Chapter 2 - Part I

While Crais Shepherd the First was dealt with by his father, the great Vernon Huxley the Fourth, I was delivered into the care of the Vice Principal, one Mr. Joseph Vaucluse.

Under the watchful eye of his middle-aged demure secretary, I sat in the waiting area outside his office, and looked down at my hands.

They were steady.

Was the cigarette responsible for that? I would need to ask Erina. I was convinced the cigarette had left me in a languid, calm state. Maybe this body was missing something?

Shaking my head inwardly, I sat back and closed my eyes, wondering how much worse my day could become. For that matter, I had consider how much of my troubles could be laid at my own feet.

My thoughts were intruded upon.

“Princess, your sister—I mean cousin—is on her way.”

I nodded but didn’t reply, assuming Jive would ‘sense’ my nod for what it was.

“I have explained the situation to her, though I omitted informing her of your smoking activity.”

Conscious of the secretary watching me in the corner of her eye, I discretely reached into my dress’s skirt pocket and my fingers touched upon the cigarette pack. I needed to return it to Crais Shepherd at the earliest convenience.

“I will give you the opportunity of telling her yourself.”

I sucked in air noisily through my nose, and averted my gaze when I attracted the woman’s attention.

Maybe I wouldn’t return them after all. In that case, I’d need to buy myself a lighter, and one of those damn pocket ashtrays. Ah, to Hell with the ashtray. Me girl. Me litter.

The door to the Vee Pee’s office opened smoothly.

I wasn’t sure what he expected to encounter when he stepped out of his office to order me inside, but he was certainly surprised to see me. His eyebrows rose quickly and he studied me from head to shoes twice before asking, “You are Cassidy Reynier, from Class One-Cee?”

I stood up quickly, and faced him with a bow. “Yes, sir. I am sir.”

I heard a quick whisper in my ears, and chose to ignore it. “Princess, straighten your dress. And your tie as well.”

I left everything about my attire exactly the way it was.

The Vee Pee pointed at me. “Tidy up your uniform.”

Jive sighed loudly. “I told you….”

I bit my lower lip hard to refrain from retorting, and then quietly fixed up my dress, my tie, and my blazer that was noticeably rumpled after I rolled on the grass upon jumping down from the ledge outside the infirmary.

Once I was tidy, I looked expectantly at the Vee Pee, who gave me a veiled scowl, and waved me into his office.

I stepped inside, then stood before his beige mahogany desk, while he sat down on his high backed executive style chair.

Jive advised, “Princess, you should stand at attention. Be respectful. Remember, you want to avoid being handed detention.”

Again, I bit my lower lip hard, and shoved my hands into my blazer pockets.

Damn, I wish had a piece of gum to chew on.

Jive sobbed softly. “Princess, bad move….”

The Vee Pee stared at me bluntly. “Miss Reynier, I don’t appreciate your attitude.”

I frowned for a heartbeat. “Sir?”

“Stand at attention.”

I took a deep breath, then folded my hands behind my back, straightened my body and stared at a point above the Vee Pee’s head.

“Much better, young lady.”

I wanted to growl, but instead clamped down on my jaw while digging my fingernails into my palms.

The next person to call me young lady was going to get hammered by my foot.

The Vee Pee leaned forward on his chair, and rested his elbows on his desk, while studying me coldly. “I cannot speak for your old Academy at the city of Pan Teloria, but here at Telos Academy, we do not condone students dying their hair…emo style.”

I blinked slowly, then quickly added. “Sir, I don’t dye my hair. Honestly.”

“Oh really? Are you telling me this is your natural appearance?”

“Sir…?”

He touched the surface of his desk, and a holovid window appeared off to my left. It offered a view into the office that was akin to a mirror.

I saw a beautiful girl standing a couple of feet in front of a light beige executive desk. She looked a little unkempt, and her uniform was rumpled. Her dress appeared noticeably short, probably because it was a size too small, thus she was revealing a lot more leg than she realized.

