Human After All

by Connie Bailey

  Stung, Drue replied with sarcasm. “Then you should see yourself. Your hair is tangled and has leaves in it. You’ll start a new fashion when we get home.”

  “Have I told you I hate you?”

  “At least once,” Drue said, glad now that he hadn’t done anything foolish like telling the T-bred he liked him.

  “Well, I wouldn’t want you to forget.”

  “Not possible.” Drue pulled Alvera’s gray market linx from his pocket and held it up to the sun. “Why aren’t you charging?” he muttered.

  Jaymes glanced over. “Have you tried pissing on it?”

  “Will that work?” Drue frowned. “Does the ammonia cause a chemical reaction or something?”

  Jaymes shrugged and watched as the Exotic set the tiny chromolyres disc on a rock. Drue unfastened his trousers, pulled out his cock, and coaxed forth a stream that sparkled in the sunlight. The comm was knocked off the stone into the tall grass, where it promptly disappeared from sight.

  “Hot steaming murd!” Drue cursed, diving after the device. He rose with wet, empty hands to the sound of Jaymes’s soft laughter. Clenching his fists, the Exotic glared at the other Companion. “And you had the hide to call me a vac-head? I’m sure I look funny with piss all over me, but your little prank cost us our only hope of getting out of this alive.”

  “The be-damned thing didn’t work anyway.”

  “Maybe I could’ve made it work. Now we’ll never know.”

  “Why are Zots such drama royales?” Jaymes went directly to the spot where the disc had entered the undergrowth, much farther from the rock than Drue had searched. “Here.”

  Drue caught the piece of chromolyres and examined it for damage, but the iridescent surface was still featureless. No matter how long, or how many times Drue pressed his thumbprint to the smooth metal, nothing happened. Even the silvery-green sheen of the touch interface field was gone. “Useless,” he said, under his breath.

  “We’re still headed in the direction of the lights we saw last night, right?”

  Drue nodded. “It’s a long way, though, and neither of us is used to hiking, so it’ll be a while before we get there.”

  “I’m in very good physical condition,” Jaymes said.

  “Yes, you are,” Drue agreed. “But this isn’t a controlled environment.”

  Jaymes looked around, wide-eyed. “I hadn’t noticed until you pointed it out. Come on. What choice do we have but to keep walking?”

  “I guess if a T-bred can manage it, it should be a fat slice of zero-prob for me.”

  “So why are you still standing there like you’re waiting for a transport?”

  “I’m just admiring you, Prince.” Drue paused. “Really. You look very beautiful against the background of the leaves.”

  Jaymes ran a hand through his tumbled hair. “Shut up. I’m a terrible mess.”

  “But enticing nonetheless, maybe even more so.”

  “Enough foolishness.” Jaymes turned away to hide the blush that warmed his cheeks, chagrined at how good the Exotic’s compliment made him feel. “Let’s get moving.”

  “STOP right there, Fringe rats!”

  Drue froze in his tracks, gesturing behind him for Jaymes to do the same. The voice that ordered him to stop came from the right, but though he had the prickly skin feeling that they weren’t alone, the Exotic saw no one. Cautiously, he held up his hands, and an armed man walked from the foliage directly in front of him.

  “You two carryin’ anything I should know about?” Dressed in much-mended clothing in faded colors that blended with the forest, the man who stopped next to Drue was half a head taller than the six-foot Exotic. “If you got any weapons, or anything else interestin’, you’d best tell us now.”

  “Us?” Jaymes blurted out, drawing a sharp look from Drue and the man who accosted them.

  “Reckon my tongue tripped me up.” The big stranger moved closer to Jaymes, fixing his oddly bright eyes on the T-bred’s tattoo. “Well, hello, spork.” He grinned. “Now that you know I’m not alone, does it make you feel better?”

  “Not really. The fact is, I’m so nervous at the moment that I’m approaching overload.”

  The giant grinned, his teeth very white in the blue-black frame of his scruffy beard. “Scared of me, are ya?”

  “Well honestly, if you were me and saw you coming, wouldn’t you be a little anxious?”

  “Aye, and with good cause.” The stranger stopped speaking and looked the T-bred up and down. “What on earth are you wearin’?”

  Jaymes pulled the voluminous overcoat more closely around him. “I left a party in a bit of a hurry,” he said, deploying his considerable charm. “In my haste, I seem to have left quite a few things behind.”

  “You’re a long way from your playpen,” the armed man said. “Did some Citizeness’s jealous husband chase you all the way out here to the Grange?”

  “I can probably explain better than my friend,” Drue began.

  “Don’t bother yourself. Me and my friends don’t really care why you’re here. We’re just glad to see you.”

  “Quit playin’ around, Halz,” someone called from the trees to the right.

  “If you don’t like the way I do things, come and do it yourself,” the big man answered.

  Another man in makeshift camouflage emerged from the underbrush. He had the same hawk-handsome features and yellow-green eyes as Halz, but he was even more heavily built, with muscles that strained the fabric of his clothing. “Mornin’s almost over. We should be gettin’ back.”

  “Aye, but not empty-handed.”

