Marcus 582: Book Three of Cyborgs: Mankind Redefined (11 page)

“Yes,” Kyra said. “Yes, we have. I never take a minute for granted. When I think of all we’ve been through…well, I don’t allow myself to think of it really. I just try to enjoy having someone in my life who knows how to hug me.”

“I also make a mean cup of tea,” Peyton whispered.

“Yes, you do, and that would be wonderful. But we’re in a hurry. Don’t use the teakettle. We’ll do that tomorrow morning. Right now I need the booster before Eric and Marcus get here.”

“Okay. Let’s go get you some brain nourishment.” Peyton slid her off his lap, but didn’t want to let her go. His enjoyment of Kyra never lessened and was the primary reason he kept hold of her hand. “Come to the kitchen and keep me company.”

Kyra nodded in agreement and smiled at his hand tugging on hers as they walked through the house.

***

It had taken a scant fifteen minutes spent with Eric and Marcus to shatter her current paradigm that some good was coming from her work. She got up from the table and walked to lean against the com workstation in her lab.

Around every turn was another horror story being written in the cyborg creator code she helped develop. Were these new customizable men part of the unstoppable cybernetic future Dan Masters had warned William and Peyton was already happening? She knew without a doubt some invisible puppeteer was operating strings those men probably didn’t know they had now.

Sighing, she looked back at Eric who was more solemn than she’d ever seen him be.

“How many of them did you find?”

“Thirty-one,” Eric said, watching Kyra’s jaw tighten. “All code monkeys…I mean, software programmers. It’s been going on for several years. There was a rash of them initially. Now a new one gets discreetly registered every two or three months. The only reason they’re in the main cyborg database is because of the physical enhancements. If all they got were neural implants, they’d only be listed in the socially modified database.”

Kyra nodded. “Yes—you’re right. However, being listed in the socially modified database would guarantee they couldn’t hold high profile jobs at trillion dollar corporations or work for the government.”

Marcus huffed. “You mean they couldn’t work for places like Norton.”

Kyra nodded again. “Yes—exactly. It doesn’t surprise me that we’ve overlooked them in our work. Out of fifteen hundred existing cyborgs, we’ve only been focused on those in captivity. If what you suspect is true in every case, they’re all running around and living like the rest of us.”

Peyton sat at the end of the conference table they had added to her lab. It was the one place they could for sure talk without fear of being monitored. Nero and a host of others had made sure of it. He had been grateful for it many times. It allowed them to speak freely, a rare capacity in their highly monitored lives.

“Several centuries ago, guys took steroids and worked their asses off in gyms to get those sorts of bodies. Science hadn’t progressed to pulse technology back then. Other than their conversions being done illegally, and seemingly without a creator, have these guys broken any real laws? Or put anyone in danger?”

Marcus firmed his mouth, but shook his head. Nathan’s very existence bothered him, but he couldn’t say the kid had done anything illegal. “The one we found that brought all this to light works at Norton. He was having coffee with Rachel. I sort of followed them and listened in.”

“Translation—Marcus was stalking Rachel as usual,” Eric supplied.

“Good thing I was or we’d never have known about him, now would we?” Ignoring Eric’s smirk, Marcus fixed his gaze on Peyton. “The guy went on and on about rogue cyborgs and how he thought the government should control them all. Rachel got fed up with his extreme bias against cyborgs and left him sitting at the table. My dumb jealous ass had smartass here investigate him because his conversation didn’t sit well with me.”

“Ha! I knew you were jealous.”

“Shut up, Eric,” Marcus ordered, sending a glare Eric’s way before continuing. “When the Nathan guy popped as a cyborg, I didn’t know what to think. He didn’t talk like one. I’ve been following him around just to see what he does in his normal life. It was all very typical, except for his visit to a sex club over on Johnson and Limestone. I didn’t go in to watch. He was there three hours and came out looking much happier. The rest of his social life centered around visiting a gamer store and taking in the latest horror vid. All pretty typical for a geek…I mean, a smart kid like he seems to be.”

