Eric had to force his jaw to unclench before he could speak. His definition of irrational was a hell of a lot different than Evil Brad’s. He made himself speak calmly. The massive effort it took surprised him.
“Do you have a level of access to Evelyn 489’s files that I don’t have?”
“Yes, but I released access to all her files to Dr. Kyra Winters upon my conversion. If you wish, I can remove all holds on any files you have security access to read.”
Eric watched Brad carry out his command with unfailing precision, copying everything while still continuing to read new data as it appeared. His instincts started pinging again.
“Did you get a processor upgrade during your last maintenance check?”
“Maintenance made some adjustments that allow my processor to work five times faster than before. It is not flagged in my record as an upgrade. It is listed as a necessary repair. My proficiency level for most activities has increased by eighty-seven point four percent.”
Eric narrowed his gaze, studying Brad’s profile. His emotional investment in the investigation of Evelyn 489 hadn’t thrown him that much off his game. He’d bet one of those adjustments involved a brand new processor Kyra didn’t know about.
“I found a locked file attached to Evelyn 489’s official cyborg record. Any idea how I can open it? I tried all the access keys you gave me when we looked into Seetha Harrington’s disappearance. None of them are working on this particular file.”
Eric stared hard at the man when Brad finished reading and turned to him. Brad just shrugged.
“The lock on the file is layered. It prevents you from seeing the data within the file, but also from knowing its exact location on other databases. Her more detailed cybernetic records were moved after her second conversion.”
“Moved? Where? I mean… to what other databases?” Eric demanded, getting specific. His anger flared and his face grew hot when Brad lifted one shoulder. His anger at the uncaring man was destroying his normally cool head. Guess his level of emotional investment in Evelyn 489 was higher than he realized.
“Most female cyborgs were moved into the Cyber Wife program. Evelyn 489 was contracted to Dr. Channing. He did her programming himself after she was placed in his care. As I explained before, she was selected because of her expendable status. It was assumed she would be turned in for destruction after Dr. Channing released her from the contract.”
Eric spoke through nearly gritted teeth. “Yes. You’ve said that twice already and I’ve heard you both times. But Dr. Channing didn’t do all of Evelyn 489’s programming. I distinctly heard you inform Dr. Winters that you were the one who programmed her to kill Jackson Channing.”
Brad didn’t even flinch at the accusation, but he refrained from shrugging again. Eric figured he was projecting his pissed off vibes pretty strongly, no matter how hard he fought not to show he was upset.
“I have data recall about making the comment to Dr. Winters, but in actuality the claim was not entirely true.”
Eric glared. “Not entirely true? Are you admitting you lied when you were bragging to Dr. Winters about your cybernetic accomplishments?”
“No. I did not directly lie to Dr. Winters. I did program Evelyn 489’s military chip to have her kill her contracted husband. However, my programming pointed to her Cyber Wife contract for her target, not to a specific person. In the strictest sense of your accusation, I suppose I did lie to Evelyn 489. Her restoration is an impossible task. While she logically understands this to be a cyber science fact, her human side had not given up hope at that specific moment in time. Her mental state made her amenable to agreeing to receive the additional programming.”
Eric curled his fingers into his palm. It was all he could do to keep from plowing a fist into Evil Brad’s face. “Well, here’s a true statement for you, Dr. Smith. Your confession has pissed me off. Besides the Cyber Wife database, where else is Evelyn 489’s data stored? Tell me now.”
“Information I once considered critical is stored in my private files. I kept records to protect myself from those who threatened to seek my death if I revealed what I had done. Evelyn 489’s records are what the military would refer to as strategic leverage.”
Eric leaned back in the chair. It was nothing Peyton and Kyra hadn’t imagined Evil Brad capable of being involved in, but having it confirmed was still an eye-opening experience. He didn’t have to ask who was behind the work. They already knew how corrupt the United Council of Nations was when it came to cyborgs.
“Brad, I need you to give me immediate access to any and all files about Evelyn 489. That’s an order. You are programmed to obey me.”
He was amazed as he watched Brad frown and turn back to face the monitor before stopping to stare off across the room.
“No,” Brad said finally.
At the flat refusal, Eric’s blood pressure shot up unchecked. He straightened in his chair, preparing instantly for battle.
“No? That’s not the right answer, Brad. I am definitely going to seek your death myself in the next ten seconds if you don’t deliver every piece of data you have on Evelyn 489 and all those other female cyborgs to my private com. I will be looking for the same level of detail in all forty-two files that you’ve demonstrated exists about Evelyn 489. Produce it… now.”
Brad turned to face him again and started blinking rapidly. Eric saw his eyelids flutter, opening and closing. One eye twitched. It was like watching someone have a seizure. A flashing blip appeared in his gaze as his pupils widened. Then suddenly whatever was happening simply smoothed away. It left behind a nodding, very solemn cyborg who turned calmly back to his keyboard, not looking at him as he responded.
