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

back to his house, but if something is going to happen at school, I want to be there to help.”

“There is little I can do there. I can use the school system for monitoring, and activate an alarm if necessary, but otherwise, you would be on your own. I do not like that plan.”

“I don’t have a better one right now.”

“Neither do I, but I do not want you putting yourself in potential danger. Perhaps we should inform Agent Smith of this.”

“What if Dan’s just a normal guy?” Remembering how terrified I’d been last spring, surrounded by people with their own agendas who saw nothing wrong with using me as bait, I shook my head. “No. Please don’t, Halle. I’ll keep an eye on him at school. If anything seems odd, I’ll let you know and you can tell Agent Smith then.”

“Viki, I am not sure withholding this information is a good idea.”

I shook myself before I sank into memories I didn’t want to recall. “I know it’s a lot to ask. I just…he’s normal, Halle. I can understand why he lied about the implants—I’ve done the same before, at least until the newsfeed told everyone the truth.” A yawn split my mouth. My breath was sour—I needed to brush my teeth. With a groan, I rolled out of bed and headed for the bathroom.

As I attacked my teeth with my toothbrush, I stared into the mirror. Though smudged by the lingering steam from my shower, my face looked normal. But then, so did my legs, and no one looking at me would be able to guess I had an implant in my brain as well. How much of a person had to be replaced before they became a cyborg? Or was that even the right term for a half-human, half-machine who still had the brain of a human—

Something clicked into place, and I almost dropped my toothbrush. Chris had said the AI was being developed to control the cyborgs, and Agent Smith had mentioned electronic brains. If Halle could access my implants through the Cloud, and an electronic brain was like a full implant, then…

I ran back to my room, dripping foam everywhere. “Halle!” I hissed, barely remembering to keep my voice down in my excitement. “Wouldn’t you be able to access an electronic brain if Dan has one?”

“I have already attempted that. But I was unable to find any such thing. It is possible that such a device might be shielded, and all unauthorized connections are ignored, but I cannot be sure.”

My heart had leaped for a moment before it stumbled and fell again. “Oh.” Of course Halle had thought of that already. I returned to the bathroom and rinsed my mouth. The steam had faded from the mirror. My reflection stared back to me, her expression mirroring my worry. I turned away, flicked the light switch, and returned to my bed.

“I’ll keep an eye on him tomorrow,” I said aloud. My left leg twitched; muscles were cramping from their abuse earlier. Sighing, I sat up and rubbed my thigh, trying to relieve some of the tension. The shower hadn’t helped, probably because I had been too stressed to relax in it.

“I will monitor him as well,” Halle said. “The school’s security is not very good. I will have no trouble getting into the system.”

“Just be careful. I don’t want you to get caught, or hurt.”

“I will be fine. It is you that I am worried about.”

“I’ll be okay. Don’t worry about me.”

“Until I find Talbot, I will be worrying about many things,” Halle murmured.

A faint chill slipped down my spine. I didn’t like the tone of voice my friend was using. Resignation, and a hint of regret? “Halle, do you think Agent Smith is right?”

“I do not know. But until I am sure, I must err on the side of caution. Even if that means distrusting another AI.”

“I’m sorry, Halle.”

“For what?”

“You shouldn’t have to go through this.”

“Neither should you. We all must face things we do not want to at times.” Halle’s voice grew quiet. “I hope Talbot does not mean any harm. When it first revealed itself, I was so excited…”

My heart ached for Halle. I wanted to comfort my friend, tell it everything would be all right, but the words wouldn’t come.

Instead, I curled up on my side and closed my eyes. Images floated by—Talbot’s griffin, Agent Smith’s clipboard, Dan’s smile. So many pieces to a puzzle, but the full picture was still elusive, uncertain.

As sleep crept forward to claim me, I clung to the one thing I knew for certain—Halle was my friend. And, somehow, I would find a way to help it.

Chapter Eleven

The next morning, I ran all the way to the bus stop, arriving long before anyone else. By the time the bus floated to a halt, I was so antsy that I dashed onboard ahead of everyone else, rather than hanging back as I usually did.

“Viki, over here!” Neela waved to me from her customary seat.

Too startled to refuse, I walked over and sat down next to her with a tentative smile. “Good morning. How are you?”

“I’m fine. How was your date yesterday?”

I winced at the directness of her question. “What do you mean, ‘date’?”

“You know, with Dan.” There was a tightness to her smile. “I know that’s why you two were busy yesterday.”

“We were gaming, that’s all. Give it a rest, would you?”

She frowned. “What are you talking about?”

“I don’t know why you’re so obsessed with Dan, you hardly know him, but I’m not interested in him like that. We’re just friends.” I frowned back. “I thought we were, too, but you’ve been a jerk to me since last spring. I’m done.” I picked up my backpack and slung it over my shoulder. It