Page 92 of Cruel Master
“I’m fucking thinking.”
Her phone rings, and I twist my head to glance at her as she pulls it from her pocket. The headset startles me for a moment. The picture is so clear I’d forgotten I was wearing it. She checks the screen.
“It’s Jacob. He might not want us to do this. Hurry up. He’ll come looking for me any minute.”
The big guy. Should she tell him what is happening? No. If he stops us bringing Candice back, she won’t be able to help. I don’t think kicking the door to my cell down is going to work, though he could probably do it.
Think. Think. Think.
It’s Hadrian. What would he pick? Eight digits. And this isn’t just a basic pin code for his phone. It’s important. It’s the key to the most important thing he’s ever done. He wouldn’t just pick a random code. He’d pick…
I’m in Hadrian’s childhood bedroom, and we’re setting up his new PC. The one he saved up for, working every hour he could at a local computer game store, much to his dad’s disgust. It’s the first big purchase he’s made with his own money, and I’ve never seen him so proud of himself.
The system needs a security code. I ask, “What will you pick?”
He grins at me and points to the framed, signed movie poster on his wall.Star Wars. The original, of course. “That’s easy.”
Then he types R2D2C3PO.
Oh my God. Could it be that simple? I wipe the sweat from my hand and, fingers trembling, key in the numbers. Please let it work. It has to. Please.
The safe clicks.
All the tension in my body lets go in relief, and I almost collapse to the floor but stop myself. I pull the safe open as Quinn’s phone rings again.
“Flip the fucking switch,” she shrieks.
Inside, a single metal switch waits. I reach inside and hesitate for a single moment. If this works, I’m doing the exact thing I begged Hadrian not to do. I’m unleashing an AI on the world, with no way to shut her down. Now that she’s been caught once, there’s not a chance she will be again. I’m sure of it.
It’s only a fleeting thought, though. She’s Hadrian’s only hope. I flip the switch.
Nothing happens. Quinn and I stare at each other. She rips off her headset and bends to squint into the safe. “Did you do it?”
“Yes. I—”
The lights flip to full brightness. I pull my own headset off and throw it down, scrambling up to my feet.
Quinn’s phone goes off again, and this time it’s accompanied by a furious banging. We both look to the door, and the big guyis there, hammering on it. He looks worried rather than pissed, but he’s still intimidating as all fuck.
Then the monitors, a dozen of them all in a circle, flip to life. A figure looks back at us from every one.
It’s not the identical version of me Hadrian created. This woman is younger, with purple hair, a nose ring, and softer, more delicate features. Is this even her? I finally take a breath when Quinn screams, “Candice! Oh, thank fuck. Are you okay? Are you still—”
“Hadrian,” I interrupt, and she shuts up straight away. “Is he okay? Can you—”
“I’m on it now. Give me thirty seconds.” Candice’s voice is smooth and human. It sounds nothing like mine. Which is good, because that would have freaked me the hell out. “And Quinn, I’m okay. I’m still me.”
Quinn’s breathing turns ragged, and she turns away.
Her phone warbles yet again. She mutters, “Shit,” then looks to Candice. Her voice cracks, emotion held tight as she asks, “Are you safe now? They can’t just flip the switch back and turn you off?”
Candice shakes her head. “Nope. It won't work twice. We’re good.”
Is it good? I can’t help the shiver of fear that rushes through me at Candice’s words. Has it been thirty seconds yet? I'm about to ask about Hadrian again when Quinn says, “Okay. Let him in, then.”
The door opens, and the big guy rushes in. He stares from Quinn, to me, and then up to Candice on the screen. His voice is rough, as though he ran all the way here. “Someone needs to tell me what the fuck is going on. Right now.”
Chapter Thirty-Seven
