***
"How much further?" Nell batted aside a low hanging pine bough and glared at Alejandro's back. Aches plagued her back and legs, her hand throbbed and she smelled. Needles crunched underfoot and the black loam cushioned her steps. Sweat trickled down her back from the heat of the bright yellow sun overhead. Trekking through the jungle was hardly the way she'd wanted to spend her honeymoon.
Her stomach clenched at the thought. Setting her hand on her belly, she ducked under another limb he couldn't be bothered to hold. Somehow, she'd always imagined her husband would actually look after her.
And he'd have blue eyes instead of brown?
With his black eyebrows meeting over the bridge of his flat nose, Alejandro waited for her to catch up. His booted foot tapped his irritation into the ground as he held the branch. "Do you plan to teach our children to whine?"
Whine? This was the first time she'd mentioned the march, and they'd been at it since dawn. Nell's protest died in her throat and she crossed silently to his side. Perhaps, Alejandro wouldn't mind her changing the topic. She liked to talk, but he didn't seem to want to listen so she had remained silent. Almost as if she hadn't a choice in the matter. "Will we be traveling a lot?"
The trees opened onto a clearing. After worming a path around clumps of shrubs, she waded into the tall grass. For a moment, she thought she heard the thunder of a river.
Alejandro set his hand on her shoulder and turned her to the right. "This is an alien world. Don't you want to explore it?"
Nell frowned at the gray tree trunk rising out of the ground. It was dead.
Like her.
She shuddered at that tiny voice in her head and a throbbing started at her temples. What had he asked? What she wanted? The pain disappeared as if it had never been and her thoughts turned to pleasing Alejandro. "I want what you want."
"Yeah." His brown eyes narrowed for a moment then he cupped her elbow and led her forward. Side-by-side, they trudged across the meadow and returned to the tree canopy. "I want a steak."
Her mouth watered at the picture in her head. She could almost taste the tender meat, the tang of ketchup and heat of fresh ground pepper. Her stomach growled. Her breakfast of oatmeal and dehydrated bananas was a distant memory. "With fries and a cold beer."
Bile soured her taste buds. Beer. I hate beer.
Nell shook her head. That voice couldn't be right. Why would she crave something she hated?
Alejandro swatted her on the behind. "I can picture you serving it to me."
She could too. Although why she always pictured herself naked, didn't make sense. Then again, it was her honeymoon, and they'd had a lot of sex.
Alejandro tugged her through a hedge. Thorns yanked at her uniform, ripping the fabric and leaving welts along her skin. She wasn't going to have any clothes left if he continued to drag her through the foliage.
I can make you march naked if I want.
Nell flinched. That didn't sound like her tiny voice, but Alejandro. An angry Alejandro. Why would he be mad at her? She only wanted to please him.
Oh, for Pete's sake.
Rage filled her. She shouldn't listen to that tiny voice. Yet, couldn't seem to stop herself.
Alejandro released her and stood, arms akimbo, glaring straight ahead.
She stopped by his side and followed his line of sight. The world seemed to drop off about ten feet from where they stood. For a moment, she thought she'd imagined it. Glancing at her boot tips, she scanned the rocky ground, absently noted the weeds and saplings growing through the cracks in the granite surface then dropped at the opening of the gorge. Another image superimposed itself over the reality. A graceful white bridge spanned the canyon. Beyond it, rose bright, white buildings reminiscent of Greece. She blinked and a forest replaced the village. "Somehow I pictured a bridge here."
"Nothing is as it should be." He stormed to the edge of the abyss and leaned over.
Without a thought, Nell joined him. Trees jutted from the jagged rock walls and, at the bottom, a stream wound a blue ribbon through the gorge. She inched forward, and her boot dislodged a pebble. It rolled into the abyss and kept falling and falling and falling. Her heart rammed against her chest and her throat seemed to close.
No one would survive the abrupt stop at the end.
Alejandro gripped her arm and jerked her backwards. "I wouldn't want you to fall."
"No." Nell felt light headed, dizzy even. She could almost imagine soaring deep into the gorge, riding an air current then plummeting lower. She could?
Jump.
Yes. She flexed her leg muscles intending to do just that.
Alejandro spun her until she faced him. "Are you well?"
Tremors wracked her body. Could she really have considered jumping? But why? Alejandro loved her. They were going to have a wonderful life together. Yet doubts rose up like whispers at the back of a cave.
