by Maya Carnage
He slams his fist into the wall when it goes straight to the cyborg’s inbox.
“What’s going on?” Ian gets up from the couch, leaving a confused Pax sitting there staring at them. He stops next to them, leveling his gaze and placing his hands on his hips.
“Gregor’s missing, and I think it has something to do with the rebels not contacting us yet,” Axe said.
“We don’t know that for sure. Gregor could be avoiding us because he wants to be left alone.”
“I don’t know. The eighth ward rebels don’t seem the type to mess up easily, not unless something didn’t go according to plan and that shouldn’t have happened. It’s a straight forward shot, Rodrick,” Ian stated.
Kingston stays perched by the window, but it’s clear by the reddening of his face that he’s listening to what they are saying.
“They should have heard from the second ward and alerted us to how it went by now.” Axe pauses. “Gregor doesn’t like humans, and as much as it pains me to say it, going to the Malviks with our plan isn’t beneath him.”
Raking a hand through his hair, Rodrick strides away from Ian and Axe. Kingston’s plan was simple and without qualms. The second ward shouldn’t have any problem executing it, and the only connecting with the eighth ward is that they’re the go-between.
Rosalind sent a message to the second ward’s leader asking him to create a video compilation of some of the Malviks’ nefarious deeds and broadcast it across all the servers on Earth at the same exact time. It should have gone live over an hour ago, but there’s been no word from Rosalind or anyone else.
He’s certain no one in this room wants to believe that Gregor tipped the Malviks off about their plan, but it’s beginning to look that way. Breathing out slowly to regain his composure, he asks Kingston, “Is their someone on Earth that you trust enough to have them check in on what’s happening?”
He nods, walking over to the comm.
The rest of them pace the room as they wait to find out what’s going on.
Kingston finishes typing a message to a friend back on Earth, but before he turns completely around, the comm pings.
Pax joins them, setting a hand on his father’s shoulder. “Gregor’s an ass, yeah, but not heartless. He gets why we’re doing this, and maybe he doesn’t agree with it, but he’d never turn us over to them. That too cold even for him.”
“Sometimes people can surprise us, son.”
Rodrick doesn't say it, but he agrees with him. The Malviks were shocked that he joined the rebellion. When someone gets pushed to the very edge, they will do things you never thought them capable of doing. Gregor's a soldier who gave his word to put his duty first. Now, he faces the betrayal and dishonesty of the rebellion. His head's probably a mess, and he fell back on old habits.
For every cyborg on Teraz and Earth, their innate urge is to turn to the Malviks. It’s programmed in all of them to obey their creators, and most of them have broken that bond, but not all of them. Rodrick feels the pull every once in a while, but it’s weak enough for him to ignore. Gregor’s could have been a hell of a lot stronger and already weary from being a part of The Gregory fiasco it’s not illogical to assume he gave in and confessed.
Kingston sighs and his shoulders fall. He turns the comm off before turning to them. There’s a defeated look in his eyes and his mouth’s flat. Throwing his hands in the air, he says, “The second and eighth wards got captured.”
Chapter Thirteen
Kayla
Awkward silence is tangible in the air, and she struggles to breathe. Her chest constricts around each breath and stutters coming back out. Kayla shifts in her seat, clearing her throat. She’s hoping Dawn will break the silence but by the death glare she’s sending her way, that isn’t going to happen. It’s probably time for her to step up and be the responsible sibling.
“You’re taking time off from being a rebel,” she blurted out. That wasn’t what she wanted to say, but it’s been boiling inside of her since Axe mentioned it the other day. “Why the hell would you choose to do that now?”
Dawn shakes her head. “It’s my life. I can do whatever the fuck I want to, and you can keep your opinion to yourself after the stunt you pulled with The Gregory.” She laughs bitterly. “Seriously, how the hell could you do that to me?”
