Dissolution

Chapter 13 - The Illusion

The first thing I saw were lines on a pale face framed by white hair. Long black sleeves covered any light from her UConn. Above them, her collar was a softly lustrous pale grey. She was old. Older than almost anyone I'd ever met. There might have been kind eyes behind those wrinkles, but I couldn't tell.

"Professor Cellowen," Jake said, a low note of surprise in his voice. He moved aside automatically. I stood my ground, fists clenched. She stepped in calmly, closed the door behind her, and regarded me.

"So," she said in a measured tone. "Are you the young lady who's been setting a fire up ANRON's ass today?"

I almost choked. "What? I-I mean, yes, I think, but . . ."

The barest trace of a smile curved her lips. "Well then," she said. "We had better find someplace to hide you. Come with me."

The rush of relief I felt was almost immediately tempered by suspicion. "Wait," I said. "That's it? Just like that?"

Jake's hand squeezed mine. "You can trust her, Madeline. You can trust us."

Something in the way he said it made me pause. I turned. He looked exactly the same as he always had. Wide open eyes, soft lashes, a secret smile. I knew every inch of that face, the way it felt underneath my fingers, but suddenly it was like looking at a stranger.

"You know, I almost believed you," I said carefully. "When you were telling him I was just a bit of extra cash to you. To go ahead and put the line in, like it was nothing."

Jake flinched. He opened his mouth to argue with me, but the professor beat him to it. "I understand you have questions," she said to me. "The short answer is that you don't have a choice. We are the only people in Unilox who can help you. And I'll give you the long answer on the way to getting you someplace safe." Her watery gaze swung to Jake and suddenly it was like I wasn't even in the room anymore. "You have a line in you?"

He flushed. "I had to," he said. "Saying no would have looked suspicious. I needed to get them out."

Her lips pursed. "I sincerely hope that you're not using your implants right now."

He shook his head. "Whoever's linked in is getting treated to an episode of Hard in HARLIN. Turned up loud." He smiled slightly. "I hope they like police procedural Ads."

None of his amusement reflected back on her face. "We need to get that line out as soon as possible," she said grimly. "For now, don't work on any of our matters. Catch up on your studies instead. Because make no mistake, they will be back."

Jake's smile dropped away. "What if they don't come back?" he said. There was a dead sort of hope in his voice. "If she's . . . if she's part of some product line, then if they can't find her, why can't it be someone else?"

Professor Cellowen gave him a look. It was at once both mildly disappointed, and as disgusted as if she had just witnessed someone urinating in public. Jake's cheeks burned as if he'd been struck. He looked away.

"In any case," she said, as if they had just held a conversation I hadn't been a part of, "they will certainly be back now. Somebody made the mistake of panicking and broadcasting that emergency piece." Her voice was dry. "I imagine their own license is currently being reviewed. But the point is, Entertainment Limited has a hold of your story. So now ANRON will hunt you until they find you, even if it's just to prove to the rest of their Experimentals that there is nowhere to run."

My heart sank. "And there's nothing that can be done?" I asked. "No . . . can they even do this? Just . . . take my license away, for nothing?"

She was quiet. "Is that what you're doing here, then?" she said. "Looking for answers? It would have been wiser to stay hidden."