His fingers bit into her shoulders and anger flared in his eyes. "You sound- What was that?"
A gust of wind kicked up, raking the pine needles off the evergreens. Nell clutched her head as dizziness engulfed her. She swayed on her feet, fighting roiling nausea. "I- I-."
"Step away from her." A man emerged from the shadows of the forest.
Beijing.
The recognition startled her. She remembered his name, the breadth of his wide shoulders, the smooth texture of his skin, the dimple in his cheek when he smiled and his eyes? Those blue eyes that sparked with humor or iced over with rage. This man belonged to her. Nell stepped toward him.
Pain scattered her thoughts as her arm was wrenched in its socket and she was jerked backward against Alejandro's chest.
"No." He dragged her closer to the edge of the gorge. "You can't have her. She's mine."
Nell glanced behind her. Another foot and she could take her chances with flying, except? Except now she didn't want to. Not that Beijing was here to rescue her.
Alejandro's arms tightened around her waist.
Nell's body refused to struggle even though it was becoming difficult to breathe.
Beijing stalked closer. The muzzle of his rifle aimed at her. "What's the matter? Your little tactic not working?"
Tactic? Nell stiffened. What tactic was he talking about? The fog in her head lifted. The brain controller. Alejandro had used it against the Syn-En. Had he hurt Beijing? Anger warmed her limbs.
Alejandro straightened then shifted, so her body protected his. His breath was hot on her neck. "I'll get inside your CPU soon enough, then I'll let Nell watch you go for a long walk off the cliff."
"You'll never get through." Beijing circled closer. But for every step he took, Alejandro shifted Nell so she still had to take the bullet first. Beijing's lips curdled into a sneer. "Step away from her."
"She's mine," Alejandro growled. His right hand gripped her stomach. "Could already be carrying my child."
Shame washed over Nell. What had she done? She loved Beijing and had betrayed him was still betraying him. Tears swam in her eyes. She wanted to fight, to help her love but couldn't move. Alejandro still controlled her body.
Beijing raised his rifle. "I'll kill you for that."
A red dot appeared on her right shoulder. Good heavens, would he really shoot her to get to Alejandro?
Beijing loves you. Trust him.
Trust Beijing? But what of Alejandro? Wasn't he her love? Nell began to shake as the tug of war inside her head raged.
"Nell doesn't want you, freak?" Spittle flew from Alejandro's mouth as he raged. "Tell him, Nell. Order the freak away."
Something snapped inside Nell. She felt her control drown under a tidal wave of anger.
"No!" She stomped on Alejandro's boot and rammed her elbow into his gut. When his hold slackened, she lurched forward.
Red light flashed in the shadows of the forest and, with a jerk, she was free. Flesh slapped stone then a grunt sounded.
She darted forward but tripped on the uneven ground. Pain rattled her bones as she
sprawled on the rock, inhaling a noseful of damp earth. Just as she moved her legs under her, his hand manacled her ankle. She clawed at the ground, ripping out tufts of grass as his weight pulled her over the cliff.
Grabbing a sapling, she locked both hands around it. Her free foot kicked air. Rock scraped her shin then her knees. She stripped off the leaves and her skin burned, but she didn't stop. When her thighs cleared the cliff's edge, she picked up speed. Oh, God. She was going to die, just when Beijing found her.
Beijing raced toward her. His pale face a blank mask.
Just as the sapling slid through her hands, her love dove for her hands and caught them. She jerked to a stop and every joint in her body blazed from the motion. The edge of the cliff dug into her ribs, smashed her breasts against the cool, damp rocks.
The weight on her right leg threatened to pull her apart and her chest strained to suck air into her lungs. With her free leg she tried to find a foothold in the rock face. She dropped deeper into the abyss until her chin hit the rock with a teeth-rattling stop. Pain heated her arms and she could practically feel her muscles ripping.
A shadow fell across her and she looked up. Bei's unsmiling face peered down at her. "Let her go."
Two other faces appeared. She struggled to make out their silhouetted features. "Doc? Chief?"
Both men aimed down the barrel of their rifles.
Alejandro wrapped a hand around her calf. "If I can't have her, you won't either."
Nell glanced down. Alejandro used both feet to push away from the gorge's wall. Pain rippled up her spine. She could almost feel her vertebrae separating. What the heck? Did he think he was Tarzan and her leg a jungle vine?
