by Jenna Ives
Wyatt shut the door behind him, blessedly muffling the whine of the factory floor machines. He’d been shocked to find that the facility was back in full operation mode when he’d arrived a minute ago. What the hell did Carron need more robot soldiers for so quickly? It didn’t bode well.
Neither did the message from Carron coming so close on the heels of the surrender by regulator Egidia.
Carron was up to something.
Wyatt forced an obvious note of uncertainty into his voice. “You wanted to see me?”
A lascivious grin spread across Carron’s face. “Yes. Titus and I want to know how your night was, agent Wyatt.”
Wyatt arched an eyebrow. Surely Carron hadn’t summoned him so early in the morning simply to fish for explicit details of his sexual escapades with Ginger? No, that could have waited until a more reasonable hour of the morning. So then, this was more likely a case of Carron wanting to prove that Wyatt was under his control, that Wyatt would come running when Carron called. Or was it already time to pay up on the debt Carron felt Wyatt owed by being allowed to take Ginger home?
The best strategy was to play along for right now.
Wyatt looked at his boots, as if embarrassed by Carron’s question. “Ginger’s incredible.”
“Are you blushing? Come, come, agent Wyatt. You deprived Titus and me of our plaything when you took the Doll home. The least you can do is give us specifics of your first night together, to… satisfy us. Vicariously, that is. You owe us that much.”
Wyatt felt a sour taste in his mouth. Of course he knew that Ginger must have serviced both Anson Carron and Titus Veraine – and possibly other men – during her five years of existence, but Wyatt didn’t want to think about that. If he had to think about her past at all, he was determined to consider her a woman who’d had previous relationships. Just like he’d had. Hell, he certainly knew she was no virgin.
Neither was he.
“Specifics, agent Wyatt. We want specifics. Did she try the padlock position on you? The plow?”
Wyatt looked up. Padlock? Plow? Dear God, those were two more positions for his sore cock to look forward to. Meanwhile, he knew he had to give Carron and Veraine something. “One position she called The Pair Of Tongs.”
Carron smiled, and slid a hand below his desk where Wyatt couldn’t see it. “Ah, yes. No one squeezes the juices out of a man quite as deliciously as our Ginger. What else?”
Damn him. “There was one with bamboo.”
“Split The Bamboo,” Veraine supplied. “One of my personal favorites.”
“Ha,” Carron scoffed. His face was turning an odd shade of red, and Wyatt prayed he wasn’t jerking off below his desk. “I beg to differ. There’s nothing better than fellatio two. She’s a fucking vacuum cleaner when she performs fellatio two. Sucks the orgasm right out of you. Hell, I remember once when she took us both—”
“She’s amazing,” Wyatt said quickly, desperate to put an end to the discussion of Ginger’s past sexual history. “I’m looking forward to discovering everything she can do. Thank you for letting me take her home. But why did you need me here so early?”
Carron’s face was even redder now, although Wyatt suspected his sexual excitement might have just segued into anger because Carron wasn’t used to being interrupted. He reluctantly withdrew his hand from under his desk, and gripped the armrest of his chair. Wyatt forced himself not to look at that hand.
Pervert.
“You’re no fun, agent Wyatt,” Carron complained.
Next to him, Veraine let out a derisive snort. “Agent Wyatt doesn’t like to talk about sex. He’s a gentleman.”
“A gentleman, eh?” Carron blew out a long, slow breath. “Well, then. A gentleman respects a lady. Tell me, do you like Ginger, agent Wyatt?”
Wyatt frowned. Where was this going? And what did it have to do with the demand that he come in early?
“She’s amazing.”
Carron waved the hand Wyatt had tried so desperately not to stare at. “Yes, she’s amazing. So you said earlier. But Titus and I have noticed that you might actually… like… her.”
Oh, no. They couldn’t possibly know how I feel. Wyatt kept his face intentionally blank. “What do you mean?”
“That sickeningly sweet little habit you enjoy of kissing her neck, and biting her earlobe,” Carron answered.
