13
“Ethan,” Davey began carefully, “I realize this isn’t the best time, but we really have to talk about what I just saw on that video.”
“Are you okay?”
Davey hesitated. Meeting Ethan should have prepared her for every other extraordinary thing that could have happened in her once fairly ordinary life. Yet, learning the truth about Drekker’s demented crusade and Hogan’s remarkable abilities had been a difficult pill to swallow. And now this. Her father and the scientist who had created Ethan were one and the same. Even more mind-boggling was seeing herself as a young child in a video from four decades ago. Davey wasn’t yet thirty in the present, so how could it be possible?
“I don’t know,” she answered honestly. “I have so many questions.”
“And I will do my best to answer them,” he said. “But right now, we need to focus on Drekker. My superiors allowed a lot of leniency for me to settle this one, but I’m running out of time, Davey. I will have to report in soon, and this situation needs to be handled by then or they will come for all of us.”
Davey nodded. “I understand.”
Ethan was trying to keep them safe and out of Global Cure’s sights. They didn’t know about Hogan’s remarkable abilities. Even if Drekker told them, it could be chalked up as the ravings of a lunatic rogue agent. There was no way the corporation had any idea she and her brother were actually Dr. Savage’s offspring. Because if they did, Davey had no doubt she and Hogan would have been promptly rounded up and locked in cages.
Setting the marker to the woman’s bare abdomen, Davey went back to the task of mirroring the image already mapped out on the machine. Drekker’s soul couldn’t be directly transferred from the woman’s body to the android. He would first have to return to the other realm before taking possession of what was to become his permanent body.
With the second transmutation circle completed, Davey aligned the particle generator’s calibration according to her father’s formula. After opening the soul gate, the particle generator would help channel the immense power unleashed by the opened portal. Davey eyed the turbine skeptically. She was confident in Ethan’s skilled construction, but having two of the turbines would have been more reassuring. Unfortunately, there hadn’t been enough raw materials to build a second. She mentally crossed her fingers, hoping one could handle the job.
“No turning back now,” Davey whispered and typed in the command to execute.
Bright light exploded across the room, momentarily blinding her. A thunderous roar followed, overloading her ears, and overlapped with a boom that reverberated through the walls and into Davey’s bones. When her sight returned, she saw the body of the woman was levitating, floating high above the table where a blue aura surrounded her. Convulsions ripped through her limbs, shaking them with enough violence to tear them apart. The aura abruptly disappeared, and the woman fell like a stone. Everything went still, and naively Davey wondered if it was over. But then she heard the whirring of turbine’s laborious struggle.
An enormous wave of darkness crossed the ceiling, turning everything black in its wake. Davey dropped to the floor as the night sky opened above her. Tiny jeweled pinpoints sparkled within the dark expanse, twinkling like saintly lights. But that was no sky. And Davey knew those were no stars, even before they began rushing forward, pulsating frenetically as they hurtled toward the open portal.
The turbine groaned. The shriek of sheared metal followed. Davey looked and saw a red glow spilling from beneath the particle generator. Energy was escaping, evidence of impending collapse, but the transmutation hadn’t completed. She shouted a warning to Ethan, and he quickly sprang into action, rushing to stand between the generator and the turbine, taking hold of them both. The surge of power flowed into his body, and Ethan gritted his teeth. His face was visibly strained, but he only cried out when red rays of light exploded from his chest. As he screamed with pain, the mass of energy funneled through him and toward the dark expanse. Slowly, the portal began to close, folding in and around the red glow. One of the false stars, moving faster than the others, escaped from the void just as the portal disappeared and the basement ceiling returned, shimmering into place like a ghostly hologram.
Ethan slowly fell to his knees, and Davey ran to him. When she touched his skin, the excess particles escaped his body, hitting her like a miniature bolt of lightning as the energy transferred between them. Davey yelped with the sudden pain, while Ethan flashed to his feet, moving across the room in a blur of motion to seize the newly awakened automaton and forced it to the floor. Drekker fought back, but his movements were sluggish and uncoordinated. Ethan kept him pinned as he extracted an object from his back pocket. Davey recognized the small metal disk, especially when Ethan rammed it into the transmutation circle—now branded on Drekker’s chest—and the disk latched on, sinking deeply into synthetic flesh as it fused to the symbol. Years ago, a team of mercenaries sent by Ethan’s brother had used a very similar weapon to subdue Ethan. On Drekker, the disk proved equally effective, and within seconds, the movements of his newly minted body had altogether ceased.
