Shutdown (Glitch)

closer.
    “Good performance tonight, by the way,” he said.
    “Wish I could have thrown something at your head, but I didn’t want to blow our cover if I accidentally knocked you out.”
    He laughed. “Oh, Zoe, I’ve missed you.”
    I turned back to him, barely holding my temper. “And I can hardly stand the sight of you. I’m going to sleep.” I pulled out the collapsible med container from underneath the bed where we stored it. The seven-foot box was made of cloudy plastic panels that sealed together seamlessly. I couldn’t control my allergy in my sleep, and this was the safest option. Max moved to help me pull it out, but after a hard glare from me, he backed away with his hands up.
    His face was solemn. “Someday, Zoe, you’ll see. I’m different now.”
    I didn’t respond. Instead, I touched the button and watched the pleated collapsed side panels of the box slide up with a small whirring sound.
    I went to the bathroom and opened the small cylinder bottle I’d brought from my bag, shaking out two little blue pills. I filled the cup of water and downed them. I still Linked myself voluntarily every night when I went to sleep to keep from accidentally unleashing my powers from a troubling dream. The Link kept me from going into REM sleep cycles. But still, in spite of the fact that it calmed all thought and emotion, I’d been having trouble falling asleep lately. I didn’t know if it was because my thoughts were too tumultuous from all the stress I was under as the ranking officer at the Foundation, or if my power was again expanding in unexpected ways. I shuddered at the possibility of the latter. When I talked to the doc about the insomnia, she said not to worry and gave me the sedative to take on nights I couldn’t sleep.
    Just in case it had something to do with my power expanding again, I’d started spending more and more hours each day outside, using my telek to keep myself from going into an allergy attack. It was the best way I’d found to use up my excess power, and I had needed to learn control for long periods of time so I could come on this mission.
    I lay down in the box, pulled the lid on over me, and latched it tight. The air-filtration system came to life with another click, followed by the familiar suctioning noise as the container flushed all the tainted air and contaminants out, replacing them with fresh air from the self-replicating oxygen system. I breathed out in relief. For the first time all day, I didn’t have to control my mast cells. I slumped with the relief of it.
    One more day. I could hold it all together for one more day.

 
    Chapter 3
    I WOKE THE NEXT MORNING and stepped out of my sleep chamber. I rubbed my eyes blearily and sat up. I looked around for Max.
    But he wasn’t there.
    I cursed loudly, then jumped out of the med box. I checked the bathroom, but he wasn’t there either. I pulled the kill switch out of my pocket. After everything he’d done, we’d been fools to ever trust him.
    But right as I was about to push the button that would trigger the chip to release a deathly electric charge throughout his brain, a small projection screen popped up on the bed, probably activated by a motion sensor.
    Max’s face and upper torso filled the screen. He raised his hands. “Zoe, wait a second before you push the kill switch, just hear me out.” It was a prerecorded video, but he’d known this would be my first response when I discovered his absence.
    “I’m going out this morning to try to track down the second target to get the other pendant key. I overheard some of the other men talking to him about a casual meeting for morning coffee, and knew I could sneak in better if I went by myself.
    “I’ll follow him and try to catch him alone. I’ll be back by ten o’clock, so I’m begging you not to push the kill switch till then.” The projected image zoomed in on his face, probably because he’d leaned into the capture camera. “Please Zoe, I’m putting my life in your hands.” The projection cube went off.
    I stared for a second, fury boiling up inside of me. Did he think I was stupid enough to believe him for a second? Volunteering for this mission must have only been a ploy to gain his freedom from imprisonment at the Foundation. What better place to disappear than in Central City with a ready-made identity all in place?
    But he had to have known we weren’t idle in our threats to trigger the kill switch if he ran. And there was his son.