The Cyber Chronicles VIII - Scorpion Lord (14 page)

"I can help
you."

"Would
you?"

"I'd love to,"
he said, smiling. "I have an apartment just around the corner. You
can stay there. Then we'll go shopping, and visit a beauty parlour
and a spa, have some drinks at a club and dance the night away.
What do you say?"

"Yes!"
Estrelle giggled.

"No." Sabre
pushed himself away from the wall and stepped closer.

The stranger
glanced around, his smile widening. "Well hello there. You must be
the chauffeur? Or the bodyguard, maybe?"

"I'm the guy
who's going to rip your false face off if you don't leave her
alone."

"Sabre!"
Estrelle scowled at him. "He's just being friendly. We do need a
place to stay."

"No, we
don't."

"Yes, we do.
And anyway, you're not in charge of me. I'll do as I want. This
nice man wants to help me."

"Vork." The
dapper man lifted Estrelle’s hand to his lips and kissed the back
of it. "At your service. Whatever you want, you should have. Your
beauty commands it."

"Don’t be an
idiot, Estrelle," Sabre said. "There's got to be strings attached.
He's not just being nice. No one's that nice."

"How would you
know? Anyway, like I said, I do as I want. There's no need for us
to stay together anymore. You're free to do your thing, and I'll do
mine."

Vork tugged
her away, and she giggled as he leant close to murmur in her
ear.

Martis frowned
at Sabre. "You're just going to let him take her away?"

The cyber
shrugged. "What do you want me to do about it? She wants to go with
him. You stop her."

"As if I
could. But this isn't right. We should stick together."

"She's free to
do as she pleases."

"I guess."
Martis was clearly disgruntled. "But I think that guy's up to
something."

"I agree."

Sabre glanced
around at the Net booth, discovering that while he had been
distracted, the fat man had left and two tall women had entered it.
They were clasped together in a clinch, and a moment later the
glass cubicle darkened, shutting out prying eyes.

Sabre cursed
and swung away. "I think those two are going to be a while. We
should find another booth."

He set off
across the expanse of mosaic paving towards another glass
building.

Martis fell
into step beside him. "You said we were in danger of being drugged
and dragged off to an orgy, and that's what just happened to
Estrelle, isn't it?"

"I think so. I
detected an exotic scent from Vork. It's probably a mind-altering
drug."

"Then
shouldn't you save her?"

"As she said,
I'm not her keeper, and if I tried to intervene, she would fight
just as hard as Vork, which would cause a commotion."

"So you're
just going to abandon her?" Martis demanded.

"She didn't
want my help."

"She was
drugged! I want you to save her."

Sabre turned
his head. "I'm not your servant, either."

"Please."

The cyber
stopped and faced the host tech. "My priority is to get a message
to Overlord Fairen and get the hell off this shithole planet, not
rescue stupid girls from their idiocy."

"She helped to
save you! In fact, it was her idea!"

Sabre frowned,
glancing in the direction in which Estrelle and her amiable
abductor had gone. "I guess gratitude isn't one of my more evolved
human emotions."

"And you hate
cyber techs."

"That
too."

"Please..."

Sabre sighed.
"Wait right here. Don't move."

The cyber
loped away across the square. Locating Estrelle's tagged life sign
amongst the thousands that filled the scanners, he headed for it.
He spotted the pair outside a crowded mall, and followed them
inside, cursing the crush of people in it. Estrelle clung to Vork's
arm, giggling as he murmured in her ear. Sabre walked up behind
them and gripped Estrelle's neck, pressing on the nerve bundles
below her ears. She collapsed, and Vork gave a yelp of surprise.
Sabre bent and scooped her up, hoisted her onto his shoulder and
cast Vork a tight smile.

"She's mine.
Find another."

Sabre headed
for the door, and Vork was apparently too stunned to protest.
People cast Sabre startled looks as he passed them, and a few
stopped to stare after him. Outside the crowded mall, he broke into
a lope, impatient to get back to Martis before he was abducted,
too.

The host tech
waited where he had left him, and his jaw dropped when Sabre
trotted up to him.

"You had to
knock her out?"

