by Lisa Lace
“Eliminate every member of Blue Squad,” he said into the microphone. “My professional opinion is that they are not salvageable. We’ll have to start again from scratch. They’re more dangerous than we thought.”
“No!” Amanda screamed. “You can’t do that.” She reached up to grab the communicator out of Dr. Feldman’s hand, but he pushed her back with surprising force. He put his hand at the base of her throat to shove her into the door of the car. The clone outside cocked his head as he analyzed the commotion, then returned to guard duty.
“More things are happening here than you can imagine, Amanda. It’s dangerous for cyborgs to recover their memories. What do you think the next step will be? Someone will remember where he used to live and show up on his mother’s doorstep. The prodigal son will reappear. The problem is they have been considered deceased for many years. Heaven help their spouses. What happens when he goes to get her back and discovers she’s with another man?”
With a chill of fear, Amanda remembered what MD-69 had tried to do to her the previous night. He had nearly raped her after recalling the sexual exploits of his pre-cyborg life. She had to admit the cyborg could be dangerous. But from what MD-69 had said, he had been that type of man before he ever became a cyborg. She couldn’t reprogram someone’s nature.
“That’s not the end of it. Consider the cyborgs who remember what it’s like to go to war as a human,” Dr. Feldman continued, still holding her against the door. “Post-traumatic stress disorder is dangerous enough in normal soldiers. Now double it. We’ve never had a cyborg that has had to process everything he’s done — everyone he has killed — in his time as a human and as a cyborg. The memories would be overwhelming for anyone.”
“I want to help them, Dr. Feldman. Surely there’s something we can do for them. Dr. Gold can talk with them about their memories and make them understand. Maybe there’s a finer line than we imagined between being a human and a cyborg.” Amanda was sure the psychiatrist would be delighted to work on such a project. It was more exciting than the typical work he did for Cyborg Sector. It would likely get him widespread professional acclaim, something no scientist would be willing to turn down.
Dr. Feldman looked like he might continue to argue with her, but he hesitated. After a moment, he nodded and finally released her. “Okay, you win. I will assist any who survive. We can return them to Cyborg Sector, analyze them, and see what we can do. I can’t make you any promises, Amanda, but I suppose we owe them that much.” He picked up the communicator once again. “I’m changing your orders. Capture any remaining Blue Squad members.”
“They’ve scattered, sir,” came a voice through the speaker. “There are no additional living members of Blue Squad remaining in the warehouse.”
“Then you’ll have to pursue them,” he barked into the microphone before turning back to Amanda. “Are you feeling better now?”
The young scientist wiped a tear from her eye. She had already known that some of the cyborgs had fallen, but it broke her heart to hear such news spoken aloud. What would she do if AD-214 was one of the fallen?
“A little, at least,” Amanda replied. “Thank you, Dr. Feldman.”
“Please, call me Alex.” His voice had returned to its level, smooth tones now that he was no longer giving out commands.
“Okay. Alex.” She giggled. The events of the last day were making her hysterical, and she was exhausted. “I’m sorry. I’m tired and not thinking straight. I just want to climb into bed and sleep for two days.”
“You shouldn’t be alone after experiencing all this trauma. I think you should come stay with me in my penthouse.” He flashed a smile at her. It was the same smile that had made her heart flutter just a couple of days ago.
“I couldn’t. But thank you for the offer.” Amanda was surprised at the words that came out of her mouth. She would have given anything to stay at his place before AD-214 had broken out of Cyborg Sector.
Alex shook his head. “I insist. It won’t be safe for you anywhere else. I have a sophisticated electronic security system, and I can supplement it by putting guards at the door. My chef is excellent. Would you like to enjoy a gourmet meal?” He reached out a finger and ran it down her cheek. “There’s an amazing view.” His hand continued to glide down her neck. “And there’s even a king-sized bed. I think we can be very comfortable together,” he finished as he wrapped his fingers delicately around her breast.
Amanda slapped his hand away. “Dr. Feldman!”
