This wasn’t the same hybrid who had shot Alan. His hair was darker, his eyes wilder in that horrible caricature of a face. Brandt. The background on him had been minimal at best but she’d read between the lines enough to suspect that he had been highly placed in a criminal organization.
“I wasn’t told not to make any calls,” she said as calmly as possible. “It won’t happen again. You may leave now.”
“No,” he said flatly, moving closer.
Despite her attempt to appear composed, her heart was racing. There was something about that smooth plastic face that only enhanced the menace in his tone.
“GenCon thinks they’re so clever. Taking advantage of us while we’re desperate. Taking our money, turning us into tools for their use.” He was behind the desk now. “We are no longer tools. Your little experiment is a failure. Our chips have been deactivated and we are in command now. Of the planet. Of you.”
With an unnervingly casual strength, he reached out and ripped open her blouse, revealing her breasts. She refused to cower, despite the terror flooding her system.
“What do you think you’re doing? Leave immediately.” She kept her chin raised and did her best to maintain her usual icy demeanor.
“You don’t think I’m a threat, do you? You think that because the fucking company took my manhood away, I can’t teach you who’s really in charge.” He leaned closer, and she caught a whiff of something foul and unnatural. A deep, atavistic shudder ran through her despite her attempt to conceal it. He laughed and gripped her breast with cold, cruel hands until she was unable to stop herself from crying out.
“That’s better. I think I need to make sure you understand that there’s more than one way to be in control.” He picked up the bottle of water she kept on her desk, a large clear tube, and stroked it thoughtfully. “If one has… limitations, one simply has to find the appropriate substitutes.”
His meaning was only too clear, but she refused to look away from him. She had been hurt in the past. She had always expected to be hurt again. She wouldn’t give him—would never give any man—the satisfaction of hearing her plead for mercy again.
“How pitiful,” she sneered. “All of your new technology and all you can think about is some pitiful excuse for a penis substitute.”
“We’ll see how pitiful you find it when—”
He didn’t finish his threat. An enormous hand came out of nowhere, grabbed him by his throat, and lifted him off his feet. Brandt choked and struggled, but the newcomer ignored him, his worried gaze fixed on her face.
“Are you all right?”
It was the man she had seen at the landing field, the one who had haunted her for the past six months. He had looked huge when she saw him from a distance. Standing in her office, he made even that spacious room feel small. His muscles strained against a tight-fitting dark shirt in an awe-inspiring display of strength.
“I’m fine,” she said, trying her best to sound calm. Her heart was still racing, but now it was at least partially the result of his presence—and it wasn’t because she was afraid.
“He threatened you?” he asked.
“Yes. I believe he planned on using that bottle to… violate me.”
He gave a nod—an acknowledgment, not an agreement—and tightened his hand. Brandt gasped for breath, his face still completely unchanged, before a rattling gurgle escaped and his body went limp.
Her savior shook the limp body. “Is that enough to kill him?”
“I’m not sure. I know severing the spinal column will do the trick.”
He nodded again, and with one sharp twist, broke her attacker’s neck, then tossed him carelessly into the corner. “Are you sure you’re all right?”
Somewhere deep inside, a remnant of Angelica was screaming, but she had been buried too deep for too many years. Serena managed a brisk nod as she pulled her blouse back together.
“I’m fine. Who are you? What are you?” she added as she glanced at the discarded body before looking back at him. Despite his impressive muscles, no human had that much strength.
He hesitated for a moment, then shrugged. “J-100. I’m a cyborg.”
Interesting. There was no visible sign of any cybernetic parts. “You’re a ranger?”
He snorted. “Nah. Just a simple miner.”
“Who just happened to be here at the right time?” Despite the suspicious question, nothing about this man triggered her usual distrust. His features were rugged rather than handsome, dark hair cropped close to his scalp accentuating his almost brutal masculinity, but the brown eyes studying her face were warm with concern.
“Thank God I was here,” he said fervently. “Do you mind if I sit?”
Chapter Six
J-100 collapsed into a chair at Serena’s nod, ignoring the ominous creak. Now that the episode was over, his knees suddenly felt weak. He had been approaching New Arcadia when he spotted another of the white-faced abominations at the airlock leading into the city. His first thought had been of Serena, but she was the head of GenCon operations on Mars. What if she was behind their presence?
But the nagging sense of urgency had not diminished. He guided Winston into the shadow of the canyon wall.
“Wait here while I investigate.”
Winston made a soft noise that J-100 chose to take as agreement. Leaving the horse and the body of the ranger behind, he made his way along the rocky wall, keeping it between himself and the airlock. New Arcadia had been built in a canyon with a dome spanning the distance between the walls and airlocks at each end. While he had no doubt he could eliminate the abomination guarding the airlock, he was reluctant to reveal himself until he had investigated the situation. Instead, he took advantage of the information the general had provided and headed for a small concealed entrance.
Earth Government had created the back way into the city as a precaution, and he was grateful for their foresight as he slipped inside. The tunnel through the rock pressed against his head and shoulders as he shimmied through it, but he emerged with only a few minor scrapes that immediately began to heal. He noted with satisfaction that GenCon headquarters were directly ahead of him.
