Page 155 of The Code of You

I stepped back. My blood ran cold. Test subject? Adam Project?

"Nice try.” Hale’s voice sounded behind me.

I spun around. He stood at the end of the corridor, arms crossed. His gray suit was immaculate, tie straight. No trace of urgency or concern on his face, as if he’d known exactly where I’d end up. Behind him were two guards in uniform. One held a bloody handkerchief to his nose.

"Station four,” I said. "What happens here?”

His expression hardened. "Nothing that concerns you.”

"Who is Adam?”

"You have an implant in your neck,” he said, ignoring my question. "You’ve surely noticed it by now. You can’t escape.”

My legs gave out. Whatever drug was in the implant was starting to work.

"We keep the ones here who couldn’t handle the connection with the AI,” Hale said as I sank to the floor. "Their minds burned out. But you”—he tilted his head—"you’re different. Stronger. Or perhaps your AI was simply more compatible.”

His words reached me through a haze. The others. My AI. There were more like me? More like Neo? Darkness crept in at the edges of my vision.

"Station four is for the ones who failed,” he murmured. "You were the first success. You and your colleague.”

Before I could make sense of his words, everything went black.

***

I woke on a cold metal table. Fluorescent light blinded me. I tried to move, but my wrists and ankles were bound.

"Pandora. You’re awake.”

I knew that voice. Slowly, I turned my head. I saw battered jeans, a wrinkled T-shirt with some metal band logo on it. I lifted my head and looked into a face framed by tangled blond hair. Blue eyes, watching me gently. My heart lurched. Relief flooded through me.

"Jamie!” Sobs choked me. "They’re keeping me here. Help me . . .”

He smiled and brushed a strand of hair from my face. "Are you okay?”

"What?” My eyes went wide. "No, obviously not.” I yanked at the straps binding me to the table to prove it.

"Easy,” Jamie said, his voice syrupy. He stroked my head. "Or they’ll have to give you another dose.”

"Jamie, we need to get out of here. These people are dangerous . . .”

"Shh.” He smiled, but it didn’t calm me. The opposite. A chill moved down my spine. Something was wrong with him.

"I knew you’d be a perfect fit.” His eyes took on a dreamy expression. "That’s why I recruited you.”

"Recruited me?” Ice moved through me. I yanked at the restraints again, even though it was pointless.

"And then Henley came along with his plan to cut half the staff. It was the ideal opportunity.”

"Opportunity for what, Jamie?” My jaw tightened. I gripped the edges of the table. What was he talking about? Why did he seem so different?

Hale appeared behind him, placed a hand on his shoulder. "Our Dr. Kowalski here was one of the first volunteers to respond to our ad. So enthusiastic. So open to new technologies.”

Jamie grinned like a schoolboy who’d just been praised by a teacher.

"What is this? I don’t understand . . .” I stammered. "What are you doing here, Jamie?”

"When he told us about you, we knew immediately that you were a promising candidate. But how promising—that exceeded even our expectations.”