“We’re a small group of odd folk all over the world who want to hack into our brains and bodies.”
I widened my eyes. “Why?”
“To be as superhuman as possible.” He turned his hands around, showing me that there were more rice-shaped things on the other side. “Inserting technology under our skin is one way to be superhuman.”
Maxwell came to my side. “Wow. What does all of that do?”
Circuit smiled at him. “All of these various implants do something different. This one on my thumb opens my house and car door. All I have to do is wave it in front of the locks and they click open. I have one on the tip of my index finger that vibrates when I’m facing north. It’s my personal compass.”
Maxwell whistled. “That shit doesn’t cause an infection or anything?”
“It’s titanium bars like a piercing.”
“Never mind all of that.” Misha interrupted the conversation. “Did you get sight of the men I told you about?”
Circuit rolled his eyes. “We have them. They’re on a plane to Japan right now.”
“Interesting.” Misha turned his head up to another screen. “They want to be in the country when I shut off the system. Good. Keep our Rainbow Hats watching them.”
“How many people you want on this? So far, everyone is watching the codes in Paris, the French, and also keeping tabs on the Lion.”
“Get people off the Lion and focused on these Xecutioners in Japan.”
“Should we call in more Rainbow Hats?”
“Not yet.” Misha took my hand. “By the way, we’ll be staying here.”
“Awesome. A slumber party.” Circuit smiled. “I’ll get to talk to Ava more.”
“You won’t. Show everyone to the sleeping quarters and do your best to not bother them.” Misha gently took my hand and led us away.
“He was interesting,” I said.
“That’s one way to describe Circuit.”
“And this place?”
He gestured around him. “You know about my public tech corporation, but this is the meat of what I truly do. This is the. . .secret things that have garnered me a decent reputation.”
“And not many people know about this?”
“You’re one of the few. Not even my cousin knows the location.”
Once again, Misha had peeled off another layer of him to show to me. Granted it was due to an emergency, but I was still happy to learn more about him.
As we walked through, I scanned the place. “Why are some people wearing those black goggles over their eyes?”
“It’s Virtual Reality headsets. The ones that have them on are actually off work right now. They barely sleep or go home. They prefer to spend all their free time in an electric world that they’ve created. Here, my office provides the highest level of VR—tech that’s not on the public market.”
“This is one of the perks of working with you?”
He smirked. “One of many. The pay is damn good.”
“And Circuit is a supervisor for them?”
“Exactly. If I’m far away and need control of a satellite or to mess with a city’s infrastructure, then I call him up to manage the crew.”
“How much can you mess with a city’s infrastructure?”
“Nowadays everything is controlled by computers. Bridges, Street signals, water and sewer systems, railways/subways, airports, and even harbors. It’s unlimited how much damage can be done if I was properly focused.”
I tensed.
He caught my unease. “Of course I wouldn’t do it. Shutting off a city’s airports and subways is a great way to have a target on my back for the rest of my life, unless. . .”
“Unless?”
“It was approved by the governing official.”
“Who would approve you messing with the city’s systems?”
“My cousin could make some calls to ease the authorities’ minds, letting them know that he had a particular goal to achieve and all would return to normal soon.”
“That’s incredible power to have between the both of you.”
“Too bad, I still haven’t figured out if having great power is good or bad.” He led us to a mahogany door, gestured for our guards to remain there, and waved his finger by the knob. The door clicked and opened on its own.
I widened my eyes. “You have one of those rice chips in your finger?”
“A few. Circuit is a more of an addict than a biohacker.”
“And you?”
“I think tech within humans is our inevitable future. I want to be at the forefront.” He raised his hands in the air. The lights came on.
A luxury suite greeted my eyes. It looked like something out of a 5-star hotel. The massive room’s beautiful interior displayed numerous charming details—polished mahogany wood, ornate inlay ceilings, and plush carpet. A king-size bed sat in the center. A long black desk outlined the wall and held three large laptops. Four tv screens sat on the wall behind the laptops. An olive-green leather sofa and armchairs were on the left side of the room. On the other side, bookshelves lined the wall. Bonsai trees sat on one shelf. Tons of books stacked the others.