CHAPTER ELEVEN—Dreams of Forever

“Yes?” John said carefully.

“This is Koss De Brossier. Head of Invera-Tech security. We have Mr. Thalaway’s office surrounded.”

Kyle squinted as he listened to the man talk on the speakerphone.

“There’s no way out.”

Kyle instinctually glanced toward the windows, but it’s not like they could just slide them open. And there were probably guys out there.

This is great…

“Listen, lackey douche!” he yellowed loud enough so that his voice would be caught by the phone. “Your corpo overlords stole something that belongs to us—“

John raised a hand for him to be silent.

“As my friend just told you,” John said, your head of PR and Corporate Sales has stolen something from us and we want it back. That’s all. No harm, no foul.”

The voice on the other end—De Brossier—laughed. “This isn’t a negotiation,” he said. “You can release Mr. Thalaway and come out with your hands above your heads, or I’m going to send me boys in there and have them spread the walls with your blood.”

John chuckled. “You don’t sound like a corpo. I’m going to say you’re a merc.”

“What’s you point.”

May moved back to the computer behind the desk and started using the tactile display—probably to communicate with Lexa.

John’s eyes went to the door, and Kyle watched as May saw him indicate it. She nodded and turned back to the screen.

“My point is,” John said. “You’re a money man—and your boss is in here with us. This can go several different ways.”

That’s right, douche! Kyle thought.

“Hmm,” he==De Brossier noised bemusedly. Kyle wanted to snarl. “You have two minutes to make up your mind.”

Then the call ended.

“Shit,” John muttered.

“What are we gonna do?” Kyle asked quickly.

“We’re going through that door,” May said, pointing to the edge of the office where the secret door was. It opened with a soft swish.

Kyle moved quickly, grabbed Thalaway by the tie and yanked him up. “You’re coming with us, Pal. Or should I call you ‘Mr. Corpo Leverage’?”

“You’re wasting your time!” he said, his gaze darting about and his chin wobbling. “De Brossier is a mad dog. He’ll never”—Kyle squeezed his neck—“give you what you wahahaaaa!“

“Shut up, Mr. Leverage.”

Then he pushed the sack of overlord dung across the room toward the door and entered after May with John taking up the rear. “We going to meet Lexa?” he asked as they strode through the thin corridor. There were strip lights leading across the ceiling as well as more built into the tiles on the floor.

“Yep,” May said. “She says she’s got more information on their illegal dealings as well.”

“Good,” John said. “We might have to use this information as leverage to get out of this mess.”

Thalaway was being slow. Probably on purpose. “Move it!” Kyle ordered. “Stop dragging your feet.”

*

When they came out of that maze of corridors, John glanced about as the brightly lit engineering labs, which were completely abandoned, came into view.

His heart skipped a beat when he saw Lexa projected in the center of the large room next to one of the long benches.

He picked up his pace and strode up to her.

She smiled. “John.”

“Lexa—are you all right.”

She shrugged. “I was a little scared, but I’m fine now.”

“That’s great,” he said as May strode up beside them and picked up the forward buffer. She then made to put it into a bag she had picked up off the bench.

“Pretty handy,” she said comically.

“Keep quiet,” Kyle hissed to the PR guy two paces away.

“Hey,” May said. “Lexa, I’m glad you’re okay.”

“Thank you.”

“We don’t have a lot of time,” May said. “We need to know everything you found out about Invera-Tech.”

“Oh,” Lexa said, then nodded emphatically. “Right!” Her image twitched and their wristlets all beeped with the new data package. “So to put it simply, Invera-Tech Industries isn’t just experimenting with biological android bodies. They’re experimenting with the human consciousness. They’ve been trying to find out how to transfer a person’s consciousness from their body, into a biological android unit.”

“What. The. Fuck!” Kyle said. Then he glanced at Thalaway accusingly and the man actually cringed. “You better not say anything!” Kyle snapped as he pointed a dangerous finger in the man’s face.

“This would give certain individuals,” May said, and she took pause, clearly shocked at the implications. “It would give them—“

“Immortality,” John said, his tone matter-of-fact but serous.

Lexa nodded. “Yes. But as far as I can tell from the information in their systems, these experiments having gone into active testing yet. I will need to get deeper into their systems to find out for sure.”

“So,” Kyle said. “The overlords have dreams of forever, huh?” he asked the rhetorical question through gritted teeth. “I can’t say I’m surprised.”

Suddenly Lexa glanced quickly about the room. “Uh-oh!”

“What is it?” John asked, his hand going to his hidden holster in his belt.

“Invera-Tech security is breaching Thalaway’s office!”

“Yeah,” Kyle said. “Also not surprising your dog would leave you for dead.”

Thalaway closed his eyes in an approximation of increasing stress.

“We got the preliminary data,” May said. “We hold all the cards.”

“Not if they bust in here,” Kyle said.

May looked at them and shook her head. “No way can we let this stand, guys.”

“Not like we can’t end the overlord’s dreams of forever with a few bullets.”

“Then let’s drop some hot lead on these wannabe gods.”

“Hells yes!”

“But what about my body?” Lexa asked.

Kyle nodded. “Don’t you worry your pretty little head about that, Lexa.”

“Oh—okay!”

“Now let’s tear shit up!” May said.

Then Kyle pointed past them. They all glanced at the wall where dozens of androids in prime condition stood in their booths. “Go grab one, Lexa.”

She gasped. “Oh my gods! I hadn’t thought of that.”

John grinned. “Will you be able to?”

She turned her head and paused for a moment. Then she smiled. “I think so!”

John took his pistol out of his holster. “Then let’s do this!”

“Shit, John,” Kyle said. “That’s a tiny gun, man.”

“Well,” May said with a shrug and a grin, “at least we know he’s not trying to overcompensate.”

“Fuck!” Kyle complained.

“You ran into it, Kyle,” Lexa said absently as her holo-display shimmered and disappeared.

“Don’t take long, Lexa!” John called.