Power Trip(46)
“I need to call Truman.”
“Go ahead, but I don’t think the police can help. If we bring too much attention to Genecorp, everyone will be looking at us too. Do you want to have to explain why you wear gloves all the time? Or why Jake won’t take his sunglasses off? Let’s go back in there, get their super kid and blow out the mainframe. Losing their data will slow them down for a while, long enough for us to figure out who we can trust and how we can stop them.” She knew from recent experience exactly how crippling it was to lose data.
“I guess it won’t hurt to go take a look, but I’m still calling Truman.”
“And I’m calling Jake.”
He pointed at her. “Let’s test the bio-enhancer before we do anything. If it works, you’re going to wear it tonight. I will not stand powerless again, watching you defend yourself with your feet. You need a longer-range weapon.”
“I did pretty well with my feet last night,” she reminded him.
He crossed his arms. “It’s crazy to bring your feet to a gun fight.”
She considered arguing, but then he said, “Although that was an awesome kick.”
“As long as we agree on that.” Since she was as anxious to try the bio-enhancer as he was, she headed for the stairs.
When they reached the lab, he pointed at the silver rod on the table. “I can’t figure it out. It’s got a dial on one end and that’s it. Touching it gives me the creeps, but I imagine that’s because it blew a hole in my arm and turned my body to lead.”
She picked it up. “It doesn’t feel deadly to me.”
“No nausea? No weird urge to hurl it across the room?”
She shook her head.
He shrugged and took it out of her hand. She watched him place it in a drawer, thinking he did look a little green. “So where’s the enhancer?” she asked.
The mannequin across the room stood naked, and there was no leather or wire in sight.
“I refined the design,” Cal said, with a wicked grin. “Your demonstration yesterday gave me ideas.”
She arched an eyebrow, wondering what the smirk on his face meant. He opened another drawer and pulled out what looked like a black spandex bikini top.
“Oh, hell no.” she said.
His grin widened. “And that’s not all. Leather collar and cuffs complete the circuit.”
She shook her head and he held up a hand. “Your brother and I have used kink to camouflage our abilities for years…humor me.”
But she didn’t live in their world and never would. If he wanted to help her blend in, he should have wired the bio-enhancer into a unisex lab coat.
“C’mon, give it a try.” The appeal in his eyes made her sigh and pull her T-shirt over her head.
Cal pulled on a pair of gloves, and his touch was impersonal as he fastened the back of the bikini top and fit the collar around her neck. He looped the trailing wires around her arms. With a few deft motions, he clipped them off and cinched the cuffs around her wrists.
“I feel ridiculous,” she said.
“You look hot,” he countered, pulling her in front of a reflective metal cabinet. “See?”
She examined her reflection. The stretchy halter top held her breasts front and center, giving a whole new meaning to the concept of underwire. More wire spiraled around her arms from the collar to the thick wrist cuffs. She had to admit it was an eye-catching ensemble, but it wasn’t her style at all. She felt like an imposter, a lab rat masquerading as a Dominatrix, but she didn’t have the heart to tell him, not if he liked what he saw.
“Here’s the conductor.” He placed the same gun from yesterday in her hand and snapped the wire to the cuff. “Ready?” he asked.
She nodded.
He led her over to the firing range and touched the back of her neck. She heard a click. This time he didn’t guide her hand. She touched the tip of the gun to the top of the battery and pulled the trigger.
Blue fire sizzled. “Holy shit,” she gasped, letting go.
She pulled the trigger again and they both watched the needle climb toward the red.
“Stop.” His eyes glowed. “I think we’ve got a weapon for you.”
Chapter Thirteen
“Déjà vu,” Jake said, as they walked toward Genecorp. “Only last time we were kidnapping dead mice instead of a live human.”
“We’re not kidnapping, we’re rescuing,” she said.
“What if your super kid doesn’t see it that way?”
“He will. How could he not? They’ve been keeping him in a basement. Besides, that’s what you’re for—he’s coming with us whether he wants to or not.”