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Father Royce reclined in his seat, contentment fastened on his face, and traveled his gaze around the table. “My, that was delicious,” he said. “So nice to have family around.”
Neither Kent nor his brother, who was going by Jack, appeared to express anything at that statement. Both had eaten. She suspected, out of politeness. Neither one had acted particularly hungry.
“All this chatter has quite worn me out,” Father Royce continued. “I think I’ll turn in early if that’s okay with you?”
Lexie nodded. “It’s fine. There are services tomorrow, and they always tire you. You’ll need your rest.”
Father Royce stood to his feet. “I love the Lord’s Day. Spending time in God’s presence is a joy. But you’re right, my dear. It’s long, and sometimes, I want to be like the teenagers and skip out early.” He chuckled when he said it, shuffling from the room.
Lexie switched her gaze to the mess on the table. “I think you two need to learn to do dishes.”
“Do what with the dishes?” Kent asked.
She smiled wide and rose. “Up, both of you, and gather as many as you can, then follow me into the kitchen.”
Obedient, they trailed behind her. She motioned toward the kitchen counter. “Set the leftover food bowls there, the empty plates and silverware in the sink. Then fill it with hot water.”
She had to keep herself from laughing while they washed. Neither Kent nor Jack complained about the work, and she’d suspected they wouldn’t. But, the very idea these two “ultimate weapons” were reduced to washing a sink full of dishes amused her.
Later, everything dried, she had an idea. “We’ll watch a movie.” Not a luxury she often gave herself. Somehow, watching a secular movie in the manse seemed wrong, but on occasion, she made an exception.
Rounding them up in front of her, she shooed them into the living room and captured the remote.
“We have only to decide what kind of movie to watch,” she said. Selecting the entertainment channel, she flipped down to a list of new releases. “We could watch a drama or romance ... or ... here, this one has a little of everything in it ... romance, drama, action.” Selecting play, she took a seat on the couch between Kent and his brother.
The opening scene brightened on the screen. Two cars raced around a curve. Tires squealing, engines revving, they flew down some California street, the foremost driver bent on escape. His eyes wide, he looked continually in his mirror. He made a right-hand turn into a more congested area, but boxed in by a semi and a pickup truck, panicked and dashed from his vehicle. He weaved through the cars in front of him and up the incline of a bridge, his pursuer following. A sequence of amazing stunts came next, the chase ending with the man dropping off the bridge into the water far below.
“It makes no sense,” Kent said.
Lexie hit pause. “What makes no sense?”
He pointed at the screen. “It would have been better to confront the other man. He obviously weighs at least seventy-five pounds more and, given his strength, could successfully defend himself.”
“I suppose,” she said, “but then, he wouldn’t meet the girl.”
She hit play and the scene changed. It was some time after dark. The man pressed a woman against the wall in the backroom of a bar. His face intent, he kissed her, and the scene descended into a lot of animate noises.
“Why are they doing that?” Jack asked, his face peculiar.
Again, Lexie hit pause. “Well, your brother and I already had this conversation, but I suppose I can repeat it ...”
“I’ll do it,” Kent said.
Curious, she stared at him and then nodded.
“This looks like lust to me,” Kent said, “which means they both plan to reproduce simply because it feels good. It also means they don’t go to church or, at least, not seriously. He’s not wearing a ring.”
Lexie withheld a smile, clearing her throat. “But she is, and I think, actually, she’s married to someone else.”
Kent grew perplexed. “Then why is she with him? She should be with her spouse.”
“People cheat all the time,” she replied. “For one reason or another, they find something in someone else that makes them break their vows.”
“But to break your vow is ...”
“Not logical,” she finished for him. “No, and I’d never do that if I were married, nor, I hope, would my husband. Being faithful is one of the best human traits. You care for someone, and you don’t want to hurt their feelings. In fact, you go out of your way to prevent hurting them, and, instead, make them happy.”
“This lust,” Jack said, giving no appearance he’d been listening. “What’s that feel like?”
Lexie could hardly stop her laugh at Kent’s response. She muffled the sound, clamping her mouth shut with the fingers of one hand.
“It’s like having all your circuits overheat at once,” Kent responded.
Jack stared across her at his brother, his eyes spread. “Why would anyone do that on purpose?”
Kent glanced at her then, and draping an arm around her, tucked her to his side. “Only one reason,” he said. “It feels good, and you have to experience that to know it. But ... love is better.”
“What’s love?” Jack asked.
Kent’s eyes framed on hers, he answered; and she might have imagined it, but seemed like her face reflected there.
“It’s being human,” he replied.
Closing the bedroom door behind him, 653 faced his brother, one hand on his hip. “Why are you really here?” he asked. “And don’t tell me they sent you.”
