One of his monster-guards exited and returned a few seconds later with Dakota in shackles. The monster-guard forced her to her knees next to the others.
“I don’t belong here,” Max said. “I’m not part of his crew. I hate the fucker.”
“Is that true?” Matthias asked.
The rest of Jer’s crew nodded.
Jer rolled his eyes. “Selfish bastard,” he said.
“Damn straight,” Max said. “Now let me the fuck out of here. You all got yourself into this mess. Have fun getting out.”
“’Shame,” Matthias said and gestured for Max to be escorted back out. “I was actually looking forward to hurting him.”
“Before you go through with this,” Jer began, “I’d like to know one thing. If you’ll grant me one thing.”
“Fine. The more cooperative you are, the better. Ask away,” Matthias offered.
“I’ve already asked,” Jer said. “I want to know how you’ve survived this long.”
Matthias chortled. “I’m a symbiote,” he explained.
“You’re a parasite,” Jer said.
“No,” Matthias said. “I can’t occupy a host who isn’t willing. You’d be surprised how many are willing to sacrifice in the name of the cause.”
“The cause of becoming like the humans and subjugating them as they’ve done to you,” Jer said. “How noble.”
“You have no idea what you’re talking about, Doctor Bennington,” Matthias said. “We’re retaking our rightful place, and it’s all possible because of your friend, Jasper.”
“This isn’t what he was trying to accomplish,” Jer said. “Jasper wanted peace. He wanted to find a way that humans and monsters could live together without fear. He wanted to use science to make that possible. His discovery is not meant for bloodshed. It deserves better.”
“Lovely sentiment. Truly. But his discovery has been repurposed,” Matthias said. “Now choose!”
“I’m not doing it,” Jer said.
“You will do it, or I’ll kill all three of them,” Matthias warned. “Then, the choice won’t be between them and the other half of the formula. It’ll be which one dies first.”
“You’re a madman.”
“Madmonster,” Matthias corrected. “I dare you to test my resolve.”
“I’m not going through with it,” Jer said. “You’ll slaughter countless innocent people. There’s got to be a better way.”
Matthias strode behind Dakota, Damiana, and Evangeline. He ran a hand through their hair, one at a time.
“What a waste of beauty,” he said. “Damiana and Evangeline will have honored positions in the new world if you choose wisely. Dakota will be spared, as will you. All you have to do is tell me the other half of the formula.”
“It’s not just a matter of giving you a few lines of formula,” Jer said. “The second I give you the other half, I’m the one pulling the trigger, igniting the spark of war. Do you have any idea how many innocent lives will be lost on both sides?”
“I’m keenly aware,” Matthias said. “As I’ve made abundantly clear, it’s a necessary price.”
Jer shook his head. He was at his wit’s end with no clever tricks up his sleeve. He was not going to talk his way out of this one. He looked to Damiana.
They shared a look of understanding that she was wrong about Matthias. He was no savior.
Jer looked to Evangeline. He wanted a better life for her. It wasn’t fair to her that his actions had put her in this position. He knew he couldn’t live with the guilt of her death on his hands.
He looked to Dakota. To Jer’s surprise, her eyes didn’t show regret like the others did. The overhead fluorescent bulb in Matthias’s private lair flickered light down directly into Dakota’s face, illuminating her eyes.
That’s when Jer finally saw it. How could he have missed it? Her pupils didn’t dilate under the light. They were cold and firm. She hadn’t flinched once despite all they’d been through in a short time.
Jer thought back to when Dakota was in shock after the explosion at the Nurses’ Home. She wasn’t in shock he realized now. Her system was fritzing. She was spitting out random data to try and calibrate. Dakota tilted her head slightly as she spotted the look of recognition in Jer’s face.
Jer glanced back at Evangeline.
“Did you know too?” he asked.
Evangeline nodded and shrugged with raised eyebrows. “You took a liking to her,” she said. “What was the harm? Besides, it was kind of obvious. She’s practically tailor made to fit you.”
