The Amazing Tales of Wildcat Arrows (17 page)

"Yes, I am." came the choppy response. "That delay is going to cost you." Her scowling puss filled the screen.

"Geesh, is there anything you don't charge extra for?"

The Zoltarian's lips curved into wry amusement. "Don't be cheeky. Or it will cost you."

Her brother snorted.

Some victim, Lucky fumed. Her brother seemed a bit too familiar with this captor of his. There was no telling how he got caught in this predicament in the first place.

Although, knowing him, he probably arranged it somehow.

Bro, you are usually a naughty devil, so I had better assume you did arrange this and go from there.

"All right, Captain," Lucky yawned and stretched her arms. "Let's get to the terms. What do you want for the scoundrel?"

Kokol grinned, showing her pointed incisors. "I like you, redheaded woman. But he won't come easy."

SpinDrift flicked his pointed spurs at the screen. "From what I hear, Sensei Arrows never does."

The Zoltarian captain frowned at the Floop.

Before the pirate could up the price yet again, Lucky quickly interjected, "Yes, we know that it's going to cost us. You've made that patently clear. So what are we talking about? What is it going to take to get my brother back?"

Kerreth rubbed the back of his neck as he faced the truth. He had recently discovered he was crazy about this woman; however, he had to be honest with himself. She totally lacked negotiation skills.

The way Red was going about it, she would be fortunate to see her brother again. Alive or otherwise.

And that was not something he could allow.

The trail was clear; he needed Arrows, the elder, to get to the Heart of the Merchandiser. "Get some assurance from her that he won't be harmed before you agree to anything."

She thought it over and agreed with him.

Actually, Lucky was glad Slick had come up on deck. Despite her initial misgivings, the Masterstroke 6000 was proving himself an asset to the entire crew.

"If you give me what I want, your brother will be freed. Alive and robust as always." Kokol assured her. "Now let's get down to it, shall we?"

"Goon."

"There is a certain
item
that has gone missing from one of the major corporations… I think you know what I am referring to."

Lucky's jaw dropped. "How do you know about the Heart of the Merchandiser?"

The two stereo groans buffeted her again. Wildcat and Slick.

What Lucky didn't realize was that both men were seeing that gorgeous hunk of rock known as the Heart of the Merchandiser slipping away from them.

Wildcat stepped forward and yelled at his sister, seemingly straight across the void of space. "You just let that out without waiting to see if that was what she was talking about? I can't believe it!"

Lucky was unapologetic. "Don't be such an ass, bro, of course that's what she meant."

She looked at the Zoltarian pirate. "Wasn't it?"

Kokol grinned from pointed ear to pointed ear. "Naturally."

Her brother didn't seem too happy with the affirmation.

Those narrowed eyes of his were impaling her with shards of icy blue fire. Such a stare carried with it the genetic force of countless warriors and chieftains.

Under its potent will, most people began quivering right where they stood.

It had no effect whatsoever on Lucky.

What was he so upset for anyway?

She wasn't the one who had gotten herself shanghaied! Now it was up to her to clean up this mess.

Lucky narrowed her eyes in a fair imitation of him, sending the volley back.

After all, she had been practising it with him her whole life. Didn't the big galoot realize he was in mortal danger?

What was some stupid stone compared to that?

"How do I know you won't kill all of us after you get what you want, Captain?" If they were going to do the trade, she needed more assurances than what she had heard so far. Wildcat's life was at stake. Maybe all their lives.

Kokol seemed amused by her stance.

"I am a pirate, sweetling. Despite what many believe, a good deal of the time we make our living through negotiations. It wouldn't go well for me if it got around the cosmos that I could not be trusted to stick to a deal by living up to my side of the bargain."

Yeah, but what if it all went wrong somehow?

This was tricky.

Lucky glanced up at the screen in time to see a glittering diaphanous film float by the captain's right shoulder.

In a flash, it disappeared.

Cloud.

Lucky blinked. So that's where that Auran had gotten himself to!

He had vanished from the ship soon after her brother's disappearance. Since no one but Wildcat knew of Cloud's comings and goings, his absence wasn't noticed right away.

