Viper released a snarl, but he followed me, exiting the transport. On the way out, he grabbed a plasma rifle from the weapons locker where it had been stored. Flicking off the safety, he then turned to look me. “You will do as I say in there, Oz. No showboating or trying to do heroic shit, got it?” He pulled out a second shiny plasma rifle from a side pocket on his black cargo pants.
“You had that in there the whole time?”
He eyed mine and I shrugged. “I guess we both planned on trouble, huh?”
Reaching into another pocket, he took out a wicked looking dagger. Not to be out done, I reached down and pulled my own from the side of my boot.
I winked. “A girl’s got to be prepared.” We began to move, approaching the compound slowly, weapons drawn.
A huge gray building appeared from a large outcropping of trees. It stood out like a sore thumb, cold and unforgiving in a sea of lush forest.
They had wanted the lab off the grid, believing it would harder to locate and breach. Idiots. Nothing could hide this monstrosity. I hated it on sight. It was ugly as fuck.
Once we got to the doors, Viper looked over at me before he flung them open. We stepped inside. Lights flickered above our heads, the dim glow catching on a group of unmoving bodies that littered the floor. All of them were human. My cyborgs hadn’t been playing. Kill first, ask questions later, I guessed.
A roar came from down an open hallway and suddenly Brone appeared, his chest heaving. He sucked in a breath then grinned. “Finally decided to join us, I see.”
“It sounded like you needed our help,” Viper tossed back in reply. “I think you said you were getting your asses kicked.”
He shook his head. “Don’t remember saying that.” He pointed his rifle over his shoulder and fired off a shot without looking. A scream and then a thud followed.
“Did you…did he just…” I stopped. Holy hell, Brone was a beast.
“I got skills, female,” his grin going wider.
“Then why the hell are we here, if you can do shit like that?”
“Get down!” Viper shouted, and the three of us hit the floor as plasma rounds struck the wall behind where we had been standing.
Brone growled. “That’s why!” He rolled, a round of plasma fire lighting up the darkness as he fired at whatever had just tried to kill us.
“We could have handled the humans, but there are some freaky kind of robots crawling over this whole place. They came out of nowhere. They are heavily armored and covered in some type of stealth technology. By the time you see them, you’re fucked.”
I arched an eyebrow.
Viper met my eyes. “Don’t say it.”
I tried but I couldn’t hold it back. “So, you’re saying it’s killer robots?”
Viper and Brone both groaned then Reaper’s voice sounded from Brone’s comm. “Where the hell are you, Tank Class?” Boom. A shot blasted over the comm. “Die, you metal piece of shit!” The sound of metal striking metal came over the line. Reaper must have brought out the battle axe. Shit was serious.
“I can hack them!” I shouted, clapping my hands together.
“Oz? Is that you? Wait. Are you in the complex? I ordered you and Viper to stay in the god damn transport! Does no one follow my orders anymore?” He roared.
I cracked my neck and rolled my shoulders. I could do this. Those killer robots aren’t going to fuck with my cyborgs any longer. “Relax, Military Model, before you blow some circuits. I got this.” I looked at Viper. “We got this.”
“Together?”
“Always.” Seeking out the connection to my implant, I closed my eyes. “V, if you disable the stealth, I’ll-”
“Done,” he said, cutting me off.
I huffed. “Show off.” A wicked grin spread across my face as I forced my way into their central programming and infected it with a fun little virus I had created. Never thought I would get to use it, and I was dying to see it in action. “Three, two, one,” I whispered under my breath, rubbing my hands together in glee.
“What the hell? What are they doing? Get away from me! Stop that!” Reaper yelled.
“They aren’t trying to kill you anymore, are they?”