This is the perfect time for her to explain everything. To tell Dawn why she didn’t reveal the whole plan when she had the chance, and accidentally putting her in danger. For weeks, Kayla’s struggled with the explanation. She’s gone over it in her head again and again. You would think that it would be an easy task, explaining why you put your baby sister in harm’s way to save your father and several members of your team, but it isn’t. Maybe it’s because she hasn’t let herself acknowledge the reality that she could have been responsible for her sister’s death or imprisoning her for the remainder of her life.
That isn’t an easy thought to accept. Even for her, and most people say she’s heartless. Sometimes she feels that way, but with Dawn, it’s never been that way. Yeah, she pushed her away after they lost their mom, but that was because she was afraid of losing another person she loved. Everyone in her family is a rebel and are in constant danger, so there’s always a chance of death. Plus, she was just a child at the time. She created the habit of keeping everyone at a distance, and she’s tired of it.
“I’m sorry,” she begins, “it was unforgivable of me to use you as a pawn. I don’t know why I did it, and it’s been weighing heavily on my mind the last several weeks. It was supposed to be me in the beginning, and that was my full intention until six months before the plan’s launching date. My suspicions about Stan began, and I contacted Rodrick, and from there, things started to change. After the incident with the second ward, I realized I had to do something about the rebels’ leader. Unfortunately, that meant shoving the responsibility of The Gregory onto your shoulders. I fucked up by not telling you everything. None of us had the right to play with your life like that.”
Dawn says nothing for a slow, agonizing moment. Kayla perches on the edge of her seat, fingers clenching the cushion. “All right, I forgive you,” she says after a beat.
“Do you have any idea how hard that was for me? And all I get are a few words from you.”
“Well, it’s not about you, Kayla. What more do you want? A standing ovation for your selflessness of throwing your own sister into the fire?”
Holding back a groan, she scrubs at her face. She knew Dawn was not going to let this go, but she didn’t realize she might have to work harder at earning her forgiveness. A throbbing ache begins in her head. She closes her eyes, rubbing at her temples.
“Do either of you enjoy baked eggplant?” a woman asked with distaste. “It doesn’t look appetizing, but I’m willing to give it a chance.”
She swivels in her seat to stare at the unknown redhead. Lifting a brow, she watches as she strides into the kitchen and begins to put the groceries away as if she lives here. Still staring at her from her peripheral vision, she turns her head enough to catch Dawn’s gaze. “Who’s that?”
“I can hear you.”
Kayla jumps in her seat and raises a hand to place over her racing heart. She didn’t even hear the redhead approach.
“Let me introduce myself,” she says, sticking her hand out. “I’m Kris.”
She shakes her hand hesitantly. Axe didn’t say anything about another cyborg living with them, but the name Kris rings a bell. Studying her face, she tries to figure out where she heard about Kris before. “I’m Dawn’s older sister Kayla.”
“I know. She’s told me quite a lot about you, and if I’m to be honest, I’m not that impressed by what I see, Mac.”
“It’s Kayla,” she said with acid leaking into her voice.
“What are you doing here, Mac?”
She sighs, and looks at her sister, giving her a beseeching expression while gesturing at Kris.
Kris sniffles. “You hurt my feelings, Mac. You really do.
I can tell I’m not wanted here, so I’ll head back into the kitchen to prep our dinner.” She hums as she strides away.
Kayla lets the silence surround them as she listens to the cyborg move about in the next room. She’s an odd character. It irritates her that she called her Mac. No one has called her by that name since her mother died. It makes her skin crawl to hear it from someone else.
“Don’t mind her. She’s harmless,” Dawn said.
A loud, biting laugh sounds out from the kitchen.
Kayla shakes her head, blowing out a breath of air before moving on from the topic of the strange cyborg standing less than ten feet away from her. “Why are you taking time off from being a rebel?” She’s curious. Dawn always seemed to be as dedicated as herself, and she can’t imagine ever taking time off. Preposterous, really.
“Does it ever feel like you’re on auto-pilot? Moving forward with no awareness of what I was really doing began to get old, and I wanted to feel alive. None of it felt right, and during my time at The Gregory, I realized I was only a rebel because I’ve never been anything else.”
