* * *
Maren made them stand on a plastic sheet as soon as Piers dragged them, soaking wet, to her office. Her eyes flashed with more anger than Quinn ever remembered seeing. His confidence that he was too valuable to her to kill wavered.
"I should have you sold off for parts, Quinn," she snapped, pacing the floor, her steps so heavy that her high heels made marks on the wooden floor. "But we've invested too much in you. You're a fifty-million-credit project already." She glared at Lexa. "This one, however, has only wasted half that much. And from what I understand, she subjected my chief of security to bodily harm."
Lexa propped her hands on her hips, defiant even though her lips were blue with cold and water dripped steadily from her hair onto her back. "He hurt Quinn. I don't let anybody hurt Quinn." She took a step toward Maren, fierce and quivering. "Not even you."
"That's it," Maren said. She stopped pacing and turned from fire to ice-a very bad sign. "Caldwell, we're done. Are you going to do it or shall I have Piers?"
"I'd be happy to take care of it," Piers said.
Fear and anger pulsed inside Quinn. "No! Take me. It's my fault. It was all my idea."
"Not this time," Piers said. "And I have the stunner mark to prove it." He smirked at Lexa. "It'd be my genuine pleasure to rid you of this problem, Ms. DeGaul."
Lexa lifted her chin. "I'm going to kill you someday, Piers. And you'll never see it coming."
"Lex, stop!" Quinn gripped her upper arm and turned her to face him. "They're going to term you if you don't shut up!"
"We're going to term her, either way." Maren shook her head. "Kids. What were we thinking, Caldwell?"
"My dear, the project wasn't a total failure." Dr. Martine turned sad eyes on Lexa. "Give me the night to map her brain patterns. If I can isolate the problem that makes her so willful, we could have a new version that's just as strong and fast, but without the disdain for authority."
"Fine, but I want a blonde with blue eyes, this time," Maren warned. "Understand me?"
Dr. Martine's shoulders drooped. "Perfectly."
Quinn didn't understand-what did it matter that the next version had blonde hair, instead of Lexa's rich brown? Was it to remind him of what he'd lost? To make this new girl as different from Lexa as possible as a warning? His eyes stung with tears. This couldn't be happening. It couldn't.
Piers yanked Lexa away. "I'll take her to your lab and have her restrained."
"Take care not to damage her," Dr. Martine said firmly. "I need her intact for mapping."
Piers dragged Lexa to the door. She kicked and screamed, and even bit his arm, but he didn't turn her loose. They were really taking her away. They were taking her away forever.
Everything inside of Quinn exploded into a universe of pain and rage.
"No!" He launched himself at Piers, landing one good, solid punch to the older man's chin. Piers's head rocked back, but he didn't let Lexa go.
"Oh, for stars' sakes." Maren pressed a button on the underside of her desk. Ten seconds later, the room was flooded with guards pointing stunners at Quinn's head. "Put him in detention. Piers, once you're done delivering Lexa, take this one to Dr. Drummond. I've had about enough of this free-will nonsense."
Dr. Martine heaved a sigh. "At least let him retain decision and thought control. Like you said, we've spent an enormous fortune on him. We need him to be able to reason and think without fear. A switch will be enough."
"Fine," she spat. "Just get them both out of my office."
"Let me say goodbye!" Quinn cried out. "Please. She's my only friend."
Maren rolled her eyes, but Dr. Martine held up a hand. "We raised his hopes, only to dash them in the end. This is partly our fault. Letting him say goodbye is only fair."
There was a pause while they stared at one another. Finally, she nodded, looking really tired. "Okay. And Quinn, for what it's worth, I am sorry we had to put you through this. She was flawed, and we should've terminated her before you got too attached."
The guards pushed Quinn into the hall, and Lexa rushed to wrap her thin arms around his middle. "I'm sorry. I'm so sorry."
"You have nothing to apologize for," he whispered. "It's my fault."
"No, it's not." She looked up at him, her gaze intense. "Remember-never forget-whose fault it really is. Promise?" Lexa stood on tiptoe to whisper into his ear, "Make them bleed, Quinn. Make them pay for everything they've done."
He felt his world crumble around him even as a grim purpose filled him. "I promise."
"Enough." Piers tore Lexa from his grip. "Three, Nine, take the boy to detention."
Two low-functioning artificials grabbed his arms in matching vice grips. As they were dragged in opposite directions, Lexa screamed, "I'm your best friend! Always!"
"Lexa!" His heart was going to rip itself apart. He'd never survive this pain. "Lexa!"
Piers yanked her around the corner, but Quinn could hear her screaming his name. Something inside him broke. Make them bleed, she'd said. Remember who's at fault. Well, he knew damn well who that was.
With a roar of rage, he ripped one arm free and punched the artificial in the jaw so hard, something crunched beneath his fist. When that one went down, he yanked the other toward him, sprang off the floor, and kicked him in the chest. Bones cracked under the impact.
Quinn flew into Maren's office before the security team could get their bearings, and he landed on top of her with his fingers around her throat. "Give her back! Give her back!"
"Quinn, stop!" Dr. Martine barked, trying to pry his hands away. "This isn't helping. The decision is made."
"Our lives are worthless," Quinn said as Maren kicked beneath him. His rage turned to hopeless resignation. His life was over, but he'd take her with him. It was all he had left. "I won't live like a slave anymore. You'll have to kill me."
"I've got this," Doc said behind him.
Quinn started to tell him to back off, but something heavy slammed into his skull, and blackness swallowed him whole, drowning him in the sound of Lexa's screams.