Chapter 20
This wasn’t the strangest conversation he’d ever had, but it was close. That didn’t negate the little rush of pleasure that came from her indignation on his behalf. No one ever stood up for him. His appreciation of her deepened.
“They think I’m defective.” Now it was his turn to look away from a difficult conversation. He didn’t want to watch her indignation turn to pity. “I joined the Solveig Consortium’s security services right after graduation. During my training, they offered a super soldier program and I signed up.”
“Super soldier? Like faster and stronger?” She squeezed his hand, drawing his attention back to her. Her grip was warm, compared to the cool air around them and the even colder memories.
He nodded. “They implanted chips in our brains that were supposed to create new connections, ones that would give us faster reflexes, that kind of thing.” Aleks swallowed hard and ignored his racing pulse. He hated talking about this. “My chip failed.”
“They can’t possibly blame you for that!” Her voice rose.
Aleks surveyed the street around them, thankful it was still deserted and that they hadn’t drawn any attention.
He continued walking. “They didn’t blame me for the chip failure,” he said. “The chip rewired my brain, all right, just not in the way that they expected. Because I didn’t get the super-soldier attributes they wanted, it’s considered a failure.”
Portia gasped. “That’s not fair!”
A bitter laugh escaped him. “You of all people should know that fair doesn’t exist in the corporate world. There are the people who call the shots and there are the people like me who take their orders.” It was the way of their world.
She opened her mouth to speak, but he continued because he really wanted this conversation over with. “Whatever the new wiring did, my brain isn’t the same. It’s like my brain can’t stop gathering information and when it overloads, I make bad decisions or I get terrible headaches.
“The security team still gave me a chance after the tests showed I didn’t get the physical improvements. They thought that maybe I could harness the rewiring to make on-the-spot mission decisions.” That had been a debacle. “Not long after the surgery, I fucked up a simple test mission, because my brain basically short-circuited. It’s broken. I’m broken.” Except he didn’t feel that way, not when he was with her.
“They’re wrong,” Portia said. “That wasn’t a fair test.”
He pulled his hand away and started walking. There was more. So much more that she wouldn’t want to hear.
Portia kept pace with him, her presence both soothing and abrasive. His brain poked at the dichotomy, intrigued with her many facets.
Aleks slowed his pace and studied the unfamiliar architecture around them. Maybe it would distract his brain from its current dangerous path.
The buildings they passed were a mix of tall brick structures and mammoth towers of glass and steel. The tallest ones disappeared into the fog that hung over the city. Aleks preferred the smaller, older brick buildings tucked here and there amongst the skyscrapers. They reminded him of home.
“What happened after the test mission?” Portia asked.
He sighed. She wasn’t going to let this go. “They booted me from the security program. I should’ve ended up at one of the company’s factories, but the Solveigs found my new skills useful enough to keep me around.”
He’d been given a second chance that day, but sometimes he wondered whether it had been worth the constant insults and indignities.
“And now you do whatever they tell you to.”
Aleks couldn’t read her tone, but it didn’t sound complimentary.
“They’re using you,” Portia said after a long pause. She took his hand again.
“No, they’re not.” His defense was automatic.
She snorted.
Portia Tremaine, Seattle’s Ice Queen, snorted. His head almost exploded.
“My family excels at using people. I know it when I see it.”
“They gave me a job. What am I supposed to do, say no? All that would do is get me assigned to the factory. Game over. At least this way, I get to go interesting places. Meet interesting people.”
And Portia Tremaine was the most interesting of all.
She stopped suddenly, her grip on his hand stopping him as well. She waited until he looked at her, then said, “They treat you like you’re broken because they want you to feel indebted to them.” He flinched when she said broken and tried to pull away, but she didn’t let him. “The man I’ve spent the last few days with is anything but. Maybe the chip changed you, but it didn’t break you.”
He wanted to believe her. Wanted to take comfort in her words, but... “How can you say that? Your thoughts on augmentation are well known. You don’t believe in it, despite how your family made its fortune.” The last words came out bitter.
Portia sighed. “Yes, I have said that. More than once, because I’ve honestly never seen the appeal. And yet... if there had been a way to save Tommy by using augmentation, would have I have done it? Yes. A thousand times yes.” She released his hand to wipe away a tear.
“Would you have done it to save yourself?” He was curious.
Her blue eyes shimmered with tears as she looked up at him. “I don’t know. And that was before I knew the lengths my father had gone to preserve his own life.”
Her honesty surprised him. The Portia Tremaine in his dossier was as cold as her nickname implied. But this woman...
Her words provided a deeper look into a woman who was already too interesting and dangerous to his mental health.
“I appreciate you trying to help,” he said, “but I think you’re wrong.”
Portia reached up and laid her hand on his cheek. Her skin was soft, but her touch burned. He leaned in and closed his eyes. “You’re worth more than you think you are, Aleks,” she whispered.
He should move, break this connection. If he stood here much longer, soaking in her warmth, her belief in him, he’d do something stupid like kiss her. And this wasn’t the time or the place.
A soft buzz distracted him from the moment. Eyes still closed, he pinpointed the sound. In one smooth move he whirled around, placing his body in front of Portia’s while tracking the low hum.
His brain leaped into action, pulling in information, sorting through data, making and rejecting plan after plan.
“Aleks, what is it?” Portia’s voice was thick with tension.
“Give me just a moment, Portia.”
Finally arriving at a reasonable plan, he waited for the right moment to execute it. Five... four... three... two... now!
He launched his coffee cup into the air. The lid popped off and the remaining coffee flew upward.
The liquid hit the drone first, spraying the delicate electronics with fluid. Then the cup hit it, knocking it out of the air. Off balance, with its electronics impaired, the drone buzzed sadly and plummeted to the ground.
It hit the sidewalk with a clatter.
Portia gasped. She tried to step around him, but he kept one arm extended behind him to keep her back while he studied the area around them.
Pressing against his back, she peered over his shoulder. “Newsies.” Disdain dripped from the word.
“Are you sure?” It was a logical explanation, but someone had tried to kill her only a few months ago. Not to mention his own employers had mentioned getting her out of the way. He wasn’t taking any chances.
“Yes.” She edged out to the side. Aleks didn’t stop her this time, but he kept his body between her and the drone. She pointed to one of the small cameras on the ground. “See the logo on the side.”
Aleks studied the crumpled black metal and the tiny cameras. One looked like it was still trying to focus. He took two steps forward and stomped on the drone, grinding it into the pavement until all the lenses were crushed glass.
“That won’t stop them,” Portia said. “The footage was likely transmitted to the studio before it even hit the ground.”