The Cyber Chronicles IV - Cyborg (30 page)

"You've got
what you wanted. Leave her alone," Kole said.

Gaylor
approached Tassin. "No, I don't think I will. She's a choice bit of
strumpet, and when I've finished with her, the flesh merchants may
be interested in what's left."

"You can't do
that!"

"Oh, but I
can. I have the upper hand. Note the lasers pressed to your heads,
dear boy. Does that give you a clue?" He turned to one of his men.
"Get the stuff loaded."

"You still
want me to take the shipment?" Tarl asked, clearly surprised.

"Why not?
These are just riffraff who wandered in from the forest, nothing to
do with you. So you gave them food and shelter. I won't hold it
against you. It made them dead easy to find." He noticed Sabre's
hands jerk and frowned. "A grade C? Mandure said he was a grade A.
Lying bastard." He turned to Tassin. "Now I'm disappointed, and I
do so hate to be disappointed. I hope you're more worthwhile."

Gaylor swung
away. "You men, see to the loading, and handcuff our unwelcome
guest. Lock him in a cabin. Cyber, stand up. Command privilege,
password moonlight, name Ambrey. Voice imprint."

A tall,
grizzled soldier spoke a few random words, and Sabre said, "Voice
imprint accepted."

"Stay here and
obey Ambrey. Dudson, bring her. If anyone tries anything stupid,
kill her."

The soldier
who held a laser to Tassin's head shoved her to the door, keeping a
hold on her collar and a wary eye on Kole. Tarl stood aside to
allow Gaylor to precede Tassin and her captor, casting Sabre a
nervous glance.

Ambrey went
over to Kole and snapped a pair of handcuffs onto his wrists. A
soldier pushed Kole out, and Ambrey glanced back at Sabre.

"Watch the
captain; make sure he doesn't try anything stupid."

"Understood."

As the door
slid shut behind them, Tarl turned to Sabre, raising his hands. "I
had nothing to do with this, I swear."

"How did they
know I couldn't protect Tassin?"

"They saw you
on the internal security cameras. You're unarmed, and with the drip
and everything, they thought you were incapacitated, I guess."

Sabre shoved
him against the wall, clamping his throat to it. "You'd better be
telling the truth."

"Check your
bio scanners," Tarl said in a strangled voice. "And you don't scare
me."

Sabre glanced
inward at the scanners, which revealed no tell-tale signs of
deception. Tarl pried at his hand, and rubbed his throat when Sabre
released him.

"What are you
going to do?"

"That depends
on how much time Tassin has before that pig makes good on his
threats," Sabre said.

"He won't rush
it. He thinks he has culture, but he's almost as bad as
Mandure."

"And you do
business with him."

"Hey, a man
with a Myon Two death sentence hanging over his head has very
little choice, you know."

Sabre nodded,
frowning. "Then I'll go to his mansion with his men and free
her."

"He must have
more than twenty cybers."

"How many does
he have in his bedroom when he's... entertaining?"

"How the hell
should I know?"

Sabre looked
vague, his eyes unfocussed. "The men are in the hold, and Kole's
locked in cabin three, alone."

Tarl went over
to a screen on the wall and pressed a key on the pad beside it. An
image of the hold appeared, where all four men unloaded boxes from
three anti-gravity sleds. He tapped another key, and the image
changed to one of Kole in a cabin, trying to free himself from the
handcuffs. Sabre led the way to the cabin, and Tarl used his codes
to open the door. Kole looked up with a wary expression that
changed to grim satisfaction when Sabre entered.

"Can you get
these damned things off me?" He turned his back, and Sabre gripped
the short chain, snapping it with a jerk. Kole swung around.
"Right, get your weapons, let's take care of those guys and go
after Tassin."

Sabre shook
his head. "Bad plan. Gaylor took the vehicle, his mansion is too
far away to reach on foot before nightfall, and it's got more
security than a bank.”

“
How the hell do you know that?”

Sabre tapped
the brow band. “GPS, and security info from Myon Two. The vehicle
will return to fetch the men, and I'll go back with them and get
her."

"Alone?"

"I don't see
how you can come with me, and if you did, you'd just get in the
way."

