Vivian turned away, hoping to find someone who would listen to her. She knew that the one scientist who had passed her earlier had heard her when she screamed for help. There was no way he could have not.
Vivian didn't need to be here. She shouldn't have been sent here. Just in the wrong place at the wrong time.
Staring across the hall to the other cell, she found two male cyborgs having sex. One male cyborg braced his hands on the bars while the other one slid his long cock in and out of the other's asshole. Even from across the hall, she heard the smacking sounds, and it turned her stomach.
Since the guards did nothing, it was then that Vivian realized that they wanted the cyborgs to kill each other to force their own extinction. If anything happened to her, it would be murder, not retirement or whatever else the scientists had called it.
When she heard the exam room door open, Vivian wasted no time in letting her captors know that they had the wrong person.
"Please, help me!" She stretched her hands through the bars as the one dark-skinned officer, who had approached her on more than one occasion for sex, pulled an older model cyborg down the hallway.
Vivian knew where that cyborg was going. If the Federation wanted them saved, they were taken down another hall for reprogramming. Those who had failed the test came right back down the main hallway to the killing room. That's what they all named it because they knew what they did in that room. The scientists and officers all called it the immobilization room. They could pretty up the name if they wanted to, if it helped them sleep at night. Vivian knew better.
Another officer came to their cell and opened the door. "Mary 01TBS997Z." He scanned the room.
Vivian glanced at the trio still having sex. She noticed the female cyborg trying to look at the officer. She was probably Mary but right now, Vivian had to be her. She needed a way out and this had to be it.
"Yes, sir. I'm ready." Vivian padded to the officer.
Without question, he pulled her from cell and yanked her down the hall to the room with the quiet scientist. Vivian thought of him as the quiet scientist because every time he walked down the hall, he didn't say much. He always kept his head down, barely even talking to his colleagues.
The one time the man did lift his face, Vivian found something so compassionate in his cold blue eyes. She just hoped that compassion translated to other areas, mainly in dealing with her and her plight.
"Next cyborg, Doc." The officer shoved Vivian in the room and directed her to sit in a chair across from the stoic doctor.
The man glanced down at a small device in his hands then back up at her. "Wrong cyborg." He shook his head.
"How can you tell, Dr. Wiit? You can't see shit behind that mess of hair she has in her face," the officer snickered behind Vivian.
After being captured, Vivian allowed her thick, long curly hair to cover her face. At times, the protective veil let her shut out what was happening around her.
Vivian sat down when her heart pounded out of control. "I'm the one you should see right now."
Ignoring her, the doctor continued talking to the guard. "See. This is what she should look like." He flipped the device around and showed a picture of the cyborg that was busy with two other male cyborgs. "She's not as tall as this one and the real Mary is pale, not as dark as this one."
"Please don't turn me away. I need to talk to you. I need help." She extended her hands across the table to touch him, but he pulled back.
"Sorry, Dr. Wiit. She spoke up when I asked for the other cyborg." The guard grabbed her arm again, rougher this time, as though punishing her for the lie. "I'll take her back and get the other one. I'm sure that'll be a quick interview anyway. The real Mary was fucking her brains out."
"They usually are." Dr. Wiit shook his head and set down his device.
"Wait, please don't send me back there. I need help. I'm not one of them. You have to believe me." Vivian held onto the table as the officer tried pulling her away.
After staring at her for a while, Dr. Wiit shrugged. "One interview is as good as the next." He glanced at the officer. "Leave her."
The guard let her go and stood by the doorway.
Vivian, although relieved to be interviewed, had a new fear wash over her. If she didn't say the right things, give the right answers that this Dr. Wiit wanted to hear, she would be making that long trip down the wrong hall.
"What's your name?" Dr. Wiit began without even looking at her.
"My name is Vivian Yarbeck. My family and I live on the outskirts of—"
The doctor held up his hand. "Wait. Let's start this again." He picked up his device. "What's your name?"
"Vivian Yarbeck." She slowed her speech in case her motor-mouth rant had confused the doctor when she answered before.
He glanced at her, then started punching keys. "You should have a cyborg name. Usually something with numbers and letters in your surname."
"That's what I've been trying to tell you and anyone else who will listen to me." She lowered her voiced so that only he could hear her. "I'm not a cyborg."
Chapter Two
Vivian watched the doctor stare at her for a moment as though he was trying to discern the truth from her.
Dr. Wiit dropped his gaze on the small screen of the device he held. "No Vivian at all in the list of cyborgs captured or in the system." He shook his head. "If she's behind bars, she has to be registered." He continued clicking away at his device, occasionally glancing up at her as though trying to see her face to compare it with images on his screen. "I'm going to give you one more chance to tell me the truth. Tell me your real cyborg name and surname, and this will go a lot easier and smoother."
"I'm telling you the truth. My name is Vivian Yarbeck. I'm not one of these cyborgs. I was captured in a sweep a couple of weeks ago, but I'm not one of them. You have to believe me." Vivian wrung her hands together.
"Officer Bortum, will you get me the master file from the main office?" Dr. Wiit pointed to the door.