But what grabbed my attention was my hair.

The Vee Pee was correct. It certainly appeared to have been styled ‘emo’.

Black streaks ran through Cassidy’s blonde hair, as though Mercedes was trying to come through. It was as though the transformation between my two states had halted halfway, resulting in a black and white, zebra hairstyle.

Recovering from her surprise the girl in the holovid reached up and touched her hair nervously.

I looked back at the Vee Pee, but I had no idea how to respond.

How could I explain what I was?

He continued studying me quietly for a few seconds, before breaking his silence. “You will restore your hair to its natural color by tomorrow. Is that clear?”

It was clear, but how could I tell him I had no idea what to do about it? Should I try dying it? Would that work on Mercedes’s hair strands?

Jive whispered, “Princess, tell him you will do it. Just tell him. We will determine a solution later.”

I swallowed and nodded unevenly. “Yes sir. I’ll attend to it when I return home.”

So this is why he was mildly shocked to see me. He was taken aback by my appearance, and instantly labelled me an ‘emo’ girl with ‘issues’.

No, today was definitely not going well.

He shook his head in displeasure. “In the meantime, young lady, you will remove those contacts. Now.”

“Sir?” I shot my appearance another look and saw that my eyes weren’t hazel-green, but had become a mauvish color. “Oh no….”

“Is there a problem?”

“No sir.”

“Then remove those contacts from your eyes now.”

“Sir, I can’t. This is my eye color. It’s my natural eye color.”

“Excuse me.”

I thought fast. “Sir, I wore contacts to make my eyes look normal. If I didn’t I would be teased by my classmates.” I reached up and touched my zebra locks. “The same with my hair. I had to dye it either blonde or black in order to hide its pattern.”

He gave me a dubious look, then sat back in his leather chair. “I would like proof of this, before I accept your explanation.”

I sucked in air through my mouth and kept my hands behind my back.

“Sir, this is the way I am. You can either accept it, or allow me to hide it. The dye in my hair faded, and my contacts must have fallen out when I jumped out the window. And that is all I have to say regarding my appearance. Reprimand me if you wish, but I’m offering no other explanation because I have none…sir.”

“Is that so?”

“Yes, sir. I’m sorry, sir.” I heard Jive talking to me in my ears, and then quickly added, “Sir, my cousin Erina will vouch for me.”

“Your cousin will?”

“Yes, sir. She is an alumni of this Academy. Erina Kassius.”

He nodded barely noticeably. “Yes. I am aware of that. However now, we are discussing you. I’ve perused you academic record at Pan Tel Academy. Nothing outstanding, but then again, you are described as a quiet and modest girl, who keeps to herself and out of trouble. You had few friends, and no discernible relationships with members of the opposite sex.” His gaze ran over me again. “Reading that, I’m forced to question your current behavior on your first day of attendance at Telos Academy. Are you expressing a form of rebellion now that you have transferred out of your Academy in Pan Teloria?”

“Sir, all I did was flee from the infirmary.”

“And why did you do that?”

“Because I don’t like needles.”

He grew silent for an uncomfortably long moment. “Miss Reynier, you landed in the infirmary after an unexplained reaction to the neural headset. Miss Valeria, our medical officer, was following procedure by having you scanned, not jabbed, in order to determine why you suffered such an adverse reaction. She was doing her job as per the regulations of this Academy, and you chose to jump out of a window. Explain yourself.”

I clenched my hands behind my back, digging my fingernails in deeper. “I’m sorry, sir. I can’t.”

“What was that?”

I shook my head weakly. “I can’t explain myself.”

“That is unacceptable.”

I kept my attention on a point above his head and out the window behind him. “Sir, it’s the only answer I have. I will accept a reprimand, detention, and a demerit on my record, but I have no other answer I can give you.”

“You will have no choice but to accept all three, Miss Reynier, and your reticence to cooperate will be duly noted.”

