Her Cyborg (8 page)

Shade had no idea if he was ready or not, but he chose to trust Phoebe even if everything inside of him screamed to throw her over his shoulder and run away as fast as his legs could take him. His need to protect her was great, but when he saw Faye's happy face, he hoped his instincts were wrong.

He and Phoebe returned to their floor. Faye, Wind, and Diane had been granted access to that floor for the day. He and Phoebe remained by the elevator and waited for her friends to arrive. Shade stared at the doors to the elevator. Any minute now, they would open, and he had no idea what would happen then. He felt tense. He was in defense mode, ready to protect Phoebe from any danger.

Phoebe placed her hand on his arm. It made him wince.

“Relax,” she said.

He grabbed her hand and intertwined his fingers with hers. “Stay close to me.”

“I will,” she promised, “but don't hurt them if they touch me ... or if they touch you. Promise me that.”

He clenched his knuckles. He didn't want to promise. “I promise.”

Phoebe gave him a gentle smile. “Thank you.”

It had slipped right out of his mouth even if his emotions told him otherwise, but there wasn't much he could do about it. He wanted to protect Phoebe, but he also wanted to make her happy, and that meant doing what she wanted him to do.

This was going to be a difficult day.

The elevator doors finally opened and out jumped an overjoyed Faye. She made a loud squeak before she came at Phoebe with open arms and with a huge smile on her face.

His instincts took over, and before he managed to think twice, he pulled Phoebe behind him and stepped forward, glaring at Faye. He tensed his muscles to intimidate her with his tall frame. In an instant, her joy turned into surprise, and she flinched back when she met his gaze. He looked her over. Faye was a cute female with long, blonde hair, but she barely reached to his shoulders. He knew she wouldn't be an issue if she tried anything. Her body was slim, and she didn't look like she weighed much. He could easily remove her if necessary.

Anything to keep Phoebe safe.

Out of the corner of his eye, Shade noticed Wind and Diane leave the elevator. Wind stopped behind Faye, placed his hand on her arm, and pulled her back.

“You are too impulsive, Faye,” Wind said. “I told you not to touch Phoebe. Shade is a newborn cyborg and his instincts to protect her are amplified. It will take some time before he relaxes.”

Faye nodded. “Sorry, I forgot.”

“Don't worry about it,” Phoebe said from behind Shade.

Shade felt her hand on his arm before she stepped out from where he had hidden her behind him. He wanted to grab her and place her there again where he knew she would be safer. Not doing so was more difficult than he had ever imagined, but then he met Wind's gaze. Wind had almond-shaped, metallic-looking eyes with the color of shining aluminum. Tiny but visible circuits moved around in the iris.

Wind was almost as tall as he was. He was fit with broad shoulders and brown, shoulder-length hair. He was dressed in an elegant black suit, almost making him look like a businessman, but there was a calmness in his eyes that Shade hadn't seen before. He hadn't met many people yet, but he knew what he saw in Wind. He saw wisdom. He saw a teacher, someone who could help him in a way Jade was not able to. She was good at what she did, but she had a lot to learn when it came to handling a cyborg. Wind on the other hand, in him, Shade saw a friend.

He stretched out his hand just as Phoebe had shown him. “I'm Shade.”

Wind smiled. “Hello, Shade. I'm Wind, bound to Diane.”

Shade turned his head and looked at Diane who stood next to Wind. She was beautifully dressed in a long summer dress, high heels, and a thin coat. She was older than Phoebe. Shade guessed somewhere around forty, but she was also not well. Her blue eyes looked tired, and her skin was dry with a grayish tone. Her dark blonde hair hung down her shoulders without any vitality or volume.

Diane took a step forward and reached out her hand to him with a smile. He looked at it for a second before he looked at Wind. Shade wrinkled his forehead in confusion when Wind nodded with a smile. Nothing in his body language indicated that he would attack to defend Diane. Instead, Wind seemed to encourage him to touch Diane.

“It would make me very happy if you would like to greet my bound one,” Wind said.

Shade nodded and shook Diane's hand. Having Wind's approval felt good.

“Nice to meet you, Shade,” Diane said.

