Virtuality Read online

  Vince needed time to sort out what he’d just heard. He couldn’t jump to conclusions. Only one thing was certain. He would vomit if he didn’t stop thinking about what Patrick had told him.

  Patrick cleared his throat. “I'm sorry, but I think you should—”

  “Vince …” Jess's voice came from the other end of the lab, by the door. “Time to go.”

  Before Vince could focus on Jess, a movement from the other end of the lab caught his attention.

  Walker. The man leaped to his feet growling like a raging animal. His gaze was laser focused on Patrick and Walker strode toward him.

  Red lights blinked from electronic equipment all around the lab.

  “What's happening?” Patrick’s voice had jumped up an octave.

  The running back had stopped running. He pulled off his headset and looked their way.

  They had to get out of the lab before Walker reached them, or Vince might have to shoot the guy.

  Vince ran toward Jess. By the time he reached her, she had slung her computer bag over her shoulder. But Jess had, somehow, changed.

  “We've got to get out of here, now, Vince.”

  “I know, the guys in the lab—”

  “Forget the guys in the lab. A car just pulled into the site and parked by the building where the stooges held me. Three men got out and they were looking our way.”

  “Once they see the lab door open, we’ll have to hustle. Get in the truck, keep down and I'll get us out of here.”

  He had to keep them alive. Vince needed questions answered, questions that would tell him where Vince van Gordon belonged, Seattle or Denver.

  His promises to Paul, his promise to Jess, the boys at the home—everything important was on the line now. If Vince let these thugs kill him or Jess … that would be the ultimate bad ending to a Vince van Gordon story. A huge, gut-wrenching question mark.

  Chapter 26

  Vince glanced back as the lab door swung shut behind him. The scene etched an image in his memory, a graphical depiction of panic and frustration, an image of Patrick scurrying about, trying to fix every piece of equipment that screamed, failure with its piercing tone and blinking red lights.

  Patrick would soon realize his effort was futile. But what Patrick had said about Jess might also render any attempt to resolve Vince’s and Jess’s relationship an exercise in futility. That possibility brought cramping nausea. However, for the moment, the Vince-Jess-relationship jury remained in a place where Vince’s dinner might be any second … out.

  Jess gave him her hand. Paralyzed, Vince stared at the same hand he’d held and massaged as he drove here forty minutes earlier. But thoughts of what might happen if the lab door flew open overcame Vince’s paralysis.

  He took Jess’s hand and pulled her to Virtuality’s front door. “As soon as the door opens, we break for the truck. Then climb in and get down.”

  “You already told me that.”

  Vince opened the door a crack and peeked out. No movement from the car across the lot. Maybe the men were inside the building, but Vince couldn’t count on that.

  “Let's go, Jess.”

  He slipped out the door with Jess close behind.

  In five more seconds, he had unlocked his pickup and they slid in. Vince hit the ignition and the tail lights came on advertising their leaving. He shoved the gear shift into reverse and backed out in a semicircle, ending with the truck facing the mill site exit.

  The door of the building across the site flew open. The dark forms of three men appeared. They scurried out of the building.

  Vince pushed the gear shift into drive and punched the accelerator. While the tires screamed their complaint, he tried to keep the nose of the fishtailing truck pointed at the exit.

  No shots. But the SUV’s lights came on.

  Vince’s truck shot out onto the street.

  In a few seconds, the headlights of the SUV appeared in the rearview mirror.

  Since there had been no shooting, the thugs’ plan must be to catch Jess and Vince, not just kill them. Had Patrick tipped them off? Maybe they knew they would need Jess to fix the mess in the lab.

  Vince turned onto highway 202 and headed toward Fall City.

  Jess stared at him but remained silent. She knew something was different.

  But this wasn't a time for serious talk. “Jess, we’re going to Fall City and up through that winding stretch of road to Preston. I know the road, they probably don’t. We should be able to beat them through the curves. They'll roll if they take it too fast.”

