“You’re acting pretty nonchalant about it for someone who feels that way,” Lucy accused.
Eric shook his head. “Not really… but I saw your scars before you made them disappear, Captain. I have no illusions about what you had to deal with before I knew you. All I can say in my defense for letting a relationship between us develop at all is I’ve never cared for a woman the way I came to care about you. I know this must sound crazy to someone just finding out about it.”
“Yes. All this is crazy… but strangely as real as any other thought I’m having. I think I will need some time—maybe a lot of time—to sort it all out. Thanks for telling me,” Lucy said, running a hand through her hair. It felt nice and not a frizzy mess for once. Did she have him to thank for that too?
Eric nodded. “Of course you need time. When you get out of the cage, I thought maybe I could show you around, get you something to eat, and help you start adjusting to your new situation.”
Lucy snorted. “Sounds almost like you’re asking me for a date.”
“Okay. It could be that.” Eric held his breath as he waited to hear her reaction.
Lucy snorted. “Help me adjust to my new situation?” She held up her hand. “Are you sure you wrote this romantic shit on my hand? Because frankly, you don’t seem the mushy type. You seem more like the ‘honey fetch me a beer’ type, which I can tell you right now is not going to fly with me.”
Eric laughed at her sarcasm. “Just read the damn files on us—all the files. Then we can talk about what type I am. Maybe you’ll find out I have as many versions of myself as you do. ”
He was smiling when he finally walked out the door.
Chapter 25
Lucy blew out a breath, stood up and paced after Eric left. “Holy crap, Lucille. The man locked you in a cage and you didn’t even bust his chops for it. Do you have fucking Stockholm’s syndrome or something?”
“Not really, Captain. It’s more like ya lost ya fecking mind over the lad. Oh… sorry. Perhaps that was in poor taste considering ya just had a brain operation. It’s just that ya used to like the giant men… more like Captain Elliott or that Kingston fellow that owns the restaurant. Aja and I figure Eric must be something very special between the sheets to have reeled ya in so hard.”
Lucy turned, blinked, and closed her eyes. When she opened them again, two avenging angels stood smiling at her. She went back to the cot and dropped down on it to sit. “For a moment there, I thought I was hallucinating. You really did escape the madness no matter what they made me do to call you back. Where are the others? Did Kathryn and Lynnette make it?”
“Yes… but they’re not able to come see ya at the moment,” Meara said softly, continuing when Aja nodded once. “Let’s not talk about them today. You got enough to worry about. We’ll catch you up on everything eventually.”
“So did these new scientists fix you too?” Lucy asked.
Aja snorted. “Yes—if you consider getting new cybernetics as being fixed. The resident Dr. Cyberstein turned off all the invasive programs, including the Cyber Wife and New World Companion ones. He wasn’t content with the modest changes I made, which in the end saved our asses. Oh no, my programming work wasn’t good enough for him.”
Swearing in Hindi, Aja walked across the room and fetched a chair. Handing it to Meara, she went back to get a second one.
Lucy was reading her files as fast as her processor would let her. She did not find the scientist Aja spoke about. “I see no one by that name in my data records, Aja. Who’s Dr. Cyberstein?”
Meara turned to glare at Aja. “See what ya started? Don’t be confusing her brain with yar bitching and moaning today.” She turned back to Lucy. “His real name is Nero Bastion—
Dr. Nero Bastion
. He and Dr. Kyra Winters, one of the original creators, did your restoration. And don’t let Aja’s name calling fool ya. She likes Nero’s ass—his very
brown
ass, if you know what I mean.”
“You’re such a racist,” Aja declared, turning to glare meaningfully.
“Better that than an over-rationalizer,” Meara declared right back. “And I speak true. What ya think is all over ya face whenever he’s near.”
Aja huffed. “No—not true. I do not like the man the way you think. But if I did, it would not be because of how he looks. He’s a cyber scientist. He is our enemy.”