“My apologies, Eric 754. I have self-corrected my programming malfunction. I will now deliver all files to you as requested. Is there any piece of data on Evelyn 489 that you would like me to flag for immediate attention?”
Eric snorted, still mad about being told no in the first place and more concerned than ever about whether or not he was getting to the truth. Apparently, Brad’s hearing needed to be checked. He knew damn well what Eric had been searching for.
“Yes. I want the file with Evelyn 489’s real name flagged.”
“Would you like to receive that information first?”
Eric narrowed his eyes. Was Evil Brad trying to cover up his breakthrough blip by pretending to be super accommodating? Just because Kyra had throttled some of his urges, the truly evil soul who had tortured Rachel was apparently still living inside the body of the male in front of him.
“Yes, Brad. I would like the one with Evelyn 489’s real name first.”
A file he’d never seen before instantly appeared on his com screen. Eric perused the data anxiously, breathing out slowly when he saw PENNINGTON in giant letters across the top. The female captain’s service record and her personal history were finally accounted for.
In the first few paragraphs, he read about her husband committing suicide during the first year she was serving in the war. Few details about the incident were available, but he noted the suicide pre-dated her original cybernetic conversion by only three brief months. Why in the world had the military allowed a career female officer to make such a life-altering decision when she had been obviously grief-stricken and emotionally compromised?
Eric sighed over a past he couldn’t affect. “I don’t know why they did what they did to you, but welcome back Lucille Evelyn Pennington.”
When he finally moved his attention away from the fascinating information, Eric shook his head because Brad had left the room without informing him of his departure. His throat rumbled in even deeper frustration. If he didn’t find files on the rest of those female cyborgs in his personal database shortly, Evil Brad was going to need a second cyborg conversion after Eric got through with him.
Turning his attention back to Captain Pennington’s file, Eric promised himself to speak with Kyra about the anomalies he’d observed today. Evil Brad’s behavior was too odd
and too rebellious to ignore. Somehow the man was sidestepping Kyra’s programming. Kyra would need to find out why.
Eric stared at the com, re-reading the information in the file. He had more important things to do than tattle on Evil Brad. First and foremost, he had a promise to keep.
***
“My apologies, Corporal Anderson, but you are not authorized to see Evelyn 489 alone. Captain Elliott was very specific on the matter. No one goes in unaccompanied. We even use two guard bots to deliver her food. Before we electrified the cage, she would often reach through the bars and try to dismantle the units.”
Since Lucy had to deal with guard bots most of the time, Peyton had made sure she was guarded by humans on the outside of the facility. But human guards didn’t come easy or cheap these days. And what you got was a lot of kids like this one.
Eric eyed the green recruit with the fresh military haircut. He could tell he intimidated the younger man. The kid’s defensive tone matched his nervous stench about having to argue with a functioning and obviously sentient cyborg, not to mention a man who in his mind outranked him. The military the kid had probably dreamed of joining was now disbanded. All new service was tied to global security, which meant recruits like the one trying to stare him down, worked for the UCN. Eric found it impossible to be properly empathetic. The best he could do was be polite.
“Is Evelyn 489 a prisoner, Private?”
“No, Corporal Anderson. She is in medical detention. We don’t refer to this location as a prison.”
Eric tightened his mouth as he nodded once. “Good. And Captain Elliott does have me listed as a Code 7 Cleared visitor for Evelyn 489, doesn’t he?”
“Yes, Corporal Anderson. According to our records you have received proper clearance, but… ”
Eric waved a hand to shut the kid up. He didn’t have time to argue all day. “Look, I understand you’re just doing your job, but I’m asking you to show some compassion in this one circumstance. I just need to utter two small sentences to her, and then I’ll leave. It will take me less than five minutes. I swear.”
“But… Captain Elliott was very clear on not letting anyone in to see her. That includes you… My apologies again, Corporal Anderson.”
Eric sighed. “The female you’re holding in medical detention is not just the cyborg known as Evelyn 489. She is Captain Lucille Evelyn Pennington of the former US Army. I know her name, and now you know it, but Captain Pennington doesn’t know it, Private. She hasn’t known her real name in years. Now I intend to deliver the information to her in person and I intend to do it today. We owe Captain Pennington at least that much dignity in exchange for her service during the war.”
The guard heaved out a frustrated, guilt-ridden sigh even as he glared. Eric gave the kid points for maintaining control and not yelling at him to get the hell away before calling him in.
“Alright. Five minutes. You’ll be on an open com the entire time. I can send the guard bot in with you in case Evelyn 489—”
“Captain Pennington—” Eric corrected.
The guard nodded. “Fine—in case Captain Pennington is in one of her more destructive moods today and decides to try to kill you. If that proves to be the case, you’re to immediately leave her detention area. If you resist leaving, the guard will be programmed to forcefully remove you.”
