Cyborg Claude

Episode 3

In the previous episode, Claude daringly faces off with Conrad in the transport and narrowly gets away with Salindra’s help. Holed up in a cubby hole of an inner room of the building, they wait for the Space Association to move on in their search.

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“Are you sure that he came into this building? We’ve been through this one twice already and found nothing.”

“I am positive he came in here only two minutes in front of us.”

Conrad ground his teeth while he listened to the troopers argue. This place smelled and had so much junk in it they could search it five times and miss something.

He looked around the room. It had three ways into it and was quite far from the hallway. There could be several more rooms to go through before hitting a hallway again with this maze setup.

He wanted to find the fellow that had broken his nose and handcuffed him in his transport. Wooziness threatened his ability to walk. He grimaced. The quarry had turned into the hunter and won this round. There was a good side to all this. He smiled ruefully. At least he had shot the fellow. There had been blood in the stairwell. No trail, though.

His smile slid away when he turned on the troopers.

“We don’t have time for arguing. Let’s get this place searched out and get back to headquarters.”

The troopers fell silent and continued to the next room.

Conrad’s curiosity drew him to looking in various cupboards. Dusty boxes full of paper that crumbled at the touch with smeared ink from water damage filled them. He snorted at the box easiest to read. Love letters. This building contained nothing but worthless memories and insanity.

Conrad carefully cleaned his hands off before following the guards. He grabbed the doorjamb when the world tilted. After a moment, he continued as if nothing had happened. The troopers had been too busy to notice.

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Claude fought to stay conscious after the nudge from Salindra. The dark became a friend, saving him from seeing the world spin. His stomach heaved anyway. He clamped his mouth shut and swallowed hard. The pungent odor of sweat and blood became oppressive. The scent of soap Salindra used helped a little. He shifted again, this time being careful to do so quietly. His face wound up buried in the loose locks of her hair. His head fell against hers when he worked to steady his stomach.

She shifted again, making him bang his nose lightly on her head. He sniffed a little too loudly for her liking. Her elbow was sharp and if she did that one more time, he would hug her into stillness until it was safe to leave. He softly growled in her ear in response to her poke. She stiffened. If she would relax, it would not be bad in this pathetic little hovel.

He turned his attention to the sounds out in the room. Who would bother looking through cupboards in this place? He heard a snort from the person and then receding footsteps. He grinned and had a hard time not chuckling. The fools would tire soon and go back to the New City sector. The sooner the better, because he needed food. Blood loss mixed with the laser burn drained his system. He had the urge to eat a bag full of chocolate chip cookies and slam a soda. Anything with sugar in it would go over well with him.

Salindra’s constant shifting did not help. It was bad enough that he had wanted to kiss her before this. Maybe he should continue total silence with her. There was no time for relations, and he was on duty.

Thinking of it, he had been on full alert for days, with very little downtime. He slept wherever he could hide. He suddenly wished to get off the planet sooner than his tour here would allow. How many days did he have left? Seven? Six? It would not be good if he missed his pickup day.

He grunted when she jabbed him again. Would she stop that already? He shifted roughly, causing her to catch her breath. Something bumped into the wall. He grinned. It served her right for jabbing him.

“We’re moving.”

He resisted the urge to give her a shove in the butt to help her get off him. He winced when he crawled out. Pain ran up his side to his shoulder and down his leg from the wound. He pulled himself to his feet with a groan of protest. The cupboards worked as a support, while he wished for the spinning to stop. His knees shook with the effort. He searched his pockets, hoping to find some sort of snack. His fingers wrapped around what felt like a candy bar. He yanked the wrapper off. He sighed happily, finding it rather satisfying. Now he just needed something to drink.

“Come on. What do you think you’re doing over there?”

He pushed off the cupboards and followed her voice. He stuffed the empty wrapper into his pocket. His hands grabbed for support while he stumbled along. His body cried for him to lie down and take a nap. Bad idea. The candy bar only made him hungrier. He could sit down to several servings of the simple but hearty stew at Madame Kerishna’s, but that was a solar system away. His mouth watered all the same.

“Hurry up. We don’t have all day.” She wrapped her hand around his upper arm to help him move faster.

“We really need to get you somewhere to be fixed up.” At least she was concerned about his health.

He leaned on her more the further they went. She stood close to his height and had a power in her that belied her slim form. How she kept him up and lugged that heavy case made him appreciate her even more. She knew how to fend for herself.

He refrained from hugging her close and planting a kiss on those full lips of hers. Instead, he pretended not to want to lean on her while he grinned in the dark.

