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  People that obviously need to be tried for their crimes.

  “If I had my way, it would have been a lot bloodier,” Niomi said.

  “I was hired to program, not fight or be some cyber spy.” Ari pressed on her temple, wondering why they ever thought to hire her. “Ask Niomi, I’m a horrible fighter.”

  “I don’t want a fighter,” the director said. “I want a smart mind that can gather information and protect itself against digital manipulations.”

  Ari almost laughed. “And here I thought I’d be stuck writing virtual-in-virtuals for pervy old guys.” She’d learned about programs where one could go so deep in the virtual world that they would forget they were in there. Rich people often wanted to retire like that.

  “The powers you have to manipulate the virtual environment are a lot more important than that.”

  “So, what’s next? Going into VLEX?” Ari asked.

  With a voice command, Niomi turned on a smaller monitor in front of Ari. “Soon, but time in the VLEX is very expensive. You’ll watch, learn, and train first.”

  The screen flicked on to a picture of a grandiose city, streets lined in stone, and buildings rising up to reach the sky. People moved around the city like ants scurrying around on an expensive table. The sky was a perfect shade of blue, the clouds scattered around on a sunny day. The perfection traveled to another level; even the weather knew better than to destroy the image.

  “Can anyone watch this?” She wondered why she’d never seen this before in her schooling. Granted, her schooling usually only dealt with their own history of wars and innovation.

  “It costs to have eyes on the city and even this view is limited, but we keep a constant eye on things. We are a global company that has important business throughout the world. We need you to help protect our interests inside VLEX.” The director stood, one eyebrow raised as if expecting an answer.

  Did she really have a choice? She signed her contract and if she didn’t have to hurt anyone, she’d do what she could. And being here, she could do more for her family financially than anywhere else.

  “I want to see my family again,” she said, changing the subject.

  “Of course.” The director said with a smile. He had an air about him, like he was God himself. Turning to Niomi, the almighty commanded, “See that it happens.” Without another word he left.

  Ari let her breath go and relaxed in the chair.

  “Do you know how much work and money it takes to contact your family?” Niomi asked. “It would better to focus on your training.”

  Ari shrugged. She knew but didn’t care. “So, bill me.”

  Niomi shook her head in disappointment and headed towards the screen, pulling up the command key in the corner. “While I get your request in order, I want you to start memorizing these skins.”

  “What are skins?” Ari turned in her chair to study the screen. A pale girl, with red hair and freckles appeared on the screen.

  “People you will be in the VLEX. You need to memorize their back stories, their co-workers, drink preference, what they wear and other appearances down to the freckle. You will be required to become these people when necessary.”

  “Where do they come from? Am I taking over their jobs? Won’t someone notice?”

  “Don’t worry about that part. You work on being a chameleon. You’ll never show your true self in the VLEX and may have to change appearances in a second’s notice. Changing code from within will alert the authorities but you’ll be long gone before they find you.”

  “Anytime people say ‘don’t worry’, somehow it makes me worry more.”

  Niomi left the girl on the screen and took a seat next to Ari. “Do you trust me?”

  Pulling back slightly, Ari considered the question. She had worked with Niomi for the past six months. Hell, they had sort of bonded over hours of martial arts videos—the old school ones from before computer manipulation ruined film. Niomi was hard, yet fair. But what did Ari really know about her?

  Niomi sensed her hesitation. “I’ve always been honest with you. Ask me and I’ll tell you.”

  “I can’t beat someone to a pulp like in that video. I can’t kill anyone.”

  “We aren’t asking you to. This isn’t real. And your training is more for the mental and physical benefits. But you’re telling me you’ve never played games, killing orcs or whatever the hell kids are playing nowadays?”

  Ari rubbed an invisible spot on the desk. “That just looked so real.”

  “Never forget where you are or who you are.” Niomi’s voice hit a stern intensity usually saved for training. “There are great differences between these two worlds, but the person is the same. There are several ways to handle a situation in the VR, as you know. Your other tools are a lot more powerful than your fists.”

