Free Override (Glitch) by Heather Anastasiu Page A

back window at the tops of the trees. By moonlight, I could see that the circular area I’d flattened stood out like a giant target.
    I turned away again and saw Adrien watching me, but I didn’t meet his eyes. Guilt ate like a worm through my stomach. This was all my fault. I closed my eyes, wishing there were a way to rewind time.

Chapter 7
    XONA AND TYRYN SPOKE QUIETLY in the front seats. I couldn’t hear what they were saying, but Xona glanced back at me several times. Well, glared back might be a better description.
    Otherwise, it was quiet, almost peaceful. Jilia and Adrien were asleep, and Adrien’s head lolled against the wall behind him. I memorized his sharp cheekbones and the way his jaw tapered down to his pointy chin. His thick lips were opened slightly as he slept, and I wished that I could kiss him. Anything to wipe away the memory of what I’d just done.
    I unbuckled my belt strap and moved closer to Tyryn and Xona. I didn’t have a very good view out the front window, but I could see the distant bright lights ahead.
    “We’re heading into a city?”
    Xona ignored me.
    “Right outside it,” Tyryn said. “There’s a factory there.” He pointed below, where I could just make out the outline of a cluster of structures. “The factory’s chief engineer is an Upper. Officially, he works for Comm Corp, but in actuality he’s a Rez spy.”
    “Really?” I’d never met an Upper who worked with the Rez. Uppers were usually the enemy, the privileged class who used people for drone labor without any qualms.
    The engines quieted as Tyryn settled the transport down in a covered transport bay. It jolted only lightly when we made contact with the ground.
    “’Allo mates!” someone called just as Tyryn opened the back door of the transport. A very tall wiry man was waiting for us. His face was covered in dark stubble as if he hadn’t shaved in a week, and he smiled widely when Adrien woke up, unclipped himself, and stepped out of the transport.
    “Shorty!” the man said, clapping Adrien hard on the back. Adrien was only an inch shorter than him, both of them well over six feet.
    “Henk.” Adrien grinned back.
    “You folks are early. Glad to see ya ain’t got any holes in you.”
    Adrien didn’t say anything, but he did embrace the man.
    Henk let go and turned to me, his arms open wide. “And the telek girl!” He stepped and hugged me hard right as I stepped out of the transport, lifting me up off my feet. “So good to meet ya. Shorty’s talked about ya enough to make a man’s ears bleed.”
    I turned to Adrien who smiled and looked down, his ears turning pink.
    “Welcome to my factory,” Henk said, gesturing behind him. “All the newest models, shiny and ready to be shipped.”
    As I looked around, I gasped a little to see hundreds of vehicles packed in the covered space, all in orderly rows. One was a row of duos, another was full of large trucks, skinny in front but with wide bulbous backsides; others looked like variations on the simple quad transport design we’d come in.
    Jilia stepped down from the vehicle next.
    “My favorite doc! Now it’s really a party.” Henk spread his arms wide, but Jilia smacked them down, then winced and held her ribs.
    Henk’s eyebrows scrunched together. “You broke, Doc?”
    “Nothing I can’t fix. And don’t think I’ve forgotten last time,” she said, an eyebrow raised.
    “Aw, come on,” Henk said, looking almost contrite. “One little accident with blasting powder and a guy can never live it down?”
    Jilia rolled her eyes. “So is the container ready? I don’t want to stop here any longer than we have to.”
    “Did ya think I wouldn’t come through for my favorite gal?” Henk grinned.
    “I thought I was your favorite doctor,” Jilia said.
    Henk leaned in, his voice low. “Who says ya can’t be both?” He wiggled his eyebrows, then pulled back. “It’s over here.” He gestured with his arm for us to