“Yes, sir.”

“I wasn’t asking you a question.”

I kept my silence this time around, then peeked a look at myself in the holovid window. My hair appeared stuck in its zebra style. However, to my relief it wasn’t progressively become either blonde or black. It would be a problem if it started to change while I stood in his office. However, it begged the question of what was wrong with me? Or rather, what was wrong with Mercedes’ body?

Damn. I really needed to talk to Erina. Where was she? What was keeping her?

I dug my nails into my palms, and prayed she would arrive sooner rather than later.

Jive whispered loudly into my ears, “She’s here!”

A moment later, I heard a commotion outside the Vee-Pee office.

“…you cannot go in there….”

“…I’m responsible for my cousin….”

“…yes but….”

“…out of my way—”

The door burst open and a harried looking Erina ran in while the Vee Pee’s secretary bounced from foot to foot, uncertain of whether she should give pursuit.

Erina’s normally crisp appearance was less than so, and I noticed the top of her blouse was unbuttoned. She took a dozen steps into the spacious office, performed a double take upon sight of me, and squeaked loudly in shock.

For a long while, she stood motionless and only eyes moved as she ran her gaze over me.

I frowned at her.

Didn’t Jive tell her about my ‘condition’? Wasn’t she supposed to play along and back me up? Instead she was staring at me as though I was an amusement park horror attraction.

Jive whispered in a despairing tone, “Well, that wasn’t the response I was hoping for.”

I cleared my throat and said blandly, “Why are you so surprised? It’s not like you haven’t seen me this way before.”

Long seconds went by before Erina recovered. “I haven’t seen you this way since you were twelve years old and your mother brought you around and you scared the living daylights out of Ronin. I’d forgotten how drastic your appearance changes when you’re not dying your hair”—she frowned deeply—“and wearing your contacts. What happened to your contacts?”

“I must have lost them when I jumped out the window.”

Erina palmed her forehead. “Dear gods, do you know how expensive those are?”

I shrugged sheepishly. “Sorry….”

She slowly folded her arms. “So tell me. What the Hell happened to your hair?”

Clearing my throat, I gave my ‘cousin’ a contrite look. “The hair dye wore off.”

That earned me a scowl. “I warned you not to use that cheap product.”

“Yes, but—”

“No, arguments young lady.”

I drew blood from my palms as I again endured being called ‘young lady’.

Erina raised a hand sharply. “We’ll talk about this later.” Turning quickly she stepped up to the Vee Pee’s desk, then bowed to him at a perfect ninety-degree angle. “Vice-Principal, I apologize for my cousin’s behavior and for her lack of regard concerning her appearance.”

I looked at the Vee Pee, and noticed he was sitting and looking straight at my sister.

Yes, he was looking straight down her blouse.

Ah, so that’s why she unbuttoned the top of her blouse. Was it her way of softening him up?

My sister wasn’t anywhere near as busty as Mercedes, but she wasn’t flat either. No, there was definitely something there for him to look at, and he was making the most of the opportunity to do so.

I realized it was making my blood boil.

My hands clenched at my sides, I trembled in strangled anger.

Somehow, by the merest of margins, the skin of my teeth, I kept it suppressed.

I turned away, and squeezed my eyes shut.

However, I could hear perfectly well.

My sister said, “Whatever damages the academy has incurred, I will reimburse, and I ask for your leniency.”

“You storm into my office and expect leniency?”

“Vice Principal, my cousin is enduring troubled times. Family matters. She is not a bad student. She just needs a little time to adjust. You have my word she won’t misbehave again.”

I opened my eyes into thin slits and stared at her.

This is all your fault, and yet you’re blaming me?

My anger simmered but it lost some of its edge as I was noticeably wounded by her words.

