Programmed To Protect (The Tau Cetus Chronicles) (13 page)

I could find out every sexual trick she’s capable of… Try out all my fantasies on her…

Wyatt’s body shuddered at the thought.

Veraine laughed again and headed for the front door. Wyatt quickly pushed his unruly thoughts aside and exited his vehicle to follow him. He didn’t trust Veraine, and he wasn’t about to let the programmer have even one moment alone with Ginger in which he might compromise her in some way.

Visions of Veraine flipping a secret switch or punching some innocuous-looking computer key played through Wyatt’s brain.

Keep your hands where I can see them at all times, buddy.

The two men walked down the long entry corridor. At this hour – with no working personnel here, the manufacturing machines eerily silent and five-thousand robot soldiers gone – Wyatt and Veraine’s boots echoed loudly on the concrete surface. They turned right at the main factory floor, headed down the shorter corridor leading to the programming labs, and pushed through the double sets of swinging doors of the outside lab. Lights set on motion sensors illuminated their way as they went.

Veraine quickly strode past the twelve empty computer stations where the robot soldiers had been programmed, then paused at the black door leading to his personal lab. He threw a sly smile at Wyatt over his shoulder, turned the handle, and pushed the door open.

This was it.

Wyatt took a deep breath and followed him into the lab.

The lights came up on the empty room. Veraine headed for his utility closet, and pulled open the door. Ginger was standing there, naked as usual, obviously in hibernation mode.

“Ginger? Wake up.”

On cue, the Doll opened her glorious green starburst eyes. Damn, she was beautiful. Every time Wyatt saw her he was struck again by how perfect she was.

Ginger took a look at Veraine, then turned her head toward Wyatt. “Hello, Titus. Hello, Leith.”

“Ginger, I have a special assignment for you,” Veraine began. “Mr. Carron and I have decided to send you home with agent Wyatt here.”

For the first time since he’d met her, Wyatt thanked God that Ginger’s starburst eyes were unable to display any hint of emotion. Did she realize what Veraine’s words meant? Did she understand that this was Wyatt’s way of protecting her, of helping her as she’d asked him to do?

Her beautiful eyes might betray nothing, but she was still able to speak, so before she could question or comment on Veraine’s statement, Wyatt preempted her. “She’ll need some clothes. She’s not walking out of here naked. Do you have an extra jumpsuit from one of the soldiers you can rustle up?”

Veraine smirked, looking the Doll up and down. “Pardon me for saying this, agent Wyatt, but she has nothing anyone here hasn’t already seen.”

Wyatt ground his teeth. He wanted to punch that smug expression right off Titus Veraine’s asinine face. “She can’t be seen naked in public.
Go get me a jumpsuit
.”

Veraine casually shrugged, then sauntered out the door.

Wyatt had been with Veraine since they’d entered the factory, so he knew Veraine hadn’t touched any controls in here, but just in case there were cameras running in the lab – even simple security cameras that Veraine might check later – Wyatt took Ginger’s face between both his hands, leaned in and kissed her chastely on the lips, then worked quick kisses along her cheek and toward her right ear. “I’m taking you away from here. Don’t give any hint that I’m here to rescue you.”

To play to any cameras, Wyatt then nipped her earlobe. When he pulled back, Ginger was blinking her eyes rapidly, drawing his attention to her perfect face. Bloody hell, if Ginger wasn’t patently incapable of crying, Wyatt would swear he’d be seeing tears of gratitude streaming down her cheeks.

He felt an odd twinge in the area of his heart.

“Here we are,” Veraine said briskly, reappearing in the lab doorway. “You’ll probably have to roll up the sleeves and the legs, but it should fit her well enough. At least until you get her home.” He tossed Wyatt the rolled-up camouflage-patterned jumpsuit. “You won’t need her in any clothes once you get her to your place, though, will you?”

Wyatt growled a warning low in his throat, his patience nearly at its limit.

Don’t blow it now. You’ve almost got her safely out of here.