Observing the downed automaton for a cautious moment longer, Ethan gradually released his hold and diverted his attention to Davey. Hurrying to her side, he gently grasped her elbow. “Are you okay?” he asked.
“I’m fine. It was just a little shock. That’s all.”
Breathing a relieved sigh, Ethan gathered her into his arms. “Sorry. You were right. It was too much for the single turbine to handle.”
“So, you used your body like a human lightening rod in order to stave off disaster. Ethan, that was stupid. You could have been seriously injured. You’re not invincible.”
“I know,” he said, squeezing her tighter. “But I couldn’t let you be hurt. And we were so close to taking Drekker down.”
She hugged him back just as hard. “Is it over?”
“For now,” he replied grimly. “As long as the seal remains in place, Drekker will remain immobilized, but I have to hand him over to Global Cures. Ultimately, they’ll decide his fate.”
“Ethan, if he ever gets free…he’ll remember we betrayed him. He’ll want revenge.”
“I know,” he said quietly. “But if we don’t give Drekker to Global Cures, they’ll come after you and Hogan.”
“Shit.”
“Yeah.”
Ethan slowly released her, and went back to Drekker’s motionless form. His face darkened. “I will talk to my brothers. After dealing with my bullshit for all of these years, I think they may see reason when it comes to the greater good of keeping Drekker locked away.”
“I know you’ll do everything you can. But it makes me sick to think of what could happen to Hogan if Drekker goes free again.”
“You shouldn’t worry so much.” Taking Drekker beneath the shoulders, Ethan hoisted him back onto the table. “I will always keep you and your brother safe. It is my purpose after all.”
“Don’t say it…not like that. Maybe it’s crazy, but I can’t help feeling like everything that’s happened to you has been my fault.”
“I’m sorry,” Ethan said quickly, pausing in the action of shoving Drekker into a large body bag. “I didn’t mean it like that. If being reborn was necessary to know you, then I’d willingly have died a thousand deaths.”
“But this isn’t right,” she insisted. Ethan was being so kind and too forgiving. “My father did this to you, Ethan. He did it because of me, and I don’t even understand why.”
“Everything that brought us together—I’d take none of it back. And as for the rest, we’ll figure it out.” After flashing her a warm smile, his expression was serious again. “I should report this capture without delay. But,” he added hesitantly. “I want you to come with me when I deliver Drekker. Hogan, however, should stay here. It will be safer for him.”
“Okay,” she said. “Whatever you need.”
A shadow crossed Ethan’s features. “I need you to see something.”
“What?” she asked, growing concerned at his bleak expression. Drekker was subdued, and Ethan had gone out of his way to make assurances to her that he would remain thus so. She wondered what else could be wrong to have caused the abrupt change in Ethan’s demeanor.
Wordlessly, he stroked her cheek, warming Davey through and through with one touch of his cool fingers. Then he turned back to Drekker, sealing the zipper to the body bag with a sound that carried an eerie note of finality. “You’ll know soon enough.”
∞∞∞
It took forever to reach the central base of Global Cures, but once they arrived, Davey felt like the trip had finished too quickly. If there were consequences to face for breaking into TruGreen Labs using false credentials and then stealing an unparalleled, high-tech, multi-million-dollar android, she would certainly suffer them now. She could only hope that since their actions had ultimately facilitated Mason Drekker’s capture, maybe past sins would be forgiven.
Keeping her fingers crossed the entire time, she sat quietly in the passenger seat while Ethan was cleared through multiple security checkpoints. The military sector of Global Cures was unquestionably his domain, and unless Ethan indicated that he needed her to speak, she was more than happy to keep her mouth shut.
Ethan eventually parked the car in front of the second largest building on base. Four stories of concrete loomed up into the darkness of a moonless night. The exterior was mostly windowless, lending the structure a glum and sort of foreboding atmosphere. Its appearance, coupled with the unpredictable nature of their circumstances, filled her with absolute dread.
Ethan opened the passenger door, giving Davey her cue to exit. As she stepped out into the darkness, he retrieved the body bag from the trunk and threw it over his shoulder. Back at her side, Ethan squeezed her hand and then strode ahead across the empty lot while she followed closely.
