Page 45 of A Cyborg for the Alien Mercenary

“This way!” a voice called out. She turned to see the blonde woman who had been arguing with Davis gesturing frantically at them. “I know a way out!”

Grabbing Covak’s arm, Jesh shoved him that way. “Let’s move!”

Within seconds they were all crowded into the cramped passageway, the hidden door sealing itself behind them with a soft whisper. The din of pursuing footsteps and bellowed commands cut off to almost nothing, giving way to the harsh breathing of the group as they cleared the last of the smoke from the grenades from their lungs. However, Jesh had to admit as she started breathing again, the air in here didn’t help. It was thick and musty, laced with the unmistakable scent of reprocessed air.

The blonde turned to face them, her face pale but determined in the dim emergency lighting.

“Not being funny,” Ryke growled. “But who thedraanthare you?”

“I’m Mira,” she replied, not backing down from his steely gaze. “Doctor Rettnor’s PA… or I was. I know a way out of here.”

Anson’s eyes narrowed, the big B’Kaar’s posture tense. “Why should we trust you?” he demanded, his hand hovering near his weapon in silent threat.

Davis stepped between his teammate and the blonde. “She turned on her boss. Betrayed him to help us. We can trust her.”

Jesh watched the exchange, noting the slight tremor in Mira’s hands and the way her gaze kept darting to the closed door behind them. She saw fear there, but also a steely resolve.

Anson still looked skeptical, his jaw clenched.

“The enemy of my enemy is my friend,” she said with a shrug. “Besides, without me, you’ll never get out of this building without being caught.”

Reapers exchanged glances, and then Ryke gave a curt nod, his ice-blue eyes locked on Mira. “We need to get to the landing pad. Can you get us there?”

“Not a chance.” She shook her head, blonde strands escaping her messy ponytail. “They’ll be locking the building down. We won’t get past security.”

“We have to,” Ryke countered. “Rann will be coming in the shuttle for us. I’d really prefer that he didn’t have to destroy half the building to get us out.”

Lines creased between her brows as she thought. After a moment, her eyes lit up. “The roof,” she suggested. “It’s a viable alternative.”

“How many people know about these corridors?” Jesh asked, looking around them. These definitely weren’t public-facing areas. In fact, they looked a lot like maintenance corridors, but she couldn’t work out why a medical clinic would need them.

“Just me,” Mira said. “I had to dig out the building plans a few years ago for one of the operating room refits, and I realized they were here.

Ryke considered this for a heartbeat before nodding. “Lead the way,” he ordered.

Covak turned to her, the dim light of the corridor making his eyes glow as he handed her his backup weapon—a sleek, black handgun with an oddly curved grip.

Her fingers closed around it, the cool metal a reassuring presence in her palm. She took a moment to familiarize herself with its weight, her thumb instinctively finding the safety.

“Thanks,” she murmured, the word barely audible over the soft hum of the ventilation system shafts that ran over their heads. Because of the scan, she’d had to leave her own sidearm behind, and walking into the clinic without a firearm had left her feeling vulnerable and exposed—helpless again.

The group followed Mira through the rabbit warren of dark back corridors. Emergency lights pulsed an angry red, casting eerie shadows that danced across the walls. She led them with a confidence that said she’d used these passages a lot, her small frame darting around corners and through maintenance access ways until she paused by a door.

“This as far as these can take us,” she said, tension written in every line of her small body. “We have to go the rest of the way to the roof in the main corridors.”

As they stepped into the corridor, the Reapers fanned out, their movements fluid and practiced. Jesh fell into step with them, her body responding instinctively to the unspoken cues of a battle formation. She’d never fought alongside these alien mercenaries before, but she moved into place like she’d been a member of the team for years.

Covak looked over his should and smiled. She couldn’t help smiling back. He was behaving himself now, not trying to protecther anymore but letting her be who she was… who she’d always been. A solider.

They approached an intersection, and Mira held up a hand, stopping the group instantly.

“Wait,” she whispered as she looked around the concealing cover of a pillar. “This is a choke point. They’ll be expecting us to come this way.”

Jesh frowned as she tucked herself in behind Mira.

“Do you have military training?” she asked, even as she cast a glance down at the woman. She was tiny, almost frail-looking, with the gaunt features of someone who had been depriving themselves of proper nutrition. She couldn’t have been more than twenty, which meant she was far too young to be a veteran.

A blush crept across Mira’s cheeks.

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