by Lisa Lace
Natasha tried to prevent herself from staring over his shoulder, but there was nothing else for her to do but watch. She couldn’t help John with this part of the project. Instead, she meandered around the basement, looking at the labels on stacks of random boxes in the corner and wondering if she could use the vast array of electronic equipment scattered on her father’s workbench.
Finally, John looked up from the laptop. “I think that’s it. If I did everything correctly, he should be downloading the software now.”
The two of them turned to stare at the cyborg. Fury’s eyes were still closed, but they twitched visibly as the new programming made its way into his biochip. Muscle spasms appeared on Fury’s face and worked their way down his body.
“Is that supposed to happen?”
John held his fist to his lips as he watched. “I don’t think so,” he replied quietly.
“Well, then stop it!” Natasha surprised herself with her vehemence. She looked at the computer screen, hoping she would see an abort button.
The tech pushed her gently away from it. “Don’t touch it! If you stop the upgrade process midstream, we don’t know what the effects will be. He might have problems with the upgrade, but you could kill him instantly if you touch anything now.”
Biting her lip, Natasha backed away. She couldn’t avoid looking at the soldier once again. Fury’s entire body was shaking and every muscle in his ripped body convulsed and shuddered. His eyes flew open, pain and fear visible in their blue depths. Fury smashed his arms against the side of the box, gritting his teeth.
“We’re hurting him!” Natasha protested, desperate for the procedure to be complete.
John backed away from the holding cell without moving toward the computer. “All we can do is wait. Everything is up to Fury now.”
“Do you think he will remember any of this?” The nurse hoped that Fury’s inactive state would prevent his mind from being damaged.
“Most likely,” John admitted. “It’s just like if one of us went through a painful experience. Our brains would block out some of it later to protect our sanity, but we would still know something hurt.” He was shouting now. The cyborg repeatedly pounded against the side of the box with his fists. Fury had bloodied his knuckles, and streaks of red dripped down the interior walls of the cell.
The spasms continued, racking the cyborg’s body. Fury’s shoulder muscles now bucked against the back of the box as his fists pummeled the front. A crack ran through the wall, threatening the integrity of the box. Fury roared, but the sound was different than the other night. He was not exulting in the body of a woman he was about to bury himself inside. This noise was full of pain and anger. The blue in his eyes looked electric.
Without warning, the process finished. Fury’s body relaxed and he slumped against the side of the glass. He began to breathe slowly, trying to recuperate from the nasty experience. He glared at the two watching humans.
“What do we do now?” Natasha whispered. Her voice seemed horrifically loud in the sudden silence that had descended over the room.
“I think it would be best if we gave him a tranquilizer,” John advised. “That will let his body adjust to his new brain wave patterns. It takes time for the upgrade to start rebuilding the neural network.” He changed the tubes on the cyborg’s life support system and injected a sedative.
“You’ve thought of everything,” Natasha marveled.
John started to pull apart the small cables and put them back in the black tool bag he had brought. “If you don’t plan everything out ahead of time, you’ll fail.”
“Well, I’m still impressed. Why don’t you come upstairs for a drink?”
When they were seated at the kitchen table, each holding a beer, Natasha sat back and sighed. “This has got to be the strangest week ever.”
John set his drink down and picked at the label on the bottle. A small smile played on his lips. “I think that’s safe to say. From my point of view, it’s been incredible. I can’t believe how much I’ve learned in just a few days. And now I’m sitting down and having a beer with a gorgeous woman.”
Natasha felt her cheeks grow hot as she blushed. “Oh, stop.”
“I’ve had a crush on you for a long time. You’re beautiful, funny, and smart. Any man would be an idiot not to want you.” John’s gray eyes burned as he spoke. The only thing separating them was the corner of the table. The more he talked, the less space there seemed to be between them. “I would have stolen from the company and worked with an illegal cyborg a million times over for you.”
Natasha met John’s gaze, both flattered and terrified at the same time. It had been years since she had considered a man other than Nick as something more than a friend. The nurse didn’t quite know how to take the compliment. She enjoyed spending time with John…but she wasn’t sure what she felt.
She was about to confess her confusion when John leaned forward and kissed her boldly. Natasha relaxed into the kiss, giving him a chance to sweep her off her feet. She didn’t want Nick, and John was a good guy. His mouth was gentle and eager. She could taste the remnants of her drink on his breath. She’d had worse, by a long shot. But as he brought his hands up to cup the back of her head, Natasha felt herself pulling away.
“I’m sorry, John. I don’t think I feel that way about you.” She kept her focus on the weathered wooden surface of the dining table, not wanting to see the disappointment she knew lurked in his eyes. “You’re very sweet.”
“It’s all right. You don’t have to explain anything.” John slumped back into the chair and took another slug of beer.
Natasha felt relieved. She wondered if the tech could understand that there wasn’t anything wrong with him, but the problem was that her heart was fixated on Fury. It was illicit and would never work out, but she didn’t want to string John along.
The two of them sat in a deeper, more oppressive silence, mutually agreeing to let the moment pass. Soon enough, their conversation turned again to the cyborg in the basement.
