Chapter 26

It was 3:43 PM, give or take a few seconds. Emily drove into the dusty old parking lot behind the Briar Hill Mall with two minutes to spare, her beaten-up Honda’s tires crackling as they slowly rolled across the gravel and the torn-up blacktop. The back lot was nearly empty, just like it always was, and Emily was annoyed. She was supposed to be at the school at that precise moment, helping to get the pep rally for the first football game of the season ready. The cheerleading squad needed it to be perfect, and more importantly, Jack needed it to be perfect, especially with all of the neat gizmos he’d been nice enough to make for them. It was going to be an unforgettable pep rally, that was for sure.

But with the stupid text from Mr. Hill, Emily couldn’t go. And she couldn’t even tell anyone why she couldn’t go. Not even Jack. Which made Emily’s head hurt, because she knew she was supposed to tell Jack things like that, he’d told her to, and she was his special girl, so she needed to, but every time she reached for her phone to tell Jack about it, she

couldn’t.

And then she’d forget about the text for awhile. And Mr. Hill, too.

Fortunately, Donna took care of everything. Because Donna was so amazing. She told Emily not to worry about the pep rally preparations, that she and Samantha and Mrs. Winter had everything totally under control, and if Emily had something special to do for Jack, that was totally okay. Which was weird, because Emily when had started telling Donna about having to miss the beginning of the preparations, Donna already had known about it somehow. Except Donna thought she was doing something for Jack, not meeting with dumb old Mr. Hill.

Definitely weird.

But, um, after you get back, Donna had asked, and when we’re done with the stupid pep rally tonight ... we can both go back to your house, right? Donna’s hands had started fondling Emily’s tits at that point, pinching Emily’s nipples hard enough to make her moan. Jack will give us a reward for doing a good job, right? He hasn’t been with me in so long ... I want him so much...

Of course he’ll give you a reward, Donna, Emily had replied happily. Don’t be silly! The three of us ... we’re going to have so much fun together tonight. Trust me. And then she’d slipped her tongue into Donna’s mouth, fondling and making out with her best friend for the few precious minutes she’d had before she needed to go to her meeting with dumb old Mr. Hill.

And now, here she was. Ready to meet him.

With an annoyed scowl on her pretty face, Emily climbed out of the car, her cute white wedge heels crunching into the gravel. She wore a super tiny blue miniskirt with a white studded leather belt that lazy autumn afternoon, and the miniskirt was honestly about as long as the belt was wide. She wore no panties, of course, and the unusually warm autumn breeze delightfully blew up her nearly nonexistent skirt when it gusted, tickling and teasing her moist pussylips, which felt so good. And Emily’s enormous, heaving tits, which had swelled up again nicely to practically the size of bowling balls, strained mightily against the cute, tiny red halter top that desperately tried to contain them, her nipples hard with arousal. Though huge and unfettered with stupid nuisances like a bra, Emily’s giant breasts were still remarkably succulent and firm, bouncing lightly with each step she took to the lone, sleek black limo that sat in the far back corner of the lot.

Leaning up against the side of that limo was Mr. Hill, dressed a little more casually than Emily last remembered seeing him. Not that Emily really remembered all that much about the man. I don’t even know his first name, Emily thought uncertainly. And ... was he my English teacher? History? Chemistry? I can’t even remember. He wore jeans and cowboy boots, with a dapper tweed jacket over a black t-shirt, mirrored sunglasses covering his eyes. He held a small bottle of blue Gatorade in one hand, and he smiled warmly as he saw Emily approach.

“Good to see you,” Mr. Hill said. “Glad you could make it. There’s a few things we need to talk about. In private.” He looked around the vacant parking lot, which seemed to only be a rolling tumbleweed away from truly deserted. “I thought this would be private enough.”

“Whatever,” Emily snapped indifferently at her former teacher. “I’m just here ‘cause, like, Jack wanted me to come here.” She casually twirled a long, curly lock of her blonde hair around her finger. “Make it quick, I’ve got shit to do. Super important shit.”

“Really?” Mr. Hill asked. “Does Jack even know you’re here?”

SAPPHIRE

“No,” Emily blurted out ... and then she frowned. That couldn’t possibly be right. She knew Jack would never want her to tell anything important

to Mr. Hill.

“No,” Emily said again. Her frown grew more worried.

“Can I have your phone?” Mr. Hill asked.

SAPPHIRE

“Sure,” Emily said, without any hesitation. She reached into her little purse, pulling out her phone with its gaudy pink fake-jewel encrusted case, holding it out to Mr. Hill.

“No,” Mr. Hill said patiently. “The other one.”

“Right,” Emily said blankly, even though she had no idea what the fuck he was talking about. Still, she somehow knew to put her pink phone away, and to open the concealed flap in the lining of her purse that she hadn’t known about. There was a sleek black phone inside the pouch that she hadn’t known about, either, but yet she still handed that new black phone to Mr. Hill without uttering a word of protest.

“Thank you,” Mr. Hill said. He tucked the phone away inside his jacket. “Usually your texts serve us well, but sometimes we just need the full data upload. I’ll get you a newer version of that one back to you tomorrow.”

