Chapter Ten

 

The insistent flashing of a red proximity violation warning roused Sabre, and he became aware that someone lay close beside him, an arm across his chest. Sitting up with a jerk, he freed himself from Estrelle's embrace and moved away. Martis sat beside the wall, watching him with a faint smile.

"Now that was surprising," the host tech murmured.

Sabre rubbed his eyes. "What?"

"She's been cuddled up to you for at least half an hour, and it didn't wake you up until now."

"I... What did she do?"

"Nothing; I think she's just cold. The drugs have worn off. So tell me, why didn't it wake you up straight away?"

"None of your business," Sabre said.

"Your girlfriend?"

"I said -"

"You slept with her."

Sabre shook his head. "No. Yes. Just sleep."

"Of course. Interesting, though."

"Why interesting?"

Martis shrugged. "What woke you up now?"

"The cyber."

"After half an hour?"

Sabre frowned. "I was tired, I guess."

"Tassin was your owner, wasn't she?"

"Yes. No. She owned the cyber."

"Right. That's why she was able to sleep with you. Estrelle's not, so it warned you."

"We should get out of here," Sabre said.

"And go where?"

"Find another empty hotel room to wait in. And food."

"How long before your friend comes?"

"A few hours, if the message was received."

The door handle rattled, then a thunderous knocking reverberated around the little room and a voice shouted, "Time's up! Out! Now!"

"I guess we don't have a choice," Martis muttered, rising to go over and shake Estrelle awake.

The cyber tech woke with a gasp and looked around in confusion, her eyes wide. Sabre stood up and stretched, his stomach growling. Martis helped Estrelle up, and Sabre unlocked the door to find a large, scowling man in a bright green dress waiting outside. He glared at them as they sidled past him.

"I suppose it's no good asking you lot to pay for the room, is it?" he asked.

Martis made a helpless gesture. "No money, sorry."

Outside, the Feline Festival was still in full swing, and they fought their way through the crowds to the more peaceful areas away from the orgy. Sabre chose another glass-plated spire and found an empty suite, this one decorated in cream and grey, with wood and glass tables and grey and white striped sofas, a glass bar counter in the corner. After a steak and vegetables meal, he showered in the shiny cream and chrome bathroom, then relaxed in the lounge with Martis while Estrelle used the bathroom.

The tech frowned at him. "Sooner or later we're going to get caught, using hotel rooms without paying, and I don't fancy going to prison."

"What do you suggest?"

"We need to make some money."

"How?"

Martis shrugged and smiled, glancing up as Estrelle emerged from the bathroom, towelling her hair. "We could pimp out Estrelle."

"Over your dead body," she retorted.

"You were a lot friendlier earlier."

"What happened?"

"You don't remember?"

She scowled at him. "Not much."

"Ah well, it was fun. Most enjoyable."

"Bullshit."

Martis raised his brows. "How would you know?"

"Sabre wouldn't have let you."

The cyber looked up, also raising his brows. "Why would I care?"

"You're a pair of pigs."

"Relax." Martis chuckled. "We're just teasing you. Or at least, I am. Sabre's just being his usual dour self."

Estrelle sat on a sofa opposite. "So what's this about making money?"

"Well, we need more clothes, since you lost your shirt, and Sabre can't keep stealing them for us. We also have to pay for this room, or the cops will be after us soon, and we don't want to be in jail when Sabre's friend arrives."

"I definitely need some clothes, preferably women's ones this time," Estrelle agreed, looking pensive. "We could always sell Sabre."

The cyber snorted, and Martis shook his head. "Cybers aren't allowed on Eden, remember?"

"Well then let's pimp you out."

"You wouldn't get much for me."

"Then you'll just have to work really really hard, won't you?"

 

 

Martis eyed the cyber, who closed his eyes and leant his head back against the chair. "I bet people would pay a lot of money to see a cyber go through his paces."

Estrelle followed his gaze. "Cybers aren't allowed."

"They won't know. A performance. An exhibition of fighting skills. The ladies will find it very erotic."

Sabre muttered, "I'm not a bloody performer."

"But you could be. It would be easy money. No harm done."

"No."

"You want to go to jail?"

Sabre raised his head. "Fairen will be here in a few hours."

"If your message was sent. If not, we could be stuck here for a while, until you can steal a ship, or contact your friend again. Meanwhile, Myon Two is searching for us."

