Danger? Why on earth would I be in danger?
I sighed as Ash's message ended there. They didn't explain why or who might be after me, nor did they leave instructions about what to do next or how to contact them.
But they had mentioned their name, and given the limited communication we'd shared before the guard apprehended them, that had to mean something. But could Ash even help me if Inno-Tech still had them in custody? Or would the guards have just tossed them out as more of a nuisance than a threat? Security had control-chipped them, but they were also chip-happy to avoid a scene at an important event. Anything to keep investors satisfied.
I wouldn't know more until I tried. When I turned on my comm, I kept the Inno-Tech frequency off and accessed the city directory. I suspected Ash Modi, male, 65, retired engineer, was not them nor was Ash Modi, male, 14, high school student. If I had to guess, they seemed at least twenty-five years old, but not quite forty. What if Ash was short for something like Ashton, Ashok, or Ashara? This could take all night, and I didn't have that much time.
I inspected the chip more closely, which displayed the letters A.M. etched in cursive, and on the other side, more words were inscribed. Modus Auxilium. Was that a company or a place?
A quick search confirmed that Modus Auxilium was a non-profit organization in a neighbourhood in the North End of Cyville. While contacting them may not yield results, it was my only lead. I somehow doubted a non-profit would be a mass producer of comm-chips, so I suspected Ash, and not the company, had inscribed it for a reason.
I requested a comm-connection with Modus Auxilium, suspecting that Ash was well aware of my name and comm-handle if they'd gone to these lengths to track me down.
Request accepted, my chip chirped.
I'd have to keep this brief, especially if Arch was looking for me. Unfortunately, this location wasn't out of character for me.
"Selene, I suspected I'd hear from you soon."
A wave of relief washed over me. At least one thing had worked out tonight. But the reason I was calling immediately returned to me.
"Ash, you were right. What sort of danger am I in?"
"Are you still at Inno-Tech?"
"Yes."
"Has Kenton finished the presentation?"
"Yes, and he may be searching for me."
I jumped as the red light above the door lit and the handle moved. Someone was trying to enter.
"Someone's here, Ash."
"Where is here? "
Why was everything a question with them? Didn't they know time was not my friend tonight?
I tensed and nearly knocked over the table as I backed up. What if Inno-Tech accessed my comm-feed? I wouldn't put it past them to run an 'all-ideas conceived on our premises are the intellectual property of Inno-Tech' ploy. My heart beat like the wings of robo-hummingbirds.
Calm down.
Perhaps Gina or another lab technician needed access.
Or was it Arch? He had been attempting to contact me, and he would suspect I'd fled to the lab.
My breaths increased in speed as the air grew hot and sticky against my bare arms.
Ash's voice reappeared. "Don't appear panicked."
Easy for them to say.
"Should I hide?"
"Yes."
The handle rattled again. Was it better to keep the door locked or let them open it and try to blend in? Then they might move on to continue searching elsewhere instead of suspecting someone inside locked the door and overriding the lock code. After modifying my clothes to a completely black suit, including a full face mask that also concealed my hair, and tucking myself behind the tiny secondary shielded area, which most people overlooked, I unlocked the door remotely.
"Selene?" Arch's voice trembled slightly.
My nails dug into my palms as I fought my urge to bolt over and tear that traitor to shreds.
"It doesn't look like she's in here either," a deep voice spoke.
That wasn't our boss, though its low cadence sounded vaguely familiar. Were they part of the danger? Did Ash have access to a live feed, or was it a coincidence that they'd told me to hide? They'd asked where I was like they hadn't known.
I took a quiet breath to calm myself, but my veins thrummed like a transformer. My paranoia was fully powered tonight.
"But Gina said she came to the lab minutes ago."
Damn it, I should have lied about wanting to surprise Arch, so she didn't tell him my whereabouts. She was a romantic, and he and I were that cute office couple people loved. Even before we'd gotten together, everyone picked up on how he'd jump at the chance to work side-by-side and stick around past his work hours when I was working terrible shifts.
He'd even surprised me each year on my birthday since we met with handmade, thoughtful gifts usually with an inventor's twist. The best one had been the sensor for my wrist device to sense my mood and pick one of my favourite songs that would best suit my emotions to play through my comm, like a personal soundtrack. The first time we'd kissed, he'd shyly pulled away and asked which song was playing. When I'd played my absolute favourite song for him, he'd lit up like a kid exploring a Jurrasic holoworld for the first time. And being at the center of Arch's world had been a sensation like no other.
A couple's lie would have worked because even I had trouble believing our entire relationship was a deception. As much as I hated him, I still wanted our connection to be real.
"We don't have time to do a building sweep to find a woman who doesn't want to be located. The investors are waiting."
"There are still twenty more presentations, including Selene's."
He was awfully fixated on me for someone who'd tossed me in front of a mag-bus to get ahead. The investors wouldn't consider my adaptable shoe idea when Arch had already poached my far better one.
"The investors will only stay for the first five. They've pre-selected the proposals they will develop."
My stomach sank. So their opening speech and the entire premise of the event was a lie? My mom's friends from her MS support group would be so disappointed. Working with a team would iron out more problems, but at least my mom still wore her mostly functional pair. They'd probably be the only ones I made unless I developed them independently, but if they ever malfunctioned and hurt someone, I'd not only feel terrible but could lose everything to a lawsuit.
"That's not right. Won't people notice the investor's absence?"
I gritted my teeth. Now the man grew a conscience?
"We use hologram stand-ins." The person's tone conveyed indifference.
"This project doesn't happen without Selene. It's in the contract."