His pale brows knit together in anger. “Don’t be such a tease, Amanda. You apparently wanted me just a few days ago. I’m giving you the opportunity to recuperate in luxury. Is it wrong if I want to show off a few of my talents while you’re there?”
“Talents?” Amanda asked, unable to hide the disgust in her voice. She had fantasized about this man so many times that it was embarrassing. She remembered touching herself in the shower, reaching a quick climax as she imagined him working his magic on her body.
“Oh, yes.” He grabbed her waist and pulled her closer. He hadn’t taken the hint. “The things I would do to you...”
“I don’t want to hear about them.” She tried to move back toward the door. She knew there was no escape, but she wanted to be as far from him as possible.
Alex grabbed her again, pulling her back to where he could press his body on her. He slapped a hand over her mouth, pushing her head back against the seat. “You’re going to hear it. First, I’m going to remove your clothing so I can see every inch of your sexy body. Then I’m going to glide my tongue all over your sweet pussy until you scream. As a matter of fact,” he said as he pressed his fingertips against the crotch of her jeans and began moving them in slow circles, “I don’t think I’m going to wait until we get into the penthouse.”
Amanda drew back her hand and punched her fist squarely in Alex’s eye, snapping his head back. He instantly let go of her. Suddenly the cyborg clone standing outside the car had the door open and his fingers wrapped around Amanda’s wrists.
“What would you like me to do with her, sir?”
Dr. Feldman sighed. “Nothing.” He reached forward to press the intercom button in the glass between the driver and the rest of the car. “Take us back to Cyborg Sector.”
He didn’t say another word or touch her again.
Chapter Fifteen
AD-214 knew he had to bide his time, but it was difficult considering all the things occupying his mind. He had settled himself into a small cave at the base of a formation of bluffs deep in the woods. There were no trails around, suggesting this was a place isolated from hikers. PD-4 had joined with him as they retreated from the warehouse. AD-214 needed to know the situation with both Red Squad and Blue Squad, and his surveillance specialist was his best chance to keep up-to-date information.
The two ate in silence next to the smoking remains of a small campfire. AD-214 had found a large file of survival information in his system, training him how to find food, start a fire, and stay sheltered in the wilderness. PD-4 was not as versatile as his captain. He was relieved that he was not by himself and eagerly dug into his roasted rabbit.
“I think it will be time to gather the remains of the unit soon,” AD-214 said to the young soldier. “I don’t want to wait too long.”
“That’s understandable, Captain. I’ve been trying to find the rest of Blue Squad on satellite images, but they’re doing a good job staying undercover. I don’t think I’ll see them until you give them a command.”
AD-214 nodded. “Have you found anything else of interest?”
The young soldier’s eyes glazed over as he began to check all unencrypted communications on the electromagnetic spectrum. PD-4 could receive local TV stations, wireless internet, satellite signals, and radio waves. “I think you would be interested in this one, sir.”
Since Amanda was no longer around, the surveillance specialist didn’t bother using the LCD screen in his chest. He merely transmitted the information through his sys
tem directly to AD-214.
AD-214 allowed his interface to access the transmission. PD-4 was showing him a clip from the news on television. It looked like Amanda being interviewed by an anchorwoman. She wasn’t wearing jeans, a t-shirt, and sneakers any longer. She had replaced her former clothing with a professional-looking skirt and jacket. Someone had plastered makeup on her face. Amanda sat in a large, overstuffed chair with the reporter across from her. He noticed that the scientist looked pale and drawn compared to the last time he had seen her.
“Good evening. I’m Robin Goodwright. Tonight, I’m here for an exclusive interview with Amanda Conrad, the scientist from Cyborg Sector, who spent an entire day being held captive by rogue cyborgs.” The reporter turned away from the camera to face her guest. “Amanda, all of America has been waiting to hear what it was like for you during those terrifying hours. Tell us, how much danger were you in?”
