~~~
Jay pulled into the driveway of the Davidson’s house and screeched to a halt with an inch to spare before the bumper smacked into the garage door. She leaped from the SUV and sprinted round the side of the house to peer in the window and check whether Marissa’s car was still in the garage.
It was. Along with the smaller car Michael had purchased to make the commute to Hillside Prep each weekday morning.
She’d already called up a list of local taxi companies as she ran to the front door and tried the handle. Locked. No deterrent to a cyborg, even if she didn’t know where the spare key was hidden… which she did. She fished it out from underneath the potted plant and unlocked the door.
“Marissa?” Her shout hissed off the walls. “It’s Jay.”
She sniffed, and smelled amniotic fluid. Marissa’s waters had broken.
She heard a groan and took the stairs three at a time. And when she burst into the master bedroom she found Marissa sitting on the floor beside the bed, hunched protectively over her stomach and puffing short sharp breaths from between her tightly clenched teeth.
“Where’s Tyler?” Marissa glowered up at Jay through a curtain of tangled, sweat-soaked hair.
“Waiting at the hospital in case you turned up there. How’re you holding up?”
“Not good,” Marissa said, and grit her teeth to ride out a contraction. “Need to get to the hospital. Phone line dead. Cell phone not working, either.”
Jay pulled out her cell phone and tried to place a call but the signal was down. An unhappy coincidence or something more sinister? The former, she very much hoped.
She scooped Marissa off the floor and into her arms. Ignoring Marissa’s shocked gasp, she straightened and proceeded downstairs at a run, careful not to jostle her burden.
She deposited Marissa in the back seat and jumped into the driver’s seat. But when she turned the key in the ignition, the engine gave a loud click.
Dead. Definitely something sinister, then. And she could not risk leaving Marissa so exposed.
She exited the car and opened the rear door. Marissa met her gaze, this time with fear instead of a glare. She gave a grunt and clutched her belly. “Baby’s coming. Now.”
Jay didn’t argue or check for herself. Marissa had already birthed two children. If she said the baby was coming, it was coming, and there would be no time to either beg a car from a neighbor or hotwire a convenient vehicle. She scooped Marissa up again and ran back to the house.
Cradling Marissa in one hand, she shut and locked the front door. As she jogged back up the stairs she accessed her databases for childbirth information. When Jay laid her on the bed Marissa grunted again, a pain-filled and protracted sound. Her face scrunched, her eyes begged Jay to do something—anything.
“I can deliver this baby for you, Marissa. It’s healthy and strong, and although it’s decided to enter the world a little early, there’s unlikely to be any problems I can foresee. But you’re going to have to trust me enough to let me help you. Can you do that?”
Marissa bit her lips and nodded.
“Good.” Jay stroked the hair back from Marissa’s face and smiled at her. This was one of those times when too much information would be a bad thing so she opted for simplicity over details. “You know I can detect the baby’s heartbeat, right?” She waited for Marissa’s nod. “It’s within normal parameters, meaning it has a healthy nervous system and heart. You’re doing great. Now let’s see whether Tyler and Caro will have a baby brother or a baby sister, and then we’ll get you both to the hospital.”
~~~
Jay plumped Marissa’s pillows and resettled the baby—a boy—into the crook of his mother’s arm. Marissa smiled tiredly at her. “Thank you, Jay. I-I couldn’t have done this without you. I—”
“I know. And it was my privilege and my pleasure to help deliver your baby.” Jay meant every word.
Marissa yawned. Her eyelids drifted closed.
Jay waited until she was asleep before she reached out to stroke the little one’s downy cheek. She held her breath as his lashes fluttered. She knew it was terribly clichéd but when she had eased him from the safe, warm haven of his mother’s womb and he’d howled his displeasure, she felt like she’d witnessed a miracle. One she would never participate in herself, which made it all the more poignant. She was an artificially created scientific marvel, a superhuman creature designed to be superior to a human in every way… except she would never hold a child born of her own body in her arms. It shocked her how badly that realization hurt at this moment.
