"Nanobots. Enjoy it." Velex grins and turns back to Kazimir just as a shuriken flies by and slices through is right thigh. Dark blood soaks through his boxers and drips down to the sidewalk."
"You're bleeding." Kazimir says.
"Really? Of all the times it decides to start again, it chooses now?" Velex ignores the blood and dodges out of the path of another shuriken. He picks up one of them and sends it right back into the shoulder of one of the men. He lunges at one of the men and kicks his legs out from under him then punches him in the face. He spins around to meet another man who swings at him with a metal street sign. With a quick dodge and a powerful kick to the throat, the man falls to the ground where the nanobots continue eating away at his skin.
Just as Velex holds up his hand to shoot out more nanobots, his chest feels heavy and he struggles to take a breath. Something isn't right. He feels lightheaded and weak and his chest is tight as his lungs burn with the need for oxygen. Dropping to the ground, he clutches his chest while the men rush him.
Kazimir runs up and hits two of the men who had tried to attack Velex again. "What's wrong with you? Getting too old for this?"
"I . . . I think I'm having a heart attack."
He claps his hands together and sends out a spike of purple dark matter that shoots through the group of men. "Your heart must be freaking out after starting up again." Kazimir sends three more spikes of dark matter at the thugs, impaling two of them through the chest. "Blood is rushing back to your brain that had been working solely on nanobots and your programs."
Velex is on his hands and knees as his vision begins to fade. "What . . . about you?"
"I have an artificial heart like Zach so it's not affecting me as much. Just lie there and let your body shut down. I'll finish these guys off."
"You'll let me die?"
"We were going to restart you anyway. Hurry up and die!" Kazimir says as the picks up the street sign and throws it like a discus which slices through the neck of the large man, decapitating him with one strike.
Velex collapses to the ground and he can only watch as Kazimir's dark matter spears through the stomachs of the last two thugs who cry out and fall lifeless in the middle of the street. People scream and run off. He shakily holds up his hand and reaches out for Kazimir as he gasps for air. "Help . . . me."
Kazimir's dark matter dissipates and he wipes the sweat from his face on his arm. "Let go, Axel. Stop fighting. You can't win. You'll be okay. Just let yourself die."
7
Katarina says goodbye to Master Director Samuels before following Jarred into the laboratory where Zach, Blice, and Zerachiel look up from their work. There's someone else here who catches her eye as well. He wears a tan trench coat of the Inquisition, a mask covering most of his face, and sunglasses. Even through the sunglasses, Katarina can tell their eyes meet and stay locked on each other from across the room. Who is this stranger?
Zach drops the pieces of the project he is assembling and runs up to embrace Katarina. "You're alive!"
Blice lands on her shoulder. "Kat, thank God. How did you two get out? You were declared dead."
She glances cautiously at Jarred. What are they supposed to tell them? She hadn't even thought about formulating a lie. What had Samuels told the other inquisitors?
"We were taken as slaves by Nymphs and the Inquisition intercepted their ship." Jarred says, looking all too content with his quick thinking and nearly legendary silver tongue. "But we have to remain hidden from everyone else. Samuels helped us get here. So for all intents and purposes, we are still dead."
"Velex and Kazimir will be returning shortly from their meeting with Dressler. I'm sure they'll be thrilled to see you two." Blice says. "Come sit down and I'll get you something to drink. Are you hungry? I'm sure you haven't had much to eat lately."
"Yes, please. Anything would be wonderful." Katarina says as she sits at the table and watches Zach get back to work.
Zerachiel reaches into his pocket and pulls out a necklace with a bullet hanging from it. He hands it to Jarred. "This belongs to you."
Jarred slips it over his head and holds it close to his heart. "Thank you. You don't know how much this means to me. This is like my wedding ring."
"I know. Kazimir told us all about how you and Jayce exchanged the bullets you removed from each other after getting shot. It's strangely romantic."
The man with the mask moves his sunglasses up on top of his head then comes up to Katarina and takes her hand. He bows and gently kisses it. "Well, look at you. You have the most entrancing purple eyes."
