Christmas in Zonei Pt. 08

What are you doing? Raeden had been able to tell Kim was focusing on something.

I'm trying to read Gary's thoughts—to find out what they are doing, what they know.

Be very careful, Little One. Why don't you let me help?

How does that work?

I'm not sure because mods can't read people's thoughts, but I think if you open your mind to me, I can be there with you and might be able to help keep your wall up while you do other things.

We can try it, Kim replied, softening their mindlink and trying to entice Raeden to come closer, to come inside. A few moments later he felt Raeden's presence in his mind. It was a bit disconcerting but he trusted Raeden. He also had the feeling that if Raeden started tromping around, looking at his memories and such, he'd know it and be able to shut him down if needed.

Kim once more started searching for Gary's thought thread. It helped that Gary's emotions were running high. Kim felt his distaste and resentment and was able to follow it to its origin and slip inside.

Gary's mind felt foreign. Raeden's presence was a comfort and he could feel Raeden's awe at the same time he sensed the wall that Raeden was holding around their minds. He wasn't sure what to do now that he was in, but he thought the information he wanted should be at the top of Gary's thought stack.

Just then he became aware that Gary was listening. He listened, too, to the voice that came over Gary's earphones.

Clearly the mod can feel what we're doing to the Asian. Kim got a sense that the man who was speaking was malevolent. He mentally stiffened and Raeden soothed him. The voice over the earphones seemed gleeful with anticipation. Let's see if it goes both ways. Mr. Conner, apply the pain treatment to the mod, level five, please.

What? No! Kim was so startled that he let go of the mindlink with Gary. Then Raeden's world exploded in pain and Kim's along with it.

Kim didn't have time to wonder if the reason he felt Raeden's pain so intensely was because their minds were joined. He heard himself screaming as Raeden's body spasmed with pain. He felt the big mod morfing and it was a very strange sensation.

Then Raeden was gone from his mind, at least the Raeden he knew, replaced with a different intelligence, one that was very base. Raeden's lizard-brain, he realized. Raeden's lizard was furious and Kim felt him fighting the invisible bonds, heard him roaring his anguish into the room, felt the fear and loathing of the technicians who were in with him.

But mostly he felt intense pain. As keenly as he felt it, Raeden felt it more. He wasn't sure how the mod could stand it, how he even managed to stay conscious through such a barrage. Kim's only thought was to make it stop.

The pain he and Raeden were experiencing was so fierce that it was impossible to think clearly. Impossible to think at all. His mind was tightly intertwined with Raeden's lizard-brain. He reacted out of instinct, out of his need to save his mate. Through Raeden, he could feel the technicians in his room. The blonde one was controlling the pain. He could stop it. Kim reached for his mind and blundered his way inside. Once there he frantically screamed. Stop it! Stop it! Turn it off! At the same time, he applied his force of will.

Suddenly, the pain was gone. Instantly his connection to the blonde was gone as well.

He felt Raeden struggling to recover, morfing back into himself. He saw, when Raeden took in his surroundings, that the blonde technician had crumpled to the floor, either unconscious or dead. He felt Raeden's alarm.

Oh shit! We're in trouble now, Kim heard his mate's thought. Then his connection with Raeden was severed and a fraction of a second later Kim lost consciousness as Boris hit a button on the machine above his head, shutting him down. Chapter Fourteen

Kim came awake with a sense of deep dread and the feeling that he'd been asleep a long time. When he remembered that he was somewhere in the bowels of CorpSec the dread blossomed into heart-palpitating fear. Without opening his eyes, he reached out with his mind for Raeden but didn't find him.

As his panic escalated, he tried to calm himself. He's probably just sleeping. Kim was pretty sure he'd be able to sense Raeden's presence if he were just asleep, but the weird comatose state that the technicians were able to put them in at the touch of a button seemed to shut off all higher brain function. That thought gave him chills. He wondered if they used the same equipment to reform people, shutting down parts of their brain permanently.

Do they know it was me who knocked that technician out? God, I hope I just knocked him out. What if he's dead? Those thoughts put Kim into a tailspin. His stomach twisted and he was sure that if he'd had anything in it, it would have come spewing out of him. He swallowed hard and tried to focus on the present, rather than let his mind ruminate over "Kim, the cold-blooded killer."

