In a future where the United States is slowly rebuilding itself, Omega Travis Danten is a big city cop sent to a seemingly desolate city on the edge of the Waste. This desert is full of undesirables, and it’s only a matter of time before they wreak havoc. But, Omegas are always assigned Alphas, and his new partner’s job is to protect him.<br><br>But SdAI Alpha Virgil is not at all amused with the partner who chose him. Travis is willful and naive to the dangers a homicide detective faces here, and it makes Virgil’s job that much harder. And Travis, of course, is human and develops feelings, feelings that go beyond the rules about Omega/Alpha partnerships.<br><br>Travis and Virgil have to find common ground, find a killer, and find space for each other in their own hearts, even if one is artificial.

Artificial Heart

Travis finished his visual check. Must have jumped at the dark. “Nothing. Felt like we were being watched, but I don’t see anyone around.”


Frowning faintly, Virgil’s eyes lit up like bright green stars and he checked the surroundings, probably with sophisticated monitoring systems that Travis could never use. He didn’t know the exact details, but his partner’s technological abilities seemed impressive, from what little Virgil had explained to him.


Virgil shook his head as soon as he finished. “I can find nothing.”


Great. He really wasjumping at shadows. Hopefully, it wasn’t the case that affected him so quickly. Maybe it was just the newness of it all. Burn out happened to all Homicide detectives eventually, but he thought he could hack it longer than a couple of weeks. This was unbelievable.


The heavy door behind them opened a scant inch and, Travis guessed, the assistant manager’s face peeked from the crack. “Can I help you?”


Chapter 14