"Oh, hello. My name is Katarina Williams."
He looks her over and smiles. "Detective Icarus Bronze. I'm Velex's son. Pleased to meet you. It's not every day that I get to meet such a beautiful woman."
"Charming. I'm actually not interested, sorry."
Icarus looks a bit hurt. "Oh. Forgive me."
"I just lost my husband and I'm not ready to be with anyone else. So . . . I didn't know Velex had a son."
"Yeah. I just met him."
The longer she is around this Icarus Bronze man, the more she feels both comfortable and strange. "You know, you remind me of Doss."
"I get that a lot, but I don't even know who he was." Icarus says.
"Sorry. I think it's your voice. But I guess that makes sense. Doss was made to be like Kazimir who is your father's cousin."
"That must be it." He looks at her chest. "A rosary? Are you religious?"
"My husband was. This is the only thing they found intact after he crashed."
"And your husband was Doss, right?"
She holds the rosary tightly in her hand. "Yes. I'm sure you've heard about him."
"A bit. People around here seem to hold him in high regard despite his . . . reputation."
"He was a good man and he sacrificed himself for everyone. They will try to label him as a traitor, but he was anything other than that."
"You really loved him, didn't you?" Icarus asks.
"The truth is that Doss was the only man I've ever truly loved. What we had was short-lived, but beautiful. I know I'll never be able to have that kind of love with anyone else so what's the point in trying anymore?"
Icarus takes her hand and looks into her eyes. "Kat . . ."
Jarred joins them at the table. "I'm this little lady's owner. The name's Jarred Cunningham."
They shake hands. "Cunningham? Your father wouldn't happen to be Inquisitor Garret Cunningham?"
"That was his name."
"Oh. I'm sorry." Icarus says.
"It's fine."
"And he was Byron Erikson's son, right?"
Jarred sighs and rubs his eyes. "Yes."
"You have my condolences for your loss. It must be hard."
He looks over the stranger with studious eyes. "You . . . you are an interesting person, Bronze."
"Call me Icarus."
"What a strange name." Jarred says plainly.
"My mother was interested in Greek mythology."
"And archons?"
"Why would you say that?" Icarus asks.
"I don't know. A man with wings? He flew too close to the sun then fell."
Icarus crosses his arms and smiles. "What are you insinuating, Jarred?"
"What do you think I'm insinuating, Icarus? Does the number eight have any importance to you?"
He shrugs his shoulders. "Maybe it does, maybe it doesn't."
"It would be a shame if things just caught on fire."
"Fire? Are you going insane?"
Jarred raises an eyebrow and leans closer to him. "No. At least, I don't think so. Usually when I find someone working undercover, it's a lot more convincing."
"I'm not undercover."
"Do we need to go talk in the other room alone?"
Icarus glances around and stands. "I think we might need to go talk alone."
"Okay." Jarred follows him out of the room down one of the side hallways.
Katarina is left alone with her cup of tea that Zer
achiel was kind enough to bring her and many confusing questions in her mind. What just happened?
Zach gasps and the screwdriver falls from his hands to clank on the metal floor. He holds his head and coughs a few times. The color drains from his face.
"Zach? Are you okay?" Zerachiel asks.
"I don't know. I feel lightheaded and the room is spinning. I'm gonna go lie down for a bit."
"Do you want some tea?" Zerachiel asks.
"No. I don't want anything. Just leave me alone. Something's not right." He stumbles out of the room.
"Zerachiel, what do you think is wrong with him?"
He pours himself another cup of tea and sits next to her. His jade wings sparkle in the fluorescent lights. "No telling. It's concerning the way it came on so sudden."
"What about Jarred and Icarus?" Katarina asks. "What were they talking about?"
"If you don't know, then you don't need to know. Now that events have been changing rapidly, I'm sure things will be revealed to you in time. At times like this, it is best to remain focused and calm. Worrying about things will never lead to anything good. Remember that."
"I guess you have a point. You're really wise."