Chief Rome winked at her. "Hold still."
Hold still. She wasn't the one moving.
Red light pulsed from the muzzle with a soft cough. Nell sighed as the weight gave way. She didn't look down as Alejandro crashed through the trees thirty feet below. Gradually, she became aware of moving. For a moment, panic accelerated her heart until she realized she was rising.
When her torso cleared the edge, Beijing released one hand to grab the waistband of her uniform.
She clutched his shoulders, reveled in his strength and heat. God, she'd missed him.
He pulled her free from the gorge then rolled backward, leaving her to sprawl across his chest.
"I knew you'd come." She pressed a kiss into his jaw and the pulse point on his neck. "I knew it."
Beijing gripped her head, holding her steady. His blue eyes bored into hers. "Don't you have something to ask me?"
She smiled as the memory of their first time together rushed back. "You still want me?"
"I want you forever, Nell. Forever." Keeping her head still, he raised up to press his lips to her then plundered her mouth.
She panted when he broke off the kiss. He did still want her. Hadn't he heard what Alejandro had said or didn't he believe it? He deserved to know the truth before he decided, before she spawned some alien baby. "But I? He?"
Too bad she couldn't blame the brain controller for this failing. No this was pure Nell. Hang nobility and honor when she could have Beijing.
"He forced you." Beijing hugged her tightly for a moment before releasing her and helping her to her feet. "He made your body betray your desires."
Nell pushed out of his arms, surprised to see herself so close to the edge yet again. Fear gripped her as she felt the brain controller worming its way through her willpower. How long would she be in charge before she lost herself again? "The Skaperians, they put something in my head. It takes control of me, makes me do things."
Makes me want to do things. Nell shuddered. She couldn't go through that again. The next time, the brain-controller wouldn't let her come back. Alejandro was dead, the mission was a failure and she was to blame. It would make her pay and what better way than hurt those she loved, than to kill Beijing. She had to protect him.
"We know. Doc found it." Beijing held out his hand, but she smacked it away.
Doc and Chief exchanged glances before retreating to the safety of the trees.
Nell's knees shook with relief. Of course they knew, they had something similar. The brain controller seethed and her left finger twitched. She just had to remain in control a little longer, until they neutralized it. "So you can get the thing out of my head, right?"
All expression disappeared from Bei's face before he shook his head. "No."
Loss banded her chest making it hard for her to breathe. Her hands curled into fists and rage sucked at her control. "You can't remove it, can you?"
"He's gone, Nell." Beijing balled his hands at his side. "He won't bother us again. He won't control you again."
Nell nodded. Alejandro might have been shot and fallen over a cliff, but she was not free and Beijing was not safe. Already, his body reacted to her rage. How long before this thing in her head took him over, manipulated him like it did her? It was just a matter of time. Tears blurred her vision before she cleared them away with her swipe of her fingers.
"Come home to me, Nell." Beijing's smile strained to produce a dimple in his cheek.
She swallowed the lump in her throat, knowing what she had to do. What must come next. "Give me a minute."
Beijing glanced from her to the abyss a foot behind her. "Can it be a little further away from the edge?"
Nell smiled although her heart was breaking. She would miss his sense of humor. Perhaps in another life?
"I love you Beijing York." She jumped back. Air rushed around her, whistling in her ears and whipping through her hair. It would be over soon.
"No!" Beijing's shout chased after her.
"Admiral!" the Chief yelled.
Seconds later Bei appeared. Holding his arms and legs tight against his body, he shot toward her like a missile.
She reached for him. Stupid. Selfish. Nell quickly banished the self-recriminations. If she had to die, she couldn't think of a better way to go than in his arms.
He slammed into her, wrapping an arm around her waist. "Why?"
"I can't be a prisoner inside my own mind. I won't." For a moment, she heard the tickle of metal as his hands roamed her body. Leaves and branches slapped her, causing her arm to sting. "Why did you?"
"I said forever." He smiled. "Just thought it would be longer than five point six seconds."
"I'm sorry." Nell wrapped her arms around her. Not sorry she loved him, but for bringing him to this end. She felt numb, disconnected. Leaves surrounded her before her head connected with something solid.
Then there was nothing but darkness.
Being in love with a biologic is like
playing Russian Roulette with a laser pistol.
If you're lucky, you might survive the experience,
but life will never be the same again.
Admiral Beijing York, private log
Chapter Twenty-Two