“Nice to meet you too, Diane.”

He turned his gaze to Faye, who smiled at him. She stretched out her hand toward him to shake his hand, but he didn't move. His gaze narrowed with suspicion.

Faye cleared her throat. “I know, I know. I made a mistake. Sorry, it won't happen again, but I couldn't help myself.” She shrugged. “I was happy to see Phoebe again, and I'm happy to see you too. Phoebe has barely talked about anything else but you the last year. It was sometimes impossible to get her to change the subject. She went on and on about what hair color she should give you, or what kind of personality she wanted you to have.” She chuckled and gazed at Phoebe. “I must admit it was kind of cute to listen to all that ... and now you are here.” She ogled him. “And I must say, she did a damn good job. You are hot.” She grinned.

Shade took a step toward Faye. “I don't belong to you. You will never touch me.”

Phoebe came in between them. “Shade, don't mind her. Remember what you promised me. This is the way Faye is.”

“Don't worry, Shade,” Faye said. “Just because I think that you're hot does not mean that I will try to take you away from Phoebe. I know she is your bound one, but that doesn't forbid me from having an opinion about you.”

Shade didn't answer. Faye tested his patience. She was something new, and he wasn't sure how to handle her. He decided that he would have a watchful eye on her, but overall, he found her harmless with her small and cute frame.

“You talk too much,” he told her.

Wind and Diane chuckled, and when he turned his head to look at Phoebe, he saw her smile. Something he had said was apparently amusing. The only one who wasn't smiling was Faye. She looked angry. Good. That meant she understood they weren't friends. Shade gave her a dark grin.

Shade watched Phoebe with a gentle smile from where he sat on the sofa that stood inside one of MedAct's dining rooms. It was a bright room with big windows and a clinical interior. Jade had allowed them to use it instead of their small apartment while Phoebe's friends paid them a visit. Faye and Diane sat by Phoebe's side by the large round table. They laughed, talked, and smiled. Phoebe was happy. He liked seeing her happy, but there was a sting in his heart that bothered him. It wasn't him making her happy. It was someone else. It hurt, even if he knew it shouldn't. He knew he had to get used to this. It was becoming clearer and clearer with each passing day, but it wasn't easy. Everything inside of him screamed, telling him to get off the sofa and remove Phoebe from this room. The feeling made him clench his knuckles. He forced himself to remain sitting.

The dinner they had eaten together with Phoebe's friends had been exquisite. MedAct's chefs had done an excellent job of preparing the dishes. It had been everything from the first course to the main course and finally the desert. In the end, there had been something called coffee. He had watched Phoebe drink it, but it had smelled funny, and after tasting a sip, he had decided to never touch it again. How Phoebe could drink it, he didn't know. The hideous taste was still on his tongue, even if it had been over an hour since he had tasted it.

Sitting down and eating with her friends had been a new experience for him. He had eaten many times with Phoebe in their apartment, but having others at the dinner table as well had felt strange at first. Phoebe had been close to him all the time. Most of the time, she had been sitting on his lap while he had held her safe. It made him relax, and now, four hours after meeting her friends, things felt better. He knew they wouldn't hurt her. He just wished his instincts would understand that too.

Eventually, he had been able to let Phoebe go and have her sit on her own chair, and it was all thanks to her. She had never done anything against his will or argued with him about it. She had allowed him to take things at his pace, and now, he was able to sit on the couch and watch her as she enjoyed some time with her friends. Wind sat by his side with a soda in his hand. Both of them watched the women interact. He saw the three women touch each other from time to time while they talked. It was gentle touches, like putting a hand on the other one's shoulder or a hug. Strangely enough, it didn't bother him that much. Not when it came to these women touching Phoebe. Jade's cyborgs, on the other hand, were another story. If any of them tried to touch her, they would lose a hand or two. They had almost touched her this morning. The memory made his anger boil up, but he took a deep breath to relax.

“It's getting easier, isn't it?” Wind asked.

“What?”

“The possessive feelings over Phoebe. If we had come a few days ago, you would have been glued to her. Now, you are able to watch her enjoy herself from a distance and know she is safe.”

