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
