I spun around to help him but he waved me forward. “Go! Just go! Catch him!”
My chest strained as I tried to catch my breath. Heat reddened my cheeks, tightening the collar around my throat. I ran ahead alone but McKinnon was gone. I couldn’t hear the vibrations of his footsteps anymore, sending me down long corridors without any idea where to go.
“No! No! No!” I twirled around when I suddenly heard a door slam shut. I ran toward the noise up a flight of stairs near the top deck. A shadow moved in the captain’s cabin. I didn’t stop to think things through. I chased after him, unsure how I was going to apprehend McKinnon all on my own. The moment I ran into the cabin, I heard a magazine clip click into place. I immediately froze by the threshold. The long, dark barrel of an automatic gun stared at me from across the room. McKinnon stood near the back, where meters behind him hung the evacuation suit, its entire front lifted opened for him to climb inside.
McKinnon’s expression shifted. “Wait…it can’t be.”
In his moment of hesitation, I lifted my gun and pointed it at him, creating a standoff. “Surprised?”
He didn’t shift his aim away from me and I didn’t shift my aim away from him. My handheld pistol against his automatic felt like I was holding a knife against a chainsaw.
“Put your gun down!”
“You’re that girl from Alpha.”
“I said put the gun down now!”
“Nadia, right?”
Hearing him say my name was almost enough to squeeze the trigger.
His body relaxed slightly, amused by my presence. “I must admit, I’m impressed. No one has managed to track me down in decades, and I didn’t pin you as particularly clever.”
My hand shook. How I wish I could just shoot him in his smug, old face. “Just goes to show you know nothing about me.”
He smiled. “Don’t act so precious. There’s nothing special about you.”
“Then why—”
“Why did I take you away from your family? Why were you born different? Why? Why? Why?” His heartless cackle made me shiver. “You were just another wasted experiment. One of many, many disappointments.” Eyes of light green shone beneath his discoloured commander’s hat. He was enjoying himself too much.
I secured my grip. “You’re a fucking liar!”
“Don’t be so heartbroken.”
“Stop talking!”
McKinnon smirked. “You’ve come looking for me for a reason, no? Was it that you want revenge?” I didn’t speak. I wasn’t even sure if the others could find me. McKinnon’s smile widened. “Or is this a more philosophical quest?”
He shifted forward and panicked I shot him in the arm. The bullet tore through his shoulder, spinning him around just as he clenched down on the trigger. An arm yanked me backward, throwing me to the side as bullets shot up the walls and roof.
“Get down!” Diesel tackled me to the floor and shielded us from the hail of bullets.
“Argh! Shit!” Gunshots continued in relentless recession, breaking apart the table we huddled under. “You lost your chance, girl!”
Beneath the sound of the gunfire, an engine hummed to life and robotic limbs squeaked as they bent out of their rigid form. The shooting ceased and Diesel knelt up and fired quickly. The ding of bullets hitting titanium echoed. The floor trembled as McKinnon took off inside the robotic suit, followed by the crack of glass breaking as he jumped out the window.
Diesel leaped over the table but stopped himself from jumping out after him.
McKinnon landed on the deck outside, only to be ambushed by Jacky. With her long, sharp right spear for a leg, she sliced the robot’s leg off at the kneecap. I heard the moment McKinnon’s suit buckled and crashed face down onto the steel floor, the metal screaming as it slid down the slanted deck.
In his flailing, he smashed over the railing, tumbling down a few meters. He landed in the red sea far below.
Jackie chased after him, and as she lost her balance, she flipped head over heels through the sand.
Dirt kicked up beneath McKinnon as jets powered through the suit’s palms, lifting him off the ground.
“Come on,” Diesel urged.
We followed the slope downward with Hiro and Logan close on our heels. Scorching sand lashed us as we plunged down into the shifting red, our bodies tumbling helplessly through the rippled dunes before sliding to a stop.
Balanced on one foot, McKinnon smacked Jacky down, hitting her hard with the long-reaching arm. The force of his hit spun her off her feet and into the sloppy sand. Shooting him proved useless, as our bullets ricocheted off his body as though they were made of rubber.