852’s face didn’t alter much from his usual blank expression, yet 653 could still see the humor on it. Nineteen and barely over the edge of adulthood, of all his brothers, 852 was the one most likely to do things on his own.
“I volunteered to come,” 852 replied. “Your heartbeat skipped, and we saw they were concerned. I said it’d be better for me to talk to you before they did.”
So both sides had noticed. It’d occurred to him they might. But the Organization knew he was capable of caring for himself, and 852’s handler that he’d report in if needed, so he’d hoped no one would respond.
“I don’t need a tune-up,” 653 replied.
“Is it the human woman’s fault?” 852 asked. “She is unable to control herself, and it has affected you.”
Though the statement was truthful and not meant in criticism, 653’s insides heated, and he curled his hand into a fist. “She is emotional, yes,” he replied.
852 tilted his head. “So are you.”
Surprised, 653 sagged a bit, his fingers flattening. His brother saw it in him? This was the second time he’d reacted emotionally without thought. Being angry had no more part in him than sadness or happiness.
“If they knew, they’d call you off this duty,” 852 continued. “But I’m more interesting in how you got this way.”
“We are part human,” 653 replied.
“Advanced, yes,” his brother stated. “But emotion has no part in us.”
653’s face warmed. “Emotion has a part in being human. Spend one day with Lexie, and you’ll realize that. They are largely controlled by their feelings.”
They both fell silent for a time. Then his thoughts shifted. “She says we ought to think for ourselves.”
852’s eyebrows rose. “Why, when we have all the direction we need?”
“Because we’re capable. Because we can do good that way.”
“We do our best ‘good’ by following orders.”
653 looked at his brother for a moment and then strode over to the window. “It’s not like you to argue right and wrong. I can recall many things you did that went outside of the rules. The bus incident, for one.”
Hearing a laugh come from his brother, 653 turned. “Laughing? Who taught you that?”
852 shrugged, the smile on his face obvious this time. “As you said, we’re human. It’s my flaw, one they’ve tried to correct. And failed. I hide it most of the time.”
653 gazed, unmoving, at his brother, knowledge forming inside. “You’re here for fun,” he said. “You were bored, and that is more like you.”
852’s expression said it was true. He was always up for a bit of sport, poking his nose where it didn’t belong. His being here was no exception.
“I’ll tolerate it,” 653 continued. “But you have to make yourself useful. I’m supposed to be the gardener, so you can help. Plus, Father Royce has to be guarded. Use your eyes for me and your ears.”
A knock turned him around. “Kent?” Lexie called through the wall.
Without looking at his brother, 653 opened the door and gazed down at her. He exited, shutting it behind him, and without pause, lifted her from the floor and set her on the counter. Pressing his mouth to hers, he curved her in his arms, and her hands slid around his neck. His heartbeat sped.
The bedroom door cracked behind him. He ignored it, reaching instead for the tail of her shirt and lifting it over her head.
Her eyes sparkled in the darkness. “You’re not supposed to do that. Remember the rules?”
He remembered, but found his desire to know more overwhelming than her words.
“Tell me what I have to do to in reparation,” he said, “and I’ll do it.”
“Reparation? You know that’s exactly what many humans think as well ... that they can behave anyway they want then make an apology and it all goes away. But the strongest people act right from the beginning.”
His fingers trailing down her throat and over her curves, he paused midway. “You asked me to become human. What would a human male do right now?”
Her lips curved. “Depends. Some would hand me back my shirt. Others would continue on.”
“And what would you do?” he asked.
“What I want to do and what’s right are two different things.” Taking hold of her shirt, she shook it out and put it on, flipping her hair over her collar. “I didn’t come here for this anyway, though I appreciate the kiss.”
“You make me want to.”
She hopped down, her bare feet slapping lightly on the tile. “Isn’t that something? Mr. Unfeeling wants to feel something ... I came to talk to you about tomorrow. It’s Sunday, and Father Royce will attended services. I typically go with him. You are not obligated to go, except I figured you’d want to watch over us, and now, there’s Jack, as well. Plus, you might learn something about faith and God.”
He gave no response one way or the other. She was right. He had to watch over Father Royce. But what that had to do with learning about God, he didn’t know. He’d studied many religions simply to understand the people who believed in them. In his mind, hers wasn’t any less or more. But the fact it was hers made it matter somewhat, and that, in itself, was a sign of the change in him because he shouldn’t care what she believed. Except, now, he did.
“I’m going to bed,” she said, “but I wanted you to know. No going out at midnight and digging holes.”
He nodded. No need. He’d fixed the plumbing.
“Goodnight.” She made a backwards wave and sauntered out.
He became conscious of his brother at his elbow seconds later. “Can I kiss her?” he asked.
653 turned his head. “No. She’s mine. Find your own.”