  “What did the agent do to that man’s mind?” The image of blood and then the massive amount of code unsettled her. Invading someone secrets, their beliefs, felt wrong. Despite her natural aptitude, she loathed the idea of VRs to begin with.

  “That tactic is only used in serious circumstances, where information is vital. The information will be taken to the authorities. Think of it as interrogation without real or lasting pain. Society has spent years painfully torturing others to get information and a lot of the time that information would be forced or false. That age is passed, at least with warpers.” Niomi placed a hand on Ari’s shoulder. Even though they touched all the time as they fought, this felt important. Her steel eyes held a softness to them. “Warpers are a blessing.”

  The verdict was still out for Ari. When she was first called to study virtual reality programming, she thought it a curse. As she came to accept her position in society, she realized the power she had, and the price tag placed on her new ability. Yes, warpers had gifts others dreamed of, but did they really help society or just push it farther down the electronic rabbit hole?

  “You’ll see soon enough.” Niomi broke the tension between them and headed to the screen. After a couple clicks, she turned back. “I sent you the files. You can check them out this afternoon, then take a break tonight. Why don’t you watch an old movie while you eat? You could probably use a break.”

  “Are you sure I heard you right? Did you just say I could use a break?”

  Niomi rolled her eyes. “Don’t make me regret it, newbie,” she replied, pushing Ari out the door.

  “Guess that means I’ll order the sushi?” Ari said to the door. Since they lived on an island, Niomi pushed fish along with fresh fruit and veggies more than anything. Raw fish was hard to swallow at first, literally, but now sushi was one of Ari’s favorites. Now sea urchins were disgusting; Ari had to draw the line somewhere.

  Back in her room, Ari called Reed, and he appeared on her huge screen.

  “What are you smiling about?” He sat at his desk, working on an art table in front of him. Island life agreed with him. His skin tanned to a nice light brown while his hair had sandy blond highlights.

  “Every time I see your face two feet tall, I can’t help but smile.” She never tired of looking at him.

  “I’m pretty jealous of your screen too, but we can’t all be spoiled.” His soft lips pulled up into a grin.

  “Free tonight for a movie?”

  “Sorry. I have homework.” He motioned to the tablet in front of him. “Rain check?”

  “Of course.”

  “Call me when it’s over, so I can say goodnight.”

  “Deal.” She clicked off the screen and checked with her only other friend on the island, Vinh.

  Since he was busy as well, it was only Niomi and Ari for the movie that evening. It wasn’t as relaxing as a real movie should be with Niomi constantly critiquing every action section. They did have a large plate of sushi and fruit delivered to accompany the old Asian movie. The translation was a bit spotty as the actors’ lips didn’t quite coordinate with their words. But, since most of the movie was fighting, it didn’t matter.

  As the
movie ended, Ari turned to Niomi on the other side of the couch. “How did you get into fighting so much?”

  Niomi startled a bit at the question, and it wasn’t easy to surprise Niomi.

  Ari continued, “Come on. How can one person want to constantly eat so healthy, fight with weapons, and run like someone is always chasing her?”

  Niomi turned towards the screen and turned it off with a command. Her blonde hair fell to one side of her head. With her profile to Ari, she could see the vulnerability in Niomi that was usually covered by a strength and fierceness. After six months, it surprised Ari as much as the next words.

  “Growing up, I was hurt… bad. I swore I’d never play the victim again, and I haven’t.” Niomi turned, her shoulders tightening, and eyes narrowing back to their normal position. “You want to know why I’m hard on you? It’s because I never want you to have to live through something like that. So maybe next time you can quit your whining and trust me.”

  Unsure of what to say to that personal confession, it took Ari a moment to reply. “I trust you, but it doesn’t mean I won’t complain when you torture me.”

  Niomi threw her napkin at her. “If you’re going to complain, you might as well get clean up duty. Don’t forget you have homework tonight. Get started on the skins.”