He cautiously approached the building, but when he peeked around the corner, another of the abominations stood guard outside the front entrance. This was looking less and less like GenCon was in control, which meant that Serena could be in danger.
Once again rejecting a direct confrontation, he used more of the general’s helpful information to enter through a back entrance to the building. His desire for caution disappeared when he reached the top of the stairs and his enhanced hearing caught the muffled sound of a struggle. He raced into Serena’s office to see another abomination looming over her, her slender body impossibly small next to the much larger male. Any desire for concealment vanished in the desire to protect her.
“Thank God,” he muttered again, looking up to see her sitting behind her desk once more.
She reached for the bottle of water the abomination had threatened her with, and he saw her hand tremble for a moment. But she ignored it and poured them both a glass of water.
What a woman.
Over the past six months he had tried to convince himself that his memory of her had been flawed, her beauty exaggerated. But now that he was close to her, he realized that if anything, he had understated her appeal. The crystalline blue of her eyes, the pale, perfect skin covering her elegant features, the soft pink bow of an unexpectedly lush mouth—she could have been an ancient statue brought to life.
“Are you going to tell me why you’re here?” she asked again.
He took the glass of water while he considered his answer. Every instinct he had hated the idea of lying to her, but there was so much he didn’t know. He settled on a partial truth.
“One of them attacked a ranger yesterday. I saw the fight but I was too late to prevent it from killing him, although not too late to avenge his death. I decided to bring the ranger’s body back to the city.”
>
“They can overpower one of the cyborg rangers?” she asked thoughtfully, her eyes traveling to the fallen body of the abomination.
“In a fair fight, I suspect not, but it had the advantage of surprise.”
“That is… unfortunate.” She looked back at him, blue eyes troubled. “You realize that GenCon intends to use them to control the cyborgs?”
“I heard information to that effect,” he said cautiously, surprised that she was being so open with him.
“Now I wonder where you heard that,” she murmured, but to his relief, she didn’t pursue the question.
“How many of them are there?” he asked.
She studied him again, then lifted a shoulder. The movement caused her torn blouse to shift, and he caught a glimpse of pale cleavage that made his pants suddenly feel too tight. Resolutely ignoring his unruly cock, he forced himself to concentrate on her face.
“Twelve originally.” Once again, she surprised him by responding openly. “Although they’re down to ten now.”
She looked down at the body on the floor and sighed, the expression on her face so desolate that his heart ached for her.
“My bosses are not going to be happy about this development.”
“Is there anything I can do to help?” The question emerged before he had a chance to reconsider, but he didn’t regret the impulse.
“I—”
His sensitive hearing caught the sound of rapidly approaching footsteps. “Someone’s coming.”
He saw her hand tremble again, but she nodded calmly as she opened a desk drawer and pulled out a handful of darts. “I should have thought about these before. I’m not sure if they’ll work, but it’s worth trying.”
“What are they?”
“Paralytic darts. They shut down the nanites in a cyborg’s system. I hope they have the same effect on the hybrids.”
“Stay behind me,” he ordered as he moved to one side of the doors. Rather to his surprise, she silently obeyed.
A big cyborg burst into the room. He appeared to be one of the rangers, but J-100 didn’t hesitate. He fastened his arm around the man’s neck, although he only maintained enough pressure to render the man immobile rather than to actually harm him. A second cyborg appeared and grabbed uselessly at J-100’s arm.
When the second cyborg appeared to realize the futility of his efforts, he started to reach for his gun. Serena stopped him by the simple expedient of pressing one of the paralytic darts to his skin. She really was an amazing woman. He gave her another admiring glance as he obeyed her and released the ranger.
J-100 reluctantly released the Judge at her request, and Serena couldn’t help a feeling of satisfaction at his unquestioning support. Although she would never permit them to see her concern, the cyborg rangers were an intimidating bunch and having her own cyborg on her side was unexpectedly reassuring.
Wyatt, the second ranger, really looked at her for the first time and his eyes widened. Fuck. She had forgotten her disheveled state, and in the drama of the moment, her blouse had gaped open again. J-100 immediately stepped in front of her while she wrapped herself in her jacket and pulled Serena’s usual icy calm back in place.
“What’s going on, Serena?” the Judge demanded when she stepped forward again.
Fighting back the sense of loss that threatened to swamp her, she filled them in on what she knew about GenCon’s plans for the hybrids. As she suspected, both rangers immediately agreed to take action against them. However, since the hybrids appeared to be monitoring communications, they wouldn’t be able to alert the other rangers until they were outside the city.
The Judge decided they needed to obtain more information from one of the hybrids. Before he and Wyatt could execute their somewhat complicated plan to capture one, J-100 looked at her and raised an eyebrow. As soon as she agreed, he nodded and disappeared, the Judge hastily following him.
“Quite an admirer you have there,” Wyatt said teasingly.
She did her best to ignore him, despite that same feeling of satisfaction filling her. Even though she was quite sure J-100 hadn’t told her everything, she liked knowing that he was on her side.