  “Don’t be foolish. What’ll we do with them?”

  “I can think of a number of things,” Halz leered. “Or didn’t you notice their brands?”

  The second man took a close look at the Companions. “I don’t believe it! What the hell are a couple a pieces of high dollar Bioware doin’ out here?”

  Drue opened his mouth to reply, but Halz spoke first.

  “What do you care, Ferrin? When will you get another chance to prong a Companion?”

  “Hold on a moment,” Jaymes said quickly.

  “Easy-freezy, boychick,” Halz said. “We ain’t gonna rack you up. We’d like to escort the two of you to our compound for some much needed diversion, for which you’d be well compensated.”

  Jaymes glanced at Drue. “That’s certainly open to negotiation,” he said.

  “When you say compound,” Drue addressed Halz. “What exactly does that entail?”

  “Come with us, and you’ll see,” Ferrin said. “At least the T-bred can get some more clothes.”

  “My name is Jaymes. I’d be pleased if you’d call me that.”

  “Sure,” Halz said quickly. “Sorry.”

  Drue watched the T-bred wrap the Grangers around his fingers for a few minutes before he broke in. “We’re both hungry and tired and sore from sleeping on the ground last night. If you have food and water and a soft place to lie down, we’d be grateful.”

  “Oh, I think we might do a little better than that, spork.” Halz winked. “We might not be on the Grid, but we ain’t exactly livin’ in caves.”

  “But we are underground,” Ferrin said.

  “Who asked you?” Halz cuffed his partner on the back of his shaggy head. “Let’s go.”

  The Granger gestured to Drue and Jaymes to follow Ferrin. The Companions were surprised when a third man rose silently from the ferns, his feral gaze the same chatoyant chartreuse as his comrades.

  “Kayel,” Halz beckoned to the sentry as he let the others get some distance ahead.

  Jaymes leaned close to Drue. “Do you think this is wise?” he whispered.

  “I have no idea.”

  “So these aren’t your Jammerz.”

  “Not even close. They’re Grangers, but they weren’t forced out of the Cities. They live here because they don’t like rules.”

  “If they just let me have one cup of mo-joe before they ravish me to death, I’ll go
with a smile on my lips.”

  “Not so loud. If they’re the type who class Bioware with appliances, like our late friend the Deep, we might be in for a bumpy time.”

  “A bumpy time?” Jaymes raised his voice. “And you say I have a talent for understatement?”

  Drue glanced over his shoulder and intercepted the curious gaze Kayel directed at Jaymes. The Exotic quickly faced front again to avoid eye contact with the sentry. Drue didn’t care for Kayel’s interest in the T-bred, but he reminded himself of their situation. If all that stood between them and hot food and water was Kayel, Drue knew Jaymes would turn the Granger inside out without a second thought, and for that matter, so would he. It might not be what he wanted, but it was only sex, not a hand, an eye, or his life.

  Drue’s real worry was Jaymes’s subverted programming. The T-bred was trained in several forms of hand-to-hand combat, and was theoretically capable of taking care of himself. However, Drue didn’t know all the subtleties of the mechemical in Jaymes’s system, and with Alvera gone, there was only one person left who had detailed knowledge—the one who’d created it. The current state of affairs had the potential of going horribly awry without warning, and the thought of the haughty T-bred mistreated made Drue’s stomach ache even as he smiled at the irony. If his firebrand friends could see him now—mooning over a T-bred—they’d laugh themselves sick.

  “Don’t worry about it,” Drue said. “We’ll make some sort of deal with these men.”

  “I hope so.” Jaymes’s voice dropped to a whisper. “Back there, when Halz came up to me, I tried to take his weapon, but I couldn’t make the first overt move.”

  “Murd. I was just wondering about that.”

  “I know. That’s why I—”

  “You know?” Drue gave Jaymes a sharp look. “What’s that mean?”

  Before Jaymes could answer, Halz caught up with them.

  “I can’t believe the luck,” Halz said. “We should have a celebration.”

  “I’ll bet Lochler would okay it,” Ferrin said over his shoulder. “The compound’s almost deserted. Not enough soljers to get out of hand.”

  “Hell yeah,” Halz enthused, smiling at the Companions. “Who wants first crack at me?”

  “I need soap and a lot of hot water before I can even think about it,” Jaymes answered.

  “What’s wrong with gettin’ all sweaty?” Halz leaned close to the T-bred.

  “It’s fine for you,” Jaymes purred.

  Drue dug the point of his elbow into Jaymes’s side. “No previews,” he said. “You need to eat first and get a little rest, if your friend can wait that long.”

  Halz smiled. “I can wait. How much for the pair of you?”

  “I need to see what you’ve got to trade before I—what is that?” Drue stared at the roaring amalgam of man and machine bearing down on them.

  “It’s a murdercycle,” Ferrin shouted, his voice loud in the sudden silence when the engine died. “And that’s Lochler, the leader of this rock-hard pack of Grangers.”

