Chapter 19 (Patreon)

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Chapter 19 - Idle

Cerillion Entertainment

Cady

Cady abhorred idleness.

Maybe it came from her upbringing – her parents the stereotypical hard-working religious type. Grinding the 9-to-5 as they spent their best years toiling away for someone who reap all the benefits of their labor. Or maybe it was because Cady had to juggle mouthing Bible passages with “woke nonsense” like math, science, and literature.

So, she’d learned to multitask. A skill that had reap dividends later in life.

During their time together, Jason had never asked how she somehow managed to juggle endless hours in game with her real world responsibilities. Creating a whole new division of Cerillion Entertainment. Launching the Lazarus Project. Currying favor with the many rich assholes she’d met as a consultant. He probably just assumed she’d used her clones to cover for her in-game while she focused on the real one.

And he’d have been right… technically.  Just in reverse.

After all, what was the most secure way to have a clandestine meeting with the uber rich to discuss immortalizing them and their loved ones inside a digital server in George’s basement? How was she supposed to prove that it worked? That this new digital life she promised was indistinguishable from the real one?  All while quadrupling her own lifespan?

The answer was obvious.  She met with her prospective clients using the VR hardware. All of the preliminary groundwork, the meet and greet, even the contracts could be completed online. The final step required an in-person meeting, of course, but that only meant a short logout. Especially after she convinced George to start saving the neural scans of regular users.  Most of the digital legwork was actually done during those first few meetings online.

The next problem? Uploading those clones of herself into that separate VR space.

Luckily, Robert’s curiosity had always outpaced his caution.

The result: a seamless integration of her consciousness across multiple worlds.

Yet now that she’d used a relic and was locked out of AO, Cady had begun to realize that maybe her system worked too well. Upon her return to the “real world,” she discovered that she didn’t really have anything to do – nothing her clones couldn’t take care of anyway.  Just sit in her office watching live streams of a game she couldn’t play; of a world she couldn’t visit.

Which left plenty of time to dwell on the many questions that had begun piling up…

If Eliza had broken into the lab, why hadn’t she stolen anything?  And had she been acting alone?  Had that timid girl really concocted that elaborate plan?  Staged the break-in to coincide with a massive public event?  It was possible… it just didn’t feel right.

Which is why Cady found herself sitting outside George’s office, her fingers drumming a constant impatient rhythm on the arm of her chair.

“He will see you now,” George’s receptionist chirped happily, offering Cady a smile.

One she reciprocated with practiced ease.

“Thank you,” Cady replied as she swept passed.

The doors to George’s office opened with a soft click and the hiss of hydraulics.  Cady noted that they were two inches thick and built of reinforced steel threaded with a unique polymer that blocked noise.  Yet the CEO’s paranoia didn’t end there.  Several of the security team were stationed inside, standing at attention and their faces obscured behind thick black visors.  The man himself sat behind a rather ordinary looking desk, his back to floor-to-ceiling windows – no doubt, bulletproof glass.  Even his head of security, Ryan Vance, was in attendance.

Cady hadn’t expected the reception – had been hoping to speak with George alone – but she’d also learned to roll with the punches.  Something she could also thank her parents for…

After all, “whoever spares the rod hates their children. Proverbs 13:24.”

As the door slid closed behind her and a sound dampening barrier glimmered across the interior of the room, George waved at the chair opposite his desk.  “Take a seat.”

Cady obliged.  “I wasn’t expecting a crowd,” she quipped.

George raised an eyebrow.  “Your email mentioned you had information regarding the security breach.  As you can see, we are taking the situation very seriously.”

“I see that, Cady replied dryly.  “However, our topic is rather sensitive. Are you certain it’s wise to have this many witnesses in the room?”

“As you’re aware, our security team’s loyalty is unimpeachable,” Ryan spoke up smoothly, his grizzled face expressionless.  “None of them would betray the company – not with their loved one’s immortality at stake.  A point that you understand all too well, don’t you?”

As he spoke, Ryan waved at the security personnel and they each pulled back the sleeve of their uniform to reveal a tattoo – three black obelisks that resembled the server banks tucked away downstairs. The same servers that housed AO and Alfred… and her sister.

