by daisy harris
His garbled shout ripped through her senses. Blood splattered her face. She yanked the pen back and forth in the confines of his bones while Adam’s body convulsed on top of her. When Bane stopped directing her movements, she shoved Adam off. He slumped to the floor, his body writhing, his mouth forming words without meaning.
Bane’s voice soothed her. Steins take a long time to die, but with that injury, they shouldn’t be able to bring him back.
Why didn’t you have me shoot him? She stepped over her fallen maker, who reached for her ankles. Moving under Bane’s directions, she felt sure, powerful.
Would have been too loud. I can’t be sure they wouldn’t have heard it over the engine noise.
Her fingers rifled through Adam’s pockets until they fell on a set of keys. Josie pulled them free from the twitching stein. Though she felt her own hesitance and guilt, a layer of detached surety shielded her, as if Bane stood between her and her actions, taking the blame.
A small pocketknife hung from the keychain, and Josie heard Bane mutter Jackpot! Josie slipped it into her pocket and peeked out into the hallway.
Keep your mind open so I can see what you see, okay, babe?
Josie nodded and stepped outside the door. The motor rumbled louder in the narrow hallway.
D’you know where they’ve stashed me?
Josie slipped down the passage. When she neared the stairs, she spotted a row of screens showing the insides of three tiny rooms. In one, Bane lay on a gurney. The screen was marked number two and Josie saw numbers on plaques alongside doors.
I think you’re in that one.
Josie unlocked the door the same way she’d seen Adam do earlier. The catch released and the metal slid open. Heart pounding, she rushed inside and closed the door behind her.
Bane lay on his back strapped to a board. An IV line ran from his arm up to a bag hanging from a hook. Josie lowered her lips to his.
I missed you. His voice was a rough caress in her mind.
“I missed you too.” She smiled and started loosening his bindings, but her hand stilled. Then, without her conscious direction, Josie opened a small cabinet and plucked out a scalpel.
What are you doing? She asked Bane in her mind. Her hand shook.
Bane gripped hard on his control, forcing her hand towards his head. You’ll be a lot steadier if you don’t fight me. Synaviv chipped me with a GPS. It needs to come out.
When the knife touched Bane’s temple, Josie allowed her brain to float, gave over her body entirely to the other stein’s direction. She felt his pain as a long, searing tear, but his body didn’t twitch, and his directions came sure and fast, urging her hand to angle the blade more deeply in his flesh and pry the tiny computer chip from its shallow lodging.
Sweat covered Josie’s body in a slow, sickly trail, but when her wrist flicked upward, the metal popped off its fastening. She pressed a square of gauze to the shallow wound.
Josie felt his relief, as exquisite as her own. She released his bindings and pulled the needle from his arm.
Bane’s head lolled to the side. Then her warrior eased his torso up from the gurney. He pressed his eyes tight. His nostrils flared from the heaviness of his breaths, but when he opened those searing eyes to meet hers, Josie knew she beamed like he’d created the sun.
He touched her face. Despite their nonstop mental communication, this was a different kind of intimacy. Josie drank in the feel of his hand sliding around her shoulders to cup her nape, the sight of his lovely face nearing hers. Bane kept his eyes open as he kissed her. Likewise, Josie didn’t want to miss a second of seeing him.
A groan reached her ears and Josie realized it came not from the man she kissed, but from the one still not dead a door over.
“Oh for the love of fuck…” Bane hopped up and strode out of the room. Josie followed in his wake into the room where Adam lay. Bane plucked the scalpel from her trembling hands and then grasped the dying scientist by the hair. He studied the injury with a detachment that made Josie shudder. Then he crammed the blade into Adam’s ear and wedged it upward.
This time when the scientist fell to the floor, he didn’t move.
“Sorry, babe…miscalculated. He should be out for good now.” Bane didn’t meet her eyes, and Josie tried to shuffle her disgust to a back corner of her mind that he couldn’t reach.
He turned to her with an expression of understanding, his mouth hitched up in one side. “I can hear you thinking.”