  “Thanks,” she said sarcastically. Ari grabbed the leftover plates, her thoughts on Niomi. That was the most she had shared with Ari in six months. It didn’t mean they were going to start to do each other’s hair, but it was something.

  Since Ari’s abilities were worth so much, they didn’t want her with the rest of the population. The more people that knew about her, the more chances the outside world would too. Granted, she had her boyfriend, Reed, but he was working like crazy to catch up with their tech program and started a design program at night. That left Vinh, and Ari’s maid, Jewels, who only came around if Ari called her.

  She messaged Reed to make sure they were still on for tomorrow morning and then headed to her rooms. Dressed in pajamas and tucked into her soft bed, Ari flipped on her large screen and starred at the red-headed woman. With a finger, Ari enlarged the picture of the woman to view the 3D image closer, not only to study, but to memorize it.

  This woman must be important enough to impersonate. Who knew, maybe she wasn’t even a real person? She pushed aside those thoughts, she couldn’t do anything about them now.

  Ari continued to flick through the pictures of men, woman, dark, light, tall and short. They kept coming and a sickening sensation grew in Ari’s chest. Not because of all the work this entailed; growing up poor, she wasn’t afraid of hard work. She worried as her life shrunk to these small rooms and her only life was wearing others’ skins, what would be left of her when she was done?

  Chapter Three

  The next morning, Ari’s legs burned as she sprinted barefoot through the sand. Damp sand flung behind her as strands of sweaty hair clung to her neck. The ocean blue stretched as far as she could see. Beauty taunting her in her misery. Her legs felt like rubber and she thought she better stop before she ended up face down in the sand.

  She reached out to Reed next to her. “I give.”

  They slowed down, but Reed kept walking. “Come on. You’ll get a cramp if you stop.”

  “If I cramp, just throw me out to sea,” she said between pants of air. She pulled out her pony tail, letting her wavy dark hair fall past her shoulders.

  The HUB on her wrist, beeped. “You’ve completed 2.75 miles in twenty-five minutes. A quarter of a mile farther yesterday, but an overall lower speed by 2.4 percent.”

  She moaned and dropped into the sand. Her breath coming out in ragged gasps. Ari stared out at the aquamarine water. It didn’t matter how many times she looked out at this never-ending expanse in the last six months, she never got tired of it. As the ocean breeze cooled the sweat on her skin, she breathed in deep.

  Reed sat down next to her in the sand, running a hand over his short sandy brown hair. “We went farther. Niomi can’t give you that hard of a time.” His silver Fit Suit clung tight to his body. He looked comfortable, whereas on Ari the suit felt constricting.

  “We’ll see. If I don’t keep improving, she may not let me run with you anymore.” As every VisionTech employee was supposed to get regular exercise, Ari recently convinced Niomi to let her run with Reed in the mornings, so they could spend time together.

  Ari sighed at the thought of her upcoming meeting today. She’d fallen asleep memorizing all she could of the first three skins Niomi gave her. And now, with a sleep deprived brain, she doubted she would remember any of it.

  Reed nudged her shoulder. “What’s distracting you?”

  “Work.” She leaned onto his shoulder, breathing his warm spicy smell mingled with sweat. “Niomi started a new project for me.”

  “That bad, huh?”

  She sat up. “Have you ever heard of VLEX?”

  He furrowed his brow. “Recently we’ve been reviewing their security measures and how VisionTech has mirrored and improved upon them. What does your project have to do with VLEX?”

  Ari lowered her eyes. “Don’t think I can say.” Per her contract, she wasn’t supposed to discuss details of her job with anyone, including Reed. She figured sharing info about VLEX wasn’t a big deal, since the whole elite population dealt with it.

  “I get it.” He wrapped an arm around her. “Your super cool top secret job is beyond lowly me,” he joked.

  “Trust me. I wish I didn’t have it.”

  His brow furrowed. “Is it that bad?” He leaned towards her, nuzzling into her neck for privacy.