Eric grinned, mostly because he’d gotten his way. Like he’d ever let a guard bot do that.
“Don’t worry about Captain Pennington’s mood, Private. She’ll be glad to see me once she knows why I’ve come.”
Chapter 2
There was a ten minute wait while the guard bot was called out of his restorative cycle and back into service. Proper logging of the reason took another five. By the time he was cleared to enter, Eric was tense with impatience.
He trailed behind the guard bot moving slowly down three sets of stairs until they were at some old admin level of the bomb shelter. It took several more minutes and several more sets of steps to reach the electrified cage on the bottom floor of the underground facility.
Once again a small tornado had ripped through the furnishings inside it. Once useful items, like tables and chairs, now sagged brokenly against walls. A roughly disheveled woman paced in the remaining space as she mumbled lines of code almost silently to herself.
Eric would have liked to have recorded her recitations for Kyra’s study, but Lucy’s wild gaze swinging his way removed all normal thoughts from his mind. Once again he felt like someone was squeezing his brain. He shook his head and fought to focus his gaze. Her image wavered as his eyes blurred.
“If you don’t want to star in my personal porno again today, get the hell out of my head,” Eric ordered, relaxing when the pressure behind his eyes eased immediately.
He watched a very frustrated woman kick her metal cot and send it rolling against the bars keeping her constrained. He wasn’t used to seeing angry females with cyborg strength. Her enormous capacity for destruction was enough to put any man on edge.
When the guard bot lifted his weapon and took aim at her, Eric reached out a hand and pushed the weapon up until it pointed at the ceiling.
“Stand down,” he ordered sharply, glaring at the guard bot.
Then he turned to Captain Lucille Evelyn Pennington and glared at her too. “Can’t you be cooperative for the three seconds it will take to hear your real name?”
“No,” she said flatly, turning back to the wall. “Go away.”
His stomach somersaulted when Lucy Pennington turned her back to him and covered her face. He knew it was to hide her tears. Her ragged sigh as she pushed back her emotional outburst had him frowning. Now what was he supposed to do?
“But I thought you wanted the information. You have that book and I… well hell. I’ve been looking for it ever since.”
“That curiosity was a momentary weakness I regret. I don’t want to know now and it won’t help me. Trust me and just go away,” she replied coldly.
Eric sighed. “But… I… damn it, Lucy. Shit, I didn’t mean to be disrespectful.”
He hadn’t meant to call her the name he’d called her in his head while he’d searched for her real history. He ran a restless hand through his hair. “I thought you’d feel liberated to know your real identity had been discovered. You’re definitely an Army Captain. We’re not just guessing anymore.”
Her gaze swung back to him in both shock and alarm. “Stop talking. I’m not interested. Just leave and don’t say anything else. My instincts are telling me not to listen and I trust them more than I trust you. So don’t make me harm you, Eric 754. Get the hell out of my sight.”
Eric shook his head. She was the one being harmed. She was the one in the cage. He was determined to help change that situation. Why the hell did she call him by his cybernetic name? She knew who he really was. Was she trying to put emotional distance between them? Well, he hadn’t let Marcus do it. He for damn sure wasn’t going to let her get by with it.
“You have a right to know your human identity and I’m sorry it took me so long to discover it. You’ve had some secret conversions done on your cybernetics. Someone has been hiding your files in a high security database. As soon as I pass the information I found along to Kyra, she and Nero can start to find a way to help you. The information I discovered was detailed about your situation.”
He knew better than to mention Evil Brad had been the one hiding the information. Even the mention of Dr. Bradley Smith set her off. Too late, Eric remembered that Lucy could read his mind. Before he could swear at his lapse, Eric heard her scream. Seconds later she was clapping hands over her ears. Her obvious physical pain jarred him into stepping back a little to assess the situation.
At his retreat, the guard bot pointed his weapon at Lucy again. Eric shook his head, irritated with the insensitive treatment she was receiving from both him and the bot. He turned and glared at the unfeeling machine.
“Unit 4906, you are to stand down. Lower your weapon to the floor a
nd don’t raise it again unless I order you to. The woman is in pain, not going into damn attack mode.”
Eric took a step closer to the cage. He was no professional head shrinker, but he thought he knew what was best in at least this one case.
“Look—I just need to say this and then I’ll leave you alone. Your name is Captain Lucille Evelyn Pennington.”
Eric swore richly as all hell broke loose in the cell. Lucy literally went nova, screaming insanely as she completely lost her shit. First the bed came flying at the bars, which were all that saved him from finding it wrapped around him. Metal sizzled against metal as it hit the current. It was followed by all the other furniture she could get her hands on. Most of it also sizzling as it hit the bars.
Eric 754 Page 2
