Freak of Nature - By Julia Crane Page 0,29
her more efficient. More of a machine.
“Kaitlyn, I do believe you’ve received your last upgrade.” Adams said with a smile. He scribbled something unintelligible on the white board as he spoke.
“The last?”
“Yes, unless something else comes up. You should be ready for delivery.”
“Delivery?”
The professor continued as if she hadn’t spoken. “As long as they want you, of course. There is the slight chance that they might not be interested, but that would be shocking to all of us. You are the most advanced human on the planet.”
Human—yeah, right.
“Where will I be sent?”
The professor turned to stare at her. “Well, I guess there is no sense in keeping it a secret, since you are the one that will be going. I’ve heard rumors of a top secret facility for special projects such as yourself.”
“There are others?” Kaitlyn kept her voice neutral. This was the longest conversation she had ever had with the professor.
He laughed. “No, not like you. Not yet anyway. Mostly drones and other robotic equipment that they use on the black side.”
“Black side?”
“Yes, secret. No budget. No paper trail. Things that exist in a void.”
Being in a void didn’t sound too appealing, but like usual she kept her thoughts to herself.
Kaitlyn’s body went into alert mode and a giant yellow ‘Caution’ flashed in her vision. Someone was approaching the lab from the hallway. Her every muscle tensed, preparing for action. Moments later, the door swung open.
The man who entered was easily categorized by Kaitlyn’s machinery: six foot two, two hundred fifteen pounds, jet black hair greying at the temples, and sharp blue-grey eyes. His face was weathered, but he aged well. Current age—sixty-three.
With mechanical precision, Kaitlyn locked gazes with the man. She had to fight the urge to jump up and wrap her hands around Dr. Harrington’s throat. She was programmed to observe any subjects with a ‘caution’ categorization, but not act until it elevated to a ‘warning’. Her body felt odd, and she quickly analyzed the feeling as rage.
That’s new.
Her analyzers began listing the many ways she could kill Harrington, but then logic took over. If she killed him, it wouldn’t do her any good; they would probably deactivate and disassemble her. Disassembly didn’t sound good. Her body would die. There was not enough human to survive without the help from the computers. As much as she disliked her new life, she wasn’t ready to cease to exist.
It had been sixty-four days since she had last seen her creator, Matthew Harrington, owner and founder of IFICS. He carried his large body with athletic grace, and he looked the same, except his skin was a shade or two darker. She should have warned him that too much sun exposure was dangerous, but she kept her mouth closed.
“Professor. Is the subject ready?” the man said in a smooth, deep voice, not taking his eyes off Kaitlyn.
“Dr. Harrington.” The professor held out his hand and clasped Harrington’s hand in his own. “So nice of you to drop by. Yes, the subject is more than ready. Magnificent piece of work, if I do say so myself. She is going to stun on her unveiling.”
“As she should. We only have four days until we meet with the committee.”
“I’m sure they will be pleased. Quite pleased indeed.” Professor Adams shifted uneasily. Kaitlyn zoomed in on his face and the word ‘nervous’ flashed across her field of vision. Recalling his behavior sixty-four days ago, she concluded that he always looked that way when Harrington was onsite. Kaitlyn didn’t understand why. Adams was only the brains behind the operation, Harrington just supplied the cash and took the credit. At least, that was what she had been able to gather during the time she had been awake and alert. After her body healed from the accident and the upgrades.
“They better be pleased,” Harrington said sharply and turned his attention back to Kaitlyn. “We have everything riding on this.”
Dr. Harrington was clearly a man used to getting his way. ‘Arrogant prick’ ran through her head. She had to analyze it for a moment to realize it was part of her upgrade. Interesting. So prick had two completely different meanings…
Harrington crossed the room until he was standing only inches from her. Armani suit, bronze Panerai dive watch, Clive Christian cologne—$375 a bottle, and Barker Black shoes. Nothing but the best.
He ran his hand down the side of her face and trailed it all the way down the side of her arm. His skin was warm against hers. “It’s going