When Good Toys Go Bad (7 page)

There was also a low-I maintenance uniform, which must be for me. I held up the ugly blue garment. “Brynn must have a plan.”

Kai shot me a knowing grin. “And I’m sure it’s a good one.”

Brynn was fully dressed and sitting at the kitchen table when we emerged from the bedroom.

“Morning,” I sang, kissing her on the forehead before going over to the food dispenser to make coffee.

“Morning.” Kai mimicked my expression, also kissing Brynn on the forehead before joining me at the food dispenser.

I pushed the activate button. “Coffee, two, black,” I instructed. A moment later a familiar whoosh signaled our coffee was there.

“You two are awfully cheery for fugitives,” Brynn commented when we sat down at the table.

“I don’t know if it’s the drugs, or just a decent night’s sleep…”

“Or the sex,” Brynn interrupted.

“Oops, you heard, eh? I’m sorry, we tried to be quiet.”

Kai remained conspicuously silent.

“Never mind.” Brynn sat up straight, a sign she was about to get serious. “I have bribed a low-I to smuggle you aboard the next Consortium transport to the European Settlement. As you’ve probably gathered, you’ll be going as maintenance workers.”

“But Kai—”

Brynn cut me off. “There are still some Kais working in other colonies. If anyone asks, you tell them you’re transferring him. And, Darra—” she put her hand on mine, “—you’re going to need to remember you’re a low-I. Put your brains away—so to speak. You’ll need this.” She placed a small metallic box on the table.

“What’s this?” I picked up the box.

“Put your thumb in the hole on the side.”

“Ouch! What was that?”

“You now have a new thumbprint.” Brynn pulled a data pad out of her briefcase on the floor. “And this is the identity to go with the new thumbprint. Your new name is Alesta Dysart. I have arranged a job and a pod for you in the other settlement. Kai, I’m afraid you’re going to have to live in secret.” She put her hand on his arm. “I’m not sure how long it will be before they start to recall the last of the Kais from the European Settlement.”

She slid her hand down Kai’s forearm and squeezed his hand. Both her gesture and their eye contact felt intimate.

My stomach clenched. Other muscles clenched, but in more intimate regions.

“What’s wrong, my love?” Kai asked.

“Nothing,” I said. The warmth of a flush started at my cheeks and spread outward.

“I know what you’re thinking.” Kai jutted his head out in pride at knowing the correct answer. “Brynn should be coming with us.”

“What?” I blurted out.

“The three of us should go. I love you, she loves you, you love her. We shouldn’t be separated.”

I crossed my arms on my chest, “You didn’t say how you feel about Brynn in your little list of affections.”

“I was kinda wondering that myself,” Brynn chimed in.

“I love her because you love her.”

Brynn and I stared at each other.

“As a matter of fact,” Kai continued, ignoring the interaction between Brynn and me, “I think it would be very enjoyable to all have sex at the same time.”

“What!” Brynn and I whipped our heads around and blurted out in unison.

“It should be possible.” Kai’s head tilted the other way, as if he was calculating the permutations.

“Okay, I really don’t like where this conversation is going.” Actually I did, but I wasn’t sure it was a brilliant idea to tell them. “Can we get back to the escape plans?”

“Out of the frying pan, into the fire, eh?” Brynn chortled. “My grandmother always said that. I never understood the expression. What’s a frying pan?”

“Didn’t you pay attention in history class? A frying pan was a metal disk they put on a fire to cook with before the invention of food dispensers,” I explained.

“Ahhh…well, that makes sense.”

“Congratulations. You managed to use an ancient expression correctly. Now can we please get back to the plan?”

Kai remained silent during the banter. He still looked confused, though I think he gleaned from my change of subject that the prior conversation was now over. He did however ask, “So Brynn isn’t coming with us then?”

“I really wish you could, Brynn.” I took her hands. “I really can’t imagine life without you, but I can’t ask you to leave everything you know behind and come on the run with us.”

“
And what if I said I wanted to come?
”
Brynn jutted her chin out and raised her eyebrows.

“
Then I
’
d say you made me the happiest fugitive there ever was.
”

“
In all seriousness,
”
Brynn
’
s voice dropped,
“
would you really want me to come with you?
”

“
We both would.
”
I released one of Brynn
’
s hands and reached back for Kai.

She smiled.
“
Well then, when you
’
re safe and all the heat has died down, I
’
ll come see you and we
’
ll talk about it.
”
There were tears welling in her eyes that she brushed back.
“
Let
’
s get back to the plan.
”

She explained the plan, giving us all the warnings about where we could and could not be seen. Unfortunately, that meant a solitary existence for Kai. Once in my new pod, he would be pretty much a prisoner, which didn’t seem to faze him, though I knew eventually he would become well acquainted with the concept of boredom.

“The polymer on the tram makes us invisible to electronic detection, but it’s not going to stop us from being seen by a person. Kai should probably keep down.”

I ran my fingers through my dark burgundy hair. I had used the instant dye machine in the bathroom. I was actually very put out that no one commented on it.

The streets were bustling with people going about their daily lives. Families said their morning good-byes outside their pods. Since a huge portion of the population worked for The Consortium, the road leading in that direction was lined with trams. It was actually quite brilliant of Brynn, to time our departure so we were going the opposite direction of everyone else, but during the busiest part of the morning. A single tram traveling at night would have raised suspicion. This way we hid in plain sight.

A diverse group of people mulled around the transport. Consortium police, local police, military, civilians and Consortium maintenance surrounded the loaf-shaped vessel. The ship was a strange metallic brown, neither translucent nor fully opaque. You could make out shadows of movement on the inside but no details.

