|
�Shit!�
Suddenly, he turned, grabbing his coat from the back of
one of the chairs
as he passed. �I have to go out, Alana, I won�t be
long.� A
small camera in the corner of the room swivelled to watch
his exit.
The AI settled back to wait but a second or so later she
activated the
email program and was stunned to find a reply.
To:
Hello Alana, I�ve been receiving your emails. I would like to meet you. I think we would have much to say to one another. It would be so much easier if you could tell me where you are, so that I can come to you and we can talk. I look forward to hearing from you again. Yours,
* * * Alex entered the warehouse around noon. She had driven her rental car here, checking for tails just like Nick had taught her a long time ago, and had parked the small, blue Ford around the back. There was a place behind the warehouse that couldn�t be seen into and she usually hid her car there. The warehouse was silent. There was no car parked on the ground level, the diagnostic stations were silent as well, there were no lights on. Alex hefted her backpack and climbed up the iron staircase. She didn�t really know what to expect. Karr had called her while she was in Yosemite National Park where a meeting between the Wardens and Rangers had taken place, discussing ecological preservation and effects of tourism on the parks. It wasn�t really all that much of a surprise. They talked occasionally, something that had been unusual at first but had grown into near-normality soon. Alex liked Karr. In a way he was like Nick, just as a computerized version. He was cold on the outside and still had emotions underneath that could break through any moment. They were two of a kind, and maybe that was why she had never really been afraid of the AI. Despite his fearsome demeanour. The phone call had been rather brief and brisk, she thought. Karr had asked her if she had some time, if she could come down. He had never really done that before. Yes, he had called and they had talked in the past, but he had never asked for her presence. Usually it was more along the lines of informing her about Nick�s condition and whether or not she could expect him to drop by. Slightly caught off guard, Alex had said yes. She was worried. Had something happened to Nick? And if that was a yes, how bad was it? Nick was usually featuring some kind of bruise or cut or deeper wound. She had seen all his scars multiple times; it was a map of his job. But for Karr to call her on his behalf�? Was it on Nick�s behalf? The first floor was silent as well and Alex let the backpack slide off her shoulders, placing it against the freight elevator�s closed doors. She discovered a figure sitting on the couch and even as she came closer, she failed to recognize the man. He had short, dark hair, grey eyes, and was dressed completely in black. It was familiar, but still�. And then she discovered Nick. He lay on the couch, asleep, and she quickly took an inventory. With the professional, well-trained eye of someone who had spent the last ten years learning more about the human anatomy and how fast someone could heal. There was a long cut running across his forehead, the left side of his face was bruised and his left eye was bandaged. He had a cast on his left arm and Alex would have bet a year�s income that there was more damage to him than she could see. Someone had drawn a blanket over him. The other man rose fluidly, dark eyes pinned on her in an
unnervingly
familiar way. Still, there was no fear. Maybe
because whoever
came here would have a right to be here.
Karr rose and walked a few paces, staring out over the
railing.
�Kitt is upholding the link as well as he can. He
has� sacrificed
a lot already, but it�s not like before.�
�Is this a private session of can anyone join in?�
* With the car on silent mode, Kitt drew the TransAm up in
front of the
dilapidated building. It was silent, looked
deserted. The drizzling
rain made the place look all the worse.
Michael watched him. He couldn�t help but be a little unnerved by his partner at times. When Kitt had been in the TransAm it had been simple to relate to him � he was an AI in a car. He was beloved, sentient, Michael�s partner and friend, later his lover. But in the android body he was so human. He sounded human, felt human, tasted human. The implant was so natural now even that had become second nature. But at times like this, when Kitt was so much the AI he was� it stirred something deep inside Michael that he�d never been able to put a definite name to. �There are automatic booby traps throughout the
building. No ringing
alarms. There�s a lot of electronic activity below
ground level,
only a small standard current above.�
Michael nodded, watching as the labs disappeared from
their view.