"Just focused." He says with a smile. "You'd be surprised what you can learn if you just pay attention more. It is always better to watch the world pass by rather than to be an active part in the chaos. If you watch others make mistakes, then you will be less inclined to make those same mistakes yourself."
"That makes sense."
The front door slides open. "Zach! Get that table cleaned off and hook him up to the computer."
Katarina gasps as she watches Kazimir carry Velex inside the laboratory with blood trailing across the floor. As soon as Zerachiel has pushed the papers and spare parts off of the table, he helps place the lifeless Velex on it and grabs the cables from the computer to secure them to Velex.
"What happened?" Blice asks.
"Someone made all the T.I.M.E.s bleed again. Blood rushed back into his brain and his heart couldn't take it. He's dead."
"Oh my God."
"Don't worry." Kazimir says. "If we can get him rebooted soon enough, then there will be minimal data lost."
"Data?"
"Velex's system hasn't been restarted in over a hundred years. I don't know what that kind of time could have done to his programs. Then the weird thing is that Velex and I were able to use our nanobots in the streets. Something must be messed up with the crystallized dark matter that usually keeps it nullified." Kazimir looks around. "Zach? Where's Zach?"
"Lying down." Katarina says as she tries to find something she can do to help the situation. "He started feeling bad a few minutes ago. He said he felt lightheaded and dizzy."
"Go check on him for me. It must be the same stuff Velex is dealing with. Even I'm having some issues but Zach hasn't dealt with it before."
Zach shuffles into the main room as he smoothes his sweat-slicked blonde hair and pulls on his red beanie. He looks pale and his hands are shaking. "Am I dying?"
"No, but Velex is. Drink some water, eat something right quick, then get over here so we can get Velex's system running again." Kazimir begins working on the computer and checking Velex's vital signs. "So, what is Katarina doing here? Where's Jarred?"
"Samuels brought them by." Blice says. "We have to keep them hidden until the whole Nymph thing dies down."
Zach looks confused as he nibbles on some crackers. "Why would that have anything to do with them?"
"Ask Jarred. Let's just say it's a good thing that Velex is unconscious."
* * *
Jayce is still here, bound to the cold metal table. According to the clock in his mind, he's been here for eighteen hours. Not much is happening anymore. While it's better that no one is poking him anymore, the silence gives his mind far too much time to freak out about things. He's pregnant? This doesn't even make any sense. Sure, he wanted children at one point in his life, but not like this. This is completely wrong in so many ways. But he can't let himself panic. He has to hold onto any sanity he has left so he won't go crazy. The more anxiety he feels building inside of him, the less he is connected to reality. If he is going to figure out what is going on with his body, then he needs to be fully aware.
Footsteps fill the silence around him as a table moves and the sounds of papers are rustled. Clark is the first one to speak. "Oh my God."
"What is it?" Gabriel asks.
"Check out the DNA results from the fetus."
Gabriel makes a small frustrated gasping sound. "How the hell is this possible?"
"I don't know." Clark comes closer and leans closer to Jayce. "Well, Jophiel, we need to have a little chat."
It is all he can do to keep his voice from shaking as he weakly speaks to him. "What's wrong, sir?"
"We just got the results from the DNA test back. Guess whose baby you have growing inside of you? Jarred's."
Did he hear that right? Jarred's? This can't be right. "What?"
"The baby has your DNA and Jarred's." Gabriel says.
"How is that possible?"
Gabriel pulls up a file on the screen on the computer across the room. "Look at this, Clark. Apparently one of Jophiel's programs was able to fabricate DNA based on the last DNA he came in contact with internally."
"Whoa. So he copied Jarred's DNA and somehow joined it with his own in an artificial womb like that first android did?"
"Exactly."
"Did you know you were doing this?" Clark asks.
"No, sir."
"Gabriel, you still have those two genetically engineered mice with the computer microchip in their brains in the back room, right? I want you to expose one to the other's DNA then isolate them for about a month. If my hypothesis is correct, then I believe we have found the solution to populate our new planets in the Andromeda galaxy."
