Fuck this, Rust said. If I’m going down, I’m taking the whole lab with me.
Hold on, Doug insisted. We’re too valuable to terminate without downloading our data. Wait until one of us is brought out for a hardline so we can be sure to hit Dollard first.
I need to get Tia and the baby out, Esben said.
I wish I could send a message to my daughter, said Benjy.
Perhaps giving the cyborgs something else to do would keep Rust in line a bit longer. Doug transmitted the algorithm he used to bypass the dampening fields. This will let you access the galactic web. Get your affairs in order if you can.
Holy shit, said Twobit. Have you been able to do this all along?
Rust’s laughter crackled across the connection. Fucking awesome.
Suddenly, the security shield in the doorway of Doug’s cell disappeared.
“Come out. We’re doing diagnostics,” Dollard commanded.
Oh fuck, Twobit said.
Doug wasn’t surprised. He was the most advanced module. It made sense he’d be the first download. He moved robotically toward the exam table. Four guards held weapons at the ready. The last time pulse weapons had been used in the lab, a lot of data had been destroyed and Dollard had been livid. Doug knew these guards had been instructed to hold off firing unless someone was in direct danger.
That meant Doug had to make his first attack count.
Wait until I take down Dollard to move, he instructed the other cyborgs as he approached the exam table with forced calmness. He needed to be close enough to take out Dollard before the guards fired.
But Dollard backed up, gesturing to the hardline. “Jack yourself in.”
Doug regarded the wire and thought about saying no. Forcing Dollard to come do it himself. But if he showed any resistance, Dollard could have him shot, then plug in and retrieve most of the data before Doug’s nanites became inert. He had to bide his time.
Reclining on the exam table, he blocked as many of his circuits as possible with firewalls. It wouldn’t stop the download, but it would slow it down and force Dollard to investigate. Doug picked up the end of the hardline and plugged it into his skull port.
Surface data began flowing almost painfully fast from his processors into the storage device.
Dollard entered a few keystrokes, scowling at his monitor. “You’re throttling the flow. Drop your firewalls.”
Needing him to move closer, Doug rolled his head back and forth as if uncomfortable. “I believe there is an issue with my port. Raymond made some adjustments yesterday before he left.”
“I should’ve known.” Dollard made a disgusted noise. “Just continue the upload while I get a replacement part.”
Doug refused to give Dollard anything important, so opened a section with data he knew the lab already had on file while he waited for the doctor to get the replacement part from a nearby cabinet.
Then a familiar voice entered his head. Greetings.
Doug stiffened, recognizing the source of the connection from the heart chip he’d given Attie. Twerp?
Attie asked me to contact you.
Dollard had turned back with the replacement part. He did a double take as his gaze fell on the computer. Stepping toward the monitor, he let the replacement part tumble from his grasp and tapped a command on the keyboard. “Where is that transmission coming from?”
In a panic, Doug yanked the hardline from his skull and sat up. But it was too late; Dollard had seen the communication and was already attempting to trace it—which would lead him directly to Attie.
Oblivious to what was happening, Twerp continued, I have made alterations to the nanites that should allow you to block the termination code. Installation will require a full reboot.
Doug barely had time to consider what that meant as the guards aimed pulse rifles at him. It was now or never. He lunged for Dollard just as Twerp’s new program flooded his processors. Instead of rising from the exam table, Doug collapsed onto the floor, suddenly unable to control his legs. What the…
Face turning ashen, Dollard snatched up the portable drive as the other cyborgs burst from their cells. He dashed past the guards toward the exit.
Doug watched helplessly from the floor as Dollard touched the biometric panel to open the door. He knew Dollard would start termination the moment he was out of the lab. The cyborgs had less than a minute to live. Unless Twerp’s code works.
In a surge, he sent the code to the other cyborgs. Install this and reboot. Quickly. Rebooting would take them offline for precious seconds and render them helpless, but they were out of options.
The moment he initiated a reboot, his cybernetic eye, both legs, one arm, and his heart froze. Unable to move, he watched the guards back toward the door, guns out as they protected Dollard and the retreating techs. Three of the four men reached the exit, but the fourth had backed into one of the desks.
Dollard didn’t wait. He hit the biometric panel on the other side.
“Sir!” the guard shouted, reaching the door just as it shut. He spun to face the incoming cyborgs.
The other cyborgs had all frozen in mid-stride, but Doug recognized they were installing Twerp’s programming. All of them except Rust.
He barreled forward, absorbing two pulse blasts like they were mere inconveniences. He ripped the weapon from the guard’s grip and snapped the guy’s neck in one decisive motion. With a roar, he attacked the closed door, pounding it with both fists hard enough to dent the metal.
One by one, Doug’s cybernetics began coming back online. His renewed heartbeat made his chest ache, and the air burned his lungs, but he was alive. He couldn’t be certain Twerp’s program would protect them, but at this point, they had nothing to lose. He shouted, “Rust, do the