  Since their suits had communication devices, they were always aware they didn’t have control of who could listen in. And after school last year, they weren’t taking any chances.

  Ari leaned in, enjoying the closeness. “I’m fine.”

  “If you say so. Granted, sitting on a private beach with their hot boyfriend, most people would be fine.”

  “Except that he has an ego larger than the ocean.” She gave Reed a friendly shove into the sand.

  “It’s hard not to. I’m surprised you haven’t ravished me yet.”

  It wasn’t for lack of trying. Finding true privacy was a struggle. Yet, with so much change lately, taking things slow was probably a good idea. Maybe it’s because he was her brother’s best friend and they grew up together. Deep down, Ari knew this was more than some teenage fling.

  Digging her feet in the sand, they resumed their spots next to each other, watching the waves crash.

  “You’re in security,” she said. “Do you ever worry that you’ll be asked to break into something you shouldn’t? Do something you shouldn’t?”

  His smart hazel eyes searched her face, probably for what she couldn’t say. “I don’t worry and don’t plan to until it happens. When it does, I’ll stand my ground and make my own choice. You make your own choices, Ari, and I’ll be there to back you no matter what.” He took her hand.

  A comfort settled deep in her belly. Gratitude and desire in having Reed by her side overwhelmed her and she leaned forward to kiss him. In her enthusiasm, she pushed him over and ended up in the sand. He held on tight and rolled until he was on top. Kneeling above her, the sun highlighted gold strands in his hair. He looked like some sea prince.

  “Is that how we’re going to do this?” he asked with a mischievous grin on his face.

  “Oh, shut up and kiss me.”

  And he did just that. Reed lips were light as feathers at first, teasing her. Wrapping her hands around his neck she pulled him down to show him she meant business. She melted into his kiss, losing herself in the desire of his touch.

  She wrapped one leg around his thigh and, in a move Niomi would be proud of, flipped him back over. Sand scattered between them, as Ari smiled down on him.

  He squirmed under her hold but didn’t really try to break it.

  “Now you have me? What are you going to do with me?”

  Ari savored
this picture of him playing with her. His mouth turning up on the sides, struggling not to laugh. His kind eyes rose to the challenge.

  “Well…” she leaned down to devour him, but her HUB rang with a call.

  Before she could answer it, Niomi sounded. “Hey, lovebirds, stop making out and get back here.”

  “How does she know?” Ari mouthed, surprised.

  Niomi answered the question without even hearing it. “It’s your suit. Your heart rate is up, but your location isn’t really moving. Maybe if you studied more, you’d figure it out.”

  “Uh. We’re heading back.” Ari stood up and offered Reed a hand.

  “Making out is a legitimate form of exercise,” he said to Niomi.

  “Not the way you two do it. Move your butt.” A small click signaled the end of the conversation.

  “Should I be offended?” Reed asked.

  Ari laughed, shaking sand out of her hair. “Let’s take it more as a challenge for next time.”

  “Want to race back?”

  She rolled her eyes in response. When he looked resigned to walk, he checked the HUB on his suit. She used the distraction and took off. Cheating was necessary if she was going to win.

  They finally slowed as they approached VisionTech. Technically, the whole island was VisionTech, but they headed to her rooms in the the Wave. The wilds of the tropical forest surrounded them on their path. VisionTech did a great job at working around the environment.

  Reed grasped her hand when they arrived at her door. “Did you ever think we’d end up here? Working in a tropical paradise?”

  “It’s almost perfect.” Almost being the key word. There was a painful spot in her heart where her mother and brother resided, and she knew Reed felt the same way. Their quarterly visits never quite felt like enough. Yet, they did get to spend time together on an island paradise, hand in hand.

  “See you tonight for dinner?” she reminded him.

  “I actually have to work on my proposal for the Art Department.” He looked as disappointed as Ari felt. Reed had been working with the Security Department and staying in their dorms but was given an opportunity to work with the Art Department in his free time. With his love for drawing, he couldn’t pass this opportunity up.