I opened my eyes and found myself in a makeshift hospital room built out of an old hotel suite. Another bed appeared in my peripheral vision and I turned towards it.

I quickly leapt out of bed and put up my guard.

Ajax was in the bed, asleep.

“Calm down. You’ve been unconscious for a full day – however much that’s worth in this pit of eternal nightlife.” Came an elegant voice from behind me.

I turned around and saw Grace sitting on a chair with her eyes closed. Trusting her word, I lowered my hands and relaxed.

“Why is she here?” I asked without pause.

“I know you’re confused, but do imagine how much more confused she will be when she opens her eyes.” Grace said without opening her eyes.

I raised an eyebrow in confusion and asked “Why would she be confused? Is she not an enemy?”

Grace chuckled a little and said “She was your enemy before, yes, but that’s only because she was paid to be. She’s a mercenary, she fights for a living in quite a literal sense.”

I frowned and said, “To fight for a living… that sounds quite paradoxical.”

Grace smiled and opened her eyes as she said “In some ways it is I suppose, but that’s beside the point. She’s no longer under contract and thus no longer your enemy.”

I frown again but accept her wisdom. I plainly ask, “She won’t hold a grudge?”

Grace laughed and amusedly said, “No, child, she won’t. You did a pretty good job making sure of that!”

In surprise and confusion, I ask “What do you mean?”

She grinned at me and said, “I’m not entirely sure how you surpassed her defences, but you completely destroyed her memories… you also damaged various other parts of her mind with raw psionic energy but those should be able to recover with time, it’s practically a miracle she survived that treatment.”

If you find this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the infringement.

Suddenly a robotic laughter erupted from behind the curtain. The robotic voice continued to laugh for several seconds before it spoke.

“You truly are an impressive young lady. You’ve really put a kink in my plans.” Said the cold robotic voice.

Grace pulled the curtains back and in front of us stood the medical droid. The usually green optical systems had turned red to indicate that a system error had occurred.

Grace stepped closer to me whispered, “It’s been hacked.”

“How very astute of you, Ms Sakura. I simply thought it wouldn’t do to not show myself to such an interesting foe!” he said, pausing a moment before continuing “First I planned to take over the gangs in the area one by one… The Blood Fang work for my associates but Emir worked for me.”

I looked at him blankly and said “Emir?”

The droid looked at me and said “Yes, he controlled the Viper clan from the shadows. It was hard to inflate the head’s ego sufficiently but the approach was rather effective in the end… It was unfortunate that you managed to kill him off before he finished usurping the clan.”

I opened my eyes wide and exclaimed “Oh! The scrawny guy! Yea… he was annoying so I killed him.”

I glanced at Grace who was simply watching the exchange in silence.

The droid spoke again, “Yes, I’m quite surprised you managed to survive Wesley’s attack… He was a brilliant agent. The previous Wolf Pack heads were far too vigilant around him, using that Brunner kid was quite cunning. Too bad I failed to anticipate such an astounding outside force, I really should have ordered him to kill you the day you arrived.”

So Mr Wizard was working under this guy right from the start? That’s a surprise.

<( She says with a monotone. )>

Not now Dawn!

I looked at the droid and said with a smirk “Well, I’m glad you messed up. What are your plans now?”

The droid looked at me and said “It wouldn’t do to tell you all my plans. I suppose I’ll just have to take my leave here, though I will be seeing you again soon.”

It laughed a perfect three-step laugh before shutting down and rebooting in its default mode.

“I apologize for the delay; several technical issues have delayed my services.” Came a much gentler synthetic voice, “Please sit milady, you are still in the process of recovery.”

I exchanged looks with Grace. She said “Seems like it’s back to normal… We have a lot of work to do before that guy comes after you again.”

I looked at Grace with an inquisitive eye and asked, “Do you know who that was?”

“No,” she said, “but I have my suspicions.”

We sat in silence after that, only to be interrupted several minutes later by a confused Ajax tumbling out of bed while murmuring “Where am I? No, WHO am I?”

Grace smiled and said, “If you play this right she could become completely loyal to you.”

I grinned and said “Indeed.”