Erina was standing straight before the Vee Pee’s desk with a calm expression devoid of arrogance or bluster. It was one of pure sincerity, devoid of any guilt, and it must have had the desire effect because the Vee Pee sat back with a long, heavy sigh…and gave her a faint nod.

“Very well. We will overlook this matter. Just this once. I presume her behavior was influenced by the recent tragedy in your family?”

My eyes widened a fraction. Recent tragedy?

Erina released a heavy sigh. “I know she won’t admit it, but she is having some trouble dealing with recent events.”

My eyes widened a little more. Recent events? Recent tragedy? Well, I did lose my human body, duh!

The Vee Pee sighed as well. “I presume she and her cousin were close.”

“They were close, Vice Principal.” Erina cast her eyes downward. “Yes…they were quite close. In fact, she was looking forward to attending school here at the Academy with him.”

I was baffled, and it shaved away more of my anger, but I had the presence of mind not to show my confusion.

The Vee Pee regarded Erina studiously for a long moment. “A most unfortunate accident, I believe.”

Erina hesitated, then nodded haltingly. “Yes. It was…most unexpected. I appreciate the academy’s cooperation in not telling the students. I thank you for keeping the matter private and simply declaring it as a sudden transfer.”

I frowned inwardly as my confusion grew.

Accident? What accident? She can’t possibly be talking about me being deliberately scooped into a Sliver, and eventually turned into a Gun Princess?

The Vee Pee nodded gently. “I trust he’s receiving the best of care?”

“He is indeed. The Telos Corporation has been most kind to my family and I.”

Inwardly my expression twisted into one of disdain.

Oh, they’re being most generous by sticking me inside the body of girl with a freakin’ zebra hairstyle!

Erina added, “My parents are watching over him in the orbital city where the corporation has a medical clinic. I offered to watch over him here, but they chose otherwise.”

Again, the Vee Pee favored her with a gentle nod. “And how are you coping with your brother’s accident?”

“One day at a time. I have faith he will make a full recovery, though it will take time. I fear he will find himself repeating a school year, but it can’t be helped.”

I clenched my jaw, and decided Erina and I were going to have a long, long talk. Whenever I’d asked her about how my disappearance had been explained away, she would avoid the subject and remark it was all taken care of. It was time to get the truth out of her.

But not here and not right now, though very soon.

I noticed the Vee Pee’s gaze was on me, so I turned away a few degrees and kept my expression focused on the back wall that was a wide floor-to-ceiling window much like the one in the Principal’s office.

In the corner of my eye, I watched him address my sister.

“Regarding your cousin’s health scare, we need her to be properly examined before she can be authorized to return to class. Those are Academy regulations as handed down by Ar Telica’s Division of Education.”

Erina nodded quickly. “I understand, and have arranged to have the Telos Corporation’s medical division examine her.”

“The medical division?”

She folded her hands before her midriff. “As an employee of the Telos Corporation, I am able to have family members admitted to the company’s medical center here in Ar Telica. It was where my brother, Ronin, was first transferred to after the accident, before my parents decided to have him brought up to the orbital city. She will get the best of service by the specialists of the corporation.”

I saw the Vee Pee narrow his eyes. “We’ll need a medical certificate authorized by the Division of Health and Welfare before she can return to class.”

“I understand, and you shall receive it. However, Cassidy will need to spend time away from classes during her examination. I have her scheduled for admission to the medical center this afternoon.”

He pressed his lips into a thin line, laced his fingers over his gut, then turned his head in my direction. When he spoke my name, he made it sound like a veiled sneer.

“Miss Reynier, I would appreciate you looking at me when I speak to you.”

I swallowed tightly, grateful I wasn’t feeling as angry as before and faced the Vee Pee with a controlled expression that I hoped appeared demure and contrite. His gaze wasn’t remotely friendly, and I struggled to rein back the urge to return it.

Keep calm. Keep calm. Don’t punch his face just yet.

