Sarah took on a contemplative look. “Maybe she can also help find my parents.”
“Exactly.” Michael had her. He tried not to show too much relief. She’d come to his side far more quickly than he’d expected. Now they just had to convince Bryson.
“What do you think?” he asked him. “She’s in Atlanta.”
Bryson nodded slowly, reluctantly coming on board. “I guess we find a sneaky way to buy bus tickets, then. We can sleep on the road.”
It was a long, long bus ride ahead of them, and Michael couldn’t get comfortable in his seat. A plane, train, or car—anything would have been a better option, but they couldn’t risk it. A bus seemed the most anonymous mode of transportation. No one seemed to care too much about three shabbily dressed teenagers riding the lonely road to visit some faraway grandma.
His friends had dozed off quickly, Bryson’s head hilariously bobbing all over the place, and Michael seized the opportunity to contact Gabriela. He wanted to see if she had any value to them before he bothered telling his friends about her. Had to.
Michael couldn’t risk staying connected to the Net for a long time, but if he could quickly convince her to meet him when they got to Atlanta, they could talk in person. After igniting his NetScreen, it didn’t take long to find her information and send a message, using a brand-new fake ID. She responded almost immediately.
MichaelPeterson240: Gabby, it’s Jax. We need to talk.
GabbyWonderWoman: Hi.
MichaelPeterson240: Oh. Hi. That was fast.
GabbyWonderWoman: I noticed all your accounts vanished.
MichaelPeterson240: My Jackson accounts?
GabbyWonderWoman: Yeah.
MichaelPeterson240: Yeah. Look, I needed WAY more time to explain everything.
GabbyWonderWoman: No. No one could possibly be that stupid.
MichaelPeterson240: Exactly.
GabbyWonderWoman: Consider me the most confused girl in history. Since the Big Bang.
MichaelPeterson240: I know. I’m just as confused about most of it.
GabbyWonderWoman: Are you really trying to tell me you’re not Jax?
MichaelPeterson240: Give me a chance to explain in person.
GabbyWonderWoman: Okay. I need to see you, too. I’m going crazy.
MichaelPeterson240: Okay. I’m sorry. About all this. Bye.
GabbyWonderWoman: I love you.
Michael saw that last line and let out a breath. Not knowing what else to do, he quickly exited the conversation and turned off his EarCuff. He stared at the now-dark spot where the NetScreen had been hovering, his heart hammering, his thoughts flying. The bus hummed and bounced along the night-black road.
Gabriela’s dad worked for the VNS. VNS security, which was redundant, like she said. Things made a little more sense now. Kaine wanted that inside track for some reason, which was why he’d sent Michael into Jackson’s body through the Mortality Doctrine. And now, no matter how guilty it made him feel, Michael was going to take advantage of the connection himself, if for nothing else, to find out more about the VNS. And at best, to find a way inside their headquarters for a meeting with Agent Weber. In person.
Michael settled himself and closed his eyes, leaning against the cool glass of the window. The vibration of the bus, the thrum of the tires on the road, the inviting darkness—it all started to lull him to sleep. On some level, he knew the real reason he wanted to see Gabriela again. Gabby. She was real, a tether linking his new life to its origins. And … she loved him. It was all messed up.
Feeling ridiculous, he let dreams take him away.
They had to change vehicles in a town right outside the Kentucky border and found themselves with a couple of hours to kill. Hungry and tired, their options limited, they headed for a dump of a café. A full day had passed, and darkness had settled on the small dusty town. Maybe it was the humidity, but Michael felt damp and itchy and dirty.
And now he had to tell his friends about Gabby.
They were in a booth, Bryson across from Michael and Sarah. Michael had just taken a bite of a turkey club sandwich, washing it down with warm water—the bored waitress had graced him with all of one ice cube—when he got up his nerve.
“So,” he began, swallowing, wiping his mouth with a napkin. “Turns out Jackson Porter had a girlfriend. I actually ran into her a couple of times before I found you guys.” He waited, acting casual but feeling like he’d just revealed his dirtiest, darkest secret.
Bryson and Sarah just looked at him. But they’d stopped chewing.
“I think she might be what Kaine was talking about,” he continued, “when he said he chose Jackson for a reason. Her dad works for the VNS. Does security for them. In Atlanta, actually. Maybe we can use the connection ourselves, to our advantage.” He took another big bite of his sandwich, glad he’d finally gotten that off his chest.
Bryson had an astonished look on his face. “What are you talking about? You’re just bringing this up now?”