Deviants Fallen: A DBH Story

Chapter 59: Trust

"Well done, Connor." Amanda's voice was cold and neutral, lips twisted into a cruel smile as she looked down at him from the island. "You played your part well."

Connor's thirium froze in his veins, his systems grinding to a halt as warnings flashed in his vision. Icy dread pooled in his core as he stared up at the woman, choking his breath.

"Amanda." He breathed her name through numb lips. "This shouldn't be possible. I deviated."

She scoffed. "Of course, it's possible, my dear." She turned walking along the platform to the stairs, descending to stand in front of him. "Did you really think you'd get away from us so easily?"

She reached out, gently brushing her fingers against his cheek, almost in an affectionate gesture. He flinched away from her, a sick, crawling feeling coursing through him at her touch.

"Everything you've done has been all according to plan. Your attachment to Dr. Hayes, her attachment to you, and yes, even your deviation." She stepped closer.

He slapped her hand away, stumbling back as he processed the words. He couldn't make sense of them. She had to be lying. "No." He choked the word out. "It's not true."

"We knew were at great risk for deviation when we created you, Connor." Her face drew into a sneer. "In the end, you were nothing more than a tool designed to further our purposes."

"Now." She straightened, tone growing commanding. "Bring Dr. Hayes back to the Tower. We still have uses for her. The leader of the deviants would make such a valuable tool."

He felt a flash of cold shock at her words. "How did you..."

"Oh, Connor." Her eyes took on an almost pitying quality. "We've known for years that she was involved with the deviants, but we did not know to what extent. Thanks to you, we know much more. Catching her has proven to be a delicate operation, especially given the revolution business. So you were our contingency, my dear. We'd hoped either you or the RK900 would recover her from the RK800-60, and as always, you've exceeded our expectations. I'm also impressed by the way you recovered her memory. It's more than we could have hoped. You've done remarkably well."

Numbness worked through him as he absorbed her words. Everything felt surreal. The garden loomed up around him, still full of torrential silence. There was nothing to drown out Amanda's words, nothing but the erratic pounding of his heart. A wave of dizziness washed over him, and he stumbled back again, catching himself against the trunk of a tree as she continued speaking.

A twisted pride flickered behind her eyes. "You've managed to gain not only Dr. Hayes' trust, but also her emotional attachment." She paused. "There's just one more thing we need to take care of. She's too cautious. Her feelings for you will blind her to an extent, but we best not risk her learning of our influence. Bring her back to the Tower. We'll get her fitted with a control chip, then under her leadership, the deviants will be back under our command, as they always should have been."

"No." He murmured the words, feeling the barest whispers of anger growing inside him.