Logan tackled McKinnon’s remaining leg, throwing him off balance as Diesel leaped on top of him, the ground shaking beneath them as he smashed the stock end of his gun against the robot’s helmet. McKinnon punched him off and flung Diesel across the field. McKinnon then snared Logan by the shoulder. With his free arm, he swung back to punch Logan but I managed to restrain his arm. I clung myself to him, wrapping both legs and arms around his bicep as a monkey clings to a tree. I then fired into the bend of his armpit, weakening the rolling joints.
McKinnon lifted me up and slammed me down. Pain coursed through my back. I choked on my breath, dropping my gun. Again, he lifted me up and slammed me down. Hard rock bruised my spine. I willed myself to hang on and grit through the pain. He thrashed his arm left and right, trying to loosen my grip. I hit the floor violently, once, twice, three times before feeling a sharp pain from one of my ribs cracking.
My body went into shock and I unwillingly lost my grip, hitting the ground a final time. McKinnon reared his fist up but suddenly jerked forward. Jacky leapt onto his back, and with her extended blades, stabbed frantically into the centre of his spine. McKinnon swung himself around but couldn’t reach to knock her off.
The moment the hole in his back was large enough, she scrambled out of the way of Hiro who stepped up with his gunshot and blasted into the opening. Fire leaped upward in an explosive bang, roaring out of McKinnon’s back like a jet. Even though the suit remained intact, the helmet was quickly flooded with smoke.
McKinnon scrambled for air, collapsing onto his side and barely missing me as I rolled out of his path. Unable to breath, he had no choice but to pop the helmet open.
Jacky seized the inside of the armour and tore it forward, splintering the sides. The front hatch unlocked and Jacky ripped McKinnon out of the suit.
Chapter Twenty-Three:
“I’m fine. I’m fine.” I eased myself carefully against the wall, cradling my arm to my side. “I’m just going to sit here and rest for a bit.”
“You don’t look like you’re fine,” Hiro said.
“It’s just a bit of bruising.” My sides jolted at every breath, confirming my broken rib. I just prayed it didn’t puncture a lung. “It’ll pass.”
We moved into the junkyard of shipping containers surrounding the ship, taking shelter from the sun and wind.
Diesel hadn’t moved an inch since we captured and tied up McKinnon. They sat opposite each other, Diesel’s haunting stare drilling into McKinnon’s face. I couldn’t tell if he was smiling or snarling. His expression was a mixture of both, dangerously delighted.
Sweat dripped from McKinnon’s forehead and into the cloth gagging his mouth. He didn’t move. He didn’t look away. They stared at each other without twitching a muscle.
Outside of the container, Logan and Jacky got to work tearing the suit apart. It took hours to dismantle the chest, digging into its cavity for the massive battery inside.
“You knew, didn’t you?” I asked Hiro.
He sat on the pallet of crates beside me, his hands tightly clasped. Paleness washed his cheeks.
“About what?”
“Where the oxygen tank was on the suit? And that the smoke would be pulled into the vents, ultimately forcing McKinnon out.” He nodded. I smiled gently. “That was very clever.”
“At least I could do somethin
g right.”
We both looked over toward Diesel and McKinnon and their epic stare down. The intensity was so great one twitch could set them off. Diesel’s power was in his silence and I know this because I had experienced the heat of his rage back at FRIM. It had sent me running before I understood what I was running from. Reading the stress in McKinnon’s taut muscles, I could imagine he understood exactly how intense Diesel really was. I’ve only ever seen this level of unbreakable focus from a guard dog presented with raw meat.
“Aha!” Jacky’s cheer was followed by the crack of metal snapping. From the centre of the suit, she pulled out a large battery with pegs connected to each corner. The smell of burnt rubber scorched the air. I crinkled my nose as she waved the smoke away.
“This should be powerful enough.” Logan knelt down and fished his homemade device from his backpack.
“Is that everything we need?” I asked through gritted teeth.
“Pretty much. It may not be as powerful as a technician’s chair, but it’ll still get the job done.”