CHAPTER 14
When Natasha had downed more beers than she normally would on a work night and John had polished off only a couple, they decided to call it an evening, tossing their last bottles into the recycle bin and headed for the front door.
“If anyone at the Cyborg Rehabilitation Center was worried about the program I downloaded, they would have said something by now. They’re proactive about monitoring everything that goes through the computer. I was a little worried about losing my job, but now I think I’m in the clear.” John looked relieved.
Natasha sagged against the door and nodded sleepily. “Same here. I think I’ll finally be able to get some sleep tonight. The beer won’t hurt, either.”
“If anything unusual happens, let me know. The tranquilizer should keep Fury sedated for the night. You’ve got my cell number, right?”
“Yep. I programmed it into my phone.” As Natasha looked over John’s shoulder, she saw a car turning into the cul-de-sac. “Who is that?”
She recognized the car as it came closer to her. It was long and close to the ground. She could never forget that old 60’s Mustang. Nick had hired a friend who was an expert airbrush artist to cover the entirety of the black car in red flames in the shape of screaming demons and sexy women. It looked like a car straight out of hell. A younger woman might have considered it cool. Now she thought it was the symbol of a man who refused to grow up.
“Are you expecting someone?” The hellcar squealed to a stop at the curb.
“I wasn’t, but he doesn’t typically announce himself. That’s my husband.” A sense of terror slowly crept up the back of her neck. John could have run and saved himself, but held his position in the doorway as Nick hopped out of the car and advanced through the yard. Natasha had to admire him for a moment. John knew that she wasn’t interested but chose to stick around.
“Who the hell are you?” Nick yelled as he shoved his way through the front door, forcing John and Natasha to take a few
steps back. He turned to Natasha. “What do you think you’re doing with a man over here, Tasha? Aren’t we still married?”
“Technically, yes, but only because you refuse to sign the divorce papers.” Natasha’s attorney had served the paperwork to Nick at the bar. She wasn’t interested in seeing him face-to-face again if it wasn’t necessary. “Besides, you don’t get to decide who I have over for company, regardless of what a piece of paper says.”
Nick’s face was growing red. “It doesn’t look right, and you know it. What are people going to say when they see my wife has some random guy with her?”
“I think it’s time for you to leave,” John said, gesturing to the open doorway. “It’s late, and everyone is ready for bed.”
Natasha’s guilt over her lack of interest in John grew tenfold. He could have given any number of explanations for why he was there, but he hadn’t bothered to correct Nick.
Her husband whirled around angrily. “Who put you in charge here, asshole? Do you think you can come over here and fuck my wife, then tell me where I can and can’t be?” His hands curled into fists. He had his weight on his front foot, ready to fly at the tech at any moment.
John didn’t budge or back down. He folded his arms in front of his chest casually and looked up into Nick’s face.
Natasha spoke up. “Who are you to say who’s fucking who? If my memory is correct, you’ve already been fucking around. Don’t you dare come over here and act all sweet and innocent when you’re the reason I’m here in the first place!” Her body shook with adrenaline. It was the kind of confrontation she had wanted to have with Nick but had been too scared to start. It made her feel more confident to have another person with her.
Nick opened his mouth to scream at her. He unexpectedly took a step back instead. “You’re right, Natasha. I just want you to come back to me. Everything is going to change, and it’s only going to get better. I’ll forgive you for the affair with this guy as long as you come home.” His eyebrows scrunched up into his hairline, and he suddenly looked less threatening than when he had arrived.
“I’m sorry, Nick. We’re finished. You need to go home by yourself.” She casually glanced at John, wondering what he was thinking. It was bad enough that he had gotten involved with Fury, but now all of her dirty laundry was airing out in front of him. He stood calmly in front of her, watching the exchange and giving no indication of leaving.
Her husband studied her then looked at John without saying anything. In an instant, he launched himself at the tech and slammed his fist into John’s nose.
Natasha screamed.
The blow came so suddenly that John had no chance to block it. He reeled backward, hands clutching his face. Blood gushed down over his lips and dripped off his chin as he staggered into the back of the couch. Nick lunged after him again, but Natasha jumped forward to grab his arm. As her husband tried to shake her off, John recovered enough to barrel forward. His fists flew wildly and didn’t stop, randomly connecting with Nick’s jaw and chest. Distracted by Natasha and surprised by John’s defense, Nick soon found himself out the door and on his ass.
Slamming and locking the door behind him, Natasha ran into the kitchen for a towel to press against John’s nose. “He’s a jerk.”
John let her tend to his wounds as he sat back, head spinning. “It’s okay. He seems to be a little unbalanced.” They heard the squeal of Nick’s tires fading off into the distance.
When John stopped bleeding and after he offered to stay if Natasha needed him, he reluctantly got into his car and headed home. Natasha was scheduled for time off the next day since she was going to have to work over the weekend. Sleep now would be impossible. She was too emotional and filled with adrenaline.
Instead, she made the trip to the basement once again. The cyborg appeared to be resting peacefully, so she pulled a chair up to the workbench and began adding to the logs her father had started.
As she worked, Natasha wondered what Fury would have done if he had been with her instead of John.
CHAPTER 15
“Let’s see how well this worked.”