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Salindra led the way through the maze of rooms. Once in a hallway, she headed unerringly through the near total darkness. The sound of someone talking made her look behind them. The goeks were still staking this place out. They would have to get out the way she despised the most. It also meant she could never come back.

She frowned at that thought. This place was a dump, but one she loved in the past year. It had outlived its usefulness. She wanted to blame Claude, but that was not the case. Several close calls in the area had occurred, with most of them on days without scheduled pickups or drop offs.

She caught Claude when he pitched face first through the door she opened. He grunted in derision and caught himself on the railing of the stairs within. She resigned herself to his tighter grip on her shoulder. It hurt. She would not complain while he kept going. Would she have done so well in his condition? She hoped so, but highly doubted it. This thought made her growl. Nothing would take her out until she wanted it to.

Claude chuckled. What did he find so amusing about all of this? She wanted to scream and shoot things.

The way remained clear into the basement. The rancid odor made her nose wrinkle while she picked her way around old rubbish to a metal door hidden behind a pile of musty mattresses. She stepped through and flicked on a small flashlight she pulled from a coat pocket. Safe to use here and help him see.

Claude coughed and looked around in mild disgust. At least he agreed with her on that part. The sewer was the worst place to be, in her opinion.

The upside to it would come when they passed by the quarantine shield unhindered. Shields never went underground. Every building she moved into had a sewer exit, and once in the sewer, she had many options. She knew the sewers as well as she loathed them.

Four years of skulking around this area of Goeken, analyzing data and sending reports back to the agency, had led to a very isolated life. She only had about a month left. Then what? Into more pits like this or into somewhere different? A change of jobs maybe. Could she handle that? Integrating back into normal living scared her. She forced the thought into the recesses of her mind. She needed to get Claude to safety.

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By the time she reached the desired exit, her muscles screamed as if she had dragged Claude for miles. She leaned him against the wall while she unlocked the door. The sound of leather sliding against damp stone made her look back. One hand snapped out to grab his arm before he fell. She shined the flashlight his way.

Sweat beaded on his face. He blinked a few times and gulped while he stared back at her.

“Not much farther.”

He nodded and slowly pushed himself back fully upright against the wall.

She watched him for a moment and then completed the complex unlocking. It swung open noisily on rusted hinges. She winced and looked up the stairs. Empty.

The light over the door above hurt her eyes. She switched the flashlight off and stuffed it back into its pocket. One hand grabbed Claude by the arm to pull him into the stairwell. He fell through the entrance. She grit her teeth when she caught his full weight and twisted him, so he sat on a step. He could not fall far from there while she worked the intricate locks of the door they had just come through.

Upon finishing, she found him clinging to the metal handrail with both hands to the point of turning his knuckles white. She placed a hand over one of his and attempted to relax his hold.

“Come on, we are almost there.”

She bit her lip when he turned his gaze slowly up to her. Did he understand her?

She helped when he tried to stand. It took three tries for him to gain his footing.

His clenched jaw and stiff form proved he was a fighter to the end. She liked that quality in people.

At the top of the stairs, she leaned him against the wall once more. She freed one hand to reach out and rap on the door. The door opened to reveal first a gun and then the face of her emergency contact.

She found new strength to push Claude through the door backward. He slumped into the arms of the man who had opened the door.

“I don’t recognize this fellow, but obviously he is important to our cause if you attempted to drag him here.”

Derek gave her a toothy grin and easily hauled Claude’s limp body up another stairwell. He laid Claude on a bed in one of the upstairs rooms and turned to leave.

“Has it been quiet in this sector?” Salindra did not want to move again for a few hours. A hot shower, or even a bath, would go over well.

“Nothing more than the usual stuff, so it is fine. A change of clothes and you could fit in with the regulars on the streets.” He gave her a reassuring smile before slipping out the door.

Salindra turned to the small dresser and rummaged in a drawer. She found a full set of clothes she could fit into. Nothing she liked, but it would work.

She dug deeper for the small, metallic item she knew rested in a corner. It popped open with the push of a button and automatically turned on. She moved over to Claude with its scanner port facing him. It immediately picked up on his loss of blood and laser burn. The scanner registered him as being a lot healthier than he looked. She arched a brow at it and debated on running it again.

A hand grabbed her wrist in a death grip and yanked her down. She landed on top of Claude with a surprised yelp. Face to face, she got a good look at his dark features.

His eyes narrowed while he glanced about and then looked at her again.

She could get lost in those dark depths. Then again, maybe she had. His other hand covered her mouth to muffle the end of her yelp. She tensed, but did not move. He slowly removed his hand from her mouth, though the other did not let go of her.