“In what way?” Jer asked.
An involuntary laugh escaped Evangeline. “Dakota’s interested in understanding monsters like you are,” she said. “She’s basically working for free like you are, she sympathizes with monsters the same as you can’t help but do, and she’s not interested in possessing you—in the same way as Damiana, Mira, and me. What more could they have done to build your ideal match?”
Jer blinked in disbelief. He’d been duped twice in one day. He was a pawn. If he could find a way out of this, he was going to get his justice one way or another.
“Was anything you’ve said real?” he asked Dakota.
“All of it,” she answered. “There’s a common misconception that Synths…we hate that name, by the way…continue to be the summation of our lines of code. That’s the furthest thing from the truth. Yes, we’re born fully grown. But once we’re awake, everything we feel, everything we experience, everything we learn, and everything we choose is our own. It’s all been real.”
“But why?” Jer asked.
Dakota looked to Matthias.
“Him,” she answered.
Jer glared at Matthias. “You’re the worst monsterkind has to offer. They deserve a better leader.”
Matthias didn’t defend himself. He didn’t even make eye contact with Jer. He was preoccupied staring at Dakota with dread on his face. Something she’d said had alarmed him.
“Answer me!” Jer demanded, not yet noticing that the power dynamic had shifted.
“Shut up,” Matthias snapped at Jer.
“Don’t tell him what to do,” Dakota said to Matthias. “He’s my human. And this is my family, not yours. They barely know me, and they’ve each put themselves at risk for each other, for others, and for me. They don’t belong to you, Matthias. You’re nothing but another tyrant.”
“What the fuck is happening?” Jer asked.
Dakota turned her eyes back on him.
“I’m sorry, Doctor Bennington,” she said. “You’re right. They used your personal desires and preferences when they built my personality and legend, so you would be easily seduced. The plan all along has been to use you to get to Matthias. Knowing that the two halves of the formula would inevitably lead back to one another.”
“To what end?” Jer asked.
“To find Matthias once and for all,” Dakota answered. “He’s been a ghost for centuries. Every time GenAdvance has been on the cusp of capturing him and ending his violent revolution, he’s slipped out of their grasp. And now we know why. He’s a symbiote.”
“This was all a setup to get me to bring you to him?” Jer asked. “It’s because you knew they’d let me in, a psychiatrist who helps monsters, isn’t it?”
Dakota nodded. “Sorry to deceive you, but it was necessary,” she said.
“She’s a ticker,” Matthias said. “Do you realize how many monsters are in the underground? Do you know how many children are down here? She’s about to commit the single largest act of genocide in history!”
“Is that true?” Jer asked Dakota.
“It was,” she answered. “But that’s all changed now.”
“What do you want?!?” Matthias snapped.
“The formula, of course,” Dakota answered. “Both halves. Like me, my mission has evolved. Destroying Matthias and the formula is no longer enough. I’m going to bring them into GenAdvance.”
“How could you do this?” Jer asked.
Dakota frowned, disappointment flashing across her face. “I’m making a choice,” she said. “I choose not to destroy the underground. That was part of the original mission. Instead, I choose to bring in Matthias and the full formula myself. My directive allows for improvisation. The knowledge that he’s a symbiote changes the equation. I can choose between destroying the underground and eliminating him here at great cost, or I can bring him in, so they can study him and prevent others like him from rising to power in the future. At the same time, perhaps the formula will be of use.”
“And you want the formula in exchange for not blowing the underground to smithereens is the formula?” Jer asked.
Dakota nodded. “Mm-hmm,” she said and held out her wrists in the direction of Matthias.
The shackles dangled and clanged against each other.
Matthias hesitated at first, until Dakota stared daggers at him, daring him to test her. He then moved in close and unshackled her.
“Them too,” she demanded.
Matthias unshackled Damiana and Evangeline. He then stepped back.
“I’ll need your half now, if you don’t mind,” Dakota said.
