Chapter Fourteen

When Amanda heard AD-214 give commands to his men before the arrival of the clones, she had been determined to disobey him. It was ridiculous for her to hide in the office when she might be able to fight back. She knew she wasn’t a match for any of the cyborgs, but she wasn’t willing to let anyone die to protect her without trying to help.

But as the clones closed in on the warehouse, it quickly became apparent that there wasn’t much for her to do. She had no weapon except for a broken board with a jagged edge from one of the crates. As the C-class cyborgs began breaking into the warehouse, her plan had been to sneak out of the office, creep up behind clones that were busy fighting Blue Squad soldiers, and hit them in their microchips. This approach had taken down MD-69 quickly and efficiently, and she knew that the clones would be vulnerable to the same type of attack.

Unfortunately, the clones were wearing helmets, which made it harder to hit their weak spot. Even if they didn’t have armor, there were too many of the cyborg clones for Amanda to make a noticeable impact. She managed to hit a couple of them that inadvertently wandered too close to the office door, attacking them like they were bugs walking past the nest of a trap-door spider. Each one Amanda eliminated made her heart beat harder and her adrenaline pump faster. She was eager for more.

Amanda shouldn’t have felt like this. She had been part of the cyborg program for a long time and had invested herself in its success. But these clones weren’t hers. They were fighting against members of Blue Squad who had become close to her heart. She was determined to help them fight back.

As she ducked back into the office after whacking a third cyborg, she heard the screeching sound of metal tearing apart. A hole appeared in the wall. An arm thrust through the hole, grabbing onto the siding and increased the size of the opening. The lengths of two-by-four wood supporting the siding splintered and broke apart. Amanda screamed and turned toward the door. She frantically attempted to push it open, but there were too many mangled bodies outside the door for her to escape. Two cyborg clones looked at her immediately with weapons raised and angry looks on their identical faces.

After Amanda had slammed the door quickly, she decided it was better to confront the adversary trying to work his way into the office. She swung the board with all her might. Without having a good look at the target, her efforts were fruitless. The board made contact with the cyborg’s nose, sending blood spurting across the concrete floor, but he wasn’t deterred. He snatched the board out of her hands on her next swing and threw it to the floor.

There was no place for her to run. The office was small and only big enough to hold a desk. The C-class cyborg loomed over her, perfect white teeth set in a grimace as he advanced.

Amanda fought and kicked as he wrapped a heavily muscled arm around her. She scratched his eyes, clawed his throat, and swung her foot toward his groin. She would have easily scared off any reasonable man that tried to take advantage of her in a back alley, but the clone didn’t even notice she was doing anything. He kept his arm clamped around Amanda as he pulled her back toward the makeshift entrance he had made on the side of the building.

AD-214’s bulky frame appeared in the door, and Amanda’s heart soared. He would bash the clone’s face in and rescue her! But his arrival was too late. The clone slipped out the opening in the side of the warehouse before AD-214 could get close to her. They were out in the sunshine, a day that looked too beautiful for the ugliness that was going on inside the warehouse. More clones began surrounding the hole as AD-214’ let out an anguished howl behind her.

Amanda frantically dug her heels into the earth. She only succeeded in making parallel tracks in the dirt with her sneakers as the clone cyborg dragged her to the armored car. “You will be safe with us,” the clone said, his words stilted and unnatural.

“Let me go, you bastard!” Amanda screamed as she flung her elbows and fists wildly at him. She had never felt so weak and helpless. At least when AD-214 had taken her from Cyborg Sector, she had been unconscious and unable to understand what was going on around her. Knowing what was happening to her and being powerless to do anything about it was far more frustrating than before. Amanda beat him with all the strength she had, pressing against his chest and trying to make his arm release. Despite her efforts, the clone might as well have been made of metal instead of flesh. He didn’t move at all

The clone arrived at the armored car, flung open the back door, and shoved her inside. He quickly slammed the door again and moved to stand guard over the occupants.

“Amanda!” Dr. Feldman exclaimed next to her.

The young scientist ignored him as she reached angrily at the door, trying to get it open again.

“Calm down. You’re safe now,” Dr. Feldman said in a soothing voice.

Amanda stopped thrashing and threw herself into the seat, but her brain was still buzzing.

“Did the rogue cyborgs hurt you at all?” the older man asked gently, looking her over. “Do you need an ambulance?”

At any other time, Amanda would have been deliriously excited for this level of attention from her mentor. She had worked hard to get him to notice her, and now he finally seemed concerned. Today his attentions sat cold in her heart. She didn’t want a doctor or to be safe. She wanted to be with AD-214 and Blue Squad, where she belonged.

Her anger suddenly dissipated as she realized that being stuck in a car with Dr. Feldman might be the best thing that could have happened.

“You have to call off the clones,” she insisted as she turned to face Dr. Feldman. “They’re out there slaughtering the cyborgs, but I don't think there’s need for it. Blue Squad isn’t going to hurt anyone.”

“Amanda.” He drew out the end of her name condescendingly, as though he was speaking to someone far below his level of intelligence. He looked well-groomed with perfectly slicked-back blonde hair, the marks of a comb still evident in his appearance. He didn’t appear to be a man who had been recently shot by a cyborg. “What have they done to you in the past twenty-four hours? You know as well as I do that we can’t let rogue cyborgs roam the country and put people in danger. They aren’t under our authority anymore. The mandate of Cyborg Sector requires control.”

“You don’t understand,” Amanda argued. “No one is in danger. They’re becoming self-aware. They need time to process the information.”

Dr. Feldman sat back against the upholstery, green eyes fiercely studying the young co-worker. “What do you mean? Tell me specifically.”

Amanda sighed. It felt like a betrayal to explain what was going on inside the minds of the Blue Squad cyborgs to someone else. They had trusted her with their secrets, flashes of their pasts that had been part of their personal lives. She reluctantly admitted to herself that they didn’t understand their memories were private, and Dr. Feldman might be the only person on Earth capable of helping them now.

“They’re having memories of their old lives, from before they became cyborgs. They don’t understand everything and they can’t control when they have a memory. I think it was a side effect of some new software I uploaded to AD-214. He inadvertently sent the update to the rest of his squad.” She waited hopefully for his response, thinking he would give a command to the clones and ask them to return to formation.

Dr. Feldman’s jade eyes looked solemn as they watched her. “Are you sure about this?”

“Yes,” Amanda insisted. “I didn’t think it could happen, but I’ve been talking with them. They remember their childhoods, past lovers, and times in the war as human soldiers. It confuses and frightens them.”

The blonde man nodded and relief flooded through Amanda. She had fixed everything. She watched as he picked up a communicator, a device similar to a walkie-talkie that allowed him to speak commands to the clones over long distances.

“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.