Lethal Extraction (CERBERUS Book 9) by Andy Peloquin

Author:Andy Peloquin [Peloquin, Andy]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Aethon Books
Published: 2020-12-21T16:00:00+00:00

Chapter Twenty-Two

Nolan’s heart sank. Bloody hell! He stared down at Doctor Carver’s lifeless body for a moment, uncertain what to do. The dead man had been his best chance of reversing whatever had been done to Jared and getting him back to consciousness safely. Without the doctor, he had no idea what to do to help his brother.

He checked Jared’s pulse again—no change he could detect—then removed the useless oxygen mask. His hands hovered uselessly over his brother’s gaunt, unmoving frame. All he knew was that Doctor Carver had said he was administering drugs to reverse the sedation, but Jared needed time to come out of it. He couldn’t be certain if the sudden environmental change would affect his brother or what, if anything, would happen once Jared awoke. How much would his time spent in the Reformation tank have changed him? Would he even be the brother Nolan remembered, or would he be as hollow-eyed and lifeless inside as the prisoners that had been thrown into his cell?

A crushing burden of helplessness settled over him. This was a puzzle he couldn’t solve, one beyond his capabilities. And with Taia’s limited functionality and lack of access to any medical databases, she would be no help.

“Come on, Jared!” Nolan gripped his brother’s hand—it felt so frail in his, as if the bones would break—and spoke to his brother in a low, urgent voice. “Wake up, man. Please, wake up and talk to me. Let me know you’re still in there.”

Silence. Jared lay motionless. His chest rose and fell, his breathing shallow, but his eyelids didn’t so much as flutter.

Fear and worry set Nolan’s heart hammering against his ribs. He’d come all this way to help his brother, and now that he was here, he felt utterly incapable of doing anything.

“Taia,” he said aloud, “tell me you got something from his files that I can use to help him!”

“I’m certain there is,” Taia said in his earpiece. “However, my databases contain nothing that allows me to translate what it means into information that will be of any use to you. If you would connect me to a network that has access to medical data, I’m certain I can download the required information.”

That, at least, gave Nolan something to focus on, something to do, while he waited for Jared to wake up. He lifted his head and looked around. There were no terminals, datapads, or any pieces of tech beyond the consoles set into the Reformation tanks.

“Try cracking one of the tanks’ consoles,” he said. “Maybe they’ve got something of use.”

“Copy that.”

As she moved the synth, Nolan heard a strange grinding and groaning from damaged mechanisms. Looking up, he found the cybernetic body moving at an awkward, off-balance shuffle, sparks flying from its damaged leg and hydraulic fluid dripping from the blaster holes drilled into its torso. Before Taia could take more than a half-dozen steps, something in the synth’s leg snapped and gave way. The body toppled to the side, landing on

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