Page 37 of Black Bay Defender
Gently, he shook Lark awake. She let out an adorable littlemmsound and stretched like a cat next to him, that long, lean body rubbing sensuously up against his entire length. His cock immediately reacted, lengthening and swelling in appreciation.
Focus, he reminded himself sternly. There’d be time for that later – he hoped, provided the procedure had gone as planned – right now, the AI in his head and the potential damage it could cause took priority.
Lark gazed up at him with sleepy eyes, her pupils adjusting to the dim light. “Hey,” she said, her voice a bit sleep-roughened and groggy. “Everything okay?”
“I think ORION is in my head. I think it’s been in my head since Ohio.”
Her brow scrunched with confusion and she blinked a few times before she levered herself up on an elbow. “ORION?”
Before he could explain, she held up her hand. “Okay. Wait. I think I need caffeine for this conversation.”
Reaching behind her, she pulled her cell phone out of her back pocket. Her fingers danced over the screen for a few seconds before she laid it on his belly. “I asked Kong to bring us some sodas.”
Grady nodded distractedly while his brain turned over this latest development and how best to deal with it. Had the AI been subtly influencing him this whole time? He didn’t think so. Aside from the recurring dreams, his actions hadn’t been any different. The rage and the weapons system disaster had been there before he’d connected with the AI.
Paige appeared in the doorway, a can of Cherry Pepsi in one hand and a regular Pepsi in the other. “Kong texted me, he said you wanted sodas.”
“He’s not out there?” Lark asked.
His sister shook her head. “The General called him away. He said he’d be back as soon as he could.”
Absently, Grady accepted the can his sister handed him and cracked the tab. Lark did the same, and Grady watched her take a drink, watched her throat work as she swallowed a few times, enthralled by the sight.
“Okay,” she said a bit breathlessly as she lowered the can and Grady forced himself to shake off his fascination and focus.
“I’m ready. Explain. Who’s ORION?”
“Not a who. A what. ORION stands for Overwatch Resurrection Intelligence and Operations Network. It’s the AI that controls and monitors the Resurrection soldiers.”
With a grimace, he shook his head. “During the Ohio op, I connected with it, tried to shut it down but it took control of me and shut me down instead. With everything that happened after, I didn’t give it a thought, but I think the connection is still open.”
“How do you know? Did something happen?”
“I’ve been having dreams since we got back, or, at least, I thought they were dreams, but now I think it’s been trying to communicate with me.”
“What’s it saying?”
“Up until today, it was just calling to me, wanting me to find it.”
Lark nodded thoughtfully. “And today? What changed?”
“It wanted to know why I disengaged my automated weapons system,” Grady told her and then filled her in on the rest.
“It wants autonomy,” she murmured before shaking herself. “We need to tell the General in case this is a security risk.” Taking his hand, she laced her fingers through his. “We’ll figure this out.”
Grady didn’t doubt her. Since meeting Lark, she’d helped him figure out a lot of things. Including his desire to keep her by his side – always.
The General entered the recovery room with his usual determined stride. His face was grim, lined with strain until his eyes met hers. His expression softened, a hint of fatherly tenderness peeking through. “Good to see you back on your feet, soldier.” His eyes twinkled with amusement as he took in her semi-prone position next to Grady. “Sort of.”
She’d seen him soon after she’d awoken from the coma, but with as many people who had come to visit her that first day, it had been brief. According to Perrin, he’d come by again but she’d been sleeping and he hadn’t wanted to disturb her. She’d have to make time for him later, not only to give him a status update as her commanding officer but because of who they were to each other beyond that.
“You wanted to see me?” he asked, turning his attention to Grady. “Kong said the procedure went off without a hitch. Is that not the case?”
“I still need to test things to be sure, but that’s not why we wanted to speak to you. I believe Resurrection’s AI is in my head.” Grady gave the General a concise report of what he’d been experiencing since returning from the Ohio op, and what ORION being in his head could mean for Black Bay. “With access to my ocular and auditory upgrades, it will know everything I’ve seen, every conversation I’ve had since returning to Black Bay.”
The General bit out a harsh expletive and scrubbed his hand over the lower half of his face. “Hell. Can you shut it down?”
“I don’t know. I have to find the connection first, see if I can sever it.”
