The drive home seemed to take forever, and the events of the day had worn him out more than he'd expected. When he finally got back, he keyed open the door to his apartment and heard the laughter die quickly, not surprised at all to see quite a few loaded weapons pointed his way. With a disgruntled look, he waited for the Legates to lower their guns, then he locked the door and headed straight to the fridge. Grabbing his cold dinner and a Coke, he then found a place on the floor among the rest.
"So?" he asked.
"Well, I'm caught up," Rob said.
"And she's a lot nicer than you said," Trent added. "You were gone a long time."
"Had to have a chat with Danny boy," Sin said with a smile. "Talked to that bastard about those fucking stupid blue robes."
Trent chuckled. "Thought you might have taken the chance to see what that girl has on under the hood."
"I'd start asking Zan for his porn collection first," Sin joked. "I get the impression she doesn't want me to see her face, and I'll respect that."
"You're a better man than me," Trent teased. "I can confirm she's got a nice ass, though."
"Aw, fuck," Rob groaned. "You're a pig, Trent."
"I have worked very hard to master this talent while being a thirty-five-year-old virgin, thank you very much." He grinned."But I will agree that this girl is special, and not just in the naked sort of way."
"Yeah, she's pretty impressive," Sin agreed.
"And none of you can understand the half of it," Zan said from the bed. "The link goes both ways, right? I've hooked up a few times, and it was nothing like that."
Davis couldn't help but laugh at Zan's choice of words. Rob smacked him, silencing his amusement. At the side, Julie just sighed.
"Not like that," Zan grumbled, shaking his head at the immature joke. "I can't even make you understand. The way she's wired? It's nothing like anything I've ever seen or felt. For most of us, it's the base of our brain that's added on to. Not her, though."
"And?" Trent asked, trying to move him along.
Zan scrubbed at his face. "She's not just a genius. I mean, she is, but damn. She's more holy than any of you."
"Hey," Davis said. "Not a good joke."
"Not joking," Zan said. "If I imagine linking in with an angel, it would feel like her mind."
Sin choked, then quickly swallowed the gulp of soda he'd been taking. "What?"
"Look." Zan shoved at his dyed-silver hair, trying to find the words. "She walks in the door, and they strip her. She doesn't get undressed; they pull the clothes from her. She follows their orders like a damned dog, hooks into the ports, and spends her free time avoiding the diagnostics they keep running. That's why her fucking frontal lobe has a port! They're monitoring herthoughts. The other side? Yeah, that's her emotions."
"And that's bad?" Davis asked.
"You're a damned priest and allowed to sin. She's a genius and is under penalty of having her mind wiped if she even thinks the wrong thing or feels the wrong emotion. This girl is nothingbut logic and daydreams, guys. There's no cynicism, no anger, and definitely no hate. She's simply not allowed to feel those things!"
"Dear God," Julie breathed. "How do we stop it?"
Zan tossed both of his hands into the air. "We get her out."
"And go where?" Sin asked. "Her technician basically said the same thing to me this evening."
"The Legion?" Zan suggested.
Sin shook his head. "Not a good plan. First, because Joshua would be furious at losing a corporate contract with OutLink. Second, because there's some serious anti-enhancement sentiment building. Put those all together in one girl? Yeah, I'm not sure even Benedict could talk his way through that."
"Like a match to gunpowder," Julie said. "It'd set off all the tension we've been feeling. There has to be another option."
They all fell silent, thinking. Finally, Davis spoke up. It wasn't what any of them expected.
"Forgive me, Brother, for I have sinned," he breathed.
