Marcus 582: Book Three of Cyborgs: Mankind Redefined (16 page)

King snorted and glared at Peyton. “Queenie, your fantasies are killing me.”

Listening to Peyton’s delighted laugh at his insult, King turned to the man and asked how much the cover was. Since Peyton had already mentioned it was his birthday, it left King no choice but to fork over the outrageous cost of gaining entrance.

He turned back to Peyton. “This better be worth spending all this money. I’m only doing this for Marcus.”

Peyton nodded and tried to look appreciative. At least his smile wasn’t fake. It was fun as hell to see King so irritated.

The door guy ushered them inside with an eye roll.

“Now what?” King asked morosely when they were standing alone in a hallway decorated with garish red fabric walls. “Do we stay together or split up to look for him?”

“No need, sweetie.” Peyton’s hand on King’s arm turned him toward a stage where Nathan had a woman bent over a table. King sighed and started forward to retrieve him, but Peyton used his hand to pull him back.

“Wait. He’ll be weaker after he gets done. You know young guys—five minutes and it’s all over for them. We won’t have to wait long.”

Just as King snorted, Nathan yelled and the crowd around him erupted into cheers. If the woman was enjoying it too, she made no comment as she righted herself. Apparently, Nathan was a crowd pleaser though. They watched him publicly put his equipment away while people shouted praise to him for his performance. Moments later the happy stud was walking toward them, obviously intending to leave since they hadn’t made it farther than three feet inside the door.

“Is picking him up really going to be this easy?” King asked.

As their target passed by, Peyton put out his hand. “Hey. This is our first time here. You seem like you know the score. What’s there to do?” He saw Nathan’s gaze widen as recognition flared.

The kid stepped away from his hand and back into a big pair of arms.

“Hey now,” King whispered in their target’s ear. “I can tell you’re one of those aggressive types, but we’ve just met, cutie.”

Nathan’s gaze swung over his shoulder and up into King’s glare. “I know who you two are. What do you want with me?”

Peyton took a device from his pocket. “We hear you’re into using toys to get off. We thought you might like to test this one.”

He touched the wireless taser to one of Nathan 180’s firm pectorals. The boy went down almost instantly. If King hadn’t been holding him up, Nathan’s body would have collapsed to the nasty floor.

“Hey, that shit tingled, Queenie. You could have warned me you were going to shock him.”

“Since you’re the tough guy-guy in our couple, I knew you could handle it. You also get to carry him,” Peyton ordered, smiling over Nathan’s sagging head.

Grunting, King swung the kid up over one shoulder. “Then you’re going to explain to the door guard why we’re leaving with one of their regulars after we just got here.”

Peyton pointed down the hall at a giant exit sign. A lone, half-dressed man snuck discreetly out while they watched. “Since our business is done, I thought we’d use the businessman’s exit.”

King laughed. “You always were damn lucky.”

“And you always were big enough to back me up when I wasn’t,” Peyton declared.

They left out the exit and circled around the back to make sure the front guard never saw them leaving.

***

Nero was still working on repairing Marcus’s logic chip. She’d had no choice but to take what help was available. Kyra raised her gaze to the man leaning over the medical table looking at her unconscious patient with her. “Any idea who he is, Brad?”

“Yes, Dr. Winters. As you well know, I am wirelessly connected to the UCN database. The subject is a modified human catalogued as Cybernetic Unit Nathan 180. He is also registered in all databases as Nathan Blanton. Avid gamer. Turbo coder. Subject works for Norton developing AI code for their government guard units. He was recently promoted into the spot formerly held by Dan Masterson, who is now deceased.”

Kyra nodded. “Okay. Let’s do some analysis. Someone installed a cybernetic panel and a processor in this boy, which are being used to stimulate both neural implants and the pulses responsible for the muscles he’s growing. So he’s technically only a partial cyborg. Can you postulate a theory about why he might have chosen to do this to himself.”

“The obvious conclusion available is that he is a self-improvement fanatic,” Brad reported. “He wants the benefits of being a machine without the flaws of being one. He has no registered enhancements. A full body scan by the medical table confirms no prosthetics are present.”

Kyra glanced down at the young man on her table. “Any theory about who created him?”

“There are only two creators,” Brad recited. “All others are considered replicators per UCN document 98632F87.”

“Okay. Who
replicated
him then?” Kyra asked.

Brad blinked rapidly. “He was not replicated. He was created. He has unique code not found in other cyborgs.”

“Creator 1 of 2 is dead. Creator 2 of 2 did not create him. Postulate a theory taking these facts into consideration.”

Brad lifted his head to meet his controller’s gaze. “Creator 1 of 2 is not dead, or there is another creator.”

“How can another creator exist?”

Kyra asked the question aloud just to hear the words. Her mind was rapidly rejecting possibilities. Or maybe it just wanted to. Brad continued working on the problem and offered a theory that made her blood run cold.

“Another creator could only exist if the coder managed to resolve both sets of cyborg creator codes. Only then could some combination of the two be developed as new creator source code.”

Kyra snorted. “Did you ever try to develop new creator source code?”

“Affirmative.”

“What was your success rate for your efforts?”

“Forty-nine point three eight five percent.”

Kyra nodded. “Which is exactly why I insisted on there being two sets of code. Jackson and I are really the only two people capable of creating new creator source code. Since he’s dead, and I didn’t do it, ergo this kid is running a very sophisticated hack job. But it’s a cleverly done hack…not quite as good as what you did to Rachel…but at least the person used a registered processor. The kid isn’t dealing with failures all the time even if his life will ultimately end in one if he isn’t restored to normal.”

