Paradise Awakened Trilogy
Mackenzie Morris
Android 43
Copyright © 2014 by Mackenzie Morris
Archon
Copyright © 2014 by Mackenzie Morris
Heaven's Chains
Copyright © 2014 by Mackenzie Morris
All rights reserved. This book or any portion thereof may not be reproduced or used in any manner whatsoever without the express written permission of the publisher except for the use of brief quotations in a book review or scholarly journal.
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, businesses, places, events and incidents are either the products of the author’s imagination or used in a fictitious manner. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events is purely coincidental.
Other Works by Mackenzie Morris
Paradise of Lead Trilogy
M.A.G.E.
T.I.M.E.
W.A.N.D.
Paradise Awakened Trilogy
Android 43
Archon
Heaven's Chains
Paradise Forgotten Trilogy
Zodiac
Nova
Troy
The Lights of Agramont Trilogy
The Lullaby Blade
Tide of Treason, Storm of Slaughter
Song of Ocean's Peace
Wings of Onyx Shadow
Book One:
Android 43
1
Katarina stands on top of the Presidential Palace and places her night vision goggles on top of her purple braided hair and looks out over the vibrant neon colors of Paradise. The cavern walls surrounding the city block out the wind from the surface of the wasteland above them and prevent her from ever seeing the stars she has heard so much about. That doesn't matter, though. Who needs the stars when she has the greens, yellows, blues, and pinks of the nighttime in the world's most technologically advanced city? Nothing natural will ever have this mystifying effect on her like the bright lights of the personal hover transports speeding by in the cool air.
She holds up her wrist to check her watch. It's still six hours until the artificial sun will be activated to illuminate the city. That's plenty of time to win this plasma match. That is if she can find Isidore. Her eyes dart around at the alleys below her, scanning for any sign of her father. He's good at this . . . but she's better. Isidore might have been programmed to shoot straight, but Katarina learned from him and from her owner. With the compiled knowledge from them both, she has the slightest advantage.
A ball of green glowing plasma flies through the air and Katarina rolls out the way to avoid it. Where did that come from? She readies a cartridge into her plasma pistol and crawls silently to the edge of the building to peer down into the gardens. There he is. She notices the glint of the light on the buckles of Isidore's boots. He might be sneaky, but he's not that sneaky. She takes aim at the shadows and unleashes a barrage of pink plasma into the bushes. Nothing. Damn it. That android is fast.
Now where is her owner? She can generally feel his presence, but not tonight. He's usually more of a shoot first ask questions later type of guy. Someone screams and Katarina looks up to see the green plasma of Isidore's pistol and the orange of her owner's. The night butterflies with their fluorescent blue wings fly off in a hurry as the two men run through the gardens, causing all sorts of noise. Amateurs. Katarina prefers to do this the tactical way. She slides down the curved roof until she reaches the top of the apple trees. On her toes, she jumps from limb to limb, remaining unnoticed by the two men who are still chasing each other around the fountain. She has them right where she wants them. Katarina reaches to her belt and pulls off one of her flash grenades, but just as she pulls the pin, Isidore notices her presence and shoots. The plasma crashes into the branch she is perched on and she plummets to the grass ten feet below.
"Found her. Kill her, Isidore."
So now her owner has changed sides. Figures. She jumps up and takes off running as the flash grenade explodes in a vortex of white light behind her. That was too close. As she darts down the busy streets, the citizens either cheer her on or ignore her and carry on with their lives of partying and dancing.
Someone waves to her from a second story window. "Kat! Up here."
She squints as her eyes adjust to the bright lights of the stores. Who is that? Doesn't matter. If they want to help, they've probably been watching this match on the television. She takes off towards the building and climbs up the brick wall until strong hands pull her inside.
"Here. I bet six hundred dollars on you winning this match." The man slips a black combat vest on her shoulders. "There are six more cartridges of ammo, some bottled water, and a protein shake in case you get hungry. Get out there and win me some money. Kill the president."
"That's my goal." Katarina salutes him and slips out of the window, grabs onto the gutter, and makes her way to the rooftop. She lowers her goggles onto her face and looks down over the sprawling metropolis. Where are their plasma signatures? Surely her father isn't smart enough to figure out a way to hide it like she was able to. Black leather with tiny lead studs. The lead is what masks the radiation from the plasma. Sure, it adds a little weight, but it's worth it to be able to move around without her opponents tracking her. That was her own little secret and why she has won the past four matches.
The click of a cartridge in a plasma pistol behind her makes her hair stand on end. She holds up her hands and drops her pistol to the rooftop. Who the hell was able to find her here? "Don't kill me."
"You left me behind at the metro station. Is that what partners do?"
Oh, okay. So it's not quite the end of the world. It's just her boyfriend. She turns around and smiles as she picks up her pistol. "Zach, put that away and save your ammo for the others. You know those Inquisition trained bastards can shoot."
