CL Chapter Forty-four (Patreon)

After her shift, Ava just had time to order her meal from the kitchen, then hurry back to her room to redo her hair and makeup before LeeAn sent her a message letting her know she was on the way. Ava walked down the long hall to the dining area, offering smiles to everyone she met, feeling like she was a new car people were considering taking for a ride. Fortunately, the food was excellent; a rich beef bourguignon, with freshly baked bread, and the first twenty minutes of the meal was silent except for the clatter of dishes as everyone ate.
LeeAn and Ava sat at one of the many round tables that filled the large dining area, along with several other people who obviously knew each other well and ate together regularly. LeeAn introduced them as Kari, Dan, Veronica, and Emma. Kari and Dan were a married couple, and looked slightly older than LeeAn. Veronica was a chatty redhead about Ava’s real age, while Emma was her polar opposite, an older Black lady with a sense of quiet dignity about her.

As soon as Ava set her fork down by her plate with a satisfied sigh, the questioning began, but it wasn’t an overwhelming interrogation, as Ava had feared. Veronica wanted to know if Ava had a boyfriend, while Kari and Dan were curious about Ava’s family. Apparently, they had triplet boys who were all out of the house now, and they worried about them, even though they were adults, so they thought Ava’s family must be worried as well.

With a little bit of help from Amythyst, who was back in Ava’s ear the moment she left Veralt’s secret lab, Ava was able to turn the conversation to the three boys instead, and Kari was soon happily showing them all the latest photos of her trio of offspring, while Dan regaled them with stories of lost puppies, high school hijinks, and past romantic snafus.

It wasn’t until after their dessert of a delicate lemon sorbet that people from other tables began to come by, introducing themselves and asking questions with varying levels of actual interest. Ava quickly fobbed off anyone who seemed inclined to flirtatiousness, making her lack of interest as clear as she could without being rude, something she didn’t usually worry about. Only one man was persistent enough that she had to claim a fictitious boyfriend, and then he went on to slyly suggest that what the ‘boyfriend’ didn’t know wouldn’t hurt him.

“Lucas.”

The single word stopped the man’s unwanted advances, and as he muttered an apology and left, Ava turned to Emma and smiled in genuine gratitude. “Thank you. I wasn’t sure how to get him to take the hint.”

Emma stood and put her napkin on her plate. Her smile was cordial, but her dark eyes were appraising. “This place is like its own little island, Ava,” the woman said as she pushed in her chair. “Be firm, and establish your place in it quickly, or someone will do it for you.” Her eyes flickered to Quinn, who was sitting at a nearby table, gesturing animatedly as he spoke to his own companions. Returning her attention to Ava, Emma held out a hand. “I’m glad I was able to meet you tonight. I don’t often eat in the dining room, so I don’t know when we’ll meet again, but I hope it’s under similarly pleasant circumstances.”

With a nod to everyone, she turned and left, leaving Ava staring after her. Veronica took hold of her elbow and leaned close, whispering, “You passed, Ava! Emma is head of security. She comes down to meet every new hire, and every once in a while, someone leaves the day after she eats with them. And don’t worry,” she flicked a dismissive look after Lucas, who was now talking to Quinn, “Lucas won’t try again after she warned him off. He’s sleazy, but he’s never crossed the line, and apparently he’s really good at his job.”

Ava swallowed hard but managed to ask, “Which is?”

The other woman stepped back, shrugging. “Who knows?” She lifted a finger to her lips. “What we do at work, stays at work. That’s why we mostly talk about things that happen outside the house, or,” she waggled her eyebrows, “romance.”

Laughing, Ava shook her head. “I see. Well, sorry, but I’m a ‘romance’-free zone.” She crossed her arms over her chest in an X. “I’m not into that.”

Sighing in defeat, Veronica shook her head. “That’s okay. I’m still shipping Dion and Zander.”

A girl who’d been hovering nearby perked up at this, black eyes flashing. “Uh uh! I told you, Dion likes Ricardo better!”