Wyatt arched both eyebrows in feigned shock.
“Yes, you were right, agent Wyatt, Titus and I were recording your sessions here with her. We saw everything.”
The news wasn’t a surprise to Wyatt, but he watched Carron carefully.
“Hmm,” Carron continued. “Your gesture was definitely… romantic, I suppose. But not a common one. When my company, Beautiful Dolls, was still up and running as a business, clients used our Dolls for sex. Wild sex. Kinky sex. Sadistic sex. My Dolls did things their husbands or wives or girlfriends or boyfriends would never agree to do. My Dolls fulfilled every client’s fantasy.”
Wyatt grimaced. “I know that. My ex-partner was subjected to a few of those sick fantasies during her undercover assignment with Marque Callex.”
“Right. Jai Turner and Tau Cetus’ washed-up arms dealer Marque Callex. An interesting case.” Carron tapped his lips with his finger thoughtfully. “However, that incident notwithstanding, I can’t recall a single time a client of mine ever sweetly trailing a line of kisses up their Doll’s neck.”
Wyatt needed to try to downplay this. He’d only kissed Ginger’s neck to be able to whisper a message in her ear about his planned rescue. “I…” He shoved a hand purposely through his hair. “Listen, Carron. As a Tau Cetus police agent, I don’t exactly have much time for a love life. What’s the big deal if I want to pretend that Ginger is an actual woman? It doesn’t mean I really believe it. It’s my own personal “fantasy” – just less kinky than your usual client’s, that’s all.”
Carron steepled his fingers and regarded Wyatt for a long moment. “Very nice, agent Wyatt. Very…heartfelt. So then, I’m right. You like her more than just as a sexual plaything.”
Wyatt closed his eyes. He might have been trapped into the admission, but it wasn’t necessarily a bad thing. He wanted Carron to believe he was at Carron’s mercy. He wanted Carron to play his hand so he’d know what the real game was. “Yes. All right. You win. I like her.”
“And you’d like to keep her for a little longer.”
“Yes.”
“Then you’re going to have to do something for us, agent Wyatt.”
Wyatt shifted on his feet, in a pseudo-nervous gesture. Finally. Finally Carron is getting to the point. “What?”
“It’s not much, really,” Carron said, straightening in his chair. “I believe you saw a demonstration of the physical power of my robot soldiers in Titus’ lab last week.”
Wyatt remembered the faceless soldier crushing a concrete block. He nodded.
“I want to be granted an audience with the High Council in order to demonstrate for Theus – and the entire Council – what my soldiers are capable of. What they can do for Tau Cetus. I’m very proud of my work, agent Wyatt, and I’m an ambitious man. I want Theus to use my services for all his defensive needs. I want to become the Council’s right hand.”
Wyatt frowned. “That’s a lot of wants.”
Carron shrugged. “Get me that audience. With the entire Council. That’s really all I want.”
“Impossible. For security reasons alone, members of the High Council never gather all together in one location.”
“You will convince them to do so for our demonstration. I know how close you are to Theus, how he trusts you. If anyone can arrange it, you can.”
Wyatt shook his head. “It’ll never happen.”
Carron gave Wyatt a pointed look, then turned his head. “Titus?”
Veraine crossed his arms over his chest. “Remember the self-destruct feature of the robot soldiers I mentioned in Terra Acer? The one we can invoke to prevent the soldiers from falling into
enemy hands?”
Wyatt’s heart dropped to his stomach.
Carron smiled an evil, ugly smile. “Yes, that’s right, agent Wyatt. I will personally destroy Ginger with the stroke of a computer key if you don’t do exactly as we say.”
Dear God, they were threatening to destroy Ginger if he didn’t cooperate.
He could not allow that to happen.
Neither Carron nor Theus could be allowed to harm Ginger.
“You want me to arrange a demonstration of one of your robot soldiers for the High Council,” Wyatt said carefully.
“No. I want you to arrange a demonstration of five of my robot soldiers for the High Council.”
Wyatt sucked in a breath. Five robots. Five council members. It didn’t take much to guess Carron’s plans.
