Free Wired by Francine Pascal

“You’re probably right. I’m sorry. I was just, you know, trying to open mymind to every possibility. But yeah, I’ll just stick close to Gaia. That’ll be the best plan for now.”
    Oliver fixed Jake with a measured smile. “Indeed. A sharp eye on Gaia is really all that we need.”
OLIVER
    The boy’s eagerness can work both with me as well as against me. True, he is confident almost to a fault—some might say arrogant—and ready to take on whatever task I may give to him. True, he has proven himself in the field. He is strong and physically capable, and his loyalty to Gaia is impressive indeed. I can think of no one better suited for the act of surveillance, particularly given his neophyte status. Jake Montone is far too inexperienced to come close enough to learning the truth.
    Although… he has demonstrated that he yearns to be at the center of the action. He wants to know all there is to know. He courts danger, even more than he is aware. He will ask questions, and I must cover my own tracks and shield my own suspicions. He cannot learn more than I am ready to reveal. He must work with me, for me, on my timeline, or he isuseless to me… and to Gaia.
    Jake believes that our interest lies in protecting Gaia, and he is right. I would sooner poison myself than see her hurt at the hands of another. But there are other factors involved. It may be that someone is after Gaia due to her unique gifts. It may be that someone has learned of her genetic composition. Someone may wish to harness her power, to learn from it, to replicate it. And though I said otherwise to Jake, that someone may have leaked a dangerous chemical onto the black market, this Invince, this drug that makes people think they are immortal. It is a wild card, an element of uncertainty that threatens to unravel my careful efforts. This I cannot allow. No one will have my niece under a microscope, examining her like a laboratory rat and manipulating her biochemistry for their own benefit. I will not have it.
    As her uncle, Oliver would nothave Gaia the subject of a nefarious science experiment.
    Loki, that old, comfortable companion, agrees.
    If anyone is to benefit from a study of Gaia Moore, it will be me.

Ultimate Strangeness
    ED WAS PLEASED TO NOTE THAT THE doctor leaning over him, clipboard in hand, was humming. Humming had to be good news. There was no way a doctor would be so cruel as to exhibit such unrelenting exuberance if he didn’t have something key to pass along to Ed.
    Such as, for example, a discharge notice. A clean bill of health.
    Ed had been in and out of hospitals more than he cared to reflect on ever since his skateboard accident a few years ago, and while he had by now gotten used to the sterile, antiseptic atmosphere, it didn’t mean he was eager to set up short-term residence at St. Vincent’s. The stack of extreme sport magazines piled up on his nightstand was as homey as he wanted the room to be. He wasn’t interested in being on a first-name basis with each and every staff member, no matter how friendly they were to him. No, he’d be thrilled to return to his parents’ apartment—and maybe even willing to allow them to shower him with embarrassing amounts of affection. Or at the very least, a decent meal. The cookie Kai had brought him was the closest he’d come to actual sustenance in days.
    And it had, evidently, done wonders toward nursing him back to health. The doctor took a quick listenwith his stethoscope (which Ed was fairly convinced was actually just a prop), clapped Ed on the shoulder, and sat back on the edge of the bed. “Well, son, I gather you’re ready to leave?” the doctor asked, eyes twinkling.
    â€œDefinitely. What sort of time frame are we talking about?” There had been discussion of leaving that evening, but Ed didn’t want to hold his breath.
    â€œHow quickly can you pack up?”
    â€œMan, are you