Then he glanced over at Kitt. �You� get on with this
Alana?�
* Alex had seen to it that Nick got some more rest, which wasn�t hard to do. He was completely beat and he couldn�t argue a lot anyway. Not with her right now. He had retired to his bedroom, alone, while Karr had stayed on the couch. She had noticed the pained expressions now and then, apparently each time he was unconsciously trying to use the link. Now Alex walked out of the kitchen, a mug of tea in her hand, and sat down beside Karr. He didn�t move, simply stared at the closed door of Nick�s bedroom. Alex stirred the greenish-brown liquid, then settled
back. She
watched the rigid shoulders for a short time and then did
what she did
for Nick sometimes, automatically switching her resources
from human to
android. She touched the hard shoulders and started
to gently run
her palm over it, massaging in circles. Karr�s gaze
dropped to the
floor and then he finally looked at her. She gave
him a smile.
* Nick had just got up when his mobile started to
bleep. It took
him a minute or so to find the phone, which was finally
handed to him by
his un-amused partner. �You should be resting,� Karr
told him bluntly.
The AI was rewarded with a scowl and Nick pressed the
answer button on
the phone.
Michael and Kitt arrived back at the warehouse at the same time as Duck�s truck pulled in with the tarpaulin-covered Stealth aboard. Nick was about to greet Duck when the link came back up again. For a moment, he closed his eyes, feeling Karr appear in the back of his mind. He wished he could link properly, deeply, for just a moment. But even with Kitt�s boost, they were no where near. Karr joined him and they briefly exchanged a look. Karr was similarly suffering from this, but he had the advantage of being the perfect poker face. Even in this body. Smiling his thanks at Kitt, Nick moved to supervise the delivery of his car. Duck was dancing out of reach of Karr, shooting the
android nervous
glances. He pulled the tarpaulin off and Nick felt
something inside
of him whoop in joy. The Stealth looked beautiful,
gleaming in the
sunlight coming through the skylights.
Duck blanched and for a moment, Nick was afraid the other
man would
faint. �I� I� ah�. Do I have to?�
Bear had almost finished work on the CPU. Soon they�d be able to put Karr back, it wouldn�t be soon enough. Nick leaned against the truck, waiting for the unloading to be finished. He felt fatigued, but not as badly as before. Unconsciously, he rubbed over his bandaged eye and winced once. Nick looked up to meet the scowling, dark face of Karr. There might not be a full link, but he knew that look as
if Karr had
always been human. It was rather misgiving and
criticizing.
He flashed Karr a dark smile and then pushed away from the
truck, walking
over to where the Stealth now touched the warehouse
floor. It was
time to check out the hardware.
It had taken a few tries, but Karr had finally picked up
the basics
of driving the Stealth. He, like Kitt, could access
the CPU car interfaces
remotely by using a specified frequency. But there
was a huge difference
between operating the car from a CPU and actually driving
it from the pilot�s
seat.
The argument with Nick about going to the hospital in the first place had taken longer and had been more frustrating than that. Nick insisted he was fine, Karr argued he wasn�t. Of course he wasn�t. The man had been thrown out of a car going over seventy miles per hour and the link was close to non-existent. Kitt�s boost was unable to bridge the distance and the moment they had left the warehouse, Nick had suddenly tensed, clenching his jaw, and Karr had felt the coldness permeate him. �Not a word,� he warned in a low, dangerous voice as Nick
carefully
strapped himself in on the passenger seat.
The drive as such was uneventful. Karr had quickly grasped the basics and was piloting the Stealth perfectly, just like he would while inside the CPU. Karr was still sitting in the waiting room when he came out after his appointment, the dressing gone from his eye. He had insisted on accompanying Nick, despite the other man�s declaration that he was perfectly able to walk alone and that he wasn�t about to bolt. Piercing dark eyes regarded the revealed injury, searching, reassuring himself. The skin around Nick�s eye was discoloured, with red welts and bruises, but it was no longer badly swollen. Karr rose silently and accompanied his driver outside. He ignored the people around him, feeling out of place and too vulnerable. He was reminded of Kitt�s silent confession years back
when he had first
entered the android�s body. He couldn�t protect
Nick. The Stealth
meant safety, it meant power and strength; this body
* �Michael?� Nick�s voice was clear over the mobile
line.
�He�s been back here, he�s taken Swan.�
There was an eerie silence about the place, one that went
way passed
just the desertion of the previous owners. The
TransAm was already
waiting when Karr piloted the Stealth silently across the
parking lot to
pull up next to the other car. Quietly, the four got
out of the vehicles
and looked at one another.
