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

The ride up ten floors was excruciatingly slow. Ancient gears and cables drew the stuffy box along the shaft at a rate far below the speed more modern buildings were capable of. Travis shifted from foot to foot in an impatient dance to his right. It was highly distracting, but Virgil was of a similar mind, though not enough to spur motion.


As soon as the doors crawled open, his partner shot out into the barren hallway. Doors hid the rooms that lined both sides of the pathway, but Virgil and Travis wanted the closed door at the far end of the hall. The rest didn’t matter at all.


Before either his omega or himself could announce their presence, Mr. Boone opened his office door and stepped into the corridor, silent and baleful.


Mayor Boone was an athlete gone to seed, in Virgil’s estimation. Broad, but paunchy from a sedentary and luxurious middle age, sharp blue eyes glared from a surprisingly open face. “You’re here for me, I assume.”


Chapter 25