Titanium (Bionics) (11 page)

I keep my arms crossed over my chest. “Thanks for your help, but now is when we part ways,” I say. “That stunt your boy pulled over by the tank wasn’t cool. It reminded me of exactly why we don’t need people like you among us.”

Baron smile
s, curling his hand into a fist as his blade retracts back into his arm. “Ready or not, mate, we are here. There are more of us than you realize and we plan to take our lives back. And we don’t plan on doing it nicely.”

“Why do you want to go against Professor Neville?” asks Blythe as she and Gage join our little powwow. “He is working for peace between us and the people of the
United States. It’s not their fault the President has them afraid of us. His lies and dangerous rhetoric are the reason we have to hide. You guys going around killing people just because you won’t go too far in convincing them that we aren’t dangerous.”

“See, that’s
where you messed up,” Spikes chimes in, stepping up next to Baron who puts his arm around her waist, careful to avoid her jagged barbs. “We aren’t interested in convincing anyone that we aren’t dangerous. In fact, I’m more interested in showing them just how dangerous I can be.”

As if to emphasize the point, her spikes elongate, sticking out of her neck like one of those clichéd biker chick dog collars.

“You can’t win a fight against the government,” Gage challenges. “Any action you take against them will be used to show the people that they are justified in their treatment of the very people they created. Your logic is flawed. You aren’t helping the Bionics … you’re dooming them.”

“We’re enlightening them,” Baron says, his voice edged in cold steel. “I wouldn’t expect you to understand,
Normal
. Aren’t you fighting for the wrong side?”

“I’m fighting for what’s right,” Gage answers, a deep growl creeping into his tone.

“That’s enough,” Jenica chimes in as she steps into the middle of our group. “Everyone going to Restoration Headquarters, get on the freaking hovercraft. The rest of you had better get out of my sight as quickly as you can. I won’t let you go so easily next time.”

Baron bows regally at the waist in a mocking gesture. “As the lady wishes,” he says before motioning for his crew to follow him. They disappear into the woods as we board the Neville I.

“We have to warn the Professor about the Rejects,” Blythe says as she takes her place at the controls beside Jenica. When we are all together, Blythe or Olivia navigates and mans the guns and Jenica pilots. Gage and I take seats on opposite sides of the aisle as the others slide into the rows behind us.

“Professor
Hinkley and I are well of aware of the activities of these so-called Rejects,” Jenica says, her face twisted in a snarl of disdain as she expertly steers the Hovercraft back toward the hideout. “We have been for months now. We’ve been waiting to see if their little uprising would grow beyond the pitiful numbers they began with.”

“Do you think that there is cause for concern?” I ask, watching the trees speed by below us through my window. “They seem pretty damn serious.”

“I think that our main concern is Stonehead, and the fact that they still have several of our people, including Olivia. The Rejects are a problem that will have to wait until another day.”

“What will we do?” Blyth
asks, her voice low. “About Olivia, I mean.”

Gage reaches over the back of Blythe’s seat and places a hand on her shoulder. “Don’t worry, we’ll think of something,” he says, his voice soothing. My teeth are grinding together so hard it’s no wonder they don’t shatter. “I promise.”

Blythe seems to take comfort from his words. She turns and gives him a small smile. He smiles back and I see in his eyes the same emotion I know is in mine when I look at Blythe. I feel as if I’ve swallowed a molten rock. Blythe looks up and finds me watching them. She swiftly turns and shrugs Gage’s hand off of her shoulder, her eyes lowered to the control panel. Twin spots of red appear on her cheeks.

This is exactly the kind of shit I don’t need right now. I remind myself that our mission is not over and concentrate on counting the minutes that pass as we near the hideout.

I am almost grateful when the hum of another hovercraft fills the air and Jenica spews a string of curses. Almost.

Through the back window of the craft, I can see that there are not one, but two military-grade Hovercrafts speeding through the air behind us.

“Sol, the gun!” Jenica cries as she banks right, hard. I grip the seat behind me before I can go hurtling across the aisle toward Gage.
Strap yourself in next time, idiot,
I chastise myself as the craft straightens again.

“Everyone, windows
open, guns up!” I command as I throw my window open. Those with guns follow suit and as I stick my upper body through the window, I barely miss having my head taken off by a zooming hover bike. There are about six of them closing in on us, poised to shoot us through the windows. I have no doubt that after the beating they took, their guns are now trained on ‘kill’ instead of ‘stun’. As I take aim on the bike that nearly hit me, I am surprised to find Baron on its seat. He pulls up beside my window and salutes mockingly.

“You didn’t think I’d let you have all the fun, did you, mate?” he bellows over the wind, his face split in a wide grin.

“Hold your fire!” I command as I recognize the rest of the Rejects as the occupants of the other bikes. “The bikes are friendlies.”

“They don’t look like any friends of mine,” Gage snorts from his position across the aisle.

“Yeah, well they’re not the ones firing on us!” Blythe yells as she takes aim on the craft directly behind us using the radar screen.

