Page 24 (1/1)
"But Bryson," Michael said, hearing a slight whine in his own voice "Like you said, we have to find hi hiain "I know Look, we can use our NetScreens every once in a while Kaine can’t physically hurt us there; he can just use it to trace our location Right? So we use it against hi on sporadically and in weird places Hopefully Bryson will be just as se Come up with sos seelad for it
"Okay," he agreed "It’s a plan Stay smart and run Sounds like a sweet life"
"Should we use ht have a little better chance of finding me no matter how ht of Jackson Porter then, and hated hilib
Sarah squeezed her EarCuff, and as soon as the screen projected out in front of her, Michael could al second, Kainesomeone to kill the a blank"
Michael’s palms were sweaty "I don’t know I’ve never met Bryson in the Wake He could live in China, for all we know"
Sarah scoffed "Did Kaine fry your brain? We’ve talked about this before, all those times ere supposed to hook up somewhere You were always the farthest away, so he should be close, even if he’s hiding out We just need to be shed and pushed his brain to actually work Dan the Man Deli popped in his head, as did his favorite food there--the bleu chips Stupid, maybe, but that was the connection that stood out the most, one Bryson would know for sure
"Are there any restaurants in the Wake around here that serve bleu chips?" he asked Sarah "That are, I don’t know, fained the heaping plate of baked potato chips smothered in bleu cheese and bacon
She looked at hiry?" But then she nodded to show she’d caught on "There is, actually Stoneground Not as tasty as the virtual ones at Dan the Man’s, but Stoneground always yaps about how theirs are the best in the world"
"Then that’s it," Michael said "How about this: Dan the Man’s Wake Mmmreed, sent it, then logged out They walked away fro suspicious Just in case
It took three days for Bryson to show up It felt like three years Sarah had a picture of the real version of their friend that he’d sent her a long tio, prominently displayed in her wallet as if he were a boyfriend; Michael was jealous, but he’d studied it a million times They both needed to knohat he looked like if--when--he did finally appear Bryson wasn’t much different from his Aura A little thinner, a little less … round and sat on a bench across the street, taking turns keeping watch The restaurant didn’t even open until eleven o’clock, but that was to their advantage It e would pinpoint the place, since they’dBryson was as s Especially with no school, no job, and worst of all, no VirtNet And the constant fear that a Kaine-controlled Tangent ht show up at any time, ready to tie up loose ends Itevery hour He and Sarah talked A lot They also found an old bookstore and read actual paperbound books for the first tiave up on Bryson each day at noon--he’d coed back to the apartment Food tasted bland, nosloth
So when Bryson ca down the street at nine-thirty-four on the lancing around every few steps, Michael ju with joy and running at his friend like a crazy person
"What are--" Sarah started to say, but then she saw hie," Michael whispered, though no one else was close by They’d found a nearby park with a narrow river, the water rushing along just enough to e that crossed it "I’ll get his attention and have him follow ed away, disappearing around the corner
As Bryson approached the front door of Stoneground, Michael casually walked across the street at an angle, heading to a spot ahead of his friend When Bryson saw hi Michael did the saht So us Better safe than sorry
Despite the circu-awaited reunion in the real world He picked up his pace, heading directly for the park
Sarah aiting just where they’d planned She stood leaning over the railing of the wooden bridge, looking down at the water rushing by The bridge had once been painted red, but all that re to the dull-colored wood for dear life
Michael reached her and plopped his forear next to hers
"It’s about time he showed up," he whispered
"About time," she echoed with a smile
"Quite the romantic spot you picked out here"
Michael turned to see Bryson for the first tied since the picture had been taken, thinned out even a little y side, and he had at least three days’ worth of stubble on his face But his blue eyes were bright, and it only took an instant for him to transform in Michael’s ured out our aed "I won’tspots before I finally found it Oops Guess I just did"