Chapter 48
CHAPTER FORTY-EIGHT
Ronin detected the sound of the door three tenths of a second before Lara tensed.
“Shit,” she muttered, pulling her shirt closed.
Withdrawing his cock from her body, he quickly set her on her feet, smoothed down her skirt, and steadied her when she staggered. Rapid bootsteps approached.
Someone cleared their throat behind Ronin. “I…uh…”
Grinning, Lara glanced over Ronin’s shoulder before she turned away to button her shirt.
Ronin tucked his phallus into his pants, refastened them, and faced the newcomer.
His processors cycled through countless potential reactions to the interruption, most of them laced with annoyance.
He and Lara had been alone down here for the better part of an hour without any disturbances, but as soon as they’d given in to their simmering desires…
He yearned for more of Lara’s heat. Two and a half months with nothing but simulations and memories had sharpened his desire for her into something penetrating, something dangerous, something that had left its mark on every bit of his circuitry.
Somehow, he regained control of himself, even if that control was decidedly tenuous.
The soldier’s face was redder than Lara’s flushed cheeks, and uncertainty and hesitancy made his posture unbalanced. Though Ronin had seen him around, he didn’t know the young man’s name.
Ronin raised his eyebrows. It was the most neutral response he could muster given the potent mixture of frustration and need crackling through him.
Lara placed a hand on his back. He wanted nothing more than to turn around, press her against the wall, and have her again.
“C-Colonel w-wants you to report to the war room,” the soldier stammered. “Please?” His eyes flicked to Lara.
Ronin knew what the soldier would see—flushed cheeks, swollen lips, and disheveled hair. A woman well-loved. Ronin shifted to block the man’s view of her.
The soldier was young and inexperienced. Following his superior’s orders, he’d unwittingly stumbled into a private moment, leaving him uncomfortable and unsure of how to act. He hadn’t asked to be placed in this situation, hadn’t intended to cause it.
But part of Ronin wanted to drag the soldier away and ensure the young man never looked upon Lara again. Thankfully, it was a small part.
“We’ll be there soon,” she said.
Ronin didn’t miss the mirth in her tone.
He was grateful for her levelheaded response, as his tact function seemed to have been temporarily disabled. His jealousy and possessiveness were entirely irrational, but he could no more deny them than the data stored in his memory.
Ronin stared at the soldier. The young man swallowed and looked at the floor.
“We can find our way,” Ronin finally said.
“Y-yes sir.” Cheeks darkening further, the soldier turned and hurried away. The door slammed with a heavy clang behind him.
“Scaring kids now?” Lara asked with a laugh.
Ronin faced her, pausing to appreciate the pink on her cheeks, her tousled hair, her enticing lips. They were for him. She was for him.
She’s mine.
“You aren’t much older than him, Lara. And I didn’t say anything.”
“You didn’t have to.” Her lips stretched into a sultry smile as she pressed her body to his, rose on her toes, and brushed a kiss along his jaw. “It was all in your eyes and how possessive you acted just now. And I really, really liked it.”
She pressed her mouth firmly against his before giving his bottom lip a nip. The bite sent a shock through his system, and fresh fluid rushed into his cock, hardening it and making it twitch in response.
Grinning, Lara pulled away and took Ronin’s hand, lacing their fingers together. “Let’s go see what He-Who-Must-Be-Obeyed wants. The longer we make him wait, the more pissed he’ll get.”
Ronin found himself entirely indifferent to the colonel’s anger.
What did he care about another meeting with the base’s leadership?
Infinitely more tempting was the notion of making love to his wife again, and he found himself battling the urge to turn her toward the wall, shove up her skirt, and drive his cock into her pussy from behind.
After all, they had seventy-five days of abstinence to make up for…
Despite his yearning, he didn’t resist as Lara led him onward.
Beneath tired overhead lights, they walked along concrete corridors and through heavy steel doors.
The base’s security was undeniable. The labyrinthine passages would easily confuse anyone unfamiliar with their layout, and presented numerous chokepoints where a small, dedicated force, even if greatly outnumbered, could defend against invaders.
Yet something in Ronin longed for the outside, for the Dust. For open air and relative quiet. Lara had mentioned several times that she felt cooped up, like a prisoner, and he understood. Freedom to roam most of the facility couldn’t replace the feel of wind and sunlight, even for a bot.
