When Good Toys Go Bad (6 page)

“Just get it out already!” Brynn shouted. “They’re right on top of us, and there’s no point in me losing them if that thing is still in the tram.”

“Fine.” With a decisive shove, I broke through the membrane. With the other finger, I grasped the transponder. There was a horrible sucking sound as I pulled my hand out of his chest.

“Are you happy now?” I held the transponder out with disgust.

Brynn grabbed the small sphere from my hand. She opened the roof air screen and threw the small orb out into the night.

The tram jerked, and both Kai and I were shoved against the wall. Brynn sported an almost gleeful smile on her face as we took off toward the city center. We were traveling at speeds I didn’t think were possible for this model tram. She was a brilliant engineer.

“You made some modifications, didn’t you?”

Her face lit up. “I increased the torque by adjusting the maradime modulator. Then I made a small change to the…”

“Never mind. I won’t understand anyway. I’m glad your parents paid for those extra brains.” I looked behind us. “And we’re already out of sight of the—I’m not sure, were they Consortium or police?”

“You still think there’s a difference?” Brynn answered wryly.

I glanced over at Kai, who had remained silent during this whole conversation. “Oh shit, I’m sorry,” I sputtered when I realized how I had left him.

“For what?” he asked, as if it were a common occurrence to be stuffed into a two-person tram with me on his lap, his shirt off and part of his flesh detached and hanging.

I searched frantically for the medkit, all thoughts of my conversation with Brynn flying out the air shield.

“Where’s the medkit?” I screeched.

“It’s here.” Brynn reached under her seat and pulled out the red plastic box with the white plus sign on the top.

“What do you need it for?” Kai asked.

“To patch you up.”

“All you need to do is touch the contact again.”

Duh, that made sense. It was like I had taken stupid pills tonight. Maybe it was all the stress, but I was not acting like myself. I picked up the screwdriver and tapped the magnetic end to the contact in Kai’s chest. The skin crawled up like a living creature and reattached itself. Within moments Kai’s chest was healed and scar-free. There was no evidence of the procedure in his flesh.

“We’re here,” Brynn announced, as we pulled between two totally dark pods. The tram rested under some sort of enclosure.

“You know this isn’t going to hide us from them.” I was always good at stating the obvious.

“Dar, you honestly do need to give me a bit more credit. I can assure you we are quite invisible. There’s a scrambler built into the wall to hide the tracker on the tram. The outer surface is covered with a polymer I designed to absorb light and reflect sensors.”

“Damn, I always forget how smart you are. Maybe it’s because you’re always dating those bimbos.”

Brynn gazed from me to Kai and back to me again. She had a strange look on her face, as if she was stifling something. She shook it off.

“Let’s get inside,” she barked. “Once we’re inside, don’t speak until I’ve swept for bugs. I don’t think they know about this place, but we can’t be too careful.”

“Who are they?”

“Shush,” Brynn shot back at me. “I told you I’ll explain everything.”

Kai remained silent. He observed the interaction between Brynn and I. Judging by his facial expressions, he was regarding us with one part curiosity and one part amusement.

Brynn’s modifications restricted the size of the tram bay. We needed to squeeze sideways through the narrow opening. I wasn’t sure Kai was even going to fit. He was much larger than either of us.
 

“Illuminate, fifty percent,” Brynn ordered, and the lights obeyed.

The pod was bigger than average and furnished with the most expensive materials. There was even a table made of real wood from topside. You could tell the hydroponic wood from topside wood because of the texture. Something about the hydroponics left the trees with a subtle grain and very few rings.

“Scan,” Brynn commanded. A small robot lying dormant in the corner sprang to life. The mechanical creature raised a clamp-shaped hand, which held some sort of electronic device that looked suspiciously like a PMP, a personal music player. With a whoosh of speed, the small machine was off, covering every inch of the pod. When it finished it came to a screeching halt in front of Brynn.

“Clean,” the robot said in a somewhat childlike electronic voice.

