The Cyber Chronicles VIII - Scorpion Lord (24 page)

"I’m not the
arrogant sort, and Cybercorp has done a good job of teaching me how
easily I can be beaten. Not that I ever thought I was invincible.
If not for you and Martis..."

"I'm glad we
saved you, and I know he is too. But we're both a bit scared of
you. Should we be?"

He smiled,
raising his eyes to meet hers. "No. But don't tell Martis,
okay?"

She giggled
again, taking the empty cup from him. "Sure. But now I can laugh
the next time you dangle him out of the window by his big toe. You
should rest now, get some more sleep."

Chapter Thirteen

The cyber's
warning light woke Sabre again twelve hours later, and he opened
his eyes to find Martis fidgeting in the doorway. Sabre levered
himself up against the pillows with a groan, and the young tech
came closer. A flashy purple suit with a glittering collar and
cuffs clad his narrow frame, and he looked, Sabre thought, more
like a pimp than anything else now. He seemed well pleased with
himself, and when Estrelle came in a moment later, Sabre's brows
rose. A sleek, thigh-length dress of sparkling crimson material
clung to her curves, which were quite generous when the shapeless
tech uniform did not disguise them. Fake jewellery winked on her
neck and wrists, her hair was styled into a lavish fall of curls,
and makeup enhanced her features.

Sabre eyed
them. "Well, well, it's a pimp and his favourite hooker."

"What do you
mean?” Martis asked. “We look great."

"I'm glad you
think so. You've certainly been having fun spending my money,
haven't you?"

"Your
money?"

"Yeah, my
money. You know, that I got my head bashed in for?"

"I arranged it
all," he protested.

"Mmm,
something for which you still have to pay, when I'm feeling a bit
better."

"Now hang on a
minute, I didn't know what was going to happen. I said I was
sorry."

"You'll be a
lot sorrier when I'm finished with you."

Estrelle
giggled, approaching to hand Sabre a cup. "Hang him out of the
window by his big toe?"

He took the
drink and sipped it. "That might not be enough. Maybe his little
toe, it'll hurt more."

She sat on the
bed beside him, smoothing the dress over her thighs. "But you like
my dress, don't you?"

"You certainly
blend in with the locals now."

Martis
chuckled, and Sabre shot him a measuring look. "As do you."

"We got you
some new clothes too," Estrelle said.

"Oh... god,
no."

Martis grinned
and went back into the lounge, returning a moment later with a
packet. He drew out a silver-studded black leather jacket, matching
silk shirt and trousers, laying them out on the bed.

Estrelle
stroked the shirt. "I think they're lovely."

"You
would."

"You'll see,
when you put them on. They'll suit you."

Sabre shook
his head. "I think even my dead body would object to wearing
those."

"Oh come on,
they're smart."

"For a pimp,
maybe."

"You can't
keep wearing those cyber issue clothes; you stick out like a sore
thumb," she said.

"Only because
everyone else on this planet is dressed like a pimp, a prostitute
or a pervert."

"Martis will
wear them, then."

"Good, because
I'm not going to." He sipped the protein shake, frowning. "It's
been over sixteen hours since I sent the message, and no one's
come. Something's wrong."

Martis
consulted the flashy gold timepiece on his wrist. "Yeah, it's been
a while. What's your bio-status now?"

"Why, do you
have another fight lined up for me?"

"No, although
I'm sure I could arrange something."

"I'll just bet
you could." Sabre put down the shake and swung his legs off the
bed, wincing.

"If we laid a
bet, we could probably make enough to buy a ship."

"We probably
had enough before you two went on your shopping spree."

"No we
didn't."

Sabre stood
up, swaying, and limped into the bathroom for a shower. When he
emerged, the two techs had ordered food, and he sat down to a meal
of spicy meat and sautéed vegetables with them. Tarl's over-concern
for his welfare had annoyed him, but now he found that Martis' lack
of it nettled him even more. The young tech could probably have got
the drugs to repair Sabre's torn ligaments if he had tried, instead
of buying expensive clothes for himself.