The interrogation room, officially referred to as the war room, was full of soldiers when Ronin and Lara arrived.
As usual, Rodriguez sat at the head of the long table, now with Captain Cooper to his right and the synth sergeant, Maul, to his left.
William Anderson was also present, seated beside Newton.
“Close the door,” Rodriguez said, and one of the soldiers obeyed. “We’ve all sat through thirty of these meetings by now, so we’ll go through this quickly.”
He met Lara’s gaze as she and Ronin sat down. “And no damned interruptions today, Brooks. This is all finalized now. Is that clear?”
Ronin dipped his head, hiding his involuntary smirk. Lara and the Colonel had argued at least once during every meeting. This marked the twenty-seventh such gathering; Rodriguez’s estimate had been close.
Lara raised her hands in mock surrender. “Fine.”
Rodriguez regarded her with his eyes narrowed before standing and looking at the others.
“All right, people. You have your team assignments and objectives. Casualties are to be extracted to the forward operating base we’ll establish to the west of town, where Nancy’s people will see to them.
Alpha team is going over the wall to secure the hospital, from which they’ll push into the bot district.
That should create enough noise to draw in Warlord’s bots from the outlying areas.
“While they’re distracted, Lara will attempt to rally human support. Bravo Team, you’re on her like flies on shit. If she’s successful, you will escort her and Newton into the market, and he will attempt to sway the remaining bots to our cause.”
“The human settlement is usually clear,” Lara said. “Gearheads only go there randomly, looking for rulebreakers to punish or desperate people to toy with. Otherwise, we could suck dirt for all the shits they give. The hard part is going to be getting into the market without raising suspicion.”
Rodriguez pressed his palms to the tabletop, fingers splayed, and took a slow, deep breath.
“There are a lot of moving parts here, and we’re dealing with some pretty big variables.
We have no guarantee that any of these people will support us.
This is the most significant operation launched from this base in two hundred years, bigger than anything any of us have attempted.
This isn’t a scrap run into the wasteland.
This is a war. Our goal is to win it without anyone getting hurt, but best-case is what you hope for in these situations, not what you plan for. ”
Rodriguez tilted his head towards Captain Cooper, who stood and took over.
“We’ve scouted Cheyenne thoroughly over the last few weeks.
Security’s lax, but we’ve identified at least twenty-five unique tangos, equipped with various small arms. They are all confirmed as bots.
We don’t know if any of them have reinforced casings, so we must assume that our weaponry will only be effective within about forty meters.
“We’re not going to be able to use radios. Anderson says most bots have internal antennas because they used to be connected to wireless networks, which means they’ll be able to detect our communications. So we’ll have to listen for gunfire as our signal.
“Stick to your squads, watch each other’s backs, and be mindful of cover. We don’t want to lose anyone, but it’s going to be real bullets when they return fire, and none of us are bulletproof.”
According to Newton, the reinforced casings that had been retrofitted on many bots couldn’t stop the armor-piercing ammunition that had been issued as the war neared its end.
Ronin had dealt with enough holes to know the truth of that.
But he also knew that, regardless of ammunition and armoring, it only took a single round to the right spot to take down a robot.
“And what about Warlord?” Lara asked.
“Scouts have positively IDed him several times, but he doesn’t seem to have a set routine. He’s erratic. Only regularity is that he goes to Kitty’s a few nights a week, but it’s never on the same days or at the same times. We’re hoping the commotion will flush him out,” Cooper replied.
“He’ll come. Bastard usually likes to take care of things himself. Problem is, will he go hide once he realizes what’s happening?”
William cleared his throat. “I believe we can provide a little insight. I don’t know how much use it will be, but…”
“We have to treat a portion of this mission as a manhunt.” Rodriguez’s expression was stoic, his gaze shielded. “Warlord must be captured or deactivated. Any intel will be useful.”
William nodded, gesturing to Newton. The bot leaned forward, his metallic fingers gliding over a small console inlaid in the table.
The lights in the room dimmed, and a screen powered on behind Rodriguez, slowly gaining brightness.
Both the colonel and the captain sat and turned in their chairs to face it.