Shade nodded without taking his eyes off of Phoebe.

“I know what it feels like,” Wind said. “I know what you are going through. About fifteen years ago, I was in your shoes. It was difficult, but once I became a part of the human society, I realized that this is the way they are. They need each other, just like you need Phoebe.”

“I'm starting to understand that.”

Wind gave him a smile. “You have nothing to worry about. She created you for a reason. She wouldn't have done that if it hadn't been for love. She is over the moon in love with you and she was in love with you even before you were real. She was in love with the idea of you, and now that you are here, she feels like the happiest woman out there.” Wind took a sip of his soda. “Do you see the shy looks she gives you from time to time?”

Shade couldn't help but smile. “Yes.”

“What does that tell you?”

He grinned now. “That she belongs to me.”

“Exactly. You might be bound to her, but she is just as much as bound to you as you are to her. You are everything to her. She doesn't want to go back to the sad and lonely life she had before you came into the picture. She wants to have paradise with you. Some women who can't find paradise with a human male create a cyborg to find it.”

Shade didn't say anything. Instead, he saw Phoebe whisper something to Faye. He couldn't hear what, but if he wanted to, he could make himself hear better. He decided not to.

Shade's gaze rested on Diane. She was an attractive woman even if she wasn't well. Her gray skin, her tired eyes, her slim figure. She kept smiling as if nothing was wrong, but she was not able to hide it. And yet, everyone pretended as if she was fine.

“You are wondering about Diane,” Wind said.

Shade gave him a suspicious look. “Do you read minds?”

Wind chuckled. “No. No cyborg can, but I'm good at reading people. Diane gave me that ability. She is too trustworthy when it comes to people, and because of that, she has ended up in situations that have affected her badly. She wanted a cyborg who would make her see what she couldn't.”

Shade nodded. “What is wrong with her?”

“She is dying.” Sadness lingered in Wind's voice.

Shade felt his heart clench. Losing one's bound one was every cyborg's worst nightmare. “Yes, Phoebe told me, but she didn't say what was wrong with her. Only that there is something wrong with her heart.”

Wind took a deep breath. “I'm sorry, but I can't tell you. Diane doesn't want me to talk about it.”

He understood. “How long?”

“A few months.”

Shade didn't like hearing that. “What will happen to you then?”

“I don't know, but Diane says that she has everything figured out. I trust her, so I don't worry, but the thought of losing her ...”

“... Is unbearable,” Shade finished.

“Yes.” Wind took another sip of his soda. “Diane refuses to tell me what she is up to. She says she will tell me when the right time comes.”

“She should tell you now.”

“I know ...”

Shade didn't know what Diane planned for Wind, but he knew what would happen to him if Diane did nothing. Her death would destroy Wind. If it didn't kill him, he would go crazy and end up with the Fighters. They always took in new cyborgs who had lost their bound ones. There was only one way to save Wind and that was to bind him to another woman. That was, at least, the only thing he could think of. He doubted there was something else Diane could do to help Wind. The problem wasn't finding another woman. The problem was switching the bound one. It was a complicated process that took time, something Diane obviously didn't have, so what was she waiting for?

A loud bang came from the hallway outside the room. A man roared with fury before another bang came. Someone groaned.

Everyone got up to their feet. Shade heard the women gasp. He turned his head to look at them. They all stared at the door. From the other side of it came more groans of pain. It sounded like it came from several individuals. Were they fighting?

Worry shone in Diane's gentle eyes. Wind went to her. He pulled her into his arms, but his gaze was set on the door. Faye's eyes were huge as she clenched her knuckles. She seemed unsure of what to do.

Shade's gaze turned to Phoebe. He needed her by his side. Something was not right, and his need to protect her took over. He lifted his foot to go to her, but he didn't get the chance to approach her before Phoebe took a few fast steps toward him and wrapped her arm around his. It pleased him that she understood what was important to him, but he needed to find out what was going on. Judging by the sound of groans and growls it wasn't something good.