“Miss Reynier, I would advise you to moderate your behavior, and demonstrate the proper respect to the faculty members of this academy. Consider yourself fortunate, however, you have used up your ‘get out of jail’ card. Am I making myself clear?”

I had a good idea of what he meant, so I gave him a shallow, somewhat respectful nod. “Yes, sir….”

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“You may leave.” He stood up, and turned his attention upon my sister. “Good day to you, Doctor Kassius. I do hope your brother makes a swift and full recovery.”

I thought I saw Erina’s expression falter for a heartbeat, but she smiled warmly and nodded politely to the Vee Pee with more respect than I felt he deserved.

“Thank you, Vice Principal. I appreciate your kind words.”

He nodded once more, then gestured with a hand that we were free to leave.

Turning to the office’s exit, I noticed the door had been closed, undoubtedly by the Vee Pee’s secretary.

Erina walked ahead of me and opened the door quickly, ushering me through without preamble.

I bit my lower lip and stormed out of the office with my head low.

The anger that had abated was slowly coming back.

I heard Erina excuse herself to the Vee Pee, before closing the office door. Walking quickly, she excused herself to the secretary back at her desk, and hurried herself and I out of the office area.

I resisted her attempts to push me. “Wait—what about my bag?”

“What?”

“My bag and my shoes. I need to go get them.”

Erina’s expression hardened. “We’ll worry about them later.”

“But—”

“We’ll worry about them later? Is that clear?”

We arrived at the stairwell landing and came to a sudden stop she could do nothing about. “Why are you so angry with me?”

Her expression softened a little. “Cassidy, we can talk about this later. Right now, we need to get you out of here. Just don’t argue with me.” She gave me another push that did little more than rock me on my feet. “Cassidy, please. We don’t have time for this.”

I tried not to glare at her, but it was hard to hold it back. In the end, I turned away and exhaled loudly before descending the steps leading down through the administration building. I managed to contain myself down the spiral stairwell, and out the building’s front entrance. However, as we crossed the parking lot I decided it was time for answers.

“Erina, what the Hell was that all about?”

She continued walking.

I ground my teeth and walked beside her. “What was that about me having an accident? Why couldn’t you explain my disappearance as a nothing more than a sudden transfer?”

“A sudden transfer wouldn’t have been enough of a reason.”

I grabbed her shoulder and jerked her to a stop. “What the Hell is that supposed to mean?”

Erina took a quick breath. “A sudden transfer to where? Another academy? Another school?”

I nodded. “That’s right?”

“With no Ronin Kassius to show for it?” She pulled my hand off her shoulder, and lowered her voice. “Right now, your cover is being protected by the Telos Corporation upper echelons with an interest in your success. That means, that provided we keep Ronin Kassius in an environment controlled by the corporation, then they can cover for you. Do you understand? In addition they had to take care of the matter of your accident.”

“Which was?”

“An accident that occurred at my lab when you visited me last Monday evening. Your injuries were severe but luckily Ar Telica’s Division of Health and Welfare was convinced not to investigate by the Chief Director in charge of the facility. Because everything happened within company territory, they were able to keep things quiet.”

I stared at her in disbelief. I could barely wrap my mind around the scale of the deception.

My state of mind must have been written on my face, because Erina looked regretful.

“Cassidy, do you understand the extent to which people will lie and deceive in order to ensure the project’s success? This is why we need to play along. We can’t risk everything falling apart at this early stage—or any stage for that matter.”

She turned away, and walked toward a low-slung black sedan with a muscular appearance and wide wheels.

As we arrived at the car, my self-control faltered and my convoluted emotions burst free.

Erina had unlocked the vehicle and was in the process of opening the passenger door for me, when I abruptly reached out and yanked her around by her right shoulder.

I slammed her back into the side of the car.

Her startled face gave way to fleeting fear before she regained control of her emotions. “What are you—?”

I leaned close to her. “What am I doing? I’m giving in to the urge to punch you for everything you’ve done to me.”

