The Greenhorn was pleasantly quiet and predictable. My huge expenditure of energy had left me so drained that even moving the mouse was an effort. I kept my eyes open with difficulty, and made a mental promise to recheck all my entries when I came back the following week.
I ate, barely tasting my lunch, and dragged myself back out to my car. By the time I parked at Sirius Dynamics, I had to bite back the whine that threatened to escape.
I shook my head vigorously and briskly patted my cheeks, trying to awaken some initiative.
Apparently initiative was heavily drugged and refusing to answer the door. Or maybe it had packed up and headed out for a quick vacation in Rio. I compromised and awakened dumb stubbornness instead.
Down in the lab, I clasped my hands together so the tremor wouldn’t be so noticeable and turned to Kane. “Any emergencies today?”
“No, you can go back to the files from Harchman’s. I’ll stay here until two, and then Webb will take over with you for the rest of the afternoon.”
“Okay. Signal me when you do the shift change. I’ll be ready for a break by then.”
I propped myself up in the chair again and stepped into the network.
Bill Harks lunged at me, his face contorted with rage.
I let out a shriek and leaped backward through the network portal.
Uncontrollable screams wrenched from me as my body convulsed, flailing in a desperate attempt to escape the torture. Fire burned my skin and boiled inside my veins. A maelstrom of colours churned around me as I fell. Nausea ripped through my gut. The endless screams lacerated my throat.
An eternity later, the suffering began to abate. The swirling colours faded and my screams trailed off into raw whimpering. As awareness returned, I silenced myself and concentrated on opening my eyes.
Kane’s voice called my name again and again, and I finally summoned up the strength for a hoarse whisper. “I’m okay.”
I felt a cessation of tension, and realized he was holding my tightly curled body while he alternately stroked my hair and massaged my head and neck.
One by one, I relaxed my clenched muscles until I was sprawled on the floor. I had managed to squint one eye partway open, and I finally achieved both eyes simultaneously as he rubbed the pain away from my temples.
I groaned and tried to sit up. His strong arm supported me, and I managed a semi-vertical position slumped against his broad chest.
“Aydan, what happened?” he demanded. “Did you get kicked out of the network?”
I breathed deeply for a few seconds while I tried to force my brain to formulate an answer. It reluctantly began to function again and I sat up a little straighter and rubbed my hands over my aching face.
“No, I didn’t get kicked out,” I croaked. “I was just stupid. I came through the portal too fast again.”
He peered down at me. “Why? You just went in. It was literally seconds before you started screaming. What happened?”
“I wasn’t paying attention to where my thoughts were going. All of a sudden, Bill Harks was there, and I forgot it was a sim and jumped back through the portal. I just wasn’t thinking. My fault.”
He held me close and stroked my hair wordlessly for a few moments. Then he stood, lifting me to my feet. “Come on. You’re done for the day.”
I rolled my sore shoulders and cracked my neck. “I’m okay now. I’ll just be more careful with my thoughts this time.”
He pried the network key’s small box out of my hand and put it in the drawer. “I’m your handler. And I say you’re done for the day.” He ushered me firmly out the door and up the stairs.
In the lobby, he stood beside me while I turned in my security fob, and then walked with me out into the hot sun. At my car, he gazed down at me sternly. “Go home. Have a nap. Work in your garden. Play some music. Anything you want as long as you aren’t overtaxing yourself. That’s an order.”
I slithered weakly into the driver’s seat. “Roger that.” I looked up at his concerned face. “Thanks. See you tomorrow.”
“Not until three o’clock,” he warned. “And then, only for a couple of hours.”
“Okay.”
I drove home, feeling as though I’d been beaten from head to toe with a baseball bat, and did my best to follow his orders for the rest of the day.
I had another crummy sleep. I squinted apathetically at the hag in the bathroom mirror before groaning my way to the breakfast table.
After breakfast, I shambled down the hall and contemplated my desk.
“Fuck it.” I spoke aloud before remembering I was bugged.
Well, tough. If you listen in where you’re not wanted, you’re bound to hear something you don’t like. I snickered. Hope my audience had appreciated that resounding fart I’d let go earlier.
