CA Chapter Thirty-nine (Patreon)

Taking a shower alone went surprisingly well. She set the temperature as low as she could stand, and the cold blast brought her to herself better than any amount of caffeine. It was difficult to get the bodysuit open with only one hand, but once she got it started, the force of the water practically made it slide right off, and she didn’t bother with soap, just sluiced away the lingering remains of the biogel and stepped out, leaving the suit puddled on the floor.

She was embarrassed when she realized she’d been too distracted to get her clothes out of her locker, so she had to walk back into the large open area wearing just a towel. Still, the only person there was LeeAn, and LeeAn had already seen everything Ava had, so she just dropped the towel and pulled on her clothes, shivering as she did. When she finished tugging her shirt over her head, she powered on her screen and tucked it into her pocket with a deep sense of relief, turning to the nurse.

LeeAn’s eyes flicked over her. “Good. You ready?”

Ava nodded, lifting her chin as she turned to face the door. The two women walked out together, but the moment LeeAn saw Quinn, she said, “All yours,” and walked away without a single glance back.

Keeping her eyes fixed on Quinn’s face, Ava forced a smile. “I’m looking forward to getting some real sleep,” she said, brightly. “I know sleeping in the pod is supposed to be just as good, but I never quite feel rested.”

Quinn looked thrown. If she hadn’t been so stressed, it might have been funny. He had obviously been ready for her to be upset, angry, or confused. Anything except ‘normal’. “Uh, yeah,” he said. “But don’t you feel… sick?” His nose wrinkled. “You threw up all over yourself, and it looked like you almost passed out. Even Dr. Veralt noticed.” His gleeful little smile returned as he said this.

It looked like he was perfectly happy to stand in the hallway and exchange barbs, but Ava wanted out. Stretching exaggeratedly, she turned and walked toward the exit. “Sure,” she said, and her yawn wasn’t completely faked. “But I haven’t eaten anything in more than a week, and I haven’t really slept, either.” She smiled sweetly over her shoulder, and if the smile had a poisonous edge, who was to know? “Maybe their fancy pod isn’t as good as they think it is. Maybe anyone who uses it for that long will get sick.”

Quinn trotted along behind her, forced to move at her pace and clearly unhappy about it. “Dr. Veralt says-”

She tapped her screen against the security pad by the door, and glanced at him while it swung open. “Does Dr. Veralt use an immersion pod? Or does he use a regular pod? Have you ever seen him use one of the new ones?”

Quinn was still spluttering an answer as she strode toward the guard, thumbing her screen to prove she was still herself, and waiting again while the woman verified her identity. Then Quinn had to go through the same process, so Ava was halfway down the hall by the time he hustled up behind her. “Hey!” he said, already sounding a little out of breath. “I’m supposed to escort you!”

She saw a little icon flicker to life in her retinal display, indicating that Amythyst was watching and listening through Ava’s implants, so Ava paused and glanced back at the puffing man. “Dr. Veralt told you to take me to my suite, and make sure I stayed there for the rest of the day. For my own good. I’m going to my suite. Why does it matter who’s in front?”

“Crap,” Amythyst muttered in Ava’s ear. “He’s suspicious.”

Turning away from Quinn, Ava moved her eyes up and down in silent agreement. She didn’t know what had gone wrong, but obviously something had. It was possible that Veralt was just on edge because of the unexpected visit of a VIP, but Ava thought he was wary of her, specifically.

“Hey!” Quinn said again, and this time he caught at her arm, trying to keep her from pulling further ahead of him. His fingers dug into her flesh uncomfortably, but not quite painfully, so she fought down the urge to pull away. She was stronger and faster than she ever had been in her life, and she could probably beat him to a pulp with very little effort if she had to. It was this realization that allowed her to relax and smile sweetly at him.

“Oh, I’m sorry,” she said. “You’re shorter than me, so you probably can’t keep up, right? I’ll slow down for you.”