The firmness of Arch's voice surprised me. I still didn't understand why he hid this and thought it was okay to steal my work. On top of that, to have the audacity to believe I'd help him develop it? He'd lost his damned mind.
"No, the contract clearly states." The air hummed with the noise of a hologram. "Mem-armour will be developed with the assistance of Selene Mintz. Should Selene Mintz refuse the project, it will not be developed with her assistance."
"No, that's not what I signed and agreed to!"
His voice took on that agitated tone it had when we'd learned about Rashad's water invention getting stolen. Arch had even ranted about how he didn't get into inventing to support those practices. But now he would ruin what should have been a life-changing innovation.
Was Arch that insecure that he couldn't do it alone? I hated to admit it, but if anyone would figure it out, he would. That was half the reason I shared it with him after I'd hit a few mental blocks. His solutions had been invaluable and had opened new possibilities for the invention.
"If she refuses, it doesn't get developed. Full stop," Arch said firmly.
While it didn't absolve his actions and I still wanted to strangle him with his bowtie, that commitment to me felt like I hadn't completely lost the man I loved. Perhaps it hadn't all been a ruse. It wasn't okay, but maybe I was more than a mark to steal from, or I was always a mark, and he'd caught unexpected feelings as he'd practically confessed hours ago.
None of it wouldn't lessen the thunderstorm I intended to rain down on him.
"This is your signature. We have a video of you reading and signing it. That will hold up in court." The other person's voice remained steady, like they'd already won the argument.
"You don't understand. We need her!"
The face mask trapped my hot breaths inside, sending whiffs of mint.
Of course, he needed me. It was my idea! I understood the effects tech stimulation had on the brain much better than him. Although, he had picked up the concept quickly. Damn that clever man.
"We have a hand-selected team of experts. The project will succeed with or without her."
"I won't do it!" He spoke with the firmness of a mag-bus driver, throwing off passengers with insufficient fare.
"You're not a child, Mr. Kenton. You signed the contract, and you are aware of what happens if you refuse. Make the right choice and do it quickly."
The door clicked open and shut. A loud metallic bang echoed. My heart jumped, and I nearly dropped the chip reader. What the hell was that?
"Fuck!" His powerful voice echoed in the room. He repeated the work, losing volume and intensity each time until he had the confidence of a trembling child hiding from the far too realistic holo-monsters in films their parents forbade them from watching.
Now Arch understood a fraction of how pissed and lost I was.
"Selene," he called out weakly.
I froze.
Did he know I was here?
He cursed again, and I sighed in relief, which flowed out of my tense shoulders and chest. He was probably on the comms listening to emptiness.
How long would we sit here sharing the same space? Would he find me? Should I say something and give him the verbal lashing he deserved?
I didn't want to be dragged into the mess with Inno-Tech, as they had no one's best interests at heart, but that had never surprised me. It bewildered me Arch trusted them. He was one of the brightest people I knew. But then again, brilliant people made dreadful life choices sometimes.
While I longed to ask him why he'd betrayed me and what he valued more than us, I held my tongue.
"Selene, are you still there? Our connection got cut off earlier," Ash said.
"Yes."
"You should remain at Inno-Tech and close to Arch Kenton. When the time is right, I'll help you reclaim your idea, but within their walls, you are not a liability and they will keep you alive to protect their asset."
"Does someone want me dead?"
Was it Inno-Tech? That sent a chill up my spine.
"No, but your idea prompted interest from several organizations who saw the utility of your methods of storing and sharing memories and how to use it to their advantage."
"But how would they know it was me?"
"They don't, but you were mentioned by name in the contract negotiations, which marks you as valuable to Arch Kenton. If someone wanted to get to him so they could develop the ideas before Inno-Tech, they'd do it by using you or your life as a bargaining chip."
"Not if I destroy him extremely publicly." No one would see much value in ransoming me then.
"Think long-term, Selene. Do you want to give up control of this invention?"
"I already have. "
"If you play the long game, you'll gain credibility, you can get even, and you have a say in how this creation is used."
Shoes scudded on the floor, and the door latch clicked like it was being opened.
Was I going to do this? Could I pretend I didn't want to murder Arch to keep myself and my invention safe? Should I trust a stranger who gave me a comm-chip and knew far too much about my life?
It was better than trusting Arch. But could I fool him?
He trusts you, Selene. If you play your cards right, you can take who or what he values most in the world and destroy the one idea that would have saved them like he did to you.
Arch Kenton would regret the day he crossed me if it was the last thing I did.
Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned.
I swapped out my cat-burglar outfit for my dress and in my most helpless voice called out, "Arch, wait."
As his footsteps stopped, my heart hammered in my chest.
We'd officially entered 'Everything we know is a lie' territory, but this time it was my turn to write the code.
A huge thank you to all of you reading. Your support has blown me away, truly! I'm doing my best to keep up with your stories, but have been falling behind. Hoping to catch up soon because there such great stories out there!
***
I got this idea from lhansenauthor who would always do this throughout her ONC stories in past years, but I'm going to start including some shout-outs of the great ONC entries I've been reading this year.
This chapter is dedicated to AJ (bigfivedonaldduckfan) who has a fantastic paranormal travel story 'Baguette Rhymes with Dead' set in Paris where Dominic joins Luc, his attractive crush he met at the hostel, to check out a famous cemetery at night which I imagine will lead to all sorts of eerie and intriguing scenarios that I can't wait to read. AJ does an incredible job of capturing Dominic's voice, building tension, and creating spooky scenarios. The ONC judges agree because last year she took home fourth place with her contemporary paranormal tale '#Witchcraft Wednesday' out of thousands of novellas. Definitely check her work out!
Word count: 2162
Total word count: 6012