He waved away any of her concern. “No. I think I’ll be fine. Just want to be prepared, and we need Joe here. Anyway, I wanted to talk to you about what would happen if I don’t make it back.”
That stark reality that there was no guarantee for any of their safety made Ari lean back in the chair, silent.
“I want to leave my position as head of the team over to you.”
“Are you crazy?” She couldn’t understand what he was doing. “Why?”
“You won’t be alone. I talked to Joe about taking over the tech side of things, but I’d like you to be in charge of the house.” He pulled up a document that said just as much.
“I’m the newest member of this team and one of the youngest.”
“I think you’re the best suited, and I’ve talked with this through with Joe and Harini. They both agree you would be the best for the job.”
“Why not choose Harini or Blur?” Ari asked. If there was a mother on their team, it would be Harini. And Blur was technically the brightest by far.
“Blur and Joe are intelligent, but they don’t like to deal with people or the practical side of things. They will try to push and direct you, plenty, but I’m counting on your reason. And Harini? I love her like my sister, and her heart is the size of the moon, but she doesn’t have the stomach to make hard calls.”
“And I do?” She realized that this role came down to the process of elimination and that didn’t make her feel any better.
“Yes, you do. You ran away from your country. You were a spy in an elite realm and escaped an island in the middle of the ocean. You have made the hard calls, leaving family and loved ones behind when needed. I know you’ll make the hard calls here as well.” His eyes were intense as they watched her.
“If I agree to this, you’re not allowed to go anywhere.”
“I don’t plan on it.” A smile grew on his face.
“Stop smiling, I didn’t say yes.”
“But you will.” His grin grew even bigger.
She grabbed a nearby pen and threw it at him. “I’m not happy about this.”
He grew somber. “I know. I’ll be safe. Promise. Just the first time I met you, even though you wore a different skin, I knew you’d be a great addition to the team. We have hackers and tech guys. But what we really needed was you.” He handed her a table. “I need you to memorize this.”
“What is it?” Ari looked at the document. It gave the IP address for a chat room, and also a location.
“I told you I have several emergency protocols in place. I need you to memorize the location of this apartment. Sue and Joe have memorized the other two. Depending on who is compromised, you can use it to help the team regroup. Money and supplies will be available to you there.”
“I better not need this.” She continued studying the information, just in case. Then, once it was locked in, she handed it back to him.
“I pray you don’t.” Pushing back his chair, he stood. “I have to catch a plane.”
“Of course.”
He escorted her to the door.
Turning to say goodbye, she couldn’t help her urge to hug him. He probably thought she was an idiot, but he returned the hug. He smelled of shampoo and soap and felt strong and capable. She needed a friend and that what he was. Maybe one day that would change, but she had no desire to go there now.
Pulling back, she looked up to him. “Be safe.”
“I will.”
Leaving his room, she rubbed her goose-bump-riddled arms. Things finally felt right between them and he had to run off. That was how life worked sometimes.
Nothing really changed the next couple days because Patrick was gone, except they didn’t bother with any meetings. They all touched base enough throughout the day and with nothing new coming up, they each kept to their own projects. While most of the team helped work on the hardware problem, researching old models of the first VR machines to find differences, Tricky still focused on Maxim. She even recruited Ari to the job.
The afternoon had set in, and Ari returned to the meeting room with two cups of coffee. She found Tricky asleep with her head resting on her arms folded on top of the table. Ari didn’t want to wake her, since Tricky had been sick she had needed a lot more rest that she wanted to admit.
When Ari sat down, Tricky stirred. “Damn, I fell asleep again.”
“You needed it.” Ari pushed the extra mug across the table.
She gave a grunt of disapproval and sipped the warm drink. After a few moments, she stood up and stretched. “I don’t have time to rest. Maxim and the Board have teams of people geared to tackle the threat of warpers. We’re too understaffed to take someone on like them.”
“Yet we have taken them on, and we have power they don’t have, like Blur, and Joe, and you.”
Laughing, she shook her head. “I’m nothing in comparison. Not anymore. You saw all the tools Maxim had at his disposal on the inside.”
“Be patient with yourself.”
She glared at Ari and sat back down in front of her screen. “We don’t have time for patient. He’s now a major piece in world politics, with a new weapon, and a list of crimes that deserve a firing squad.”
Ari wasn’t going to argue with Tricky, especially when she was right. “Well, you dropping back into a coma because you wear yourself out isn’t going to help anything either.”
Tricky didn’t counter so Ari knew she got that point in.
Ari pushed a button, and the screen Tricky was last working on flashed up on the projector so they could both analyze the information. It was a financial log Blur acquired from a not-so-legal source.
“I’ve tracked Maxim’s accounts for so long I found those
