of the information she had provided the Judge when he knocked quietly on the door.
“They’re safely tucked away,” he assured her as she let him in. “The building is still quiet.”
“That’s good. Most of the staff hadn’t arrived before the hybrids showed up.” Except Alan. They hadn’t been close, but she was going to miss him.
“What are you going to do now?” J-100 watched her as she returned to her desk. “You told your friends to let Earth Government know about this incident.”
“They’re not my friends,” she responded instinctively, and sighed again. “They came to assist because they appreciated my discretion.”
He raised an eyebrow but didn’t question her, striding over to the window instead. “Everything outside appears to be quiet as well. Do you intend to remain here?”
“I suppose.” Although she had little hope that her employers would be understanding, an Earth Government investigation could distract them and allow her to remain in her position. A position she held for one reason and one reason only—a reason that seemed increasingly out of reach.
It wasn’t just the possible repercussions from the mutiny and the involvement of the cyborg rangers. GenCon had focused their efforts to reproduce the cyborg technology on the hybrids, but so far, those efforts did not seem to be paying off. Would anyone willingly undergo the transformation from a person to whatever the hybrids became? Was it affecting them mentally as well as physically, she wondered, or were all the subjects desperate enough to agree already unbalanced?
“Is GenCon sending more hybrids?” J-100 had turned away from the window and was studying her. She recognized the appreciative look in his eyes, and although she had learned to take advantage of it when men looked at her like that, she found she had no desire to manipulate him.
“The next ship isn’t scheduled to leave the earth for another month,” she said honestly. “That is, of course, if they have told me the truth. Open communication is not a GenCon priority. That being said, there was something in this set of data…”
Something was still nagging at her about the information she had reviewed while preparing the list of locations for Wyatt. She turned back to her computer and brought up the records for the past six months, scrolling rapidly as she searched. Despite her concentration, she was aware that J-100 had moved to stand behind her. He wasn’t touching her, but she could feel the heat emanating from his big body as she forced herself to concentrate on the screen.
“Here.” She tapped the record and pulled up the data. “There’s a ninth location. I overlooked it earlier because none of the hybrids were assigned there, but there’s been an unusual amount of supplies allocated to it. Lab supplies. And here, this reference to cultivation. I thought at the time that there was something odd but was told not to worry about it.”
“Cultivation,” he repeated thoughtfully. “And you said lab supplies. What do you think they’re cultivating in that lab?”
“Somehow I doubt it’s agricultural. And while there is another lab that’s working on ways to use the existing nanite technology to enhance human abilities, those records are all clearly identified. Which makes me suspect that this project is more illicit.”
“Do you think they’re trying to create more of these abominations?” he asked bluntly.
“I don’t know. It could be that they are simply pursuing another line of inquiry. The goal is to enable humans to live on Mars as easily as the cyborgs, but without becoming cyborgs themselves.”
“Because of the laws surrounding the rights of cyborgs.” It wasn’t a question, and she shot him a surprised look. He grinned at her, and once again the expression turned his face from harsh to surprisingly attractive. “Don’t look so surprised. I know quite a lot about cyborgs and politics.”
“Why aren’t you a ranger?”
He shrugged. “Not much of a joiner.”
“But you were in the military?”
“Yes, ma’am.”
He smiled at her again, but somehow she didn’t think he was telling her the complete truth. On the other hand, she had no intention of revealing all her secrets to him either. Which brought her attention back to the records.
The official lab had been making some progress, but it was painfully slow. She suspected that it would be several more years before the technology advanced to the point where it would be useful to her. But a secret lab, one less constrained by official protocols… Was it possible that they had advanced further along the path? Her heart skipped a