Continuance (20 page)

“Is that a
joke?” he asked. “I just scared you to death.”

“You know what I
mean.”

“No. I don’t”

“You invited me
out with you tonight.” She paused. “I mean with you, as in everyone. You didn’t
have to. I know the others wouldn’t have. You’ve gone out of your way to help
me in the lab.” She turned her head, almost, but not quite looking at him. “And
here you are now. Even after I got out of line earlier.”

“What?” Jason
snorted a laugh. “With your ‘BS’ comment about me having regrets?” He shrugged
and looked out the window, watching the blur of city lights pass by. “You were
right, you know. I do have regrets. More than you could imagine.”

“I know,” she
said. “But it still wasn’t my place to call you on it like that.”

Jason had to
replay what she’d said in his mind to be sure he’d heard her right. “You
know
?
What’s that supposed to mean?”

She shook her
head as if to berate herself. “I just meant I’m not surprised. And I shouldn’t
have called you a liar. I’d blame it on the fact that I don’t really talk to
people much. I’m sort of out of practice. But the truth is, I’ve never been one
to pull many punches when it comes to being direct. It’s a weakness of mine.”

He thought of
Michelle and that way she had of cutting to the quick of things. Of dispensing
with the BS and latching right onto the heart of the issue, even when it was
unspoken. “I knew someone like that once. I didn’t consider it a weakness in
her. I doubt it’s one for you either.”

“Esperanza and
Camino Verde.” The PA made the announcement as the bus slowed for the next stop,
this one near the edge of campus.

“I’ll take this
stop,” Chaela said. “My apartment isn’t far.”

Jason followed
her off, and the bus pulled away, leaving the two of them standing on the
sidewalk. She turned toward him, staring off to the side in that funny way she
had.

“Guess you’ll
think twice about coercing me into a double date next time, huh?”

“At a minimum,”
he said.

She rewarded the
sarcasm by punching him in the shoulder, then spoiled it with a smile. Still,
she wouldn’t meet his eyes. “Well, I won’t say it was all fun, but thanks for
tonight, anyway. Parts of it, at least.”

With things
smoothing over, Jason found this side of Chaela…enjoyable. He wanted a way to
encourage it. “You know, Stuart and Ivory are probably back at my place by now.
You could still join us if you want.”

She shook her
head. “You go on. But I’m not picking up the slack if you guys all show up in
the lab with hangovers.”

Fat chance of that.
With his perks
giving him control over his metabolism, even the worst hangover could be
history in a matter of minutes.

“We’ll be good,”
he promised. It was impulsive, he knew, but he found he wanted to take
advantage of the progress he’d made with her. “Hey, so being inside a
fast-moving car obviously isn’t your thing. Think you might like watching from
a distance any better?”

Her curiosity
seemed to get the better of her, because she tilted her head, finally looking
him in the eye. “Not really, no.” ‘
Why?’
the look on her face asked.

“I’ve got a race
this weekend, just something I do for a distraction. If you want to come, you
could be a spectator this time.” He waited a beat to gauge her reaction, but
she could be hard to read even when she made eye contact. “I guess that probably
wouldn’t be your thing.”

“I could use a
distraction,” she said. “I’ll come.”

A chirp sounded
from Jason’s pocket, a call coming through. She waited politely while he pulled
out his AP and checked the screen. It was Alex.

This is it,
he realized
.
So
why should he feel guilt mixed with his excitement?
Because I just asked
another girl out. What the hell am I thinking?

“Listen, I gotta
take this,” he told her. “You’ll be okay walking the rest of the way?”

She nodded. “See
you tomorrow, Jason.”

The chirp
sounded again, and he slipped on his smartglasses, walking a few paces in the opposite
direction. “What did you find, old man?”

“I got the
location of your SLIDe,” Alex said. “There’s a camera feed there, but turns out
it’s on a separate network. Cracking it’s gonna take time.” An odd tone crept
into his voice. “At first I thought that might make it tough to get a visual,
but…maybe not.”