Erina swallowed. Her face grew impassive but her eyes darted about searching mine. “Cassidy, calm down.”

“You call me Cassidy, but right now you don’t know what the Hell I am, do you? Am I Mercedes, or am I Cassidy? Answer me.”

“We need to get you back to the lab—”

“Because you haven’t got an effing idea what’s wrong with me.” I stared at her intently, watching every minute reaction on her face. “The great Erina Kassius, straight Aye student, and bootstrapped Alpha has no idea what’s going on, does she?”

Erina swallowed again and took a quick breath. “We have an idea, but we need to get you into the lab where you can be examined properly.”

With a one handed hold on her jacket, I slammed her again against the car door.

She winced loudly, and I held her at arm’s length as I pressed her into the car. “Cousin dear, you shoved me into this body without knowing what was going to happen.”

“That isn’t true,” she denied.

She replied a little too harshly for my mood, so once again I slammed her against the car door. “You made this body but you don’t know what’s wrong with it. You have no idea but you think you can lie to me, and expect me to believe you just like your company lied to the authorities and pulled the wool over their eyes.”

She grabbed my wrist but her strength wasn’t enough to budge my hand. “You’re not giving me a chance. You’re being totally unfair.”

“Unfair?” I gaped at her before narrowing my eyes. “Unfair? Everything that’s happened to me is because of your scientific greed, and you call me unfair?”

Releasing her jacket, I grabbed her throat instead.

“You bitch,” I hissed. “You effing bitch. I lost my body and I’m stuck here because of what you and those other bastards who wanted to make a new kind of Gun Princess. A new effing Gun Princess. I’m your effing prototype.”

I heard Jive shout unbearably loudly into my head.

“Princess—stop! You are killing her! Stop it, Princess. Now!”

He was right. I was killing her. Erina’s eyes were rolling back and she was turning grey as I steadily crushed her throat.

Yet I couldn’t stop myself.

“Princess—for the love of the gods! Release her at once. Release her or I will execute an emergency safety override.”

I blinked. “A what—?”

With one last effort, Erina swung her left hand loosely at me. I glimpsed the dark cylinder she held, a pressurized needle, and released her throat in the blink of an eye.

I caught her hand easily, and twisted it sharply.

There was the audible snap of tendons and ligaments as the bones in her wrist broke.

Then Erina screamed in agony and I watched her fall to her knees.

And yet I felt nothing for her.

I knew that was wrong of me. I knew that I’d harmed her and come close to killing her, yet I felt nothing for her and it slowly but surely scared me.

I took a step back from her as she cradled her broken wrist, her breathing fast and labored by pain.

The pressurized needle cartridge had fallen to the ground beside her knees.

Regarding it a threat, I stepped on it with my right foot and crushed it with my indoor shoe.

Then something slapped my neck the moment I heard a soft whistle in the air.

Reaching up, I noticed something embedded against my neck, and hastily pulled it free.

As I did so, a second something slapped my neck, followed by a third which impaled itself into the back of my raised hand. I looked down at my hand and saw a two-inch dart sticking up from it.

A tranquilizer?

Pulling it out without a second thought, I then removed the second dart in my neck, and dropped them to the ground. Simultaneously my eyes searched the parking lot for the culprit who’d fired on me…and I saw her standing some fifty feet away between parked cars.

She was clad in a black jumpsuit, and held a long, odd looking handgun aimed at me.

With her blonde hair tied back into a high ponytail, and her eyes hidden behind dark sunglasses, I guessed her to be around my sister’s age, though taller, prettier, and more athletic.

My eyes caught sight of her trigger finger moving, and I darted aside less than a heartbeat later.

But my body didn’t move as well as expected, and another tranquilizer dart resembling a mini sabot round buried its tip into the base of my neck.

I stumbled, and fell to one knee, while pulling out the two-inch dart.