His face flushed red, and his fingers clenched on her arm. She refused to react to the spike of pain, so she just kept smiling, but she knew she’d have some bruises later. “I… You…” He shook his head, looking at his own hand as if he hadn’t realized it was there. “Just let me go first,” he grumbled, and took off at a pace that was almost as fast as the one she’d set, as if to prove that he could.

They made their way through the house, him in the lead, puffing, and her trailing along behind, breathing easily. They passed several people, who all looked away, then watched surreptitiously from the corners of their eyes, before turning and staring blatantly after they passed. By the time Quinn reached the doors that led into the staff housing wing, he was red-faced and sweat clung to his hairline. Without a word, he tapped his screen on the security pad, then stepped back so she could do the same. They each pushed through one of the double doors at the same time, but Ava easily made it to her door first.

Reaching out, she pushed the door open, stepped inside, and swung it mostly shut behind her. “Well,” she said, giving him a vacant smile, “thanks so much for making sure I got here safely. Too bad you have to wait out here to make sure I don’t leave.”

This time his grin was positively malevolent. He raised his screen. “Oh, I don’t have to stay here,” he said, and pulled the door from her unresisting fingers, tugging it closed. A tap sounded, and his muffled voice finished, “because you aren’t going anywhere.”

Ava’s screen chirped, and when she glanced at it, she saw she had a new alert from the LandonHome app.

Warning: Your door has been locked for 12 hours for medical concerns. Please contact Dr. Justin Veralt if you feel this order is in error. If you have an emergency, press the SOS button, and a medical team will accompany security to assist you.

The rest of the app faded out, leaving only two buttons. One was large and red, labeled ‘SOS’. The other was labeled ‘Room Service’. Apparently, they didn’t want her to starve while she was held prisoner. She tried to minimize the image, but the app seemed to have taken over her screen, and she couldn’t do anything else. When she pressed the power button, she discovered that she couldn’t even turn it off, so if she wanted to power it down, she’d have to wait until it ran out of charge, which would probably take a day or so, since it had been fully charged when she turned it off before entering immersion.

Words flickered across her vision, hanging in front of her like a notification in the game, and she felt a strange sense of unreality as she scanned them quickly.

Don’t answer. They’re actively listening to you, and there’s a strange increase in the amount of data going out. They may have a visual feed I haven’t found yet because it was inactive. Sit down on the couch like you’re going to watch a vid.

Immediately, Ava crossed to the couch and sat, and though normally she would use her screen to control what she was watching, instead she said, “Assistant, replay season one of Babble-on, starting with episode one.” The house she grew up in was technically a smart home, but it ran on an old system, so it always felt strange to talk to the empty room, but the screen obediently flickered over to show the baby detectives in their short trench coats and diapers.

The show began to play, and words resumed scrolling across her vision.

Good choice. I’m syncing the audio from the last time you watched this to the current time stamp, so as long as you don’t react visibly, we should be able to talk.

Ava settled back on the couch, putting a carefully blank expression on her face, and hummed subtle agreement.

Lots of people are going in and out of that dead space. One of my gizmos managed to catch a ride on one of the security guys’ pant legs. It’s recording audio, but it can only transmit when the door opens, so what I’m getting is patchy, and usually several minutes old. George is definitely in there. He told Carl he heard there was a girl here who looked like Amy, and he wanted to see her. Carl claimed he didn’t know what George was talking about, and something something something I couldn’t get, then George said he could get a court order if he had to.

Ava’s eyes widened. George had nothing the legal system would recognize as proof supporting his claims, but he was going to get a court order? She had more than half expected he’d have a private security force like Carl did, and that was what he’d use to get Amy out. She suspected the two men could have their own small war on the grounds of Landon House, and as long as the media didn’t catch wind of it, they could make it vanish as thoroughly as if it never happened.

Carl gave in. I don’t know why. But that’s why they pulled you and Amy out. If Amy keeps quiet until she sees George, she can prove who she is, and this may end today.

Ava lifted her hand over her mouth, as if she was scratching her nose, and murmured, “Veralt is suspicious. LeeAn said they were taking too long to take Amy out.”