Kyra’s gaze went back and forth between Eric and Marcus. “We can keep an eye on them, but there’s really nothing to report to the world. If they’re volunteering for their conversions, and it seems like they are, then we don’t have any super cyber crimes going on with them. We could argue their conversions themselves are illegal, but I’d hate to bring that up with all the other things we need to pursue.”

“Even if the first guy who had it done now has muscles bigger than King’s?” Eric asked.

Kyra let out a breath and nodded. “Yes. Even then. Who’s the one at Norton?”

“Nathan 180, also known as Nathan Blanton,” Marcus said. “Kyra, what’s going to happen to those guys if the pulses aren’t throttled back like ours are?”

“The same thing that would happen to any man producing too much testosterone. He’d develop aggressive tendencies he’d have trouble keeping in check. In seeking an outlet for those, his heart would eventually explode from even moderate exertion after having been asked to over-perform for years. Getting such a hormonal adjustment done at twenty-five, I’d guess the first guy is just about due to hit some kind of testosterone wall. If a six-month newbie is visiting sex clubs already, the first one probably has a woman chained in his basement…or a guy. Sorry, I’m thinking too hetero.”

Peyton decided they were getting nowhere with their speculation. “Send me a list of the ones you’ve identified, Eric. I’d like to look over it. If someone is making black-market cyborgs, we’re going to want to shut the process down eventually. We can’t change the fates of the first few who got converted. Only the last few have a chance to get it reversed—depending on how badly they were hacked.”

Eric nodded. “Sure. I’ll capture it tomorrow. I need to work on that new project you gave me today anyway.” His comment drew a nod from Peyton. He’d probably start his search on Evelyn’s real name from home later. Nero had helped him set up a top of the line portable that sleekly connected to Norton without being constantly monitored.

Marcus squirmed in his chair. “If it’s alright, I’m going to keep an eye on the cyborg geek guy working at Norton. His interest in Rachel still bothers me.”

Kyra snorted. “Marcus, has Rachel told you much about what Brad did to her?”

Marcus shook his head. “No. I’m not sure I want to hear either. I figure what’s happened to us both is in the past and doesn’t matter.”

“That’s a healthy sentiment, and wise in most cases, so I’ll skip the goriest of the details. However, here’s something you do need to consider. Brad liked being in control of her. If Rachel—whom he renamed Gloria—didn’t call in to him every hour, he wirelessly shocked her as punishment. I’m surprised she’s tolerated your constant surveillance as long as she has. It has to remind her of what she’s escaped from. You were supposed to stop monitoring her months ago.”

Marcus rubbed his head. “I know. I’m not really monitoring her. I’m just protecting her.”

“From what? All of life?” Kyra demanded. “Rachel has already started lying to you just to have some time to herself. How many more ways does she need to rebel before you realize your protection is doing more harm than good?”

“Fine,” Marcus said. “I’ll back off some. I didn’t know about what he did to her.”

Kyra crossed her arms. “You also need to know that Rachel has more pressing problems to deal with than some guy’s unrequited crush on her.”

“I know, Doc. I heard her processor is dying,” Marcus reported, ignoring Eric’s warning glare.

Kyra nodded. “Yes. She’s in a dangerous place right now. We never let cyborgs get into her condition because of the risk of brain damage if the processor shorts out before it’s replaced.”

“
Brain damage?
Shit. Have you told her that?” Marcus demanded.

Kyra shrugged. “Yes and I tried to tell her again today. She isn’t listening. I’m hoping Seetha has better luck getting her attention tomorrow. But if Rachel’s listening to your advice now, I suggest you try talking to her. Seetha said her last resonance adjustments only held for one day. The device in her throat is fine. It’s the sync with her cybernetics that’s failing. Rachel’s stammering is a sure sign her processor is getting worse.”