Recently, though, the entire crew had begun to worry that something had happened to the mysterious assassin as well.

The Auran was letting her know that he was alongside Wildcat.

Good.

Having a deadly twilight assassin there to protect her brother made her feel a lot better. Lucky discretely nodded at the screen to let Cloud know she had received his message.

A tear lodged in the corner of her eye.

She had never realized how utterly loyal the entire crew was to Wildcat.

"
What was that
?" Fearing some kind of Zoltarian trick, Kerreth approached the screen, placing himself in full view for the first time during the interaction with the pirates. "Did you see it, Red?"

Lucky winced. The last thing she wanted to do was alert the pirates to the fact that they had a dreaded Auran assassin onboard. They would positively freak. "Shh!"

She needn't have worried.

Upon seeing Kerreth, the Zoltarian Captain let out a shriek of the kind that is only uttered when a collector sees a longed-for collectable.

"
GAGHHH
! That—that uniform! That face! That perfect body!!" Kokol's eyes bugged out. "Is—is he a-a—" She swallowed almost too excited to dare speak its name. "Could that…
Could that be a Masterstroke 6000
?"

"Wha?" Lucky glanced from the screen to Slick.

Her android was dressed once again in his jumpsuit from Slide.

The jumpsuit that delineated every muscular bulge on his hunk self.
The jumpsuit that clearly stated his performance name over the breast pocket area
.

Damn! There was no denying it now.

Why did Slick have to get in that pirate's face? This was not going to be cool. "Ah, so what if he is?"

Kokol had an immediate choking fit.

Wildcat patted her back. Patiently. Maybe a bit too forcefully.
Thwap
. Whap.
Thwap
. Whap.

"Enough!" She grabbed his hand to stop the backslaps.

While Kokol recovered, Wildcat locked eyes with his sister. A steely-eyed stare that sent bullets of blue in a riveting, paralyzing attack.

Okay, so
that
look made her a teensy bit nervous.

She swallowed.

"Lucky." He drew her name out in a low, long tone.

"Um, yes, brother?" she answered in a small voice.

His speech level dropped some more, becoming very soft. "What in the hell is that
thing
doing on my ship…"

Didn't seem like a question that expected an unreasonable answer.

So Lucky wisely didn't answer.

The Zoltarian Captain put her hand on her brother's arm to calm him down. "Never mind that, Cat—how did she get it?"

The Zoltarian and her brother started to carry out their own little conversation, so there really was no need for her to get involved. Lucky almost started whistling under her breath as the two of them went back and forth.

"Half of Crisyn will be hunting for me!" Her brother roared.

"They are impossible to steal! It-it must be priceless!" Kokol squealed. Then the pirate's eyes gleamed as the reality of what she had just said sank in.

Wildcat summed up his reaction in one. "
Shit
."

Kerreth waited for his sentence to fall—the one that was going to permanently mess up his future.

He was going to have to come clean. Right now.

And
that
was sure to land him in even more trouble.

The Zoltarian pirate would want to toss him overboard into deep space for getting her hopes up. The Floop would be disappointed the fun was over. Minmei would use the opportunity to lobby for better sensors. Clugot would voice his displeasure with an
ur
. Lucky would be furious and terribly hurt.

And the elder Arrows…

Ah, yes, the brother that looked like a savage warrior chieftain from Earth's past…
He
would most likely throttle him after what he had done to his sister.

Kerreth surreptitiously eyed Wildcat. Could he take him in a fight?

By the size of that clenched fist… Probably not.

Self-preservation demanded he remain silent as long as he could.

Kokol was first to assert her professional rights to him. "I want him!" she announced straightaway.

That's number one
. Kerreth began to count off his future headaches as they all tried to hop aboard the Masterstroke excursion.

Meanwhile, Lucky was nonplussed at Kokol's proprietary attitude. As far as she was concerned, Slick was not part of the bargain. "Well, you can't have him! He's mine, so forget it."

Two
. Kerreth knew Lucky was going to hate him for his ruse. He still didn't want to leave her.