8
After a good night's sleep and enduring some of Kazimir's initial tests to ensure that he's working correctly both in his physical body and his computer programs, Velex feels strangely refreshed for almost dying yesterday. The good news is that he's alive. The bad news is that his leg has stopped bleeding and his heart isn't beating anymore. This is going to get old very quickly if dies every other day. Oh well. They'll deal with that when it comes.
For now, he's starving so he goes into the kitchen and makes a sandwich. He tries to ignore the whispering behind him. He knows exactly what this is about and he's not really in the mood to play fashion model.
"Wow, Velex." Zach says as he leans in the doorway with a camera.
"What?"
"I don't think I've seen you wearing something other than your uniform since before this planet was created." Kazimir says as he joins Zach.
"That's about right, actually. It feels good wearing jeans and a flannel shirt again."
"I'm liking the leather jacket." Zach says as he takes a picture.
Velex glares at him and puts the sandwich ingredients back in the refrigerator. "Why is this so entertaining to y'all?"
"Oh no. His accent is showing. I think he's angry." Zach mocks him. "Oh, I didn't notice the cowboy boots before! Ha ha! Did you used to wear those out on the ranch?"
"As a matter of fact, yes. Is that a problem? Kazimir knows all about my ranch. He lived there with me and Dressler as well as some of our less savory acquaintances."
"Do you have a cowboy hat too?"
"If I say yes, will you keep making fun of me?" Velex asks.
"Maybe."
"Just don't go into my room. My stuff has made it through so many years of not being worn so just don't touch it. It's special to me."
"Wow. So you really were from Texas." Zach says as he takes another picture.
Velex rolls his eyes and sits at the table with his back to them. "Go away and let me eat."
"Got some salsa for that sandwich?"
Is he insane? "What?"
"You know . . . Texas stuff."
"Don't make me tie you up and brand
you." Velex threatens him. "I'll do it just for fun."
"Okay, fine. I have to get back to work anyway. Come on, Kazimir. Let's leave your country bumpkin cousin alone."
Velex sighs in relief as they leave. What brought that about? They act like they've never seen him in casual clothes. Well, they haven't. But why do they have to make fun of him? It's not that weird. This is all he used to wear when he lived on Earth.
Footsteps approach the kitchen and Icarus sits at the table across from him. "Hey, Dad."
"Hey. What are you up to?"
"Not much." Icarus says. "I just wanted to talk to you. I figured you would know the most about this out of anyone here aside from Kazimir. But he scares me a bit."
"What's up?"
"So what's up with this Doss guy? Everyone's been talking about him."
Velex opens a bottle of tequila and takes a drink right from the bottle. "Well, he was my vice admiral and my closest friend for many, many years. I was there when he was built and first started up. We quickly became close as I worked on some of his programming. It was the most amazing experience to watch that robot evolve. He went from being a weird conglomeration of metal, wires, and simulated organs to a thinking and feeling person. But of course, in the end, he was just a robot."
"What do you mean by that?"
"Doss was a great man, but his faulty programming and inability to move on from his past made him a burden. It seemed like no matter how many times I had to reprimand him for things, he wouldn't learn anymore. There was a disconnect somewhere. Right when it would happen, he would be remorseful and apologize, but then he'd turn right back around and do the same stupid things over and over. At least that's over."
"So you're happy that your friend died?" Icarus asks.
"I'm not happy that Doss is dead, but I am happy that I don't have to babysit him anymore. Oh, what the hell. Can you keep a secret?"
"I . . . uh . . ."
"Yes, I'm happy." Velex says. "I'm relieved that I can go two hours without that idiot screwing everything up. It might sound harsh, but he was ruining my life."
Icarus's mood turns dark. He's not smiling anymore. "Do you really feel that way?"
"What's wrong with you? Listen, if you didn't know Doss, then you'll never understand how much his life was destroying things. Yes, I miss our good times together, but his death was the best thing to happen to the IGR. Because that crazy robot is gone, everyone can get things done now without him screwing them up."
Paradise Awakened Trilogy Page 48
