Kingston 691: Book Two of Cyborgs: Mankind Redefined (12 page)

“Why would you
want
it back?” Seetha demanded, running a hand over her hair. “I
bought
you, King. I was your third wife, and I bought you just like the first two did. I saw your picture online and spent my entire savings to have you in my bed. For the first year or so, I used you like the multi-million dollar man-toy you were. I swear I’m not being crude in my explanation. It’s just the truth of what we were in those early days. Do you remember those?”

“No, I don’t remember any of the early days,” King said quietly, glad he could speak some of the truth. Outright lying physically hurt. “What I know about us is like the kind of knowing you get from reading a book or watching an entertainment vid. Most of what I’m calling memories is like looking at shadows of events. But I absolutely know we were once important to each other. I knew it when there wasn’t any data to support it. Your presence upsets my equilibrium, and frankly that just never happens to me. From everything I remember about my human life, women never distracted me like you do.”

Seetha put her face into her hands again. She was shaking and felt sick. He sounded so believable. When she lowered her hands, she saw herself being studied by the cyborg who had saved her. There was no specific recall in his gaze. Her agony was split in two. Who and what was King now? And why was he really here? All she could see was her unhappy past happening to her all over again. The hope…the trying…the disappointment when King looked right through her.

“I can’t. I can’t do this, and I can’t hope again. I just don’t have it in me.” Seetha stood and turned. “I have to go…to my room. I need to lie down before I get sick. If you remember what you say you do, then you can find your own way out. I’m not prepared to deal with you today.”

Seetha headed for the doorway when his voice stopped her.

“I’m not going away again, whatever comes of our exchanges. Why don’t you have dinner with me? Let’s get to know each other for real. It’s true, I have a lot of confusion about us, but you could clear it up for me. Seetha, you don’t have to be afraid of me—I swear.”

Hearing King say her name so sweetly and express what sounded like genuine concern was her undoing. Lifting a hand to her mouth to stifle her sobs, she bolted without another word.

She passed her mother coming in from the garden and shook her head. “No. Don’t say anything,” she begged as she dashed by.

It was imperative to put as much distance as she could between her and the man she’d never gotten over.

***

More than a little alarmed, Annalise watched her sobbing adult daughter make her escape. She didn’t know what was more shocking to witness—the crying or the running away. Neither were things Seetha ever did. She turned to face the giant man who walked slowly towards her.

“Was Seetha crying because you got your closure? Or is it ass-kicking time, Kingston West?”

“Neither. I asked her to dinner and you saw her answer to me. I merely suggested to Seetha the logical way to handle our existing confusion is to get to know each other again—like normal people do.”

“
Logical?
”

“Yes.” King nodded to back up his declaration, then he put his hand to his head before it could explode from his volatile thoughts. “Seetha’s upset because I told her some things I recalled about us.” What he said was
technically
the truth—or at least half a truth.

Annalise lifted her chin and narrowed her eyes as she tilted her head back and up. She searched Kingston’s gaze. “I don’t believe you got your memories back either. I know better.”

“I didn’t—at least not all of them.” King winced and laughed. “Damn it, Annalise. Answering your questions makes my head hurt.”

“Good. I wish I could do worse to you. You’re lying to my daughter. I want to know why this instant,” Annalise declared.

King’s eyebrows shot up at the threat, and at the accusation, which was true but wasn’t supposed to show. “Regretfully, it doesn’t matter what you believe. It only matters what Seetha believes. I had an epiphany while sitting in the chair the two of you bought for me. If you want a list of everything I know about my relationship to Seetha, I’ll be happy to email you a copy. I guarantee you will be shocked at what I now know.”

“Are you saying your memories magically returned in the ten minutes I was out in the garden?”

“Something like that,” King agreed, wincing at her glare. “Look—have I let you down since you asked for my help? No. I brought Seetha back when I said I would, so trust me in this too. I’m trying my best to do what’s best for Seetha and me. I just don’t know what that exactly is yet.”

Annalise crossed her arms. “This is about what Seetha is going through. I don’t think you have a sufficient understanding of her feelings.”