The hover
bikes fall back, surrounding the craft that Blythe has blown a few holes into behind us. It’s going to take a lot more than that to take down the military craft, and we all know it. Jenica is working some impressive piloting skills, swooping low and veering through trees, but only so much evasive maneuvering is going to save us.

“Hey, Bronson,” I call across the aisle, catching Gage’s attention. “Feel like getting some fresh air?” I ask as I point to the roof hatch above out heads.

To my surprise he smiles and stands, his gun at the ready. His CBX1000 is nowhere near as badass at my ARX, but it’ll get the job done.

“Now that you mention it, it is getting kind of stuff
y in here.”

“What are you doing?” screams
Jenica as she banks left again, throwing Gage into me before righting the craft again. “Do you want to get yourselves killed?”

“No, but we’d rather not let you go down with us if we do,” I answer as Gage pops the hatch open. He gives me a leg up first and once I’m out, I lean down through the hole and help pull him up. The current of air on either side of us is strong and each of us has to grab on to one of the steel handles on either side of the hatch to keep from falling off.

“We need to get on those bikes,” I say, watching as the Rejects swarm around the hovercraft, smashing in its windows and laughing with glee as they snatch M.P.s through the circular holes and throw them to the ground. “Pick one and jump on. Throw the other guy off and try not to get killed.”

“Got it,” Gage says, taking off before I can tell him to go.

“Impatient bastard,” I mutter as I stand and take off after him, picking up as much speed as I can before reaching the edge. There are three bikes within our reach, and I opt for the one furthest away to give Gage the best chance to reach one of the closer ones. With one good leap, I am able to propel myself close enough to grab on to the footrest of a bike piloted by Monkey Arms.

“What the hell?” he screams as I swing my legs up and settle behind him on the seat.

He swings back at me and I block the blow with my arm, my shoulder screaming in protest. Pain radiates up my arm and into my chest as bone connects with titanium and I realize I’ve picked the wrong bike. This dude could knock me senseless with one punch. He takes another swing at me, but I dodge it before bashing the butt of my ARX against his jaw. Blood gushes from his mouth, but he’s relentless, going for a choke hold, but missing my neck as I lean back in the seat, nearly losing my place on the bike.

“You Resistance idiots just don’t get it, do you?” Monkey Arms snarls, spitting blood. “We have a chance to change history, to take our place as the most powerful people in the world. Why do you want to ruin that?”

I grip Monkey Arms by his shirt collar and pull him close, having had enough of him and his stupid friends by now. The bike stalls, but remains in the air, hovering among the other whizzing bikes, one of which I can see is piloted by Gage. 

“I won’t waste my breath explaining it,” I growl as I lift him clear of the seat, snatching his legs over the sides. “Just know that if you survive today, I won’t hesitate to rip one of your arms off and beat you senseless with it if we meet again. I’ve had it up to here with you, your friends, and your shit!”

I let go, sending his body flying through the air. I slide forward on the bike’s seat, gripping the handlebars just as his hand wraps around my ankle with crushing force. If my ankles were still made of bone, this one would be broken.

I glance over the side to find Monkey Arms hanging
on, trying with all his might to crush what he thinks is a normal ankle.

“Eat metal, bitch,” I say with a smirk as I cock my foot back and bring it slamming down on his face. That knocks him loose and he hurtles down
ward. I watch as he latches on to the branch of a tree, swinging himself deeper into the woods and out of sight.

Gage swoops past me on his bike, his gun aimed at
the second hovercraft pursuing the Neville I. The first one is overtaken by Rejects, most of whom have dismounted their bikes and are climbing in through the vehicle’s windows.

“Take out the thrusters!” Gage yells to be heard over the wind.

Fucking brilliant idea; I can’t believe that jackass thought of it. Grudgingly, I follow Gage as he swoops under the second craft, aiming my ARX at one of the two thrusters located beneath it. Taking it down won’t ground the craft, but it will make them about as slow as a person on foot so that we can make a getaway. The craft shudders and stalls as our red lasers tear through the thrusters, leaving two smoking, gaping holes in the bottom of the metal tube.

“Yes!” Gage shouts, whooping excitedly as we make our escape from under the craft.

“Nice work guys,” Jenica’s voice crackles from over my comm. device. “Forget about the other craft; looks like the Rejects have hijacked it. Now would you mind following us back to the hideout without getting yourselves into anymore trouble?”

Gage shoots me a grin as we fall in behind the Neville I. “Race you there,” he says with a laugh.

Despite the fact that this dude wants my woman, I can’t resist. My hand tightens on the throttle, and Gage and I are off like twin bolts of lightning.

Dax Janner and Yasmine Zambrano

Restoration Resistance Headquarters

August 18, 4010

6:00 pm

We’ve been home for less than an hour and my body is crying out for food, a hot shower, and a change of clothes. Despite the fact that I’m operating on very little sleep, adrenaline is pumping through my veins and it’s not likely to stop until I know we’ve got some kind of plan to rescue Olivia in place.