Assassination.
And wresting control of Tau Cetus for himself.
Wyatt’s personal communication device beeped three times. With a sense of dread, he unclipped it from his belt and read the screen.
“Theus wants me to report to the Council headquarters.”
“Excellent. And when you see him, you’ll arrange for that demo.”
Chapter Ten
Wyatt had a hard time concentrating during the drive to the High Council headquarters. What the hell was he going to do?
Should he confess everything to Theus, and watch as the premier systematically destroyed all of Carron’s robot soldiers, including Ginger – whom Theus would undoubtedly see as the embodiment of the threat robots could become?
There were two things arguing against why he shouldn’t choose that option. One, Wyatt was determined not to let Theus harm Ginger, and two, if Theus made a move to eliminate Carron’s robots, Carron could fight back and unleash hell on earth. Carron’s soldiers were already more powerful than any army the High Council could put together.
Result: Carron wins. Tau Cetus falls under the control of a megalomaniac.
So. Overt action was not the way to approach this crisis. But inaction just might be.
What might work was pretend compliance to Carron’s demands. A feigned interest by Theus for a demonstration of Carron’s robots’ abilities.
Strategically, it was better to string Carron along while the Council planned its move.
And ironically, the knowledge that Carron had the technology to destroy Ginger with one stroke of a keyboard could prove invaluable to the Council’s defense.
Wyatt’s hand tightened around his drive stick.
“Titus Veraine is the key.” Wyatt could hopefully use Veraine’s ambition to usurp Carron, and avert this whole crisis. “I just need to get him alone. Speak with him.”
Yes. If Carron could be led into the attempt to assassinate the High Council – only to be foiled at the last moment by Veraine destroying the robots inside the council chambers before they could do any harm – Theus would undoubtedly promote Veraine to replace Carron as the Council’s right hand.
It’s what Veraine wanted.
“But can I trust him to do it?”
And if there was any doubt of that trust, was it smart to tip off Veraine that Wyatt was not about to cooperate with Anson Carron’s insane plan? If Veraine should turn around and tell his boss, Carron might call out his robot army just the same.
Result: Carron wins.
“Two scenarios, and Carron wins both. Not good odds for Tau Cetus.”
Maybe Wyatt should exaggerate his addiction to Ginger, pledge his allegiance to Carron, and hope he could discover the way to destroy the robots while snooping in Veraine’s programming lab.
It was an option, but not exactly a fail-proof plan. Not good odds when control of the whole planet hung in the balance.
“Damn it!”
With one hand still on his drive stick, Wyatt reached for his personal communication device with the other. He punched a button and the connection was made almost immediately.
“Zan Talesin.”
“Zan? It’s Leith Wyatt.”
“Wyattt! It’s a great day here in Terra Acer.”
The tight knot in Wyatt’s stomach argued against that statement. “Not so great. We have a big problem here.”
“What do you mean? Regulator Egidia has surrendered.”
“Are you on a secure line? In a place we can talk?”
“Hold on.”
Wyatt listened to the jubilant background noises fade as Zan moved to a quieter spot.
“Okay. What’s up?”
Wyatt noted that all the previous elation had gone out of Zan’s tone.
“Listen carefully. I need you to do something important for me. Quietly and secretly find out exactly how Anson Carron can destroy individual robot soldiers using their computer interface programs. Covertly. I can’t stress that enough. It has to be done discretely. No one can realize what you’re doing. We need to know how to target an individual robot to be shut down or destroyed. See if you can wiggle the information out of that idiot Loris Rhean. Hell, flirt with him if you have to. I noticed how he looked at you yesterday during dinner in Terra Acer’s military mess hall.”
“What the…? Flirt with him? You’re not saying—”
“I’m saying Anson Carron plans to assassinate the entire High Council using his robot soldiers. He wants control of Tau Cetus. And we have to find a way to stop him.”
There was a pause at the other end of the line while Zan digested the information. “Holy fucking shit.”
“Exactly.”