As soon as they entered the building, a pair of soldiers made their presence known and without a word, moved to escort them down a long corridor and onto a waiting elevator. Their uniforms were identical, all-black, and tactical in nature. Davey wondered if the soldiers possessed genetically altered codes like the men who’d hunted Ethan over ten years ago—and like the soldier she’d accidentally killed. Those operatives had been powerful and dangerous—more than capable of completing the task they were sent to execute. She would never forget the uncanny way their eyes had shined as they stalked her like prey in the moonlit forest.
The elevator lurched beneath her feet, surprising Davey by taking them down instead of up. She counted a full three minutes before the elevator’s descent stopped. When the doors opened, one soldier exited, motioning for Ethan and Davey to follow.
She watched the shadow cross Ethan’s features once more. His mouth set in a grim line. “Stay close to me,” he said.
Davey didn’t have to wait long to find out the reason behind his warning. Dimly lit by sparse overhead lighting, the corridor was lined by even darker cells. Thick-paned glass formed a window into every compartment, allowing a terrifying view of each horror within.
She thought they were men—or maybe at some point they once were. Now these creatures were a strange fusion of human and beast. Some paced inside of their cages. Others sat oddly still, staring into the empty air. Even more frightening, there were those who leered directly at the passing entourage. The striped and spotted fur, feathers, and scales that covered their bodies in assorted combinations were clearly the result of genetic tampering. Limbs were misshapen, grossly enlarged, or missing altogether. There was an individual who outwardly appeared to be completely normal—save for his glowing red eyes and the way he repeatedly bashed his forehead against the thick glass shielding. Davey paused in terror, watching blood pour from a large gash already opened across the red-eyed man’s forehead. As they finally passed his enclosure, Davey crowded Ethan closely enough to inadvertently step on his heels, but if Ethan noticed, he didn’t show it.
Eventually, they all came to a halt before double, floor-to-ceiling doors made of reinforced steel. There, the second soldier came up from the rear to enter a ten-digit code on the panel. The doors slowly opened, and they stepped inside. The room reminded Davey of the place where TruGreen Labs had housed the dormant androids. Only this room seemed way more secure. Much of the equipment she had never laid eyes on before, but the purpose of some of it could be pretty easily ascertained. Harnesses and clamps made of steel were at least five inches thick. A fortified table came with hydraulic adjustments. There was a chair molded from the same material, equipped with its own bindings.
Davey shivered and looked away. She’d seen Ethan tied to a chair like that before.
Formidable looking chains and cables hung from the ceiling, were fixed to walls, and bolted to the floors. An array of tools lay scattered about—some for cutting, piercing, or slicing. Davey could see forceps and what may have been bone saws. She noticed containers filled with unknown chemicals, and specimens lined the shelves of a large cabinet mounted against the wall. Frosty clouds swirled within, cocooning the various jars in frigid temperatures.
Approaching the empty table, Ethan released the body bag, and a hollow thud rang throughout the room as the android dropped onto the hard surface. One of the soldiers immediately went to work, unzipping the bag and securing Drekker’s motionless limbs with over a dozen of the steel clamps.
“The commander will see you now,” the other soldier said, turning to Ethan. “You think you can find your way, or do you require an escort?” he asked.
Ethan’s face remained deadpan, just like his words. “I’m sure I can manage, Lieutenant Givens.”
Giving Ethan a strange, quiet look, the lieutenant dismissed him with a curt nod. “Don’t keep the commander waiting.”
As she and Ethan made their way back to the elevator, there was an urgency to his stride not often seen, and Davey was nearly forced into a jog just to keep up. Her mind was a whirlwind. It was difficult to know where to start. Waiting for the elevator doors to close, the first of many questions formed on her tongue, but then Ethan spoke.
“This facility is a prison. Every time the commander brought me back, I was confined here for debrief and reconditioning. These soldiers have developed very effective methods—even for someone like me.”
Taking his hand into hers, she held it tightly. “I hate them for hurting you. I’m so sorry, Ethan,” she whispered.
“It’s alright. I have done a lot of shit and probably earned worse punishment.”
“I don’t know everything about your past, and I can’t imagine what they did to you, but you will never get me to believe you deserved it.”
He gazed at her steadily, his grey eyes filled with gratitude and love. “There you go believing in me again.” Lowering his lips to hers, he kissed her softly. “Turns out, it has always been you who’s made me human.”
