The scanner beeped, and a grin split Jinson’s lips. “As you thought, sir. It has the nanites.”
Twerp erupted, “Please don’t hurt me.”
“Fascinating.” He turned the wristband over, examining it from all angles. “I never thought the nanites could become compatible with an AI, especially one with no cybernetic parts. I can’t wait to replicate these results.”
“Put me down,” Twerp said. “Attie, this is exactly why I need to be installed in a mobile unit. I would like to punch this man in the face.”
Surprise washed over the doctor’s features, then a gleam filled his eyes. “An AI that talks back. Interesting. I was furious about losing all my data with the cyborgs, but this little discovery will make everything I’ve worked for worth my sacrifice.”
“Your sacrifice?” Attie spluttered. It was pointless to pretend she knew nothing any longer. “What about the lives of those poor cyborgs? You kept them enslaved! You’re a disgrace to everything Syndicorp stands for. What you’re doing will get out eventually, then you’ll pay.”
“Oh, I think not,” he said smugly. “No man left behind has a different meaning in my line of work. The ship’s auto-destruct sequence has already begun. In fact, we’re running a bit behind.”
Attie’s blood turned to ice. Had he said auto-destruct? Her gaze flew to the ceiling where the emergency lights should be flashing. Why weren’t the sirens blaring? “There are innocent people on board!” she said. “They know nothing of your lab. At least give them a chance to escape!”
But the doctor had turned away, blocking out her words as if she no longer existed. He strapped the band onto his wrist and looked at the guards. “Is my daughter in place?”
“En route to the shuttle bay, sir,” replied the taller one.
“Good. Finish up here, then meet me.” The doctor picked up what looked like a small computer module and moved to the door.
Attie couldn’t believe a monster like the doctor had a daughter, but maybe it meant he could have empathy. “There are lot’s of people’s daughters on board. Think of them.”
But the exit had already closed behind him.
She tried pleading with the guards. “You can’t just allow everyone to die!”
The guards were just as impervious to her pleas, shoving her through one of the nearby unmarked doors.
She landed hard on her hands and knees in a tiny room with nothing in it except a medical chair with dangling restraints. The door shushed closed behind her as she scrambled to her feet and turned. She was alone. She glanced at the chair, then back to the door, which had no visible way to open from the inside. Panic clutched her heart.
No one knew she was here, and even if they did, they’d never reach her in time.
She was going down with the ship.
Chapter 19
Doug picked himself up off the lab floor, the room still spinning around him. He couldn’t recall ever having felt this much pain in his life. Or ever feeling quite as giddy. With the threat of nanite termination gone, Dollard had no more power over him. He had a chance to be with Attie. To be human. If I can escape.
The other cyborgs were stirring and cursing around him. Rust groaned, “What just happened?”
Twobit let out a low whistle, shaking his head in amazement. “I think the doctor tried to terminate us.”
Esben’s veins glowed brightly through his skin as he sat up, rubbing the side of his head. “But we’re still here. Doug’s blocking code worked!”
“Still knocked us on our asses.” Brix was bleeding again, this time from a gash on his chin he must’ve gotten from falling.
Doug might be euphoric about their success, but he also knew the reprieve wouldn’t last. Troopers were undoubtedly mobilizing now. How soon would they get here? He tried checking on Dollard’s activity.
The dampening field might as well have been a steel wall.
What the hell? He pinched the bridge of his nose, telling himself he just needed a few minutes to overcome his dizziness.
Rust picked up the surgical laser Esben had located earlier. “We need weapons if we’re going to fight our way out. How many of these are there?”
While the two cyborgs began pulling everything from the cabinets, Doug put a hand on a nearby computer, hoping direct contact would let him reach the web. “Weapons will be useless if we don’t get out of here.” The ship’s systems pulsed beneath his palm, but he couldn’t push through to touch the heart. “Can anyone get that door open?”
Emilryde and Brix pried at the door. But it was designed to keep even the strongest cyborgs contained. “No.”
“I can try hacking it the old-fashioned way,” Twobit said, sitting in front of the nearest computer. His fingers danced over the keyboard and the door’s security code flowed across the screen.
Doug hadn’t sat in front of a computer to manually hack something for more than a decade, but it was worth a try. He sat in front of another console and began typing. Perhaps he could find Dollard this way. Multiple firewalls forced him down a maze of programming into one dead end after another. The data exchange was hundreds of times slower than he was used to, and frustratingly clumsy. He felt like an infant learning to roll over for the first time.
“Ha! Got it!” Twobit shouted.
Everyone in the room, including Doug, swiveled to face the opening door. He wasn’t used to someone else beating him at hacking, but he also would not complain.
Rust aimed his laser into the empty space. “No one’s there.”
The cyborgs pushed toward the open doorway, filing into the hallway with Rust in the lead. Overhead, the security camera tracked their movement. Was anyone watching them? The door to the security office at the end of the short hallway was closed.
Doug called over his shoulder to Twobit, who had remained behind at the computer. “Open the next door. The one to
