Page 15 of A Cyborg for the Alien Mercenary

Anson grinned broadly. “They won’t know what hit them.”

“And extraction?” Covak rumbled, his deep voice rolling around the room. “You leading that one?”

Rann shook his head. “I’m running overwatch on this one. You’re on extraction. Your objective is to get Jane and bring her back here safe and sound. You’ll be on your own for this one. Think you can handle it?”

“Abso-frexxing-lutely. I’m a one-Vorrtan-army. Remember?” He grinned. A chance to rescue the damsel in distress? He wasallover that like a bad rash.

Rann nodded. “Excellent. The compound’s outer defenses are standard human military fare—electrified fences, guard towers, and patrols. The real challenge will be inside with automated defenses and more patrols. The compound’s got inner layers of security that can’t be hacked remotely. Once we get in there, it’s going to be a close-quarters fight.”

Covak grinned, his claws glinting under the mission room’s lights. “Sounds like my kind of party.”

Davis chimed in. “I’ve rigged up some EMP charges. Close range only since we don’t want to fry either the shuttle, or if Janeislike Zero, damage any of her systems. We can deploy them to take out electronic surveillance and automated defenses, but they won’t last long. Once you’re in, speed is critical. I don’t know these particular assholes, but I’ve known a lot like them, so chances are they’ll have a hardcore security team around Jane.”

Ryke nodded in agreement. “We’ve got one shot at this, and we’re not coming back empty-handed. Everyone clear on what they need to do?”

A collective nod confirmed the team’s readiness. Ryke’s ice-blue eyes locked on to each of them, one by one, gauging their resolve. “Good. Gear up. We hit the target system in one hour.”

She didn’t recognizeany of this.

Jesh watched out the window as the sleek, black car glided through the streets, its tinted windows reflecting the pristine facades of towering skyscrapers. Inside, Jesh sat rigidly, her arms wrapped around herself. The air was thick with tension, punctuated only by the soft hum of the vehicle’s engine and the occasional rustle of Amanda’s designer suit as she shifted uncomfortably.

Jesh’s gaze was fixed on the window, but she’d stopped looking at gleaming buildings and holographic advertisements as they passed them. Instead, her mind was a chaotic whirlwind of questions, and each was more unsettling than the last. Who—no,whatwas she? And what did these people want from her? Why the ruse?

And the worried looks her “mother” kept shooting her way from across the backseat weren’t lost on Jesh. They were like accusing little pinpricks on her skin… the look in Amanda’s eyes full of worry for her injured daughter.

“Elena, sweetheart,” Amanda said softly, “are you feeling alright? You’ve been so quiet since we left Dr. Lewis’s office.”

She turned her head slightly, and met Amanda’s eyes. They were a deep blue, filled with motherly concern. But Jesh knew better now. She could see the calculation behind that gaze, thesubtle tightening around Amanda’s eyes that betrayed her true emotions: fear and anticipation.

“I’m just tired,” she replied, her voice sounding rusty and foreign to her ears. Was it always this husky, or was that a result of whatever they had done to her before she woke up? “The tests…I’m so tired.”

Amanda nodded, reaching out to pat her hand. The touch sent a jolt through her system, and she had to fight the urge to snatch her hand back. “Of course, sweetheart. We’ll be home soon, and then you can rest.”

Home.

The word echoed hollowly in Jesh’s mind. Despite what they had been trying to tell her, she knew with bone-deep certainty that she hadn’t grow up here. She hadn’t attended the prestigious academy whose holographic crest they’d passed moments ago. She hadn’t ever set foot in the impressive hall Amanda had pointed out as the location of her first dance recital.

Amanda prattled on about dinner plans and upcoming social engagements, but Jesh let her mind wander, sifting through the fragments of information she’d gleaned during the doctor’s visit. She analyzed them in case she’d missed something, turning them over to study them from a different angle in case there was a detail she hadn’t seen from the previous perspective.

She was obviously some kind of experiment, maybe not even human. Amanda had referred to her as an “it,” not a “she.” A chill rolled down her spine, but she pushed on with the thought. Okay, if she wasn’t human, what was she? Was she some kind of advanced clone? A synthetic being? Is that why she had no memory beyond the past eight days? Had she only been born last week?

J10-10M3E activation date 345937.4, the voice said suddenly. Jesh blinked. Okay, so the voice in the doctor’s officehadn’t been an episode of mania brought on by the stress of the tests.

What does that mean?she asked, hoping the voice would respond.How long ago was that?

After a momentary pause,Chronologically, that was forty-seven years, four months, and three days ago.

Her eyes widened, and she turned to stare at her reflection in the car window to cover the movement. The face that looked back at her couldn’t have belonged to someone pushing fifty. She didn’t even look thirty yet. Her skin was smooth, her eyes bright, her hair a dark, chestnut brown without a hint of gray.

Wait, so J10-10M3E is me?she asked, but this time, the voice remained silent. Frustration bubbled up inside her. The damn thing only seemed to answer what it wanted to.

Did Dr. Lewis create me?

More silence.

Who created me?

Finally, the voice responded,Onboard memory inaccessible.

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