King frowned and nodded. “You’re right—I don’t. But I’m not going to get it with Seetha refusing to interact with me. Talk her into going on a date with me if you can, Annalise. I’ll be at the restaurant working and waiting to hear from her.”

***

Annalise tapped on the bedroom door softly, entering the room at an equally soft command to enter.

“Seetha—honey. All this crying in your bed reminds me of when you were in high school. You had a different sobbing drama every day. Then you went away to college and came home a tough-as-metal engineer. I don’t think I’ve seen you cry since, not even when King was returned in his rebooted condition.”

Seetha rolled to her back and stared at the ceiling of her room. “Oh, I cried plenty then. I just didn’t do it in front of anybody. Today he said some very disturbing things. Do you think King’s lying to me about remembering?”

Annalise looked down into her daughter’s hopeful gaze and couldn’t tell her the truth of her thoughts about it. Now she was being as bad as King. “I don’t know, sweetheart.”

Seetha sniffled and stared at the ceiling. “After all this time, do you think it could actually happen?”

Annalise paused, but then finally shook her head. “No. I don’t. But why would King bother with pretending? Cyborgs don’t lie, Seetha. Their logic chip won’t let them and I believe he still has that in place. I think it was causing him headaches today when he tried.”

“Great. I’m crying over the only cyborg who lies. What am I supposed to do about him?”

Annalise bent and kissed her daughter’s cheek. “I don’t know. That’s something only you can decide. My job is to help hide the body if you decide to kill him. Maybe we can sell off his cybernetics as scrap and bury all his organic parts in the backyard. King could fertilize next year’s crop of prize winning tomatoes.”

Seetha laughed at her mother’s joking and sighed so heavily her body moved the bed. She peered up into her mother’s supportive gaze.

“I know you don’t mean any of that. You like King too much to bury him in the backyard. I’m going to have to see him…and I guess I have to talk to him. But I can’t do it in clothes that make me look like a twenty-first century war refugee. Being like I am now, I really don’t understand those vid actresses who barf on purpose to get in this condition. I miss my curves and my breasts.”

“Of course you do. You always looked great, though it is usually healthier to be a little thinner than you were there for a while. What can I do to help you, sweetheart?”

Seetha snorted as she rolled to a sitting position. “Mother…now don’t laugh at this…but if I have to go face my lying ex-husband, I can’t do it in anything in my closet. Take me shopping again. I need something that makes me look like I still have a real woman’s body, even though I don’t.”

“Now that you’re eating again regularly, it won’t be long before you’ll be at a more reasonable weight for your height, Seetha. You’ve already put a little back on,” Annalise said.

“Not enough,” Seetha declared, rising from her bed. “I want something red…and sexy. Maybe if I look it, I might actually start to feel it again.”

“A light color would make you look less frail.”

Seetha nodded. “Okay. Fine. You can choose the color. Just make me look like a woman again. I want to get talking to King over with before I lose my nerve.”

Annalise nodded. “I’ll get my jacket. The gardening can wait.”

Chapter 10

It had been a little arrogant of her to assume she’d get into his restaurant without a reservation, but Seetha had honestly thought things would work out in her favor. Maybe it was because King had finally come to see her. Maybe it was because of what he’d said to her mother about waiting for her—an idea which had caused many stomach flutters.

As the maître d’ searched the reservation list for an opening, Seetha looked around. Amazement had her chewing her lip at the beautiful tables, and at the polished real wood bar King had no doubt spent a fortunate acquiring. Judging from all the smiling customers happily eating, who had smartly booked early reservations, it wouldn’t take long for him to show a profit.

The air certainly smelled wonderful. Scents of roasted fowl filled it and lured hungry patrons like herself. King had obviously shelled out the cash for top of the line protein simulators. Only the best ones knew how important olfactory senses were to the sensation of taste.

All in all this was exactly the kind of restaurant she had often imagined King creating. Yet it was still surprising to see how he’d managed to pull off such magnificence in the short time he’d been restored.