Time stretched, the childish voices of the characters on screen clashing with the tension in Ava’s body as she waited for a response. When it came, she could almost hear the anger and frustration in the words.

You’re right. Veralt put in a fresh dose of his drug cocktail before they started waking Amy up. She’ll be all but comatose by the time George sees her, so she won’t be answering any questions.

Ava gritted her teeth and scratched her nose again. “Can you get me out of here? I’ll go talk to him.” She counted to ten before reluctant words filled her vision.

You leaving when they think they’ve locked you in would blow your cover for sure. You’d probably be stopped before you got halfway there, even if I spoofed the cameras and told you how to avoid people. There’s no way to get you through manned security checkpoints. Not right now.

Her muscles were tight with the need to do something, but Ava forced herself to remain on the couch in her relaxed pose. She pretended to cough and muttered, “Then what do I do?”

You wait. Once George sees Amy, he won’t let this go, no matter what Carl tells him. Stick with the plan. Tomorrow, leave to spend the day with your ‘dad’, and I’ll put you in contact with George directly then. Your testimony should be enough to get him that court order, though I doubt he’ll need the help.

Ava shifted, and the bulge of her useless screen pulling at her pocket reminded her of something. She slid her hand into the opposite pocket, feeling a hard lump no larger than a pea. She didn’t know what LeeAn had given her, but she was sure it was important.

On the screen, Bobbi Mushroom stole Patty Binki’s bottle, and Ava mimed a laugh at the resultant tussle. She was pretty sure she’d laughed out loud at this scene, especially with Amythyst there, cracking up on the other side of the screen. Now, Ava reached up as if to wipe away tears of laughter and said, “LeeAn gave me something. Unknown but important.” The response was instantaneous.

KEEP IT. HIDE IT. Take it with you when you leave, and we’ll figure it out. For now, just eat and get some rest. Nothing you can do.

The words stopped, then Amythyst’s voice sounded in her ear, murmuring so softly that Ava could barely hear it. “Are you all right?”

Ava nodded, then shook her head, knowing Amythyst would be able to see the motion in the mirror on the wall.

“I’m sorry,” Amythyst went on, sounding far too serious, and much too sad. “I should never have involved you in this. I should have contacted George, or waited until Felicia and Frederic were available and could find a way in.”

Ava shook her head more vehemently this time. If Amythyst had contacted George before she was certain Amy was still alive, and had somehow convinced the man to check into it, he probably still would have come in person, but he wouldn’t have pushed as hard as he had today. If he got sicker or died as a result, especially if nothing came of it, Amythyst never would have forgiven herself. On the other hand, if Amythyst waited much longer, Veralt’s drug cocktail might have permanently fried Amy’s brain. Meanwhile, Ava would have gone on about her dismal, gray, miserable existence, and would have missed out on everything.

She would have missed out on Amythyst.

“Glad you did,” she murmured, not having to pretend this time as she swiped away a tear. She wished she could see Amythyst’s face as the silence stretched until Ava stood and said, “Assistant, turn off the show.”

The screen flickered off, and Ava walked over to her kitchenette and opened the refrigerator, pulling out an unopened package of hotdogs and some buns that were probably more than a little stale, but shouldn’t be moldy. As she pushed the buttons on the microwave, Amythyst finally spoke again.

“I’m selfish,” the voice murmured. “I should be more sorry. But I’m not. I’m glad I met you, Ava Gardner. Thank you for going through all this craziness with me. It’ll be over soon, and I’ll let you go, but I’ll never regret knowing you.”

Ava froze, hand hovering over the start button as the microwave lit up and the carousel inside the machine began to spin. “Amythyst?” she said, not bothering to lower her voice. She looked around, as if Amythyst might somehow appear beside her. As if she could protect the AI from whatever it was that caused her voice to sound so profoundly melancholy.

The microwave beeped, but Ava stood silently, staring into space, waiting for an answer that never came.