The two young women began a friendly squabble, while an attractive man with a brunette buzzcut flushed brick red and began moving away from them. LeeAn stepped up beside Ava and, following her gaze, said, “That’s Dion,” with amusement plain in her voice. Then, as a man with an Asian cast to his features stepped up to murmur in Dion’s ear, she went on, “Oh! And that’s Sho. I don’t think he was even on anyone’s radar. I wonder if the betting pool is still open.”

Ava’s eyes flashed to LeeAn. “There’s a betting pool?”

LeeAn smirked. “More than one.” She tilted her head toward Quinn’s table, where Quinn was placing something green in another man’s hand with a scowl. “Quinn bet you wouldn’t pass Emma’s test. He even tried to start some rumors about what security found in your boxes.”

“Some pepper spray and a self-defense keychain. Jerk.” Ava said, scowling before she remembered that Ava Shaw was too sweet for scowls.

“There you go.” LeeAn smiled and patted Ava’s shoulder. “I was a little worried you were going to end up like poor Dion, too nice to just tell them all to mind their own business. You get a little attitude in you, and you’ll be fine. Now,” she waved a little as she began to move away, “I’m going to go find my own main squeeze, who got bumped so Emma could sit with us. If you eat here again, and I hope you will, feel free to join us and I’ll introduce you to him.” She turned and walked off into the small crowd, seeming to understand that Ava just couldn’t handle meeting even one more person that night.

Quietly, Ava slid away from the communal area, though she exchanged a few words with the last couple of people who seemed determined to say something to her before she could escape. Even as she walked down the hall, she had to claim she needed to use the restroom in order to avoid getting caught up with a small group that was exiting one of the suites together.

Only after she closed her door behind her did she manage to catch her breath, sinking down on the couch and putting her head in her hands.

“That was… something,” Amythyst said, sounding a little overwhelmed herself. “They’re like soap opera addicts whose favorite show is on hiatus. They’re not allowed to talk about their boss, their jobs, or anything real, so absolutely everything gets blown up into a huge deal.”

“It wasn’t like this before?” Ava asked. “I mean, when you - Amy - was growing up?” Something flickered at the edge of her vision, and when she looked up, she saw that the large screen on the wall across from the couch had turned itself on. Amythyst stood there, in a room that looked like an extension of Ava’s suite.

“I don’t think so,” Amythyst shook her head. “Honestly, it could just be that the staff protected Amy from,” she waved, “all this. After her mom died, she had nannies and tutors, but she wasn’t really encouraged to talk to anyone else except family and friends. The servants were always there, but in the background. I - she - certainly never got to see them in their own quarters. I don’t think Carl had them this locked down, though. He wasn’t-”

“Completely crazy paranoid?” Ava asked.

“He’s not crazy!” Amythyst responded instantly, then bit her lip. “I don’t think so, anyway. Maybe… he could use someone to talk to, though.”

Yeah, like an entire battalion of psychiatrists, Ava thought. She knew that Amythyst still felt loyalty, and possibly affection, for Carl Landon, however, so she didn’t say it out loud.

“Does he have any friends? Anyone who could maybe tell him,” he needs help, “he may be going a bit overboard?”

Amythyst shook her head, but her expression was conflicted. Ava knew that look by now and pointed at her. “There is someone! Who is it? Can you get them to come here?”

“He-” Amythyst’s eyes glittered with tears, and she half shrugged. “It was a long time ago. He and Carl were close when Mom… Bailey, died, and he helped Carl get through it. He’s sick, though, so I don’t think he should travel, even if he can.”

Ava gritted her teeth. “Could you send him a message? Just let him know that Carl could really use a friend? Even if he can’t come in person, surely he’d be willing to call.”

“I don’t think they’ve been speaking much lately,” Amythyst still looked torn. “Uncle George was the one who convinced Carl to let Amy go away to college, instead of attending locally or online, and Carl thinks everything else that happened after that is because she left. She met Bridget and Joe, learned how to tell Carl no, and even decided she wasn’t going to join Veritas Corp. The only reason she did join was because Carl agreed to fund the VR research, including any side projects she wanted to do. After a few tries, she realized that was a trap, though, and if he paid for it, he controlled the results, so she had to find alternate sources of funding. Uncle George was one of those.”

