Oz
“Who the fuck designed this shit?” I grumbled as I sat in the back of a transport, my implant buzzing as it focused on the brutish lines of code and worked hard to dismantle them.
“I don’t know. I am not sure if I should be impressed or horrified,” Viper added from the seat next to mine.
I risked a glance at my cyborg and holy hell he was hot.Concentrate, Oz. Hack now. Get Viper naked later.But I couldn’t help it. Viper was in his element. I had never seen anyone like him. His processors moved so fast, my implant could barely keep up.
I had found all but two of the new security programs, but the last two were playing hide and seek with me.
I growled, frustrated. The strike teams were waiting on me, the pressure to succeed messing with my head.
You are going to fail,my father’s voice taunted.They should have known better then to count on you. You’re going to let them all down and get them hurt or killed. All your friends will die because of your failure.
“No!” I shouted. I hadn’t come this far to lose it now. Viper’s strong hands picked me up, depositing me onto his lap. His warm breath ghosted over the shell of my ear. “Focus. You can do this.”
I shook my head, my shoulders slumping. “I don’t know, V. The last two are playing hard to get.”
“Then I know you will find them. If it helps, picture me in their place being a dumb ass, fleeing in terror and hiding from you.”
I laughed, and a bit of pressure in my chest eased.I got this. Chase them down like they are Viper sans clothing.
“Come out, come out, wherever you are,” I whispered, closing my eyes and ordering the implant to dig deeper. Like a virus, it twisted and turned, zipping along the Global Allegiances network, seeking its prey.
Right when I thought I might have to give up, I found the bastards. They had been buried under firewalls and behind false lines of programming designed to trick the hacker into believing they were something else.Got you.With a few fast clicks, I held the keys to their motherfucking kingdom, and it was time to play.
“I’m in,” I said and Viper let out a whoop. A wave of pride rushed through me. I twisted in Viper’s lap, planting a kiss to his lips. “Comm Reaper and let him know he’s good to go.”
Viper shook his head. “Nope. This is yours. You should tell him.”
I took a breath and hit my comm. “The security programming is ours, Reaper.” A cheer went up over the line. I didn’t hide my grin. “Weapon’s hot, cyborgs. It’s time to go get our family and bring them home to us.” I was sure they could hear my smile through the comm. “And be fucking careful. I don’t plan to lose one of you. Not a dent, do you hear me?”
“We’ll try,” Reaper said, laughter ringing in his voice. “Thank you, Oz. And welcome to the rebellion. Cyborgs, roll out!”
“Holy shit!” I would swear it never happened if asked, but I totally shimmied on Viper’s lap, doing a little dance.
Who was now officially part of the cyborg rebellion? This girl!
As soon as the excitement faded, anxiety over what could be happening inside the complex had my heartrate spiking.
I knew that Reaper and Brone were badasses. They had handpicked their strike teams, and both were filled with the best of the best.
Reaper refused to take any chances. He planned to hit hard and fast, get our guys, and book it the hell out of there.
An uneasy feeling settled in my stomach. I had never been the type of female to sit out on the sidelines.
Minutes ticked by. My foot tapped on the metal floor, unable to stay still.
Static suddenly burst through the comm before Brone’s voice broke in. “Fuck, they have some type of new bots. They are kicking our ass. Vip…” The comm cut off.
“Let’s go.” I hopped off Viper’s lap and pulled out the plasma rifle I had tucked into the holster strapped to my side.
Fingers caught my arm. “I am going. You will stay here, Oz.”
I yanked my hand free. “Fuck that, V! I’m going! You aren’t going to stop me.”
Viper shot to his feet, grabbing for me, but I jumped out of his reach and flung the door open, hopping out.
“Are you coming with me or am I going to kick ass alone?”