"And you want me to give a public display."

"If we end up in jail, the enforcers will find us easily," Martis said.

"I'm not going to jail."

"If you fight, that'll make it worse. Then we'll be in bigger trouble, and you can't fight the entire Eden police force. That will lead the enforcers right to us."

Sabre stared across the room. "No one will find us here."

"They already have. We ordered room service, so they know this room is occupied. Surveillance has logged our entry, so they know what we look like. If we leave without paying, we're thieves. That's illegal even on Eden, isn't it?"

Sabre nodded. "Murder and robbery are crimes here."

"So, what do you suggest?"

"I liked your first idea better."

Martis glanced at Estrelle with a smile. "Okay, we pimp out Estrelle, but you'll have to make her do it. I don't want another black eye."

"I have a cracked rib," she pointed out.

"Right. And I'm not worth much, so even if I worked really really hard, it would take a long time to make much money."

Sabre eyed them, frowning. "You're ganging up on me now?"

"Well, at least neither of us suggested pimping you out. And he'd do well, don't you think, Estrelle?"

"Oh yeah, he'd have them queuing up."

Sabre smiled and shook his head. "You're both nuts. I'd have to work harder than Martis, and for less."

"No way. With your looks..." Estrelle sighed. "We could make a fortune."

"My looks? Martis is better looking than me."

Estrelle looked at the sandy-haired, brown-eyed tech, whose even features and high forehead could be called handsome, but his overall appearance was marred by narrow shoulders and a spreading midsection.

"You're kidding, right?"

"With all my scars? No."

"Ah, but ladies love scars. Very macho."

He snorted, shaking his head. "Anyway, it's impossible, as you both know perfectly well."

Martis leant forward. "Oh, I don't know, with the right drugs..."

Sabre shot him a surprised look, and Estrelle giggled. "We're teasing you, but I think the exhibition idea is a good one too."

"No, we stay here until Fairen comes. He'll get us out."

"What if he doesn't come? Maybe your message didn't get through. If we stay here too long, they won't let us leave, then we'll be stuck until they throw us in jail."

Sabre sighed and rubbed his brow. "I'm only at seventy-one per cent."

"It's an exhibition, not a fight," Martis said. "And we can order up some high protein shakes and body building supplements to boost your status."

The cyber let his head fall back, closing his eyes. "All right then. Just a short one."

Martis jumped up. "I'll go and arrange it."

"I'll order protein shakes." Estrelle reached for the com-unit.

"Only because otherwise the two of you will argue me to death," Sabre grumbled.

Martis grinned and headed for the door, catching a lift down to the lobby. Approaching the front desk, he found a hotel official and drew him aside to ask about the possibility of putting on an exhibition in the hotel. At first the man was reluctant and not very helpful, then his eyes narrowed and he looked furtive, lowering his voice.

"If you want to make some quick cash, and this man of yours is a good fighter, I could arrange a fight with a cyber."

Martis raised his brows. "I thought cybers were illegal here?"

"They are, but on Eden... Well, we find ways to do what we want. The law isn't too well enforced, if you know what I mean. Grease a few palms, and anything's possible."

Martis scratched his head, frowning. "I don't know. Cybers are dangerous, and impossible for a normal man to beat. What's the point?"

"It would be a B-grade, and the fight ends when your guy gives up, but a lot of people would pay to see a man try. You get my drift?"

"And if he wins?"

"You'd be swimming in cash if you laid a bet."

"But you can't beat a cyber without either knocking him out or killing him," Martis said.

"So kill him."

"Almost impossible."

"Okay, well, all your guy has to do is go a few rounds. You suggested beating the cyber, not me."

"Right." Martis nodded. "Okay, arrange it. I'll talk to my guy."

"Come back in an hour."

Martis hurried back to the suite, where Sabre sipped a protein shake, looking disgruntled, and Estrelle tried to persuade him to take some body building pills. They looked up when Martis burst in.

"I did it!" he announced.

"Goodie," Sabre muttered.

"No, you don't understand. I arranged a fight."

"I'm not fighting anyone."

"A cyber fight." Martis bounced with eagerness.

"No way." Sabre shook his head. "No cybers allowed here."

"They've got cybers, trust me. You fight a B-grade. It's all arranged. Beat him, and we're filthy rich."