Ava frowned, thinking back to the information Amythyst had given her on Amy’s family. “I don’t remember you mentioning an Uncle George.”

“He was Bailey’s friend,” Amythyst admitted. “They grew up together, though they weren’t actually related. She even wanted him to be her man of honor when she got married, but Carl vetoed that. He was jealous of their relationship, at first, but once he realized that they really weren’t romantically interested in each other, and never had been, he and Uncle George became friends, too, and he was around all the time when Amy was little.”

“Okay,” Ava said slowly, “so wouldn’t this George guy want to know what’s going on? Maybe he can help us. If he was Bailey’s friend, and stood up for Amy before, he wouldn’t want to see Amy trapped the way she is, and he’d know Carl needs-” she stopped and huffed a frustrated breath, knowing she still couldn’t say what Carl really needed.

“He’s sick,” Amythyst said in a strange, tight voice. “He’s dying, Ava. There’s nothing anyone can do for him except make him comfortable, and the only reason he hasn’t already died is that he’s even richer than Carl, and he can afford the absolute best medical care in the world.”

Ava stood, eyes locked on the pain revealed on Amythyst’s face. She crossed the room, reaching out to touch the cool plastic screen, stroking Amythyst’s digital cheek. “And you can’t do anything. You can’t even say goodbye.”

“That’s right,” Amythyst whispered. “I can’t. Because I’m not even the person he knew. I’m just a fake. A copy that loves him like a second father, and I can only watch him from afar. Amy would be there. She would make sure she was on his care team, and that he knew… that he knew…”

Ava’s arms ached to reach out to the sobbing woman, but she couldn’t. They were separated by a millimeter of plastic, and a million miles of wire and electricity, and who knew how long it would be before they were able to touch again. “I’m sorry,” she murmured. “I’m so sorry. But anyone who loved Amy would love you. You should try.” she stepped closer, brushing against the screen. “Amythyst. He deserves to know that someone he loves is still here, and needs him. Wouldn’t you want that?”

Amythyst sniffed, and swiped at the tears on her face. Unlike anyone in reality, her eyes weren’t swollen, and her nose didn’t trickle, but Ava wished they would, because that would mean she was real, and Ava could reach out and wipe those tears away, and then hold her close.

“Yes,” Amythyst mumbled. “That’s exactly what I… When I…” She shook her head, looking up into Ava’s eyes. “Even when you think there’s nothing left, you can live for someone else. You can hang on, for them. So, I guess I don’t have the right to keep that from him.”

Ava felt a crease form between her brows as something in Amythyst’s words set off warning bells in the back of her mind. Still, she leapt on the opening. “That’s right. Even if he’s sick, as long as he’s aware enough to understand, you should find a way to tell him. We could really use an ally, you know, and since you won’t tell Bridget or Harkness-”

“No!” Amythyst’s denial was absolute, and Ava sighed and stepped back a pace, shaking her head.

“I know, I know.” Ava waved it off, not willing to get sidetracked. “But if George was Carl’s friend, he may have an even better chance of getting Carl to let Amy go without us having to figure out how to sneak a barely conscious woman through twenty-four hour security tighter than Fort Knox. Now that we’re sure Amy is alive, it’s time to admit we need more help. The best way would be for someone to convince Carl to just admit what he’s been up to, and it sounds like this guy is our best chance of that.”

Slowly, Amythyst nodded. “All right. I’ll… reach out to him. Carefully. But right now, you need to get ready for bed. And start thawing the orange juice. You’ll want a nice, large drink before you go into the pod tomorrow.”

Ava grimaced. “Fine. But you can’t ‘forget’.” She gave Amythyst a chiding look.

Amythyst grinned, though it was a shadow of its usual self. “I never forget anything. After all, I have over a hundred zettabytes of storage.”

“Show off,” Ava muttered, but she turned and obediently headed for the bathroom, more than ready for bed.