“Guys, I really think we should get Nadia to a hospital,” Hiro suggested.
My cheeks warmed with embarrassment. “I’m fine, Hiro,” I said again, but the slight shift in my position dug nails into my sides. I winced and clenched, curling into the agony. “Just a broken rib or two.”
Jacky and Logan exchanged looks. “To get back to a hospital will take us hours, days even.”
“She can barely sit up,” Hiro said. “She needs to see a doctor.”
“We don’t have the time to waste,” Jacky insisted.
Hiro huffed and looked over at Diesel. “Diesel, you think we should get Nadia to a hospital, right?”
Diesel’s attention didn’t move off McKinnon. “I think we should rip these memories out of McKinnon’s head.”
My eyebrows scrunched at Diesel’s answer. Surely, I expected some sort of concern from him.
“Not his memories. Yours,” Logan said and grabbed Diesel by his shoulder.
Diesel leapt up and shoved Logan back, forcing the older man onto his back foot. “Touch me again, asshole, and I will rip your batteries out.”
Jacky spun around on the ball of her heel with the right blade extending from her wrist. The sharpened point reached within an inch of Diesel’s throat. Unimpressed, he stepped back from Logan.
“You try to fight your way out of this and we will kill you both.”
I glanced over at McKinnon. His eyes were scrunched with joy. The sick bastard is actually smiling.
Diesel crossed his arms. “Fine. Let’s get this over and done with.”
Logan unpacked the memory device, pulling up screens and connecting the wires to each copper peg on the robot’s battery. The tablet-sized case cluttered as Logan moved it around, peeling off electro-sensory pads that he carefully stuck onto Diesel’s temples and onto the back of his neck. Inside the case was a small dose of the memory-inducing drug and a syringe. There was enough serum to put a rhinoceros into a coma. The majority of the case belonged to a flat monitor and knobs similar to that of a technician’s operating system. Each dial increased or decreased the amount of electronic pulses sent into the brain, speeding up or slowing down the memory. The more serum that’s injected, the deeper the memories go, sometimes capable of extending five to six cycles.
Diesel sat on an overturned crate, his hands gripping his knees, his eyes not leaving McKinnon’s face.
I found myself frowning at Diesel, an annoyed thought pinching the back of my head. Part of me wanted to slap him. Another part wanted to storm away, wishing he would chase after me. I sighed with frustration, turning my attention away as promised. I hope the memories hurt, you dick.
The moment Logan tried to start the machine, it crackled and zapped with complications. He slapped the side before disconnecting the wires.
“What is it?” Diesel demanded.
“The inputs have been fried thanks to the heat. They have all been melted.”
“You broke it?” He tensed in his anger.
“It’s not broken.” Jacky stepped around and packed the machine back into its case. “We just need some more pieces, some adapters for starters and transformers to stop the voltage from burning the motherboard. We didn’t account for the high voltage.”
“I guess we really don’t have a choice; we have to head back into town.”
Diesel ripped the cords off his forehead. “Just fix it.” As he stood, he yanked McKinnon up onto his feet. “Move.”
I cleared my throat and looked away as he passed me. My eyes tightened in my anger. He didn’t even ask me if I’m all right! Didn’t even help me stand! Nothing!
“Here, Nadia.” Hiro offered me his hand.
I took it and let out a yowl of pain trying to stand. Yes, I did play up my reaction to get Diesel’s attention, but it really did hurt. I glanced back at him quickly, but he hadn’t even bothered to look my way. His attention never left McKinnon. I gripped onto Hiro and curled within his embrace, allowing him to carry most of my weight.
“Thank you,” I whispered. Part of me felt incredibly ashamed, and I wasn’t sure why. Feeling unwanted by Diesel hurt me in a completely different way to the pain from my ribs.
We moved considerably slower than the rest of the group. Diesel took the lead, McKinnon tightly gripped in his hands with Logan and Jacky on their heels. Hiro tried to keep up, but didn’t force me to take wider steps than what I was capable of. Part of me wanted to collapse to the ground and wail while a stronger, more determined part of me wanted to sprint past Diesel with both middle fingers shoved in the air. Memories from my childhood crashed through the front of my mind. It washed me with nostalgic shame. Fuck, even thinking of what I must have looked like twisted my insides.