“He could be a prototype. Rachel 235 is prototype 1 of 3,” Brad declared.

“
What?
” Kyra’s gaze flew to her assistant. “1 of 3? You made more of her?”

“I did not. I made Gloria. Creator Omega perfected the code used in the others. His prototypes successfully created a demand for Customized Companions.”

“
Who the hell is Creator Omega?
” Kyra demanded.

Brad bowed his head. “He is the ultimate creator. He gets to choose. All great minds bow before his intelligence.”

Kyra paused, mouth opened. She didn’t know what to say. “Are you in touch with this Creator Omega?”

Brad tilted his head. “In touch? I do not touch him.”

“I mean…do you ever talk to him? Does he contact you here at Norton?”

“He contacts me when he needs my services…just as you do,” Brad declared.

“Did you open the lab and let him in to see William?” Kyra demanded, forgetting the boy on the table as she came to terms with the fact that she had created her own leak.

“I have no recollection of it.”

“Where were you when the lab had its security breach?”

“My location during that is unknown. I received an order to remove that piece of memory.”

Kyra leaned her hands on the table. “This is a humbling week and I’m not nearly as smart as I thought I was.”

“You are the second most intelligent person alive on the planet.”

“Really? You’ve told me that before. Who is the most intelligent person? You?” Kyra demanded.

“No. My cybernetic modifications have limited my imagination, which is the ultimate source of a mind’s true power. My intelligence is machine-like now. Infallible logic does not foster genius.”

“Okay. So who’s smarter than me?”

Before Brad could answer her, Peyton came through the door.

“Done yet?”

“No. I got distracted. Brad has turned into a chatterbox and I’ve learned all kinds of things—like how stupid I am for one.”

“Your conclusion is inaccurate. The definition of stupid is….”

“Stop,” Kyra ordered, glaring at him. “I wasn’t being serious.”

She looked back at Peyton. “I’d like to keep Nathan for more study, but I’m worried about the time we’re losing. We should…” Kyra stopped. She wasn’t going to be stupid again. “Brad, will you ask Seetha if I can borrow her Biomedical Scope Meter? Wait on it and bring it back with you.”

“Certainly,” Brad said.

She and Peyton watched him walk to the door. When it closed behind him, Kyra breathed out a sigh.

“Someone with the freedom to come and go here at Norton thinks he’s made new creator source code. Brad has been in touch with him. I think he’s the one who sabotaged William’s initial restoration. No telling what Brad has been feeding him about our activities.”

“Want me to kill Brad now? Or do you want to do it?” Peyton asked.

“No. We need him alive for bait. Our pseudo-creator calls himself Creator Omega. I bet he’s the one Norton has on payroll doing their dirty work. He’s converted kids like this and is involved in making something called Customized Companions. Everything Dan Masterson said seems to be true.”

“Maybe we should have protected him after all,” Peyton declared.

Kyra shook her head. “No. That would have just made them go further underground with their efforts. Let’s chip this guy and get him back out in the wild. He’s got to believe his components are breaking down or he’ll never head to home base.”

“Can you break him a little without hurting him?”

Kyra snorted. “Sure. Apparently, that’s becoming my specialty.”

***

Nathan woke alone in the middle of the hallway at Norton. His electronics were strewn around him. He saw Peyton Elliott step out of one of the labs and look his way.

“Hey, dude. Are you okay?”

The man’s long limbed gait quickly ate up the distance between them. Nathan flinched as the larger, older man grabbed his arm and pulled him to his feet. Was that fear he was feeling? Or just embarrassment to be caught in a weak moment?

“Are you dizzy? Sick?” Peyton laughed and lowered his voice. “Are you hung over?”

“No. Of course not. I don’t use alcohol. It kills brain cells,” Nathan replied. “How did I get here? I’m supposed to be off today.”

Peyton snorted. “I never come here unless it’s critical to do so. I hate this fucking place. Look, I’m in sort of a hurry. If you’re okay, I’m going to take off. Let me help you get your stuff so you don’t have to bend over again.”

“Sure. Thanks,” Nathan replied, holding out his arms to let Peyton pile his things into them. “Have we met?”

“You’ve seen me on national com shows probably. I get that a lot,” Peyton declared. “Take care.”

Nathan watched him take off and leave him standing. He stood still while his processor searched his neural implants for data. Nothing seemed wrong, but he still couldn’t understand why he was here. He should have been helping with Rachel 235’s conversion.

He pulled his portable from his pocket. It was still early morning. Wow. Maybe he had over-indulged yesterday. He’d gone to the sex club and bought time with Trina. He’d headed out…or had he?

Shaking his head, he turned to go back to his office. He would tell them he was feeling sick and leave.

Chapter 12

Eric checked the tracking device. “I lost the signal, but I bet he’s down there. He couldn’t have gone much farther.”

Peyton nodded. King turned to Vincent and Steve. “No killing. Apprehend only. Use the pulse cannons if needed, but try the devices Doc gave you first. It’s supposed to knock them out.”

The five of them ran from the airjet to the large metal door. King grabbed the manual opener and started cranking. It groaned under his efforts, but finally began to move. When he’d moved it enough to make an opening to fit Vincent, Steve, and Eric through, he stopped for a breath.

“Heavy SOB,” King reported.

“Especially when you’re out of shape from eating your own food,” Peyton declared. “You’ve put on at least fifty pounds the pulse generator hasn’t been able to keep off you.”

King gave his friend a dirty look as he went back to cranking. “I don’t see your toned, fit ass offering to help crank.”

Peyton grinned. “I couldn’t have moved that in twice the time it took you.”