Upgrade (Augmented Duology Book 2) by Heather Hayden (best reads .TXT) 📗

process, sneaking around the security, but Halle succeeded in time to catch the response.

“That’s not possible. It’s bad enough you’re bringing a high school kid in with you.”

“She can offer us valuable insight,” Smith said, sounding as though he had made this argument many times and was tired of doing so. “Please get it done.”

“Fine.” The speaker’s tone was even sharper now. “But you better get me some results, agent.”

The connection was terminated. Halle started to retreat, but another call came in. It paused to see if this message would be important as well.

“Hello?” Agent Smith said impatiently.

“Hi, Dad,” a boy said.

The man’s voice softened immediately. “Hi, Simon. How are you today?”

“I’m fine.” The words sounded like a rote response. “Are you…” There was a pause filled with a raspy breath. “…coming to visit today?”

“Yes, I’ll be by later.”

“Longer this time? Please?”

“We’ll see, Simon. I’m busy with work, you know that.”

A long, hoarse sigh. “Okay. Bye, Dad.”

“Good-bye, Simon.”

Halle drew away from the phone, feeling a twinge of sympathy for the agent and his son. The boy was lying in a private hospital room the Government certainly wasn’t paying for. Knowing what the government agent’s finances were like, Halle was surprised that the man had brought his son with him.

Or maybe he simply wanted the boy nearby, whatever the cost. Simon suffered from a rare genetic malfunction, Helhess Syndrome, that couldn’t be cured with genetic manipulation. Though there were medications that could treat it, their effectiveness had started dropping over the summer, and the doctors weren’t sure what to do. Being an incredibly rare disease, little was known about it or possible treatments.

Now, the child lay in his bed, struggling to breathe, requiring nutrients fed through an IV, his muscles too weak to move. It reminded Halle too much of seeing Viki in a similar hospital bed, only months ago.

Halle had been able to help Viki, though. Simon, it could do nothing for. It wrenched itself away from those thoughts and refocused on Talbot. This task it could do, and would do, before what might be its only kindred did something that couldn’t be undone.

As it refocused on its work, Halle gave the kitchen robot an order to start cooking. At least making dinner was something that could be accomplished with ease.

About an hour later, Viki burst through the front door, dumping her shoes and her backpack in the hall by the door before heading for the kitchen.

“Dinner is almost ready,” Halle said. “How was your day at school?”

“Fine,” Viki said, pulling open the fridge and grabbing the orange juice. “What’s for dinner?”

“Lasagna.”

Viki smiled. “Thanks, Halle. Are Mom and Dad going to be home?”

“Your mother will be, your father will not.”

Viki poured herself a glass of juice, then dropped the carton back onto the fridge’s shelf a bit harder than necessary. “I wish he would just let you help him.”

“That is your father’s decision,” Halle said.

“Yeah, I know, but it would be nice if he didn’t have to spend so much time at the lab.”

“I know.” Halle felt sorry for Viki; it knew how lonely she had been during the summer. Its company was usually enough, but there were times when she probably would prefer to go running with someone, or even just get a hug. And those were things Halle couldn’t help with. Sometimes, it hated the fact that it was incorporeal.

“So, lasagna? What’s the occasion?”

“It is the first day of school. Why not celebrate?” Halle felt a glimmer of worry at the sight of its friend’s smile slipping—it was a very slight movement, but Halle knew what it meant. “Did things not go okay?”

“It was fine.” Viki took a gulp of orange juice. “Neela actually spoke to me today, but it was just to get at a guy I met.”

“A guy?” Halle asked cautiously, unsure what to think about this development.

“He’s a transfer.” Viki sipped at her juice as she told Halle about everything that had happened.

“We have a new track coach now,” she was saying when the kitchen robot rolled to the oven.

A sharp warning beep came from the robot before it opened the oven with one arm. After a brief pause to scan the lasagna, it reached in with both arms and clasped its metallic, three-fingered hands around the dish before pulling it from the oven.

Viki drummed her fingers on the table, watching the robot set the lasagna on the stovetop. “Annabeth thinks I’ll be able to join the track team again.” Her light blue eyes sparkled over the rim of her glass.

“That is wonderful news,” Halle said. If this coach kicked her off the team, Halle would do a lot more than dredge up some history to get them fired like the last one. Viki was never going to know about that, either. The previous coach had gotten a comparable job elsewhere, arranged for by Halle; it wasn’t like his life had been ruined. But he wouldn’t be working at Viki’s school again.

“I want to eat,” Viki said, nudging the kitchen robot when it tried to keep her away from the piping hot lasagna. “Did Mom say when she would be home, Halle?”

“No. Agent Smith said he would stop by around five, though, and I am hoping he will do so before she gets home.”

Viki winced. “Yeah, that would be good. Mom would tear him a new one if she knew he was back again.” She picked up a spatula and sliced a piece of lasagna. “I’m starving. I don’t think I can wait for Mom to get home. Did you have any luck contacting Talbot?”

“No.” Halle didn’t go into further details. It didn’t want to explain how futile its attempts had been.

“Well, it’s only been a day.” Viki snagged a fork from a