“Does Theus know?”
“Not yet. I have a feeling Anson Carron concocted his plan just this morning. Or maybe it’s always been the bastard’s plan, but he’s putting it into action now because of your success down there in Terra Acer. And, Zan…” Wyatt paused, grimacing. “He’s trying to force me to help him.”
“Force you? You’re a Tau Cetus police agent. How the hell does he think he can do that?”
“Let’s just say he’s threatening someone who means a lot to me.”
“That fucking bastard.”
“Look. I’ve got to go. I’ve been summoned to the Council headquarters, and I have to figure out exactly what I’m going to say to Theus.”
“Knowing the premier’s ruthlessness, if you tell him about Carron he’ll want to destroy the bastard immediately.”
“I wish it could be that easy. Unfortunately, it won’t be. I’ll have to convince Theus to have a little patience.”
“Good luck with that.”
“Listen, I plan to work on Carron’s programmer, Titus Veraine, to try and get information on the robots’ termination program from this end, but you press Loris Rhean. He knows the procedure. He was ready to use it if something went wrong there in Terra Acer. See what you can squeeze out of him.”
“Hell, Wyatt, if I understand correctly what you mean by press and squeeze, if I do get the information out of Rhean, you’re going to owe me big time.”
“Deal. Call me if you have news. I’ll do the same.” Wyatt disconnected the call, and threw his communication device onto the seat next to him.
Fuck. Somehow describing the crisis to Zan Talesin made the situation sound even more dire. Was there any way the High Council could survive Carron’s overthrow plans?
There must be another alternative. Something he wasn’t considering.
“Wait a minute…” Maybe the answer was sitting in his own apartment.
Ginger…
Grabbing his communication device, he sent off a quick message to Theus, then turned his transport toward home.
#
Titus Veraine stared at his boss. The full impact of what had happened here a few minutes ago was finally sinking into his sleep-deprived brain.
Anson Carron was putting into motion his plan to overthrow Tau Cetus’ High Council. The world as Veraine knew it was about to change.
He shifted on his feet. “I have to go on record as saying I think we’re moving too fast on this.”
Carron smiled confidently from behind his d
esk. “No, we’re not.”
“But what’s the rush? We’ve gained our first victory. Theus now knows our value. Shouldn’t we build up his confidence before making our move? Besides, what makes you so sure that agent Wyatt’s lust for Ginger will override his loyalty to Theus? Can we really trust him to help us?”
Carron spread his hands in a magnanimous gesture. “It doesn’t matter either way, Titus. We’ve already won. If it comes to outright war, no one can defeat my robot army. Of course, things would be a lot less messy if the coup took place inside the Council chambers, but, rest assured, we’ve already won.”
Veraine paused. He had to admit he liked that logic. Because no matter what happened in the next few days, Veraine was absolutely sure that he would win. If Carron was somehow defeated, Veraine would move up to be the right-hand of the Council, which is exactly what he wanted. Theus, after all, would need his experienced help controlling the robot soldiers for future use. On the other hand, if Carron should win, Veraine would become the second most powerful man on the planet.
A slight shiver of anticipation ran through his body. He and Carron had discussed these takeover plans since the very first Beautiful Doll sexbot had rolled off the conveyor belt years ago. Carron was a damned clever man – he’d started out benignly, lulling everyone into a false sense of comfort with the machines, using them to fulfill what he argued was simply a basic human need.
Sex.
His Beautiful Dolls had become an instant phenomenon. People were soon addicted to the sexbots. They’d made Anson Carron a very rich man.
To the average citizen, Carron was simply a brilliant businessman.
Veraine knew he was much more.
Carron had grand goals. The highest possible goals. But he’d always been too impulsive for Veraine’s liking. Hell, Carron shooting Marque Callex last year in an attempt to force Theus to replace the arms dealer with Carron and his androids had been a very risky move. One that could easily have backfired.
Luckily, Callex had been relocated, and Carron had been able to convince the premier that converting his sexbots into robot soldiers would provide the High Council with a very powerful weapon.
