Chapter Twelve

The day passed slowly. Cyborgs eagerly tucked into their stash of food from the night before, still barely able to eat anything before they became full. They gaped in astonishment as Amanda tucked away three times as much breakfast as they did. AD-214 had seen it the day before, but the rest of them were surprised. They began to ask her questions about extra stomachs before AD-214 cut them off.

“We have a lot of work to do today,” AD-214 said as he paced up and down between the ranks. His voice echoed in the cavernous room, reverberating off the corrugated metal walls. “We can’t stay here. The danger of remaining in one location is too high. We need to find the next safe place. You each have specialties, and I expect you to employ them. Our systems aren’t working correctly, so we’ll need to work together. I’ll be checking in with each of you individually today.”

Blue Squad reacted with alacrity. Most didn’t appear to be doing anything but staring off into space, but Amanda knew they were looking through their systems and doing what they could without being connected to Cyborg Sector. Their leader moved among them, quietly asking what they had discovered.

Feeling so useless, Amanda jumped down from the crate she was sitting on and began circulating among the cyborgs as well. She was no military strategist, but she knew a lot about cyborgs. They seemed to be doing well, controlling their flashbacks or at least ignoring them.

“Sir,” called out one of the soldiers. It was PD-4, the young blonde soldier who always looked worried. “I have something you ought to see. You too, ma’am.”

As they approached, he unbuttoned the front of his camouflage shirt to reveal a small LCD screen embedded in his chest. As the surveillance specialist, he could easily share information with his team by transmitting files into the shared part of his system. But the scientists at Cyborg Sector decided he would be most useful if he could share his knowledge with humans or cyborgs that weren’t in his squad. The small screen was the compromise. AD-214 and Amanda watched it intently.

It showed a news reporter sitting behind a large desk with a solemn look on his face. “Good evening,” the anchorman began. “You’ve heard of the outbreak of rogue cyborgs from Cyborg Sector headquarters downtown. Here at Channel 3, it is our goal to keep you well-informed about this event to help ensure the safety of your families.”

Amanda looked at AD-214 to gauge his reaction, but he hadn’t torn his eyes away from the screen. “You didn’t link with headquarters to obtain this, did you?” the cyborg leader asked PD-4.

“No, sir. This footage comes from local television signals, sir.”

AD-214 nodded and looked back to the screen again.

“We take you now to a live press conference at Cyborg Sector for more information.” The scene changed, showing a podium on the front steps of the Cyborg Sector building with microphones surrounding it. The din of a crowd of news reporters was audible in the background, but it fell to a hush when a man slowly hobbled up to the lectern.

Amanda’s stomach jumped into her throat as she took in the blonde, slicked-back hair and green eyes of Dr. Feldman. He looked a little worse for wear as he leaned heavily on the podium. His face was pale, but it was definitely him.

“I thought he was dead,” Amanda whispered.

“That was my intention.”

“Ladies and gentlemen of the United States,” Dr. Feldman began, acting like he were the president. “You know I find the actions of Blue Squad reprehensible. It was only by luck that the cyborg who meant to kill me malfunctioned, and his aim was inaccurate. Otherwise, I would not be able to stand here today and speak to you.” There was another roar from the reporters, and Dr. Feldman waited for it to die down.

“I apologize for the entire incident. It was never our goal to make Americans worry about cyborgs that were supposed to be programmed with our best interests. Unfortunately, I am the bearer of bad news that is even worse. It appears that one of our most respected scientists, Amanda Conrad, is missing. We believe the rogue cyborgs have kidnapped her. We are going to use the full resources of our government to get her back.”

Amanda’s stomach went down again and felt like it was going to keep going until it hit her feet. It was bad enough that the cyborgs were out of containment, but spinning the story like this was going to start a lynch mob. The general public had always expressed concerns about using the cyborgs in a military capacity. The military rarely used them in engagements within the country. If the media portrayed them as kidnappers, the situation was going to escalate.

“Today we are asking the public to help us. Please provide any information that might assist in apprehending these misbehaving cyborgs. We want to assure you that we are also taking measures to bring them back into custody ourselves. Though there are errors in Blue Squad’s programming, not all cyborgs are infected. Red Squad is still functioning normally.”

The front doors of Cyborg Sector opened again. A large squad of cyborgs marched out, each of their steps in perfectly timed synchronization. Even over the airwaves, the heavy tread of their boots sent a shiver up Amanda’s spine.

“These are C-class cyborgs,” Dr. Feldman explained to the audience. “They are created from clones instead of donors, making them more reliable and stable. The small glitches we eliminate from each donor don’t exist in these soldiers.”

The cloned cyborgs had lined up on the steps behind Dr. Feldman. True to their name, each one of them looked exactly identical. Short blonde hair covered their heads and hard blue eyes stared out over the crowd.

“We plan to send Red Squad out to search for the rogue cyborgs and make your communities safe again. Do not be afraid if you see a member of the Red Squad in your neighborhood. It does not mean that danger is close. On the contrary, they are keeping danger far away. You’ll know a soldier is a member of Red Squad because they all look just like that.” He gestured over his shoulder with a laugh, which was echoed by the audience.

Dr. Feldman went on to take questions from the crowd, but Amanda had seen enough. “We’re in trouble.” Turning to AD-214, she saw that the rest of Blue Squad was watching as well.

“We have a lot of work to do.”

But they were out of time. When they woke the next morning, PD-4 informed them Red Squad was on its way to the warehouse.