"Yup. Best way
to avoid a ruckus. I wasn't going to waste my time arguing with
her. Come on."

Sabre
continued towards the next glass building, which had an empty Net
booth beside the entrance. Turning to Martis, he lifted Estrelle
off his shoulder and held her out.

"Here, take
her."

Martis
staggered as Sabre dumped the girl in his arms, protesting, "She's
heavy. Can't you wake her up?"

"No, she's
still drugged. She'll argue, and she weighs next to nothing."

"To you,
maybe." Martis grimaced, struggling with the limp girl.

Sabre turned
to enter the Net booth, only to find that a fat woman in a bikini
now filled it, and he cursed. "Damn it, there are too many bloody
people on this planet."

Martis sat
down on the wall that edged a flowerbed, holding Estrelle on his
lap. Sabre paced up and down for a while, then joined him. Martis
patted Estrelle's cheek, trying to wake her up.

"You're
wasting your time. She's out for thirty minutes, no matter what you
do," Sabre informed him.

"Nerve
block?"

"Yup. What, do
you think I used a sledgehammer?"

"You wouldn't
have to."

The fat woman
in the Net booth gesticulated and wept, mopping her face with a
tissue. "Great,” Sabre said, “looks like this one's going to be in
there all day, too."

Two
red-flagged human life signs appeared on Sabre's scanners, and he
frowned, then cursed. "There are enforcers on this world."

Martis looked
around in alarm. "Where?"

"A long way
off, but still, it might mean Myon Two has already started
searching for us."

"Or they might
just be here on holiday."

"Possible, but
unlikely."

“
How can you identify them?”

“
Weapons’ configuration.” Sabre watched a group of girls walk
past, wondering what it was about them that seemed odd. When he
consulted the scanners, his brows rose in surprise.

"What is it?"
Martis demanded.

"Those
girls..." Sabre frowned. "They've got control units embedded in
their skulls."

"What?"

"Tiny ones.
Their hooks are not like mine. They're only on the surface of the
brain, probably implanted after adulthood. Just enough to stimulate
endorphins and promote submissive behaviour."

Martis studied
the four giggling girls. "They're slaves?"

"Effectively,
yes. I'm not a tech, but why else would they implant a control unit
in a girl?"

Martis looked
puzzled. "Why would they do it at all?"

"They're
pretty, I guess." Sabre tracked the enforcers again. "The enforcers
are getting close. We should move on."

"You don't
have a locator, do you?"

"No." Sabre
stood up. "Mine was deactivated long ago. Unless they fitted me
with a new one while I was unconscious."

"It's
possible. We should find somewhere to rest, so I can examine
you."

Chapter Eight

Sabre cast a
last irritated glance at the fat woman, whose weeping was fogging
up the plasti-glass booth, then bent and scooped Estrelle from
Martis' arms. Hoisting her over his shoulder, he strode into the
building. The lift took them up to the fourth floor, where they
walked along the corridor until Sabre found an empty room. He
opened the door with the cyber and entered a plush hotel suite
decorated in fawn and mauve, with plump pink sofas in the lounge,
chrome and glass tables and a well-stocked bar counter with a
polished wooden top. Sabre went into the bedroom, where the mauve
carpet extended up the walls, dumped Estrelle on the king-sized bed
and turned to Martis.

"How will you
find it?"

"It must be
somewhere your scanners can't see, so it has to be above your
shoulders. I wish I had some equipment. I'll just have to look for
a lump or scar."

Sabre sat on
the bed. "Hurry up, then."

Martis licked
his lips, clearly nervous, then bent and examined Sabre's scalp,
running his fingers over the stubble that covered it. "You have a
lot of scars."

"That one was
made by a sword, on... a long time ago. When you find one I don't
know about, I'll let you know."

Martis worked
his way over and around Sabre's head, pointing out well-known
scars. His study brought him around to Sabre's face, which he
examined minutely, coming uncomfortably close to do it. Sabre
stared through him, fighting the urge to push the tech away. He had
undergone too many such examinations by men in white coats. It
brought back a lot of unpleasant memories. Martis paused as he ran
his fingers along the edge of Sabre's jaw, close to his ear.