Estrelle had
at least made him protein shakes, but neither of them had shown a
great deal of concern. He wondered if it was because he was a
cyber, and therefore not worthy of the kind of consideration they
would show another person, or whether they were just inconsiderate.
He had disliked Tarl's concern because it made him feel like
equipment, and wondered why Martis' lack was so irritating. Was he
so used to being treated like equipment that he missed it, even
though he did not like it? The fact that they might need him to
protect them, yet made no effort to speed his recovery annoyed him
intensely, and he knew the new emotion Martis had named was
paramount. Resentment. Again the frustrating fact that they had
saved him from Myon Two intruded, preventing him from abandoning
them.

Martis spoke
around a mouthful of food. "So what are you going to do now?"

"I'm going to
see if there's a message from Kole. Maybe he couldn't contact
Fairen for some reason, or maybe he didn't get the message."

"Kole? He's
your friend?"

"Acquaintance."

"And if he
didn't get the message or can't get hold of Overlord Fairen?"

Sabre
shrugged. "Then I might have to steal a ship, but that'll leave a
trail for Myon Two to follow."

Martis nodded.
"I think we should leave here as soon as possible. Cybercorp will
know about our escape by now. There was another demonstration
scheduled for today."

"And what have
you done to find a way off this shithole planet while I was
recovering from your idiotic idea?"

The young tech
raised his brows. "Hey, it got us enough money to pay the bills and
stay out of jail, and we could buy tickets on a liner now."

"They want IDs
when you buy tickets."

"Right... Well
I can't steal a ship."

"You might
have tried to find us berths on a freighter, or one of the many
smugglers that come here."

"Yeah, that
might work. I'll see what I can do."

Sabre pushed
his plate away and stood up. "You do that. I'm going to check for
messages."

"Shouldn't we,
um, stick together?"

"Why?"

"Well, I don't
want to be dragged off to another orgy, and I don't think Estrelle
does, either."

Sabre inclined
his head. "And considering the way you two are now dressed, that
would be even more likely to happen."

"Yeah, so
that's even more reason for us to stick together."

"You mean for
you to stick to me, so I can pull your butts out of the shit
again."

Martis
flushed, but soldiered on. "Well, you're immune to drugs, we're
not."

"Right now I'm
not in any condition to be looking after the two of you, so you
should probably stay here."

"Okay."

Sabre headed
for the door, intent on leaving the room before he chucked the tech
out of a window. The temptation to abandon them was stronger than
ever. Their unwanted burden endangered his continued freedom, and
their ineptitude irritated him.

Finding the
Net booth outside the lobby empty, he checked his messages and
found one from Kole, which informed him that the hacker was now on
Eden Five, at a hotel in a distant city. Cursing Kole for not
sending his message to Fairen like he had asked, he went back to
the room, where the two techs watched a vidimage.

"We're
leaving," he announced. "We have to go to Zantron."

Martis raised
his brows. "Why?"

"Because
Kole's there, and he's got a ship."

"Great!"
Martis jumped up. "I'll pay the bill."

Sabre held out
his hand. "Give the money to me."

"Why?"

"Because I
can't be drugged and dragged off to an orgy, remember?"

"Right."
Martis pulled out a pouch and handed it over, and Sabre tucked it
into his webbing.

Two hours
later, Sabre climbed out of a rented air-car outside the hotel
where Kole was staying and entered its glass and chrome lobby,
Martis and Estrelle following. The bongo music in the lift and
Martis humming along to it annoyed the cyber all the way up to the
seventy-fourth floor. Sabre led the way along a posh cream corridor
with blue carpeting to a black, gold-embossed door, where he pushed
the entry call, which squawked. Trust Kole to choose the most
outlandish and aggravating hotel on the planet, he thought. A green
light flashed on the lock, and the door swung open. Sabre entered a
luxurious cream and blue lounge and followed the sound of giggling
into a green-tiled entertainment area dominated by a vast
Jacuzzi.

Kole looked up
from the mass of bubbles with a broad grin, removed a cheroot from
his mouth and spread his arms. "Sabre, old pal! It's good to see
you again! Come in, take a load off. Oh, this is Shizzy and Mizzy.
Or was it Shazzy and Mazzy?"