The elevator stopped somewhat violently, but Ethan steadied her. The doors unsealed, opening to a carpeted stairwell leading upwards. He tugged her forward. “No matter what happens, remember you can bring me back. Please never give up on me, Davey.”
“Never,” she said firmly. “Never.”
If they want to hurt him, this time they’ll have to kill me first, she silently swore.
The room they eventually reached was unguarded, but as Davey carefully considered why that was, she realized a man like the commander wouldn’t need security. He was more than capable of disarming whatever threat came against him. Ezra Eleazar, Seth Eleazar’s oldest brother—also known as Commander “Zed”—was the man tasked to bring Ethan back in line whenever he disobeyed orders. The commander had never been convinced that the automaton actually contained the soul of his youngest brother who was killed in a car accident many years before, largely because Ethan lacked both the memories and personality of late Seth Eleazar. Now the reason for that was obvious. Seth’s soul had been split into two halves. Part of him and many of his memories had never transmuted to the android who became Ethan Remington. Davey wondered how Dr. Savage (it felt strange to think of him her father) had accomplished such a thing. Though the original formula for human transmutation had been found in Ethan’s base code, there had been nothing about a method of splitting a soul into separate halves.
Instead of looking like the quarters of the militant leader of a deadly strike force, the office was more reminiscent of an executive suite belonging to a millionaire CEO. The furniture, décor, expensive art, and even several exotic office plants—no expense had been spared. And if it wasn’t black or white, it was made of glass.
Two men waited behind an ebony-colored desk. One stood. The other sat in a rather rigid-looking chair when compared to the lush surroundings. Both men possessed the same blond hair, blue eyes, and broad shoulders. They were definitely close relatives. She knew the man in the chair. His face she would never forget. Eleven years ago, Davey had been severely injured by a vengeful drug lord when this man and about two dozen other soldiers had shown up, whisking her and Ethan away to a facility like the one below. True, the commander had spared her life back then. But he hadn’t been so kind to his brother. After interrogating Ethan for three days, the commander had cruelly carved off half of Ethan’s face and amputated one of his legs, just to prove Ethan was a machine and not a man. No doubt he was the reason Ethan had disappeared five years ago as well. Seeing the commander now stirred some pretty dark feelings within Davey, but it was hard to tell if he even remembered her. His expression was a permanent scowl. She would have bet it didn’t change even when he slept.
“Ethan Remington, what a treat it is for you to have actually completed a mission and then return to base as scheduled. I almost don’t know how to proceed with this conversation.”
“Good to see you too, Ezra,” Ethan said, giving his brother a lazy salute. “And I know. I even surprised myself this time.”
The commander’s gaze hardened at the remark, while his companion’s eyes widened almost imperceptibly. “Impertinence isn’t typically your style, Remington,” the commander said.
Ethan shrugged. “Yeah well, it’s Thursday. So I figured, what the hell.”
The second man spoke, interrupting whatever the commander was about to say. “What the hell is right. What’s going on with you?”
“Isn’t it obvious?” the commander answered gruffly. “It’s the girl. She’s gotten inside his head as usual. Take him downstairs.”
Shaking his head, the second man held up his hand as if to silence the commander. “It’s not that.” He turned back to Ethan. “Something’s changed. Even with your memories, you were never a cocky smartass. What’s happened?”
“Maybe all of your mind-fucking finally took its toll. Or maybe I watched The Terminator.” He stuck his thumb up. “Great movie by the way.”
It took everything Davey had to bury the smile from her lips.
The commander was nowhere near as amused. “You should thank your unholy creator that I can’t get out of this goddamn chair.”
Shifting his angry glare toward Davey, the commander’s hands disappeared beneath the desk. Then his chair began to move backward and then rolled forward, propelling him into full view. Davey gasped. Averting his gaze, Ethan stepped back as if the commander had struck him.
The commander guffawed. “That’s still the same Ethan. Too much of a coward to look at his own handiwork.”
Davey couldn’t stop staring. The commander’s legs were but emaciated husks of the thickly muscled limbs that once moved him with the grace and stealth of a big cat. She surmised he’d been confined to a chair for some time. It would have taken many months or even years of inactivity for the mass of his legs to wither so severely.
“Don’t feel sorry for me, Ms. Little. I won’t stand for anyone’s pity.”