Whatever was in the darts was slowing me down, yet I refused to go down without a struggle. I’d faced the lethal Gun Queen and survived. I was going to survive this.

I had no idea who the woman was, but I wasn’t going to loiter to find out.

She was shooting at me, and that made her an opponent. In fact, the Mercedes part of me already considered her an enemy.

Pushing myself up to my feet, I began running low around the front of Erina’s parked car. My sister was still on her knees, cradling her wrist, but I glimpsed the confusion on her face, and that reinforced the notion that the interloper was foreign to Erina’s planning.

I heard an odd whistling through the air, then something struck my waist. Glancing down, I saw a bolas had wrapped itself around my waist and instantly the two balls flashed brightly. My body grew rigid as my muscles spasmed under the intense electric shock. It felt almost as bad as being shot by an armor-piercing round.

Back then when I was shot by the Gun Queen I’d been able to stand my ground.

That wasn’t the case this time.

My legs turned watery and I collapsed bonelessly before Erina’s car.

My forehead hit the cold ground, but the impact failed to knock me out.

I managed to hold onto my consciousness long enough to feel a handful more tranquilizer darts puncture the back of my legs.

However, the last two were aimed at my buttocks, and they were the most painful of the lot.

Inwardly I promised to shoot the woman with her own weapon up the butt.

Then my world turned to black and I left the pain in my derriere behind.

#

(Erina)

With a trembling right hand, I pulled out the last pressurized cartridge needle I had from an inside jacket pocket, and then injected the tranquilizer into my arm.

It was one of two I’d been saving for Cassidy in the event matters got out of hand.

On the way down the stairwell, Jive had warned me of Cassidy’s anger through the earpiece I wore in my left ear. At first I’d been worried Cassidy would hear his voice in my ear, but that fear proved unrealized.

Yet despite his words of caution, we were both caught by surprise by the magnitude of Cassidy’s reaction when we arrived at the car.

When she spun me around and threw me against the car, I’d expected to see Mercedes standing before me. I was surprised when that wasn’t the case. Of course, all that quickly gave way to fear when she began strangling me to death.

As I lay on my knees, unable to rise as first the pain and now the tranquilizer robbed me of my strength, I looked over at Cassidy’s body lying messily on the ground in front of the car.

I counted nine or ten tranquilizer darts sticking out of her.

The sound of gravel crunching underfoot drew my attention away from Cassidy, and toward the one responsible for turning her into a pincushion.

The young blond woman, clad in her tight black jumpsuit, strode with long, measured strides toward me. She holstered the massive gun behind her back as strode by.

I took a number of breaths before I spoke my mind. “What are you doing here, Akane?”

She smiled as she walked past me, then stopped to pick up the darts Cassidy had dropped on the ground. “The ero midget thought you might need some help bringing her back.”

I sucked in another lungful of air while dealing with my surprise. “The Chief Director sent you?”

Akane walked over to the unconscious Cassidy, and regarded the girl for a moment before crouching down beside her.

“Well of course she’d send me,” she muttered. “The ero midget figured you’d find yourself in a mess, and she was right as always.”

Akane calmly removed each of the darts poking into the girl. She pocketed the darts, then fluidly picked up Cassidy with ease of picking up a small child.

I knew where that amazing strength came from, and it had nothing to do with external augmentation, a skinsuit, bionics, or cybernetics.

Akane walked back to me with Cassidy folded over her left shoulder like a life-sized rag doll, and stopped at my feet. “You look surprised to see me.”

I struggled up to my feet, and used my car door to lean against and support my weight. “I didn’t think she’d get you involved.”

She smile became a grin that lacked humor and warmth. “Well, of course, Erina dear. After all, it takes a monster to deal with a monster.” She shook her head. “You just never learn, do you? Making one abomination like me wasn’t enough. I thought I was bad, but you had to go and make an even bigger monster.”

Akane’s expression hardened and the grin became a bloodless thin line across her face.