The twin
red-haired girls giggled and sipped bubbling drinks. Sabre eyed the
trio, and Martis blushed, looking away.

"Kole. You
didn't send the message to Overlord Fairen."

"Ah, come on
Sabre. Bad idea, that. Those guys are bad news. And they wouldn't
do anything, anyway. Too busy blowing up planets to keep the peace.
But hey, I flew halfway across the universe to rescue you."

Sabre inclined
his head. "Thanks. You'd better get dressed then, so we can
leave."

"What's the
rush? Have a drink, have a swim. Hell, have a girl. I've got two,
and now we've got three. Even numbers. Aren't you going to
introduce your friends?"

Sabre glanced
at the two techs. "This is Estrelle and Martis, and we don't have
time for parties, we have to leave now."

"Ah, Sabre,
always gloom and doom with you, hey? Where's Tassin?"

"On Omega
Five."

"That's a
shame; I was hoping to see her again." The slender, blue-eyed young
hacker picked up his drink and sipped it. "Anyway, I shouldn't be
driving a ship right now, under the influence, you know."

"Striker's an
AI, Kole."

"That's true.
You two are almost kissing cousins, except she's got more
personality." Sabre walked closer, and Kole eyed him blearily.
"Jeeze, what happened to you? You look like you got run over by a
bus."

Sabre looked
down at the bruises on his arms. "A fight."

"Damn, you're
always in fights, pal. You should learn to avoid them."

"It wasn't
arranged by me."

"Well I hope
you kicked the arse of whoever did arrange it. That looks
painful."

Sabre nodded.
"Like I should kick yours, for the fights you arranged for me?"

"Yeah, well,
that was a long time ago, and we needed the money."

"Funny that,
it's always about money."

"Makes the
world go round, old pal." Kole twisted his neck to keep Sabre in
sight as the cyber moved behind him. "Come on, you're not still
mad, are you?"

"Not about
that, but I asked you to contact Fairen, not come here."

"Hey, like I
said -"

"He's my
friend," Sabre interrupted, "he'd have come."

Kole's brows
shot up into his blond fringe. "Your friend? Wow, you've been
moving in the good circles, huh? Look -"

"Did you check
into this hotel using your real name?"

"Um... I think
so. I was a bit jolly at the time, so -"

"And in my
message, did I mention that Myon Two is after me?"

"Hell, pal,
Myon Two's always after you..."

Sabre crouched
beside Kole's head, and the hacker moved away with a swirl of
bubbles, slopping his drink. The girls looked worried, and climbed
out of the tub to dry themselves. Sabre glanced at them, then back
at Kole.

"Get out and
get dressed, we have to leave."

"Where are we
going?"

"To Striker,
to call Fairen."

Kole's brows
rose again. "Look, pal, I don't see any immediate danger here. No
enforcers banging on the door or that kind of thing, so why would
you call an Overlord? I'll take you back to Omega Five, if that's
where you want to go."

"It is, but
it's only a matter of time before the enforcers find us. They know
your name, and since this planet is quite close to Myon Two,
they've probably made the connection by now. Plus the vidimage that
Jorran has undoubtedly received of me killing a cyber. You'll lead
them right to me if we stay here."

"You killed a
cyber? Good for you! I mean... wow. No wonder you're banged
up."

"Kole, get out
of the damned tub and get dressed, before I come in there and get
you."

"Okay, okay,
sheesh. Always so uptight." Kole put down his drink and got out of
the water, wrapping a towel around his hips. "How did you get here,
anyway?"

"Myon Two
kidnapped me, and I escaped."

"And your
friends? I didn't think you were the joy-boy type, I must say."

"They helped,
and he only looks like a joy-boy. He's a host tech. Estrelle's a
control unit tech."

Kole chuckled.
"So now you have your own maintenance team. Going up in the world,
hey?"

Sabre strode
around the tub. "Put some bloody clothes on."

The hacker
backed away, wagging a finger. "Nah uh, don't you lay a finger on
me, old pal. Striker doesn't go anywhere without me, remember?"

"I wouldn't
waste my energy, and I could hack Striker in about thirty
seconds."

"Ah, but you
don't know where she is, do you?"