“Tomor ... what?” Emily asked. She felt very confused, and angry, like

SAPPHIRE

someone was playing a trick on her. “That’s not even my phone.”

“Well, that’s what you always say,” Mr. Hill replied. “I guess you don’t know everything, then. And neither does Jack.” He chuckled softly, which infuriated Emily to no end. “You know, for a genius, he’s not really that smart sometimes.”

“Shut up,” Emily said irritably. She folded her arms sullenly across her massive chest. “Jack’s the best. He’s, like, the smartest person in the world. The universe, maybe. You’re just jealous, you know? If he’s so dumb, why are you so desperate to steal his headphones, huh?” She flashed a triumphant smirk at her former teacher. “Only one who isn’t a genius is you.”

“Oh, I never said Jack wasn’t a genius,” Mr. Hill said. “His headphones, the conditioning programming, and now the new delivery systems he’s developing ... they’re all amazing, in their own way. The technology doesn’t just break new ground, it shatters existing paradigms completely. But that doesn’t mean he’s a genius about everything.”

“Yes,” Emily said insistently, “he is.”

“Really?” Mr. Hill asked. “Your brother Jack needs to fund all of these technological breakthroughs of his. So ... he prostitutes a bunch of high school girls to make money, including his own sister? That’s really his best idea? Nothing better than that, risking so much for a few thousand dollars, at most?” He gave Emily a sad, pitying look. “And he gets the parents of a few of these girls to transfer their savings to him, none of which is very much, which immediately triggers a slew of IRS audits? With the devices he has at his disposal, why doesn’t he just use them on an investment banker? Or enlist the services of a professional hacker, and not one of his fellow horny online teenage friends?”

“Ummmm...”

SAPPHIRE

“ ... maybe he is doing that,” Emily said hotly. “Those, um, smart things you just said. You just don’t know it yet. And Jack is a genius.”

“Well, if he just wants to perfect his conditioning process, and tinker with his headphones, then yes, he is,” said Mr. Hill. “If he has grand delusions of being some arch-master super criminal, though, or taking over the world, or being some sort of serious player on a global political stage ... then no.” He chuckled again, which made Emily’s cheeks burn a furious red. “He’s gotten the attention of a lot of very powerful people, and even more powerful organizations. He’s an amateur playing in the big leagues, a horny, overconfident boy in a man’s world, and while his clever little devices make him a valuable asset, he’s starting to be a bull in a china shop, clumsy and stupid. You have no idea how hard it’s been for us to get so many people – local police, FBI, other government agencies – to turn a blind eye to what he’s been doing, just so he can continue his work.”

SAPPHIRE

Emily stamped her foot petulantly. “Whatever,” she grumbled. “You’re such a jerk. You have my phone, so fine, whatever.” Her cheeks grew even redder, hating herself for so blithely handing over a phone she didn’t even

SAPPHIRE

know about to stupid Mr. Hill. She didn’t even know what was on the phone, except yet

SAPPHIRE

she did

SAPPHIRE

remember... I hooked it up to Jack’s computers while he was sleeping ... took pictures of the screens ... decrypted the secure connection channels ... fuck, it’s so much ... oh, no, Jack, I shouldn’t have...

“Well, it doesn’t matter,” Emily finished lamely. “Jack’s still amazing, you have no idea, especially when –”

Mr. Hill held up a hand, cutting her off. “Enough,” he sighed. “I can’t take this right now, the never-ending ‘Jack is wonderful’ bullshit. It’s ridiculous, and it’s a lie. Let’s get your upgrade over with.” He reached into one of the inside pockets of his jacket, and took out a small metallic rod about the size of a pencil. The tip of the rod glowed with a soft, sapphire light.

“Um ... what’s that?” Emily asked anxiously. There was a part of her that wanted to run away from Mr. Hill at that moment, so, so badly, but

she couldn’t make her feet move. And she couldn’t even turn her eyes away from Mr. Hill.

“I’m going to turn on this device,” Mr. Hill continued. “I need to upgrade your conditioning – the programming you’ve been getting from us – but while you’re here, I think I should do something else as well.” He spun the little rod-like device around between his fingers. “My bosses will hate this, but I don’t care. I should’ve done this for you way earlier. Maybe things would’ve been better if I did.”

“Done what?” Emily asked. “Stop it, okay? I don’t want your stupid upgrade. I want to go home. I ... I want Jack.” She glanced back at her own little car, trying to will herself to run, and

pur...

OVERRIDE

SAPPHIRE

failing miserably yet again.

“This device works a lot like the headphones you used to wear,” said Mr. Hill. He walked over to Emily, circling behind her, holding one of her slender arms with a firm grip as he pressed the small glowing rod against the back of her skull. “It’ll upgrade your Sapphire programming to up to level nine. However, I’m also going to lower the conditioning protocols that you’ve gotten from your brother Jack. I won’t take them away, mind you ... I’ll just dampen their effects on your brain, for lack of a better description. Kind of like turning the volume of your stereo down to zero, without actually switching it off. You’ll be able to see a little bit of the veil that your mind – and the real you – have been locked away behind ever since you started wearing those headphones of his.”

