed by the minute. His gaze swung from Adele to me, and then back to her. “Babe?”

She took an unsteady breath. “He’s just jerking your chain, babe. Trying to be clever.” Her hands tightened into fists. “Because that’s what he does. Scott’s a smart-ass nerd with delusions of grandeur.”

I ignored her insult. If she got mad, she’d lose focus. I smirked some more before I replied. “You say the sweetest things… Τhen again, pillow talk always was your strength.”

Donny slammed his hand on the counter. “Shut the fuck up. I don’t want another word.”

Adele took a step closer. “I would never fuck you in a million years.”

“Bit late for that.” I glanced at Donny. “I think your puppy is getting restive.”

“I
said
, shut the
fuck
up.” It was his turn to step toward me, luckily without his pistol. That remained on the counter.

“I may be a smart-assed nerd, but that’s why you came after me. Without my tech, you’re nothing.” I stared directly at Donny, and tried to suppress the pain that came with every movement. I blew out a nonchalant breath. “Has she told you who the buyer is? Or have you been kept out of that negotiation?”

Strike Two
. His gaze slid to Adele, his brows furrowing. “Of course I know.” He didn’t sound convincing.

Adele threw her hands up. “We’re wasting time, Donny. Get the copying finished.”

“Yes, Donny,” I mimicked in a sing-song voice. “Do as you’re told.”

Strike Three
. Donny’s face darkened, and he stomped closer, to stand next to Adele. “One more word, and I swear I’m going to make you hurt.”

“There’s a reason you haven’t. Adele still needs me.”

She froze, but her recovery was fast. “Whatever gave you that idea?”

“Because you don’t have the faintest idea what to do with this information. Because you know the protocols don’t work yet. Because you know your buyer won’t tolerate paying for a half-assed solution, when you promised a working model.” I raised one eyebrow. “Am I close yet?”

Adele’s laugh had a slightly hysterical quality. “Of course it works, you fuckwit. I was here for the trials. Remember?”

I gave an exaggerated sigh. “You saw
part
of the trial. I wrote the report. You were an intern. The final outcomes were well above your pay grade.”

Donny was losing it. He grabbed Adele’s elbow, and spun her to face him. “What does he mean? Does it work or not?”

“Oh come on. Trust me on this.”

“Donny, she’s the
last
person you should trust. You know, better than anyone, how well she lies.”

Strike Four
. Suspicion practically oozing from him, he crouched next to me. “Okay. Yes or no. Does it work?”

“No.”

He sucked in a breath, hissing through his teeth. “Can you prove that?”

“
Donny
.” Adele shook herself free. She sounded outraged. “Don’t you believe me?”

He ignored her. Focused on me. “Can you prove that?”

“Yes. Release me from this bench, give me access to the computer, and I’ll show you the report.”

My heart pounded so hard, I thought I’d bruise on the inside. Would he buy this?

Adele obviously thought so. She got right up in his face. “Are you going to listen to this fairy tale? I told you, he’s just messing with your head.”

Donny continued to ignore her. A long, tension-filled moment passed, before he gave me a short nod. “Okay. But try anything—any-fucking-thing at all—and you’ll be sorry.”

He released the restraint and stood back, watching as I pulled myself up. Dizzy again, I paused, and then managed to walk to the data screen. As calmly as if I’d been at work on a normal day, I drilled down through the various layers and folders, and pulled up a report.

“This is just the highlights. The full report isn’t stored here. We keep it out of the vault, for security reasons.”

“Jesus,” muttered Adele. She blew out a harsh breath. “It’s a freakin’ story. It’s gold-plated medal-winning bullshit. You’ll believe anything, won’t you?” 

His fingers closed around the pistol grip. “Apparently.”

I opened the report. “The trials failed. In simple terms, the neural interfaces can’t cope with more than a single command. They burn out. And when that happens, the feedback loop takes out the entire network.” I tapped the inputs, and a video clip ran in the background. “In this trial, you can see the precise moment the interface fails.”

Donny’s attention was riveted on the display. A group of test subjects sat in a classroom, behaving normally, a little timer running along the bottom of the screen.  “Here it comes, now.” As one, their heads all dropped, and they slumped over the desks. “At this point, the network has to be rebooted, before the subjects come back on line. Cellular degradation is almost certain.” I flicked back to the body of the report. “Look. You can see it for yourself.”

A large red stamp at the bottom of the page announced the result in no uncertain terms—
Failed
.

“Jesus.” Donny’s mouth twisted. “What a fuck up.” He blew out a breath and stepped away from the counter, tapping the pistol against his thigh as he went. He spun around and glared at Adele. “This was all your idea. And now we’ve got nothing to show for it.”

“You’re lying.” Adele’s screech of fury made my ears ring. “I don’t believe it. You know how to fix it. You can
make
it work.”

I shook my head. “I can’t.” Gesturing to the display, I allowed frustration to seep into my voice. “What I can’t believe is the lengths you went to, to try and access a piece of tech that’s never going to work. A project that’s been closed and archived.” I stared at the
Failed
notice. “You even blew up the fucking Mag-Line, and all for this?”

“We didn’t.” Donny was quick to reply. “You were just in the wrong place at the wrong time.”

“Shut up. Shut
up
.” Adele shoved him, and he bumped against the counter.

Excitement rippled through me, together with a surge of icy resolve. “So… The way it looks right now, apart from a little coercion, you haven’t actually done anything. Not yet, anyway.” I ran my fingers across the touch screen, and the report disappeared. “I’m the one wanted by the police, according to the news.”

“And?” Donny snarled at me.

I folded my arms and straightened my shoulders, biting down on the pain. Not long now. “Get the fuck out of here. Leave the cleaning lady and go.” I stared hard at the data sticks. “And leave that behind. If you haven’t stolen anything, there’s no crime, right?”

Donny narrowed his eyes at me. I could almost see him calculating the odds in his head. The air jammed in my lungs, and adrenaline flooded my veins. Would he take the bait?

“Fuck it.” He leveled the pistol at me. “Don’t move an inch.” He swept the data sticks onto the floor and stamped on them, crushing them into shards. “No evidence.” Glancing at Adele, he jerked his head toward the door. “I’m outta here. Come or stay, I don’t care.”

Adele was white-faced, lines pinching her mouth. “You stupid fucker…” she began, but when he turned and ran for the door, she followed.

The second she cleared the door, I hit the emergency lockdown button under the counter. Every door in the facility sealed, and from the sound of Adele’s furious roars, they were trapped in the corridor. We were safely locked in the lab.

Safe
.

My knees buckled, and I had to lean on the counter as I fought to stay upright. I was still the major suspect for the bomb, but right now, I had to call for help.