“Stay here,” he told Phoebe and headed for the door. She would be safe inside the room together with Wind. For a split second, he found it strange that he was ready to hand over his bound one's safety to another cyborg. Maybe this possessiveness over her was becoming something he could control. It felt like it, but on the other hand, he felt he could trust Wind. He had felt it from the first moment he and Wind had met.

“No way,” Phoebe said and followed him.

Shade saw stubbornness written all over her face, and he realized it would be pointless to discuss it with her. Besides, there wasn't any time for that. Frustration awakened within him. She was definitely not making it easy for him to protect her.

“Fine, but you stay behind me,” he said and opened the door.

The first thing he noticed was a struggling man on the floor. Three male cyborgs tried to hold him down. The man had to be a cyborg as well considering that three cyborgs were needed. Three cyborgs were never needed to hold down a human. One was always enough - with only one hand even.

“Let go of me, you bastards! You will regret this,” the cyborg shouted and tried to kick with his legs, but the cyborg who held his legs didn't let go.

Further down the hallway, Jade stood together with two other doctors. One woman and one man. Both of them looked worried. Jade was preparing a syringe, filling it with a clear liquid. She looked focused. A second later, she gave it to one of the cyborgs who held down the cyborg. The male took the syringe and stabbed the wrestling cyborg in the chest. The cyborg screamed and his eyes went big. His body tensed before he relaxed with an exhale. His head slumped to the side and he remained still.

Phoebe peeked out from behind him. Faye, Wind, and Diane joined them when things went quiet.

“What is going on?” Wind asked the doctors.

Jade approached them as the three cyborgs got up on their feet. “I'm sorry,” she said. “You were not supposed to see this.”

Wind's gaze hardened. “Explain yourselves.”

The three cyborgs picked up the unconscious cyborg from the floor before they carried him away. The two doctors followed them.

“We are not hurting him. We never hurt any of you, but he escaped and he had almost reached the elevators before we were able to grab him. He escaped again and ended up here,” Jade said.

“Who is he?” Shade asked.

“He was a friend ... once. Today, he is one of the Fighters. About eight months ago, he lost his bound one in a tragic accident. She died in his arms, and after that, he completely lost it. He didn't die like most cyborgs do. Instead, he went crazy on everything in his way. We tried to stop him, but the Fighters found him first and took him in. For months, we didn't hear anything from him until a few days ago when a group of Fighters robbed a grocery truck. Our team of cyborg soldiers managed to get there before the Fighters got away. They caught him ... but the rest fled. He's been in our care ever since.” She looked at them with hope in her eyes. “We think we can help him.”

“You want to bind him to someone.”

Jade nodded. “That is the only way.”

“I want to talk to him,” Shade demanded.

Jade winced and stared at him. “What? No. Why would I let you do that? You are newborn and he is unstable. The last thing we need is for him to get into your head.”

“Cyborgs can't read minds.”

“That is not what I mean. You still know so little about how the world works, Shade. If I let him talk to you, what stops him from filling your head with lies and garbage? He is one of the Fighters! That is what they do. They are not trustworthy and they would do anything to get you on their side. Do you understand what I'm trying to say?”

Shade nodded. “Yes, but I won't be alone. Wind will go with me.”

Shade gave the cyborg a look and Wind nodded in agreement.

Phoebe took a step forward. “I'm coming too.” Shade and Wind opened their mouths to protest. Phoebe silenced them by raising a finger. “Don't go there, boys. I'm going whether you like it or not. I'm not letting Shade go through this alone.”

Faye moved forward. “Don't leave me out. I want in.”

Diane sighed and stood next to Wind. “I guess I'm going too since Wind is.”

Jade stared at them as if she couldn't believe her own ears. “This isn't some kind of circus. None of you can go. Besides, what can any of you do to help him?”

Shade took a step closer to her. “If he is one of the Fighters he won't trust you. The last thing you want is a bunch of doctors and cyborg soldiers near him to gain his trust. You want him to co-operate? Let me talk to him.”

Jade tensed and irritation flickered in her eyes. “You have a point, but he is dangerous. Will you really allow Phoebe to get close to someone like him?”

“No, I would not. That is why you are going to figure something out to make it possible for her to come with me.”

Jade looked even more irritated.