"True." Zach pulls his red beanie back down over his blonde eyebrows, puts his arm around Katarina's waist, and kisses her under the neon lights of the signs from the apartment building across the street.
Footsteps click on the roof behind them. "There they are! Kill them both. Get the president's daughter."
Katarina pulls away from Zach and dashes to the edge of the building then leaps onto the adjacent rooftop. "Come on, Zach!"
"You run. I'll fight them off."
Fine. If he's going to be stupid, she'll let him sacrifice his life for her. As she runs, she reaches into the vest pocket and retrieves the bottle of water. She jumps down from the roof and lands on a fire escape. She takes a drink of the water and empties most of it on the pavement as the shouting from her attackers grows closer. Sliding down the rails of the fire escape, she loads her plasma pistol again then has to jump over a street cleaner robot at the end. "Sorry!"
The robot ignores her and continues to polish the pavement, his quiet beeping the only response.
When she reaches the end of the alley, she peers out into the courtyard. Something's wrong. It's silent. She screams when someone grabs her from behind and pins her against the wall of one of the buildings.
"Katarina . . . you won't win this time, sweetheart."
Oh. It's just her owner. "Well, see, that's where you're wrong, Byron. Your mortal human body makes you weak. And how old are you now? Almost fifty?"
"Doesn't matter." He leans closer and kisses her then takes the black collar around her neck in his fingers. "This says you belong to me."
She grins and reaches behind her back where she slips a plasma cartridge into the half-empty bottle of water. As it starts to sizzle and bubble, she knows she's won this little encounter. "Kiss me again, owner."
Byron leans forward to kiss her again but stops. "What's that sound?"
"Another point for me." Katarina drops the makeshift bomb and slips between Byron's legs. As the explosion rings out, she laughs and runs for the industrial sector.
Too easy. The only real competition she has here is Isidore. But of course, he has an advantage. He's an android computer. He has built in GPS and an enhanced combat system. The only reason Katarina is able to keep up with him is because she carries his altered DNA. Katarina thought about undergoing the operation to become a T.I.M.E., or technological intelligence management experiment, like her father, but she is still defining her own identity as both a human and an android. She's twenty years old and she still struggles with it at times, but every time she is able to do things like win this match, she is happy to be what she is. She can be happy as a M.A.G.E., a material altering genetic experiment, an android, a human, and most of all, herself.
"That was a dirty trick to play on Byron."
She holds up her plasma pistol and spins around to face the source of the voice. A plasma pistol is aimed at her as well. "Where are the others?"
A smile spreads across Isidore's never-ageing face. "It's only you and me left. Sounds all too familiar, doesn't it?"
"Every single match. So how are we going to do this? Draw straws? Take off running and meet up later in an ally somewhere?"
"The simplest way to end this is to see who shoots first."
Katarina glares at him. "You and I both know it's not that simple."
"True. Let's see. Before you started competing in these, I won every match for fifteen years. Now, I haven't won one in four matches? That's a month? I need this victory, Kat."
"Well, I need it more. See, sometimes the student must become the teacher."
"I'm not afraid of you." Isidore says.
"You should be, Dad."
"Well, pull the trigger and see what happens to you, Daughter."
"You're bluffing." Katarina says. "You don't have anything going."
"Do I not? Is that a risk you're willing to take? Surely Byron's run in and shoot at everything that moves strategy hasn't corrupted you."
She laughs. "You were the one running around screaming like a little girl in the garden."
"Touché." Isidore spins his plasma pistol in his fingers. "I was thinking. Why are you so good at this? Then I remembered. You're my flesh and blood. So you really should be thanking me for making you."
"That's gross."
"Is it?" Isidore asks as he aims at her again. "Or is it beautiful? Your mother would be proud of you."
This conversation became way too serious. "I don't want to talk about her."
"She loved you so much." Isidore says as he looks at her with his large blue eyes that glimmer in the dull lights of the construction site.
"Shut up."
"Then she slept with your owner. It was the worst day of my life. I found out right after she died and I had escaped with you in my arms." Isidore clicks the cartridge into place and fires twice at Katarina's chest.
The plasma slams into her and she drops to her knees as the sensors attached to her clothes beep and signal her defeat. She glares at him. "Cheater."
"Nope. You need to learn to control your emotions."
* * *
Katarina rolls her eyes as she wipes the green plasma off of her clothes and watches the celebration for her father. His fans carry him down the street and shoot off exploding balls of colored plasma into the air where they rain down onto the buildings, coating everything in the gooey liquid. She follows behind the precession, still reeling after that defeat. Next week, he's going down first. She will take him down first and then he will pay for this.
Byron comes up beside her and puts his arm around her. "You'll get points for that trick you played on me. It might keep you in second place for this month."
"I shouldn't be in second. I should be in first."
"Hey, your father deserved another victory. I'm proud of you and that's all that should matter."
"I want to win, Byron." Katarina says.