Wyatt breathed slowly, in an out, while Veraine laughed. “Oh, come on, agent Wyatt, don’t be such a… what did I call you the other day? Oh yes, a
gentleman.
It’s not exactly like Ginger’s a
virgin
model.”

Veraine was trying to goad him. Wyatt understood that. By giving Ginger to Wyatt, Veraine knew the police agent was basically at his mercy. And Veraine was lording that power over him, in the form of needling Wyatt. So without giving Veraine the satisfaction of an answer, Wyatt unrolled the camouflage jumpsuit. “Ginger? I’m going to put this jumpsuit on you. Raise your right foot.”

The process of dressing the Doll was difficult – she’d never worn clothes before. But with enough twisting, bending, balancing and pulling, Wyatt eventually was able to wrestle Ginger into the jumpsuit. As Veraine predicted, the garment was much too big for her, and Wyatt ended up rolling the sleeves as well as the pant legs a good few inches.

“There. That’ll do.” He zipped up the back of the one-piece outfit, came around the front of her and gave Ginger a smile. As his reward, he received one of her glorious smiles in return.

Once again, Wyatt felt that odd little flip of his heart.
This is definitely all worth it. Even taking Veraine’s shit.

He shot Veraine a look. “No shoes or boots?”

Veraine shrugged. “She doesn’t need them. It’s not like she’ll be out and about, is it?”

“How old is she, anyway?”

“She was built five years ago. The Ginger model is… or should I say
was
… our most popular line. She’s the last of her kind.”

The last of her kind? That made Ginger as unique and individual as any other person living on Tau Cetus. Somehow, the thought made Wyatt happy. “How about her maintenance?”

“No maintenance required. We keep our robots in perfect running order. She’s even self-cleaning, if you’re worried about any post-coital issues. She’ll be fine for as long as she’s with you.”

Hmm. Wyatt didn’t like the sound of that. Veraine’s tone made it clear there’d be an end date to Wyatt’s time with Ginger, but Wyatt was not planning to give her back. Not if she truly was sentient.

What he’d do with her, though, was another question.

He glanced at Veraine, then paused. “Do I need to give you a ride home?”

Veraine must have seen Wyatt’s hesitancy, and interpreted it in the most obvious way. “It’s fine. I know you’re anxious to get Ginger to your apartment and… play. There’s a transport in the back of the plant that I can borrow.”

“Bruiser won’t give me any trouble out front when we leave, will he?”

Veraine barked a laugh. “
Bruiser?
Oh, that’s a good one. I’ll be sure to tell Andros your nickname for him. Actually, he might be flattered.”

“Whatever.”

“Come on. I’ll walk you out to make sure he knows you’re not stealing the Doll. Ginger? Follow us.” Veraine headed for the lab door.

Wyatt gave Ginger an encouraging nod. He would love to take her by the hand, but he didn’t know what Veraine would think of that. Then again, it might play in well with Wyatt’s supposed addiction to the Doll.

Oh, the hell with it.

Wyatt threaded his fingers through Ginger’s left hand.

The Doll remained unresponsive for a moment, even as she stared pointedly at Wyatt’s hand. Then her fingers slowly flexed and curled, as she carefully copied what he’d done.

Amazing. Ginger was applying just enough pressure to hold his hand securely. It was not too loose, not too tight, it felt… right. Normal.

Dear lord, his heart was in serious jeopardy here.

Wyatt gave her a smile, and tugged on her hand slightly to get her moving. They followed Veraine out his lab door and back to the front entrance of the factory. All along the way, Ginger’s head never stopped moving, scanning side to side, taking in the corridors, the manufacturing floor, the machinery. Bloody hell, was it possible she’d never once left Veraine’s lab in the five years since she’d been created? Wyatt would love to know what the hell she was thinking right now.

Soon. You can ask her a million questions as soon as you get home. Just get her out of here first.

At the door, Veraine paused, glanced at Wyatt and Ginger’s entwined hands, and hardened his voice. “Just remember our deal, agent Wyatt. I expect you to uphold your end of our bargain.”

“I will.”

