Like the other robots, her system had started failing after her arrest. Except this time, the hospital staff had been able to get the medicines she needed into her system much sooner since Jenna already knew in which way to direct them.
The most important thing was that Emily’s memories were mostly intact. The tail in her system hadn’t had enough time to do its job correctly before the other meds began fighting it.
Finally the break they’d been hoping for.
The young woman in the hospital bed was pale, confused, and scared, but medically thriving. The memory compound was working more each minute. Local law enforcement didn’t like that federal agents had taken over the case, but Jenna, Mark, and Ian had the freedom they needed to get information.
Mark and Ian had both gone in to question Emily, but she’d refused to talk to them, immediately panicked. They hadn’t pushed—neither of them wanting to traumatize the woman or cause any sort of regression.
So now it was Jenna’s turn to try.
Mark and Ian were watching from the security cameras set up in the room, and Mark had given Jenna an earpiece so they could offer suggestions or questions Jenna may not think of.
“Hi, Emily.” Jenna walked into the hospital room and closed the door behind her. “My name is Jenna. I need to ask you a few questions if that’s okay. No need to be nervous.”
Emily immediately stiffened. “Are you a nurse or a cop?”
Jenna smiled. “Neither, actually, but I am here to help you, and I can promise you that nothing you say to me will get you in any sort of trouble.”
“Really?”
“Yes. The only thing my colleagues and I are interested in is helping catch the people who did this to you and stop them from doing it to anyone else.”
The other woman still looked pretty nervous. “Okay.”
“Tell me anything you remember about what happened to you.”
Emily’s eyes immediately filled with tears, and Jenna took her hand. She knew what it was like to be in a hospital and not sure who to trust or what to say. Grabbing a chair with her free hand, Jenna pulled it up next to the bed.
“I’m sorry,” the girl said. “It’s a little overwhelming. I feel better than I did a few hours ago, but my brain still feels cloudy.”
“You were drugged, so that’s completely understandable.” Jenna used the most soothing tone she could.
“Jenna.” Mark’s deep voice came on through the transmitter in her ear. “Try to help her focus on small bits at a time. That should be less overwhelming for her.”
“How about we discuss specifics?” Jenna said. “What’s your job?”
Emily immediately looked calmer. This was a question she could handle. “I work as an IT manager at a bank.”
Another robot with some sort of expertise in computers. Jenna wasn’t surprised at all.
“Where?”
“Seattle.”
Not the first robot who was far away from home when they were released.
“Okay,” Jenna said, squeezing the girl’s hand. “Do you know where you are now?”
She wiped tears off her cheeks and sniffled. “Uh, yeah. They told me I was in San Diego. My boyfriend is coming.”
Jenna smiled. “That’s good. I know you will appreciate having a familiar face here with you. Do you remember anything about how you got here?”
Emily took a deep breath, steadier. “Yeah. I mean, not everything, but a little. The last thing I remember was that I was leaving work and it was late. I was going to my car, and I know there was someone behind me.”
“When was that, do you know?”
“Monday night. What day is it now?”