“That’s what I want everyone to understand,” Amanda replied. “I wasn’t in danger. I had worked with these particular cyborgs for a long time. I am more familiar with them than anyone else, and I believe that’s why AD-214 took me with him when he escaped Cyborg Sector. He saw me as part of his squad.”
Robin nodded, gleaming red hair bobbing along with her. “So what were the conditions like? I’m sure everyone has been trying to imagine what it was like in that warehouse.”
Amanda looked down at her hands. “It’s hard to explain. It was confusing at first, but I spent a lot of time talking with the cyborgs. We weren’t comfortable, but it wasn’t like I was tied up in a dungeon.” She paused, searching for the right words to say. “We were comrades more than anything, camping out while we tried to decide what to do.”
“AD-214 is the leader of Blue Squad, correct?”
Amanda nodded enthusiastically. “Yes. He’s one of the first cyborgs I worked on. I guess you could say I’ve known him longer than any of the others.”
The reporter leaned forward, putting her chin in her hand. “I’m sure you know speculation about your relationship with the cyborgs has been all over the media. I’d like to clear something up right here, right now, so the world will know the truth: Do you love it?”
Amanda smiled involuntarily and blinked her eyes rapidly, but she didn’t answer right away. “Don’t you think that’s a silly question?” she finally answered. “Everyone is always looking for a sensational story. AD-214 isn’t human. I care about what happens to him, and I want him to be safe. I don’t think there’s anything wrong with that.”
The news clip cut to a commercial and PD-4 stopped the transmission. “Is there anything else?” AD-214 asked.
The young specialist shook his head, still scanning as he stared through the wisps of smoke that rose up from the campfire. “Nothing significant, sir. Cyborgs are all over the news, but the content is discussions and debates between the newspeople and politicians. They are talking about us, but they don’t know anything. There are also a few residents who are claiming they have seen a cyborg. No rumors have been independently confirmed.”
AD-214 nodded. “Keep me informed about any new information. Do we have an accurate death toll yet?” The body count had been a favorite topic of conversation between the two cyborgs. Each distinctly remembered seeing a few of their comrades go down. For the most part, they couldn’t be certain who was still alive. AD-214 should have been able to detect them with his software, but it wasn’t working properly. He might have suffered from some file corruption from the upgrades Amanda had uploaded back at Cyborg Sector. Not knowing was frustrating. It was a small comfort that his problems also made it harder for any of their enemies to locate his team.
“Nothing, sir. Cyborg Sector hasn’t released the information to the public, and I can’t hack into their computer systems without being detected.”
They paused as a bird flew overhead, causing a ruckus in the tree branches. AD-214’s information about survival suggested that he should shoot it for later, but his stomach was too full to worry about the future.
“Sir, are you still having the memories?” PD-4 asked tentatively. “The ones we talked to Amanda about?”
AD-214 wasn’t going to lie to his soldier, though he didn’t like talking about things he saw in his head. None of them made sense individually, nor could he put them together into a sequence which made sense. “Yes. Sometimes I see more than I did the first time.”
“Do you think there’s something wrong with us? Is it something Amanda could fix if we turned ourselves in to Cyborg Sector?”
The captain snapped his head around to look at the young cyborg. “Is this something you plan to do?”
“No!” PD-4 insisted. “No. But I don’t know what to make of the images in my mind. They seem innocent, but they also make me want to focus on them instead of my duty. I’m becoming concerned they might be a virus.”
AD-214 thought about PD-4’s words. His idea was unsettling. “I think Amanda would have told us if they were dangerous,” he concluded. “She wouldn’t have wanted us to spread them to anyone else.”
That night, PD-4 volunteered to take the first shift on guard duty while AD-214 slept in the cave. The hole in the bluff was small but dry, and would keep them out of sight if anyone passed by.
AD-214 lay on his back and closed his eyes. He had downloaded the transmission of Amanda’s interview PD-4 showed him earlier and took the opportunity now to analyze it carefully. Zooming in on Amanda’s face, he studied her beautiful cheekbones and the depth of her eyes. His feelings were the same as when he sat with her in the warehouse, unable to look at anything else. He didn’t understand what was happening to him, but he couldn’t resist it.