“What’s worse is that you didn’t do it to your best friend. This time you did it to your family. Your own brother.”

For a short while, my breathing became uneven and a deep pain in my heart accompanied the pain in my wrist. Silently, I weathered her statement for I had nothing in my defense.

Akane sighed heavily and shook her head in surrender. “You’re beyond help, Erina.”

I swallowed again and focused on regulating my breathing.

The young woman swept her gaze complacently over the parking lot.

“I think it’s time to go,” she declared, then patted Cassidy’s rump. “I have to get this one into the holding cell before she wakes up. Those are the ero midget’s orders.”

I shook my head as I straightened away from the car. “Wait. We need to get her to the containment lab. She needs to be carefully examined.”

Akane nodded, and mock agreed with me. “Sure. Sure. After all, your brother’s welfare comes first, right Erina?”

“Yes, it does,” I hissed sharply at her.

“Well, the ero midget wants her in the same holding cell they used to contain me after I lost control. You remember that, Erina. It was when you and the other Alphas got the numbers wrong and I went berserk and almost killed half your staff. Well, they’ve improved the holding cell since then. The ero midget is keen to get her inside. She wants to see if this monster can escape from it like I did.”

Akane glanced up at the sky.

“What a day that turned out to be. Feels like yesterday but it was actually quite a while ago.”

She shrugged, and then laughed softly, though it sounded more like a series of snorts.

I thought I saw a shadow of despair cross her face before she shook her head, and walked away toward a row of parked vehicles.

“Your car’s fitted with auto-drive,” she said to me over her shoulder. “Make your own way back to the ship. And don’t forget to get your wrist looked at by the medics.”

I started following her but stopped after a couple of steps.

Akane whistled as she made her way casually to a parked black suburban with tinted windows.

I watched two large men climb out of the vehicle, and take Cassidy from Akane.

They placed my brother inside the back of the vehicle, then climbed into the suburban and departed the school grounds less than a minute later.

I heard a voice in my left ear.

“Doctor Kassius, I am sorry for what happened.”

I shook my head faintly. “It’s not your fault, Jive. I should have known she would eventually reach a breaking point.” Taking a moment to gather my breath, I asked, “How is she? Are you able to monitor her status?”

“Yes. Though the majority of my Awareness is operating from the sarcophagus, my link to the wetware inside Cassidy is for the most part uninterrupted.”

I watched the suburban disappear from view over the bridge leading back to Ar Telica’s Ring One which surrounded the bay area.

The tranquilizer had clouded the inside of my head because it took a while for Jive’s words to hit their mark in my mind.

“What do you mean for the most part?”

“It would appear the Angel Fibers are affecting the wetware in her neural matrix.”

I felt a dull chill emanate within my chest. “The fibers are expanding?”

“They are indeed.”

This was a problem. I needed to return to the lab. However, there was one more question I needed to ask. “Jive, did you inform the Chief Director of the situation with Mercedes?”

“No, I did not. Perhaps it was someone from your team. Or perhaps the ero midget—I mean Chief Director—is keeping a closer eye on you and your division than we catered for.” Jive’s voice sounded confidential. “After all, we both know she has a personal interest in the success of your research.”

I swallowed tightly, and tried to ignore the pain of a broken wrist veiled by the tranquilizer, and the cold chill that continued to spread through my chest.

I turned back to my car, eager to return to the lab.

----------------------------------------

Dear RRL readers,

I apologize but I had to delete the other chapter threads in order to start again.

This volume was quickly driving off the road, and I needed to get it back on track especially with Book One now released on Amazon Kindle.

A significant amount of volume 2 has changed, but a lot of the exposition has not.

So much of the other version will remain.

But there are differences as you will come read.

Thank you for your patience.

Kind regards,

________________

Simkin452

P.S. Update the blog so you can now see what Mercedes looks like a little better, thanks to figma Kuroyukihime.

I'll post the last of the images tomorrow after work.