War Dog

Chapter 85

"Dr. Cooper, what are the chances that other labs are going to be able to synthesise monstrous hybrids?" Captain Price asked, elbows on the desk as he watched Dr. Cooper carefully. 

"What do you mean monstrous? Most would already consider hybrids monsters." He gestured at me, sitting on the floor with my head on Ghosts thigh as he sat next to Price, hand casually sliding down my neck. "Look at Ceri. She's not even meant to do what she can do. Most would definitely call her a monster."

"He means resident evil style monsters, Charlie," I quip back without opening my eyes. 

"Well, that would depend on the access they have to genetic testing materials and what they're doing with the experiments. If all they're doing is releasing them without intent to control, I'd say it's possible."

"Is it possible to achieve hybrids without the use of the bond?" Gaz asks from the corner he was leaning up against, arms crossed. 

"Of course, you've been on the other end of such hybrids. Hell, again," he gestures at me. "One of your very own hybrids was one such case."

"Don't be coy, Dr. Cooper. You know he means a fully functioning hybrid." Shane's voice is pleasant, almost playful. 

Dr. Cooper sighs, leaning back in his chair, pen tapping the desk as he looks over all of us with a careful eye. 

"Why do I get the feeling you already know the answer to that question?" His voice is careful and measured but I can feel his eyes most keenly on me. I ignored him completely, my attention purely on the scratches Ghost was freely handing out today. My tail whacked the floor rhythmically with enjoyment. "Nevertheless, yes it is possible to create a functioning hybrid without the bond."

"Why was the bond created in tha first place?" Soap asks sitting in the third chair on the other side of Price. He'd sat casually, one ankle over his knee leaning back in his chair like he owned the office space we were in. 

"That's confidential," Dr. Cooper replied. 

"Funny, because we have the clearance to any and all documentation required for mission specs." Price slipped a hand into the thin laptop case he'd bought with him pulling out a Manila folder. He casually threw it on Dr. Coopers desk, letting it slide across the top until Dr. Cooper stopped its slow momentum. He picked it up, flicked through the file and sighed. 

"Very well." He paused, gathering his thoughts before speaking again. "The bond was primarily created as the Australian Government did not want to be creating hybrids that had free will. The bond allows them to still function in every day situations, but when push comes to shove their handlers can reign them in. I'm sure you've seen Ceri and Shane in action. A human could theoretically stop them, but it would take a lot of damage. Either the hybrid will destroy the human, or the soldier shoots the hybrid in the head. The bond means even if the hybrid does go off the rails there is an easy way to control them."

"Och, like wee Marcel last night..." Soap mutters. Dr. Cooper looks at Soap his interest piqued. 

"What happened with Marcel last night?"

"Little shit thought he still had a chance with Ceri." Shane's voice was irritated. "By the way sis, what dis you mean last night about protecting him?"

Ghosts fingers stilled against me as he felt me freeze. His reaction was a lot faster than mine. "Just that he got a lot of issues from the other hybrids. They didn't like that he was bonded and still hanging around, so Wolf stepped in a lot on his behalf." The lie was smooth, and considering he had no idea why he was covering for me he did. It wouldn't shake Shane off the scent, but it would look awkward as hell if Shane pushed it any further. He acquiesced and settled back in. I noticed him signalling to Gaz discreetly using their own finger signals.