The grumble of a car engine intruded and Jay darted to the window. She glanced out in time to see Tyler climbing out of a taxi.
She opened the bedroom window. “Tell the taxi driver to wait!” she called down to him. “It’s Tyler,” she said to Marissa, who’d made a muffled protest at being woken. “I’ll be right back.”
She took the stairs in a bound. Whoever had sabotaged the land-line and blocked the cell phone signals was still out there. Tyler could be at risk, though he seemed an unlikely target considering whoever was behind this had left him alone both at the hospital and during the taxi ride. The only person who’d been put at risk so far had been Marissa—indirectly by means of disabled phones and whatever damage had been done to Jay’s SUV.
This entire situation was strange, illogical. Jay would even go so far as to say she was worried.
She intercepted Tyler at the passenger door of the taxi, and spoke to the driver. “Would you be able to wait, please? The woman inside has just had a baby, and we’ll need you to take her to the hospital.”
The driver, an older man, gulped and nodded. “Are they both all right, Miss?”
“They’re both doing just fine. Apparently my midwifery skills are better than I imagined.”
Both Tyler and the driver puffed out relieved sighs. “Let me know if you need any help,” the driver said. “I’ll sit right here and wait for y’all.”
“Thank you.” She turned to Tyler and hustled him into the house. “Your mom’s doing well. Your little brother, too. But someone disabled the land-line and blocked the cell phone signal so Marissa couldn’t ring for a taxi or ambulance. And my SUV wouldn’t start. By the time I’d either fixed it or gotten hold of another vehicle, it would have been too late to get her anywhere, so I opted to sit tight.”
Tyler blanched. “Who—?”
She threw up a hand to cut him off. “The important thing right now is to get your mom and the baby to hospital. Don’t you agree?”
He searched her face for a few seconds and then nodded tersely. “Agreed. Where are they?”
“Master bedroom.”
She followed him up the stairs. A pity that such a joyous occasion had been overshadowed by the specter of someone with a hidden agenda. She had been looking forward to witnessing the wonder on Tyler’s face as he looked at his new baby brother for the first time. Now that wonder would be tainted by anxiety. She ground her teeth. Whoever was ultimately responsible—whether Sixer or some other new player—would pay for putting Marissa through hell and ruining this special moment.
Tyler’s murmur snatched her full attention. “Hey Jay. Did you put the baby in the nursery so Mom could get some rest?”
Her gaze shot to Marissa’s empty arms. She inhaled, nostrils flaring as she strode to the bedside. She inhaled again, taking the scent deep into her lungs as she leaned over Marissa to peel back her eyelids.
“What’s wrong?” Tyler whispered, still keeping his voice low so as not to wake his mother.
Jay shook her head, rising fury robbing her of speech. Marissa had been drugged. The baby had been taken. And all that had been left was a faint odor that was becoming all too familiar… coming from an envelope that had been tucked beneath Marissa’s pillow so only a corner peeked out.
She snatched it up. It was addressed to Cyborg Gamma-Dash-One.
~~~
Chapter Sixteen
Jay sent the taxi away, tipp
ing the driver generously and telling him she’d just found out an ambulance was en route. She checked her cell phone and discovered she had a signal. Not unexpected. There was little reason to continue disabling the phone lines now Sixer had what he wanted. She would have done the same… if she’d been the sort of monster who would kidnap a newborn for leverage.
She called Michael’s cell phone but he wasn’t answering. Likely he was in the air. She left a message telling him to come directly home and not to the hospital. So that he wouldn’t be too frantic, she told him that Marissa and the baby were both doing well. If Jay had her way, this would all be over by the time Michael got back.
Inside, she found Tyler pacing the floor.
“We have to call the cops. This is a kidnapping. This is my baby brother for fuck’s sake! And what about my mom? We need to take her to a hospital, get her checked out.”