Emily laughed, not really understanding what the fuck he was talking about, pretending like she didn’t care. Deep inside, though, she was terrified. “Like, that doesn’t make any sense, Mr. Hill.”

“If you say so,” Mr. Hill replied. He clicked a tiny button on the side of the device.

FLASH

SAPPHIRE

FLASH

There was a brilliant burst of intensely blue light, piercing and bright. Emily winced, falling down to her knees. For a moment, the pretty blonde teenager felt an eerily familiar yet awful sensation, like someone was stabbing ice picks into her eyes again, unbelievable pain coursing through her body. She felt her knees buckle, felt herself fall to the ground. And as the pain grew worse, as she grew dimly aware that she was curled up on the ground and screaming at the top of her lungs in utter agony, she realized that the soft, buzzing static that had been floating tunelessly in her ears for weeks, more quiet than a whisper but always there ... it was started to fade away into nothingness. She hadn’t even noticed that the static was there anymore, but now that it was gone, it was like she could suddenly hear again.

Hear ... and think.

It all came rushing in at her at once, thoughts trapped inside her head springing free, spiraling and crashing around her brain. Memories that had been hidden out of sight from her mind suddenly leapt out of her subconscious, dancing wildly around her mind. It was too much, everything dancing around and screaming for her attention, and she found herself writhing on the ground, lights flashing all around her, sapphire and purple and orange and even pink again, all different colors, all demanding so many things, all jumbled in a giant mess she could scarcely understand...

Emily didn’t know how much time passed. It felt like an eternity. Her head throbbed as a bright blue light settled into a rhythm in front of her eyes, pulsing in a repetitive pattern, flash flash FLASH flash, flash flash FLASH flash ... but each time she saw the pattern, it dimmed a little. And by the time the blue light had faded away completely, she realized that she was sitting in the parking lot, leaning up against the limo door, and that Mr. Hill was sitting next to her, one arm wrapped supportively around her slender, trembling shoulders.

“Are you okay now, Emily?” Mr. Hill asked gently.

Emily nodded.

“Do you know what’s been going on now? Do you understand?”

Emily nodded again. “I know,” she said. “But I don’t think I’ll ever understand.”

“A wise answer,” Mr. Hill replied. He sat there for a while, saying nothing, simply rubbing Emily’s shoulder consolingly. Emily rested her head against his shoulder, staring dully at her toes, so pink and pretty. Just like Jack wanted. Tears streamed down her cheeks, and she rubbed her hands against her thighs.

Emily felt so, so cold.

“Now,” Mr. Hill said finally, after a couple of long minutes of silence, “are you ready?”

Emily nodded. “As I’ll ever be.”

“Good.” He got up, leaving his little blue Gatorade bottle on the ground next to one of the limo’s tires. Emily got up as well, vainly trying to straighten out her wisp of a miniskirt before just giving up in dejection. I look like a total skank, she thought angrily. These clothes ... my tits ... seriously, this is what my fucking brother thinks of me?

“So, here we are,” Mr. Hill said, as he straightened his coat. “A crossroads, as it were. Choices for you to make.” He laced his hands together, cracking his knuckles. “Something you haven’t been familiar with of late, I know.”

Emily took a deep breath. “Choices?” she asked. “What choices?”

“Being under Jack’s control, or being with me ... with us,” Mr. Hill said. “Unfortunately, you can’t walk away from all of this. You’re going to be under someone’s control, one way or another. And there’s no running away or escaping from that. For that, I’m deeply sorry. But you can choose sides. And that’s what I’m offering to you.”

“Yeah?” Emily said. “But you ... the people you work for ... you just want Jack’s conditioning process for yourselves, right?”

Mr. Hill nodded. “Yes. I’d love to tell you some glorious lie about how all of Jack’s work will be destroyed, or locked away for safekeeping, never to be used again, but you’re a bright young woman. Yes, of course it’ll be used by someone. And yes, it’ll probably be used for some things worse than what your brother’s already done, or is planning to do.” He reached down, picking up the blue Gatorade bottle and giving it a good shake. “There’s no white knights riding in to save the day, Emily. I’ll be honest, you’re just picking the devil you know or the devil you don’t.”

“Great.” Emily rolled her eyes. “That’s just great. Can you at least tell me the difference between the two devils for me, then? Or why one would be better for me than the other?”

Mr. Hill tapped the fingers of his free hand against his jeans. “Good question,” he said. thoughtfully “If it’s to help you, then let me just ask you this. Would you rather be miserable with the truth, or blissfully happy living a life that’s a complete and utter lie?”

“I ... I don’t know,” Emily said uncertainly. She wiped the last few tears streaming down her face away with the back of her hand. “Is there a difference?”

Mr. Hill shrugged. “That’s up to you,” he said. “If there’s not, then it doesn’t really matter what you choose, my dear. But if there is ... well, then you need to decide which is better for you, Emily. No one else. And I’ll do my best to make sure the better choice is possible for you, no matter what that choice may be. And that the consequences of that choice – well, that they don’t hurt you, or they just hurt in the least possible way. That much, I can promise to you.”