“Thanks, Max.” Brynn patted the meter-high metal box with arms, and the bot withdrew to the corner where it had come from.

“Everyone have a seat at the table. I’ll pour us some wine. Do you drink?” Brynn addressed Kai.

“Yes, please.”

Brynn punched a code into the food dispenser. The bell rang. She pulled out a tray with a bottle and three glasses and placed them on the table.

“I think this will help to calm our nerves a bit. It’s the good stuff. Be careful, though—this table is worth a fortune.”

“Whose house is this?” I inquired.

“Friends of my parents. They’re on my ideal vacation. Relaxing at Shangri-La, lying in springs heated by the earth’s core, playing tennis and eating themselves into a stupor. They won’t be back for a couple of weeks.” For a brief moment, a dreamy look fell over her face. She jerked back to reality and poured wine for us both, like any ordinary get-together.

I was about to start in on the questioning when Brynn snapped her fingers and hurried out of the room. She returned a few seconds later holding a jumpsuit. She handed the clothing to Kai. “This is a jumpsuit for a maintenance droid. You should blend in.” She avoided making eye contact with him, though I did see her steal a quick glance at his bare chest.

With his usual lack of modesty, Kai stripped right there in the kitchen and put on the jumpsuit. Brynn turned a dark crimson and quickly turned away from the sight. I’m not sure why she was embarrassed, since she had already held his penis in her hands.

“You can turn around now,” I said when Kai finished zipping up the jumpsuit.

“It just surprised me, that’s all.” Brynn straightened the bottom of her blazer and composed herself before sitting down at the table with us.

In all the excitement, she must not have thought about changing her hair color back to green. It was still honey blonde. I had forgotten how beautiful she was, especially with the leftover blush still visible on her cheeks. A flash from the time she and I were a couple swept through my mind. The intensity of the memory jarred me.

“Okay, let’s get down to business.” Brynn took a swig of her wine. “I did some checking. Your court-appointed lawyer is a staff attorney for The Consortium. They normally tap her for the more covert assignments. They must really want this one—” she poked a thumb at Kai, “—in a big way.”

“Well, he is worth a small fortune,” I offered.

“One I’m sure you would happily pay. I’m thinking they have another reason for wanting him back. Remember when I told you about the Kai who hit that woman?”

“Yes, and I told you not to worry about Kai.”

“I’m not. What I’m trying to tell you is that it’s worse than reported. There are multiple incidents of Kai units losing their minds and killing people. I think the lawyer they assigned you was part of the team put together to cover up the deaths.”

“What!” My mouth dropped open. I stared at Kai for a reaction. There was none. “Did you know about this?”

“Unfortunately—yes. The Consortium has been doing a pretty good job of keeping the story under wraps, even from other parts of the company—and of course the general public. Other Kai have become…” he searched for a word, “…aware, but didn’t adjust to emotions very well. I heard one chopped his boss up and threw her into the smelting tank.”

“And you’re just telling me this now?”

“Hey, would you advertise the fact that a group of people genetically identical to you lost their minds and were now on a killing spree? That would have definitely endeared you to me. I couldn’t take the chance. I love you.”

I put my hand on top of Kai’s and squeezed. “Point taken.”

“If you two lovebirds are finished…”

Nodding my head, I focused my attention back toward Brynn.

“Well, from what I hear, if they find you two—” she pointed at me, “—you’re heading to jail—” then at Kai, “—and you the scrap pod.”

The rash on my stomach and arms was eating away at me, causing extreme discomfort. I clawed at the red patches.

“Shit, was that from the isotope?” Brynn ran to get a medkit.

She rubbed the salve on my rash. Everywhere she touched miraculously stopped itching. Her touch was gentle. She took longer than necessary on my belly and thighs—not that I was complaining.

I took her face in my hands. “Thank you,” I said and then kissed her softly.

“My pleasure.” She helped me up off the chair.

