Programmed To Protect (The Tau Cetus Chronicles)

by Jenna Ives

Still, Veraine couldn’t shake the feeling that Carron was moving too quickly with his takeover plans. And that agent Wyatt couldn’t really be counted as their ally, despite his apparent infatuation with Ginger.

  “Dreaming about our victory, Titus?”

  Veraine snapped out of his thoughts. “What?”

  “Already envisioning yourself as my second-in-command, with all the power and riches it will bring you?”

  Veraine smiled automatically. “Yes. Which means I should probably get to work on the computerized assassination program. Those robots on the factory floor will be ready in just a few hours.”

  #

  Theus was furious. He stared at the screen of his communication device, and reread Leith Wyatt’s message.

  Unexpected crisis. Be there soonest.

  Theus’ hand tightened around the wooden armrest of his desk chair, his anger turning his body nearly rigid. It wasn’t often he lost control of his temper, but this was too much. What the hell sort of personal crisis could be more important than answering the summons of the premier of the High Council of Tau Cetus?

  No, furious was not even an adequate word to describe what Theus was feeling.

  Tau Cetus’ police agency answered directly to him. Which meant Leith Wyatt answered directly to him. And for the first time since their relationship began, Theus began to question agent Wyatt’s dedication to his job.

  Regulator Egidia had surrendered to Terra Acer at 0700 this morning. Theus and Wyatt had received the notice at the same time, along with Anson Carron. Elated at the news, Theus had magnanimously waited more than an hour before finally sending word to Wyatt to report to the Council chambers, when, by rights, it should have been Wyatt contacting Theus immediately after he’d heard the news. After all, Theus had put Wyatt in charge of the Terra Acer operation. The chain of command started with him.

  Theus’ patience had thinned to the breaking point as the minutes had passed, until he finally couldn’t take it any longer and had texted Wyatt directly to report to the Council headquarters.

  And now to be summarily brushed off like this by a mere police agent?

  Be there soonest.

  It was not to be tolerated.

  There were military matters to take care of. Decisions to be made. Leith Wyatt was supposed to be Theus’ personal representative, the liaison between the High Council and Anson Carron. Hell, even Theus’ four colleagues on the council had already been in touch, asking about next moves.

  He needed Wyatt here to strategize… now.

  What business could possibly keep Leith Wyatt away from the responsibility of ensuring Tau Cetus’ safety? Where was the man’s sense of duty?

  Shit. Theus had managed to rule Tau Cetus the last decade by cold control, not by this hot rage her was feeling, but Wyatt was turning into a bitter disappointment.

  Theus was usually a better judge of character.

  Then again, maybe this reaction was as much anger at himself as at the police agent, because Theus may have underestimated the threat to Tau Cetus from Carron’s robot soldiers. A move he should have been smart enough to foresee.

  Keep your friends close, but your enemies closer…

  That was the logic he’d shared with agent Wyatt at the beginning of this operation to justify his continuing relationship with the treacherous Anson Carron.

  “I thought if I gave Carron the power he wanted as the High Council’s man, I could, by extension, keep his robots under control…”

  Lives and countries had been lost over faulty logic like that.

  He sighed and glanced into a shadowy corner of his office. “Keira, my dark one…”

  From behind an artfully arranged folding screen, a woman emerged. Black hair. Blue, starburst eyes. Strikingly beautiful.

  “Yes, Theus. I’m here.”

  Theus spared a small smile. “You’re always here when I need you, aren’t you?”

  “Of course. It’s my honor to serve you.”

  The premier’s smile turned down a bit at the corners. “How about soothe me? I’m in need of a little soothing right now.”

  “Certainly, Theus. What would you like?”

  Theus considered the range of the Beautiful Doll’s skills, which were quite impressive. He pushed back his desk chair, held out his hand, and guided her to stand between his legs.

  “Why don’t you surprise me?”

  #

  Wyatt put his palm on the hand recognition device outside his housing pod’s door, waited for the familiar click, and let himself inside.