"What's
this?"

"I don't
know."

"There's a
tiny scar here, under your jaw."

"I don't know
it."

Martis knelt
to peer at the scar, probing it. "There's something hard in it. I
think this is it."

"Bastards."
Sabre opened his overall and pulled out his knife. "Here, cut it
out."

"No, god, I
need a scalpel."

"In the
medikit."

Martis found
the scalpel and told Sabre to lie down and lift his head to expose
the underside of his jaw. The young tech wiped his sweaty hands on
his uniform, but they still shook.

Sabre eyed
him. "Get on with it."

"I... this is
going to hurt."

"I'm aware of
that."

"Well, I just
don't want you to think I'm cutting your throat."

"Ah, right,
cyber conditioning, hey?"

Martis nodded.
"Yeah."

Sabre's hand
flashed out, gripped the front of Martis' uniform and dragged him
closer, so they were nose to nose. He glared into the young tech's
eyes. "What did I say about treating me like a bloody cyber?"

"Sorry, I
know, but you have reflexes!"

"Yeah, and one
of them is going to be my boot up your arse if you don't get on
with it."

"Okay!
Okay."

Sabre released
Martis, who hesitated, then bent over Sabre to press the scalpel to
his throat, making a tiny incision. The cyber's hands clenched as
he fought the reflex to lash out, allowing Martis to probe in the
wound with the scalpel. The tech recoiled with a grunt.

"Got it."

"A
locator?"

"Yeah, one of
the new ones, the size of a damned pin head." Martis swung away.
"I'll smash it."

"No." Sabre
sat up, rubbing his jaw. "If they’re tracking it and you break it,
the trail ends here. Give it to me."

Martis handed
it over, and Sabre went out onto the balcony to gaze down at the
pedestrians, looking for a likely target. A woman with an immense,
frizzy coiffure passed below, and he dropped the locator, which
landed in her hairdo.

"There. Now
they can chase her," he said, turning away.

Martis stood
just inside the room, staring at the blood on his fingers, the
scalpel dangling in his other hand. Sabre paused to study him,
wondering what was going through the young tech's mind, and why he
seemed to find his blood so fascinating.

"What is
it?"

Martis looked
up. "Nothing."

Sabre wandered
closer. "Oh, it's something. I can tell."

"It's just...
well, this is the first time I've... shed the blood of a living
cyber."

"So?"

"That's
all."

"Why is that
so amazing?"

Martis
shrugged, looking down at his bloody fingers again. "It just is, to
me. I thought I'd have to cut up cybers all the time, though I'm
not a surgeon, but the only time I do it is with you, who are free,
and felt the pain."

Sabre snorted
and brushed past him. "Big deal."

"To you it's
nothing, but to me... it is a big deal."

"Strange
boy."

"One day, when
you become human, if you ever do, you'll understand, maybe, if you
ever have to shed the blood of someone you really admire."

Sabre swung
around. "You admire me?"

"God, the
things you're capable of... Cybers are just machines. They obey
orders, nothing more, but you... you're a free man, with the
abilities of a peerless fighting machine."

"Ah. You have
no idea how sick I am of people envying my abilities. I'd give them
all up to be normal."

"Would you?"
Martis shook his head. "I wouldn't."

Before Sabre
could reply, Estrelle woke with a snort. She sat up, her eyes wide,
and glanced around the room with an alarmed air.

"Where am I?
Where's Vork?"

Martis put
down the scalpel and wiped his hand on his uniform, going over to
her. "It's okay, you're safe now, we - Sabre rescued you."

"Rescued me? I
didn't need rescuing, you idiot!"

Martis sat
beside her, making calming motions. "You were drugged."

She jumped up
and headed for the door. "Now I'll have to find him."

"No!" Martis
leapt up to grab her arm, halting her.

Estrelle
punched him in the ribs, making him grunt, but he hung on. Sabre
started to strip off his overall, and Martis cast him a desperate
glance as she took a swing at his head, just missing when he
ducked.

"Sabre, help
me!" he said.

"Just hang
onto her for a moment, okay?"