It was early Friday afternoon. Natasha had managed to get in a few hours of sleep after collapsing over the keyboard. She dragged herself to bed but had had a difficult time staying asleep once the sun rose. Frustrated and antsy, she returned to the basement, hopeful to see any progress.
She thought about calling John first, but she knew he would be working on a weekday. Besides, she was impatient and didn’t see any reason to wait. The research was almost everything she could think about, but she also wondered if Fury would remember who she was. The nurse punched in the correct code on the keypad, and the door on the cyborg’s cell swung open. She waited nervously, watching for any indication that things had gone awry.
Fury blinked his eyes several times as he opened them, glancing around the room and looking disoriented. He didn’t look in the distance over her head this time. The cyborg gazed at everything with a fresh perspective.
“Fury? I am Natasha Daniels. Do you understand me?” Her voice trembled as she waited nervously for his answer. What if he couldn’t handle the upgrade? He was already dangerous enough.
“Yes,” he answered gruffly, omitting the word “sir”.
“I’m going to disconnect you from your life support system. You’re going to have to stand still.”
The cyborg looked down at her with surprise on his face, like it was the first time he had ever seen her. He scowled at her, then nodded.
Natasha wondered if she would ever get used to this process, but if she was lucky she wouldn’t have to do it much longer. Hopefully, Fury would soon be able to feed himself. If he showed compliance, he didn’t need to live in a holding cell. There were plenty of spare rooms upstairs.
“Step out of the cell, please.” She retreated to give him room, moving away until her back was against the workbench. She made sure to stand straight so her terror wouldn’t be visible.
Fury was following her commands. His eyes were still moving vigorously, latching onto an object for only a moment before moving on to the next one.
John was not the only person capable of conducting research. Natasha’s job at the rehabilitation center was the final step in the release program. She needed to understand the entire process if Fury’s upgrade was going to be successful. “I’ve just given you a software update.” Natasha realized she was shouting, and felt embarrassed as she lowered her voice. “The program was downloaded into your biochip. If you’re feeling a little different, that’s perfectly normal. You probably have questions. I’m here to answer them.”
According to the release program manual distributed to all employees of Cyborg Sector, the cyborg’s response at this stage of the rehabilitation process was completely unpredictable. Reactions ranged from fear, to anxiety, to confusion, to nothing at all.
Fury didn’t fall into any of those categories. He tipped his head slightly to the left - as though he were about to ask her a question - before leaping into action. With a single swipe of his arm, he sent five heavy boxes flying from their stack in the corner of the room. Some exploded when they hit the floor, sending old keyboards, chipped dishes, and ancient paperwork flying through the air.
“Stop!” Natasha shouted. She knew she should try to keep her voice calm, but she wasn’t in a controlled environment, and there were no safeguards. “You have to stop, or I’ll be forced to return you to your cell.”
The cyborg roared and raged on, uninterested in Natasha’s demands, pummeling the boxes one after another as though they were his lifelong enemies. When he finished going through the stack, he turned his attention to Natasha’s side of the room. She flinched as he raced toward her, but he stayed away. Instead, he started clearing the workbench. The muscles on Fury’s arms rippled as he swept the numerous bits of wiring, chips, and connectors to the floor. They bounced and skipped, creating a dangerous minefield of detritus.
Natasha cowered in the corner where the two
workbenches met, unable to reach the stairs and escape. The cyborg thrashed and raged, attacking anything in its path, and she knew it was only a matter of time before she found herself in his destructive path. She crouched down on the concrete, trying to make herself as small and unnoticeable as possible.
A small tube skittered off the bench and bounced to the floor in front of her. It had a plunger on one end and a covered needle at the other. Natasha immediately knew what she was seeing. John must have left his extra stash in the lab when he came to install the upgrade. The nurse snatched the syringe and stood to face the monster she’d helped create. “Fury, stop this right now!”
The soldier turned to her, shoulders and chest heaving with adrenaline. Fury’s eyes flashed as he glared at her, daring the woman to give him orders again. With a dull thud of his boots, Fury closed the distance between them and grabbed the nurse around the waist. He flung Natasha over his shoulder like a rag doll and headed toward the stairs.
Fury had given her the opportunity she needed. Natasha wasted no time in uncovering the needle and stabbing it into his ass. Fury spun around to see what was happening, but it was too late. The sedative worked quickly. The cyborg fell to his knees on the concrete and released her.
Natasha stumbled backward as she suddenly found herself on her feet again. There was only a small dosage of tranquilizer in the syringe. It wouldn’t knock him unconscious, but she hoped it would help the cyborg moderate his behavior. “Fury, you can’t do that. You’ll have to learn to control yourself.” Her statement sounded like a ridiculous admonition when said to such a big man.
Fury had confusion in his eyes, but it slowly cleared, and he nodded. “Can you tell me why you’re so upset?” she murmured.
The cyborg shook his head slightly, hand coming to his forehead like he had a migraine. “Data input.”
That was good. Natasha understood what Fury meant. “You have new information to process and it doesn’t all make sense. You’re discovering new information that wasn’t programmed into you. It will feel different but is perfectly okay.”