Wildcat stared at his sister and then stared at Kerreth.

And back and forth once more.

As if to be sure of what he was seeing.

He was ominously silent.

That makes three
. Kerreth acknowledged that this last one was definitely the most dangerous of the lot.

SpinDrift suddenly pulled up a seat, unwrapped a pocketed snack, and settled himself in for the delicious entertainment. "Oh, this is flawless!"

The Zoltarian pirate shot the first salvo straight across Lucky's bow. "He's isn't yours. If you wish to see your brother alive again, you will hand him over to me!" Like any good pirate, Kokol paused to let her threat sink in.

Lucky's eyes became suspiciously moist.

This couldn't be happening
! How could she give Slick up when she just found him? It was rather foolish, but she was
fond
of the 6000. He had been so sweet to her when they… No!

Just the thought of that-that
woman
using him made her feel nauseous.
Bleck
!

So she tried to stall Kokol.

"You can't mean it, Captain Kokol! You don't really want him; he's a corrupt unit. He'll put your ship in jeopardy for sure!"

Kokol waved Lucky's warning away. "My ship is always in jeopardy."

"But he's—he's
corporate
!" The ugliest word to any pirate.

"Surely not through and through, my dear?"

Lucky blushed.

"Some risks are worth taking and
he
looks to be a prize worth fighting for. I've heard all about these special pleasure droids. It's enough to make a woman's mouth water!"

Lucky tried bluffing. "I am telling you, there is not much difference between the 6000s and the earlier 2000s. Same stroking techniques. Same conversational qualities. Okay, so he's
capable
of doing more—but where's the software support from third parties? It's all Crisyn hype! Next Gen bs. They only want to get the market hot—that's where it's at. You know the early performance holos?"

"I've seen them; yes."

"Not live action. Composites."

Kokol sucked in her breath. "No way."

"It's the truth. Didn't you ask yourself: how can he possibly be this
good
? Of course you did. We all did. It's just another marketing ploy to get us women to spend more money."

"I don't care!" Kokol's dreamy voice became reverent as she uttered the robot's design tag. "
I've longed for a 6000
. When they banned them from leaving Slide and supply went short, I thought I'd die until I got my hands on one."

Wildcat stared at the pirate captain agog. He didn't believe what he was hearing. What was it with women and these Masterstrokes? Plenty of men he knew said they couldn't get their women to stop playing with them; especially when new role-playing software came out.

The latest craze was some erotic vampire fantasy. Who knew what was next? Magical Knights? Lords of Sex? Where would it end?

"I'm completely crushed by this," he drawled, teasingly.

Kokol patted his firm thigh. "Don't take it personally Cat. You are a magnificent lover. But a 6000!! I always prayed that one day I might come across one. It's a true rogue's fantasy! To enjoy the booty of the booty and still have it increase in value." She lowered her lashes demurely.

"If I live forever, I will never understand women." Wildcat remarked drolly as he observed her kittenish demeanor.

A whisp of a chortle tickled the atmosphere.

Wildcat snorted softly.

"I thought you said you wanted the Heart of the Merchandiser in exchange for Wildcat?" Lucky was still trying to hold firm against Kokol as they haggled over her brother's future.

Kokol perked up at the mention of the famous jewel. "Do you actually have the miadne stone?"

"Um, not yet."

Kokol folded her arms across her ample chest. "Then I want the android! Actually, I want the android anyway. At this point, he is nonnegotiable."

Lucky switched off the sound and turned regrettably to Kerreth. "I think I'm going to have to agree to this, Slick. I can't budge her. I can't help it; I have no other choice."

"You can't be serious, Red. We have a… a history going."

That sounded lame even to him. He looked at the screen and grimaced as Kokol ran her tongue over her pointed teeth.

He shuddered. He really hated that
thing
Zoltarians did with their teeth! "I don't want to go with her."

"I'm sorry, Slick. I do like you… as a… peripheral device, but this is my brother's life we're talking about. There's nothing I can do. Once we switch for him, we'll see if we can get you back again."