Joan Undone

Chapter 33

Rebuilding our technical infrastructure from the ground up in four weeks is a monumental task, and one that would be impossible if it weren't for Professor Wilde's money. Precious resources that I had planned on using for storming the Chrysalis have to be redirected to buy new tablets, phones, and other technical paraphernalia that we can't function without.

Marie, Nic, and Dennis lead a team of the eight tech-savviest members of our group to get us back online. They work round-the-clock, but the process feels painfully slow. It also seriously hampers the efforts by the rest of us to plan for our attack on the Chrysalis. We've lost our vid feeds from around the city and the ability to hack into various websites when we need information.

Sun, Harriet, Justus, and I plan the attack half-blinded. When we want to assess the streets and tunnels near the Chrysalis, we go on foot. If we need information from the web, we camp out in the local library. Our noble mission sometimes seems like kids doing amateur detective work.

It would be tempting to ask Lexi for resources to help us get the technical pieces we need in place, but after my confrontation with the team, I don't even bother to suggest it.

My relationship with everyone except for Nic and Leo is tense. I thought that Harriet would cool off after a few days, but a week has gone by and she continues to treat me with a strict, cool professionalism that chills me. I won't acknowledge the possibility that I've lost my best friend's trust forever. When this is all over, and we succeed in taking down Crew, she'll come around. I hope.

A week into rebuilding all our tech, a holo-message appears on my new cell phone from Professor Wilde, instructing me to come to his house. I welcome the interruption from a day of scouting the tunnels near the Chrysalis with a silent Harriet.

"I wonder what he wants from you this time," Nic muses as we eat breakfast on a bench near the professor's apartment.

"He wants to help us. Maybe he has information we can use."

"Optimism looks good on you," Nic says, nuzzling my neck.

A low sound escapes my throat, because whatever he's doing with his lips is magic. But even Addie would think it's irresponsible to ignore my responsibilities and indulge in "living" right now, so I push him away.

"After we take down the Chrysalis, I'm getting us a room with a bed where we can be alone," I say with a frustrated groan.

Nic's eyes widen, and then he kisses me. "Hell, yes."

The heat in his tone makes me blush, and he grins. The glint in his eyes reminds me of all the times he teased me for being a virgin like the original of my clone type. I sock him in the shoulder, and his smirk spreads into a full-on smile.

He watches as I dust the crumbs off my pants and get up, unable to put off my meeting with Professor Wilde any longer.

"Sorry to send you in with a loaded gun, baby," Nic jokes.

His lame crack loosens me up, which was probably his intention.

"I'm going to get this meeting over with," I decide.

"Call me if anything gets weird," Nic says.

I approach Professor Wilde's elegant townhome. It's tall and narrow, with a red front door that opens before I knock. Professor Wilde's son, Wills, gives me an assessing stare that reminds me of Mav.

"Daddy! She's here!"

Professor Wilde comes down with a middle-aged man with silver hair and dark eyes.

"Isaac," he says, shaking my hand with his large, warm one. "Oscar says you're difficult to work with, so you and I should get along well. I've never been fond of lemmings."