Destiny: Quantic Dreams Book 3 by Elizabeth McLaughlin (dark books to read txt) 📕

walking. The security feed followed his path through the city. He seemed to be keeping his gaze to the tops of the buildings. Looking for the supposed guns that he was warned about?

He had made good time through the machine city, speeding through alleyways, walking as quickly as possible without drawing attention. He doubled back several times, as if mapping the layout. On his last turn, he ran into a group of androids. Thanks to the angle of the camera it was impossible to see the faces of the androids. Only their bodies were visible. An android might be able to pick up the differences between them but I couldn’t. It was a short fight, two of the androids holding James’s arms while the third landed punch after punch into his abdomen, his jaw, his chest. The whole thing was a bloodbath. It was only when the boy’s form fell limp did the assault cease. The machines carried the body back along the route James had taken. The video automatically followed their path, hopping from camera to camera. One of James’s murderers must have thought about the cameras because the feed only appeared for a second before the camera lens was blinded with something. The one feed they forgot to take out showed the entrance to where we were sleeping. They lay James’s body on the ground and a laser torch issued from one of the androids’ hands. The rest of what transpired I’ll leave to the imagination. Suffice it to say that the lock on the door was now broken. I was grateful the feeds didn’t have sound.

“You’re going to tell me that you know who those androids are,” Eliza growled. “And then you’re going to tell me that they’re going to be disassembled for the brutal murder of a defenseless human being. “First, you’re going to get the fuck out of this building where you will wait until my wife and I join you.” I could hear Marcus’s breathing behind me. He didn’t like the idea of his mothers walking into a potential trap. I didn’t even glance to see what my father was doing. No doubt he was seething. I begged him not to move under my breath. Attacking Tenzen would get him killed. It would get all of us killed. Tenzen only nodded to us and stalked toward the door.

“Marcus, get me another sheet. Take it off of my bed if you have to.” Eliza didn’t turn around. Her eyes were glued to the eviscerated body on the floor, as if worrying that it might come back to life. Marcus handed her the sheet and she spread it out next to James. “Tell everyone to stay still.” She told him, breath soft as to not be overheard. “And tell them to get their belongings together. If your mother and I aren’t back through that door in twenty minutes…”

“We get the fuck out of here. You got it, Mom.”

“I love you, son.” I brushed a hand across his cheek. “We both do.”

“I’ll keep them safe.” My little boy. I couldn’t have imagined the man he would become. If we didn’t make it back, I had that much to be proud of.

“And tell your grandfather that if he tries to do anything stupid, it won’t be the androids he has to worry about,” Eliza muttered. Together we wrapped James’s body tightly in the extra cloth, forming a kind of funerary cover. I took the man’s feet, while Eliza took the head. Together we carried the body into the rapidly warming morning air. Tenzen waited against a metal edifice, his arms crossed. We placed the body gently on the ground. The minute she let go, Eliza rushed the android and grabbed him around the neck. He could have easily thrown her to the ground, snapping her neck in the process, but he didn’t move.

“Your species is especially stupid.” Tenzen reached up and gently pried Eliza’s fingers from his neck. He placed her hand back at her side, taking care to twist her wrist enough to make her flinch. I could hear the crack of the tendons over bone from where I stood. “Play nicely with me and I’ll do the same. Or we can do this the hard way. Your choice.”

“Fine,” she spat. “At least let us dispose of the boy’s body. I can’t have a stinking corpse in with those people.”

“Agreed. It would be bad form if any more of your people got the idea to wander about.”

“First, I need some assurance that this won’t happen again.” Eliza clenched and unclenched the hand Tenzen had twisted, testing her grip. Everything seemed to be working to her satisfaction because her fingers wandered to her utility knife, still strapped to her belt. She was smart enough to know that she couldn’t do a damn thing to harm these beings but if it made her feel better, I didn’t see the problem.

“Of course it won’t happen again, just keep the humans where they’re supposed to be. Your allies among us have volunteered to take care of the rest.”

“Fuck—“

“Understood.” I cut in before my wife’s temper got the better of her. “Tenzen, you seem to, well, not be friendly toward us, per se—but you didn’t kill the two of us the minute we stepped into the open. I’m inclined to think that you at least don’t want us immediately dead. Can I at least count on your cooperation to help keep these people calm?”

“It would behoove me to do so, yes.”

“Great.” I shot Eliza a look and she backed up, all too happy to let me take the lead. “I need you to speed up the trial. There are a hundred people in there who are terrified right now that they’re going to end up slaughtered, just like that man. I need a way for her to keep them under control. Any suggestions?”

“I have one.” A voice sounded. It was Eleanor. She didn’t look happy. “Turn him over to us.”

“Turn…” I already