That was enough to boost my spirits a bit. I hadn’t remembered the bugs at the time, but it was still nice to know somebody else was suffering, too.
Feeling a little more cheerful, I went out onto the back porch and grabbed a folding chair as I headed out of camera range. I set up the chair in a sheltered corner of the yard and slouched into it, stretching my legs out in the early sun. Listening to the quiet of the country morning, I let my mind clear.
I jerked awake with an aborted snore. Slowly and carefully, I straightened my stiff neck enough to look at my watch. God, ten-thirty. I had just enough time to get changed and get to Blue Eddy’s by eleven.
I levered myself out of the chair and hobbled around for a few minutes, trying to shake out the pins and needles in my legs before making for the house as briskly as I could manage.
When I let myself in the back door at Blue Eddy’s, the piano was disappointingly silent. I felt my shoulders sag. I really could have used some happy music this morning.
I dragged down the hall and into the office to start on the week’s entries. About twenty minutes later, Eddy poked his head around the door frame.
“Oh, you’re here. I didn’t hear you come in.”
I glanced up from my work. “Never trust a sneaky bookkeeper,” I joked.
He laughed, but sobered quickly. “Aydan, are you feeling all right?” He hesitated. “I heard you had a bit of a problem over at the hotel.”
I shrugged. Small town. Probably everybody knew by now.
“Yeah. I’m glad you warned me about Harks earlier.”
He stepped into the room and perched on the edge of the desk. “I didn’t actually expect you this morning. Are you really okay?”
“Yeah, I’m fine.”
His mouth quirked up, but his eyes were serious. “Word has it that Bill was down for the count.”
I sighed. I really didn’t want to talk about it. As if reading my mind, Eddy straightened. “I know you probably don’t want to talk about this, but I wanted to give you another heads-up. This isn’t the first time rumours have gone around about Bill assaulting a woman, but nothing ever sticks. The women always seem to change their minds about pressing charges, and it all gets swept under the table. And none of them ever did a number on him like you did. You should watch your back.”
I gazed up at him wearily. “Jesus, Eddy, this is one of the things I hate about small towns. Everybody knows who the bad apples are, and nothing ever gets done about it.”
“I know.” He sighed. “Just... be careful, okay?”
“I will. Thanks, Eddy.”
He turned to go, and I sank my head into my hands.
“Aydan?”
I jerked my head up, startled. He was hovering in the doorway, and his eyes were kind. “Remember, you have friends here. You’re not alone.”
I cleared the sudden huskiness from my throat. “Thanks, Eddy.”
He nodded and vanished, and a few minutes later, the sound of the piano made me smile.
I enjoyed another delicious free meal that had been mysteriously ordered and declined by a customer, and made my way to Up & Coming feeling comforted by Eddy’s care and friendship.
Some off-colour banter with Lola heartened me almost as much as her flagrant approval of what she referred to as ‘a good dose of whup-ass’ for Bill Harks. I arrived at Sirius Dynamics feeling almost human again.
I grudgingly approached the secured door, and gave myself a determined attitude adjustment while I waited for the time delay. I only had to control my thoughts for a few moments until I got into the simulated file room and began my decryptions. Once I was absorbed in the documents, time would pass easily.
I squared my shoulders and marched down to Spider’s lab. My hands were hardly shaking at all.
A couple of hours later, my positive attitude was somewhat frayed around the edges as I held my skull together with both hands and swore. I straightened slowly. Two sets of eyes regarded me uneasily.
“I’m fine.” I answered the unasked question.
“Good,” Kane said with obvious relief. “That’s it for today then. Get out of here.”
“I could probably do another stint. It was a pretty short day today.”
“No.” He plucked the network key out of my hand and passed it to Spider, who secured it in his desk drawer as if afraid I’d arm-wrestle him for it.
“Okay. You don’t have to tell me twice.” I rose with relief and headed for the door. “See you tomorrow morning. Nine o’clock?”
Both men nodded, and I scooted for the stairs. I made it through the time delay with more ease than usual, and patted myself on the back for my progress.
Then I drove home and sat on my hillside for a long, long time.