CL Chapter Forty-two (Patreon)

Ava’s screen woke her at seven-thirty with a series of cheerful chimes. She groaned as she swiped at the screen. She’d gotten used to sleeping as long as she wanted and waking when she was rested, and returning to the life of a wage slave was going to be hard.

“Good morning!” Amythyst chirped in her ear. “I figured an hour should be about right to get ready and eat breakfast. You can probably do it in less time once you get a routine down, but-”

Ava wrapped her pillow around her head, which did exactly nothing to quiet the voice coming from her implant. “I get it, I get it,” she muttered. “Just give me a second.” She hadn’t managed to fall asleep until after midnight, and her heavy eyelids were already drifting closed again when her screen started playing a recent pop song about how much mornings sucked, and Ava threw her pillow aside and sat up.

“Fine,” she said, stretching as she stood up, “I’m up. What’s for breakfast?” She stopped with her hand on the closet door as she realized she was going to have to start making her own breakfast again. There was no B.T. here, and the kitchenette wasn’t automated enough to do anything more than make coffee or tea.

“Whatever you make,” Amythyst answered, clearly amused. “I seem to remember some Sugar Fruity Bombs fell into your shopping cart last night.”

Ava grinned. Her mom had only allowed sugary cereals as a special treat, and when Ava lived on her own, she could barely afford milk half the time, so breakfast had usually been dry toast or nothing at all. Amythyst’s tastes seemed to lean more toward pancakes, eggs, or hot cereal, so when Ava got the chance to do her own shopping, well, a few things that weren’t exactly good for her may have gotten mixed in.

“No time for orange juice today?” She traded the oversized t-shirt she slept in for the suit she’d hung up the night before, and padded barefoot out into the main room.

“Not today,” Amythyst answered. “And yes, since you obviously forgot, your suite is being monitored, but just for audio.”

Ava’s eyes widened, and she looked around, as if any surveillance equipment would suddenly leap to her attention.

“It’s all right though,” Amythyst continued smugly, “I’m feeding it an assortment of sounds I found on TooYube. I’ll switch it back to the regular feed when you leave, but whenever you’re here alone, it’ll just be a few clatters and footsteps. As far as I can tell, no one’s listening anyway, so it’s probably just being recorded so they can check it if there’s a problem.”

Ava gave a sigh of relief, shaking her head. “Start with that, next time.” She dug through a box marked ‘Kitchen’ and retrieved a bowl and spoon. Her brightly colored cereal wasn’t as delicious as she remembered, but she ate it anyway, though she poured the vibrant blue milk down the drain instead of drinking it the way she used to.

Once breakfast was down, she headed into the bathroom. Her morning routine used to consist of little more than grabbing breakfast - if she had any - brushing her hair and teeth, and pulling on her work uniform. Now, she also had to style her hair, apply her cosmetics, and get into an outfit that consisted of several more pieces than just a shirt and pants.

She was just cleaning a dab of mascara from beneath her eye when Amythyst said, “You have company.”

Immediately, a knock sounded from the front door, and Ava put down the cotton swab, dashing to answer.

The young man standing outside the door blinked when she swung the door wide, but gave her a bemused smile. “Uh, hey. Ava, right? I’m Dean. Dean Candler.” He stuck out his hand, and Ava took it gingerly. He shook and released it quickly, saying, “I’m the other day-shift med tech working with Dr. Veralt. I heard you were starting today, and the lab is kind of hard to find, even with the app, so I figured I’d grab you on my way by, if you’re ready.” His gaze swept over her, lingering on her stockinged feet.

Ava flushed, taking a step back as she looked for her shoes. The ones she’d worn yesterday were a deep brown, and wouldn’t go with the blue suit she had on today.

“The box on the bottom of the left stack,” Amythyst murmured helpfully. “Shoes and accessories are in there.”

“Um, thank you!” Ava told the man. “I’ll be ready in just a second.” She darted back in, lifted the whole stack of boxes, and only realized what she’d done when she heard a low whistle behind her.

“Wow! Are you really strong, or are those boxes filled with tissue paper?” Dean asked.

