Second Chance Read Free Page A

to loosen her still-stiff muscles.
    “What do you program the nano-cytes to do?” Alek seemed to be the critic of the two. So far, he’d questioned almost everything she had said, if not verbally, then with those golden eyes.
    “You program them to attack a signal that the ‘infected’ nano-cytes emit. They will treat the changed nano-cytes as a virus, a hostile organism. Whenever they find one, they will destroy the infected nano-cyte without the exchange needed for the ‘virus’ to spread.”
    “How are we supposed to know what signal to target?” Alek raised a brow.
    “Take me to the lab you are using and I’ll help.”
    “You could tell us here,” Darion countered. The suspicion was obvious in his tone of voice and the look in his eyes.
    “It will be show, not tell. The program is complex, but it’s within my nano-cytes and can be transferred to one of yours in code form as First Gen nano-cytes would

10 Second Chance
    swarm and reprogram mine before any transfer could take place. The aggressive nano-bots running through you are definitely not compatible with mine,” Laci sighed and strived for patience. Oh yeah, they have so much in common with the paranoid, ultra-suspicious Second Gen men.
    “Why didn’t you say so before?” Darion firmly grabbed her arm and began pulling her out of the room and down the hallway.
    Laci fumed at being dragged after him like a strayed pet. She was barefoot and naked underneath the short robe and she had to almost jog to keep up with him.
    “You said that the two types of nano-cytes are not compatible. Could your nano-cytes ever accept ours?” Alek followed them, enjoying the view afforded by his position behind them. “And did you know that you have a sweetly curved ass that just begs to be touched?”
    Laci cast a scathing look over her shoulder. She was shocked at the naked hunger on his face. His big hands flexed at his sides. She could easily envision him gripping the globes of her buttocks, stroking them, pulling her against his body. And strangely, she wanted it too. In spite of the uncertainty of the situation, her hands itched to run over his skin. It unnerved her even more.
    Laci forced herself to focus on their question. “One group would overwhelm the other, replacing it. There is currently no middle ground. With time, a hybrid might be possible.” Laci shrugged. Dealing with the creations of Vanya Steryan and others like her took precedence over bridging the gap between the three distinct groups of Arceins. That particular problem would have to wait until peace had been won.
    They tugged Laci into a gray-walled laboratory. Four harried-looking men labored at various stations in the very advanced, well-equipped lab. Laci stared with envy at the machines they were using. One of the technicians glanced over his shoulder and then stood, coming to meet the two men.
    “Jatohn, is there something that you need? We haven’t found a way to stop it yet.” The lab tech who greeted them had very short black hair and curious brown eyes.
    “But we have,” Darion informed him with relish. “This is Laci Trion. Steryan attacked them before she attacked us. Her nano-cytes carry a program to defeat the infected forces.”
    The lab tech’s sharp eyes scrutinized Laci. “You’re sure this will work?” His words were laced with doubt.
    “I’ll need to check the infected nano-cytes to be sure that this is the same thing that attacked my people. If it is the same, you can transfer the program as it is.” Laci gave the tech a frown in return. They had a lab full of advanced equipment and they needed help? If she’d had this equipment, finding the solution would have been simple.
    “And if it’s not?” the tech asked in a snide tone.
    “If it’s not, the changes you’ll have to make will probably be minor. Steryan is predictable and lazy. She wouldn’t have changed it much.” Laci wished she had access

11 Rebecca Airies
    to half the equipment in this lab