Hybrid (23 page)

His friend shakes his head. “No.”

“I was never meant to be anyone’s friend. I was never meant to be anyone’s protector. And I was certainly never meant to have these feelings that have been cluttering up everything since I came to at the accident site.” This self-preservation instinct, this strange annoyance of attachment he has to his human life, makes it difficult to confine his thoughts to where they’re most needed.

Bastian leans over and rests a hand on Dom’s shoulder. “Do you think something’s wrong with you?”

“Not technically, which probably doesn’t help.” Dom moves out from under the personal touch, pushing his friend’s hand away irritably. “I think I’m finally functioning within the parameters Mathur originally intended. I believe the weapon in me is emerging, and I don’t think he had a clue how involved it would be.”

“It’s really not like you to be scared. You’re sure there’s not a crossed something or other somewhere?”

“I don’t have wires, remember? I’m the
improvement
over the Damascus.” He pauses for a second, calming the anger he can feel rising again. “Speaking of which, I took out a couple of lieutenants a little while ago.”

Bastian takes a step back and crosses his arms. “You took out two of them? Lieutenants? With kernels intact?”

Dom shrugs. “Only one was a true lieutenant, so only one kernel. A couple is doable. I could probably take out an entire patrol if it got down to it.”

“And entire patrol?” A look of admiration crosses Bastian’s face, but it’s gone with Dom’s next words.

“I didn’t say how intact I’d be afterward.”

Bastian wakes up to a loud pounding on his door, and for a moment he feels disoriented. He scans the room for telltale signs of Dom’s presence as he pulls his robe on and sighs with relief when he realizes his friend isn’t there and hasn’t left any unusual conversation pieces lying around. The lining on the inside of his pocket hides a tiny pouch of Shine, just in case it’s an emergency. He refuses to admit things might be getting beyond his control just because he keeps having to dose more for the same effect.

The door is shaking under the pounding as he nears it.

“Give me a moment.”

The noise subsides, and he thinks it better to not stand in front of it as he opens it. He fingers the silvery-white substance and frowns for a second, knowing full well Zach is the only human psionic outside of those doors.

If the doors were capable of slamming open, they would have. As it is, they’re only capable of a long inward swing. Not even a groan emanates from their hinges as a patrol of Damascus precede Zach into the room.

“There’d better be a good explanation for this, Zach.” Bastian deliberately relaxes his shoulders and puts on an expression of exasperated disdain.

“We’re checking on everyone.”

On closer inspection, his childhood companion’s face is harried. He looks pale and worried, circles under his eyes, and his normally well-manicured nails are rough and surrounded by hangnails. There’s a slight shake to his hands. Whether it’s out of fear or exhaustion, Bastian can’t tell, but he steps aside and beckons Zach to sit.

“Thanks.” Zach takes the seat, his eyes darting back and forth between Bastian and the Damascus.

It’s not the first time Bastian has wished Zach possessed the ability to speak into other’s minds. His expressions are always so hard to read. There are times when he could almost swear Zach is using his brain cells and coming to his senses about a lot of things. Right now seems like one of them. Either that or he’s acting.

Bastian fishes a water out from the refrigerator on one side of his desk and takes the chance, while pouring it, to scour for any untoward signs. Zach’s reactions seem...too extreme, even for him. Nothing flares his senses, though, and he pushes the glass over and watches Zach gulp it down before some color returns to the man’s cheeks.

“What are you checking on people about?”

“One of the lieutenants was found just below the city a few hours ago. His operating center was ripped open. One of his arms was ripped off. Gruesome.” Zach’s voice is far more even than it should be, given his shaken appearance.

Bastian raises an eyebrow, debating a surreptitious dose of Shine. “Really?”

Zach nods and draws a shaky breath. “Not only that, he had an aid with him—a modified soldier. He was in worse shape and put out of commission. Both of them. We can’t tell by how many assailants, but they had to be strong.”

“Both of them?” Bastian mutters, mulling over the facts in his mind. Dom did well. “Two Damascus and no evidence of what group did this?”

“We’re assuming it has to be the Exiled. Why on earth would anyone else try to interfere with our plans to flush them out? It’s not like Austrasia or Eussia care.” Zach’s laugh wheezes out.

“Valid point there,” Bastian murmurs, still deep in thought. Dom didn’t leave behind any type of evidence to link him to the crime. That’s really the most important piece of information to come out of the whole situation. Bastian smiles softly before speaking. “And you thought I might be in danger?”

“Perhaps.” Zach stands up, his entire body more steady than it was when he entered the room. “It’s more that I’ve been checking on everyone, regardless of the time. Realistically, it could have been an inside job.”

“Inside job?” Bastian raises an eyebrow in disbelief and leans against his desk. “Who on earth would do that? Much less how?”

Zach shakes his head and sighs, the frail countenance suddenly gone, leaving the business man in his place. “I have no idea, but I had to make sure everyone was safe and accounted for. You understand, I hope?”

“Completely.” Bastian smiles, suddenly wishing he’d dosed Shine as soon as the knock on the door began. This whole meeting sits uncomfortably with him. “You checked on Deign first, of course?”

“Of course.” There’s only a trace of a shy smile evident on Zach’s face before he conceals it with a knowing smirk. “Just make sure to let us know if you notice anything at all.” He bows his head for a moment before moving closer and lowering his voice. “You were always good with the mind stuff—less brute force than me, more subtle.
Anything
, Bastian. This shouldn’t have been able to happen.”

Bastian nods and resists the urge to jump back from the almost contact abruptly. “I understand.” He answers in just as low a voice, fairly certain the Damascus can hear every word.

It’s a non-committal answer, but it seems to be enough for Zach, who smiles before turning and leaving Bastian’s quarters.