"And just how exactly do you suggest I beat him?"

"You'll have to kill him. We bet all our money on you, and make a fortune."

Sabre snorted. "I've got a better idea. You fight him, and we'll bet on the cyber."

"Bad odds. Come on, Sabre, you can beat a B-grade, easy."

"Easy, huh? You fight him then."

"I'm not a cyber. If I was, I would."

Sabre put down the protein shake and glared at Martis. "If you were, you'd be stuck in a dark corner in your mind, with no control over your body."

"Right. Sorry. You have to do this. We need the money."

"No, I don't, and I'm sick of fighting for money."

"You've done it before?"

"Yeah, and I didn't enjoy it then either. It's not fun."

Martis shot a pleading look at Estrelle. "Look, we choose armed combat, with a knife. You stab him in the eye, you win."

"Oh, right, just stab him in the eye; sure, no problem."

Estrelle said, "He could get hurt, Martis."

"Oh, that's a given," Sabre agreed. "I will definitely get hurt."

"What's your bio-status now?" Martis asked.

"Piss off."

Estrelle pondered for a moment. "Why can't we use one of the cybers from the shuttle? You know all the Myon Two codes. You used them when you reprogrammed Sabre. Couldn't you use them on one of them?"

"No," Sabre and Martis said in unison.

"Why not?"

Martis sighed. "Different codes. Those were programming access codes, but I already had access to Sabre's control unit. Without the start-up codes and passwords to input owner information, I'd be locked out. It won't work. And besides, we'd get more money if people think he's a man."

"I am a man," Sabre said.

"Right, I meant a normal man. An unaltered man."

"You're getting dangerously close to a thick lip," the cyber remarked.

Martis flopped onto a sofa and threw up his hands. "Fine, we go to jail then."

"What happened to the exhibition?"

"I couldn't arrange it."

"How hard did you try?"

"Look, that sort of thing takes time to arrange. It has to be advertised, so we get a crowd in, and it won't attract as many people, because they don't know what they're going to see. But this is obviously an underground fighting ring. They have a guaranteed audience, which they can alert in a few hours. These people have money, and they want to see a fight. You don't have to win. Lose then, just go a few rounds with him, do your thing, leap around, maybe whack him a few times, and we get paid. Not as much as if you win, but enough."

Sabre glanced at Estrelle, who chewed her fingernails. "Maybe."

"Excellent!" Martis jumped up and grabbed a box of body building supplements, offering them to Sabre. "Get some of these down you; we need you to be at least at eighty per cent."

"I said maybe."

"So... what, you want to think about it?"

The cyber gazed out of the window, and Martis experienced a twinge of guilt.

Estrelle shot him an accusing look. "You shouldn't try to force him. It isn't fair."

Martis returned to his sofa and flopped down again, chewing a pill. "I'm not. I can't force him to do anything, can I? But he's the only one who can do it, and he's the reason we're in this predicament."

"Oh, right, blame me," Sabre said. "If not for you two, I'd have flown that drone ship somewhere better than this, so we're actually here because of you. And even if I had come here, I wouldn't be staying in a bloody hotel room, ordering room service and wanting to buy clothes. I'd be waiting in the shuttle now, eating something I stole."

"If not for us, you'd be a drooling vegetable by now," Martis pointed out.

"Martis!" Estrelle gasped, frowning.

"It's true."

"So, because you saved me from that, now I'm your personal tool, to do as you want, even if I get my head bashed in, is that it?" Sabre asked.

Martis looked away. "When you put it like that, it sounds bad."

"It is bad. I'm guessing you've always wanted your very own cyber, haven't you?"

"I'm trying to get us out of this situation, that's all."

"But you'd like to see me fight this cyber, and you'd really really like to see me kill him."

Martis sighed, chewed another pill and pulled a face. "God, this stuff tastes like shit. Look, I've done more for you than help you escape Myon Two. That reprogramming I did was all highly classified stuff. Only a host researcher could have done it, and I did it to help you. Without it, you'd probably have ended up psychotic. All I'm asking is that you leap around a bit with this cyber and make us a bit of money. Okay, maybe you get a few bruises; I wish that could be avoided."

"So, now I owe you, huh?"

"This isn't just for me, it's for all of us, so we don't go to jail."

