Page 117 of Code 6

“Don’t talk like that.”

“It’s the truth,” she replied.

“That’s not the truth. That’s the lie they want you to believe.”

“And who are ‘they’?”

“The people who want to control the way you think. What you think. How you should think,” Patrick said.

“People like Javier, you mean?”

“No. People like Jeremy Peel.”

“The johns?”

Patrick had almost forgotten—or rather, almost put out of his mind—that Peel had been the first to violate Olga in her white string bikini.

“No. I’m talking about people whoreallyrun companies like Buck Technologies.”

Even in the dim lighting, Patrick could see the confusion on her face.

“I don’t follow you,” said Olga.

“Let me put it this way. Remember when you used to unlock your cellphone with your fingerprint?”

“Yeah. Before there was face recognition.”

“Exactly. And where do you think the fingerprints, the facial recognition, the retinal scanning, the voice recognition, and all the other stuff goes?”

“I don’t know.”

“Of course you don’t. You just give it up, no questions asked. And Big Data just keeps taking, as long as you keep giving. I guess elbow scans and heartbeat recognition are next. Hell, by the time our kids areon social media, they’ll be down to belly button scans and fart recognition. How scary is that?”

She laughed. “Very. I like you, Patrick, but I’m not sure I’m ready to have kids with you.”

“Huh?” he said, and then his words “our kids” came back to him. “No, I didn’t meanourkids. I meant—”

“I know what you meant. Just yanking your chain.”

Patrick looked away, embarrassed, then back. He wasn’t necessarily trying to change the subject, but there was something that needed to be said.

“Olga?”

“Yes?”

“What if I told you there is no Code Six?”

She paused before answering. “Then I’d say I was only half right when I said he’s going to kill me when we get to Cali. He’s going to killbothof us.”

“He can’t kill us. I came up with a phony name, but I know exactly what he wants. That gives me the upper hand. He can’t even begin to describe the code he needs from Buck. All he knows is that the part of the code he already has is worthless without the piece I called Code Six.”

“Okay. Then I take back what I just said. He does need to keep you alive. But not me.”

“We can fix that.”

“How?”

“I could tell you what I know.”