This was all her fault and she did not attempt to hide from the blame. Tyler could barely look at her, and Jay added the weight of his anger to her own. Sixer knew what she was. He’d been watching her, testing her. He knew she was defective, that she’d formed emotional attachments to certain humans. He knew her weaknesses. And to get to her, he’d taken Marissa’s baby.
“Your mom is okay. The placenta was expelled intact and I examined her thoroughly. She’s as well as can be expected after giving birth.”
“She’s been drugged,” Tyler bit out.
“She’s been given a sedative.”
“Same difference.”
She’d already explained to Tyler that Sixer had been dispatched on this mission by Evan Caine, the same man who’d forcibly recruited his father. And that he claimed to no longer be working for Caine. That claim gave her the hope that what she was about to say to Tyler was the truth. “I’m the one Sixer wants. He won’t harm the baby. All we have to do is follow his instructions. If Michael were here, he’d agree with me.”
Tyler rounded on her, his eyes dark with frustrated fury, fists clenched. “I can’t leave my mom like this.” He jerked his chin toward the bed, indicating Marissa’s sleeping form.
“Someone has to accompany me to bring your baby brother back home safely.”
His shoulders sagged as the hard truth hit home.
“I’ve left a message for Michael to come straight home as soon as he deplanes. Marissa won’t be alone for long. According to the note she’ll sleep for around three more hours. Either you or your dad will be back here before she wakes.” She wished she could offer him more than platitudes. She wished she could take him in her arms and soothe the horror and despair that shrouded him. She didn’t dare. If he rejected her, her heart would shatter.
“Tyler. We have to go or we’ll never make the rendezvous.” They’d be cutting it fine as it was and she still had to reconnect the battery cables so the SUV would start. She supposed she should be grateful Sixer had done something minor to disable the vehicle, and that his letter had treated her like an idiot child and helpfully told her exactly what that something minor happened to be. But she couldn’t find it in her to be grateful for anything right now.
“We have to go.”
Tyler wasn’t listening. He was too focused inward to pay attention.
“Enough. Stop feeling sorry for yourself. Marissa left an infant car-seat in the nursery. Grab it and I’ll meet you at the car. And if you want your baby brother back you’d better move your ass.” She pivoted on her heel and left him staring after her, his expression showing his shock at her blunt words and harsh, no-nonsense tone.
Tyler had nothing more to say during the drive to the conveniently abandoned warehouse on the outskirts of town where the exchange was to take place.
Sixer had left nothing to chance. He was good. Under any other circumstances Jay might have felt a little electric thrill at the prospect of confronting a worthy opponent. Now, she felt nothing save for the cold certainty that above all else, the safety of Tyler and his baby brother was paramount. If she had to deliver herself into the hands of a monster to ensure their safety, then so be it. She would do so willingly. And then, when Sixer least expected it, they would both learn how cruel and monstrous Jay could be.
She pulled into the parking lot next to a black rental car—nothing flashy. Just a functional sedan.
“I’m guessing that’s his,” Tyler said.
“Yes.”
“Shall we let the air out of the tires or yank a few cables to stop him going anywhere?”
“No.”
“You’re the boss.” He pressed his lips together in a thin, bloodless line and wouldn’t meet her eyes.
They strode toward the warehouse, their strides perfectly in sync—a stark contrast to their opinions on how to handle the forthcoming confrontation. At the loading bay doors Jay located the security pad, and keyed in the PIN she’d been given. The roller doors groaned and shrieked as they rose.
Inside was pitch black. Abruptly the lights flickered on and there he was, waiting, the baby cradled in the crook of his left arm, a weapon in his right hand. Or perhaps it would be more accurate to say, there “it” was.
~~~
Tyler glared at Sixer, sizing him up. He wasn’t much to look at. A little older than Tyler, but slightly built—kinda runty. Tyler could take him. If it weren’t for that weapon and his baby brother….
