Page 26 of Monstrous Rampage
I didn’t look toward the doorway. I didn’t want to see the gloating smug look on his face that I heard in his voice. “What did you do to me while I was out?”
“Very little, to be honest. Some anti-inflammatory meds and a little something to help you rest, and you’re as good as new.”
“I meant before you dropped me into the cell withSyko.” I dragged my gaze up to Snyder’s, putting emphasis on the name he’d denied the BGR++ having.
His eyebrows arched in a brief tick of surprise. He’d hoped that memory had been wiped.Too bad, bucko. I remember everything.
“You were given hCG to promote follicle maturation. This is a breeding program after all, Miss Price. I was honest about that aspect of your stay with us from the very beginning.”
“Honest is not a word I’d associate with you,Dr. Snyder.”
“If I may ask, how much do you remember?”
I merely stared back at him, keeping my face smooth and blank.Play dumb. Stay alive.“Of what?”
“Do you remember the BGR++ raping you?”
I narrowed my eyes to hopefully disguise the flinch.You won’t have to endure me again.
But what if I want to, Syko? Though maybe not the T-rex.“This is a breeding program, as you said. What did you expect to happen if you put me in with a ravenous monster?”
“Do you understand the significance of what you accomplished?”
I rolled my eyes and crossed my arms over my chest. “All I know is I survived when a hundred other women didn’t. What now?”
He stepped back toward the laboratory and motioned for me to come with him. “We get to work selecting your next candidate.”
I wanted to see Syko, but I played along and followed him back to the workstation where another cloche waited. The view screen displayed thumbnails of the fourteen other dyni on the ship.
Clearly, he didn’t want me to focus on Syko. I didn’t want to betray too much attachment—but I also needed to figure out Snyder’s endgame. “Wouldn’t it make more sense to keep trying with the one who didn’t kill me, instead of risking an attack with an unknown dynos?”
“Eat your breakfast, Miss Price, and I’ll answer your questions. We must keep you vibrant and healthy.”
Letting out a soft sigh, I sat in the offered chair and removed the cloche to reveal a beautifully fluffy, cheesy omelet stuffed with spinach and mushrooms, another cup of coffee, and a bowl of fresh fruit salad. As soon as I took a bite of papaya, Snyder continued.
“The BGR++ needs to be taught a lesson in restraint. I’m afraid he’s being rather unruly after his little session with you. Once he cooperates, we’ll allow you to see him again.”
Maybe it was my imagination, but I could feel something in the air. Vibrations. Sounds too low to register in my human ears. Syko was evidently putting up quite the fit.
My lips twitched as I took another bite. Good.
“Besides, you did specify a desire for a full squad like Miss Whit. Though I’m afraid it’ll be quite the challenge to put together a cohesive squad like hers. Squad Z288C was built to suit each other’s strengths and weaknesses from the very beginning. Only Axxol was experimental. The rest of the squad was developed from tried-and-true archetypes, making them exemplary specimens.”
I ate methodically, not responding to his words. Evidently he thought women could be manipulated just by playing on emotions like jealousy. He was trying to needle me into some kind of competition.“My squad’s better than your squad”bullshit.
“If I may make a recommendation, I’d like you to consider this specialist as your next conquest.”
One of the images expanded. The dynos had way too many legs, and for a moment, I feared it was the spider guy. But this one had two large pinchers on either side of his armored triceratops frill and two long antenna-looking things rather than horns.
“For your health and safety, I’d prefer to ensure you have a medic on the squad. Rekt is the latest SP iteration on atriceratops base crossed with a decapod for more armory. Unlike Snryx, he only has two medical implements, but he can still complete surgeries and administer life support.”
Sipping the coffee, I finally replied, “He has too many legs.”
“Well, he is crossed with crustacean DNA. Deca?—”
“I know what decapod means,” I broke in. “Ten feet. I get it. I just don’t like it. He looks too much like the Araneae dynos. I don’t do spiders.”
Snyder’s face slipped to the silver agent, as if he quite honestly didn’t know what to do with me. “SPTD was found to lack enough flexible implements in the field for an active-duty squad. But for your medical care, he should have plenty of adaptability.” He coughed lightly. “Other than the crab-like legs, which unfortunately we can’t do much about.”