�Or it might be worse.� All three of them looked at
Karr.
He looked back in self-defence. �They may be
automatic. Warren
might not care any more, but perhaps that does not
matter.�
Karr checked the fire exit at the rear of the main building and found that it simply swung open. From first glance it looked as if no one had been here in years, Kitt�s scan had obviously proven that theory to be incorrect. They stepped into the narrow corridor and pushed through another single door at the end. They found themselves in an empty room. From the looks of the decaying sockets on the walls, and the dripping air-conditioning ducts in the ceiling, this had once been a computer room for a mainframe. Save for the periodic drops of water hitting the concrete floor, the place was silent. The air was stale. They looked at one another in the gloom, the only light even attempting entry was through a filthy, barred window in the wall to their left. The only other exit was across from them, and they stepped forward together. They heard a soft click, and then the sound of many small hatches opening in the walls and ceiling. Nick only had time to cast a wide-eyed look at his partner before they found themselves in the centre of crossfire. Nick jumped out of the way of the bolts that was hurtling his way and rolled, his ribs screaming their protest at him. He came up against a wall and caught his breath, which came in soft hissing pants. Karr growled softly as another bolt embedded itself not too far away from his position and caught his partner�s eye. The small electronic shooters seemed to react to body heat and movement. Karr was rather mobile in his android body if he concentrated on using the sub-routines. He had so far been able to keep up with Nick, who was severely hindered by the injuries, but who also went through the whole situation with his trademark stubbornness. He was pumped full of extra-strong painkillers, knowing he would suffer from it later � if he survived. Nick, as the one target who gave off enough body heat for the heat seekers to lock onto, hid behind a water fountain that was barely enough cover. Karr was standing completely still. Nick caught Karr�s eye and made a quick gesture, hoping the AI could pick up the idea, from both the signal he tried to send through the implant and his knowledge of his partner. Karr nodded once, then he started to move. Nick rolled again and grabbed for a weapon of his own. The shooters came very close to him, but Nick was a blur
of movement
as he turned around and threw a piece of metal. The
knife slammed
into the motion and infrared sensor. The shooters
whirred for a few
more seconds, then stopped, unable to find a target.
This room was narrower but had the same leaking air ducts
and wall sockets
oozing ozone. They looked about, hearing a soft
sound but unable
to pin it down. Neither Nick nor Karr saw the small
holes slide open.
Karr suddenly thought he felt a slight breeze of air -
compressed air.
He looked around in alarm and discovered the holes.
<KARR!> he yelled through the deafening echoes
of pain.
"No!" Nick protested.
Head pounding, he sat down heavily. �Karr?�
�We have to reach Edgar,� Karr said coolly.
�Michael and Kitt
may have encountered similar problems.�
* Edgar had set up his security measure on the theory that anyone who shouldn�t be there would go in the back way. People coming in the front had a valid reason for not sneaking around. Besides, he knew himself. One day he would forget to turn the system off and would end up killing himself. Therefore, Michael and Kitt gained entry to the building without encountering the measures that had attacked Nick and Karr. The ground floor, as far as they could make out, was deserted. But there was a single, shadeless light-bulb hanging from the ceiling, illuminating some steps going down from the main corridor. Half-way down, Kitt stopped. Something� a brief surge in the energy he was using to boost the link between his brother and Nick. But it settled again, and at Michael�s questioning glance, Kitt continued. As the base of the steps came into view around the dog-leg landing, they could see a lab ahead of them, across the narrow corridor onto which they would come out. Hurrying the last few steps, they crouched next to the three-foot high panelling above which was glass as far as they could see in both directions. Beyond the glass was the lab they�d been searching for. A lab that would have probably housed ten working scientists and ensured they never got in one another�s way, was being used now by one man. The illumination spilling out into the corridor was emanating from a mix of harsh strip lights, dim desk lamps and bright, glowing monitors. In the back of the lab were stockpiles of old computers and screens. Directly in front of them the machines were all displaying readouts, some of which Kitt could translate from where they were crouched. //thoughts?//
Swan seemed unharmed. She was carrying an electric screwdriver in her hand that could easily have been used as a lethal weapon had she wanted it to. But she didn�t look to be searching for an escape route. Stopping next to one of the machines, she leaned down and started to type, studying whatever answers the computer had provided a moment later. These weren�t the actions of a hostage. She looked to be helping him. A minute or so passed, and then Edgar crossed the lab barely feet in front of the soundproofed glass between them and approached a table just out of their view. Silently, they moved to their right until they could see clearly what had captured Edgar�s attention. This time it was Michael who had to calm Kitt. On the workbench next to where Edgar stood lay the gruesome remains of what had once been or had been intended to be an android. Wires and circuit boards protruded from the open cavity
of the main
torso. It had no face. The sensitive
positronic brain was exposed,
and wires ran from it into a black box both partners
recognized as a CPU
for an Artificial Intelligence.