“Or are you suggesting your own loyalty is in question?” Ryan asked.

Cady met the man’s eyes evenly.  Ryan Vance was George’s head of security.  A familiar, pesky, intrusive face around the Lazarus Project.  “It’s good to see you too… Ryan.”

His expression remained stoic.  “Let’s get to it.  I hear you have discovered some additional details on the security breach that took place during your watch.”

A thinly veiled accusation if she’d ever heard one.

“Last time I checked, I wasn’t head of security,” she retorted, her eyes flashing.

“Which makes me wonder why you’ve wandered outside the scope of your duties.  I’m also curious why you believe others were involved in the break-in,” Ryan said. “All signs indicate that Eliza was acting alone. Youthful curiosity, if you will.”

Cady’s painted, red lips split into a delicate smile.  “Is that so? Tsk, tsk, I expected more from you.  Where is that legendary attention to detail?”

The man’s eye twitched slightly – just enough for Cady to know that she’d gotten under his skin.  “What detail? We reviewed the video footage outside the building as you instructed, but saw no signs of foul play. Eliza left normally, met up with a group of other protesters she seemed to know – facial recognition identified them as classmates. You sent us on a wild goose chase—”

“Now, now, let’s try to play nice.  We’re on the same team here, aren’t we?” George interjected with a soft sigh.  “Yet Ryan is right,” he continued, multiple screens appearing in the air with a wave of his hand, each of them showing camera feeds of the alley that evening.

They all showcased the scene that Ryan had described.

“Perhaps it might be best for you to stay in your lane,” he suggested.

Something else she’d never been good at.  Women were supposed to be seen and not heard – at least, according to the church.  They were supposed to “know their place in God’s plan.”

That one wasn’t a direct quote – instead, derivative of several passages – but Cady had found it interesting that it always seem to be a man using that twist of logic.

Maybe that’s where her problem with authority came from…

“Interesting. Then you must have found the holosuits that are missing?” Cady asked innocently.  “That’s a relief. It would be unfortunate to lose such expensive tech.  Especially since those suits would make it easy to impersonate others – other students even.”

Ahh, she had their attention now. That look – a mixture of frustration, dread, and uncertainty – never got old, no matter how many times she saw it.

“What are you talking about—” Ryan began.

He cut off sharply as Cady tapped her own Core and a fresh set of screens were projected into the air.  These didn’t offer up any fancy security camera footage.  Instead, they showed mundane inventory lists.  “See for yourself,” she offered, still smiling.

One, two, three—

“Shit,” Ryan muttered.

There it was – acceptance.

“What does this mean?” George interjected, his eyes darting between them.

“Yes, what does it mean, Ryan?” Cady insisted, her expression challenging.

“It means that the footage from the alley might not be real,” he answered reluctantly. Ryan’s fingers tapped at the displays, scrolling down to the checkout time for the equipment and grimaced.  “Looking at the timestamps, we also can’t be sure we really met with Eliza and her parents.  We may be able to confirm by reviewing the footage and infrared, but—”

“It may not tell us much, I get it,” George interrupted, rubbing at his eyes.  “The bottom line is that Cady may be right – Eliza could be working with other people.  She may have even managed to sneak data out of the building.  Am I close?”

Ryan just nodded slowly, swallowing hard.  “We can have Eliza’s parents brought in immediately for questioning,” he offered.

“A bad move,” Cady spoke up.

“How so?” George asked, holding up a hand to stop Ryan.

“If Eliza was working with others, that would just alert them to the fact that we discovered their ruse.  It may be best to keep power cards close to the chest until we discover who she was working with,” Cady suggested, her fingers once again drumming at the arm of her chair.

Ryan opened his mouth to speak up, but George waved him off.

“What exactly are you suggesting?” The CEO demanded.

Cady put on her most sincere expression, reflecting her concern for the organization. “It’s clear to me that Ryan is stretched thin with his other obligations – maintaining the security of Cerillion Entertainment headquarters.  That’s perfectly understandable given the tumultuous social and political landscape at the moment.  Which is why I would be happy to follow up myself.”