They mostly held dishes, toiletries, and clothes, but he didn’t need to know that. “Oh, yeah, I already emptied those,” she said, avoiding looking at him as she pulled on a pair of navy flats from the box she’d unearthed. “I just put them there so they’d be out of the way until I could break them down. Guess that wasn’t such a good spot after all.”

When she met his eyes, Dean was nodding in understanding. “I still have half my stuff in storage. I keep thinking I’ll get to it, but I guess if I haven’t needed it by now, I should probably just get rid of it. Good for you, just keeping what you need.”

Ava stepped out into the hall, closing the door behind her. She heard it latch, and her fingers twitched with the urge to lock it, but she just had to trust that no one could get in if they weren’t on her approved list.

“Oh!” She pulled her screen from her pocket. “I hate to bother you, but Liam said I could let housekeeping know I don’t need them somehow.” She opened the LandonHome app and turned the screen toward Dean. “I mean, I haven’t made a mess yet, and I’d prefer not to have anyone in there until I finish unpacking. Can you show me how?”

“Sure,” Dean said, flicking through a couple of menus. He only made a perfunctory attempt to teach her, but Ava thought that between this and when Liam did it the first time, she could repeat the process, even if Amythyst couldn’t just do it for her. When he was done, Dean handed the screen back to her and said, “I got you started on ‘Go to Work’ mode, too. You won’t need it soon, but it’s nice because sometimes one of the halls will be shut down while they clean the carpets or something, and it’ll route you around it.”

She laughed. “Just like a drive planner app.”

He nodded and grinned. “Just like, except our commute is only about twelve minutes long.”

Her eyes widened. “That long? How far away is the,” she hesitated before using the word he had, “lab?”

Dean started off down the hall, moving at a faster pace than most people would have been comfortable with. “It’s actually adjacent to Mr. Landon’s private quarters, so it’s in the restricted wing. We have to go through extra security to get in there.”

Ava’s step hitched. “It… kind of seems like there’s a lot of security already? Is there some reason Mr. Landon is so worried?” She made her voice sound timid, and Dean’s shoulders squared as he looked back at her, flashing a reassuring smile.

“I don’t think so. Just, he’s a very private person, and super rich on top of it. I mean, if you had people always trying to find out your personal business and you could afford to make sure they didn’t, wouldn’t you do it? It’s not like there’s anyone out to get him that you need to worry about or anything.”

She let out a little sigh of relief, and took an extra step so she was right beside him. “Thanks. I was starting to be a little concerned. I’m glad it’s just, um, being cautious, and not anything worse.”

Dean shrugged as he came to a door with a large palm reader on it. “Yep. You’ll get used to it before you know it, and it’s really nice knowing you’re completely safe here. Okay, look,” He pressed his hand to the palm reader, and the pad turned green. “It’ll only open for you during your shift, and only one person can go through at a time, or security will come. Here, you try.” He stepped through the door and let it close right in her face.

Ava gritted her teeth. The guy seemed nice enough, but he wasn’t really thoughtful at all, and she suspected someone had told him to come pick her up. Either that, or he’d been curious, rather than really interested in helping her.

Setting her hand on the pad, she waited until it pulsed green before opening the door with more force than necessary, half hoping she’d hit Dean with it if he was still close enough. He was already halfway down the new hallway, though, and his expression showed a hint of annoyance.

“Come on!” He said, already moving. “Doc gets super uptight about following the rules.” He flashed her a grin as she ran to catch up. “Don’t call him Doc to his face, though. He’s all about ‘proper respect’.” He turned a corner, and Ava saw a guard stationed ahead of them. He was letting someone else by as she and Dean came up, and he held up a hand for them to wait.

Lifting a brow, the guard said, “Running a little late today, aren’t you, Dean?” He held out his hand, and Dean pressed his thumb to his screen before passing it over.

Dean tilted his head toward Ava. “Showing the new girl the ropes. She hasn’t quite gotten into the swing of things yet.”

I bet I’d have gotten here faster if I didn’t have to stay at your pace, Ava thought spitefully, but just smiled as sweetly as she could while passing her own screen over after refreshing her thumbprint the way Liam had showed her.

The guard handed it back. “Thank you, Ms. Shaw. Go ahead, and don’t listen to this guy too much, hmm?” He jerked a thumb toward Dean. “I happen to know he’s currently on probation, though I can’t tell you what for. He’s probably not the best role model.”