"I know, but at least you're still in the running for the championship and that's a team match so if you get paired up with him, it's a guaranteed win for you two. And stop complaining. If your father wasn't the president, you wouldn't be able to play in these games. You don't know what it was like for androids before we moved underground."
She pulls the bits of sticky plasma from her face. "I've heard stories."
"I watched your father suffer and be beaten because of those laws." Byron says.
"Then why does he keep some of them?"
"He says it's for the best of all androids. That's why you wear that slave collar, Kat. It proves that I love you and care for you. I can only hope that I've been a good owner for you."
"Recently." Katarina says with a smile. "I used to hate you."
"I know." Byron picks her up and slings her over his shoulder. "Maybe I should punish you."
"Oh? And what would my father say about that? You haven't told him about us yet, have you?"
"Like I said before, it will never be more than kissing." Byron says. "That's where I draw the line."
"Sure, Byron. Keep telling yourself that. I saw you watching me in the shower last night."
He stops. "You saw that?"
"How could I not? Creep." She giggles and kisses his neck.
"You are twenty, so I guess you should have the say in who you are involved with. It's not right, though."
"Why not?" Katarina asks. "Because you're my owner? Don't let my dad get in the way. You leave him to me."
He places her back down on the ground. "Speaking of your father, is he drinking that entire bottle of tequila?"
Looks like it. "Oh dear. You know what that means."
"Techno music until sunrise?"
Katarina laughs as she watches him. "He's crazy."
"Let's get inside before the hardcore partying begins." Byron takes her hand and they run up to the doors to the Presidential Palace that scan their key cards and slide open for them, leaving the overly excited fans outside. "Isidore! Great game, buddy."
Isidore holds up the half empty bottle of Alezi Blue tequila as he waves his hand over the stereo sensor in the wall and electronic dance music fills the room. "This is my victory song."
"You're insane." Byron says as he removes his plasma-covered jacket.
"Nope. Just super thrilled that I have my title back."
A teenage boy with bright red hair waves to them from the second story balcony. "Let's watch the highlights from the match. I'll have you know that I won three hundred dollars tonight."
"Betting on our dad, Dmitri?" Katarina asks as she unbraids her hair.
"Nope. I bet on the kiss."
Katarina glares at him. "What kiss?"
"Oh, you know. Check it out." He presses a button the railing and a large hologram fills the main room. The replay from the entire evening starts playing, but Dmitri speeds through until he finds what he's looking for.
Right there in front of all of Paradise who was watching this match is Katarina and Byron kissing in the alley. Katarina bows her head and tries to not look at her father or Byron. This isn't going to go over very well.
Isidore steps in front of her. "Katarina Nika Williams, what is this?"
"I . . . um . . . ask Byron."
Isidore grabs Byron and pushes him up against the wall. "Really, man? What have you been doing to my daughter? I swear if you hurt her, I will kill you."
"Calm down. We just kissed." Byron says.
"I know you, Byron Erikson. You don't just kiss women. You already slept with her mother. Do you need to sleep with her too?"
A purple butterfly flies into the room and lands on the stereo controls, turning the music off. "Niko, stop."
Isidore swats the butterfly away. "Go back to your flowers, Blice. This isn't any of your business."
"But I'm your owner and Byron is my brother, so yes, it is my business."
Dmitri rewinds the footage and stops at anothe
r spot. "I think you'll like this even better, Dad."
They all look up as the footage plays. Katarina hides her face from the others. It's her kissing Zach. Well, now they all know.
"Oh, hell no." Isidore grabs Katarina's arm. "Look at me. Him? Of all the men in Paradise, you have to be with him? Zach Montgomery is an android hunter. What does that tell you? You have no idea what he did to your mother and me when you were a baby. Look at that scar on your left hand and arm. Guess who did that to you? Zach."
She pulls away from him. "I don't believe you. You just don't like him because you haven't given him a chance."
"Go to your room." Isidore orders.
Katarina is getting angry now. "I'm twenty years old. You can't tell me what to do."
"Fine. Byron, tell your android to go to her room." Isidore says.
Byron crosses his arms. "Go to our room, Kat."
"Byron-"
He interrupts her and sounds angrier than Katarina has ever heard him be. "I order you to go and remain silent until I figure out what to do with you."
"You didn't know about this?" Isidore asks him.
"No. I never suspected she would be with him." Byron points at Katarina and unbuckles his belt. "I told you to go. I don't want to whip you, but I will."
Katarina glares at them all and opens her mouth to protest, but Byron slaps his belt on the wall. Fine. She'll go peacefully.
2
Byron doesn't want to be harsh with Katarina, but if she doesn't obey him and if she keeps doing things that compromise her safety, then he will have to teach her a lesson that will be more painful for him than her. He opens the door to the bedroom he shares with her and shuts the door behind him. The darkness is softened by the lights filtering in from the open windows and the night air is sweet with honeysuckle from the garden below the balcony. Katarina is sitting on her bed with her boots off and she's changed into some sweatpants and a tank top. Her purple hair hides her face from him. "Kat . . ."
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