Duplicate | A Human Code Story

FIFTEEN

"I won't abandon others the way they planned to abandon me."

*

The android laser passed over my skin with ease. Rory was an expert at my build, knowing where every wire to all of my computers was located. It took just one pass, one snip, and I felt unplugged, detached.

And free.

His hand pressed against my neck, where my brand used to be, and kept it closed. His eyes were glued to mine. "What do you see?" he asked quietly, almost worried.

I blinked, eyeing the space around his head. "Everything," I looked at him, "you."

Rory gave me a small smile before using the laser over my skin again, sealing the incision. "I wanted to make sure disabling your tracker didn't interfere with anything else." Tilting my head to one side, he inspected the closed wound. "But at least with this, you'll be invisible to humans."

Perfect. That was what I wanted. I didn't need them learning my location. I wanted to be the shadow they couldn't see. My strikes would be unexpected. Disastrous.

When I looked back at Rory, I saw his frown. "Androids can still track you," he said quietly. "If a human used one, they could find you. I couldn't remove that. If I did-"

"You couldn't find me." I pushed up from the bed and looked at him. "That's fine. I'm not worried about us."

Rory's lips tugged up into a smile. His hand extended, reaching to touch my face, but before he could, the door to the medic room swung open. Five Bionics guards walked in, guns pointed and raised. My computers were able to scan each and every one of them, noting their position and class.

Low-level enforcement. I pushed up from the bed. They sent the dogs to grab the wolves.

"Androids, we order you to raise your hands and reveal your brands." The guard center of the group dipped his head behind his gun as he eyed us through the small viewfinder. The rim of his black helmet obscured his eyes but couldn't hide the emotions raging through him.

Uncertainty. Confusion. Disgust.

I had to smile. Phillips may have relayed his version of the story. What about mine?

Rory came to my side, hands raised. "Axe, we need to-"

"We need to nothing." I glanced at him before looking at the five humans in front of us. "I said I wasn't worried about us. I'm not worried about them either."

"Androids," the center guard hissed, "we order you to reveal your brands."

Chuckling, I looked down at my shows. I wasn't sure what to show them first. I could do as ordered, revealing a brand; though it didn't exist anymore and hadn't for months now, It only made it clear how much attention to detail they paid to their androids. Bionics was oblivious to my change, even as it happened under their nose.

"Androids!"

Looking at the guard, I thought of revealing my other side; the truth behind my brand. I wasn't built to take standard commands from smaller humans. I was designed to fight and protect, and most of my beginning programming ensured I was perfect for it.

If they knew that, they'd run and plead, just like Phillips had done.

I pointed at the guard who thought he had leverage over us. His head lifted, but his gun didn't drop. Smirking, I shook my head. "Don't you think this is a mistake?" I asked him.