“They’re starting to queue up to leave. You better get going.” Brynn didn’t even look at us when she said it. Through my own tear-clouded sight, I glimpsed a tear falling down her cheek.

“Thank you for everything.” I tried to hug her. “Promise me we’ll see you soon.”

“I promise. Now, no good-byes, please…just go.”

Kai also tried to express his gratitude, but he was met with the same avoidance.

I went up to the transport first. Kai followed behind me like a dutiful android. I made sure he understood the importance of keeping his emotions under wraps. Mine on the other hand were very much out of control. I tried to swallow the tears, and they just kept coming back up as hiccups. Kai put some distance between us as we came up to the check-in station.

“Place your finger on the scanner,” a butch Consortium officer commanded.

With some trepidation, I complied. To my relief the scanner showed my picture with the name Alesta Dysart, designation maintenance, IQ level 4. Anything below 6 was a low-I, so I guessed I should be thankful I wasn’t a 1. At least with a 4, I could possibly one day work in a shop or a restaurant instead of polishing Consortium floors.

The woman looked at my papers. “Transfer to Consortium European Annex. Is this your droid?” She pointed to Kai.

“Yes. I was to bring him with me and deliver him to the factory. Kai, show the officer your papers.”

The woman gave both Kai and me a scrutinizing stare. For a brief moment, I thought the jig was up.

“Everything looks to be in order. You better get on board, though we’ll need you to leave the droid here. Orders came in this morning. All transporting of Kai units is prohibited. They are to be returned to The Consortium.”

I stared at Kai in panic. Turning back to the officer, I said, “I’m under orders from my boss to bring the unit with me. If I show up without him, I’ll be fired.”

“We’ll give you the recall papers. You shouldn’t have a problem. Now please board the ship immediately.

“Damn low-I. Can’t any of them think for themselves,” I heard her say under her breath.

Two guards came up and took Kai by the arms. They tried to lead him away, but he stood his ground. “I love you, Darra,” he declared.

“I love you too, Kai. Let’s get the hell out of here.”

He shook off the guards as if they were toilet paper stuck to his arms. He picked me up, and the next thing I knew we were on the move with bullets whizzing everywhere.

“Are you okay?” I asked as Kai made an uncharacteristic stumble.

“I think they hit me with something, but I’m still fully functional.”

Alarms sounded in the distance, and I knew it wouldn’t be long before the police, be they colony or Consortium, would be on our heels.

Kai flew through the streets like a rocket, his destination predetermined, and didn’t stop until we arrived back at the safe house.

Everything, including the air itself, was still. The static air told me we were secure. Either they didn’t follow us, or they did and couldn’t keep up with Kai. I headed back to Brynn because I wasn’t sure where else to go. She was my safety net. The tram remained parked in its reflective enclosure, invisible to locater droids. I made a whisper of sound as I brushed my knuckles against the door, which opened a crack, enough for Brynn to peek through. She flung the door wide, missing Kai by centimeters. Her eyes were red from crying. Her usually impeccable makeup streaked and skewed on her face, making her look like a living Picasso.
 

She stood stunned for a moment, staring at us like we had risen from the grave. A gaspy sob erupted from deep inside her. Her whole body convulsed. The air rushed from my lungs as Brynn locked her arms around me. I nearly fell backward when she planted a kiss on me that was definitely not platonic.

Chapter Seven

“Wha…wha…what are you doing here?” Brynn sputtered.

“Can’t—breathe.”

She released her grip.

“They canceled Kai’s travel orders. They were going to take him back to The Consortium. They shot at us. Kai was hit.”

“Shot! Let me see,” Brynn said, trying to turn Kai around to examine him.

“Ladies, perhaps we should do this inside.” Kai placed his hand on the small of my back, guiding me through the doorway, the motion forcing Brynn back inside.

Brynn’s homemade surveillance robot slingshot around the corner, its high-pitched voice shrill in a relentless chant, “Bug—bug—bug.” The small droid stopped inches from Kai, standing knee-high next to him. A spidery arm unfurled from its exoskeleton, and a red light at the tip scanned Kai up and down, stopping at his waist. “Turn, please,” the impish droid instructed in a typical deadpan computer voice. Kai turned around. The red light retreated into the top of the mechanical arm, replaced by forceps. The pincers zeroed in on a spot at the small of Kai’s back.

The acrid smell of burning synthetic filled the air as a laser beam emanating from the tip of the forceps cut a swath of fabric from Kai’s orange jumpsuit. I stood motionless, frozen in fascination. A panel opened on the robot’s side, into which the forceps dropped the piece of material, and along with it, the bug.

“Surveillance device rendered inert.” The arm folded itself back inside the robot, which departed without any of the fanfare of its arrival.

“They shot you with a tracking pellet. It stuck in the cloth of the suit. You must have been moving pretty fast.”

“You can say that again,” I confirmed.

Brynn ignored me and continued her thought. “They’ll have tracked you at least to this sector, hopefully not to the pod. Either way we don’t have long.”

As if on cue, a loud crash came from the other room. Beams from flashlights scampered across the walls, followed by shouts of, “Clear,” and, “Team one right flank,” and other such terse commands.

Again the small robot flew around the corner, shouting, “Intruders, intruders!”

“No shit,” Brynn spat at the little mechanical creature, which turned on its wheels and disappeared back through the door.

Kai pulled me tight to his body. My heart raced. I felt lightheaded from hyperventilating. Before I was able to process the events, his arms encompassed both Brynn’s and my waists. He lifted us off our feet. Seconds later, we were crashing through the pod wall, shouts from frustrated would-be captors echoing behind us.