"Gaylor
probably has an army at his mansion."

Sabre nodded.
"And he thinks I'm his now."

"Right. But
it's still risky. I could help."

"I doubt it.
You pretend to be a prisoner, and when the men leave, Tarl will get
the ship ready for an emergency take-off. When I return, we'll want
to leave in a hurry." Sabre glanced around sharply, winced and
rubbed his head.

"Are you sure
you're up to it?"

"I'll have to
be, wont' I?"

"What about
the money? Can you get that too? We're going to need it."

"I'll see what
I can do."

"Let's get out
of here before someone checks on us," Tarl advised.

Sabre followed
him to the bridge, detouring to collect his weapons and don his
armour, clipping the helmet to the holder on his hip. After fifteen
minutes, Ambrey appeared in the doorway.

"Right, it's
stowed. Lord Gaylor wants you off world right away. Get going."

Tarl touched a
few buttons, and a faint hum came from deep in the ship's
bowels.

Ambrey’s eyes
raked Sabre’s armour. "Cyber, come with me."

Sabre followed
him out to an air-car, where the rest of the men waited. The car
speeded over the forest for more than an hour before a sprawling
complex of white marble buildings came into view, set in park-like
gardens replete with fountains, lakes and sports fields. Lord
Gaylor, it seemed, entertained himself royally when he was not
kidnapping young women. Sabre tried not to think about what might
be happening to Tassin. The air-car landed in a vast courtyard that
trees growing through holes in the mosaic brick paving shaded.
Dozens of buildings surrounded it, including three massive hangars,
two of which were large enough to house space faring ships, two
long rows of stables, what appeared to be a zoo, four clusters of
semi-detached cottages, a storehouse, gymnasium, games’ rooms,
workshops, two barracks, a factory and an indoor arena. The men
disembarked, and Ambrey turned to him.

"Your barracks
are over there. Go eat and rest."

Sabre headed
towards the squat building Ambrey indicated, scanning the rest of
the compound. Hundreds of life signs moved around the buildings,
including many animals, but the stone prevented him from scanning
the interiors. He searched for the mostly likely place that Gaylor
would reside, deciding on a palatial structure to his left with a
pink crystal dome and gilt doors.

In the
barracks, five cybers rested on hard, narrow cots and twelve
caskets were stacked against the far wall. He helped himself to a
meal from the cyber ration dispenser, mindful of Tarl's advice.
Sitting on one of the spare bunks, he forced himself to eat the
revolting grey paste, its taste bringing back unpleasant memories.
Then he stretched out in an identical position to the rest of the
cybers and closed his eyes. The memories plagued him; flashes of
vivid images so real that he could not help reacting to them, his
reflexes automatic.

Chapter Sixteen

Sabre only
waited half an hour before he rose and quit the barracks, just
enough time for the excitement to die down and the men who had gone
to the ship to disperse and find other duties. Cybers did nothing
without orders, so no one challenged him on his way through Lord
Gaylor's palace, which put Mandure's mansion to shame. Bright,
plant-filled atriums joined long, wide corridors with translucent
roofs, open doors giving access to opulent lounges, indoor pool
rooms, recreation rooms filled with VR booths and game screens,
saunas, massage parlours, aviaries, butterfly houses and even what
looked like an aquarium. Finding Tassin would be almost impossible
in the warren of passages and rooms, so he stopped beside a human
guard, who turned to him in surprise.

"Lord Gaylor's
location?"

The guard’s
brows rose. "He's busy. What do you want with him?"

"Urgent
message."

The man
hesitated, and then shrugged. "He's in the peacock room, up the
stairs at the end of the corridor, fifth door on the left."

Sabre marched
off down the corridor, following the guard’s directions to a pair
of polished ebony doors inlaid with mother-of-pearl. A pair of
cybers stood outside them, and turned their heads towards him. He
stopped and became immobile, scanning the room's interior through
the doors. Two life signs moved around in a circle, and a
structural scan showed a four-poster bed between them. He prompted
the cyber for the use of its sensitive audio pickups, and received
the conversation.

"I'd rather
die than do what you want," Tassin said.