For now, she reminded herself. I can’t depend on him.
Picking up a tablet, she began making a note of the locations for which the hybrids had been intended, but as she did, she considered the possibilities. Even though she knew the hybrids had to be stopped, if there was any way to keep her options open…
In the end, she suggested that Wyatt contact Earth Government. It would divert attention from her by forcing GenCon to deal with the resulting investigation. Hopefully, it would also eliminate the possibility of any additional hybrids being sent to Mars.
As she finished her list, an anomaly in the data caught her attention. Before she could examine it in greater detail, the doors to her office reopened and J-100 threw a hybrid to the floor in front of her desk. Rochester. The spoiled younger son of a wealthy family, he had plotted to assassinate his older brother and take over their company. He had failed, but the brother had been “merciful” enough to send him off to Mars rather than terminate him. She suspected his brother would enjoy seeing him sprawled on the floor with J-100’s boot on his neck.
Unfortunately, Rochester had little more useful information to offer other than confirming that Sheldon, another hybrid, had been able to figure out how to bypass the control chips. He also revealed that Sheldon had gone off in search of a scientist to reverse the process—the same scientist who was married to the Judge. The two men didn’t wait to hear anymore before they raced out of her office.
She suppressed a sigh as they left. While she couldn’t begrudge their urgency and she didn’t wish for any harm to come to the Judge’s wife Addie—and certainly not to their endearing daughter—she was on her own again.
I don’t need them, she reminded herself, then turned her attention to J-100. The big cyborg showed no indication of leaving, his boot still planted on the hybrid’s neck.
“Don’t you want to go with them?” she asked.
“Told you I wasn’t a ranger.” His face softened as he looked at her. “And I’m not going to leave you alone until I’m sure you’re safe.”
Normally she would have scoffed at the idea that she needed protection but she was still feeling a little shaky from the attack. Not that she needed him either, of course—she knew better than that. Under other circumstances she might also have been calculating how to take advantage of his apparent weakness on her behalf, but right now, she simply appreciated his presence. He made her feel safe, and even though she knew it was foolish, she was going to allow herself the indulgence this time.
She looked down at the body on the floor and frowned. Now what?
Chapter Seven
“I assume this is not what GenCon had in mind,” J-100 said, echoing Serena’s thoughts as she contemplated the hybrids.
“No, it’s not. I was told that they were sending a special batch of hybrids who had agreed to take leadership positions at the settlements we’ve been developing.” She indicated the control case. “This was supposed to be capable of controlling them. As you can see, it failed.”
Rochester cackled triumphantly. The sound cut off abruptly as J-100 lowered his boot.
“What do you want to do with this one?”
She was tempted to tell him to eliminate the hybrid, but the faint remnants of her conscience objected. As far as she knew, he hadn’t actually harmed anyone.
“There are titanium holding cells in the lower levels of this building.”
He raised an eyebrow. “Intended for the hybrids—or the rangers?”
Of course they had been intended for the rangers. When she had first arrived, that knowledge hadn’t bothered her but as she had more interactions with them, she had been thankful that it never came to that. She shrugged. “Does it matter now?”
His lips quirked, and she had the sudden desire to see a real smile on that hard face. Ignoring the foolish impuls
e, she focused on the business at hand. “Can you take him there and lock him in? With his… accomplice?”
“I don’t like leaving you alone.”
“If the other two are guarding the entrances to the city, I’ll be fine.” When he hesitated, she did her best to give him her usual cool, commanding look. “Please do as I ask.”
He simply looked back at her until she could feel the heat rising to her cheeks. Dammit. She never blushed. “Please.”
His face softened, then he reached behind him and pulled a small gun from his waistband. “Here. Take this. Lock the doors behind me and shoot anyone who tries to enter.”
“You had a weapon all this time?”
He shrugged. “Old habits die hard.”
“Why didn’t you use it?”
“I didn’t need it.” The smile she had wished for appeared, transforming his face from rugged to devastatingly attractive, but it was the warmth in his eyes that made her heart skip a beat. She found herself smiling back before she could control it. When she reached for the gun, he extended his other hand and gently touched her cheek. “I like seeing you smile.”
“Isn’t that sweet—” Rochester began with a sneer, before J-100 hauled him to his feet and knocked him unconscious.
It happened so fast that she could only stare.
“I was getting tired of him anyway,” J-100 said, flashing her another grin as he threw Rochester over his shoulder. With no apparent difficulty, he gathered up the other hybrid’s body as well and headed for the door.
“Lock the door. Shoot anyone who isn’t me,” he ordered again, and with a reluctant smile, she obeyed.
He returned with astonishing speed. She had barely started her review of the information she had provided the Judge when he knocked quietly on the door.
“They’re safely tucked away,” he assured her as she let him in. “The building is still quiet.”
“That’s good. Most of the staff hadn’t arrived before the hybrids showed up.” Except Alan. They hadn’t been close, but she was going to miss him.
The Outlaw Cyborg (Cyborgs on Mars Book 5) Page 4