“I don’t understand. This is more than just a job. It’s our lives, and the rebels are our family. You can’t walk away from that,” she asked in disbelief. Is Dawn seriously considering walking away from the rebels? She can’t do that. Their parents, grandparents, and great grandparents were born into the rebellion. Being a rebel is a part of their identities. She can’t separate herself from her roots. She just can’t.
“Listen to yourself. We’ve never known anything else!” Dawn throws her arms in the air, and hops up from her seat, towering over Kayla. Of course, she was already doing that when she was sitting down seeing as how she’s several inches taller than her. “We were born rebels, grew up as rebels, and it’s taken over our lives since Mom’s death. Don’t we deserve better?”
“What the hell’s better than fighting the Malviks?”
“Falling in love, having friends, and living without the fear of being attacked.”
“We can have all of that once we defeat them.”
“I don’t want to wait that long,” Dawn said, placing her hands on her hips.
Kayla chews the inside of her cheek. Tampering down the urge to shake some sense into her sister, she thinks about everything Dawn said. When she mentioned falling in love an image of Rodrick popped into her head, and as much as she hates to admit it, a warm feeling began in her chest, and she didn’t want to let it go.
Would it be so bad if she were falling in love with a Rodrick? She likes him, and they get along, plus the sex is awesome. She quirks a brow. “Do you love Axe?”
“Umm, yeah.” Dawn gives her a confused look. “Why do you ask?”
She shrugs. “After Mom died, I believed I couldn’t love another person. You and Dad were all I was willing to risk losing. The idea of welcoming another person into my life and facing the possibility of losing them then experiencing the heavy weight of grief again never felt worth it.”
“Has that changed?”
“I’m beginning to think so, and that terrifies me.” And it does beyond anything Kayla’s ever felt.
“Gal pals, the eggplant’s done!” Kris walks out of the kitchen wearing a mustard yellow apron and a red oven mitt. A frown mars her face. “It’s doesn’t look appetizing, though.”
Chapter Fourteen
Rodrick
He leans on the counter in Ian’s cabin. Since leaving the meeting a heavy weight has settled on his shoulder, and he feels like if a swift wind comes rushing by it will knock him down. How the hell can they be this deep in shit? Days ago, everything looked like it was going to go fine, and now two of the wards are being held captive by the enemy.
Pinching the bridge of his nose, he pushes away from the counter and begins to pace the floor of the tiny kitchen.
After Kingston told them what happened, a sigh of relief escaped him. Kayla shouldn’t learn about the imprisonment of her friends in such an abrupt manner. Worry gnaws at his gut, sinking her claws into him as he tries to figure out how to break the news to Kayla. She’s not going to take it well and will probably blame herself for it too.
He comes to a sudden stop, the sound of his breathing the only noise in the cabin, focusing his hearing on the rustling of leaves outside.
The familiar rhythm of her heart releases the tension in his shoulders, and he pulls out a chair at the kitchen table, taking a seat he waits for her to come inside.
“Good news is that everything’s good between Dawn and me.” She shuts the door and takes her coat off, hang it up on a hook behind the front door. “Bad news is that she’s not going to help with the mission. Things could be worse,” she said shrugging.
Combing her fingers through her hair, she takes a seat across from him. She leans back in her chair and pulls her brows down creating a v between them. “What’s wrong?”
“The Malviks found out about the cyber attack.”
She moves her hands to rest on the tabletop, glancing down at them with a sorrowful expression. “Tell me what happened.”
Rodrick takes a deep breath before diving into the sordid mess, softening his voice when he gets to the part about the imprisonment. Her back is ramrod straight, and her face bears a pained grimace after realizing those she loves and considers family is in the hands of monsters.
“None of us suspected this would happen,” he said.
“Of course not! Why the hell would we? It’d be stupid of us to doubt ourselves right in the beginning. That should come in the middle when we hit a brick wall.” She drops her head onto the table, groaning. “What the fuck are we going to do?”