Feeling her cheeks redden, Davey muttered a feeble apology and redirected her focus to the commander’s vexed blue eyes. But in the process of doing so, she noticed the thin strap that held his torso to the wheelchair. Apparently, the commander had been paralyzed from the chest down, but had at least retained use of his upper limbs. Davey gulped. Especially with his enhanced genetic code, it seemed unimaginable that something like this could happen to a man with such physical prowess.
Who did this to you, she wanted to ask.
The commander scowled at her in full force for a moment longer, before taking his wheelchair behind the desk again. “This is your mess now, Aaron. What are you going to do with them?”
Aaron’s eyes narrowed thoughtfully as he studied Ethan. “Since you’ve completed your task,” he began at last, “I see no need for further action. File a full report, take a few days off, and wait for orders.”
“If I may, sir?” Ethan began, but did not continue until Aaron nodded. “The only way to contain Drekker was to give him exactly what he wanted and then trap him inside of the android while he was still acclimating to the new body. The soul harness I placed on his chest should not be removed, sir. You think I was a pain in the ass—Drekker cannot be controlled. And if he gets free, he will be unstoppable.”
“File the report. I’ll make sure your assessment goes up the chain.”
“Make them listen, sir,” Ethan said in a soft but grave tone.
Even if Aaron thought Ethan was being insubordinate, he seemed genuinely willing to heed the warning. “I’ll do my best to keep that scourge from seeing daylight again.”
Still seated behind the desk, Ezra did not look as if he approved. “What about the girl?”
“She’s a civilian, Ezra. She is not mine to command,” Aaron answered succinctly. “Agent Remington, you are dismissed.”
Ethan gave a rigid salute to Aaron. “Thank you, Commander Zephyr,” he said, confirming several conclusions Davey had already drawn.
“Oh, and Ethan…I don’t know how you succeeded in getting Drekker into that android after our own scientists struggled for months to solve the problem. But maybe it’d be best to keep any mention of Ms. Little out of your report.”
“Yes, sir,” Ethan answered promptly. Turning to his oldest brother, he inclined his head. “Ezra,” he said gently. Then he took Davey by the elbow and ushered her out of the office.
“Ethan,” she began once the door had closed behind them, but he pressed one finger to his lips and shook his head. Of course, supernatural hearing, she thought and obediently fell silent until they were in the car and beyond the base’s outer gate. The quiet gave her time to collect her thoughts. “Is that what you wanted me to see?” she asked.
Ethan nodded.
“Ezra isn’t the commander anymore?”
“There’s no way he could lead a field operation in his current condition. He had no choice but to forfeit the position to our brother, Aaron.”
So much guilt had been in Ethan’s eyes when Ezra had wheeled from behind that desk. The former commander hadn’t been lying. Ethan really couldn’t look at him.
“Did you hurt him, Ethan?”
He was quiet for so long, Davey began to wonder if he would answer. His hand tightened over the steering wheel as he finally spoke. “When they came for me five years ago, I resisted. You and I had just had a big fight. I knew I couldn’t leave you like that, thinking I was angry enough to walk out on you forever. I asked for more time, but Ezra refused and tried to take me by force.” Ethan paused, gritting his teeth. “I had already killed at least one of his men when Ezra intervened. I was in a desperate rage, Davey. It’s not an excuse, just the only explanation I can come up with for what I did to him.”
“They couldn’t fix him? Twice now I’ve been given a serum from Global Cures, and it’s miraculously healed my injuries.”
Ethan shook his head. “That stuff has limits. My brother wasn’t pulling his punches, so neither was I.” He took a breath, but still wouldn’t look at her. “I—I pulverized his spine. Part of it is still missing. It’s because of the serum that Ezra isn’t dead or completely paralyzed. At least with the use of his arms, he can still be useful to the company.”
“I think you hate yourself for it more than he does.”
“Shouldn’t I?”
Davey carefully considered her answer. “No,” she finally said. “Not unless you went into that fight with the intent of killing or seriously maiming your brother. To some extent, you were both designed for war. God knows, Ezra is no innocent. He knew what he signed up for and assumed those risks. Leading a task force whose sole purpose is to hunt you down is a dangerous job.”
Ethan sighed. “I know you’re right. I just can’t look at him, Davey. Knowing what I did. I can’t forgive myself.”
“You wouldn’t be human if you could.”