He was still immobile on the padded table. His arms and legs ached and he was desperate to stretch them. His stomach growled loudly and he realized he was starving. He also needed to go to the bathroom. They had catheterized him when they'd provided the drinking tube, but he'd apparently been on the table long enough for other body functions to need relief.

Gary and Boris were there. He knew that without even opening his eyes. He opened his eyes and confirmed that Boris was looking at the readout on a machine while Gary typed into a keyboard. They both looked up at him with apprehension when they realized he was awake. They appeared frazzled and disgruntled, like maybe they'd been working the entire time he'd been under.

Are they afraid of me? "Wha—" Kim's voice came out in a croak. He drank some water from the tube, letting the coolness sooth his parched throat. Then he tried again. "Where is Raeden?"

"That is none of your concern." Boris seemed to delight in control games, providing or denying Kim information at his own discretion. Kim realized he was trying to upset him with this comment, and it probably would have worked if Gary's thoughts hadn't come through to Kim just then, loud and clear. They've still got him under in the other room. After what he did to Daniel, they're afraid to wake him up.

"What happened?" Kim asked. "Why did you put me to sleep for so long? It has been a long time hasn't it?"

"Your 'mate'—" The way Boris emphasized the word mate made it clear that he thought the concept was ridiculous. "—managed to knock out one of the technicians who was administering to him."

Okay, they don't realize it was me who did that. Relief flooded Kim. Of course they don't. They are not expecting that I can read minds. But what will they do to Raeden?

"He got free?" Kim asked innocently.

"No, the mod shut Daniel down with his brain waves," Gary said.

Boris threw Gary a dark glance. Maybe he just revealed too much information, Kim thought. Gary looked chastised.

"Really?" Kim tried to look appropriately frightened, which wasn't hard. "I didn't know he could do that."

Neither did we. That was Gary's thought.

"So what happens now?" Kim asked.

"Now..." Boris's grin was decidedly evil. "Now we bring in someone who will find out what you know whether you want to tell us or not."

Shit, shit, shit!

"How ... how is he going to do that?" Kim could not keep the quaver out of his voice and decided that was okay. He wanted them to underestimate him.

Did I really take someone out with just my mind?

"She is going to get into your little brain and sort through your little thoughts," Boris replied with a smirk.

I am so fucked! Kim thought. I'm damned if I do and damned if I don't. If I build a wall around my mind, she'll know I'm telepathic. If I don't, she'll waltz right in. A trained professional mind reader will probably just tear right through my defenses and find out anything she wants to know anyway.

Kim fought to quell his rising panic. He focused instead on taking slow deep breaths and letting his thoughts settle. When he finally let himself think about the upcoming "interrogation" it was with strategy in mind, rather than terror.

If I build a newsteel wall like the one I practiced with Raeden, she'll be able to see it and will know that I'm telepathic. He tried erecting a wall made of thick plexiglass, but realized immediately that it was visible as well. What he needed was in invisible force field.

And, since it's all in my head anyway, why not?

He focused on building an invisible wall made out of wind. He imagined when a mind reader came too close they would be blown off course. He had no idea if his idea would work. He knew that Raeden had been amazed with his innate ability and how quickly he'd caught on during their earlier practice session, but that didn't mean he'd be able to fool an experienced mind reader.

But what choice do I have? I have to try to keep her out, otherwise... He steered his mind away from the possible consequences.

The mental walls not only kept others out, they kept stray thoughts contained. As long as he kept the wall in place, he would not leak whatever he was thinking into the ether. In fact, in order to project his thoughts, he needed to create a small opening for them to get through. He had practiced that with Raeden: making a miniscule hole to send his words through and then closing it back up immediately.

Kim practiced using various strengths for his wind, hoping to find one that was strong enough to keep the mind reader out, but subtle enough that she didn't realize she was being thwarted.

I am so fucked! I have no clue what I'm doing.

His concentration was disturbed when he heard a female voice.

"Hello, boys. Have you been good?" This statement was followed by a sharp crack of leather on leather.

Kim's eyes snapped open.

