‘I’m going to kill you.’
‘I wasn’t going to hurt her.’
‘Never. I’ll make sure you never will.’
Time went by and their bodies remained locked together, swaying in the water. Netto counted the seconds while continuously diagnosing his condition. He was on top and that gave him the advantage. If the Croc cleared the poison before him, he would still have to get out from underneath.
No small feat, even for a Cyborg. Netto was one of the largest, heaviest Cyborgs that existed.
‘Twenty-one minutes and ten seconds.’Zeph’s eyes flared, illuminating the space around them further.‘We have to abort the mission.’
‘No.’He couldn’t imagine leaving now, leaving Rylie and her family behind with no hope of reclaiming the vitality of their lots—of potentially being the next humans to disappear in the Kepler wilds.
‘The contract is broken and any respect I had for clan Montihan died with it. The EPED will blame us for this failure. We’re here to bring home the stones, procure a lucrative deal, nothing more, nothing less.’The light from Zeph’s eyes grew with his anger. The Croc had always been one of the best retrievers in the division. Hell, he might hold the crown now that Stryker was out of the picture.
When it came to a group of battle-hardened Cyborgs, asserting their supremacy was always in the back of their minds. Only a few went untested and less than a dozen in all their numbers could claim superior manufacturing. But even one of the best Cyborgs couldn’t take on two, and he and Zeph were relatively well-matched: Netto beat every other shifter Cyborg in strength, and Zeph had the speed to outmaneuver him and the personality to match.
‘When did you become a bitter piece-of-shit?’ Netto asked.
‘I won’t be held accountable nor will I be forced to pay further on the losses here because the EPED surely won’t. Not even for her.’
‘Her?’
‘Fuck off, freak.’
‘I wish I could!’They stared at each other, unable to do anything else. The weeds slithered above them, casting eel-like green shadows throughout.Her?Netto’s fingers twitched despite the toxins as a tendril of jealousy coursed through him. He knew Zeph spoke of the other sister but he couldn’t process it. All he saw was Rylie, her petite, bronzed body, and long copper hair. Just the idea of Rylie and Zeph together blasted him with fury and if his partner even attempted, he knew any chance of winning her would vanish.
Zeph never failed when it came to seduction; his conquests spanned the galaxy.
‘She’s mine. Mine!’He tensed, powering through the venom, needing to taste Zeph’s nano-laced blood.
‘Now you have an opinion? When no one’s around to see your freakish form? At least I don’t give a shit what humans think of me.’
‘Leave the goddamned EPED then if you hate your creators so much. I don’t need to express my opinion, that isn’t my job. I work for no man and I have the freedom to speak when I choose to. Do you want to know the real reason the EPED asked me to go with you?’
‘Several sentences! And here I thought your verbal processing tech was corrupted.’
The Croc’s eye twitched and the neon green of his eyes diminished to a dark forest glow. No matter how hard either of them wanted release from this Hell, they weren’t moving anytime soon.
Netto continued to transmit,‘Because you’re reckless. Little better than Gunner.’
Zeph knew it, that deep down, his chaotic nature wouldn’t go unchecked, and to be compared to Gunner was being compared to scum. The lowest tier of Cyborg, an emotional cybernetic failure. Netto didn’t care.
‘Fuck,’Zeph messaged him a short time later.
‘We’re staying.’
‘Fine.’The Croc’s eyes brightened, his anger replaced with grim acceptance. It wasn’t unlike him to respond rashly but it was rare. Netto wanted to ask Zeph if it had to do with the other sister but knew better.
‘Something’s coming.’He felt it, electricity and power coming closer, something that was too small to be the watership. In unison they illuminated the space between them, hoping the dark water wouldn’t muddy out their beacon.
It grew closer and slowed somewhere behind him and off to the side. He couldn't see it but he could feel it, and it was something he knew he didn't need to be wary of. If it had been a predator, then he and Zeph would’ve been in trouble; they could stare at each other but do little else. His partner would be protected under his frame but his back was wide open. The last thing Netto wanted was for something to eat him alive while the Croc watched.Embarrassing.
They waited, unsure if the vessel above would see them. Netto hoped that the lights they gave off were enough to penetrate the darkness.
It would be hell to be stuck at the bottom of the ocean staring at each other for God knows how many hours, days, weeks. Until they were able to get out of the weeds themselves.
Netto hated how intimate the position was that he and Zeph were in, and if he knew Zeph at all, he was probably seething at the indignity.