I was too old to try to coax some sort of feelings out of my father. I should have known better, but still, I deliberately went out of my way to put myself in harm. I played it all up for the show too. I was beaten badly, the bruises and grazers not faked, but my plea for help was. At the beginning at least, but the longer I waited the deeper the yearning pulled.
Roman meant to pick me up from school, but, as usual, he was late. I deliberately went out looking for trouble, making sure I didn’t move off his route when he would eventually come to collect me. He needed to watch. He needed to understand that I wasn’t always going to be able to shrug it off. Maybe I just didn’t want to have to fight every fight by myself.
I found a group of older kids. I picked a fight. I got beat up pretty badly. I waited for him, curled in on myself, crying, watching the road for his car. I waited past curfew, risked being thrown in jail.
Look for me! Look for me, you idiot! Look for me!
By the time I got home, it was past midnight. Lisa scolded me for ripping my clothes. Roman was already asleep on the couch. Something inside of me broke. I cried in front of them. I screamed and threw plates. They kicked me out and I came to understand what I wanted was impossible to have. I felt so pathetic, begging them, ripping myself open and pleading for them to care for me. Never again, I had said to myself. Never again. Until fucking Diesel.
As I hobbled behind them, I felt the words run through my mind. Look at me! Please, look at me! I grit my teeth and hung my head.
What has he done to me? What have I done to myself? I’ve been weakened. Broken into shallow bones one knock away from collapsing.
I looked over at Hiro. His light brown eyes shifted onto me, concern pinching his brows. Concern. Yes, concern. Kind eyes. Loving eyes.
If Diesel was done with me, then I’m done with him too. I didn’t love Hiro, not in the way that drove me to my knees, but I did feel affection toward him. And right now, maybe even fake-loving Hiro would break my love for Diesel. It could blur the lines, transfer one face for another.
“Hiro,” I whispered but the words bunched up on my tongue. He slowed.
“Yes? Are you okay?”
I reached around and kissed him. Hiro locked up beneath me.
His dry lips were salty with old sweat. He quickly tore his face away. You would have thought I pulled a knife on him judging by his reaction. I guess me kissing him felt like a death sentence in its own right. His eyes immediately went to Diesel.
“Don’t worry,” I said quickly to calm him. A small spark fluttered inside. Jealous. Yes, I could make Diesel jealous. Another part of my consciences jumped in. He would hurt Hiro if you do that. I gave Hiro a wink. “Our secret.”
Pain dragged me down. It climbed up my body, filling my head with rocks. Every part of me felt weak. Burning agony tightened my back muscles. Every breath in caused me to cough. It hurt to move.
Small hints of noise filled in the quiet of the dying light. We followed the sign of a safe house into a nest of crumpling towers. I didn’t take my eyes off the city as we walked. Diesel was too far ahead. His pace only slowing to look through windows. My side felt like it was splitting open. My breath caught in a painful moan. I slumped against my knees, too weak to stand straight.
Hiro held me carefully, his arms shaking with exhaustion. “Nadia? Nadia, what is it?”
I lifted my top where deep bruises swelled around my ribs. I felt like I was going to cough up blood as my mouth flooded with salvia. I choked, trying to vomit when the clench of my stomach muscles pulled my legs out. I fell forward and hit the ground.
“Nadia? Shit! Guys? Guys! Diesel? Jacky, wait!” Hiro tried screaming across the four-block distance. I grabbed his shirt.
“You…you have…to get me to…a hos-hospital!” Pain pulled my voice apart. I could barely speak.
Hiro nodded. He eased me back up onto my feet. I nearly screamed as he stretched out my muscles, lengthening me just enough so I could curl over his back. My arms dangled over his shoulders, one arm bent so my elbow hooked around his neck. He tucked my legs through the loop in his arms and tilted forward.
Soul Finder (The Immortal Gene Book 2) Page 22