Read Immune for Free Online Page B

like you. Figure something out."
    "Figure something out? I've already figured it out. It’s okay for us to passively monitor what they’re doing on that computer, but there’s no way we can remotely browse the files on that system without leaving behind some evidence that it’s been accessed. That's all there is to it."
    Mark refused to be cowed. "Fine then. So they might be able to tell that someone browsed their system. They can't trace it, so what’s the problem?"
    Jennifer's forehead furrowed in frustration. "You don't get it. If they notice the system has been tapped, they'll tear it apart. When they do, they’ll find the little QT microchip. Even though they won't be able to determine what it does, they’ll know that it was put there by someone who was in their house."
    "Okay, so they’ll think it was that Priest fellow."
    "Maybe. Maybe not. You were there too."
    "I'm a senior in high school."
    "Yeah, whose dad works on the Rho Project." Jennifer's lower jaw jutted out like an English bulldog’s.
    Heather interrupted the argument. "Mark, I have to agree with Jennifer on this one."
    "What a shock."
    "Hey, I back you up too, when I think you're right."
    "Oh yeah? And when was the last time that happened?"
    "When we decided to explore the inside of the Second Ship, for one."
    "Hell, that was almost a year ago."
    Heather, feeling her own anger rising, took a deep breath. "All I’m saying is that Jack and Janet scare me. Even if they’re the good guys, they’re too dangerous to take unnecessary chances with…"
    Jennifer nodded. "Please, Mark. Just go along with us on this one."
    Mark looked from Heather to Jennifer, his eyes locking with those of his twin. "Okay, Sis. I'll go along with you, for now. But since you don’t like my idea, you two need to figure out another way for us to find out what’s happening. I have a bad feeling about this."
    Heather watched as Mark turned and stalked out of the garage, leaving her and Jennifer staring after him. Something in her un-remembered dreams tugged at the corner of Heather's mind as she watched the door close behind him.
    Like Mark, Heather had acquired a very bad feeling.
     

10
     
    From the entryway, the Black Forest cuckoo clock squawked its 4:00 a.m. call, a sound that passed Mark's ears unnoticed.
    His breakthrough had come at 10:13 last night, and he had been unable to stop reading since then. For Mark to be engrossed in a book was almost unheard of. He had never really had the interest it required to make his way through them.
    Then, two weeks ago, he had seen a commercial advertising a new speed-reading course. The idea had hit him like a bucket of bricks. If he could learn to read as fast as the people in that commercial, he could knock out his studies in a heartbeat, leaving plenty of time for the things he loved doing. Plus he would have a secret advantage over Jen and Heather. That would be really nice for a change.
    True, he already had a perfect photographic memory. But scanning the pages of a book into memory was unsatisfying. Mark still had to go back in his mind and read through the material to find the information he needed. It was like buying a book for your library but never reading it.
    That is why he had paid the 350 dollars with his own money, waiting impatiently for its arrival by UPS. That wait had ended two days ago, and Mark had been there to meet the delivery man, spiriting the package off to his room without telling anyone else, especially Jennifer.
    It had taken only a few minutes for him to scan the entire set of course workbooks into memory. The books themselves had gone under his bed, no longer needed.
    After spending four hours that evening mentally practicing the exercises, Mark had given up in disgust. The big problem was subvocalization, or the sounding out of words in his mind as he read them. He couldn't seem to squelch the need to hear the words as he read.
    That problem was complicated by Mark’s ability to memorize a page