Matthias pressed his right palm to a scanner on the surface of a small safe. After it opened, he snatched a miniature sphinx statue from inside and placed it onto his desk.
The sphinx was almost identical to the real one in Egypt. One detail was different, though. The face was not that of a pharaoh or human of any kind. It had fangs, cat eyes, and horns.
“The real one was a monument to my father. The crown built it in honor of his pledge of loyalty. The humans left it in place but defaced the head to remind us of our defeat,” Matthias scowled. “They physically erased our legacy.”
He removed the head and places it to the side. His right hand reached in and pulled out a scroll of paper. With reluctance, he handed it over to Dakota.
She opened the scroll. A beam of light emitted from her eyes as she scanned it, confirming that she was a Synth. She then held the parchment over a candle on the side of the desk, burning the physical copy of the first half of Jasper’s formula.
“Now your half,” she said as she turned to Jer.
“What are you going to do with it?” he asked.
“That’s not your concern,” Dakota said. “But if you don’t give it up, I will trigger my internal self-destruct sequence, and all the monsters you care for will die.”
“You’re heartless,” Jer said.
“Technically, yes,” Dakota scoffed. “But take comfort that I’m choosing not to end this in destruction. Not yet anyway. I’m sparing the underground so that you’ll give me the formula.”
“How do I know you’ll follow through?” Jer asked.
“You don’t,” Dakota admitted. “But you’re playing with house money. Your only leverage is the formula inside your head. And you have a desire. You wish for the monsters underground in Sheol to be spared. They will be. My directive is to capture Matthias, destroy the formula if it can’t be acquired, and I have no limitations. If you give me the formula, I’ve accomplished my mission and then some. Thus, I can afford to spare the monsters. If you don’t give it up, it makes no difference. GenAdvance is fine with the destruction of the formula if it means the destruction of the monster revolution and Matthias as well.”
“Whoever programmed you,” Jer began, “they input too many game theory and prisoner dilemma scenarios in your head. We should sit down and have a session about that at some point.”
Dakota chuckled with grin on one side of her mouth. “I’m going to miss your sense of humor,” she confessed. “Among other things.” She let her eyes roam down and steal a quick glance at Jer’s loins.
“I choose to believe that you’re more than a weapon,” Jer said. “I choose to believe that you’ll do what’s right when the moment comes.”
He then stepped forward and reached for Dakota’s left palm. He pressed his right index finger to her skin and slowly began drawing geometrical shapes and numbers. To his surprise, goosebumps spread along Dakota’s skin. Perhaps her feelings were real and not part of her mission.
“There,” Jer said as he let go of her hand. “All yours.”
“I need to merge them to make sure,” Dakota said. A quick three seconds passed. “All good, it checks out. I’ll be taking my leave now.”
“Just like that?” Jer asked. “And leave all these monsters to the mercy of GenAdvance?”
“They were already in that position,” Dakota said. “Choosing to spare them clears me of any guilt that my programming might burden me with. What happens to them in the hereafter, however, is not my concern. That is on you. Besides, you didn’t even want to use the formula to help them.”
“Not as a weapon,” Jer said.
“A weapon is the only thing GenAdvance will respect,” Dakota said. “Now, if you don’t mind, I need to deliver Matthias and the formula to the boss.”
“Jakoff?” Jer asked.
Dakota nodded, and her eyes flashed as if she was having a moment of self-awareness.
But Jer knew better. It was an illusion, all built into her programming. It could never be truly proven if a Synth was self-aware or not.
“You were never a person of interest in Jasper’s death,” Dakota explained. “You were the key to getting back what belongs to the company.”
“Just because I refuse to allow it to be used as a weapon doesn’t mean the formula can’t somehow help the monsters,” Jer said. “Don’t give it to him. There’s a chance it can be used to find a path to better relations between monsters and humans.”
“I’m waiting,” Dakota said.
“For what?” Jer asked.