  “What's wrong, Vince?”

  “The three stooges are after us. They probably want to force you to fix the lab, if they can catch us.”

  Jess sat quietly while the tires of the pickup screeched through the turns near Snoqualmie Falls.

  When he approached Fall City, Jess spoke softly. “I guess you’ll tell me what’s wrong when you're ready. What did you see in the lab?”

  Dr. Scoggins’ predictions swirled through Vince’s mind like a crazy nightmare. “Some guy, a programmer, was on a multidirectional treadmill, acting like a running back in the NFL.”

  Vince stopped talking to break for a sharp turn. He checked the rearview mirror. No lights.

  He exited the turn. “Jess, will you watch for their lights in the side mirror. I need to focus on the road ahead.”

  “I’m watching. Now, tell me more about the football player.”

  “It was like he was playing in a game. Running, cutting, getting tackled. Grunting. He rubbed some muscles in his legs after a couple of tackles. Jess, they’ve got to be using RNS and virtual reality to enhance these games. And the Army is paying for the next generation of video games but doesn't know it.”

  Vince accelerated down the last straight stretch before the roundabout on the edge of Fall City.

  “Anything else?”

  “Yeah. Our friend, Walker, was … Jess, he was the lab rat in the Psych 101 movie. They’ve got to be using deep brain stimulation. It was pitiful. He just kept reaching out, pushing some invisible button, and sinking back onto the floor. The guy wouldn’t stop. But he grew furious when the lab stopped working. From euphoria to hydrophobia in about ten seconds.”

  Vince stomped the brake pedal. “Hang on.”

  They slid partway around the roundabout.

  Vince slowed the truck as they entered Fall City.

  “I see headlights. At the far end of the straight stretch.”

  Vince cut his lights.

  “Vince, what are you—”

  “I don't want them to see us turn here.”

  He sped through the east end of Fall City without his lights, and turned left, toward Preston and the three-mile stretch of twisting, winding road. So far, no police in sight. A police stop could get them killed, maybe get a policeman killed too.

  Vince punched the gas and hit the lights, then sped through three turns in rapid succession. “Any signs of them?”

  “No. I haven't seen them since they entered that last straight stretch east of Fall City.”

  “Then maybe we've lost them. To be safe, I'm going to keep our speed up until we reach I-90. We’ll double back to Highway 18, exit onto Hobart Issaquah Road, then come in the back way to your cabin. Watch for them, Jess. We’re not home free yet.”

  It was silent for the next five minutes.

  Jess sat twisted away from him, focused on the side mirror of the truck.

  After Vince turned onto I-90, eastbound, he relaxed his grip on the wheel and coaxed the truck up to seventy-five miles-per-hour. With a speed limit of seventy, it wasn’t enough to get them stopped by the state police.

  “Did you get everything done, Jess?”

  “I wondered when you’d ask. What you saw in the lab was shocking, horrifying. Especially after Dr. Scoggins explained it to us. You know, this was Paul's worst nightmare, and they’re doing it right in Virtuality’s lab. But maybe we’ve ended it.”

  And now it was Vince's worst nightmare. Pau
l was back and his shadow larger than ever. Vince couldn't stay in Seattle, so he couldn’t run Virtuality as he’d promised. He was a loser, losing on all fronts. The jury had come back, the verdict was in—Vince van Gordon, guilty of inadequacy in the first degree.

  Patrick had told Vince the truth. A dozen little things confirmed it—Jess’s crying, her reluctance to—but what about that kiss and the words they exchanged after escaping Snoqualmie Falls?

  Jess had finally settled for him. That’s all it was. An inadequate man was her last and only option.

  Vince took the Highway 18 exit, ran the stoplight at the end of the off-ramp, and turned onto the highway.

  “Is this a good time?” Jess stared at him, studying him. He could feel her eyes, though she was only a dark shadow on the seat beside him.