* As far as Nick could work out, they were getting close to the front of the building. They had crossed two rooms without further incident and were now standing in a wide, dark corridor. In the dim light that came only from the dirty window in the room they�d just exited, they could make out double doors ahead of them. Nick hoped they were close. They�d heard no other sounds except for their own footfall and the odd moan of increasing pain. Also their own. Glancing at one another, Nick stepped forward and reached for the door handle. The link died. Not slowly, but suddenly. Like
someone had
flipped a switch. Nick felt the black hole slam into
his mind.
He barely managed to stifle the gasp as his body seemed to
give way and
he collapsed to the floor.
Karr didn�t know how it happened. One moment he was
watching Nick�s
back, alert for traps that could severely hurt his
partner, the next there
was a piercing sensation in his neck and he lost all
control of the android.
He fell to the ground, paralyzed, eyes still open.
He caught a whisper
of the link and then it died down.
Karr�s voice echoed in his own mind and he cried
out. Pain flared
through the android�s neural nets and he gasped. He
felt something
intrude into the positronic mind, felt it slice into his
shields, and he
stumbled away. What was going on? What was
happening to him?
Who had done this?
The thing came closer and Karr thought he heard sizzling,
snapping noises.
Scared by the unknown intruder, frightened out of his mind by his inability to defend himself in this alien environment, Karr tried to get away. He fled into the depths of the foreign system, falling, stumbling, throwing blocks up behind him until he was backed up against the walls of the processor. There was no where left to run. The android lay just out of reach, looking for all the world like a puppet whose strings had been cut. Something was clinging to his neck, something silvery, looking like a huge metal spider. Its six legs were buried in the synthetic skin. Wherever it had come from, he assumed it must have been another one of Warren�s traps. Nick crawled over to Karr, each movement an effort. �Karr?� he rasped. He touched the silvery thing on the android�s neck. Dark eyes opened slowly. Pain and desperation sat deep inside them. Nick felt like crying. The hole in his mind was spreading like wildfire, encompassing his thinking. He fingered the device, unable to understand how it worked. He was too confused and too much in physical and mental pain. He ran a shaky hand over the dark, short hair. Nick felt like he was being paralyzed, the paralysis spreading by the minute. Whatever that thing was doing to Karr, it was spreading through Nick, disabling him. He curled up, eyes fixed on the dark ones of his partner. And slowly, he let the darkness swallow him. * //so� we just� burst in there?// When he didn�t
receive a reply,
Michael looked over at his partner. //Kitt?//
�Kitt?�
The AI was staring at the floor, one hand down, keeping
himself balanced
while the other hand he was rubbing over the still-red
area on his neck
where the Bluetooth chip had been installed.
�What?� Michael
could see something wasn�t right. He reached out,
touching Kitt�s
arm.
Pushing on the glass door, Michael stepped inside the
lab, gun drawn
and aimed upwards. �Stay where you are and no one
gets hurt!�
Whatever the next move was to be, it was never
made. There was
a sudden explosion, sparks flying, mixed with Swan�s yell
as she fell back
from the computer she was working at. A fork of
eclectic current
leapt from the black CPU up to the cables running along
the ceiling.
As it did so it was accompanied by a high-pitched
shriek. Michael
retreated a couple of feet instinctively, but both Kitt
and Edgar stepped
forward.
The blue/white bolts of electricity arced across the
ceiling, cable
to cable, striking out from the CPU.
Kitt wrestled his way out of Michael�s grasp and knelt by
the monitor,
reading the rapidly scrolling text with ease.
