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Something was very wrong here.
After a few tweaks of the wiring and a quick pass of her software, the airlock swooshed open, letting out a puff of metallic-smelling air. Behind it came the other scent she always dreaded: the choking, burnt-sugar odor of clay. But woven into the clay was a strange metallic undertone like the one she’d smelled in the facility on Banos Prime.
She spoke through gritted teeth, trying to breathe in as little as she could. “Layout is similar. One long corridor with labs. There doesn’t seem to be anyone here either, but stay on your guard.” She pulled her blaster from its holster, and they continued on. The smell grew stronger the deeper in they went, until her nostrils burned and her eyes stung.
“What is that?” Finn asked.
“I think it’s the drug they were making at the other facility. Maybe that’s what the distress call was about.” She pulled her shirt over her nose, but it did little to block the heavy smell.
“Is it toxic?” Viktis asked, alarmed.
“I don’t know. But I’m sure it can’t be good.” The last thing she needed was to get high in the middle of a job. “Wait.” A heat signature flashed on the map in her head. “I’m getting a reading from the far end of the hall. Let’s move.”
They sprinted toward the last lab, and Renna pressed a palm against the autolock, letting the doors slide open. Inside, computers and holomonitors lined the wall, and a bank of strange machines beeped and hummed near the door.
As she did a quick sweep of the room, her gaze tripped over a familiar form. She sucked in a breath.
Myka lay in the center of the room on a surgical table.
TWENTY-NINE
The boy’s eyes were closed, his chest barely moving with each shallow breath. His dark skin looked ashy against the white sheet covering his mostly naked body. An IV line disappeared into the crook of his arm, and his hair had been shaved to accommodate sticky probes attached to his skin.
Guilt burned in her belly, shooting bile up the back of her throat. For a moment, Renna thought she was going to be sick all over the sterile floor. She tore her gaze away from Myka and took several slow breaths, trying to steady herself.
“My gods.” Finn’s voice shook as he surveyed the boy. “How are we going to get him out of here?”
Viktis had already moved to the computers and was scanning the readouts. “They’re monitoring his vitals. It looks like the IV is full of that new drug in liquid form. What the f**k are they doing to him?”
Renna forced her legs to carry her closer until she could stare down at the boy. Her fingers shook as she touched his bare shoulder. His skin felt hot and damp, as though he had a fever.
His eyes flew open.
She screamed, jumping back as Myka suddenly thrashed. The sheet that covered him slid down to reveal his thin arms were tied to the table.
Finn grabbed her shoulders to steady her. She wanted to turn her face to Finn’s chest and hide there, but Myka’s voice jerked her out of her own fear.
“You came,” the boy whispered, staring up at her like she was some kind of hero. “I told him you would. You promised.”
“Are you all right? What are they doing to you?” She tried to keep her voice calm, but a sob choked her on the last word.
“They’re using my cells for something. They come in every day and take blood. They won’t tell me what they’re doing.” His voice trembled. “I want to go home. Get me out of here, Renna. Please.”
She forced the worry from her face. “Yes. Yes, that’s why we’re here. Just hang on a bit longer so we can figure out how to disconnect you. Viktis, what do you see?”
“I have no idea. There are two probes in his brain. Several Cida patches are keeping him mostly sedated, and the IV is pumping drugs into his bloodstream. There’s also an external port currently hooked up to an interfaced hemodialysis machine. Like they’re going to drain him.”
Viktis’s words circled her brain. She knew they were bad; she just couldn’t let herself think too much about them or she’d be useless.
“Do what you have to and get everything out of him.”
Viktis typed some commands into the control. Renna moved back to Myka and nodded at Finn, who took up a spot on the other side of the boy.
Renna smiled down at Myka. “I don’t know if this is going to hurt, but we need to pull all of these needles out. Okay?”
Myka bit down on his lip before nodding.
Finn met her gaze over the table. “Are you sure?”
“As fast as you can. Keep the pain to a minimum.”
He nodded. “One. Two. Three.”
Together she and Finn pulled the tiny probes from the boy’s temples. He screamed, high and shrill. His body jerked once, and then he went still.
“Myka! Myka? Are you all right?” Renna shook his thin shoulders
His head lolled loosely against the bed.
“Get the rest of these needles out of him!” She scrambled to pull the IV out of his vein. The patch on his shoulder was next, then the restraints tying his arms to the bed. Across the bed, Finn did the same. But the boy still didn’t move.
“Viktis! What’s his status?”
“Heartbeat is off the charts. Vital signs are unstable. There’s some strange brain activity going on.”
Her pulse raced as she studied the boy on the table. She’d never forgive herself if she’d hurt him.
“Renna, we need to get out of here. We can stabilize him once we’re back on the Athena.” Finn put a gentle hand on her shoulder.
Viktis’s scalp ridges vibrated as he scanned the machines. “There should be a dose of clay on that table. It might help get his heart rate under control.”
Renna eyed the needle. She hated the thing, hated the fact she was about to shoot up a kid with even more of that drug. But if it would save Myka…
“If he’s already on clay, won’t it make it worse?” she asked.
Viktis shook his head. “Whatever they’re pumping him with is no longer clay, it’s…different. I’m hoping this will stabilize him.”
She pulled down the sheet to uncover the rest of Myka’s thin body.
A wave of horror swept over her, so powerful that when it crashed, the room spun. She clutched at the edge of the table to stay upright.
A portion of the skin covering Myka’s ribs was pinned back to reveal metal and tissue wrapped together in a nightmare of robotic engineering. His ribs seemed to be made of some kind of metallic material, and some of his veins looked synthetic. The rest of what she could see was obviously still human.
