I let out a deep sigh. “Did Nara explain to you what the Global Allegiance wanted her to do?” I prayed Nara had told them, but one look at the confusion on Core’s face told me everything I needed to know.
How the hell do I tell her cyborgs that she was ordered to install a chip inside their heads that would steal their emotions away or create a code that would kill them?
“The attack on the rebellion showed you how bad the Global Allegiance is, didn’t it?”
Chaos’ jaw tightened. “They killed Torque. And they wanted to kill more of us. Including Theo and Ever.”
Caliber let out a low growl.
Core looked at his brothers, lines around his eyes tightening. “The two scientists who worked with Miss Nara were bad, too. They hurt Caliber during one of their testing sessions. We never told Miss Nara, but she suspected something was wrong after they brought us back to our room. After that day, she never let us be alone with them.”
I added my own growl. “Those two scientists had the same thoughts about cyborgs as the Global Allegiance. They believe that we are nothing more than their property to use however they want. They don’t want us to feel or think for ourselves. Cyborgs like Reaper and Viper? They saw how we were being treated and decided to free us from their cruelty.”
Caliber’s brow lifted. “Like you? You were there to free them, too?”
I shook my head. “No. Reaper rescued me after that. I am the last Tank Class. At least we think so. We haven’t found any more of my model type. Not in all the years that we have been searching. And we have been searching. The rebellion’s primary mission became finding and recovering any cyborgs that had escaped the Global Allegiance’s order of termination. I made it my mission as well.”
I lowered my frame to the floor, sitting down on the rug in front of them. “That’s why when we learned of your creation, we came for you. We refuse to allow any more cyborgs to fall into their hands.” I thought about that day. The way Nara had shouted at me from behind the door. She had been so brave. She must have been terrified, but she stood her ground, protecting those she loved.
I rubbed at the ache in my chest. It didn’t matter if she no longer wanted to see where this went between us. I was hooked on the fiery redhead. Reaper was wrong. I couldn’t find another female like her. I didn’t want to.
“Without Dr. Shaw and her research, the three of you shouldn’t have ever existed. Your Miss Nara is brilliant. She did what no one has been able to do in the thirty-three years since our initial creation. But the Global Allegiance wanted to make sure the mistakes of the past didn’t repeat themselves. They wanted her to implement some things that would have made it so the three of you, and any cyborgs that came after you, were able to be controlled. The first step was to install an emotion suppressor.” I waited for my words to sink in.
Core reacted first, reaching up to touch the side of his head. “But I can feel…I care for my brothers. And for Miss, Nara, and Theo, and Ever.” His golden eyes blazed. “I care for you, Tank Class. You are my friend.” His lower lip trembled. “Did she not activate it yet?” Caliber and Chaos mirrored Core’s movement, touching the sides of their heads, worry flashing in their eyes.
I shook my head. “No. Do not worry. Nara never installed it. She couldn’t.”
All three dropped their hands and breathed a collective sigh of relief.
If they reacted this strongly to the emotion suppressor, how would they react when I told them about the kill code? Was it like humans said - better to rip off the band-aid then do it slowly, prolonging the process?
I was about to rip off a major band-aid. My shoulders slumped. Here we go. “That’s only the first thing. The second was worse.”
Three sets of eyes widened. What could be worse than losing your emotions? Losing the things that kept you from becoming nothing more than a cold, unfeeling piece of technology? You’d be alive but not. “They wanted to bury a code deep in your programming. A code that if activated would fry your processors. And those that owned you would be the ones to have it.”
Chaos gasped. “A kill switch?”
I nodded. “Basically.”
Caliber’s hands shook, his face turning from his brilliant shade of silver to a dull, ash gray. “And the humans who bought us would know it? What if they were bad like the two scientists?”
Core grabbed one of Caliber’s hands and Chaos took the other. “The rebellion got to us first. We’re safe, right, Brone?”
I nodded. “Yes.” Even if I had to follow them around and protect them myself. It seemed by them coming to me, I had officially decided to adopt the three Luxury Models. They needed someone, and without Nara, I would step in.
Chaos’s brow furrowed. “If Miss Nara refused the suppressors, then she wouldn’t have installed the code.”
Core shook his head. “She would never hurt us. She loves us.” He tapped his chest. “I feel it in here,” he said as he tapped his chest again.“She kept us safe from the Global Allegiance’s plans.” His brow furrowed, matching his brother, Chaos. “But she’s not safe from them, is she? They want her back.”
Caliber shot up from the couch, silver eyes flashing. “And it’s too big of a risk to allow her to remain here. Reaper and Lennox made her leave, didn’t they?”
“Yes and no. It’s complicated.” I blew out a breath. “Nara offered to leave first.”
Chaos and Core stood up, bracketing Caliber between their frames. Pure hurt washed across their faces, and I stood up quickly, wanting to reassure them.
“Not because she wanted to. She thought leaving would protect the three of you - would protect everyone. The only way she saw to do that was to make herself the target.”
The hurt on their faces twisted into suspicion. They may be new to the world, but they were still cyborgs. They understood if she hadn’t left on her own, then she had been forced to leave. Core lifted one golden eyebrow. “But?”