  He’d been gone for more than an hour. Where would Ginger be?

  His eyes quickly scanned the living quarters. No sign of her. Would she be in hibernation mode somewhere?

  Thinking of Veraine’s lab, Wyatt scowled. “Please don’t let her be in my closet. She deserves better than that.”

  But just in case, he pulled open the door of his coat closet.

  Empty of any Beautiful Doll. Good.

  His eyes scanned the room. No sign of her in the small galley kitchen either. So she wasn’t exploring the place. And considering his quarters consisted of only three rooms, he had a good idea of where she had to be.

  What he didn’t expect, however, was his reaction when he found her.

  Poking his head around the bedroom doorway, Wyatt saw that Ginger was still in his bed. But what made his heart swell was her position. She was curled on her side, her head sweetly snuggled into his pillow, with her hands pressed together and resting under her cheek. Just like a little angel.

  For a moment, he couldn’t breathe. She was the most perfect thing he’d ever seen.

  And she’d never change. She’d always be this perfect. She’d always be his Ginger.

  “Neither Anson Carron nor Theus will harm you, I swear it on my life.”

  His urgent, heartfelt words caused Ginger to wake, and sit up abruptly in bed. As her head turned toward him in surprise, the sheet that had been covering her slipped down to pool around her waist, exposing her perfect breasts.

  Wyatt groaned quietly, his cock hardening automatically in response to the tempting sight.

  “Leith! I didn’t expect you back so soon.”

  He took a measured breath to calm his raging emotions. “What were you doing, Ginger?”

  Her gaze dropped, as if she were embarrassed. “I was… hibernating. But since you said you call it sleep – and since I’m ‘almost-human’ now – I thought I’d practice it your way. So that we can do it together.”

  What?

  Wyatt couldn’t keep the amazement off his face. Ginger was trying to be as human as she possibly could, in an effort to please him. To make him feel more comfortable. Could she be any more adorable? She was like a child in a woman’s body, and he couldn’t wait to teach her everything.

  Stop it, Wyatt! Remember why you came home. There are more important things to deal with first.

  Wyatt sucked in a breath, his ebullient mood instantly evaporating. He needed to get a grip. The fate of Tau Cetus must be his first priority.

  “Ginger, I need to speak with you.” He moved to sit on the edge of the bed.

  “What is it, Leith?”

  Wyatt ran a hand through his hair, unsure of how to begin. What could a Beautiful Doll possibly know of politics and power and the lengths to which men would go in order to dominate both?

  Maybe he could start with an example she would understand.

  “Remember when you pulled me into your closet in Titus Veraine’s lab in order to tell me that he and Anson Carron had installed cameras in the room? That they wanted to record us having sex and… trap me? To use the situation against me?”

  “Yes, Leith, I remember.”

  “You said it wasn’t right. That’s why you warned me. You were making an ethical evaluation. A moral judgment. It was at that moment I realized you were almost human.”

  “I felt what they’d done was wrong.”

  “Yes, it was. And Anson Carron is about to do someth
ing else that is wrong. Very wrong. He plans to murder the five men on our High Council, the men who rule here and keep peace on our planet. Anson Carron wants to kill those men, in order to grab that control and power for himself.”

  “Murder? Kill? I don’t understand.”

  “Destroy. Slaughter. End their programs. What would you as a Beautiful Doll call permanent hibernation mode? Never to be revived again.”

  Ginger’s starburst green eyes widened in alarm. “Mr. Carron wants to terminate your High Council?”

  “Yes. Terminate them. He’s a bad man.”

  Ginger stared at him, considering. “And you want to stop him. That makes you a good man.”

  “I have to stop him. But I need your help.”

  Again her beautiful green eyes widened. “Mine?”

  Wyatt nodded. “Carron wants to send five of his robot soldiers to terminate each of the five members of the High Council. And… he wants me to set up the meeting where they will do it.”

  The Doll looked confused. “But then it’s easy to prevent, Leith. Just don’t let them meet.”