"Sir, I shouldn't leave you with an interview subject alone. I can have another officer replace me or I can return her to her cell."
Dr. Wiit regarded at her as though assessing the danger level, then returned his attention to the officer. "I should be fine for the short time it'll take you to go down the hall to retrieve what I need. Besides, I have a gun on me and sedatives. If she gets out of hand, I can subdue her."
Vivian swallowed hard.
The officer bowed his head. "Yes, sir." Then he walked out of the room.
"Thank you for believing in me. I wouldn't hurt you." Vivian shook her head.
Diving into his jacket pocket, he pulled out a small handgun and set it on the table in front of him. "If you try anything, I will take defensive action."
Vivian's body trembled as she kept her gaze on the weapon. She nodded.
"While we wait, you want to tell me your story?" He clicked on a recorder. "How old do you think you are?"
She hated the way he phrased the question. "I am twenty-five years old. If your goons hadn't burned down my home, I could have shown you my birth certificate."
"Of course. Your birth certificate burned in a fire along with other records that could prove who you are, right? Go on. Other than the obvious, did you do anything else to occupy your time like employement or education?"
Vivian took a deep breath before answering. "I'm not proud to say this, but my family owned an establishment designed for pleasure." Vivian couldn't look at this distinguished man of science.
"A whorehouse." His blunt statement brought her attention to him. "Let's call it what it is. So your family runs a flesh factory. You all pimped out these sex cyborgs for money."
"It's not as basic as that. Our establishment was sanctioned by the government." Vivian looked at the recorder and wondered just how much she should say.
"Why am I not surprised? So where was your business?"
"Mars. My parents were close friends with Dr. Lars Urlean. Did you know him?"
"Only by reputation." Dr. Wiit glared at her. "I'm nothing like him."
"Good to know. He wasn't one of my favorites who came to the house. And I always wondered why the man had such wonderful teeth but—"
"But looked so old?" Dr. Wiit asked, interrupting her.
"Yes!" She nodded.
Seeing Dr. Wiit smile gave her a warm feeling throughout her body. Behind his bushy beard hid a man with a sense of humor.
She wasn't sure if it was the beard but he looked big—tall, but not imposing. His shoulders were wide and his hands were large, but something about him seemed gentle, not timid.
"So your family got a favor thrown at them by the sleazy doctor so he would have a place outside of town to continue his illicit activities." Dr. Wiit brought them back to reality.
Vivian nodded. "He gave us sexbots. My parents charged a premium to soldiers and, um, other scientists looking for discretion to have sex with them. When the raid came down, the officer took away all of the cyborgs they suspected were Urlean's creations."
"Were you having sex at the time?" Dr. Wiit asked.
The question brought back the heat to her chest and face.
He continued. "It just doesn't make any sense that you would be captured otherwise."
Vivian gritted her teeth. "I was not having sex, Doctor."
"So how did you get caught in the sweep?"
Vivian took a deep breath. "The guards came into the establishment. They grabbed everyone they thought were cyborgs. I told them I wasn't one but they wouldn't listen to me. My parents fought to get me back during the raid, including Papa grabbing his gun."
Vivian didn't have to continue the story. From the way Dr. Wiit looked at her, she could tell he knew that the Federation officers were all trained to shoot to kill at any opposition. Her parents didn't have a chance.
"So how did you manage to be incarcerated for two weeks?" Dr. Wiit crossed his arms over his chest.
Vivian shrugged. "No one would listen to me. I even called out to you to help me and you ignored me."
"I've learned to tune out what goes on in the cells," he said without apology. "There's only so much sex and depravity you can endure before you become dulled to it all."
"You're lucky. I get hit with it every day. It was bad enough it was my parents' livelihood. Now I'm contained here with these things day in and day out. And no one will listen to me. I scream for help every day."
Dr. Wiit sprang to his feet. At his height, he moved around with great agility. "Let's just see what your tat says."
Vivian didn't move. She glanced at the gun he left on the table. It could have been so easy to grab it and demand her freedom. But she refrained. He would see from his examination that she was not a cyborg. Truth would give Vivian her salvation.
Dr. Wiit grabbed a handful of her thick, dark hair and lifted it off of her neck. "Not a wig," he mumbled. "No tattoo."
"I told you."
"If you are who you say you are, then you know that the latest versions of cyborgs aren't as easy to detect." Dr. Wiit walked back over to his spot. He picked up his gun as he cut glances at her. Without a word, he secured the weapon into his jacket pocket.
"I'm not a cyborg. You have to believe me."
"Cerillion soldiers break into your home," Dr. Wiit began.
Vivian released a long breath in exasperation. He still didn't believe her after his check. What would she have to do to prove she was telling the truth?
He continued. "One threatens to rape you."
"I would do whatever I could to protect myself. If I had a stick, I would jam it in his eye. If I had a knife, I would stab him in his heart. If I had a gun," she stared pointedly at him, "I would shoot. I'm not a cyborg and I'm not a whore."
"Good, appropriate answer. I’m thinking that you'll say or do just about anything to keep from being immobilized."
"I'm telling you the truth."
"You're telling me your truth. Big difference."
