Slow, deep breaths helped relax my ready-to-bolt muscles. “What are you doing now?” She adjusted the fit of the helmet. Then, she pulled down the mass of wires that dangled beside it. After reaching into a silver box and extracting a pack of long, thin needles, she began attaching a wire to one, and then pushing it into my scalp. I braced for pain, but of course, felt none. The very limited pain sensation I’d been programmed with rarely surfaced. All I felt was a foreign presence invading my skull. “First, we need to locate your tracking mechanism. Once we find it, I can fry it—permanently.” See? Nothing to fear, and everything to gain. Still, my pulse pounded. This was too reminiscent of another lab. The sound of someone clearing his throat interrupted us. Quinn craned her head over her shoulder. “Oh, good, you’re here.” I couldn’t see who was approaching, but I heard the heavy scrape of footsteps ripple across the carpet. A face appeared in front of me, topped with red curls.