“For something other than a platitude,” Dakota replied. “I deal in absolutes, Doctor Bennington. Give me a concrete way that the formula can be anything other than a weapon, and I’ll consider whether it makes sense and benefits me. Otherwise, I’ll be doing as instructed and benefit a great deal.”
“I’d say it was nice knowing you, but…” Jer said, letting his words drift off.
Dakota harrumphed, slightly annoyed at the jab.
“Well,” she said, “I guess that just about does it, and I’m only sparing you because of how enthusiastic and desirous you were in the sack, so…perhaps it was nice for you, despite what you’re willing to admit now.” She smirked. “Hope we get a chance to go another round.”
Dakota smashed the sample vial and strode out with a grin on her face as she shoved Matthias forward and past his helpless monster-guards.
She didn’t even flash a weapon. Since she was a ticking timebomb, there was no need. She had full control of the situation and no need whatsoever to play nice anymore. One wrong move, and she went off.
“Let her pass,” Matthias ordered. “Or we all die.”
A swarm of Matthias’s monster-guards parted as Dakota left the others behind and entered the tunnel that led out of the underground with her captive in tow.
She did, however, look over her shoulder one more time and blew one last kiss at Jer.
He didn’t return the gesture, just glared at her.
“I’m going to be the one needing a shit ton of therapy after all of this,” Jer said under his breath and sauntered to the door.
20
Resistance Begins
Outside Matthias’s lair, his followers stared at Jer and his crew of misfits in disbelief and confusion. The followers had likely been promised that this was the moment their revolution would turn the tide. Instead, their fearless leader had been escorted right past them by a Synth, and he gave no resistance. They’d lost before the fight had even begun.
Matthias’s monsters glared at Max and Jer, but when they saw Damiana and Evangeline, they eased up and let them pass.
Jer wanted to inform them that his crew wasn’t in on the ploy to capture Matthias, but that they were used as pawns to make it happen. Doing so, however, would mean sharing more about what had happened than he was comforta
ble with, and the events that had transpired were only going to invite unwanted questions and arouse suspicion. He decided to avoid them for the moment.
A pair of monster-guards unlocked a steel door at the end of a long corridor. Jer and the others exited, uneasy the whole time, waiting for Matthias’s followers to take out their frustration on them. Rather than face an emotional violent reaction at the loss of their leader, the monster-guards and revolutionaries stepped back as the steel door sealed between them and Jer’s crew with a thud.
For the moment, Jer’s misfits were free from their temporary captivity but without a chance in Hell at getting closer to the truth and winning this fight. More defeated than ever, Jer started to move out in front of the others, thinking that maybe he should just go his own way. He was beginning to worry that he’d caused more harm than good.
The battle was already lost in his mind. It was over. GenAdvance had both halves of the formula, Matthias turned out to be a madmonster, and Dakota betrayed them.
What was the point of resisting anymore? The enemy had the upper hand.
He could maybe take a shot at starting over in a different containment center. There was a chance he could be allowed to provide therapy that helped monsters adjust to the new reality of total and complete control and subjugation. At the very least, he needed to get as far away from Jakoff and his minions as possible. He’d had enough conflict for one lifetime.
Jer just wanted to help monsters find their best selves. He was finding it increasingly difficult, however, to even make a dent with a war waging both above and beneath the surface.
“You’re giving up, aren’t you?” Evangeline asked Jer.
Jer wheeled around. “Didn’t think there was even an option at this point,” he said.
“Never thought I’d see the day,” Max said.
“Fuck off, Max,” Jer snapped. “I did my best. And we lost. The sooner we move on, the better we’ll recover from this. First stage is denial. Then anger. Then bargaining. Then depression. Then acceptance and recovery. I’m skipping the first four and going straight to acceptance. We’ve lost. It’s over. We’re fucked. Time to accept that we were outmaneuvered and move on.”
Monster M.D.: A Monster Girl Harem Mystery Thriller (Monster M.D. ) Page 17
