Deadly Betrayal by Maria Hammarblad Read Free Book Online Page B

but not that.”
    I’d never gotten around to asking what he did in his old life, before fleeing Adam’s mother and slipping over on the wrong side of the law. Had they made a living from cybernetic engineering?
    As soon as the door closed behind him I imagined metallic feet clicking against the floor, sneaking up on me. With John around, the ship was perfect. On my own it was much too large and creepy.
    Should I go to the bridge?
    No, there wasn’t anything for me there.
    I headed for the relative safety of my room, forcing myself not to run. When the lift stopped on my floor and the doors slid open I expected an entire horde of aliens to be waiting. Telling myself the fears didn’t make sense didn’t stop me from cowering in a corner in the elevator, just in case. Then, I ran the few steps to my door and made sure to lock it.
    “Just until John comes back.”
    Talking to myself didn’t make me feel any better. Once John returned I could cling to him until this bout of paranoia passed, but he could be gone for a while.
    Each minute took on the length of an hour and I started to doubt he’d ever come back. Maybe something happened to him. I wasn’t the best choice for a rescue mission, but if he didn’t show up soon I’d have to go look for him.
    I was pretty sure hours passed, and not just in my imagination. Just as I almost persuaded myself to leave my room, go on the station, and try to find him, a heavy hand knocked on the door.
    “Alex, you in there?”
    He was back, thank God. I had forgotten that I locked and ran over to open.
    “Yeah, I’m here. I just got paranoid when you left.”
    The scene outside made me stare. I squinted, but I still saw the same thing. Were there two of him?
    “Brought you something. He insists on talking to you.”
    It was the Adam imposter. How had he found us again? After John’s numerous and erratic course changes?
    He said, “I apologize for missing our previous appointment. I was unavoidably detained.”
    “How… Where… How did you find us?”
    “May I come in?”
    I sought out John’s eyes in a silent plea for advice and he shrugged. “I figured you need to hear him out and get closure and shit, but if you want me to I’ll throw him out.”
    Closure and shit. He wasn’t as unfazed as he pretended to be.
    I stepped to the side to let them in. Except for John’s perpetual stubble they were eerily alike, just like John and the real Adam had been. Same height, same build, same eyes… John was older, because he was human. Androids don't age.
    If Adam had lived, he would have remained the same forever, but I would be wrinkly and gray one day. We had been able to do everything together except that.
    Adam said, “Can I please have a moment with my wife?”
    Same voice.
    Same thing he would have said.
    I looked at the floor. Strange how I never noticed all the rivets holding the metal together before. Building a spaceship must be a lot of work. Did they do that on a planet or in space?
    Not relevant. I needed to focus.
    Finding us again must have been almost impossible. He sure put a lot of energy into following us around, unless he planted a tracking device on the ship. No, John scanned the hull every time we took off.
    If he wanted to harm me there would have been many opportunities, and I didn’t feel threatened. Sad and skeptical, yes, but not afraid.
    I should hear him out.
    John crossed his arms over his chest and lifted an eyebrow. I needed to make up my mind.
    “It’s okay, I guess.”
    He nodded. “Alright. But Alex, call me the second you need me. Do you want a gun?”
    I shook my head and he scratched his chin, seemingly uncertain about his decision to bring an unknown element to my room.
    “Do you want me to stay outside?”
    “No, I think it will be okay. But thank you.”
    Knowing him, he would probably wait in the corridor for a while anyway, just to make sure I wasn’t screaming for help.
    Adam waited until the door closed behind John.
    “I’m