“Payback starts tomorrow. Mr. Carron and I want you here at 0930 to discuss our…
next steps
with the High Council.”

Wyatt frowned. “Carron? But I thought you and I— ”

Veraine shrugged. “You and I will listen to what he has in mind, and then see if we can’t do something to…
discredit
it.”

Wyatt nodded his understanding. “I’ll be here.”

They went outside. Veraine walked over to speak with Bruiser while Wyatt guided Ginger to his transport. He reached out to open the passenger door for her, but she just stared at it.

It was probably the first time she’d seen a vehicle. Any vehicle. Wyatt thought fast. “This is my personal transport. It will take us to my home. But first, you have to climb inside and sit in the seat.”

Ginger frowned. “I don’t understand what that means.”

Wyatt got into the car to demonstrate, then got out. “Now your turn.”

When Ginger still hesitated, Wyatt whispered, “This machine will help me take you away from here. Please get in.”

Much to Wyatt’s relief, Ginger nodded her understanding, and climbed gracefully into the passenger seat. Wyatt closed the door, then went around to his own side and climbed in. The roar of the engine made Ginger tense, but Wyatt reassured her it was a completely normal sound.

Wyatt eased the car into gear and pulled the vehicle slowly past Veraine and Bruiser. He half expected the programmer to stop him at the last minute and for Wyatt’s fragile plan to fail, but Veraine just waved Wyatt goodbye. The car slid past the entry gate.

Wyatt waited until they were on the main road before he let out a whoop of victory that caused Ginger’s head to swivel around and her starburst eyes to stare at him.

Wyatt couldn’t keep the smile from his face. “We did it! You’re free.”

The Doll stared. “Free?”

“Yes. You never have to go back there.”

Ginger did that rapid blinking thing again, which was sweet enough reward for Wyatt. Damn, but his heart seemed to like making her happy.

“We’ll be at my home in about thirty minutes. Until then, enjoy the view, sweetheart.”

“I am already processing megabytes of information, Leith!”

He laughed. Good enough. And indeed, Ginger’s head and eyes never stopped moving as Wyatt left Anson Carron’s manufacturing facility far behind. Left. Right. Left. Right. Her head kept turning, taking it all in. Hell, at one point her face was practically pressed against the window as she gawked at the visuals that passed by: the thinly populated manufacturing landscape, then the denser urban outskirts, and finally, the capital city itself. A veritable wonderland for someone who’d never been outside a laboratory before.

Wyatt wove his way through the capital’s familiar streets, on toward the police residential district, and then guided his transport to the dedicated parking spot underneath his sector’s apartment building. The underground structure was dark, and by the time he turned off the engine, Ginger was looking at him with that wide-eyed wonder again. “Is this your utility closet, Leith?”

Wyatt laughed at the comparison. Then again, it was almost as dim down here as it was in her small room. “Yes, it is. This is my… home. Well, technically, my home is upstairs. We need to take a lift to get there. Come on.”

Thank goodness it was well past two in the morning. Wyatt would not have wanted to explain the presence of a Beautiful Doll coming up to his housing pod.

The ride in the lift disoriented Ginger’s inner sense of gravity, but he explained the mechanics of the process to reassure her during the 36-story climb. When the doors opened, it was only a short walk down the institutional-green hallway to his small living quarters.

When the hand-recognition port opened the door to his apartment, Wyatt ushered Ginger inside with the oddest feeling that he was letting her into his life.

You’re seriously falling for her, Wyatt. These Beautiful Dolls really
are
addictive…

No. It wasn’t Dolls. It was
this
Doll. It was Ginger. She wasn’t like any before her. She was sentient.

To distract himself from that sobering thought, Wyatt gave her a tour of his place. Which, considering it was only three rooms, didn’t take long. And it ended in his bedroom.

Ginger eyed the bed. “I’m programmed to please, Leith.”

By rights, after the day he’d had, Wyatt should be exhausted. But those five words spilling out of her lush lips suddenly turned the normal beat of his pulse into more of a pounding rhythm.