  Wyatt took her hand. “It’s not that simple, Ginger. Anson Carron has threatened to terminate you if I don’t help him.”

  “What?”

  His grip on her hand tightened. “Titus Veraine says there is a way he can terminate any of his robots with a stroke of a computer key. There’s an interface program of some sort. He threatened to use it on you if I don’t cooperate with Carron’s plans. I need you to tell me everything you know about the procedure, because I want to use that program myself to neutralize the robots before they terminate our High Council.”

  Ginger was silent, as if digesting the information, and Wyatt could only image what was running through her mind. Or, rather, her sophisticated computer synapses.

  He sighed. “I know what I’m asking. I’m asking you to tell me how to terminate five of your own people in order to save five of mine. But Ginger, those robots are not like you. They don’t know right from wrong. They have no free will like you do. They can only do what they’re programmed to do. And if Veraine programs them to terminate the High Council, Tau Cetus will fall under the control of Anson Carron.”

  Ginger went completely still as Wyatt ended his argument. Her starburst eyes, which never reflected any emotion even at the best of times, seemed even more unseeing. She didn’t blink. She didn’t move. She simply stared straight ahead.

  It was unnerving, actually.

  “I need you to trust me, Ginger,” Wyatt begged quietly. “I need your help.”

  He waited patiently for her decision, but the Doll was silent for so long that Wyatt started to worry. Had Veraine done something to her already? Remotely? Was that why she was so still?

  Wyatt waved a hand in front of Ginger’s eyes, with no response. He grabbed her shoulders and shook her hard. “Ginger!”

  The Doll blinked. “Yes, Leith?”

  He blew out a relieved breath. “Thank God. What the hell happened to you just now?”

  “I was simply running a diagnostic on all my internal programs, searching for the information you requested. I’m sorry to say I’ve not been able to find anything that might help you.”

  “What?”

  “I’m sorry, Leith. Nothing in my programming harbors a self-destruct feature that I can detect.”

  “You’re sure? Absolutely sure?”

  “Yes.”

  “That can’t be right. It must be there. Look again. Please.”

  Ginger shifted back into that unfocused state of stillness. Wyatt counted the seconds. Twenty-seven.

  Ginger blinked, then shook her head. “There’s nothing.”

  “Damn it!” Wyatt pounded a frustrated fist into the mattress. He’d been so certain that Ginger was the key to solving this crisis. Shit. He’d have to rely on Zan Talesin to ferret out the information from Loris Rhean in Terra Acer, or else hope to hell that he himself could discover it while snooping in Veraine’s lab.

  Or sway Veraine to his side and convince him to betray his boss.

  Too many uncertainties. Especially with the lives of the entire High Council hanging in the balance.

  He took a deep breath. The only good thing about this development was that maybe the fact Ginger had been unable to find a termination feature inside her own programming meant that Veraine couldn’t harm her.

  “Wait a minute. Do you think Veraine was bluffing? About all the robots?” Wyatt shoved a hand through his hair and considered the possibility out loud. “No. Couldn’t be. Anson Carron would never allow the sophisticated technology of his robot soldiers to fall into the wrong hands. Dammit. I have to discover a way to shut those robots down.”

  “We can be shut down, Leith.”

  Wyatt waved a hand in Ginger’s direction, his brain busily trying to come up with plausible alternatives. “I know. You can be destroyed by a computer program.”

  “No. We can be shut down.”

  “You mean your hibernation mode.”

  “No. We can be physically shut down. Turned off. It’s a safety feature Titus Veraine designed into each one of us.”

  That got Wyatt’s full attention. “What?”

  “We can be shut down.”

  “But… why didn’t you say something about this a minute ago?”

  Ginger stared at him. “You asked me to search for an internal termination feature inside me. There is none.”

  Wyatt cursed under his breath. He had to keep in mind that Ginger took everything he said literally. “Right. Sorry.” He rubbed the back of his neck, taking a moment to compose himself. “Can you tell me about this safety feature?”