"That would be
a waste. Believe me, you won't get better treatment anywhere else.
Be nice to me, and I might keep you for a few weeks. I might even
dress you up and take you to a few parties, where another lord
might offer for you."

"You call
yourself a lord, but you're nothing but a trumped up commoner with
too much money. You don't have a drop of noble blood in your
veins."

"Money buys
everything, including nobility."

Tassin
snorted. "Only the trappings of it. A cyber is nobler than
you."

"Is that what
you used yours for? No wonder he looked so drained, you little
hussy."

"You
foul-minded bastard." A loud crash followed, from which Sabre
deduced that Tassin had found something to throw.

Gaylor cursed.
"That was a priceless vase, you bitch!"

"It looked
like cheap trash, like the rest of your possessions, and you, for
that matter."

Another tinkle
of shattering glass was followed by a string of curses from Gaylor,
and more smashing sounds, which told Sabre that Tassin had found
more ammunition. He hid a smile as Gaylor's curses rose to shrieks
of rage, and even more crashes followed. Tassin had evidently found
herself in a treasure trove of expensive missiles, and used them to
good effect. Deciding to make his move before things got too rough,
he stepped towards the doors. The cyber on his right thrust out an
arm, barring his way.

"No
entry."

"Urgent
message for Lord Gaylor, priority one."

"No
entry."

Sabre cursed
inwardly, wondering what would gain him entry. "Message pertains to
Lord Gaylor's safety."

The cyber's
brow band flashed. "Lord Gaylor is in no danger."

"Not yet. It
is imminent."

"Of what
nature?"

"An
assassin."

The cyber
turned his head. "Perimeter is secure. No alarms. No one is with
Lord Gaylor except the female, status unknown."

"Lord Gaylor
should be informed of the possible danger."

The cyber's
brow band flashed again, but, before he could reply, a string of
crashes from within the suite was followed by a roar of rage from
Gaylor.

"That's it!
You're going to pay for this, you bitch! Cybers, get in here!"

The cybers
turned in unison and pushed open the doors. Sabre followed them
into a sumptuous room decorated in cream and puce, with numerous
little carved tables covered in delicate china brick-a-brack
against the walls, several richly upholstered gold-trimmed brown
chairs and patterned rugs scattered on the polished grey marble
floor. Some snooty looking portraits, doubtless Gaylor’s stuck up
ancestors, glared down their noses from ornate gold frames on the
walls. The bed he had seen on the structural scanners was a lavish
affair hung with pink silk and covered with chartreus satin
cushions, and still remained between the two antagonists. Gaylor
swung around, his face mottled with rage. A pair of ridiculously
tight breeches hugged his pudgy form, and a ruffled shirt hung open
to the waist, revealing thick, matted black chest hair. A riding
crop dangled from one hand, and he did not seem to notice Sabre
enter with his guards, but pointed at Tassin.

"Seize
her!"

The cybers
converged on her with swift steps, and she backed away. Sabre
walked up behind Gaylor as he turned to watch the guards. Clamping
a hand over the lord's pouty mouth, Sabre gripped his throat with
the other and murmured, "Make one wrong move, and I snap your
neck."

Gaylor froze.
Sabre released his mouth and placed his hand on the side of
Gaylor's skull, ready to give the swift twist required.

"Who... who
are you?"

The cybers
captured Tassin, who stared at Sabre with wide, joy-filled eyes.
The guards turned, their brow bands flashing as they analysed the
threat to their owner. They would not attack, however. Sabre was
too great a threat, and they knew he could snap Gaylor's neck
before they reached him. Nevertheless, they were a danger to
Tassin.

"Order the
cybers back to barracks."

Gaylor gulped.
"They can kill you before you can break my neck."

"No, they
can't, or they'd have done it already. Give the order, now."

"How the hell
did you get in here?"

"Do it!"

"If I order
them to kill her, you won't be able to stop them."

Sabre
tightened his grip until Gaylor gargled. "But you'll still be dead,
so what's the point? Order them back to the barracks before I
decide to kill you before you can do anything that stupid."

"If I give
that order, you could kill me anyway."

"I could, but
I won't."

"How do I know
you're telling the truth?"