Edgar stepped to them, eyes not leaving the bluish
streaks now settled
around the cables above the CPU. �She�s dying,� he
repeated desperately,
tears spilling on to his cheeks. �Please, you have
to do something!�
>_kitt
Caught up in the emotions he could grant her, and her
creator at his
side, his fingers hesitated over the keyboard. There
was nothing
but the silence, and in that he believed he could feel his
own heartbeat,
and that of his partner standing yards from him.
They were still
blocking one another as the usually would on a case, and
that made it easy
to conceal where his thoughts were heading.
�Kitt, NO!!!!� Michael launched himself at his partner for the second time, but this time he was caught by Edgar, knocked off balance and sent crashing into the desks to the side of them. Edgar didn�t look that strong, but terror for his creation more than made up for his lack of skill or strength. �Kitt!� The AI heard the fear, the grief in his lover�s voice and harshly ignored it. He spread his fingers, palm out, waiting for the pain that would come as soon as Alana touched him. The young AI came closer, spiralling down from the ceiling, five tendrils of current reaching for Kitt, mimicking the shape of his offered hand. �KITT!!!!� //KITT, DON�T!!!!//
The electric fingers moved back, withdrawing.
Leaning against the glass now, Edgar was crying steadily,
watching his
beloved creation service her last interrupt. And
then Kitt stepped
back from the monitor, head bowed.
Michael couldn�t bring himself to break the silence. Swan had laid a hand on Edgar�s arm, but he shrugged it off. Michael stepped up to Kitt�s back, rubbing his hand down his partner�s arm in what he hoped was comfort and didn�t hold a hint of the anger he was feeling at Kitt�s offer of sacrifice. He sighed, and looked around the room. He caught site of a bank of six black and while monitors in the corner of the room. They seemed to be showing parts of the abandoned building. On the bottom left hand side one, Michael could make out two figures lying very still on the ground. Nick and Karr. �Shit!�
Returning to where they�d come down to the lab, they
carried on into
the main building. Kitt pushed open the double
doors, running into
the first deserted computer room. A soft click
reached his ears and
he froze. �Michael, get out of here!� His
partner was still
standing in the doorway.
The expression on the AI�s face was one of barely masked
agony.
Finally, Michael nodded. He nodded toward the room
before them.
�What about this one? Do we cross it or find another
way?�
Outside it was getting dark, the early evening sun
setting behind the
dingy buildings. Michael and Kitt took the route
they guessed Nick
and Karr had taken, coming to the back entrance door that
remained open.
Michael had to drag his attention from Kitt�s roughly
dressed hand.
As they stepped cautiously inside, he laid a hand on his
partner�s shoulder.
�Let me�.�
Once Kitt was at the other side, Michael took a deep breath, released it, and sprinted the distance without incident. Michael glanced at Kitt, relief in his eyes, and swept his arm out in front of him, inviting his partner to continue. Kitt managed a strained smile and proceeded before Michael changed his mind. Two rooms later they stood at the doorway of a long, dark corridor. Changing his vision function, Kitt saw easily. Nick and Karr lay at the other end of the corridor, heads almost together, legs and arms sprawled. Kitt looked around the walls and ceiling, trying to spot the weapon that had taken them down. Not able to see anything suspicious, he moved a single step, turning to look up into the corners behind him. A silver tube protruded from the ceiling, aimed at where the two partners were lying. Kitt thought for a moment and then jumped, placing his thoroughly bandaged hand in front of the silver tube, grabbing at the barrel itself with his good hand. Just before he managed to bend the tube downwards, something was fired onto the wadded shirt around his left hand. Landing back on his feet, he looked at the silver, spidery device trying to bury itself into the material. Carefully, he took hold of the body of the device and pulled it off, taking a moment to study it before dropping it to the ground and stamping on it hard. It shattered, sizzling as it died. Hoping that was the only trap here, Kitt ran, dropping to
a crouch at
Nick�s side, pressing two fingers to the cool neck.
Michael joined
him, attention immediately caught by the device on the
back of Karr�s neck.