It wasn’t’ like
Alex to talk in riddles. “Why? Where is it?”

“It’s part of
the Integrated State University System, outside a secure parking structure.”

“A school campus?
Which one?” But as he looked in the direction Chaela had left, he had the strange
feeling he already knew.

Alex confirmed
it. “Yours.”

Jason walked into the apartment,
greeted by the sounds of muted laughter coming from somewhere inside. He found
Stuart and Ivory in the living room, standing on the green turf of a football
field. Uniformed players filled the space nearby, while thousands of cheering
fans packed the seats of the surrounding stadium.

The living room furniture looked
out of place on the virtual field, with the couch and coffee table sitting on the
28-yard line. Glasses and a couple of large bottles sat on the table, one
already half-empty, the other unopened. At the moment, Stuart and Ivory seemed
to be taking turns trying to throw the best pass.

Stuart had been excited about
getting the new interaction field for their RealiSIM, and he’d downloaded a few
of the newer programs that supported the interface. This football sim was probably
the least racy of the lot, only requiring a retroweave sensor glove to interact
with the field. Others worked best with a full body suit, like the one at the
lab.

Ivory took the next snap, but
lost her balance as she released the football, lurching to one side and taking
Stuart down with her in a heap. The two lapsed into uncontrollable laughter,
and Jason found himself half-heartedly joining in for a moment. Their fit only
intensified when they realized he’d been watching.

“About time you showed up.”
Stuart caught his breath, picking himself up from the floor. Jason helped Ivory
do the same, and she had to hold his arms for a moment to steady herself. After
the fall, her raven hair looked like it might have been styled by a demented
four-year-old, but somehow, she still managed to make it look attractive.

“Hey, speediac.” Ivory said. “Did
you get her home, okay? What was her deal, anyway?”

“She’s fine now,” Jason said. “One-fifty
in traffic wasn’t her idea of fun, I guess. Stupid thing for me to do.”

She shrugged. “
I
thought
it was fun.”

“Me too,” Stuart said. “Anyway, the
original plan’s still on. There’s plenty here, so you better get started.” He
gestured at the bottles.

“After a couple of doubles, you
might be ready to take us on.” Ivory giggled at her own joke, and the two
bottles made a sloshing noise as she thrust them at Jason with a little more force
than necessary.

“I’ll get a glass.” He took the
bottles, more to prevent her from dropping them than anything else. More
laughter followed him as he made his way to the kitchen.

Jason found he wasn’t really in
the mood for drinks and games anymore. His mind still raced with the news from
Alex. If the SLIDe could be believed, Michelle had been a stone’s throw away,
somewhere on the campus just last week. After the call, Alex had given him an
address and login to a private cloud – one less likely to be caught by spider
decryption sweeps. Inside, he’d stored what little pirated SLIDe data still
came his way.

Jason had wasted no time checking
it against Michelle’s genome. He ran his matching routine on the spot, checking
the new data right there on sidewalk beside the bus stop. But he’d found
nothing new. No additional hits. Still, Alex’s network didn’t have access to
all the SLIDes on campus, so it was still possible she’d been there since last
week, was close even now.

Maybe even right
next to me?
His
thoughts went back to earlier in the evening, sitting next to Chaela on the
ride back. No
.
The idea was insane. Desperate. Besides, what were the
odds?
She’s completely different from Michelle, anyway.
Most of the
time.

He looked at the unopened bottle
Ivory had given him. White rum. Stuart must have held out some hope Chaela would
change her mind. Jason opened it and poured a quick shot. He threw it back, determined
to push foolish theories about Chaela from his head. But even crazy ideas were better
than the alternative – that Michelle had been close by, captured by a random
SLIDe that once, and might not return. Another near miss – forever.