  He couldn't come up with an appropriate reply. His stomach was a mess. A dark cloud had settled over him, worse than when he left Seattle seven years ago. So much for happy endings. And his writing—maybe he should write horror stories. Jamie said that a writer can only write what they’ve lived.

  “How could what you saw in the lab have upset you like this, Vince. What is it?”

  “I'm just thinking, Jess.” A lame reply, but it wasn't a lie. “Did you finish your work on the server?”

  “Everything is on my little USB drive. You can hold the whole project in the palm of your hand.”

  “Did you get a chance to clean up afterward, so they can’t undo what you did?”

  “Yes, all except the logs that the server maintains. The logs will show them that I ran some Perl scripts and they’ll know what I accessed, if the logs weren’t blown away. But the logs won’t tell them exactly what I did.”

  “When should we call McCheney to give him the bad news?” Vince needed to keep her talking. No way did he want the discussion of their relationship to take place while he was driving.

  “We should call him first thing in the morning. He's on Eastern time, so we should call about 6:00 a.m. our time.”

  Somehow, Vince kept Jess talking all the way to the cabin. They would be safe at the cabin. Certainly, long enough to have their discussion. And once they did, what then? Vince couldn’t run back to Colorado while Jess and Virtuality both remained in danger and with his promise to Paul unfulfilled.

  Vince turned in and drove down the cabin’s long driveway.

  Being around Jess after he ended their relationship wasn’t his only problem. Eventually, the thugs would find Jess’s cabin by talking to the right people, searching for relatives and looking through county records. Before that happened, hopefully, the DOD, FBI, and local law-enforcement would all be engaged to catch the guilty parties.

  After that, the project would die and Virtuality along with it. Vince would fly back to Denver to stay. And do what? Become the next Alfred Hitchcock? Write thrillers with horrifying endings?

  He parked the truck behind the biggest trees beside the cabin.

  Jess slid out and headed for the cabin door before Vince could climb out. Why was she in such a hurry?

  Vince caught up with her inside, where Jess was working furiously on her laptop?

  “Why the hurry?”

  “Vince, we only had one copy of the system. It only existed on my USB drive. That was driving me crazy. What if we had an accident and I lost the drive, or it was damaged? Well, in about five minutes, we’ll have a backup copy on my laptop. I’ll hide the USB drive in the storage shed out back.”

  “That's good thinking.”

  “Looks like it's already done. My laptop has a faster USB port than Patrick's workstations.” She pulled the drive from the port. “Be right back. I'm going to hide this little drive, then I can relax.”

  No. Jess wouldn't relax. Not after Vince began his questioning.

  The back door closed and Jess was gone, hiding their prize.

  Success. Mission accomplished for Paul and for Virtuality. For Vince, disappointment and failure. He should have realized that the last few days were too good to be true. There were no good endings for losers like Vince van Gordon. And he couldn’t pretend everything was fine and continue a relationship with Jess. She hadn’t been truthful with him and probably not with herself.

  What if you’re wrong, dude?

  The thought struck Vince with a jolt to his nervous system. He couldn’t be wrong. Patrick lying to Vince didn’t make sense. Vince and Jess had won. Patrick had lost.

  Was that it? Could Patrick have wanted revenge for what Vince and Jess had done to him? No. Vince was going under for the last time, a man just grasping at straws.

  Jess opened the door and interrupted the heart-rending questions and agonizing answers swirling through his mind.

  She drained her lungs in a long, lip vibrating sigh. “Finally.” She headed toward him, arms out, eyes focused on his.

  Vince broke eye contact and stepped back from her.

  “Vince, sweetheart, what is it?” Her eyes narrowed in a deep frown.

  Like a dull knife the word, sweetheart, ripped through his heart. Jess had Paul, then lost him. She’d been in love with him only weeks ago. How could she love Vince? Using the word, sweetheart, didn’t mean Jess loved him. It meant Jess had settled for a man who was only second choice, second best, second rate. And she had lied.

  Their gazes locked. Jess’s eyes widened. Her mouth dropped open. Recognition flashed in her eyes. Then horror.