Nick had no idea what was really going on around him. He was lost in a sea of pain and desperation. The pain was surreal, not coming from any physical wound. It came from deep inside his mind, a place where another presence should be and wasn�t. Maybe it was a physical wound. Something had been taken from him, something that belonged to him. There was a sudden flash of warmth, like a pulse of power, and he lunged at it, grabbing a hold. It was instinctive. He fell through the link, grasping for Karr, screaming in frustration as his partner fell further away from him. Someone grabbed him, jostling him, trying to get him back
to the real
world. Nick refused to leave the mental planes that
were the only
connection he still had to Karr. He clung to the
weak pulsing warmth.
His body moved and he knew reflexes were kicking in,
making him stumble
along, but he couldn�t respond to anything but the pulse.
They exited the back of the building, Kitt somehow carrying the other android, Michael helping Nick along. Whatever had happened or was happening to Karr, it was affecting Nick too. Kitt had managed to bring the link back up, but he had no idea if Nick was feeling anything at all from the unresponsive AI. Swan was waiting by the cars. In her hands she had the keys to the old Ford Edgar had picked her up in. Nick was in no state to drive, so Kitt took the unenviable task of driving the Stealth with Karr in the passenger seat, while Michael took Nick and Swan followed behind. Neither Michael nor Kitt asked where Edgar was. Neither was interested. * The warehouse was silent, in a busy kind of way. The Stealth was sitting in its usual place, but it was as dead as the metal it was made of. The CPU lay next to it, attached to the delicate circuitry inside the car by long extension cables. Ed Hallston was busy checking and rechecking the settings, his unshaven face a mask of utter concentration. Bear was doing something or other in the engine compartment, glowering at nothing in particular and the world in general. The TransAm was parked further away than usual, giving the men working on the Stealth more space. Michael gazed across the ground floor and his eyes came
to rest on where
Swan was furiously working on the android Karr had been
transferred into.
The strange metal device Edgar had shot at him was still
attached to his
neck. Bonnie was assisting Swan with whatever she
was trying to do,
her face as pale Swan�s. Karr had been rolled onto
the side, dark,
sightless eyes staring toward the couch area.
Michael swallowed hard and looked at Nick. His friend was a mirror of what was happening. He had never seen Nick this openly desperate, so close to breaking completely. Karr was fading, Kitt had told him. Whatever this spider thing had done, it was frying him, tearing him apart, and there was nothing any of them could do but work as quickly as possible to insure a safe download back to the CPU. Nick held the empty dark gaze of his partner, searching
for a spark
of life. Anything. He didn�t care who saw him
as he was now;
all he cared about was the fading life in his mind.
Weak little pulses
rippled over his mind planes, shivers of something he was
losing.
The ebony presence he had been bonded too since he had
turned 24 was suddenly
nothing a barely viable flicker, each pulse like a
desperate breath for
air. Tears ran down his face and Nick made no move
to wipe them away.
His mind was reaching out as far and as strongly as it
could, holding the
weak flame,
Part of him was aware of the strong arms around him. Alex was sitting behind him, arms wrapped around his waist, legs stretched left and right of him. Her head was buried against his neck. It was about the only sensation he took in from the world outside. Now and then she tightened her hold briefly, reassuring him, but there was no reassurance. He knew what was happening. Karr was dying. Karr�s spark shuddered and he lunged forward.
�Done,� Ed announced, voice rough. He looked up
from his work,
eyes red-rimmed. �Let�s do it!�
Kitt unfolded from his sitting position and walked over
to the android.
Swan briefly gazed at him, then turned to help Ed.
Bonnie just stood
back and let them work. Connections were made within
a minute and
then Swan went to her laptop.
Alex held on to Nick, rubbing her hands over his chest now and then, hugging him once in a while. Her face was buried in his neck and she felt tears stream down her checks and onto his skin. She knew exactly what was going on and if it failed, she would lose the most important person in her life and one of her best friends. Nick was trembling badly and she knew he was crying. Soundlessly. The tears simply streaming down his mask-like face. She had never seen him cry before. She hadn�t known what it would take to let him show these emotions. Now she knew and she wished she had never had to find out. She listened to what was going on with half an ear, heard Ed tell the others he was done, heard Swan ask Kitt to monitor the transfer. She didn�t know how much time passed, but suddenly the warm body in her embrace stiffened and Nick gasped. Then he collapsed back against her and she tightened her hold, wrapping her arms protectively around him. Nick moaned, eyes screwed shut, tears glistening wetly on
his pale face.
