Chapter Six
***
Reid was sitting ather side, waiting for her to awaken when his wristcon buzzed. He glanced down at the screen, noting that the one human guard in his employment had sent him a message, and opened communication.
‘There's a woman out here insisting that she see Clara.’
He messaged back. ‘Who is she?’A moment later her IP address flooded through and he had all the information he needed.
Marsha Tannett of Pecos PD. He knew of her, having listened in on Clara's phone call that morning. Her file checked out; Marsha was a sworn officer of the law. Why would someone from old Texas be out in no man's desert America? Furthermore, how did the cop know Clara was here?Clara hadn’t disclosed her location.
The image of her scars rose up in his mind. His gaze shifted back to the sleeping beauty breathing softly in the pod next to him. An innocent who had been hurt by the worst of human society, the dregs.
Reid left her side and headed for the gate, annoyed.
“Let her through the first barrier but tell her to wait. I'll be right there.” He was out of the facility, through the parking lot, and past all the inner gates and checkpoints within moments. He smelled Marsha the cop long before he saw her.
Anxiety and fear. He should've known.
Somehow, in one day, he had become embroiled with women who needed his help. Reid sighed. He needed to make this quick so he could get back to Clara’s side before she woke.
A woman in her late thirties stood outside the vehicle. He looked beyond at the border guard and gave him a nod before he addressed the woman.
“Marsha?” He stepped right outside her personal bubble and she took a step back. No protector of the law let a stranger get close. But he had the upper hand, always had and always would.
Cyborgs outranked cops, preprogrammed with the laws that governed Earth and its people, and although he abided by its laws, there were others that took precedence.
The woman’s hand drifted over the gun belt at her hip. “Yes.” Her voice was strained and her lips were dry. “Who are you?”
“I'm in charge of this facility and I've been told you’re here for one of my patients?” He canted his head.
She nodded and peered around them, casting a quick glance back toward the security gate. It was only for a second, but he’d noticed, and before she could meet his eyes again, he turned around and looked where she had.
The dust rolled off in waves far out into the arid wastes beyond and factories and ramshackle buildings dotted the landscape throughout. Reid scanned the horizon.
She’s being watched, tracked...He knew it. The whistle of the desert wind blew across his ears, bringing with it the creeping knowledge that they weren’t alone.
There wasn't another lifeform nearby and it wasn’t the security guard or Clara. And although Marsha didn't have a gun to her head didn't mean she wasn't in trouble. Reid hoped that whatever was watching them knew that he knew. They were on his radar.
She cleared her throat. “What are you looking at?”
“The same thing you were.”
