Chapter 7

Chloe walked as if in a daze toward the checkpoint and the cyborg prisoner. Her newest orders rang in her head, repeating over and over until she wanted to scream. Do whatever it takes. Whatever it takes...

Problem was she couldn't recall what she needed to do, but whatever it was, it angered her. Lost in her own thoughts, she didn't register anything out of the ordinary until something grabbed her by the ass and yanked her against a body.

Head snapping up, she stared for an incredulous moment at the leering countenance of the guard from the day before.

"What the hell are you doing?" she gasped, her tone indignant. "Let go of me right now."

The soldier's smile widened, and he hugged her tighter, forcing her against him. She struggled against the close contact, repulsed and a little frightened.

"Let me go!"

"Why would I do that? I know what you need. Don't forget, I saw you kissing and groping that machine yesterday and liking it. And here you are again, bright eyed and horny. Eager to get back in the cage with him today? Maybe hoping to do more than rub and tug his cock? Since you're that hungry for some action, I figured I'd offer up my services." The private ground his hips against her, the evidence of his arousal making her cringe.

"I'm just doing my job."

"That's not what it looked like to me," he said with a sneer.

"I don't care what you think you saw. I'm not interested in the cyborg, or you for that matter."

"Why? Is it because I'm human? Do you get off on having a robot fucking you? They got vibrating dicks or something?"

His inane words stopped her struggles, and she gaped at him. "Are you out of your mind? I've never slept with a cyborg."

"Sure you haven't. That's why you got so cozy with that vicious one yesterday. Think you're too good for a real cock now, don't you?"

"I don't know what you're talking about." But judging by the inanity of the conversation, someone wasn't in possession of all his marbles.

"Lying slut." Wrapping his fist in her hair, a painful grip that made her cry out as tears stung her eyes, the soldier pulled her behind his desk, where he used his free hand to tap in the code to lower the force field and deactivate the electrical current running through the cage. Yanking her after him, the soldier strode to the cage while Chloe stumbled behind, trying to relieve the painful pressure on her scalp. When her abuser halted, Chloe raised frightened eyes to see the prisoner watching them. The cyborg's face showed no expression, but his eyes glittered brightly.

She cried out as the soldier tightened his grip and thrust her out in front of him. "Look what I've got for you today, rust bucket. Your little whore is back." The deranged soldier shoved her at the cyborg, and she clutched desperately at the solid strength of the prisoner, feeling safer pressed against his skin than with someone of her own kind. Her false haven lasted only a moment before the private laid his hands on her again, pulling her back to his side, his hand fisting itself once again in her tresses.

"Let the female go," the cyborg stated in a soft growl.

"Why the fuck would I do that? Ain't no cameras in here to see. The bosses are too scared you'll use them to hijack the network."

"I'll tell the commander if you don't stop right now," she stated, fear making her voice come out high and reedy.

The soldier wound his fist tighter, and tears sprang to her eyes at the sharp pain. "If you so much as breathe a word to anyone, I'll kill you, bitch. Do you hear me? I'll beat your useless body to death, and I'll blame the cyborg. How does that sound?" The menace in his tone left no doubt he meant what he said.

"You're insane. You won't get away with this."

"I might be a little nuts, but that's not my fault. Blame the fuckers in charge. I begged them to let me go home for a bit. I was out on patrol for five years in the outer reaches. Five fucking years with only myself and a pair of pimply-faced recruits for company. Crying mamas boys whose scrawny buttocks were no comparison to the pleasure of a cunt." He used his free hand to snake around her front and cup her mound. The knot in her stomach tightened, and she couldn't help a whimper from escaping.

"Let the female go." The cyborg again spoke in a low tone, but one threaded with menace. She appreciated his attempt, but what could he do, chained as he was?

"I'll let the slut go when I'm good and done. And you should be thanking me, robot, because it seems like the whore here likes herself some droid dick. Being a kind man, I'm going to let her have some while she sucks me off. Just thinking of her bent over taking some cock while I gag her with my own..." The soldier ground himself against her ass, and she shuddered in revulsion.

How can I escape? No one would hear her if she screamed. No one would probably come to her aide even if they did. The soldier was right. The ones in charge were bastards. Most of the men in the installation were starved for companionship. It was a wonder she'd escaped their attentions this long. Or had she? For a brief moment, a vision of the commander, shirtless and flushed, came to mind, quickly wiped away as the private, still gripping her hair, ordered her to get on her knees.

