Hayden let out a low growl, and I realized I was being insensitive by speaking unfiltered.
“It wasn’t so bad,” I added.
“How complicated would it be to remove it?” Hayden asked.
“Well, I’m no doctor, but it will definitely require surgery. Blood vessels must have grown all around it.” Hal brought another probe; this one had a small screen attached to it. Once he pressed it to my calf, the probe beeped. The further Hal moved it around, the more the beeping grew in speed, reminding me of a ticking bomb.
He took the probe to his desk and connected it with a cable to his computer. His fingers moved on the keyboard like a piano player. “I’m comparing the reading from your tracker to other similar devices to get a better understanding of what we’re dealing with.”
I lowered my pant leg and removed my leg from the stool.
Hayden came closer. “You okay?”
“I’m fine.”
Hal turned around in his chair. “So, the device in your leg definitely tracks your location,butsince it needs to use the same source of energy for years, I’m guessing the location is only being tracked once every week or so.”
“So, not constantly?” Hayden asked.
“Nope.”
I let that sink in, feeling that this little piece of information changed so much. It didn’t mean I could go anywhere I wanted without worrying, but it granted me a level of freedom I didn’t even dare to dream of.
“How about voice recording?” Hayden asked.
“Nah, no way. No audio reception.”
“Good news.” Hayden placed his hand on my shoulder, then hurried to move it away. “Is there a way to find out where they are tracking Jonah from?”
Hal pursed his lips. “Interesting, but that will be way above my pay grade. I wouldn’t count on it, though. But if it helps, I doubt it can even track Jonah’s exact location; more likely it can zero in on the street but not the exact house.”
I needed time to process this. “Thank you for checking.”
“No problem, man.”
“Thanks, Hal,” Hayden said. “And maybe smoke a little less, okay?”
“Yeah, I know. They're gonna make it legal one day, just you wait.”
“Don’t hold your breath.”
Back downstairs, Hayden asked, “You thought it was tracking you around the clock?”
“That’s what they told me. Thanks for setting this up.”
He crossed his arms. “I would’ve set it up a long time ago if you had told me what happened to you.”
I expected these sorts of comments from him, and I couldn’t blame him. I had let him into my life, discussed our future, and now he was discovering how much I’d kept from him.
“I better get going,” I said, uncomfortable under the weight of his gaze.
“Okay. Remember to keep this between us. I’ll update you about anything I find.”
“Thanks.” I entered my car and drove away.
*
I waited two more days to fully recover before returning to the studio. Jenny was there when I arrived, her face and clothes smeared with paint. She put her fists on her hips and said, “Jonah Carter, you have a lot of nerve, young man.”