A woman in a dress was a beautiful thing. The filmy fabric caressing her every curve, 653 spent the greater portion of the service distracted, his mind going places it probably shouldn’t. Until the speaker mentioned “the Lord’s army” and he refocused. He soaked in every word, more and more questions filling his brain.
After lunch, he could no longer contain them. “The Lord has a modern-day army?”
Lexie paused, a dirty plate in her hand, bubbles trailing off the edge. “Do you believe in the supernatural?” she asked. “As in, things controlled only by God?”
“God isn’t necessary to what we do,” 852 said.
She switched her eyes to his face. “God is in control of everything even when we think He isn’t. Take you and your brother being here, for instance. Man sent you, but God orchestrated it, whether they did or didn’t know.”
“So God sent men to kill Professor Hedgewick?” 653 asked.
She snorted. “No, that would be the devil.”
“Then the devil controls God.”
Her unhappiness seemed to expand. Dropping the dish in the sink, she revolved. “That’s not right either. Listen, you’ve read the Bible, so you know how Satan deceived man in the form of a snake. That started the downward spiral of all of mankind. Suddenly, everyone was acting outside of the rules.”
“Why make rules if you’re not going to obey them?” 852 leaned his elbows on the counter, his ankles crossed.
He made a good point.
“God wanted people to obey voluntarily,” she replied, “He wanted people who obeyed because they loved Him, not because they had to.”
“God knew love?” 653 asked this more for himself, but felt Lexie and his brother’s gazes strong on his face. “God is love, and in Him is no darkness,” he quoted immediately.
She smiled. “That makes love pretty important.”
It did. It made love part of the rules for law and order. But in his world, that wasn’t ever taught. Law and order happened because you followed all the stipulations given you without question, without doubt. You knew what you could do and you did it.
“Where does the army come in?” he asked.
“Ephesians six,” she replied. “‘Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord, and in the power of his might. Put on the whole armor of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.’”
“Wherefore take unto you the whole armor of God, that ye may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand. Stand therefore ...” He quoted the next verse.
“An army of people ruled by love,” she said. “Jesus, the Savior, said we were to love our neighbor, and the Scripture later speaks against hatred for our neighbor. It says our love is a sign of our obedience because that’s what He would do.” She pointed one finger toward the ceiling. “Love is part of our battle ... God’s love, not lust, not the thing that makes a man cheat on his wife, but the one that makes him commit to her and his children.”
“So I shouldn’t feel anything when I kiss you because that’s wrong?”
Her smile seemed to dance and sway in her eyes. “Attraction in itself isn’t wrong, nor is kissing when it’s mutual and both the man and woman aren’t committed to anyone else. That’s what makes a couple choose to be together and lead, eventually, to love.”
“If I love you, then,” 653 said, “I’ll marry you.”
“You can’t marry her. She’s human.”
653 glanced at his brother. “So am I.”
“But it isn’t done.”
“Read me one rule against it,” he said, his voice sharp. “I’ve spent two nights scanning all I’ve learned and nowhere is it written a cyborg cannot marry a human. Nowhere is it written a cyborg can’t love a human. We’re indoctrinated with principles and scientific facts from birth. We’re trained in combat, warfare, and weapons. We’re taught book knowledge of human government, social structure, and pages and pages of its history, leaving out any of the factors that make all of it work. What if she’s right?” 653 waved one arm outward. “What if her God sent me here because I’m supposed to love her?”
“They will have you deactivated.”
The spark in him roared upward, an impenetrable flame, and, enraged, 653 hauled his brother into the air and slammed him into the wall. Lexie shrieked and ran to his side, tugging at his sleeve, but he held 852 there, dangling overhead.
“You breathe one word of this, and you will disappear ... permanently,” he said.
“Kent, no, you can’t kill him. That’s wrong,” Lexie pleaded.
He gazed down at her. “I’ve killed before.”
She looked stunned then, her skin washing pale, a tremor forming in her hands.
“He’s killed before.” He jerked his chin toward his brother. “It’s part of our job.”
Her legs wobbled, and she threw one hand to the counter, leaning over. “I’m asking you to let Jack go,” she said. She lifted her gaze. “If you love him.”
He stared at her for a moment and then transferred his eyes to 852. “I must love you, and I must also love him? Even when he threatens who you say God wants me to be?”
“Who God wants you to be you will happen as long as you strive for it,” she said. “God is stronger than hate, stronger than the devil and sickness and whatever else Satan tries to use. Ultimately, our prayer and dedication bring to pass what God desires in us, whether Jack tells or not.”
“I didn’t say I would tell,” 852 remarked. “But right about now, they are looking at your chart. They’re going to want to know why it spiked.”
653 lowered his brother to the floor and released him. His fingers aching, he curled them into a fist. “I was angry,” he said.
852 nodded sharp. “I saw that, but it isn’t allowed.”