He twitched faintly, then went limp.
As he straightened, he found Swan at his side, moving to cradle his left arm in her hands. �Your turn now,� she told him softly. Kitt glanced at her. He�d pushed the burning pain to the back of his mind. Now she�d mentioned it, it brought that agony to the forefront once again. He nodded, thankful. As Kitt sat in a chair, his elbow and upper arm rested on the workbench next to him, Michael stood behind him, hands on his shoulders. Swan had to remove the remains of the stripped flesh and remould new skin onto the hand. It would take hours, and it wouldn�t be painless. As she started, Michael took a chair and swung it around until he was sitting facing Kitt, off to one side to allow Swan room to work. Gently, all blocks between them dropped, he pulled his partner into his mind, wrapping himself around the bright, white presence and holding Kitt tight, stroking softly, taking his attention away from what Swan was doing. Slowly, Kitt�s blond head dropped against Michael�s which came to rest on his shoulder. Eyes closed, they stayed like that for the next three hours until the painful surgery was complete and Kitt�s system had had time to deal with the shock. Swan decided to remove the Bluetooth chip later. They�d all been through enough for now. Alex curled her legs under her, prepared to spend as long as it took for Nick to wake on the couch. She leaned against the backrest, never ceasing her stroking motions. She watched Michael and Kitt for a time, touched by what Karr�s brother had obviously been through for his sibling. Then she shifted her gaze over to the work area where Bear and Ed were fussing over the Stealth. On the table not far from her lay the spider device Swan had now simply ripped off the android�s neck. She would have to repair the body, but at least the soul was safe now. * Nick woke in the tight embrace of a cool, silky black
presence wrapped
around his mind, his soul, keeping him safe and
warm. He opened his
mental eyes long before his physical ones, gazing at the
darkness, watching
it pulse and ripple, taking in the strength. It was
an incredible
feeling, familiar and secure.
Signals from his body were now intruding, some of them
pain, most of
them of someone close to him in the physical world as
well.
Nick lay back in the cool embrace, savouring the
moment. He had
nearly lost Karr; completely. The memory of
the ever-fading
spark was burned into his mind. Karr shifted and
wrapped more of
himself around that terrible memory.
After a while, Nick reluctantly left the depths of the
neural bond and
opened his eyes. He was in his own room, in his own
bed. His
last memories were of the couch downstairs, so how�?
Nick turned his head and became aware of the body next to
him.
Alex had curled up with him, one hand draped loosely over
his waist, head
buried in his side.
�Good morning,� she whispered.
* Nick emerged from the bathroom an hour after he had managed to get out of bed, feeling more alive than before but still weak and exhausted. The cast was more or less dry. His bruises were complaining, but he ignored them, and his left eye was stinging a bit. The bandage had come off just before going into the OrBit labs. He might need to give it a rest by wearing glasses outside for a while. The doctors would probably give him a piece of their mind about how he treated himself anyway. Karr was a constant presence in his mind and it was the
steady reassurance
that everything was okay. Everything was getting
back to normal.
Alex had kept her promise of waffles and coffee, and the
food revived him
some more.
While Alex was busy talking to someone in Yosemite on the
phone about
her return in a day, Nick had walked down the
stairs. The familiar
sight of the Stealth greeted him and he felt more relief
swamp him.
Karr clicked the door open and he gingerly lowered himself
onto the black
leather seats. His body was still one big bruise.
Alex came down the stairs and smiled as she discovered
them. She
slid onto the hood, letting her feet dangle over the left
front tire.
�I checked back with the park. Everything�s
cleared. You are
now my official assistant, Nick.�
Alex slid off the hood and followed him up the stairs, but not before turning around and winking at Karr. She could have sworn she saw a reaction. * Michael found Kitt leaning on the railings outside the
warehouse.
It was a beautiful day, and for a moment he stayed back
and watched the
sun playing in the silky blond hair. Finally, Kitt
turned and smiled.
�Stop it.�
Kitt rested his hands on Michael�s arms, squeezing
lightly. �You
wouldn�t.�
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