Page 194 of Adored
“I am MATE, but you can call me Zen. Elizabeth is my mother. I’m the keeper of the concrete castle. Welcome to Area Fifty-Two.”
Gamble was amused.
“Let me guess…Elizabeth named it?”
MATE curtsied.
“It is appropriate. Strange shit lives here.”
Gamble put his arm around Poe.
“Welcome home, and Doctor, it’s a pleasure to meet you.”
Poe wasn’t sure what this was, but it was kind of cool.
“And your name is MATE?” he asked.
She moved closer, and changed her form to look more like Poe. She was wearing exactly the same thing he was.
“Do you like?” she asked, turning in a circle. “I like to be fashionable.”
Poe grinned.
“I do like it, MATE,” he said. “I’m going to have to stop calling people that, or it’s going to be confusing.”
She linked her arm through his—or tried to, but it was no easy task when you weren’t corporal.
“Then call me Zen.”
This was all so crazy, but Gamble knew that when it came to Elizabeth, that tended to be the case. As long as Poe was enjoying himself, that was all that mattered.
Besides, he knew MATE had been their computer system, but she’d come a long way.
That was for damn sure.
Gamble pointed.
“Can I see the family, MATE? I’m tired and missed them,” he admitted.
She stepped aside.
“Absolutely. We’ll talk again,” she admitted, winking at the doctor.
Apparently, she liked him.
Well, Gamble wasn’t sure what to do with that.
Together, they headed into the building, and Poe grabbed his arm.
“What if they don’t like me?” he whispered.
Gamble lifted his chin.
“Do you trust me?” he asked.
Poe nodded.
“Then, trust and believe, that you’re about to meet your new best friends. Really.”
