Page 17 of Darken
“Maybe you could get a dog?” Layna suggested.
“I don’t think so,” Gina said. “I’m going in the field with Darken---for a while anyway. Maybe someday, but I think we are not done with the wolves. They could pose a danger to a dog.”
“How did you like the house?” Danya asked.
“I’ve never seen anything like it. It’s beautiful---cut right out of a rock mountain and set out in the middle of nowhere,” she said with a touch of disappointment that her friends didn’t miss.”
“But?” Layna prompted.
“I would have to irrigate if I want to grow any vegetables, and they would need protection from the relentless sun.”
“Maybe, you could grow them in one of the empty rooms with lighting,” Iris suggested. “My friend Tania has a grow bed in her basement where she grows herbs and vegetables in the winter.”
“Maybe I will discuss it with Darken,” Gina said.
“If you mention it, he will make it happen if he thinks it will make you happy,” Danya said. “Our cyborgs are very attentive to our desires. Making us happy makes them happy.”
“You are happy, aren’t you?” Layna teased.
Gina blushed as she laughed. “Oh, yeah!”
ChapterEleven
Darken was glad to get together with Vyken Dark and Jolt Somber and meet Axel, whom he only knew by name. Whether they were genetically related or not, they were all part of a brotherhood with about 25% female cyborgs.
“Good to see you all again,” said Vyken. “Come on inside, and we’ll have a chat. They filed into the formal dining room and seated themselves at the polished wooden table with a thermal carafe of hot tea and four mugs. “I figured since our mates wanted to gather, we could debrief informally.”
“I’m interested to learn what I can expect as I start this,” said Darken.
“Initially, Iris and I went from homestead to homestead. Then to some hamlets with a handful of houses occupied,” Jolt offered. “Just having Iris with me helped put the people at ease. They’d gone for generations without seeing a vehicle that wasn’t pulled by an animal.”
“Sounds like a big change from the war,” Darken remarked.
“It’s probably 50% public relations, explaining the Enclave to people and passing out com tablets. Then assess what they need to make them prosperous and restore their utilities.” Vyken said.
“We are primarily protectors for the other half of the job,” Axel said. “We’ve had some incursions by eastern gangers trying to steal young females for their overlord’s brothels.”
“This time, they came into the Enclave village and took my Gina,” Darken frowned. “They took her in broad daylight. How could this happen?”
“The security system was hacked from outside, through one of our own satellites,” Vyken said. “We’ve changed the codes, and the techs are working with our AI to backtrace the hack.”
“They’ve broken the treaty multiple times,” Axel said. “Dagger Jack discovered a homestead in Enclave territory that had ties to Overlord Alexander Berke’s personal bodyguard, Wrath Mallis. We finally found out that Mallis’s female lives on that homestead. It belonged to her family.”
“How did she ever get hooked up with Wrath Mallis?” Vyken asked. “He’s a converted natural; he is not limited to a genetic match.”
“Gangers took her to Farringay to sell into the brothels. Mallis wanted her, so he paid the gangers….” Axel began, “…He won her over, and she fell in love with him.”
“We’re leaving them alone because he is just spending time with his mate and not causing any trouble,” said Jolt.
“And he’s Layna’s father’s right-hand man,” Axel added. “We haven’t had any more trouble from his operations. Apparently, he’s warned off the other overlords from encroaching on our territory.”
“That didn’t stop Devlin White from taking Gina,” Darken growled.
“It was personal,” Vyken replied. “We’ve never had any of his people come into Enclave territory before.”
“I wanted to find him and kill him, but Gina was my first priority. He had her hogtied on the floor in a cold dark room without food or water for over 24 hours. He was trying to break her, the sadistic bastard,” Darken gritted. “She believed he intended to kill her.”
“Someone tried to kill you both, whoever sent that fighter after you,” Vyken said. “That’s where things get complicated. We are officially prohibited from going after him for what he did, although we could contest any complaint, they make about your rescuing Gina after White had her abducted.”