The woman was Asian—mostly Japanese, he guessed, but she was also tall and imposing. Her body language said that she owned everyone and everything in the room. Kim, immobile on an exam table, was obviously dirt under her shoe.

She was of indeterminate age—somewhere between thirty and fifty, he thought. She could be considered pretty if you liked severe. Her expression brooked no dissension. Her black leather pencil skirt fit her like a glove. She wore a sleek, fitted grey silk blouse that probably cost more than Kim's monthly salary. But what caught his eye, and what had made the leather-on-leather sound, was a riding crop that she held in her right hand, poised, ready to strike.

Kim felt his sharp intake of breath. Holy shit! This is the mind reader? She's a fucking dominatrix—times two!

Both Gary and Boris had snapped to attention and were obviously awaiting her next command, eager to perform for her. He might have been in the same state if he hadn't been so terrified of her reading his mind. And if he'd been able to move. As it was, all he could do was lie there and wait for her to begin her assault. His stomach began flipping somersaults.

He fought to shut down his emotions, horrified that she'd hear him emanating his fear and know immediately that he was guilty. She must have felt something because her eyes flicked to his face.

"Hello, Kim. Pleased to meet you." She had a slight Japanese accent.

Kim's inclination was to stay silent in the presence of her overwhelming personality but, summoning an inner strength he didn't know he had, he played his equal card.

"And you are?" he asked, his voice steady and strong.

She smiled, obviously amused by his offensive stance. "My name is Lieko, but you can call me 'sir'."

Kim swallowed, biting back the "yes, sir" that was on his tongue.

"Nice to meet you, Lieko," he said grimly.

She drew herself up even taller and the look in her eye might have knocked him over if he'd been standing. She leaned toward him and he could smell her spicy perfume.

"You need to learn to show proper respect for your superiors. Your pretty mouth is altogether too undisciplined." She ran a red lacquered nail across Kim's bottom lip. "Perhaps a bit of punishment is in order?" She tapped him sharply on the nose and Kim would have flinched if he'd been able to.

Stepping back, with a flick of her hands she removed Gary from his stool and perched on it herself, crossing her slender legs. "Let's get started, shall we? Dim the lights, please."

As the brightness in the room faded to low, Kim took a deep breath, closed his eyes, and focused on constructing his wind shield.

He felt the woman's mind outside of his own. It was encased in solid chrome, shiny and slick. As she got close, following a thread, he sent his wind. He blew gently at first, and when that had no affect, he sent a sudden gust.

She was knocked off course, buffeted by the wind. Kim felt her surprise and confusion. She searched for another thread to follow, but Kim was keeping his thoughts well contained behind his wind wall.

Finally, she found another one, tracing it back to its source. Kim blew at her again, another gust, but not quite so strong this time. Again, she was blown off course.

She huffed in frustration and Kim felt some of it emanate from behind her chrome façade. She didn't seem nearly as good at keeping herself protected as Raeden did. He thought he could probably break in and read her mind, but he wasn't about to try.

"So, Kim, how are you doing today?" That was Gary speaking.

Kim started and opened his eyes. Gary, was looking at him with sympathy, trying to distract him from the fact that Leiko was going to read his mind. Kim felt a sharp pang of irritation at Gary's interruption and that was enough. He had lost his focus, and Lieko lost no time in following that thread of resentment.

He suddenly felt her alien presence in his mind and it chilled him to the bone. But she wasn't malevolent. She seemed disgruntled at having been pulled away from her busy life to come read his mind. She wanted to get in, get out, and go home.

Even as these impressions registered, Kim realized that she would probably be able to easily "hear" anything that was at the top of his thought stack, such as the fact that he knew she was inside his mind. Acting instinctively, he focused his thoughts on Raeden. Wiping everything else from his mind, he thought about how much he missed the big man's reassuring presence. He let her feel his anguish at being separated.

He could tell she was ruminating over this information, but he didn't dare reach out to discover what she thought of it.

Then she was rummaging, turning over his memories and searching for information. Before he could figure out how to stop her, she found his memory of being shocked the first time he heard Raeden speak in his mind.

