Fade To Midnight Read Free

swayed on her feet, gaping. The girl was dressed in the silver spandex jog bra and shorts that Ava had mandated as a uniform for X-Cog test subjects. She liked her girls to look sexy and sharp. But Mandy looked anything but sharp, with drool trailing off her chin.
    The look on the girl’s face disgusted her. She slapped Mandy. The girl stumbled against the table, looking vaguely confused.
    Ava slapped her again, harder. And again. Smack. Smack. Blood trickled from Mandy’s nose, from her split lip. The girl’s hands crept up, tried to cover her face. Ava struck Mandy’s ears, whapped the back of her head, knocking her forward. Mandy thudded heavily to her knees.
    â€œBack off, Av. That’s millions of dollars you’re kicking around.”
    Ava spun around, and shot a poisonous look at the man who had just walked in. “Mind your own fucking business, Des.”
    Desmond jerked his chin towards Mandy. “She is my business.”
    â€œShe’s a worthless piece of shit,” Ava hissed.
    â€œDon’t take your frustration out on her.” Desmond’s arrogant, know-it-all tone made her want to put out one of his bright blue eyes. “You thought that upping the burn would give you more direct control with the crown at a lower dose of the drug. You were wrong. Too bad. Honest mistake. We won’t make it again. Grow up, Ava. Move on.”
    â€œBut the basic idea is sound! Next time, I’ll recalibrate the—”
    â€œNo.” The curt word cut her off. “We reached the point of diminishing returns weeks ago. No more cutting, no more burning.”
    There was no arguing with Des when he got that tone. He was the one with the money, the contacts. He’d funded her whole show, since Dr. O bit the dust. But bumping up against the limits of her power over him made her bad tempered. She kicked Mandy’s buttock viciously. The girl lurched forward with a pathetic grunt. “Don’t lecture me,” she said, sulkily. “I’m the one who’s clubbing with the stinking masses to troll for test subjects! Wasting time I should spend on research, bumping and grinding with Ecstasy whores like her!” She kicked Mandy again, making her whimper. “I need to delegate this tedious shit!”
    â€œI’m trying, babe, but I don’t understand why you’re so set on wiping them. I enjoy crowning the ones who aren’t burned or cut much better. It’s that inner resistance that makes it exciting, you know?”
    Ava snorted. “It’s not about excitement. You’ve never tried to crown a subject into anything more complex than sucking on your dick. Try making one of them type a string of code, and see how far you get. You can compel a girl to blow you by putting a twenty dollar gun to her head. You don’t need a ten million dollar X-Cog crown. I want to market X-Cog to defense contractors. Understand? Are you with me here?”
    â€œFellatio is actually a pretty complex motor process.” Des sounded faintly hurt. “Particularly when you’re hung.”
    Ava rolled her eyes. “Please. Leave the neuroscience to me.”
    Des waved that away. “I’ve got good news and bad news.”
    â€œI don’t want to hear the bad news,” she said pettishly.
    â€œThen I’ll tell you the good news, first.” He nudged Mandy thoughtfully with his toe. “We need a steady supply of high quality, hand-selected lab rats. We also need someone to deal with our disposal issue. Remember Tom Bixby, from the Haven?”
    Ava grimaced. Bixby had been one of Dr. O’s rich pets. One who’d survived and thrived after Dr. O’s Brain Potential Program. Off to Harvard with Dessie. She still remembered his hot eyes, his groping hands. “An arrogant prick, as I recall. That’s your brilliant idea?”
    â€œHe runs his own private military company. Bixby Enterprises. It’s gotten