He felt the urge to go out and
look right then, to knock at dorm rooms and apartments, to call her name across
campus, see if she might magically respond. He shook his head, pouring himself
another shot. Even if that wouldn’t get him committed – or worse, caught by the
spiders – it was a little late to start tonight. The only thing he could do was
monitor that one SLIDe and hope to hell she showed up again. But that would
have to wait until morning.

“Did you forget where you keep
your glasses?” Jason turned to find Ivory leaning against the kitchen door
frame, her own glass in hand. He realized the house had been quiet for a few minutes
now, the laughter and cheers no longer drifting from the living room.

He held up the glass he’d just filled,
then up-ended it. “Thanks for checking in on me, though.”

“Game’s waiting,” she said.

When they got back to the living
room, Jason found it empty, the holo-game paused. “Where’s Stu?”

“We were empty, and I guess he’s
not a fan of the rum. He rode out to Steven’s again.” A half smile crossed her
lips. “Why? Afraid to play me without help?” She picked up the game remote.

Jason snorted and slipped on the
sensor glove. “This won’t even be close to fair, but let’s see what you’ve
got.”

“What? Just because I’ve had a
little more than you, don’t think that makes any difference.”

“Not with the trash talk, at
least.” He made a show of cracking his knuckles. “Fine. If you think you’ve got
the skills, bring it on, Miss Manning.”

“Who?”

“Never mind.”

He reached toward the projected
image of the offensive line, one hand over the other, wrists together. “Hut!”
The retroweave in the sensor glove reacted to the game’s IF. He felt the ball
hit his hands as he took the snap, felt it roll off his fingers as he released
a perfect spiral. His perks helped, of course, giving him precise control as he
directed the throw. With a grin, he turned toward Ivory, raising his fists in
triumph while the ball was still in the air. The virtual crowd roared, and he
knew the pass had found its way into the hands of the wide receiver. Touchdown.

He was prepared to gloat a
little, but she’d taken a seat on the couch, studying him with cool eyes.
“That’s wasn’t what I meant.” She paused the game. “Even if I was dry as the
desert, you’d give me a run for my money.” She grabbed his hand and pulled him
down beside her. “If you wanted to. And I’m pretty damn good at this game.” He
realized she hadn’t let go when she deftly slipped his sensor glove off, setting
it on the coffee table as her eyes found his.

He’d been wrong. Those eyes
weren’t cool. They were anything but.

“Listen, I don’t think…” he began.

Suddenly, what little space remained
between them was gone. Her kiss was warm electricity, heated current laced with
vodka. And like a depleted battery, he wanted to draw that current in, to
create more in return. Without thought, his hands found her waist, drifting
upward.

The room erupted in a roar of wild
cheers.

They startled, and Jason gave a
nervous laugh when he realized he’d shifted onto the remote, unpausing the holo-game.
With no one playing, the game switched to demo mode, and the QB started the
snap count for a new play. Jason fumbled at the control, switching the game
off.

Ivory was still close, and the
air felt warm. He swallowed hard before grabbing her shoulders and pushing her
gently away. “Not that I’m complaining, but you’re a little…” He was about to
say “drunk,” but he realized she no longer seemed tipsy at all. “…involved with
Stuart.”

Jason thought he saw something
reflected in her eyes, then. Doubt? Guilt? But she glanced down the hall toward
Stuart’s room and shrugged. “Stuart doesn’t have me patented. Besides – we’re
all science students here, and scientists are always open to new discoveries,
right?” She gave him a devious smile. “I should have known you’d be a good
kisser with all that…experience.”

That fast, the heat vanished and
Jason felt a chill. His mind reeled as he realized what she’d meant about him
winning if he wanted, the discovery she’d been talking about. For the second
time today, here was someone telling him she knew what he was. And for the
second time, she didn’t seem to care, though he had to admit the way Ivory
showed it was a far cry from Dr. Fairchild.
What’s next?
Would Chaela
casually stroll in and announce that she knew? Had all along? Maybe Ty, from
the track? The owner of that little Thai bistro?