“Stay here,” Jay said. And as much as he wanted to stick to her like white on rice, he knew he had to do what she told him. His heart pounded like a mad thing in his chest and the adrenaline washing through his veins was making it nearly impossible to stand still. He drummed his fingers against his thighs and tried not to think of all the things that could go horribly wrong.
Sixer leveled his strange-looking weapon at Jay as she approached and that was all it took to banish Tyler’s need to move. He stilled, hardly daring to breathe.
Jay got within five feet of Sixer before he told her to halt. And the instant she did so, he shot her three times in the chest.
She made no attempt to evade the bullets. She flung her arms outward as the third bullet hit, jerking and twitching like she was having a seizure. Tyler knew he would remember the ffffthdd of each bullet firing and then entering her body for the rest of his life.
“Nnnnooooo!” He barreled forward as she collapsed to the concrete floor and then skidded to an untidy halt as he found himself the target of Sixer’s weapon.
Tyler’s baby brother screwed up his face and let out a wail. Sixer shushed him and somehow soothed him to calmness, all the while gazing at Jay and aiming the weapon unerringly at Tyler.
The hairs on the back of Tyler’s neck stood to attention. There was something not right about this guy. Like, he was missing something and he wasn’t all there.
“I caution you not to do anything stupid,” Sixer said. “These projectiles are designed to incapacitate cyborgs, but just like any projectile they can be fatal to humans.”
Tyler backed off, his hands held up at shoulder height, palms outward.
“Excellent decision.”
Tyler risked a glance at Jay. Her eyes had rolled up until only the whites showed. She shoved down the fear that threatened to overwhelm him. “What happens next?”
“I have a proposition for Gamma.”
Tyler shut his eyes until he could control his relief enough to form actual words. She wasn’t dead then. Thank God. “Her name is Jay, asshole,” he muttered.
“I’m not an asshole, Tyler Davidson. I’m like this marvelous creation that insists on calling itself Jay.” He nudged Jay’s limp form with his booted foot.
Tyler’s heart skipped a beat and it was like the world stopped for a second or two before it all crashed down on him again.
Sixer smiled at him and Tyler could see it now—that strangeness, that indefinable thing about him that screamed “inhuman”. He wondered when Jay had figured it out.
“You’re a cyborg?”
It inclined its head. “Cyborg Unit Six-Point-0, also known as Sixer.”
/> Fuck.
“And if you’re foolish enough to try and follow me, I will see to it that your baby brother disappears one night… and makes some childless couple in some far off country very happy. So now you have to choose, Tyler Davidson. Your girlfriend, or your baby brother?”
Choice? What kind of a choice was that?
Tyler stared at Sixer, wishing he could smash his face in. But going up against a rogue cyborg would be suicidal. And it would be beyond stupid to get himself killed when he had his baby brother to protect and his mom was lying drugged and helpless at home alone.
He glanced at Jay. He had to trust that she wasn’t too badly injured—that she would recover and be able to save herself. He faced Sixer and held out his arms. “Give me my brother,” he said.
Sixer’s smile chilled his heart. “Excellent decision,” the cyborg said.
~~~
Chapter Seventeen
All Jay’s systems began to reboot and she could see and hear again. She twitched her fingers. She could move a little, too—a good sign. But because Sixer was bent over her, two of his fingers thrust deep into her bare torso, she concluded it would be prudent to remain quite still.
She waited for him to withdraw his probing fingers before she spoke. “The third bullet, I presume.”
He pincered it between his thumb and forefinger and held it up in front of her face. “New and improved EMP bullets. These latest little works of art from Goodkind Electronics are especially designed to lodge inside our bodies, scramble our functions, and render us inactive until they’re removed. Of course your physiology differs from mine. You’re too resilient for only one of these to have an effect. Hence why I needed three to cause an immediate system-wide shut down.”
“Thank you for removing them. What have you done with Tyler Davidson and his infant brother?”
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