Elusion(82)

“Corrupted?” Patrick narrows his eyes at me. “I didn’t find that memo until after David died. When I took over his office and started working on his quantum, it was a wreck. The files were completely disorganized, and some were even missing.” He’s starting to pace now, back and forth, back and forth, like a caged animal. “When I came across the memo, Elusion was already undergoing trials at the CIT. At that point, there wasn’t anything I could do without sabotaging the entire project. There was way too much riding on it then, and when we got the approval, I assumed your dad and Bryce had successfully worked out all the kinks.”

“So I’m supposed to believe that you never knew what they were up to? You helped my father with every aspect of Elusion,” I say, as a slight wind blows a golden stalk against my leg.

“You’re wrong, Ree,” Patrick says, shaking his head. “There were parts of the Elusion creation process that even I wasn’t involved in. I’m great with coding and designing the Escapes, but the trypnosis application has never been my specialty.”

“Oh really? Then whose is it?”

“Bryce. Your dad chose him personally to run that division.”

“So what? As soon as Josh told you about Nora, you had to have known the sodium pentothal wasn’t working. You keep coming up with excuses, Pat. Problems with the app being downloaded, signals being hijacked because a new company is hosting the server—you’ve got an answer for everything. And you haven’t done anything about it.”

The breeze is turning into a full-blown wind, and I wrap my arms across my chest, trying to fend off the cold. “It’s like you’re in total denial. You can’t bear to admit you might actually be failing.”

“I’m not going to fail,” Patrick says.

“It’s not a crime to fail. But if you keep denying it—”

“I wouldn’t lie to you, Ree!” Patrick insists.

“Then prove it,” I say. “Take me behind the firewall.”

Patrick lets out a sigh, and I can tell he’s still holding back. “No,” he says simply.

“Why not?” I ask. My heart pushes against my rib cage and I feel a little breathless. “Are you worried I’m going to suffer from nanopsychosis?”

When he spins around, I stare him down, trying to make a connection. But it’s like there’s barely any life left in his eyes.

“What if . . . you’re already sick?” he says, his lower lip trembling a little. “This stuff about the firewall, it’s nonsensical. I’ve told you that already. People are hallucinating things. Maybe even you.”

“No, I was just with a girl who stayed too long in Elusion, and she said the exact same things my father told me when I saw him on that beach,” I say defiantly. “If anything, that proves that I’m not hallucinating.”

“How?”

“Nanopsychosis can cause hallucinations based on subconscious memories. This girl would have needed to know him in real life in order to dream him in Elusion. And there’s no way she could have known what he told me, unless he reached out while she was inside one of the Escapes and told her, too,” I say with conviction.

But Patrick is not convinced. “You sound crazy. You know that, right?”


“I don’t care what you think. I’m going to find the firewall, Pat. And if you won’t go with me, I’ll go alone.”

“No, you won’t,” says a voice.

I turn around, and Josh is standing not more than ten feet away from us, wearing jeans and a blue long-sleeved knit shirt. He looks healthy and strong, like he did when I first met him at Patrick’s party. “I’m going with you.”

As much as I want to throw my arms around him, I know that this is the worst thing that could have possibly happened right now.

“What the hell are you doing here?” Patrick barks at Josh. Then he whips around, his face just inches from mine, his eyes blazing. “Did you invite him?”

“Regan didn’t have anything to do with it. I stole the code off your InstaComm message and hacked my Equip so I wouldn’t need an invite,” Josh says to Patrick. Then he takes my hand and pulls me away. “After you left, I really started to worry. I didn’t like the idea of you being in here, especially after what we saw.”

“I have some bad news for you. I’m afraid Regan’s little crush is affecting her mental capacity,” Patrick says. “She’s not thinking straight.”

I feel my face get warm the way it does when I blush, but it only lasts for a second. I’m about to counter his snide remarks when I’m beaten to the punch.

“If there’s something wrong with Regan or anyone else, that’s on you,” Josh says.

Patrick doesn’t take criticism well, especially from someone like Josh, someone he views as competition. He shoves Josh in the shoulder to break Josh’s physical contact with me.

“Ever since you met Regan, you’ve been trying to drive a wedge between us. You’ve known her for a week, Josh. A f*cking week!”

“This has nothing to do with Josh. We just want this mess to be over,” I say, reaching for Patrick’s arm. He moves away, as if he’s suddenly disgusted by the thought of me touching him. I’ve never seen him this upset.