Chapter Twenty

AD-214 had linked directly with PD-4’s surveillance system. He didn’t want to take his attention away from the military hospital’s parking lot for a moment. There was no room for mistakes in the rescue mission.

He was glad to see that the crowd gathering in front of the hulking brick building was growing by the minute. If there were more people there, it simplified the task of joining the group without unwanted attention. The clones would be occupied watching the crowd, and shouldn’t notice Blue Squad members as they slowly appeared.

AD-214 shifted his feet around. He wanted to get into the building, but the timing wasn’t right. ND-45 had managed to come around the side of the hospital building. The remainder of Blue Squad had to wait while he found his opportunity. It didn’t take long. ND-45 reported back within a few minutes. He was in the crowd, and nobody had noticed him. The cyborg captain sent in the next man.

When it was finally the surveillance specialist’s turn, AD-214 had to break the bad news. “I want you to stay here.”

“But, sir, why?”

“No, don’t argue. I know we’re deviating from the plan, but our presence will be noticeable if you’re on the inside with us. Someone will notice you while you’re involved with your system. It won’t be bad to have a cyborg on the outside.”

The young soldier nodded reluctantly. “Yes, sir.”

AD-214 headed determinedly through the grassy field that ran up against the back lot of the hospital. As he rounded the corner, he studied the rows of windows. There were several neat rectangles, each aglow with fluorescent lights that shone through the glass despite the bright sunshine. From PD-4’s blueprints combined with news footage, the cyborg could tell which window was Amanda’s. She had drawn her curtains.

As his boots thudded down on the concrete, AD-214’s attention shifted back to the crowd. Since he was approaching from the back of the building, his back would be to Amanda as he entered the crowd. He didn’t think she would notice him at all considering the sheer amount of people that were there. But if she happened to see him, how would she react?

Secretly, he had fantasized that she would notice him. He had imagined that as he pushed his way to the edge of the crowd, she would immediately recognize him despite the minute change to his uniform. In his mind, she interrupted her speech to exclaim that he was back. She would rush down the stairs, shove her way through the crowd, and leap into his arms. He longed to wrap himself around her, to scoop her compact body off the ground and press her against himself. Amanda would look into his eyes and see him as more than a cyborg. For her, he could be a man.

Shaking the fantasy out of his head once again, AD-214 made his way down the side of the crowd where the cyborg clones waited in a line. They stood at attention, each of them looking remarkably alike as they watched over the mass of people. The rogue cyborg captain could already see that Blue Squad had replaced several of the clones, giving him hope. If the soldiers were required to stand too close to one another, their individuality would be a dead giveaway.

AD-214 moved closer to a clone. He admitted that the scientists had designed them well. They were tall and broad-shouldered, with enough muscle mass to make them look intimidating and not enough to slow them down. They shared the same critical weakness endemic to all cyborgs: their chips were implanted directly above their left ears. Although the clones grew around their chips, the region was as susceptible for them as it was for the regular cyborgs.

Blue Squad had trained as much as possible over the last three days. They had limited resources, but ND-45’s plan seemed to be working. Otherwise, there wouldn’t be any Blue Squad members currently standing in the crowd.

AD-214 surreptitiously brushed his fingers against the chip in his head, making sure to contact the right spot, as he reached up to touch the cyborg clone’s chip with his other hand. The soldier convulsed for a moment, although AD-214 had not shocked him. The burly clone turned to look at the soldier standing behind him with fear and confusion in his eyes.

“You’re relieved from duty, soldier,” AD-214 said, his voice quiet and soothing.

The clone nodded mutely before stumbling away from the crowd, one hand on his head.

The rogue cyborg quickly stepped into his place and assumed the role of guard. He felt the corners of his mouth pulling themselves up into a smile, but he yanked them back down. He had to appear grave despite the success. It had been a brilliant idea to spread the same software upgrade to the clones that had made Blue Squad start retrieving their memories. They didn’t have physical weapons that would be able to defeat the clones, but they had a different way to fight. The plan was to take the battle directly into the minds of the clones.

The cyborg biochips could communicate with each other as long as there was a physical connection, even if the systems were down. The system was designed to have multiple redundancies in case of failures. ND-45 had proposed to use their bodies as connectors, and the idea had worked perfectly.

The leader of Blue Squad wondered what the affected clones would do as they regained their sense of self. The reaction of the one he had personally infected was what he had expected. Eventually, someone would notice bewildered clones wandering through their neighborhood and report their sightings to Cyborg Sector.

AD-214 could hear Amanda’s voice coming in loud and clear over the speakers connected to her microphone. He was standing perpendicular to her, and he only had to tip his head slightly to see her. He refrained, keeping a strict military pose. He didn’t want to do anything to blow his cover.

The audience was becoming restless. Everyone looked far more agitated than expected for a single press conference. Reporters and their photographers fought for the prime spots closest to the podium. Groups of angry citizens shouted rude words, shaking their fists and waving homemade signs in the air. Other individuals whooped and cheered, hugging each other and jumping up and down. It was enough to make anyone pay attention to the speaker.

It was impossible to avoid looking at Amanda as she spoke warm words about the cyborgs. Her large, brown eyes were somber and serious as she tried to bring the gathered people around to her point of view about the soldiers. She looked confident in her blazer, wearing just enough makeup to accentuate her beauty. The scientist spoke from the heart with incredible power.

AD-214 wrenched his attention away from her. He had never doubted that rescuing Amanda was the right thing to do, but her speech was enough to allay the fears of even the most hardened cyborg. She belonged with them, and they needed her.

Unfortunately, this was not the best time to retrieve her. Coming to the press conference was only the first step in a long process. The members of Blue Squad were smart enough to know they could not descend on her in front of multiple witnesses and take her with them. They would reveal their position, and it would be too easy for Cyborg Sector to call in reinforcements and overwhelm the small rescue party. They had to find the right opportunity.

Amanda was shouting over the microphone now. The crowd screamed back, some with her and some against her. The squeal and thump of a dropped microphone signaled that the press conference was over.

AD-214 allowed himself to look toward the building once again. Amanda was going back toward the building willingly with a smile spread across her face. Reporters rushed to the podium, shouting random questions and angry they had not had the opportunity to interview her.

There were still plenty of clones on guard duty, and AD-214 left the crowd without encountering any of them. Instead, he snaked his way through the throng of people, ending up at a side door of the hospital where a group of soldiers was entering the building. His tracking software tagged some of them as part of his unit, making him breathe a sigh of relief.

He hung back as the soldiers filed through the door, making sure he was the last one in line. As the other cyborgs marched through the dark hallway of the hospital, he stepped aside and opened a door.

AD-214 had loaded maps of all levels of the hospital into his memory banks, ensuring he could always find a concealed location. Fortunately, there were janitor closets all over the building. While he couldn’t reduce the chance of someone coming and finding him to zero, it was the best place to bide his time. He could overpower any maintenance man that came by to grab a mop or roll of toilet paper.

With nothing to do but wait, AD-214 turned off the light and made himself comfortable.