was bound to catch somebody’s eye.
A few prompts from the exoself showed Chase where to ring in some indiscreet coded communication going out from this headquarters to others around the world. Seemed like even the obvious errors weren’t caught by the WR. The Feds weren’t too bright, or they just didn’t care about the activity of the underground.
Or somebody besides Chase was watching out for these people.
He got up and left the command center. Time to have a talk with Mel. How could he kiss a girl and make her so mad all in one day? Well, he’d done it plenty of times. He smiled.
His mother stepped in front of him. “Again with the silly grin.” She smiled back. “Heard you got into trouble. Did you get a note to take home to your mom?”
“No, but I did get a good talking to.”
“And now you’re off to make up with Melody?”
“Something like that. You don’t miss anything, do you?”
“I know when my son has his sights set on a girl.”
“Mom, whatever happens with Mel is going to take a long time. This world is too messed up for me to get caught up in a relationship.”
“The world is never too messed up for love, Chase. Don’t lose sight of what matters.”
“I won’t.” He kissed her on the cheek. “But after what I did, Mel might just beat me up and toss me out of here.”
“She might. Go on,” Mom said. She smacked him on the backside.
On the way to his quarters, Chase went over his last communication with Robert. It was the final one allowed. He’d used the device in his ear to get a message to an old laptop belonging to Robert. He knew the code—twelve, two. Sparking the twelfth processor, he pulled two lines of code. He wasn’t supposed to do this again. It wouldn’t work this time. He sent the message through the exoself anyway.
Robert, if you get this, find a way to get into the system. I need your help. I’m seeing things.
He arrived at his door and pushed it open. Mel sat on the edge of the bed. Hopefully she’d calmed down.
“Amos was going to let you go, Chase. You didn’t need to sneak out.”
“He was? Because I just got an ear load from Amos about what I’m not allowed to do. And I’m not allowed to go up.”
She stood. “Well, maybe he doesn’t trust you now . Do you know how important it is for that man to trust you? You have to work together.”
“I know. I’m sorry. I don’t know how many times I can say that.”
“Why did you go up without waiting just a few minutes for permission? Do you know how stupid that was?”
“Look, Mel, I’m not one of you. I’m not some dedicated believer ready to lay down my life for the cause. I’m just a man who got some ridiculous stuff put in him that you people seem to think you need to survive. And by the way, thank you for doing that to me.”
Tears welled in her eyes. “I thought you wanted to be here.”
“I don’t know what I want.” He pushed his hair back and turned away from her. “That’s not true.” He faced her. “I don’t want to be here. I don’t want to deal with whatever crap is floating around in the exoself.” He lifted his hand to her cheek and wiped her tears. “But that’s who I am now. I’m a transhuman. And I want to do something good with it.” He bent to kiss away another tear. “And I never want to be apart from you again.”
She put her arms around him and hid her face on his chest. “Is there anything else bothering you, Chase? I’m the one who got you into this and I’m here to help you.”
“Nothing’s wrong, Melody.” He held her tight. From the corner of the little room, a flash of code appeared. And just a hint of the curve of a red dress. “Everything is going to be all right.”
12
Chase sat straight in the bed, a white coverlet over his legs. The room was dark, but he could see every inch of it. The exoself informed him that the time was half past two.
The light in the hall had gone out at midnight. Like the compound in Atlanta, the
A few prompts from the exoself showed Chase where to ring in some indiscreet coded communication going out from this headquarters to others around the world. Seemed like even the obvious errors weren’t caught by the WR. The Feds weren’t too bright, or they just didn’t care about the activity of the underground.
Or somebody besides Chase was watching out for these people.
He got up and left the command center. Time to have a talk with Mel. How could he kiss a girl and make her so mad all in one day? Well, he’d done it plenty of times. He smiled.
His mother stepped in front of him. “Again with the silly grin.” She smiled back. “Heard you got into trouble. Did you get a note to take home to your mom?”
“No, but I did get a good talking to.”
“And now you’re off to make up with Melody?”
“Something like that. You don’t miss anything, do you?”
“I know when my son has his sights set on a girl.”
“Mom, whatever happens with Mel is going to take a long time. This world is too messed up for me to get caught up in a relationship.”
“The world is never too messed up for love, Chase. Don’t lose sight of what matters.”
“I won’t.” He kissed her on the cheek. “But after what I did, Mel might just beat me up and toss me out of here.”
“She might. Go on,” Mom said. She smacked him on the backside.
On the way to his quarters, Chase went over his last communication with Robert. It was the final one allowed. He’d used the device in his ear to get a message to an old laptop belonging to Robert. He knew the code—twelve, two. Sparking the twelfth processor, he pulled two lines of code. He wasn’t supposed to do this again. It wouldn’t work this time. He sent the message through the exoself anyway.
Robert, if you get this, find a way to get into the system. I need your help. I’m seeing things.
He arrived at his door and pushed it open. Mel sat on the edge of the bed. Hopefully she’d calmed down.
“Amos was going to let you go, Chase. You didn’t need to sneak out.”
“He was? Because I just got an ear load from Amos about what I’m not allowed to do. And I’m not allowed to go up.”
She stood. “Well, maybe he doesn’t trust you now . Do you know how important it is for that man to trust you? You have to work together.”
“I know. I’m sorry. I don’t know how many times I can say that.”
“Why did you go up without waiting just a few minutes for permission? Do you know how stupid that was?”
“Look, Mel, I’m not one of you. I’m not some dedicated believer ready to lay down my life for the cause. I’m just a man who got some ridiculous stuff put in him that you people seem to think you need to survive. And by the way, thank you for doing that to me.”
Tears welled in her eyes. “I thought you wanted to be here.”
“I don’t know what I want.” He pushed his hair back and turned away from her. “That’s not true.” He faced her. “I don’t want to be here. I don’t want to deal with whatever crap is floating around in the exoself.” He lifted his hand to her cheek and wiped her tears. “But that’s who I am now. I’m a transhuman. And I want to do something good with it.” He bent to kiss away another tear. “And I never want to be apart from you again.”
She put her arms around him and hid her face on his chest. “Is there anything else bothering you, Chase? I’m the one who got you into this and I’m here to help you.”
“Nothing’s wrong, Melody.” He held her tight. From the corner of the little room, a flash of code appeared. And just a hint of the curve of a red dress. “Everything is going to be all right.”
12
Chase sat straight in the bed, a white coverlet over his legs. The room was dark, but he could see every inch of it. The exoself informed him that the time was half past two.
The light in the hall had gone out at midnight. Like the compound in Atlanta, the
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