After the End - Chapter 6
"Did you tell him about me?" Cybersix asks Lucas. She is sitting on the couch in his living room; he is sitting on the chair opposite her.
"No, I thought I should ask your permission first."
Cybersix tries to hide a sigh of relief.
"But, I think we should tell him." Lucas continues. "He could figure out how to make sustenance, and then we could make it for you, and then you wouldn't have to go risking your life attacking fixed ideas anymore."
"No." Her answer is quiet but firm.
"Why not? Wouldn't you like to end your dependence on VonReichter - or rather Jose?"
Cybersix looks away from him and sighs. "More than anything in the world.... But this isn't a safe idea. What if this guy decides he wants to have me as a lab rat? I know that Cyco is a powerful corporation. And what if he tells the government, or the public? I'd have everyone after me!"
"But Kevin would never do anything like that!" Lucas insists.
She looks at him. She is beginning to realize that Lucas never thinks badly of anyone. She shakes her head. "No, Lucas. Better the devil you know."
Lucas sighs. Cybersix always made herself so hard to help.
"Where's the vial?" She asks.
"Kevin still has it. He won't give it back to me until I tell him what I know."
"So make something up, then."
Lucas looks at her exasperatingly. "No imagination, remember? Besides, he knows me well enough to know when I'm lying to him."
"Where's he keeping it?"
"Somewhere in his office, I guess." He looks at her closely. "You're not thinking of trying to get it back, are you? That building has some pretty heavy duty security."
Cybersix appears to be thinking about this. "No, it wouldn't be worth the risk." She says after a moment. "Chances are whatever he was going to do with it, he'd have done it by now." She gets up and walks over to the window. "Thanks, Lucas. I... have to get going now." She starts opening the window.
Lucas also gets up. "But..." He trails off as Cybersix prepares to jump. He has a sudden vision of trying to grab her before she can leave, but remains where he is. She jumps.
****
Cybersix leaves Lucas' apartment and jumps a few blocks over before settling to sit down on the ledge of a building. Her mind still reeling, she tries to think back on what just happened between them. She'd always thought she would love to have a real relationship with Lucas, but now that it came down to it...
After all the other Cybers were killed, she had convinced herself that love would never be a part of her life. To have someone tell her they loved her straight out shook her concept of reality.
She feels a pang of guilt; she lied to Lucas too - sort of. The truth is, she has very little evidence that her body is dangerous to him. Technos become intimate with humans all the time.
But then, she thinks to herself, it's the Technos' job to manipulate humans, and that could involve having sex with them. On the other hand, the Cybers had been made to be soldiers and assassins; VonReichter hadn't liked them getting involved with anything that would distract them from their duty - especially romance.
Cybersix sighs once again and rests her chin in her hand. She's rationalizing and she knows it. What am I so afraid of?
She doesn't hear the fixed idea coming until it's too late. She turns around to see him barring down on her, arms outstretched. Startled, she launches herself off the edge of the building just in time to avoid his grasp.
She lands in the darkened alley below and is suddenly faced by three more fixed ideas; they'd been waiting for her. They advance menacingly.
Cybersix drops into a fighting stance, silently cursing herself for a fool. She'd been so preoccupied she'd let her guard down.
The fixed idea from the roof lands beside her. Now there are four. They advance on her together, and she is forced to give ground. Finally backed into a corner, she does the only thing she can do; she jumps.
But not quickly enough. One of the fixed ideas grabs her leg and slams her to the ground. She lands hard on her back, winded. She tries to kick him with her other foot but can't get up enough strength; he catches her leg in mid-air and pins it down along with first one. She lifts her upper body off the ground closes her fist to punch him.
Only to be grabbed by the shoulders and slammed back down to the ground again by another fixed idea. She blinks and suddenly there are four of them are staring down at her.
Now she's in serious trouble. She twists her body violently to the side in a desperate effort to break their hold on her. But instead of trying to resist, the fixed idea holding her shoulders follows the motion through, pushing her roughly onto her stomach. He lets go of her but only for a second - the next thing she knows he's sitting on her shoulder blades, his legs pinning her arms at her sides. As a final insult, he places his meaty hand on the back of her head to hold it firmly in place.
Cybersix stops struggling. Her head had rolled into a garbage bag when they turned her over; now her face is smashed against it and she can't see anything. The smell of the garbage fills her nostrils, and the fixed idea's crushing weight on her back makes it difficult to breathe. Her heart pounds in her chest.