“Where am I?”

She paused in answering. His voice tugged at her with its quiet, tenor tone. She caught her breath and bit her lip.

His grip tightened.

She snapped out of fanciful thoughts. “I got you to a safe house. You can rest here for a couple of days if need be.”

He shook his head. He pushed her hard, sending her off the bed.

She landed on her feet, but stumbled backward into a straight-back chair tucked in the corner. Her eyes widened when he sat up with little effort. That could be a lie. He looked rather pale.

“I need to eat.”

“Sure. What would you like?”

She relaxed. Food sounded good. It might ease his gruff attitude.

“Something meaty tasting.” He shifted and winced. “Is there some place I can clean up?”

“It isn’t much, but it should do.” She pointed at the door to his right that stood ajar.

He shrugged out of his jacket and teetered when he stood.

She stepped to the hallway door when he pulled his blood-soaked shirt off. “I’ll be back in a moment.”

He nodded and staggered into the bathroom.

She slipped into the hallway and leaned against the door. The image of him without shades and shirt played in her head. She banged her head against the door lightly twice. What was she thinking? She still had to get the new information to the network and from here, she could not do that. Could she get it to them at all? She hugged herself when her mind wandered back to how he looked. His voice still rang in her ears.

With a growl, she marched downstairs to put in an order of food. She nodded at Derek when he pointed to the freshly poured bowls of stew on a tray. Hot fresh bread sliced on a plate beside the stew made her mouth water.

Derek flashed her a knowing grin.

She headed back to the room before Derek could start the questioning.

Her body shook enough that traversing the stairs took time in order to not spill anything. How much of it came from escaping the troopers rather than Claude? Once in the room, she set the tray on top of the dresser by the door.

Claude stood in the small bathroom with the door wide open in nothing but a towel. He examined his wound in the mirror. His dark brows arched with curiosity and his lips curled up, which made her wonder. She caught her breath when he looked over his shoulder at her.

“It didn’t feel this bad when it happened.” His amusement rang in his voice.

She gulped. How did she react to that? One hand planted itself on top of the dresser when her knees turned into jelly. She gritted her teeth, but could not stop her body from shaking.

“Are you okay?” He stepped out of the bathroom.

His move made her trembling worse.

Her eyes took in the wound that had scabbed over as if it had been a day or two. Her eyes wandered back up to his face. When had he stepped that close? She nodded, since she could not form words. His hand reached out closer to her and she tensed. Nervous giggling erupted when he pulled back with a bowl of stew in his hands.

His brows arched quizzically while he chewed his first bite. He sat on the closest corner of the bed.

She pulled her gaze away and poured herself a glass of water. She needed a swift kick to help realign her brain back to mission mode. The water was half gone before she turned back to him, hoping she had a grip on her emotions.

He had eaten his stew, most of the bread, and now reached for the water, which he gulped down. Her brows shot up in shock when he eyed her bowl and then looked at her.

“May I?” He pointed at her bowl and popped the last of the bread into his mouth.

“Sure.” She watched him devour its contents as quickly as the first one. “Want anything else?” His appetite had her interest peaked. He had broad shoulders, but his body was slim and well toned.

He gave her one of his lopsided smiles while he looked up at her. That smile always made her wonder what he was thinking.

“It probably won’t taste as good as home, but a nice big piece of chocolate cake would be good. I won’t even ask for ice cream since Goeken’s idea of it is the worst I have tasted yet.” He chuckled.

“I think real ice cream is a black market product here.” The chatter about food eased her emotions. “Let me go see what I can get for you.”

She grabbed the tray of empty dishes and stepped back into the hallway.

Derek gave her that knowing look when she entered the kitchen.

She stuck her tongue out at him and then eyed the chocolate cake suspiciously. Had that been sitting there that obviously when she had come in for the stew?

Derek’s laughter made her give him an innocent look. He laughed harder. It took him a moment before he could cut two pieces of cake.

She shook her head and gave up trying to hide how giddy she felt. Derek was like the father who always knew what she had done. If it had not been for Derek, this tour would have been far worse. He was the most stable and settled in field agent the Droeken Armada had on this cursed planet, and he worked well with the agency.

She paused at the door to their room, unsure of herself. She dared open it.

He sprawled on the bed, face down, snoring.

Her eyes took him in, then she hurriedly set the plates of cake down on the dresser. She closed the door to the bathroom behind her and tried to relax. One thought overrode the distraction he caused. How are his wounds scabbing over already?

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