Nano Bytes

Her breath came out in short bursts as real panic began to set in. In the back of her mind, the idea of cutting the implant out and escaping had been her backup plan. The fact that she could see her breath in the air as the temperature rapidly dropped didn’t help alleviate her fears. It was already getting colder in here.

Determined not to give up, she hurried into her bedroom. She had hidden weapons that she could use as a surgeon’s scalpel.

Hurrying to her closet, she turned the door handle on it four times, twice left and twice right. The doorknob inverted to reveal a small keypad. With a tight smile, she pressed her thumb onto the small black screen. A green line flowed down the screen as it scanned her thumbprint.

After an audible click, the door swung open to reveal a secret section of the closet, an alcove filled with shelves and boxes. She frowned at the photographs pinned to the back wall—William’s father going into Devlin Corp, William at college, the enforcers attacking street kids.

She sighed at the memories the photographs inspired. Her world had been so complicated for all the right reasons. Her intentions had been to help people for all the good it did anyone in the end.

She’d been a spy, an activist against Devlin Corp. She’d been a criminal before that. Since massive corporations controlled the justice system and the enforcers, there wasn’t any real justice in the world. In the beginning, she’d only been breaking laws for herself. But when the people starving on the streets had become the targets of the enforcers, she had made it her mission to find out why.

She’d infiltrated Devlin Corp with a fake identity to find out why they were making people disappear.

But her life of spying for Revolution, a group of hardcore activists, had turned into a constant, moral dilemma. William had been, and still was, an innocent in it all. She hadn’t meant to fall in love. She hadn’t meant to become so immersed in the world of corporate lies that she’d lose herself. She hadn’t meant to get caught.

She narrowed her eyes as she reached into the dark alcove, pulling open a metal case to get her knife.

Her eyes widened.

No! They can’t have broken in here too.

She pulled out the box and searched through it, her heart racing. Only foam spaces remained where her weapons had once been. They’d taken everything.

She dropped the box and stepped back, her heart sinking.

That was it. That was my only chance.

She sank down onto the bed, blankly staring at the open closet. This implant wasn’t a control device. It was a death sentence.

Her eyes wandered up the wall to the security camera embedded in the ceiling. Were they still watching, or had they headed for warmer climates?

Frowning, she tried to think of another way out. There had to be something she could use.

She flinched at the sound of cries coming from the hallway. Then she sharply inhaled.

I can still open the goddamn door!

Jumping to her feet, she hurried out of the room and rushed to her front door. She peered through the peephole. There were several people rushing down the halls as they left the building.

Stepping back, she flung open the door, careful not to set off the sensors around the doorway and scanning the people as the rushed by. One of them had to have a knife or something sharp enough to break her skin.

«Hey!» She called out to a jovial–looking man as he neared her doorway.

He ignored her as he rushed passed. «Wait!» she cried. «I need a knife.»

She turned to face the family of four who were rushing toward her door. «I need help. Can you help me?» she cried.

The father hugged the child he was carrying and shook his head as he passed her.

A feeling of desperation washed over her. She couldn’t even reach out to people as they hurried by. The second her fingers passed through the doorframe, her implant would activate.

«Please, it won’t take long. Can someone just stop for a minute?»

People looked away as they raced by, all of them with one goal, which did not include helping her. They just wanted to get out of here.

Gritting her teeth, she pulled her car keys out of her pocket. It was her way out of the city, but it would be useless if she didn’t live long enough to drive away.

She waved the keys. «I’ll give you my car if you just stop for a minute.»

No one stopped. Most people didn’t even look at her.

Helplessness overwhelmed her, and her voice became croaky as she lowered her head in defeat. «Please don’t leave me here to die.»

«I wasn’t planning to.»

She jerked her head up, recognizing the voice and finding herself staring into a pair of familiar green eyes. She gasped his name. «William.»

Chapter 3

Thea didn’t know what to think as she stepped back to allow William into her apartment. The last time she’d seen him, he’d told her that he never wanted to see her again. Now, here he was, right when she needed him the most.

«I didn’t know if you’d still be here.» He gripped her hand, pulling her toward the door. «Come on, we need to get out of here now.»