Captured (The Prometheus Project Book 2) by Douglas E. Richards Page B

ever-moving pincers. They continued pouring from the floor; a ravenous, unstoppable black wave of destruction.
    The soldiers began to panic at what they thought was a deadly threat more horrible than any they had ever faced. They were in the soldiering business and were fully prepared to die, but not by having their flesh picked clean from their bones in seconds by thousands and thousands of razor-sharp teeth.
    Ryan and Regan had been ready for this moment. With the appearance of the nanobots their captors forgot about them entirely. Ryan slid across the floor, completelyignoring the tiny black machines, and stopped just behind Carl. Regan did the same, stopping behind Miguel. Using their knives, they immediately went to work on the prisoners’ plasticuffs, sawing away at the hardened plastic with all of their strength.
    The mercenaries fired wildly into the swarm with no effect. The relentless insect army just kept coming, melting away every piece of glass in its path. After a few seconds, the shooting stopped as each soldier realized it was hopeless. They couldn’t possibly kill enough of these bugs to delay their advance for even an instant.
    Panicked, the soldiers dropped their guns and began looking for an escape route.
    Ryan continued to saw furiously through the plasticuffs around Carl’s wrists. In seconds Carl’s hands would be free, and while the intruders were panicked and distracted, Carl would have his choice of their abandoned weapons. While Regan wasn’t as strong as her brother, she was making great progress freeing Miguel.
    The plan was working perfectly! Ryan was certain their victory was assured.
    But then again, Ryan couldn’t have possibly predicted what was about to happen next.

C HAPTER 13
Plan B
    T he nanobots began retreating!
    Impossible. This had never happened before. But impossible or not, they began melting back into the floor with great speed, like oil pouring down a drain.
    The mercenaries quickly regained their composure as the nanobot threat dissipated. In seconds the mercs had realized what the kids were up to and yanked them off the ground, effortlessly disarming them at the same time.
    Two other mercs pulled zip-strips from their belts, and after two quick zipping sounds Carl and Miguel were bound as securely as they had been before the rescue attempt.
    Ryan was furious! How had this happened?
    When the nanobots knew damage was being donefor experimental purposes, as when his father had cut holes in the orange ceramic wall, they would not emerge and they would not repair further damage to the object. This is why they didn’t repair the wall after Major Manning’s rifle shot had shattered a portion of it. But once they emerged—as long as they weren’t actively blocked from the object they were trying to repair—they had always finished the job. Why had they retreated halfway through? They had never done this before. Never! Ryan couldn’t believe it. His plan had been seconds away from success.
    Even more unusual, about ten of the tiny mechanics had stopped dead in their tracks in the middle of the floor. What was going on?
    Major Manning walked slowly to the motionless nanobots and knelt down. He picked up one of the tiny robots, held it up, and examined it. He then turned in disgust to his fellow soldiers. “You men are pathetic,” he roared. “You call yourselves professionals! These things were just here to repair the globes, you idiots. Am I the only one who remembered Tezoc’s briefing? Am I! Tezoc specifically warned us about this, remember? He told us that when something in the city is damaged it sends out a swarm of tiny robots to make repairs. Tezoc even told us they would look deadly but not to worry. Is this ringing a bell in any of your thick, worthless skulls?”
    The expressions on the mercs’ faces made it clearthat they did now remember and were embarrassed by their reaction.
    “This was their plan all along,” continued the major. “They counted on us