Meara shook her head. “No. Hell no. Nero is not our enemy, ya stubborn arse. Bradley 360 is our enemy. No—feck me for being wrong still. Whoever programmed him is our enemy.”
Lucy’s gaze bounced between them. “I’m still confused. Who is Bradley 360? No wait…” She searched her files, found the reference, and read about the attack against her and Eric.
And there were older files… before Bradley 360’s conversion… back when he’d been the very human and very evil, Dr. Bradley Smith. He was responsible for a good deal of what had been done to her. Heat suffused her face as repressed anger over it rolled through her.
“Yes. Bradley 360 is definitely our enemy—or at least he is mine and Eric’s. Where is he now?”
Lucy saw Aja start to answer but an alarm sounded an interruption. The room’s electronic door automatically locked them inside. The security action was a well intentioned barrier intended to keep humans safe from harm. It just wasn’t an effective measure on cyborgs programmed for stealth. Anti-security devices had been an added feature during their Cyber Wife days when nearly all the females in their unit had been strategically placed with men the UCN had wanted to monitor.
Jumping up, Meara ran to peer into the hall. Aja rose with a sigh and walked to look out an exterior window.
“Can either of you see what’s going on?” Lucy asked from inside the cage.
“Seems to be some sort of lockdown,” Meara reported. “Don’t see anyone running out there. Ah… yes I do. I see your blond boy toy out there dealing with all the white coated scientists who are panicking. He’s talking to several Norton guards now. All real ones—no bots. I expect he will be coming to our rescue shortly as well. He’s terrible sweet on ya, Lucy.”
Lucy lifted her palm and looked at the red heart again. “So it would seem.”
Aja snorted and walked to join Meara at the door. “Yes. Sickeningly sweet. In my opinion, his pseudo-heroic actions are totally unnecessary.”
“Hush, ya heartless harpy. Eric’s feelings for Lucy are romantic. Ya should be so lucky if Nero thought ya were worth the same trouble,” Meara exclaimed, punching her friend’s arm to emphasize her point.
Behind them Aja and Meara heard the cell door open. Neither of them looked around as they ducked chins to hide their approving smiles. In three steps, Lucy’s head was between theirs peering out of the small window with them.
Aja poked a snorting Meara on the arm. “Looks like Mr. Hero forgot to put a manual padlock on her cage. That will teach him.”
“From my extensive files on Eric, my assumption is he well knows my capabilities. Therefore, it would be reasonable to assume it was an intentional oversight on his part. He said I was getting out of the cage in three hours anyway, so I’m just a couple ahead of schedule. You two came in before I could make a decision about whether or not I wanted to escape the cell on my own.”
Meara snorted louder as they watched Eric talking to Peyton. She saw a good-looking man standing in the circle and wondered who he was. She also wondered what it would take to get an introduction to him. Her instant attraction made her grin.
“Doesn’t matter about yar reasoning, Lucy. Boy-O will blame us for yar liberation anyway. After spending so much time with the tame version of ya, he probably thinks ya’re incapable of anything devious.”
Lucy snorted. “He’s not thinking at all about me—or at least not with his brain. Do you know why I have so many files on him when I have nearly no files on other contracts?”
Meara turned, looked into Lucy’s confused face, and then dramatically rolled her eyes.
“How can ya blame Eric when ya’re not using yar full brain either?” When she got a blank look, Meara huffed. “By the gods, I don’t know what ya and Aja would do without me around to explain everything important. I thought I was the one with all the frigging handicaps. Could the reason possibly be because ya actually like the man?”
Lucy looked at Aja. “She sounds just like the recordings I have of her from seven years ago.”
“The science bastards didn’t have time to change much of her real personality before we escaped,” Aja declared.
Lucy snorted. “I wish I could say the same. I suppose I should be glad they built in a daily data flush for me. All in all though I’m feeling better than I thought I would. Outside of still wanting to kill Jackson Channing and Bradley Smith, I’m not as mentally deranged as I figured I would be after all they did.”