“Okay. I’ll talk to her tonight.”

Kyra hung her head. “I’m sorry to add to your worries. I just haven’t been able to bring myself to force Rachel to let me replace it. The last thing I want is to proceed without her permission, but I can’t let anything happen to her. So I understand your dilemma—I really do. Caring about someone who’s got a lot of damage is never an easy thing. But I’ve found it’s always worth it in the end to do what is necessary.”

Marcus swallowed hard and nodded as he stood. There was a tic in his jaw that wouldn’t go away. The last thing he wanted was to make Rachel angry with him again, but he had no choice. “We just finally got together. I can’t let anything happen to her now.”

Kyra nodded and rubbed his arm as he walked by her. She had a soft spot for all of Peyton’s men, but Marcus’s suffering had always tugged hardest on her heart. After Eric and Marcus left, she walked to her husband and folded herself into his arms, trying her best not to cry.

“That exchange with Marcus certainly explains why your day was so shitty,” Peyton said softly, rubbing her back.

Kyra sniffed against his chest and nodded. “Rachel is choosing to believe it’s only about speaking well or not speaking at all. She’s too innocent about cybernetics to understand getting a new processor is about saving her life too. I had to send Brad away from me twice today. Evelyn is not the only one constantly wishing he was dead.”

Peyton nodded and pulled his bloodthirsty wife closer. “How much is the new processor going to change her?”

Kyra closed her eyes. “More than she wants it to. That’s the problem.”

Chapter 8

Rachel slid the napkins beside the plates, and then placed silverware carefully on them. It was the first time she’d invited people to dinner since she moved into the Norton provided apartment. Well, not counting the few times she’d reluctantly fed Marcus. Thinking of him, she walked to her bedroom just in time to see him step out of the bathroom.

In the streaming light from her solar window, she could clearly see the writing on his prosthetic arm. Written in some fancy ancient script, it was still legible as a solitary promise to remain true to himself. Considering what Marcus had done to his body, including the sacrifice of an original arm and both legs, it was the height of irony that he’d chosen to place it where he couldn’t help seeing it every day.

His body had become a familiar landscape in the last week. She had no idea about the origins of his other tats, except for the design across his lower stomach, which partially hid a long jagged scar. That tat was pretty self-explanatory. The haunted look on his face when she’d asked about it last night had stopped her from pressing him too hard. But he’d told her anyway.

Hearing he’d been captured and tortured had temporarily driven desire from her. Kissing her way across the mark until Marcus had sighed out her name in gratitude had thankfully brought lust roaring back to life. She could barely tolerate thinking about her own emotional issues. Sharing Marcus’s pain was almost too much.

Walking over to him, she ran a hand down the front of him to grip the towel twisted at his waist. His gaze lit with a very masculine dare for her to act. The silent exchange made her smile. All the months she had spent talking to him mostly through body language had been unknowingly training them to be very attentive lovers to each other. Not to mention his sheer pleasure in pleasing her was the most wonderful thing she’d ever experienced in her life.

She yanked playfully on the towel. “Tempt…t…ting…but we…don’t…have…t...t…time.”

When she let go, his sudden firm grip on her chin kept her in place. His fierce gaze reminded her that underneath the shine of their new relationship, Marcus was still the same bossy cyborg who’d never stopped monitoring her.

“Rachel…the stammering is getting worse. You need to get your processor upgraded.”

Rachel swallowed with difficulty as she nodded. Her throat was tight. It hurt badly to talk, but she didn’t want to ruin the evening with her problems.

When they came home from work, Marcus had plied her with blissful sex until she had been too sated to refuse to listen to his “replace it” campaign. He’d wasted his efforts lecturing her about for an hour, but she hadn’t bothered wasting her own to communicate it back to him.

Tomorrow she would deal with the decision she knew she had to make. Tonight Edward was coming to dinner. She was looking forward to her new friend getting a real chance to visit with the man she might actually be falling in love with.