She shuffled his direction, her palms raised. “I don’t think of you like that.”
Bane shrugged and placed Adam’s gun in the waistband of his pants. “Yeah you do.”
Josie opened her mouth to answer, but Bane passed by, grabbing her hand. He pulled her to the stairs and started studying the various security feeds.
“That’s okay, babe,” he told her absentmindedly. “I do too.”
* * * * *
They waited until the boat docked and noises from the crew above settled to venture out of the hold. Bane approached the steps, his arm out to keep Josie safely behind him.
“Where are we going?” Her hot breath tickled his ear.
“The Underground’s got a rendezvous point a few blocks from here. Someone should be waiting for us.” Bane placed both hands on the hatch and listened. No footsteps sounded, and he eased the panel up.
Josie grabbed at his belt right as a hand shot through the door and grabbed him by the hair.
One fist slammed into his head while another dragged Bane out of the hole and onto the deck. Bane yanked his skull trying to break his captor’s hold, skin and hair ripping from his scalp. Two soldiers grabbed his arms and pulled him to his knees. A pair of uniformed thighs met his vision.
You want to put me under? Josie’s voice whispered in his head.
Bane scanned the deck. At least five steins surrounded him, with a couple of lifers stationed behind them. The living ones wore lab coats and carried guns. No. I’ll figure something out.
“Come on out, Josie!” the leader shouted toward the hatch. Bane remembered him as the one who’d kicked him.
Bane bent his head and calculated their positions for his attack. From her location behind the hatch, Josie said something in his mind. It didn’t register over his internal roar of frustration.
I said, duck! Josie screeched in his temporal lobe. Without thinking, he did what she said, just in time for a bullet to whiz overhead. Bane slammed the heel of his hand into the outer edge of his captor’s knee, and the stein fell before three more bullets zoomed past, taking both the humans and the gun-toting steins to the floor.
Bane turned to the door in time to see Josie’s head and shoulders emerge, the gun pointed straight ahead. “Get the hell down…um…you assholes!”
He almost laughed. Despite the fact he was face down on the ground and scared for both their lives, Bane knew he’d throw wood every time a curse word left Josie’s lips.
The steins and one remaining human did as she said. Bane hopped up and gathered the guns.
“Should I kill them?” Josie’s voice was hollow as she stared down at her handiwork.
He grabbed at her arm and pulled her forward. Another round of Synaviv’s people was sure to show up any minute. “Only if you want to, babe. But we gotta go.”
She followed as he dragged her onto the dock and started running on the smooth concrete of the parking lot. The asphalt stretched for what seemed like miles, and Bane worried how long it would take him to figure out their position. He only hoped Q-ter was ready and waiting.
Josie rattled off some numbers and Bane slowed his stride. “What?” He looked from one side to another, searching for a landmark to orient himself.
“Those are our coordinates. I saw them on the boat’s navigation equipment before we got off.” Josie looked at him as if he were slow. Though he heard shouts from the docks, signaling more were coming, Bane stopped in his tracks.
“Coordinates?”
She smiled at him. “Y
es!”
Without looking, Bane triangulated the location of Synaviv’s steins based on the beats of their footfalls. He raised his pistol on a straight arm and shot them down, grinning at his lady. “Then I know where to go.”
A white van screamed into the lot, sliding its door open. Bane shouted to Josie to dive into the cab, and when the vehicle slowed to a near stop, she leapt like a gazelle into the back.
Bane followed, landing on the carpeted cargo area. He rolled to his knees and grabbed the plastic door handle, sliding the panel shut. “I’m in!” he called through the perforated metal barrier connecting the back of the van to the driver’s cab. The van screeched off.
“Did you have a nice cruise in the islands?” Q-ter called.
“Very funny, dick!” Bane scooted to Josie’s side and laid a hand on her shoulder. He stroked down her arm and braced himself for her to shake and sob.
Instead her top lip pinched on her bottom one, as she tried to stifle a laugh. Her eyes brightened and a grin stretched her features. Her bell-like giggle filled the cabin, and she tossed her leg over Bane’s lap to straddle him and kiss his cheeks.