Unable to escape the punishing fist wrapped in her hair, she couldn't stop herself from falling to the floor when the soldier pushed her. She didn't even try to halt her hiccupping sobs as the insane private pressed her face against his groin, the rough fabric not completely hiding the feel of his erection.

"Undo my pants, bitch. Have yourself a taste of a real man." The soldier's chuckle just amplified her terror. She pushed at his thighs, trying to move away, trying to escape the current horror, but for her struggles, she received a cuff to the side of her head that made her ears ring.

And then she heard a more chilling sound than that of a zipper being drawn down. She heard the groan of metal bending, followed by a sharp crack.

She didn't need eyes in the back of her head to know the cyborg had just gotten loose. What did surprise her was her elation at the knowledge. I think I've finally lost my mind. And with the prisoner loose, probably her life too.

*

He would never have admitted it aloud, but Joe looked forward to Chloe's next visit. Anticipation, an unheard of emotion for a cyborg with infinite patience.

When he heard her arrive, her soft steps memorized and catalogued by his BCI, he immediately paid attention. He mentally stored the sight of her with her hair, long and loose, around her shoulders, an anomaly among the usually strictly coiffed military personnel. Her usual white jumpsuit hugged her curves, curves he explored in his mind but longed to touch in person. He noticed her inattention as she strolled, a lack of awareness that allowed her to get caught by the leering soldier left to guard him.

The look of fear in her eyes as she struggled against the stronger male lit a fire in Joe, igniting a fury almost as great as the one he'd felt when faced with the order to end his life. How dare the human lay hands on her? How dare that imperfect creature think to harm her? Gritting his jaw, Joe forced himself to remain still and bide his time, analyzing the situation and the possible outcomes.

The stupid soldier, obviously deranged from his time in space, or from a genetic defect, deactivated the electricity running through the bars of Joe's cage. Then the idiot opened the door - an act that doomed him like none other - and threw the female in ahead of him.

Chloe hit his chest, but instead of bouncing back or attempting to flee, she clung to him as if she trusted him to save her. Her curvy body trembled against his, an outward sign of her fear, and Joe discovered he really didn't like seeing her in the grips of that particular emotion. Nor did he like the fact the gloating soldier before him laid hands on what Joe had already mentally claimed as his own. Rage boiled inside him as the human dared to threaten and then shove a sobbing Chloe to her knees.

Panting, and only moments away from his death, the guard practically salivated as he said, "Undo my pants, bitch. Have yourself a taste of a real man." When Chloe fought him instead, the human hit her - and Joe could wait no longer.

As the oblivious human pulled down the zipper of his pants, in one fluid motion Joe brought both his arms forward and snapped the weakened restraints holding him. Freed from his bonds, he flexed his hands. "I've computed your suggestions," he intoned flatly as the soldier gazed at him with a shocked expression. "And have decided none of your threats or suggestions are acceptable."

Not pausing, his every move already calculated, Joe punched out with one fist and snapped the wrist of the hand that held Chloe's hair. As the private screamed and yanked his injured appendage to his chest, Joe swept an arm around Chloe's waist. He dragged her back and tucked her into his side, out of the way so that his other hand had a free path to lunge forward and grip the soldier's neck.

"There is only one acceptable solution to the current dilemma," Joe continued in the same monotone, as he tightened his clasp. The soldier's eyes bulged as he gasped for air. "Death for you and any humans who stand in my way."

With a final crunch, the body before him went still, the eyes glazing over. Joe dropped the repulsive being and went to work freeing himself. He tugged first one leg, snapping it free, followed by the other, his nanobots having absorbed most of the restraint's ores, weakening the bonds that held the metal together. With Chloe tucked to his side, he immediately stepped out of the cell, lest they activate the electricity that would send him into a full system reboot. And not a moment too soon. Electricity crackled to life making the bars of his prison hum.

A siren finally sounded, a strident scream that announced to all he broke loose. As if they didn't already know. Despite the soldier's claim, Joe knew the placement of two hardwired cameras and microphones. Those monitoring him knew every move he made and recorded every word he uttered. The fact they allowed Chloe to be abused didn't surprise him in the least. He, of all beings, knew the depravity of humans.

As for the guns those in charge relied on? They paid silent testament to his abilities, their remote access disabled during his many forays into the military network.

Joe took a step towards the guard station - and freedom - but stopped when he heard a whimper. He peered down at Chloe still tucked against him. Her frightened eyes gazed back up at him.

"Please don't kill me," she whispered as tears pooled and spilled upon her cheeks.

"I have more efficient uses for you," he replied curtly, for some reason annoyed by her fear of him. "You will come with me."