He was in my head again, the Old Man. Here, at my home. I didn’t want him to see anything through my eyes. It was too creepy.
Callie?
I hurried into the garage and closed the door. I turned the lights off and stood near the wall in the darkness.
“So who’s next? Who are you blowing up today?”
No need to be in the dark. I don’t have to see where you are. I can send a signal to your chip. I thought I demonstrated this quite well at the mall.
“So you can blow up anyone’s chip by sending a certain signal to it?”
Something like that. I’m not going to give up my secrets.
“You wouldn’t blow up my chip.”
So you understand that your chip is special. And so are you.
“What I understand is that you are a monster and a killer. And I can’t trust anything you say.”
I will tell you one thing that is true. And will be true for all time. Are you listening?
I wanted to kill him and his metallic voice. “Yes.”
His words came out slowly. Trust no one but yourself. After a long pause, he added, And then question that.
“That makes no sense.”
And remember, I may not want to blow up your chip, but there’s nothing special about Michael’s chip. Or Michael, for that matter.
I clenched my fists.
Or Tyler’s chip.
What was he talking about? “Tyler doesn’t have a chip.”
Yes, he does.
“You’re lying. I checked him.”
Sweat formed on my neck. I thought back. We were so glad to find Tyler, so grateful to see he was in good condition, better than before the Old Man kidnapped him. He was healthier. In the excitement and relief, I hadn’t checked him right away, but I did later.
How did you check him?
“The back of his head. There was no scar.”
We’re always making improvements in our technology. We lasered his incision point. Good job, don’t you think?
Could it be true? I slid down the wall I was leaning against until I rested on my haunches. My head fell forward. I hoped this was a trick. Otherwise, it would be the worst news ever and, like me, Tyler was tethered to the Old Man.
“You killed Reece, you chipped my brother,” I said, gritting my teeth. “Stay away from him,” I said to the floor.
That’s up to you.
I lifted my head.
You are going to meet me at a location I choose.
My mouth went dry. I licked my lips. “Where?”
You are not to tell anyone, alert anyone, Zing anyone. If you do, I will do to Michael what we did to Reece. And then Tyler. Do you understand?
What could I say? “Yes, it’s clear.”
You’re in the garage already. Get in your car.
I didn’t see any way out. I wasn’t dealing with some enemy I could fight—he was inside my head. I walked over to the blue car and got in. He gave me a street number I didn’t recognize.
I started the car and the garage door opened. I pulled out of the garage, went down the curved driveway. The gate opened automatically and I turned onto the street.
I gripped the wheel and drove in silence, my heart pounding.
You don’t have to be afraid, Callie. I’m not going to hurt you. I need you.
I wasn’t sure what that meant, but it made the hairs stand up on the backs of my arms. How could I get out of this? I couldn’t go to a marshal, couldn’t call Lauren or the senator. Anything I did, he would see. Anything I said, he could hear.
I couldn’t even warn Michael. Not that he could hide anywhere.
The freeway on-ramp came into my view. I passed it by, thinking that the longer I was in the car, the more chance I had to somehow avoid the unavoidable. I hated being the Old Man’s puppet from a distance, but I was terrified of being under his control in person. The times I had been close to him at the institution, he had scared me more than anyone I’d ever known. That mask with the electronic buzz that crackled—I often had nightmares where I was alone with him in the dark and all I could hear was that sound.
And yet he was also capable of being inside Blake and acting smooth and charming. How was that even possible? How do you disguise that much evil? He has no soul, no heart. I should have been able to tell when he was in Blake. How did I miss it?
I see where you are, you know. You should have taken the freeway.
“You’re getting what you want. I’m coming to you,” I said. “And you want to tell me how to drive?”
It was all put on so he wouldn’t see how afraid I was. Inside, my stomach ached.
“So how do you access our chips anyway?”
You’ll see soon enough.
I thought back on all his cruel acts. “Did you kill Helena yourself ? Or just watch?”
Someone else killed her.
“Who?”