Chapter 417

Once he’d gotten the full rundown of just what Dagger was capable of, he knew he’d not have to worry about any dangers in the real world, ever again. Seriously, it was perfect. Part of him, for a brief second, was actually sad the Cyb3ru5 situation was over with. Those home invaders would have been in for quite the surprise if he’d had Dagger when they arrived. Then again, Fel had probably been a bigger surprise. One of the benefits of Dagger, was the robot dog didn’t have that creepy, twisted personality that R did. That was definitely a plus.

Even if it had come after the fact, Dagger was still going to be a great addition to his life. First and foremost, it was a gift from his parents, and he was going to treasure it. Second, given the AI component of it, handled by Rue’s own father, he was certain he and the dog would get along quite well. Hell, there was a good chance it would live up to the age-old adage of the dog being man’s best friend. Finally, even though James was certain all the threats in his life were handled, having Dagger by his pod at night, would bring him great comfort. It was the final security blanket, so to speak, to let him fully just immerse, and lose himself to the joys of DCO with Rue.

The moment Dagger was finished laying out his skills and capabilities, James headed into the kitchen. His interactions with Dagger had taken probably 30 minutes, and he needed to grab some food, and get his morning started, considering the weekend was over, meaning he needed to go to school. Something, he wasn’t looking forward to.

Just as his toast was sliding out of the toaster, perfectly browned, and buttered to perfection, his AR glasses pinged. Curious, he flicked his eyes upwards, checking the message notification.

From: Fel

Subject: You’re Welcome

Curious, James opened the message.

Good job with Cyb3ru5. I know that couldn’t have been easy, and that Persephone individual was pretty twisted. I hadn’t realized just how twisted, until I’d gotten my hands on her. So, sorry for putting you in so much danger. Really, had I known what she had at her disposal, I would have come up with some other sort of plan. I’m pretty sure Hades knew what she had, and he’d kept it from us, knowing I’d have shifted the plan otherwise. However, it all wrapped up nicely, and Cyb3ru5 is no more. Even better, I got my payment, in full, as well as a nice little bonus. Add that into the information you gave me within DCO, which helped me and Alex get to the fifth floor, and it all worked out quite well for me. So, thanks for that.

I know you’ve been through a lot, and from what Matt and Rach mentioned to me, you were going through a lot before the hacker situation even started. Not just Dwight, but Xander as well, and really, that sucks. While its really not in my power to do much, I managed to pull a few strings, and at the very least, reclaim a free day for you. You’re excused from school today, though you are expected at the hospital at noon, to get a checkup done on your jaw. Figured it was the least I could do, to make sure you didn’t have to immediately go from impending doom to death by boredom.

I’ll swing by your house and take you to the hospital, so be expecting me around 11. I’m heading there anyways, to hangout with Alex, and I’d be lying if I wasn’t a little bit curious to see what exactly your parents sent you. I know it arrived today. Plus, I need to grab the rest of my gear I’d left at your house.

See you soon,

Fel

James typed up a quick response to Fel as he chewed his toast. The butter had softened it enough that chewing wasn’t an excruciating process, but it did still hurt. His jaw was sore. It was a mixture of the sore you got a few days after an intense workout, and perhaps that aching, throbbing soreness that came from a serious bruise. Which, given what had happened to it, made sense.

The fact Fel had scheduled a checkup for him at the hospital, was actually quite brilliant. It wasn’t a complete falsehood, so wouldn’t’ draw suspicion, and also, as she intended, got him out of school. A part of him, though, felt guilty. Zach had been handling his care regarding his jaw, and the leader of the Knights had been going above and beyond that role in James’s mind. He’d actually been excited, and nervous, to see the school nurse that morning, since he’d received a message from Z asking for him to swing by, so he could see how James was healing up.

James finished his response to Fel, and prepared another. The least he could do, was send Z a message, telling him he’d gotten an appointment at the hospital for his jaw. It was tricky, writing that message, because he knew Z had been in contact with his parents regarding his care, and they’d not mentioned him having to go to the hospital for the injury. James disliked lying, and he felt like DCO and everything that had been happening, was making him lie more than he’d ever done in his life. But, he couldn’t tell Z the truth. There was an NDA in place, and, more importantly, his time with Rue was at stake. He would lie through his teeth, all he needed, in order to ensure he didn’t lose Rue.

With his message to Z crafted and sent, James headed towards his living room. He picked up the book Z had leant him, leafing to the page he’d bookmarked. He’d added in the fact he was nearly done with what Z had given him, and asked the nurse if he’d be willing to swing by in the evening, to bring him the next books in the series. It was also nice to just spend time with the older man. He wasn’t a father figure, but more like that uncle everyone liked spending time with. James also figured Z would get a kick out of meeting Dagger. And, if James was being honest, he’d been starting to enjoy the real world interactions he was having with people. Slowly and surely, his world was expanding. Both in the real world, and virtually, he was finding himself surrounded by people he cared about, and people who cared about him. For all the shit that had happened to him recently, he’d been finding more and more good coming out of the works of it all.

In that regard, he almost felt like he owned Xander an apology of sorts. Then again, that head developer was an asshat, and had caused James no small amount of pain and suffering. Add in the Cyb3ru5 situation, and James highly doubted the government would let Xander back out into the world for a long time. He figured Xander was likely in an isolation cell of some sorts, or at the very least, completely removed from technology. Still, for all the hell Xander had raised, James hoped some day the developer could let his anger pass. It was apparent, Xander cared about Matt and Rachel, and James hoped the three of them could reconcile someday.

For now though, he was perfectly content knowing he was safe, and there were no more threats to him. James grinned and patted the couch, his robot dog immediately jumping up beside him, laying its head gently onto his lap. Absentmindedly, James began petting Dagger, marveling at how realistic the fur felt, as he dove back into Magician, eager to see just what fate awaited Pug. He wasn’t about to squander the free time Fel had bought for him, and he was looking forward to having a relaxing, refreshing day irl, before heading back into DCO.