“Ian wants us to send a rescue team to Earth.” He doesn’t agree with it, thinking it’s too risky now that the Malviks are aware of what they’re doing.
She lifts her head enough to pin him with a troubled stare. “That won’t be easy. The wards will be locked up tight and put away somewhere secure and isolated. There’s a chance the Malviks might even be expecting us to go in and get them. It’ll be a dangerous mission for those who sign up.”
“We’ll need to meet with the sympathizer to form a plan.”
“Let’s get going then. I don’t want Rosalind and the others to suffer longer than they have to.”
“Kayla,” he said, causing her to pause mid-way in rising from the chair. He closes his eyes for a second before saying, “The Malviks may execute them. They could use this as a way to intimidate us and instill fear. It’s something they would do.”
“You don’t have to tell me that. I know these bastards quite well. But no matter what, I’m going save them. The Malviks can try their damnedest to outsmart us, but the rebels always come out on top.” With that said, she leaves the table, heading outside to the rover.
Rodrick doesn’t follow immediately after her, and a small smile crosses his face. She’s a fighter, and nothing is going to stop her from saving her friends. He admires that about her. Her relentlessness and that she’s a cutthroat. Others might find the latter off-putting, but not him.
He’d only been interested in women for sex. Before Kayla, he never took the time to work on developing a long-lasting with another person. His work was too important to him, but that didn’t mean he didn’t think about what kind of woman he wanted. He wanted someone fiery, passionate, strong, and confident. Kayla has all those qualities, and she’s somehow implanted herself in his head. He thinks about her constantly, and when they’re apart worry will wash over him like a tidal wave. She can take care of herself, but that doesn’t stop him from wanting to protect her.
“What are you doing? We need to get going.” Kayla stands in the open doorway with a disapproving frown.
“I’ll message Ian on the way,” he says, grabbing his coat from the couch on his way to the door.
◆◆◆
The trek through the forest was terrifying. He was on edge the whole time, clenching the dagger in his grip as the beasts in the forest howl. The leaves and bushes
rustled with creatures stirring awake as the sun went down. Kayla marched ahead, seeming unaware of the dangers around her. He could hardly hold himself back from tossing her over his shoulder and running the rest of the way to the sympathizers’ headquarters.
He was a mess of nerves out in the woods, but now that he’s sitting at the table with Kayla safe and sound beside him, the heavy feeling in his gut has gone away.
“I received word from a cyborg on Earth who confirmed Gregor’s whereabouts,” Axe said. “He’s at the Malviks headquarters on the west coast.”
“Is there any chance all of this is a coincidence?” Enzo asked with a troubled expression. He obviously doesn’t want to believe his friend is capable of what they accuse him of.
James scoffs. “Cyborg’s don’t give a shit about us. They’re nothing but lap dogs to the Malviks. A bunch of cowards.”
Pax and Axe whip their heads around to stare at the man. Anger stains their faces, and Rodrick can see the muscles in their biceps tensing from clenching their fists beneath the table. James raises his brows, daring them to say something. Neither of them gives in and tell the man to shove his opinion up his ass. He wants to and struggles not to let the words lodged in his throat spill out.
A hand slides along his thigh, gripping it and he glances. Moving his gaze up the arm, he finds Kayla wearing an apologetic smile. He reaches down and takes her hand. It’s nice knowing he’s not alone and having someone to turn to.
James is an ass. Kayla’s probably grinding her teeth at her father’s rudeness. He might not like the cyborgs, and he doesn’t have to, but he should show respect to his daughter by being cordial with them.
He can understand why Axe doesn’t like the man.
“The Malviks used them like they use everyone. We need to move past these prejudices, Dad.” Kayla turns toward her father, pleading with him to work out their differences. “This will only work if cyborgs and humans can work together. Look what’s going on with the second and eighth wards! For fuck’s sake, they could be getting tortured right now, and here you are blaming the cyborgs who are willing to risk themselves to save them. Don’t you see how wrong that is?”