The reporter had asked her if she loved the cyborg captain. Love. The word dangled in the back of his mind. He knew he had once known what it meant, but didn’t any longer. Did Amanda love him? She hadn’t answered the reporter but chose to shift the focus of the question.
Did he want the scientist to love him? He couldn’t be sure.
He thought back to the night Dr. Feldman and Jenny had entered the barracks long after everyone else had gone home. AD-214 should have been charging and asleep, but an error in his operating system had prevented sleep. He had watched the two come into the barracks, the dark-haired girl giggling and bouncing as she talked to the doctor. Soon enough, the two of them had been naked on the hard floor. At the time, the cyborg didn’t understand what he saw. It looked like a jumbled tangle of bodies slamming against each other and the floor.
He realized his visions involved similar actions. He was underneath a woman at first, but when his perspective shifted, he was doing the same thing with someone else. It was reminiscent of what the two scientists had done in the barracks, and he felt his cock getting hard.
AD-214 had another vision. He was in a bed again, but this time with Amanda. Unlike the other visions, he was able to control these images. He saw himself remove her clothes, peeling back the layers of denim and cotton to find her curves underneath. He ran his hands over her breasts and thighs, luxuriating in their smoothness. His mouth found its way to her lips and traveled down to her nipples. Taking one in his mouth, he sucked and pulled as he wrapped his arms around her body. When her bud was hard and taut, he moved to address the other one.
Though he didn’t remember removing his clothes, AD-214 was just as naked as Amanda was. His cock throbbed as he continued working down Amanda’s body, running his tongue over her rippling stomach and down to the paradise that waited for him between her legs. He tasted her sweetness, watching her writhe with pleasure on the bed before he couldn’t wait any longer and pushed his way inside of her.
AD-214 shook his head and brought himself back to reality. His desire was urgent now, compelling him to find Amanda and make what he had imagined in his head into reality. For the first time, the cyborg understood why MD-69 had been so desperate to do these things with a woman that he had forced himself on Amanda without her permission. He still knew MD-69’s actions were wro
ng. At that moment, though, he would have done anything to see Amanda in real life.
Chapter Sixteen
After Amanda had refused to go to Dr. Feldman’s apartment, he sent her to a military hospital that resided on the same compound as the headquarters of Cyborg Sector. He thought she needed additional protection since she had been in the public eye over the last week. Amanda was only allowed to leave the hospital when she was under the watch of a heavily-armed escort and only when she was going to appointments requested by the media.
Right now, Cyborg Sector needed her.
The young scientist had been checked over by all the leading doctors in the military hospital. They had scanned her with all the machines they had on hand, drawn numerous vials of blood, and tested her memory. Amanda knew they didn’t find anything wrong with her, but they didn’t share the results of the examinations with her.
Instead, she was forced to remain living in the hospital as though she were an invalid. Her room was private and located several floors up. Everything in it was white: walls, floors, curtains, sheets, and even the hospital gown she was forced to wear all the time. She was only allowed to wear regular clothes when she had an interview with the press.
Amanda had asked for her phone multiple times. She knew it was in the top drawer of her desk at Cyborg Sector. The hospital staff claimed they couldn’t find it, but she knew better. Someone had confiscated it. There wasn’t anything compromising on the device, but she felt better with it in her possession. A nurse had brought her a few books for entertainment, but she wasn’t allowed to watch television. She spent most of her time staring out the window at the city, wondering where AD-214 and the rest of Blue Squad were, and if she would ever be lucky enough to leave.
Unfortunately, it seemed like her stay would never end. A never-ending string of military and government officials always wanted to speak with her. She was quite a popular person for someone who spent their days and nights alone in a hospital room. Commanders, generals, and even a representative for the President visited her. They all asked the same questions but expected different answers, and it made her head spin. The news reporters weren’t allowed in the hospital, but when she spoke with them, she was able to get out of the little white room momentarily.