“I’m sorry, Ms. Harrington. There’s absolutely nothing open for two and half hours, not even a table of one. You’re welcome to wait at the bar, but that’s such a long time to wait to eat.”

Seetha smiled which caused him to drift off in expressing his sympathy…or maybe it was his gaze once again admiring her short pink dress and tall heels. She knew what the man was thinking. He was thinking no normal woman would want to be alone for over two hours dressed to impress like she was. The man had no idea how much patience she’d gained in the last two years. Moving at a pace set by nearly antique AI bots had slowed her down significantly.

“Actually, I think I will be quite happy waiting at the bar. I have my portable with me. I promise I won’t be bored. Would you please tell Kingston I’m here when you get the chance?”

“Of course. I’d be happy to do so. Is Mr. West expecting you?”

Seetha chuckled at hearing King referred to as Mr. West. “What’s your name?”

“Franco.”

“Well Franco, your guess is as good as mine, but since I’m here anyway, he’ll want to know it. But don’t rush to find him on my account, I’m in no hurry. In fact, putting off seeing Mr. West until I’ve had a drink or two suits me just fine.”

After the man’s head nod in response to her speech, Seetha preceded him into a small alcove where tall stools let customers sit and lean on a gleaming composite stone surface while they chatted with a fully human bartender. The good-looking man behind the bar set down his drink mixer, greeted her, and took her order almost as soon as she slid her butt onto one of them.

Nearly as quickly, another good-looking man walked over.

“Hello. Mind if I occupy the stool next to you?”

Seetha shrugged. “Suit yourself. I’m here for a while.”

He climbed up beside her and snorted. “Me too. Two hour wait?”

Seetha nodded. “That’s what the man with the magic list said.”

When the good looking guy laughed, Seetha allowed herself a closer inspection. A few stools down from them, a couple of blondes in date clothes were giving him some serious consideration. They hadn’t taken their gaze off him since he sat down next to her. She knew she looked good in her dress and heels, but she didn’t draw men like this one. He wore his wealth all over and obviously liked his toys, given his hand-held was top of the line. He wasn’t bad if you liked the all-buttoned-down-Brooks-Brothers type with genuine leather on his feet. Personally, she was offended more than charmed. Real leather had been banned before she was born, but she bet the guy talking to her didn’t care one bit. He looked the type to own whatever he wanted just because he could.

Uninterested, Seetha watched as he sipped his drink and relaxed on his stool.

“I’ve become a regular, but my schedule doesn’t allow me to reserve ahead. I’m Dan Masterson, by the way.”

Seetha tilted her head when he put out a hand for her to shake. She reached out and shook it warily. Something about him fundamentally bothered her…and it was more than just his clothes. Maybe she was just nervous about seeing King after her outburst this afternoon.

“I’m Seetha Harrington. Nice to meet you.” Manners from her childhood rolled out without effort, even though her inner alarms were still going off.

After their handshake ended, he reached into his jacket pocket and pulled out a gleaming disk. He passed it over with a fake reluctance. “Bio and business card,” she heard him say.

Seetha popped the disk into her portable and pulled up his info. “Masters of Design—we are builders of dreams,” she read aloud, slanting a glance his way.

His head nodded as he turned his attention to his drink. He was an engineer too, though environmental design was more lofty than the type of engineering she had pursued. She looked at his hands. His fingernails were manicured and not a callus was visible. His hands probably never got roughed up or dirty.

“I’m guessing you own the company instead of working for it,” Seetha declared, turning a brilliant smile his way.

When Dan Masterson looked off with fake modesty over her comment, she pressed a hotkey on her portable and discreetly copied the disk’s content to it. Her portable was streamlined and could do the task in an instant. She looked at her screen and pretended a great interest in the remaining text as she quickly scanned it. Then she popped out the disk and handed it back.

“Very impressive—Dan Masterson.”

He lifted one shoulder in a shrug. “I got lucky about a decade ago when Norton subcontracted a few global things to me. I still do some tasks, like researching new employees for one. In the interest of disclosure, and as a basis for our temporary friendship, I will admit I recognized you from the profile that slid across my desk this week.”