End of the line. All she can do now is hope they try to take her to Jose instead of killing her immediately. For the first time since the Isle of Doom feels the presence of Death nearby.
A sound grabs her attention; running footsteps, coming this way. One long moment and the footsteps stop. A voice whispers harshly, but she can't understand it.
"Huh?" One of the fixed ideas asks.
The voice whispers again, even more angrily. Why can't she figure out what it's saying?
Then lights explode behind her closed eyes as something smashes into the side of her head, bringing on the greater darkness.
****
Cybersix returns to consciousness aware that she is lying on her back. She opens her eyes. The night sky. The moon. The sides of buildings: She is still lying in the alley.
Training taking over by instinct, she summons her defenses, tensing. The fixed ideas must still be around here somewhere. She listens, but there is no sound. She can sense no one nearby.
Cautiously, cradling her throbbing head, she gets to her feet. Where are they? Her vision is a bit fuzzy, but the alley appears to be empty. She walks a little unsteadily toward the exit, trying to be as quiet as possible.
She blinks under the light of the street lamp and struggles to get her bearings. She frowns, confused: She could swear this isn't the street she was on when they attacked her. She rubs at the side of her head where a bump is already starting to form. How long was she out for? And what happened to everyone?
But, she tells herself, solving the mysteries of what this night is for later. Right now she has to get to safety. She gingerly walks out into the street and heads for home.
The jump up to her apartment is difficult.
"What's taking so long? It's been two weeks already! You should have found him by now!" Jose yells. He scowls at Sylvester and Techno 21 expectantly.
The three of them are in the mansion's office. Jose is standing on the large, empty desk so that he can look down on Sylvester and Techno 21.
"There are many names on that list," Techno 21 points out.
Jose just grunts and starts pacing back and forth.
Sylvester eyes the brat casually, hoping he'll take that one extra step and fall off the edge of the desk. Suddenly he receives the silent alarm that tells him his Master wants him. He remains impassive, standing with hands clasped behind his back.
"Arg! You're such an idiot! You're... incompetent!" This is a big word for Jose.
"But sir," Techno 21 says exasperatingly. "I've been doing this job for three years now, and I can tell you these things take a while." He notices Sylvester giving him a look like don't bother, you're wasting your time, but he ignores it. "Besides, it's very difficult to prove one way or the other whether any of these men know Cybersix."
Jose stops pacing. "I don't care. I don't care if you have to work around the clock. Just find that guy!" He turns around and points a finger accusingly at Sylvester. "And you! How come you haven't brought me any more money?"
"I've been too busy to go out lately, sir. You did order me to help Techno 21 on this project." Sylvester replies calmly.
Despite the perfect logic of this answer, Jose clenches his fists and grits his teeth. "You..." He trails off, at a loss for words, then blurts out: "You're lucky I keep feeding you! And that goes for you too, techno!" The smug smile disappears from Technos 21's face. "Now I'm giving you one more week to find this guy or... or you're both gonna get it!"
"Yes, sir." The two of them reply, not exactly in unison. They leave the office and walk down the hall.
"There's just no reasoning with that monster!" Technos 21 says when they are safely out of earshot.
Sylvester sniffs. "I told you, techno, just smile and nod; it goes faster that way." He stops in front of the fixed idea guarding the back door and speaks two words to him in Command. The fixed idea lumbers off to do whatever it is Sylvester told him to.
Techno 21 tries to stop his slip from curling. He doesn't like Sylvester's attitude. It galls him that this sexless little freak, barely old enough to get into a bar, is essentially higher in rank than he is.
They reach the door to the computer room where they'd been working, but Sylvester continues on down the hall.
"Hey, shouldn't we pretend like we're working?" Technos 21 asks.
"Can't right now." Sylvester answers. "I've been summoned."
"Oh! Let me go with you then." Techno 21 runs to catch up with him. "I just found out something Master will want to know right away: I know where Cybersix lives!"
Dammit. Sylvester says to himself. He knows where Cybersix lives now too, and he wants to be the one to tell Master. Unfortunately there's no way he can stop the techno from coming. "Fine. But let's see what he wants first."
They walk up the staircase and into Sylvester's room. He reaches under the bed and pulls out a small black box, then retrieves a head set from the battered dresser in the corner. He attaches the two together and fiddles with the boxe's buttons.
"Yes Master, I'm here." There is a long pause. "Yes, I understand..... Tonight. Yes. It will be done by morning." He removes the head set and looks up at Techno 21. "Want to help me bag a human?"