“Um, we’re not alone, Jo.” He brushed a quick kiss over her lips. He felt the question in her thoughts. “It’s not really normal to make out in front of other people.” He wrapped his arms around her back and squeezed hard before lifting her off his lap.
“How’s it been going with her special needs?” Q-ter called through the divider with an adolescent snicker in his voice.
Bane’s hands fisted and he resisted the urge to cover Jo’s ears in case Q-ter said something rude. “Her name is Josie, and you’ll keep your commentary to yourself.” He felt Josie following the stream of his thoughts to figure out what he meant.
“Jo…” He took her hands in his but looked at her firmly. “I’d appreciate it if you’d stop poking around in my brain, okay?”
She bit her lip. “Okay.” She nodded, and when her chin fell, Bane gripped it between his thumb and forefinger, raising her face.
“Not that it isn’t fun hearing you.”
Her eyes darkened and an image shot into his mind of her climbing on his lap and writhing them both to climax.
Bane’s eyes closed, his forehead drew together, and his mouth opened. He wiped a hand down his face. “Babe, you are going to have to stop thinking that way.”
A grin lit her lips. “Now who’s listening?”
“I'm almost going to miss it when you get reprogrammed.” He wasn’t sure if the surge of sadness he felt came from Josie or himself.
“And what will happen then?” The van swerved into a turn, throwing their bodies together. Bane gripped a hand-hold to stabilize them both.
“Sorry!” Q-ter laughed.
“Watch it!”
The van rumbled under them and Bane kept a hold on her hand. “Frank’ll see how much of your programming he can strip without doing a complete reset of your operating system.”
She watched out the window of the van, and Bane wondered what she thought of the trees and buildings passing by. When she didn’t answer, he started talking to fill the space.
“You probably won’t be able to function without a husband unless he seriously alters your programming. It may be a little add-on Adam installed, in which case it’s not a big deal to take it out. But given that you died…”
Josie watched the world roll by. “And that would be horrible for you?”
“You dying?” His heart leapt into his throat.
“You really are stupider than you look.”
Bane pretended he hadn’t known what she meant. He looked out the window, around the van, at his fingernails, anywhere but at her.
Chapter Eleven
We’re here.
Frank stood outside Pike Place Market, phone in hand, but didn’t bother replying to Q-ter’s text. He watched Bane approach from uphill, his hand clasped on that of a willowy female with pale skin. She followed the assassin without hesitation.
When they reached him, Bane put a hand on the girl’s shoulder and placed her tiny fist in Frank’s outstretched grip. “This is Frank, Jo.” Bane petted long lines down the young stein’s back with a gentleness Frank didn’t realize he had in him.
“Welcome to the Zombie Underground.” Frank kept his voice quiet and his grip steady. The girl, Josie, didn’t shrink from his handshake, though he noticed her move an inch closer to Bane’s side. “Let’s get inside so we can talk.” He started pulling her forward, but Bane gripped her around the shoulders.
“I got it. Your office?” Bane wouldn’t look at him, instead focused on the girl as they wound through the market and into the ZU’s headquarters.
When they filed into Frank’s office, Kuri was just waking up on the couch. Deep creases lined her face where her cheek had rested on the pillows. “I should get home.” She directed her attention to Josie standing in the doorway. “Geez, sorry I’m such a mess.” She slapped down the creases in her sweatpants and held out a hand. “Hi, I’m Kuriko.”
“You’re gorgeous!” Josie stared at the Asian former love doll with open fascination. Her inquisitive gaze would have been rude had it not seemed so innocent.
Josie’s eyebrows stabbed down and she jerked her gaze in Bane’s direction. His eyes shot open, and he shook his head vehemently. Josie’s eyes scanned the corners of her line of sight, checking within her programming for answers.
“So I take it you’re…” Frank didn’t finish, but Bane nodded.
“Yeah, we’re networked. Can you fix her?”
He noticed Josie’s lips pinch. Kuri must have too, because she rolled her eyes and shot Frank a parting glance. “Good luck!” She pushed out the door, shutting it softly behind her.