Sabre turned his head to stare out of the window, and Estrelle chewed her fingernails, shooting Martis a worried glance. She shrank back when the cyber stood up and headed for Martis, who leapt from his chair with a yelp and retreated. Sabre veered off and went over to the window, gripped the ledge and gazed out. Martis watched him with a frown, and Estrelle rose and moved away from him.

"I think you might have pushed the boom button, Martis," she said.

Sabre leant forward until the brow band touched the glass with a soft tap, then tapped it again. Tap, tap, tap. The tension rose as the techs waited, Estrelle chewing her fingernails again.

Sabre sighed. "When Tassin asked me to fight for her, I did. I've killed so many men I've lost count. I would give my life for her, not because I owe her my life, which I do. Never, not once, did she tell me to fight because I owed her. Never. She didn't want me to fight, to be hurt. And I wouldn't hurt her for anything. I would die to protect her."

Sabre jerked his head forward, and the control unit hit the glass with a sharp report, cracking it. Swinging around, he strode over to Martis, who backed away, encountering the wall. He raised his hands, gulping, and Sabre gripped his throat and lifted him off his feet.

"Do you know how easily I could kill you?"

The young tech made a strangled sound, and Estrelle started forward, then hesitated.

"Please don't kill him."

Martis' face mottled, and Sabre dropped him. He sagged against the wall, clutching his throat. The cyber glared into his eyes. "What do you think would happen to you if I turned psychotic?"

The tech coughed. "You'd probably kill us."

"So why did you reprogramme me, really?"

He looked away. "I... I thought you were becoming dangerous."

"So who did you do it for, really?"

"Us. Me and Estrelle."

"Right." Sabre tilted his head, considering the cringing tech. "But you saved me from Myon Two, and that's the only reason you're still alive. I hate killing. But cyber techs..." He shook his head. "Let's just say, I might not mind too much. Especially host researchers. You did me a favour, reprogramming me, that's true. And I did ask you to do it, although you didn't do it because I asked you to, you did it because you were scared of what I might become. But don't ever tell me that I owe you."

"Sorry."

"And don't ever act like, or think, you can order me to do anything. You can't, got it?"

"Got it."

Sabre patted the side of Martis’ neck. "Good boy."

"That was definitely a boom button," Estrelle said.

"And he had to push it."

"He said he would."

"And now he knows how stupid he really is."

She giggled. "Like stowing away on a drone ship."

Sabre smiled and returned to the settee, sinking onto it. Martis rubbed his throat and frowned at Estrelle, who smirked at him.

"Next time someone doses you with aphrodisiacs, Estrelle, I won't be the one begging Sabre to save you."

"Really? Well next time Sabre has you by the throat, I won't be the one asking him not to kill you."

Sabre raised his hands. "Here we go."

"Yeah, well now we'll just have to pimp you out, won't we?"

"Nope, we'll just take you down to the boy-buggering part of town and tie you to a tree."

Sabre rubbed his face. "If you two don't shut up, I'll pimp you both out."

Estrelle came over and sat on the sofa opposite him. "At least I didn't come up with that dumb idea, and make the arrangements before I'd even asked you if you'd do it."

Martis cursed. "Now I'll have to call it off."

"Yeah, you will, idiot. I bet they'll be pissed off too. They probably sent out the invitations already."

"Maybe not. I'll be right back." Martis headed for the door.

"Wait," Sabre said. "Sit down."

The tech came back and sat as far from the cyber as he could.

Sabre eyed him. "Here's how it's going to work. The fight ends at first blood. Whoever draws first blood, wins. That way, they can bet on it. They'll go for it. There's a chance that a good human fighter could draw first blood, but none that he'll win. That's the rule, accept no other deal, got it?"

Martis grinned. "You bet! That's brilliant."

"I'll give them a good show, without getting too banged up. I should be able to do that against a B-grade, even at... seventy-two per cent."

Estrelle grabbed the protein shake and held it out, Martis picked up the box of body building pills. Sabre sighed, took the protein shake and emptied the body building pills into his mouth, washing them down with the shake.

Martis glanced at his timepiece. "In two hours, you should be at about eighty per cent."

"Great." Sabre rose and went into the bedroom to fling himself down on the bed. "I'm going to sleep. Wake me up an hour before, and until then, keep quiet, and no sneaking around."