Bastian stands at his desk with the doors still open for a long time, wondering if Zach has any inkling at all. If it was perhaps all a ruse to see if he could figure out if Bastian was the traitor. It could be. It could also be that Zach has hidden away his true intelligence for the past twenty years, only to now reveal himself to be a mastermind.

With a chuckle, Bastian walks to his doors, choosing to swing them shut manually instead of using his mind. A mastermind, Zach has never been, but he is observant. Even if his old friend doesn’t realize it, there’s something in his subconscious mind that led him to this room tonight. All Bastian has to figure out is if it’s dangerous enough for him to run sooner rather than later.

Moments later, Dom pushes into the dojo through the hidden side-door, almost giving Bastian a heart attack. Recovering quickly, he motions his friend to be silent and come into his quarters. He’d been reluctant to use that entrance himself recently since they upped security in the lab tunnels, but if Dom times it right, it’s probably the better option. “You cut that close, Dom.”

Dom shrugs. “I could hear him when I arrived, so I waited. It’s odd though...”

“What is?”

“I don’t remember feeling like this, tapping into my speed and camouflaging abilities. It’s like I woke from some dream where I was hampered and not myself. I made it through that passage this time, even with the heightened security. The more I try to work at it, the easier it is to control, I hope?” There are a few seconds of silence before Dom shakes his head and looks back at Bastian. “Anyway, I heard everything he said. I should have tidied up better, but I was in a crunch for time. I figured it would take them a while to find the scraps where I left them.”

“It did, just not long enough.” Bastian sighs and seats himself in his favorite recliner. “Everything would have been a whole lot easier if the kernel wasn’t such an obvious thing. I’m glad you knew to deactivate it without contaminating it. Most people who stole one would have been caught by now.”

Dom nods. “I have other news, Bastian. It’s not good.”

Bastian laughs and runs a hand through his hair. “And today has been a barrel of good news?”

Dom shakes his head. “No, I’m being serious. It’s early, so I took the chance to go back to the labs. I think the Damascus are masking their signals somehow. Making it harder to locate them without a direct transponder. If I don’t get the kernel back to them in one piece soon, the Exiled are going to have no hope in hell of surviving anything.”

“You’re not about to say, ‘but wait, there’s more,’ are you?”

“Funny you should say that.”

Bastian groans, but Dom isn’t smiling. His body shifts subtly, a faint wave running over his form.

“They’ve adapted their own sensors. From what I overheard, it seems they’ve realized there’s adrium cloaking on the Mobiles. They’re attempting to modify their own programming to compensate for the camouflaging effect. Now, if it were dominos they had to worry about, this wouldn’t be a problem. We’re small and fast, at least in comparison to them. However, when it comes to the Mobiles...”

Bastian blinks back the sudden rage that threatens to engulf him. “They’ll be sitting ducks.”

“Sitting ducks?” Dom frowns, sort of, in a face scrunching way. “I suppose the analogy works.” He shrugs and looks at Bastian expectantly.

“I don’t have a plan, Dom. I seriously don’t know what to do.”

“I’ll warn them. It’s almost dawn. I need another thirteen hours for
Mele
to be back at good strength, and then I can push her to her limits. Letting her recharge is still quicker than it would be if I left now.” He glances around and frowns. “It’s not safe for me here?”

Bastian shrugs, his coat suddenly a world more weight than he’s used to. “I’m not certain. They didn’t seem to notice you arrived toward the end of their visit here, so I’m thinking they might not be able to tell you’re here at all. You are, after all, on a different frequency, correct?”

Dom nods, shimmering briefly in what Bastian hopes is for effect.

“Fine, then. Wait the day out here. Just make sure you stay in my quarters. They’re heavily shielded, enough that it should protect you, just in case.”

“You have a busy day?”

Bastian smiles. It feels good to have his friend here, calming in a way, even if he wishes it were under better circumstances. “Busy in a way, but not in the way I wish. I have to try and keep the more radical idiots of this governing entity at bay. I have a morning and an afternoon meeting, as well as two classes to teach.”

Dom nods. “I’ll use your guest room again and not leave a trace of myself.”

“Good.” Bastian watches Dom walk away and disappear behind one of the dividers. He has an uneasy feeling. Not about Dom, but about the situation. Everything is coming to a head and suddenly the world feels far too small for comfort.

“You can’t mean that.” Markus smacks his hand down on the table as he stands up, glaring around at the rest of the board. “You’re telling me they came into our territory, right under our noses, and yoinked a couple of these bots out from under us?”

“I wouldn’t call them bots.” Owen pushes his glasses up, even though they never slipped in the first place. It’s a nervous gesture that makes Bastian almost feel sorry for the poor guy.

Markus glares at him, but his eyebrows sag at the last moment, making him look more tired than angry. “A lieutenant, Zach. You said they got a lieutenant?” His voice is quieter, more controlled this time.

Zach nods and Markus folds into his chair, face suddenly ashen-white. “How many of them were there? Do you know yet?”

“We’re not sure, but we think a small group. They cleaned up after themselves very well.”

For a few moments, complete silence reigns as the reality hits home that their invincible soldiers had been defeated twice in short order.

“We’re dead. We’re all dead,” Markus whispers, just in time for Deign to walk in, fashionably late as usual.

Bastian hides his sigh and leans back to watch the show. Sometimes Markus doesn’t know when to shut up.

“Dead?” Deign raises an eyebrow as she heads to her seat. “I think that’s a slight exaggeration. One of the lieutenants is defunct. That’s all. A lieutenant and a soldier. We’ve placed the units on higher alert. And I do believe—” she glances toward Owen, who nods nervously “—we’ve succeeded in giving the entire Damascus formation a way to be instantly aware when one of them might require aid. I’m sure Owen can explain it to us.”