  “Certainly, Leith. There is a button, here…” She took Wyatt’s hand and laid one of his fingers against a spot on the left side of her waist. “We can be shut down by pressing here.”

  Wyatt felt the small but obvious indentation just at the top of her hip. His finger lingered there lightly, as the enormity of the information sank into his brain.

  There was a way. There was a way he might be able to save the Council members.

  Relief washed over him like a tidal wave, only to pull back and leave small rivulets of doubts in its wake.

  First, he had to be sure this would work.

  “Ginger.”

  “Yes, Leith?”

  “I need to test it. It’s not that I don’t believe you, but I have to make sure I can do it. And I have to be able to describe the process for the men who will help me shut down Mr. Carron’s assassins. We’ll only have one chance to get it right.”

  “Of course. You have described the threat that my fellow machines in the hands of Mr. Carron could pose to your people. I was happy to tell you how to shut down the robots, and I’m willing to let you practice on me.”

  Wyatt stared at her. Ginger never ceased to amaze him with the things she said and did. One minute she might seem little more than a child, the next, she was wise beyond her years.

  And the trust she placed in him was humbling.

  “Thank you, Ginger. Thank you.” He took her face between his hands, and kissed her full on the mouth. “I promise I’ll be quick.”

  Giving her a reassuring smile, his hand and his gaze slid back down to her left hip. He watched carefully as his finger pushed at the indentation on her naked skin. A small square of polymer structure depressed with a quiet click, and Ginger froze, immobile.

  Fucking hell. That was easy enough for anyone to do, although the indentation in Ginger’s skin wasn’t blatantly obvious. He would just have to train Theus’ men where to look to apply pressure.

  But how the hell would they be able to get close enough to the assassins to get to this switch?

  Another rivulet of doubt wound its way through his brain.

  Maybe Ginger would have a suggestion as to how to get Wyatt and his men close.

  Wyatt glanced up. He didn’t like the way Ginger sat there motionless, dead, her beautiful green starburst eyes even more unseeing than us
ual. In an odd sort of way, she’d given her life for this experiment.

  Good lord. She’d given her life.

  In a panic, Wyatt fumbled for her switch. He’d just had a horrifying thought. Would Ginger still be sentient when she revived, or would she default back to regular robot mode, her miracle of sentience gone? He’d never forgive himself if he’d robbed her of her humanity by turning her off. And he’d never be happy again if he lost the woman he loved. Damn it all. Why hadn’t he considered this earlier? He never should have chanced it!

  He pressed her switch.

  “Ginger? Ginger!”

  The Doll blinked slowly, and turned her eyes to him.

  For a moment, Wyatt’s heart stopped beating. How the hell could he tell for sure if she was still sentient?

  “Ginger, is Anson Carron a good man or a bad man? Do you have an opinion?”

  “He’s a bad man, Leith. And you’re going to stop him.”

  Thank God. Thank God she was still Ginger. His Ginger.

  Wyatt felt an instant, overwhelming need to make love with her, and understood his reaction for what it was: immense relief at her safety. The desperate joy of not having lost her. The desire to show her how much she really meant to him. He loved her.

  Nothing else was as important as this simple, elemental, driving need. The need to celebrate life. Her life.

  He wrapped both arms around her. “Ginger, I… I—”

  “You want sex, Leith?”

  Wyatt hesitated. Ginger may never be able to feel or even truly understand the entire range of human emotions, but that was okay. For every height of pleasure, there was invariably a depth of despair. Ginger’s life would be much easier if she could exist in equanimity. He was perfectly happy to feel for the both of them.

  “Yes, Ginger, I want sex.”

  “So do I, Leith.”

  The tone of her voice made him pull back an inch to look into her eyes.

  She blinked. “I am happy with you.”

  As usual, her beautiful eyes were unreadable, but maybe, somewhere inside all of her sophisticated circuitry, she was experiencing an iota of the depth of emotion he was feeling right now. Maybe she loved him, too. In her own way.

  He released her from his arms, and turned his back to her on the bed. “Unzip me.”