With a gentle hand, he closed the man’s eyes. Another senseless death. But he vowed this one was not going to be in vain.
He took another glance at the white-faced stranger, remembering what the general had told him. This must have been one of GenCon’s attempts to reproduce cyborg technology. Everything about it screamed abomination, but he had to respect its power. The general had not thought that the program was so far along—and if he had been wrong about that, what else had he been wrong about?
And why was the abomination here, so far away from New Arcadia and GenCon headquarters? He looked over at the crater wall, at the machines busily building into the rock, creating another city. A city that this abomination was created to rule?
Looking back down at the ranger, he decided the man deserved more than to be abandoned here alone on the desert floor. He would take him back to New Arcadia. In doing so, perhaps he would also be able to discover if more of the abominations existed.
He stood, then reached down to gather up the ranger. Once more, the horse came between them.
“I’m going to take him home,” he said quietly, then wondered why he was talking to an animal.
The horse gave him another one of those apparently speculative looks, then bowed his head and moved back. Hmm. If he could understand that much… While J-100 could carry the ranger, it was a long trip.
“Will you carry him?” he asked.
Of course the horse did not respond, but he moved closer, then stood patiently as J-100 carefully placed the ranger across his back. Then J-100 put his hand on the mane of flexible tubing, and together the two of them began the long trek towards the city.
The shadows lengthened as they walked, and when night fell, he considered stopping but neither he nor the horse would be impacted by the freezing nighttime temperatures, and an unexpected sense of urgency was driving him onward.
“I’m not going to stop,” he said. “I have the feeling that we need to get to New Arcadia as soon as possible.”
The horse broke into a trot, and J-100 gave a surprised laugh before increasing his pace to keep up.
“I swear you can understand everything I say. It reminds me of a quote I read once by a great leader about listening as a form of courage. What do you think of the name Winston?”
Winston briefly turned his head in J-100’s direction, then tossed his mane and resumed his rapid pace. J-100 took that as acceptance.
By the time the pale Martian sun started to wash the rocks with gold, they were almost at the city.
Chapter Five
As always, Serena was behind her desk before the sun rose, but today she had been driven as much by a feeling of restlessness as her usual dedication to her job. She looked up as her office doors were flung wide and Alan appeared in the opening, his face worried.
“Excuse me, Ms. Gatling, but I think something is wrong.”
She raised her eyebrows. Her bodyguards were usually unflappable. “What is it?”
“Four of the new hybrids are here in New Arcadia.”
Fuck. Not long after Carrington had arrived, he had kidnapped a baby and been shot in the subsequent rescue attempt. She had warned the company about his mental instability—although not about the assistance she had provided to the cyborg rangers who had rescued him. Despite that, GenCon had sent twelve more hybrids to Mars on the last transport.
Eight of them had been assigned to the new outposts that the corporation had been preparing in secret. The other four had been delivered to the nearby hidden city prepared for the wealthy—or formerly wealthy—men who were both clients and experiments. Desperate enough to pass on most of their fortune in return for leaving Earth, this new batch had been equipped with control chips in order to prevent any further “unfortunate incidents.” Unlocking her desk, she reached for the case containing the command panel for the chips.
The crack of a shot sent her gaze flying back to the open doors in time to see Alan collapse to the floor, blood pooling beneath his body. One of the hybrids stood over him, his white face locked into an expressionless mask. She recognized Evans, an embezzler who had used the millions of credits stolen from his victims to fund his way to Mars and away from prison.
And now he’s gone from white-collar criminal to cold-blooded murderer, she thought, sickened at the sight of Alan’s lifeless body.
“You will no longer require the services of a bodyguard, Ms. Gatling,” Evans said, his excited voice at odds with the eerie stillness of his face. “We wouldn’t dream of letting anything happen to such a valuable GenCon executive.”
She tried to ease her hand surreptitiously towards the control case but he laughed and shook his head. “Don’t bother. Those chips you implanted in our heads—without our consent I might add—are no longer active.”
Double fuck. Long practice kept her face and voice calm. “I see. What do you intend to do now?”
“Eliminate the cyborgs and take control, of course, just as GenCon intended. Although I’m afraid they will be playing a much less significant part than they had planned.” He laughed again, the hysterical edge sending shivers down her spine. “Now, you be a good girl and remain here while I clean up this mess. I will be back shortly to provide you with a list of demands for you to convey to your employer.”
The doors closed behind him before she could respond. Her hands were trembling, she realized as she reached for the useless case. It had been many, many years since that happened. She had to make a decision. Follow the hybrid’s instructions and wait quietly until he returned, and then try and negotiate on behalf of GenCon? Or do everything in her power to stop the hybrids?
She knew her employer would expect her to negotiate. If they ever found out