Ryan was having trouble mastering his face now.  “Don’t you have your own duties?” he asked.  “Who would be managing the Lazarus project if you’re out chasing down leads?  That’s putting aside your lack of expertise and your own personal safety, of course.  We can’t be sure exactly who’s behind this, who might be supporting Eliza.”

“Ahh, it’s sweet that you care about my well-being,” Cady replied.  “However, believe it or not, my previous occupation involved a healthy dose of freelance investigatory work.”

Her eyes flicked to George.  “As I’m sure our CEO understood when he hired me.

“As for my personal safety, this Texas girl can handle herself.  In fact, my position with the company and my connection with the other avatars might make me less threatening.”

Ryan had fired all the bullets in his chamber and she could tell George was mulling on her proposal.  She had nearly closed this deal – she could feel it.

“I assume you have a lead?” George asked finally.

She nodded.  “The number of classmates that were accompanying Eliza. Also, their relative size, weight, ethnicity, and gender.”

“How is that relevant?” Ryan demanded.

Her smile just widened. “Well, if you had experience with AO, you would know that the character avatars are based on real world appearance.  The holo-suit also has limitations – it can only build a hologram roughly the same size and shape as the user.”

Cady’s fingers tapped at the security footage still floating in the air and zoomed in on the group accompanying Eliza.  “As for this group? I believe I’ve seen them before.”

A moment of silence and then—

“Fine,” George said with decisive authority. “You have my permission in the full resources of the company at your disposal. Ryan will also assist with his personnel at your request.”

Which really pissed off Ryan.  His eye was twitching.

“Of course.  I’ll be in touch shortly,” she said, rising and retreating from the office. This time, the security personnel snapped to attention as she passed through the doors.

As they clicked closed behind her and relocked, she could feel the adrenaline buzzing in her veins. That fleeting high that always accompanied overwhelming victory.

Oh, how Cady loved it when people played right into her hands.

                    *

“Are you certain we can trust her?” Ryan asked as the doors to the office resealed and the sound dampening field snapped back into place.

“Is that your pride talking or professional suspicion?” George shot back.  “As you said yourself, we have leverage – her sister.  Only an altruistic idiot would trade immortality or the life of a loved one for a stranger.  And Cady is neither.”

“And if her investigation leads back to Alex?” Ryan insisted.  “We know he accessed Cerillion’s systems using your home console and credentials.”

George mulled on that for a moment, his eyes on the ledgers that Cady had produced. “An acceptable risk and we can control the narrative.  I doubt Cady would find it surprising that Alex and I don’t always see eye to eye.  However, she’s also right.  There is a possibility that the break-in might not be limited to Alex and Eliza.  If someone else is involved, we need to know.”

The CEOs attention snapped back to Ryan. “What about Alex’s neural scans before this most recent… respawn?  Did they reveal any other accomplices?”

Not that George was in any rush to reveal that information to Cady.

Trust had its limits, after all – even with exceptional blackmail.

Ryan cocked his head.  “Unfortunately, the latest scan was incomplete. There was extensive damage to his head this time.  A concussion.”  This earned him a grimace from George, the CEO needing the knuckles of his right hand – the bruises still yellowed and aching.  “We were only able to partially restore his memories, which is why he doesn’t remember assisting Eliza.  He only recalls bits and pieces.  That’s why we opted not to tell him about the break-in.”

George sighed. A side effect of letting his emotions get the better of him.

He should have just had Ryan take him “offline.”

Working with family never ended well…

“However, it’s still possible that the break-in was limited to Alex and Eliza. Alex could have hired a team to recover the girl once she made it out of the building,” Ryan offered. “He regularly pulls out cash, which is extremely difficult to trace.”

“Understood,” George replied curtly.  “Then let’s hope Cady finds these accomplices.”

His eyes rose to meet Ryan’s.  “And if she does, you know what to do.”

“Of course, sir,” Ryan replied, already tapping his Core.

“No loose ends.”