Crack in the Kill Code (AmpCore #2)

37 - Red Roads

The cabling lashing Treysi to the table creaked as she surged against her bonds. The metal of her right arm pressed hard against the unyielding cord, and he heard the squeal of servos. She threw her head back, her mouth opening in a scream of effort. Kirk saw the strips of slender metal that ran across her forehead begin to pulse.

"Treysi, stop!" he shouted shrilly. "We're not going to hurt you!"

He started forward but Targe grabbed his shoulder, the big man dragging him back a step. He glowered at the gangster and tried to yank himself free. He might as well have tried to pull himself from under a building for all the good it did.

The table creaked ominously.

"Fucking hell," Nevay hissed, edging around with her pistol aimed at Tresyi's head. "Let him go, T."

"Eh?"

"If she breaks loose, we'll have to put a bullet in her, and this whole fucking mess will've been for nothing. Let him try!" She shot him a furious glance.

With a reluctant grunt, Targe release his grip, and Kirk sprang forward. He scurried round to the opposite side of the table, away from the danger of Treysi's mechanical limb. Getting as close as he dared, he tried to angle himself so that she could actually look into his eyes.

"Treysi! Treysi!"" he yelled. "It's me. It's Kirk. You know who I am!"

Nothing. She had her eyes screwed shut with pain, veins on her neck bulging, the lights on her cybernetics flickering wildly. He could smell burning, and blood was beginning to flow from the joints. If she didn't stop, she would rip herself to pieces.

Ramming his fear to the back of his mind, Kirk let out a slight whimper as he stepped forward and reached out, grabbing her face with his hands. Half expecting her to break loose and tear him apart, he leaned in close anyway, and turned her head towards him. At first he couldn't budge her, the mechanisms buried into her jaw and throat anchoring her skull in place.

Gritting his teeth, he pushed harder, desperate to get her to register his presence. Finally he felt the motion of her head starting to turn, at her own pace rather than him having somehow overpowered the servos. Her eyes locked onto him, blazing, wild and bloodshot, but above all, terrified.

"Treysi," he said, trying to keep his voice level and calm. "Treysi, look at me. C'mon, right here." He took one hand off her face, two fingers in a V-shape, pointing to his eyes. "You remember who I am, right? We talked, in that place. Before all this."

Treysi surged against the cabling again. He heard the ear-splitting screech of her new talon-like toes scraping against the tabletop. Kirk winced, but kept holding her gaze, his left hand still resting against the side of her face. He felt some of the rage and the panic seep out of her, her shoulders gently sinking back to rest. Her mouth opened, but nothing came out, just a hoarse croak.

"Don't talk," he said. "Just... just nod if you remember who I am."

It took a few seconds, but she did; just a tiny dip of her head. That motion sent relief rushing through Kirk's body and he managed a breathless smile.

"Alright, alright. Good. Treysi, I know you're scared, and you don't know where you are, and this all seems super fucked up right now, but I need you to try and relax, okay? Your impants, they're still... acclimatising. If you keep moving and straining, you could damage them."

Kirk didn't know the science – he wasn't a doctor – but Treysi didn't need to know that. He could see it happening to her, for whatever reason.

"We're not going to hurt you," he continued. "We're going to get you some help, okay? We'll make sure the grafts take, and you'll be up and walking soon."