Chapter Twenty-One

Amanda couldn’t remember a riot that had ever been good for the people involved. She avoided watching the news because she didn’t want to see a conflict. It was hard for her to see people arguing and fighting, and Amanda thought there were better things on which for her to concentrate. But now, as the cloned cyborgs pulled her toward the entrance of the hospital, she exulted in the chaos she had caused.

The crowd that came to hear her speak was in a frenzy. There were moving bodies everywhere trying to follow her up the stairs, work their way to their vehicles, and running into each other in the middle. They hadn’t all appreciated the words that came out of her mouth, but they had listened to her. The resulting disorder would ensure that reporters gave the press conference a prominent place on the evening news.

Once inside, Amanda shook off the grip of the soldiers and headed back for her room. She was familiar with the routine. This time, they demanded that she turn right on the first floor instead of going up the elevator. They led her into a luxurious office and closed the door.

“That was a curious thing you did, Ms. Conrad,” Dr. Feldman remarked. He steepled his fingers on the large desk in front of him and looked at her with mild interest, as though she was barely a living creature. “I suppose I shouldn’t have expected anything less from you.”

Amanda shrugged, trying to stay calm even though she hadn’t expected to see him here. She knew she would have to talk to him about her behavior sooner or later, but she wasn’t sure what Dr. Feldman intended for her. “I don’t have anything better to do while I’m here. Maybe if you let me go home, I could occupy myself with a different activity.”

Dr. Feldman shook his blonde hair. “I’m afraid I can’t do that, especially after your press conference. I explained I was keeping you here for your protection, but the danger has doubled now that everyone is touting you as queen of the cyborgs. You’re safest here.” His smile looked thin and cruel despite his words.

Amanda looked around at the plush office with her brows drawn together. “You have an office here, too?”

“Of course not,” Dr. Feldman scoffed. “But they let me borrow it whenever I have some business that needs to be taken care of.” He flicked his hand toward the door. “You can go now, unless you’ve changed your mind about my proposition. I’m sure you’re getting tired of the hospital room.”

Amanda put her hand on her hip. Dr. Feldman still couldn’t get over it. He had her trapped and was trying to convince her his penthouse would be a better place to stay. “Sorry, but no dice.” She turned and walked out the office door, scurrying past the guards and escorting herself to her hospital room.

The guards caught up with her easily, but she still refused to look at them. The cyborgs, even the clones, reminded her too much of AD-214 and Blue Squad. Amanda thought about them constantly, worrying about what they were doing and how long they would survive. The scientist knew they had plenty of survival skills programmed into their systems, but would they be able to apply them now that they were fully self-aware?

When Amanda and the clones reached her room, she entered without protest. As much as the depressing place was wearing on her, she was not about to let Dr. Feldman entertain the notion of changing her mind.

A guard took his place outside her door, just to the left. There was always someone in the vicinity of her room. Amanda usually kept her eyes focused on the floor or down the hallway to avoid looking at him, but today something made her glance at the guard as she crossed the threshold.

She whirled around, certain that there was something different about that particular cyborg. Though she couldn’t put her finger on it, the fact that she could detect anything different about a clone was alarming. The door slammed in her face, and the electronic lock gave a sharp click as it engaged. Amanda didn’t have the chance to see him again.

The scientist paced around in front of her door, trying to think of a way she could persuade the guard to open it. She wanted to look at his face. There was something about the way he stood and the shadows in his cheekbones. Since there was a bathroom already attached to her room, she couldn’t claim that she needed to use the facilities. A complaint that she was ill would make the doctors give her another round of uncomfortable and unnecessary testing. Could she say she had left something behind at the press conference? She hadn’t brought anything with her, and they knew that.

Amanda shook her head. How could she think the guard was different when she refused to look at them? Her time in this hospital had been a little over a week now, and Amanda hadn’t looked at the clones once since she arrived. She was beginning to lose her mind or see things...maybe a little of both.

Feeling impatient, Amanda strode across the room and yanked open the curtains. Her window faced east, and she usually kept the draperies shut against the morning sun that burned through the glass. Now, however, she wanted to see if there was still anything happening in the parking lot below her.

Most of the crowd had scattered. The front stairs where the conference had taken place were almost directly underneath Amanda’s room, hidden from her perspective, but she imagined the stage hands had quickly dismantled the podium and taken it back into the building. Battered signs lay crumpled on the asphalt, trampled by hundreds of feet. The news crews were loading their equipment back into their vans and heading toward the offices of Internet news and television stations to assemble their click-worthy articles. A remarkable amount of trash skittered across the lot in the breeze, and a fat man in a blue uniform chased them with a dirty street sweeper.

Though most of the cyborgs had come into the building when they had dragged her inside, a few remained out in the parking lot to supervise the clean-up and make sure none of the rioters stuck around. Amanda zeroed in on them, trying to match them with the guard in the hall. But from her standpoint three stories up, the cyborgs looked the same as they always had: tall, intimidating figures that watched their surroundings with eagle eyes. Not one of them appeared different from the others.

Amanda’s heart sank as she turned away from the window. She had been hoping it would be otherwise. Though she didn’t expect any members of Blue Squad to know that she was here or be able to rescue her, she couldn’t let go of the idea that she needed to be with them. It was ridiculous to think they would come to fetch her. How would they get away? Where would they go after Amanda reunited with them?

Feeling adrift in a sea of politics and lies, Amanda flopped on the bed and stared up at the ceiling tiles.