Aja and Meara exchanged a questioning look, then both turned to stare at Lucy. When they realized she was serious, Aja frowned. “Lucy, you killed Jackson Channing years ago.”
Lucy shook her head. “No. I am sure I would have made a detailed record of it if I had managed to do that. My files do not show any record of me causing his death.”
Meara swallowed hard. “Captain—I mean, Lucy—killing Dr. Channing was the real reason ya got put in the freaking dungeon—I mean, bomb shelter. There was a dead body at yar bloody feet after ya snapped. As far as they could determine, ya beat the hell out of him, broke his neck, and then finished the job by setting the bastard on fire. I continue to applaud yar creativity every time the deed comes up in conversation.”
“No, Meara. I did not kill Dr. Jackson Channing. Maybe I killed someone I was programmed to kill, but I guarantee you it was not him. Given the amount and the sorts of data I’ve managed to save, I am quite sure there would have been a file. No one will convince me the evil bastard is actually dead until I see his decomposed remains.”
Aja frowned. “The man is dead Lucy. The world blames you for it, so you might as well own it proudly. You killed Jackson Channing. It was on every World Com station when it happened. It was investigated and proven beyond doubt.”
“So neither of you believe me then?” Lucy demanded.
Two heads shaking were her answer. She thought about it as she stared back into the chaos happening in the hall. Could she have killed Jackson Channing and not known it? There were certainly a lot of things she didn’t remember. Her confidence in the matter certainly defied all data she was being offered. To not believe it had happened would be illogical. But why wouldn’t she have made at least one note in her files about killing the man who had tortured her for years? Even as messed up as she’d been when Peyton Elliott had started visiting, she’d been able to record some facts about him… and later Eric.
When she saw Eric break from the group, Lucy shrugged off her thoughts about killing the scientist and calmly walked back to the cage. She went inside and quickly closed the door behind her, making sure it clicked. The security recording was going to show her leaving and returning to the cell, but by the time Eric found out, she’d be in the clear of his time limit on her full freedom.
Across the room, she noticed double grins directed her way. Lucy crossed her arms and glared over their amusement. “Don’t make me come back out there and kick your asses.”
Aja made a disgusted sound, but Meara giggled at the threat.
“Why are ya back in the fecking cage, Lucy? Are ya that afraid to make the lad mad at ya? Ya must like him even more than I imagined if ya’re wanting to spare his poor male ego.”
Aja finally giving in to her well-fought, snickering laughter widened Meara’s smile. It was nearly like their old academy days for the three of them to be giving each other hell every two seconds. Thank the gods the three of them had survived to share this moment. She’d have to light a white candle next time she said her prayers.
Watching an embarrassed frown bloom on Lucy’s face, Aja tamped down her mirth and cleared her throat. “Sorry, Lucy. I hate myself for it, but I was actually having the same thoughts as Irish. But since she brought it up… are you still running some of the New World Companion code? Dr. Cyberstein swears you can ignore it. Maybe we should get him to check you out.”
“Why should I confess my motivations to you two? You wouldn’t believe me anyway.”
Hearing their full-out laughter again, Lucy used both hands to flip them double birds moments before Eric walked through the door.
***
“Ladies… time to leave,” Eric ordered, holding the door open. A laughing Meara and Aja hurried by him.
He turned his face to the cage and grinned. “Get out of there. I saw you looking out of the door window just moments ago. Nero is going to have my ass when he finds out I forgot to use the manual lock on your cell. I was so excited when you woke up that I forgot.”
Lucy hung her head as the cage door clicked. She sighed as she lifted her chin and walked back out of the cell. “And I was trying to feed those romantic ideas you have about me by not making you feel bad about forgetting.”
She paused in the room doorway and turned to meet his twinkling gaze. He really was a good looking man. That was not an exaggeration in the least. They were close enough now for her to feel the masculine heat rolling off him. His adrenaline was running high, but he also smelled familiar, which she found very comforting. It went a long way to convincing her that her files on him were recorded truths.