Keeping an iron lid on his panic, he lashed out with the only thing he could think of to keep her from discovering more.

Hungry, hungry, hungry!

He felt her recoil. Then she tried to push aside the hunger noise to discover something else interesting.

Pain, ache, need to stretch.

It wasn't too hard to let his overwhelming physical discomfort take the forefront of his thoughts. What was harder was resisting the urge to monitor and analyze what this woman was doing in his brain.

She pushed the pain feelings aside.

Hungry, hungry, hungry! "I'm starving," he said aloud to back up the thoughts he had swirling in his head.

Impatiently she scrabbled around the hunger thoughts.

I have to pooh, he thought, allowing the sensation to permeate his mind.

Ugh! The woman's withdrawal from his mind was abrupt and unsettling, but as soon as he realized she was gone, Kim breathed a mental sigh of relief. He tried to keep the smirk off his face. He couldn't help getting a tiny bit of satisfaction from her obvious disgust.

"I'm through here," she said icily. "I've seen enough."

Kim clamped down hard on his inner rejoicing. He had won round one, anyway. Although she had discovered his mindlink with Raeden, she didn't realize the extent of his abilities. Hell, even I don't know the extent of my abilities. He stayed on high alert, ready for a sneak attack, but she ignored him entirely.

Her gaze bore into first Gary and then Boris. They both visibly stiffened. "You boys be good." She struck her thigh sharply with her riding crop, causing a loud sound. Both Gary and Boris jumped. She smiled in satisfaction, then tossing her long, shiny hair over her shoulder, she spun around and strode away, her red stiletto heels clicking sharply on the polished floor.

Kim heard a door open and close. Both Boris and Gary breathed a sigh of relief, and so did Kim.

*****

Captain Phillip Hernandez ogled the tall red-haired woman seated on the other side of his desk. Although she was older than the women he typically went for—early forties, he guessed—her face was beautiful and he couldn't help but notice how well her breasts filled out her blouse. It gapped a bit at the buttons but she was wearing some type of lacy undershirt so that he couldn't see much of her cleavage. Pity, that.

"Captain Hernandez," she said through clenched teeth, "You must understand that Raeden is not an animal. He is a fully-functioning human."

"He is a mod," Hernandez reminded her. "Not human."

"Alright, he is more than human, but certainly not the brainless monster you seem to think he is."

Hernandez frowned. When he'd gotten the emergency notification that a broken mod had morfed, he'd thought that they'd discover it was a fault with their monitoring equipment or some random fluke that was impossible to reproduce. He had not expected to find a fully operational mod, complete with a mate on his back, ready to fight. He had reviewed the footage that had been taken by the drone, and it was impressive indeed.

"You cannot convince me that he not dangerous," he said flatly.

"Raeden is not dangerous under normal circumstances," she said. "He will only morf if he or his mate are threatened or when he's put into a battle situation." She glared at him, daring him to disagree, her gray-green eyes flashing.

I bet she'd be a spitfire in bed, he thought. He let his eyes drift once more to the enticing curves under her blouse.

"I would think that someone in charge of mod security would be well-versed in their physiology." Her voice did not conceal the scorn she had for him.

Hernandez winced mentally. Guess I won't be bedding her anytime soon. Not that he'd thought it possible anyway. She was married for one—he'd looked that up before he'd contacted her. And she was fairly high up in the CorpSci hierarchy. CorpSec and CorpSci had a long-standing rivalry that in recent years had gotten downright vicious. CorpSec held the upper hand, of course, because they had all the muscle. However, the folks at CorpSci were clever. They'd taken down more than one CorpSec captain with a well-plotted and executed coup. It wouldn't do to underestimate the red-haired doctor.

He had called Michelle Granger in out of fear. When one of his technicians had suddenly collapsed on the floor during an interrogation, he had panicked. The technician still hadn't fully recovered and the doctors had told him that they believed he was the victim of a telepathic assault. Someone had forced their way into his mind and brutally taken control of him. Hernandez shivered. He had no greater fear than of someone reading his mind. He had tried to learn the technique of defending oneself against such an attack and failed miserably. Apparently you needed telepathic abilities to defend against them and he had rated less than .03 on the scale when he was tested.