Frank strode behind his desk and watched while Josie hovered next to Bane. When Bane sat, Josie climbed on his lap. For Bane’s part, he wrapped an arm around her shoulder and let her bury her head in the crook of his neck.
“I need to talk to Josie alone.”
Connor’s fists clenched, and the biceps draped over Josie’s torso bulged.
“This isn’t negotiable.” Frank swore he could hear the other male’s teeth grinding from across the room. “It’s her life, Connor.”
Bane stood from the couch, stalking toward Frank. “You don’t know what he did to her. What she’s been through!”
Frank schooled his expression to be neutral and leaned back in his chair. “You’re talking about Josie here, or yourself?”
Connor’s hands landed on his desk. He opened his mouth to talk, but Josie cut him off.
“I want to talk to Frank alone.” She rose to standing, her eyes trained directly on Frank.
Bane’s head fell between his arms and Frank couldn’t help feeling sorry for the guy. It hurt not to be in control of someone you loved, even if you were misguided.
Frank observed the newborn. She jutted her chin forward in a move at odds with her angelic appearance. “Let us be, Connor.”
A hand slammed down on the desk again before Bane stormed out, but Frank let the tantrum slide. Ninety years of dealing with the newly undead left Frank unsurprised by immature behavior.
Josie crossed her arms over what had to be Bane’s shirt. It reached to her upper thighs and left a foot of space above her men’s boots. If her nudity embarrassed her, Josie didn’t show it. “I want to keep my memories.” She said it without hesitation.
Frank watched the shades of her expressions and thought about what he’d read in her files, assessing her competence to make such a statement. “And how does Bane feel about this?”
He didn’t miss the way her face tightened at the mention of his name. It didn’t take a brain scan to realize how far their physical, and possibly emotional, connection had reached. “Once his wipe is completed, he won’t have an opinion, will he?” Her eyes took on a faraway look as Josie twisted her body and sat on his desk, unaware that in lifer society, such a move would be considered inappropriate.
“A
nd would you want to continue with him as your husband substitute? After his wipe, I mean? You don’t even know who he’ll become.” Frank waited to read the expressions crossing her face.
The first was the pinched-lip curl of pain. The second, a sad, faraway look in her eyes. “You could reset me as someone else’s bride…”
Frank couldn’t help the guffaw that escaped his lips at the thought of how Bane would react to that suggestion. Though he expected Josie to be hurt by his laughter, her cunning gaze scanned the upper right corner of her line of sight. And a very wicked grin blossomed on her face.
* * * * *
“So, I bet you’re glad to be back.” Q-ter played his video game on the right screen, while scanning data on the left. Only because Bane knew him so well did he catch the relief in the kid’s voice.
“Yeah, well, it was a little hairy.”
Q-ter’s fingers flew, one hand on the mouse while the other typed at a speed Bane’s vision struggled to follow. “Yeah, I’ll make sure Frank downloads all the data before your wipe. In case you learned anything useful.”
The clicking slowed and Bane knew Q was listening to his emotions, probably calculating the spaces between his breaths or some shit.
“I’m gonna head out.” Bane lifted his head from the micro-office and surveyed the room. He took a few steps out of Q’s earshot, though he almost felt the pulses of the kid’s questions inside his mind.
Frank’s door opened and Josie stepped out in front of his boss. She surveyed the room and her gaze landed on him. She’d changed her clothes, and was wearing something of Kuri’s. Thin straps of pale blue hung from her shoulders. The sundress hugged her swaying breasts as she walked. Bane yearned to press her close, to take her to his crappy little apartment…hell no—to get a new apartment with a view of the whole city, and lay her on a fancy king-sized bed surrounded by candles.
She walked right by him. “You must be Q-ter?”
Bane heard the kid gulp. His curly-haired head lifted above his cubicle walls. His two pairs of glasses hung halfway down his nose, and Q-ter jammed them higher with his forefinger, before snatching the front one off his face and scrubbing the lenses on his shirt.