Chapter 25
We came back a few minutes later. I had never really had a chance to heal up after the battles, so I headed back to my room to get that taken care of. Mike met me in the hallway outside my room. "I'd like a word with you, Trevor, if you don't mind."
I stopped with my hand on the door. "Can't it wait, Mike?" I said. "I'm feeling pretty crappy right now."
"I know you're overdue for a healing coma," he said, "but I've just been talking with Bill, and he's not happy about the way things went down in Hawaii. I'd like to hear your version of what happened."
I ran a hand over my face. "Let's go over it later in the debriefing, okay?"
"I'd rather hear it right now, straight from you. I don't want any unpleasant surprises in the debriefing, especially since Bill will be the one running it."
"Fine," I said with a sigh. "What does Bill say happened?"
"He says that when he arrived, you were fighting Lily and she was kicking your arse."
I nodded wearily. "That's a pretty fair statement."
"He said he had brought along some sort of secret weapon, something that enabled you to subdue Lily. He didn't say what it was, but I assume it was that remote control he had been working on with Wizzit."
"Yeah, that's what it was. I don't know exactly what it did to her, but I'd guess that it activated one of her 'companion mode' personalities."
"Companion mode?" Mike repeated. "That's the, er --?"
I nodded. "Right. 'Social and sexual companionship for those operating the attack doll' or something like that. She was definitely not looking to fight anyone after he pressed the button; her threat was essentially neutralized at that point. I didn't realize that, so I kicked her in the head pretty hard. She went down and didn't get up again."
"That tallies with what Bill says," Mike agreed. "Then he told me that after you two destroyed the monster, you tried to go back to take care of Lily, to give her first aid or something. He tried to stop you, per my orders, and the two of you nearly came to blows. Is that true?"
I shook my head. "I wanted to go check on Lily. He took hold of my arm and wouldn't let go. It was either teleport to New Mexico or start hitting him. I chose New Mexico, per your orders. I never threatened him, either verbally or physically. He was the one who grabbed me, not the other way around."
"Right. Well, that's sorted, then," he said, although he didn't sound convinced. "What about later?"
"Later?"
"You know what I mean," he said impatiently. "After you left New Mexico, you were gone for nearly ten minutes. Where were you?"
"I went back to the beach and I checked on Lily," I replied calmly.
His face grew grim. "I have to say, Trevor, I'm not very happy about that. In fact, I'm pretty damn unhappy about it. You deliberately --"
"Hey, I didn't ask to go there," I retorted hotly. "Wizzit sent me there on his own. If you've got a problem with that, I'd suggest you take it up with him."
He stared at me for a moment. "I may just do that," he grated. He turned to go, saying curtly over his shoulder, "That'll be all. Get yourself healed up."
"She's dead, Mike."
I don't often catch Mike off-guard. It's those damn reflexes of his. I did this time, though. He stopped in mid-stride and slowly turned around to look at me. "Say that again?"
"Lily is dead," I repeated. "When I knocked her out, she fell so that she was lying half in, half out of the water. I was going to pull her up onto the beach a little more, out of the surf. That's all I was going to do, but Bill wouldn't let me, per your orders. So then, while I was in New Mexico destroying the thunderbird, the tide came in and she drowned. She probably never even woke up."
Mike looked at me for probably a good ten seconds before he said, "Wizzit, is that true?"
"Affirmative."
"You've got no reason to be unhappy with me, Mike," I told him. "In fact, you should be pretty damn happy. I did everything you wanted me to do. You wanted me to treat Lily like an enemy, so I treated her like an enemy. I kicked her skull in, and then I left her there to die all alone. I killed Lily. Hell, you should give me a damn medal for that."
He didn't say a word as I pushed open the door to my room and went inside to begin my healing coma.
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The Attack Doll Series
by
Douglas A. Taylor
Twenty-one-year-old Trevor Chiao is Prime Blue; he is a member of the fabulous Primes, a group of seven men and women whose mission is to protect the Earth from Enclave, an alien organization bent on taking over the world.
Protected by a blue force shield that enhances his strength and speed and keeps his identity secret, he travels all over the world with his fellow Primes, battling monsters, Zoinks, and the mysterious Lily Lee, a beautiful Asian woman who refers to herself as . . . the Attack Doll.
Attack Doll 1: Violet Lost
Trevor becomes the mentor of Padma Reddy, a young woman from India who has joined the team as their new Prime Violet. When Padma is kidnapped by Enclave during her first mission as a Prime, Trevor must risk his own life to infiltrate the Enclave base and rescue . . . Violet Lost.
Attack Doll 2: Junior Prime
Trevor usually gets along pretty well with his younger sister Angela, but when the two of them are taken prisoner by Enclave and Angie discovers Trevor's secret identity, he doesn't quite know how to handle it. What's a guy to do when his kid sister wants to tag along as a . . . Junior Prime?
Attack Doll 3: Protocol Black
The death of Prime Commander has dealt a heavy blow to Trevor and his fellow Primes. And when the team is threatened by government forces intent on discovering their secrets, things go from bad to worse. To hold the team together, the Primes must enlist the aid of an old friend and implement . . . Protocol Black.
Attack Doll 4: Primes Emeriti
There are times when seven Primes just aren't enough. When the Earth's problems with Enclave suddenly triple, it's looking like this is one of those times. Fortunately, a new class of heroes stands ready to help Trevor and his friends shoulder their burden. They are the . . . Primes Emeriti.
Don't miss the final exciting book in the Attack Doll series:
Attack Doll 5: The End of Lily Lee
Nothing lasts forever. Even attack dolls eventually outlive their usefulness, but what happens to them then? When Trevor and his friends are menaced by a new threat, one which strikes to the very heart of their powers, they face a difficult choice. Is it finally time for the Primes to say goodbye to the attack doll? Is this . . . The End of Lily Lee?
Attack Doll 4: Primes Emeriti Page 26