"Why won't you believe me? I'm still a virgin."
"I don't know about that. But you are a fighter and we need some of those." Dr. Wiit walked over to a cabinet next to the door.
"Fine. I'll fight. Just let me go. I don't belong here."
He pulled out something flat that looked like a portable screen and strolled back to her. "One way to find out." He grabbed her left arm and slammed it on the table.
"What are you doing?" She tried yanking her arm back but Dr. Wiit had a firm hold on her.
"Checking your skeletal structure. If you are who you say you are, then your skeleton will be bone. If not, it'll be titanium…like I think it will be." He clicked on the device, lighting the screen.
Vivian felt sweat rolling down between her shoulder blades. The more she tried wrenching her arm back, the tighter he held onto her. Before he hovered the screen over her bare arm, the door of the exam room crashed open.
"Dr. Luc has been attacked." The officer pulled his facemask down like he was going into battle. "A cyborg assaulted him and secured Dr. Luc's weapon. We need you two to stay here until the situation has been controlled."
Dr. Wiit nodded. As soon as the door closed, he didn't stop his examination, something that surprised Vivian. If she was a cyborg, she could have attacked Dr. Wiit just like the other cyborg.
"Let's see what's going on here." Dr. Wiit waved the screen over her arm.
"Don't do this. You're not going to like what you see." Vivian balled her hand into a fist and tried pulling her arm away from him.
"By gods." Dr. Wiit dropped the screen onto the table and stumbled away from her. "Bones. I saw bones, no titanium. You're human."
Chapter Three
"I told you," Vivian said.
The only thing Noah heard were the alarms screeching outside the exam room. Even through his pain and his occasional haze, Noah's instincts had never failed him. If he couldn't tell cyborgs apart from humans anymore, he had no purpose.
The jokes the other scientists had said about him were starting to ring true. No one took him seriously, and if he turned Vivian over to the Federation, it would further prove to them that he couldn't cut it in his job. But he wasn't the one who captured her in the sweep. The government would have to take that into consideration, right?
He paced the room as the ramifications of what faced him and the Federation sat before him. They had captured and incarcerated, for over two weeks, a human woman they mistook for a cyborg. Heads would roll.
Surely there would be questions. No doubt there would be an inquiry. Noah would be tested to make sure he wasn't under the influence of some drug at the time. Having his life probed was the last thing he wanted. With only a month left on this assignment, he wanted to finish out his task without incident and with a shred of his dignity intact.
"By gods." He ran his fingers through his shaggy hair, then scratched in his beard. "I can't believe this."
"You can't believe it? I've been living this hell for two weeks." Vivian started to stand, but as soon as Noah brought his attention to her she resumed her seat.
"No, please stand." When she stood, Noah realized that she might have been too tired to stand. "No, sit."
She lowered herself onto the chair again.
"No, stand if you want." He started to pace again as sweat dampened the hair on his forehead. "What am I going to do?"
"Nothing. There's nothing to do." Vivian crossed her long legs.
As much as Noah fought it, he couldn't help but stare at her toned limbs. Even with the paper shoes covering her feet and the long smock over her body, her body looked sexy to him. If she didn't have that mane of hair covering her face, he would have been able to judge her beauty as well.
It was the first time he felt something for one of these cyborgs. But, she wasn't a cyborg. And she didn't look like the other cyborgs—at least, not the traditional ones. Other cyborgs wanted humans to see their faces, judge them, want them. Their sexy expressions were their calling cards. Without it, the
y would get no sex.
Maybe he should have listened to his instincts when she first walked in with her head down. And when he felt something other than disgust, that should have tipped him off as well.
"You could sue us." He stared at her. "You would have every right." And she could get a premium penny for this huge blunder.
"I have no interest in suing you or the government or the Federation. I just want to go home."
"Home? Home to what?" Noah felt his heart stop. "By gods, your house." He recalled her entire story. "Your parents." He nearly dropped to his knees when he thought about the Federation soldiers killing her parents in their business, no matter how deplorable their work was.
Vivian became quiet. The thought must have hit her now that she had no house, no one to go home to or to protect her.
Noah collected his recorder and other device and shoved them into his pockets. "You have to go. I'll take you back to the cell."
Vivian bolted to her feet. "I'm not going back into that cell again. I'll—I'll—I'll kill you and everyone here if that happens."
Noah forgot about her killer instinct. Cyborg or human, she was right. Life in those cells was hell. She didn't deserve to return there.
He grabbed her arm, then loosened his grip. "You would have every right to take my life and anyone else's if you wanted. I don't know what I would have done in your situation."
For the first time in several years, a stranger needed Noah's help and he didn't want to run away from that call. He couldn't ignore the gnawing pit in his stomach that he would let this woman down, too.
"I don't know what to do with you. I can't take you to the reprogramming room. And you have no home."
"I can't stay here. What other place is available? Where else can I go?" She held onto his hand like he was her only salvation.
He pulled her to the door. "You can come home with me until I figure out what to do with you."
"No!" She pulled her arm out of his grip. "I don't know you. I don't want to go home with you. I just want to go back to Earth."
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