  He had seen that look in her eyes only a few times, but Vince had never been the cause of it. Not until now.

  She had read his mind, the entire devastating story in one glance

  “Don't do this to me again, Vince. I can't—” Her hands covered her face. Tears ran through her fingers. Soon her body shook with each guttural sob.

  Vince watched her but said nothing. For once, Vince van Gordon was out of words.

  “If you’re going to leave, go now,” she said without looking up. “Go back to Denver and write your little stories with their lousy endings. Bad endings—that’s all you seem to be good for.”

  Finally, she met his gaze with her tear-filled eyes. Her face contorted like someone was torturing Jess. And someone was. He was.

  You just made the biggest mistake of your life, dude.

  No. He’d done that while he was in high school, and there was no going back. Not that it would help. Vince simply was who he was, someone who wasn’t her first choice and someone not good enough for Jessica Jamison.

  For the first time in his life, Vince wished he could die. With underworld thugs looking for him, maybe he would get his wish.

  Chapter 27

  Before tonight, Jess thought nothing could be worse than the night of the National Honor Society dinner and dance near the end of her junior year in high school. It was the night she knew she had lost Vince, the boy who had been her soulmate for twelve years. Losing him had culminated in Vince leaving after graduation to attend college at Washington State, in Pullman, while she remained in Seattle and went to the University of Washington.

  But to have Vince back, headed for a life together, then ripped away again was far worse than when he left for college. This time she had given Vince her heart with nothing held back, no reservations. She had told him that, and he had accepted it. Now, he was throwing it away. Would he also leave her here in danger? Why would Vince do this to her? To them?

  Knowing Vince’s reason for leaving wouldn’t change anything. Just to know Vince would walk away again was enough to know he wasn't the man for her.

  But there was a deeper question. What was so wrong with Jessica Jamison that the closest person to her in the entire world, the one who knew her best, didn’t want her? That thought started her tears flowing again.

  Vince had wandered into the kitchen to get away from her.

  Jess stayed in the living room.

  Two incompatible people who didn’t want the pain of each other's presence were trapped together in this cabin until it became safe to go to the authorities. And what would Vin
ce and Jess do then? Spend agonizing time together testifying to a grand jury? Then they would have to do it all over again in what could be multiple trials required to bring all the perpetrators to justice.

  Was the pain of being forced together during the trials even worth it? Maybe they should give Patrick his precious little system and let him make his billions.

  No. No matter how heartsick she was, Jess couldn't let Virtuality be used to subject kids to forces beyond their power to control. She couldn’t give them what appeared to be heavenly pleasures, pleasures which would take them, ultimately, to hell.

  And Scoggins was right. The technology, used the way LACO and their secret partners planned, would destroy every stabilizing structure in American society. It would end civilization after everyone became so addicted and depraved that no one could run the required systems. In the end, the technology would die and people like Walker would become raging demoniacs who would kill to gain access to something millions of times more addictive than the strongest drugs.

  Jess couldn't allow that to happen to kids, to families, to America.

  What if she walked into the kitchen and begged Vince for another do over? Pretend they were twelve again? He had already agreed to try that once. But it hadn’t worked. It never would.

  While their relationship ran full-speed ahead, both showing their love and passion for each other, Vince had been able to walk away. There was only one conclusion to draw, what Jess knew all along, she simply was not good enough for Vince. She would always come up short in his estimation.

  Jess went into the bedroom and fell across the bed, pouring out her broken heart.

  * * *

  Jess awoke with her head on a soaked pillow.

  How had she fallen asleep? Maybe some pain is so great that the human mind must shut off to survive. But when a person is deserted, unloved, sought by killers, survival isn’t a benefit. It’s torment.

  What time was it? Jess looked out the bedroom window through the gap between the curtain and the valance.

  The early light of dawn lit the trees.

  Maybe she should check on Vince. Had he left the cabin? Left her here alone?