Ava just nodded and hurried off after Dean, who had left in a huff after hearing the guard’s warning. In her ear, however, she heard Amythyst chortle. “Sleeping in the supply closet during work hours, huh? Your coworkers are awesome, Ava.”

“It’s your fault I have to deal with them,” Ava mumbled under her breath as she caught up to Dean once again.

He shot her a glance over his shoulder, lips pinched and cheeks flushed, though whether in anger or embarrassment, she wasn’t sure. “Ignore that guy. He’s my cousin, and he loves to harass me.”

“Your cousin?” she asked, surprised.

“Sure. A lot of us are related. Because of the NDA, you know? If you hire the whole family, you don’t have to worry about secrets being leaked, since they mainly talk to each other, and if one person gets fired, everybody will probably lose their jobs, so all the more reason to keep your lips sealed.” Dean sounded bitter. “My sister and her husband both lost their jobs after she got drunk and slipped up, and now they don’t have a home and can’t get a new job because Mr. Landon won’t give them a reference.”

He shook his head. “Uh, just forget I mentioned that, huh?” Grimacing, he lowered his voice. “It’s not a violation of the rules or anything, exactly, but nobody says anything bad about Mr. Landon. Even if you think you’re alone.” He grimaced, and glanced around, though there were no cameras or listening devices visible.

They stopped in front of a set of doors that were strongly reminiscent of the swing doors Ava used to see all the time in the hospital when she took her mother in for treatments and tests. They were wide enough to allow for a hospital bed and attendants or equipment.

Dean pressed his hand to yet another palm pad, and it glowed green. He went through without another word, once again allowing the door to shut immediately behind him, though this time Ava knew to stay further back. She pressed her hand to the pad, waited for the green light, and pushed through the door, noting as it swung closed that the little Amythyst-face icon that showed when the AI was watching over her flickered out.

The lab looked exactly like a hospital ward. There was a central desk, where a woman sat, watching a series of monitors and keeping an eye on the hall in front of her, which had several doors branching away, including one marked with a public restroom sign. If Ava hadn’t known better, she’d have sworn they just stepped into a real hospital.

As they stepped up to the desk, a middle-aged man in a doctor’s coat looked up from the screen he was using. His face was narrow and pinched, and Ava was pretty sure his thin brown hair was concealing a bald spot.

“Dean,” the man said, sharply, “you have one minute to report to your station.” Dean darted off without another word or a backwards glance, and the man turned to Ava. His eyes swept over her dispassionately before he sniffed.

“Ms. Shaw, I suggest you make sure you leave your suite a few minutes earlier. You never know what may delay you, and tardiness will not be tolerated.” Without changing expression or tone, he went on. “I am Dr. Veralt. I observed your interview yesterday, and was almost impressed by the depth of your knowledge. You clearly have some interest in medicine beyond simply what is required for your chosen career path.”

He tapped his screen sharply, and Ava half expected it to crack or bend beneath the bony finger, but it just rolled up so he could tuck it easily into one of the lab coat’s capacious pockets. “Now, what do you know about your patient?”

Ava hesitated. “Nothing, really, sir.”

She could see he liked the honorific, and he nodded encouragingly. “But you can guess, can’t you? Go on.” He almost seemed friendly, and Ava reminded herself to be careful.

“Ah, just that they’re likely to be female, and perhaps interested in gaming, since those things were stipulated in the job listing. I know Mr. Landon used to run Veritas Corporation,” a flicker of something - anger? - flashed behind the brown eyes watching her, but Dr. Veralt didn’t interrupt. She hurried on. “And the ad mentioned Veritas Online specifically, so I thought, perhaps,” she let her voice turn tentative, “a teenager? Maybe a sick grandchild or child of Mr. Landon? I don’t really know anything about his family.”

Dr. Veralt nodded, looking satisfied. “Good, good. You’re correct. The patient is a young female. Her name is Amy, and though she doesn’t play games any more, she used to love them. She received a traumatic brain injury more than a year ago, and her recovery has been… slow. We’re hoping that we can use VR to help her.”

Oh my God, Ava thought. Amythyst was right. About everything.