We moved into the living area. The couch was overstuffed with synthetic avian feathers. It was the most comfortable couch I’d ever sat on. I sank in and the upholstery molded around me like sand.

“There are opiates and antihistamines in the salve which might make you a bit groggy,” I heard Brynn say as I began to drift off into sleep.

“How long is this going to last?” Kai asked.

“Forever I hope,” I answered. In my drug-induced haze, though, I knew he wasn’t talking to me.

Kai and Brynn sat across from me. I heard pieces of their conversation as I wandered in and out of consciousness. Kai was thanking Brynn for all her help, and for loving me. Brynn was asking him questions about me, our relationship and, unbelievably, his technology.

The last thing I remembered before drifting off entirely was Brynn leaning her head on Kai’s shoulder and saying, “I hope you don’t rust in the rain.”

Chapter Six

“Oh god, sorry,” Brynn averted her eyes from the sight of us and closed the door. “I thought you were still on the couch. The clothes are in the bathroom. Come join me in the kitchen when you’re ready.” Her voice trailed off, still shrill with embarrassment.

Usually I would have sprung up in a situation like this, but two things were preventing me. First, I was quite naked, and Kai, also gloriously naked, was wrapped around me like a blanket. Second, my body was like lead.

“How long was I out?” I asked, my voice heavy with sleep. I didn’t need to turn around to know Kai was awake. He was always awake, always watching over me.

“Hours and hours.” He smiled, pushing a wayward strand of hair behind my ear before kissing my forehead, nose and finally my mouth. He pulled me closer against his hard body, and playful kisses turned serious. His mouth fastened on mine, claiming it. Everything fell away, the heavy drug fog replaced by the haze of passion. For a moment I was home, in my own pod, and we were playing with each other, not a care in the world. His erection brushed against my leg and I knew his intention was not to stop at a morning make-out session.

“Breakfast,” Brynn’s disembodied voice called from the other room, breaking the spell.

Kai looked at me, desire written on his face, his mouth turned down in disappointment.

“Can you be quick and quiet?” I whispered.

His lips curved into a mischievous grin. “How quick?”

“Five minutes?”

“I can do that.”

He pushed me over onto my back. His hand slipped between my legs as he checked to make sure I was ready for him. I was. Skipping all his usual delightful foreplay, he entered me with a tentative thrust. I stifled a gasp.

“Shhhh.” He put a finger to my mouth.

He drove deeper into me, and warmth spread through my body. Was this love? Lust? I didn’t care. All I knew was this was something I needed as much as food or water.

The bed creaked and we froze. “I’m not stopping now,” Kai tried to whisper, but he was intense, and it came out as a hiss. “I still have two minutes and fifty-three point four seconds.”

I smiled at the precise calculation. Before I could proffer an argument, he was off the bed and on his feet, taking me with him, my legs still wrapped around his waist. He held one of my butt cheeks in each hand, and he was still inside me.

Kai lifted me up and down on his shaft with ease. I laid my head back, closed my eyes, wrapped my arms around his neck and let the sensation take me away.

“One minute thirty seconds,” he proclaimed in a whisper and began thrusting faster.

I smiled and ignored him.

“One minute.” He thrust harder, deeper, faster. “Thirty seconds.” The orgasm was already in his voice. “Ten…” He started counting down. When he got to five, I came, hard, the slippery wetness making its way between us, lubricating our stomachs. At two, he came with a loud grunt replacing the moan he choked back.

Kai placed me down on my now rubbery legs.

“Zero.”

I laughed and took his hand, leading him over to the bathroom, mourning the afterglow cuddling that wasn’t going to happen.

We stepped from the sonic shower. Our clothes lay out on the counter. One was the maintenance uniform Brynn had given Kai last night. He must have undressed before climbing into bed. I had no idea how I had gotten from the couch to the bed or what time he got into bed with me. It could have been moments before I woke up. I don’t know why the thought disturbed me, but I pushed it to the back of my brain.