  Lochler swung his leg over the saddle of the two-wheeled vehicle and let it rest on a retrofitted stand made from the skid of a Traffic Control drone. Heavy, dark bangs shot with gray shaded eyes the same glittering green as those of his men. His gaze skipped over the Companions and came to rest on Halz. “What do we have here?” he asked in a warm baritone.

  “We found ’em,” Halz said. “Wanderin’ through Old Forest.”

  “Then they must have crashed there, right?”

  “I… don’t know,” Halz said slowly.

  “How would two such high quality pieces of Bioware be traveling?” Lochler asked. “Think. You don’t imagine that they walked out of the Inner City, do you?”

  A round of laughter greeted the leader’s witticism. Jaymes started to join in, but Drue’s nails in the back of his hand warned him to stay quiet. The T-bred bridled at taking his directions from a Zot, but he was smart enough to know that in this milieu, Drue was smarter. If Jaymes’s opsys hadn’t been impaired, it might be a different story entirely, but he couldn’t trust his judgment, his senses, or even his reflexes. Anything that ran counter to the compulsion sequence would be automatically vetoed. Jaymes had lived with restriction parameters all his life, like the veracity assurance inhibitor, but he had taken the implanted limitations for granted because he had chosen to accept them. This had been forced on him, and he had no idea what it was doing to him.

  “Somewhere on the Companions’ back trail, I’m thinkin’ we’ll find a lot of salvageable matériel in the form of an ultra-expensive piece of transport,” Lochler said.

  “I should’ve thought of that.” Halz hung his head.

  Lochler grabbed Halz by the nape and pulled the big man down until their foreheads touched. “I’m not tryin’ to make you feel bad about it,” the leader said softly. “I just want you soljer boys to stay focused when you’re on patrol.” With a slap on the cheek, Lochler released Halz. “But I can understand why you got distracted.”

  Drue kept his expression neutral as Lochler turned. Hoping Jaymes would follow suit, Drue remained silent, waiting for the Granger leader to speak first. The moment drew out while Lochler ran his gaze coolly over Drue and Jaymes like a prospective buyer, cataloging their good points and checking for possible flaws.

  “We don’t see a lot of Erotic Grade Bioware out here,” Lochler drawled.

  “The redhead does the talkin’,” Ferrin put in helpfully.

  The leader gave Ferrin a little sidewise glance that made the muscular man drop his eyes and shuffle his feet like a small boy reprimanded. Lochler returned his attention to the Companions, giving a little shake of his head as he eyed Drue’s flashy ensemble.

  “What are you? Some sort of purp?” Lochler asked Drue.

  “I think you mean pimp,” Jaymes corrected. “And by the way, that slang went out with land-based transport.”

  Drue sighed. “I think these gentlemen admire things like land-based transport,” he said, pointing to the Granger’s vehicle.

  “No offense taken,” Lochler grinned, displaying pointed canines. “We’re a little out of touch, which is why it’s so nice to see the two of you. Kayel! I want you to backtrack and find the shiny, fast thing that brought these fine boychicks to us. I’ll call back to base and send a crew after you. Halz and Ferrin, you continue on to the compound. You.” Lochler pointed at Jaymes. “Come for a ride with me.”

  Jaymes gathered the confidence earned in a thousand encounters with men of this stripe, if not of this social stratum. “I don’t mean to be difficult,” he said. “However, I can’t help noticing that the seat of your… murdercycle seems to be genuine animal hide of some sort. The fact is that I am wearing nothing under this borrowed coat, and I’m afraid some chapping might occur if I were to bestride that machine.”

  There was a short pause before Lochler laughed. “Your point is well taken.” He pointed to Drue. “Give the T-bred your trowz.”

  “What?”

  “Now!” Lochler said. “You can have ’em back when you get to our place.”

  Drue shed his trousers and tossed them to Jaymes. “Those are my faves,” he warned the T-bred.

  “And they’re nice and warm,” Jaymes replied as he pulled them on.

  “Boss,” Kayel began, before Lochler interrupted.

  “I know,” he said. “You don’t want to go lookin’ for a crash site. You want to go with us and get stuck into one of these sporks. That about cover it?”

  “S’not fair,” Kayel said sullenly.

  “Whether it is or not, those’re my orders. Anytime you want to give the orders, just step right up and challenge me.” Lochler met the other man’s eyes until Kayel looked away.

  Drue was pleased when the sulking Kayel trotted off, but he wasn’t happy about being separated from Jaymes. He tried to catch Jaymes’s eye, but of course the conceited T-bred was in full seduction mode now, using subtle disdain and understated flattery, making the client feel l
ike they were the only two people alive with any taste, style, or intelligence. Drue didn’t blame the Prince for latching on to the top-dawg, but it complicated things.

  Lochler started the cobbled-together motorcycle and gestured curtly to Jaymes. Letting none of his nervousness show, Jaymes climbed on behind the Granger. He was immediately aware of the throbbing of the engine transmitted through the frame directly to his crotch. Every vehicle Jaymes had ever traveled in completely encapsulated the passengers and was free of noise or vibration. The ride to the compound was a revelation for him. With his arms wrapped tightly around the driver as instructed, Jaymes hung on and reveled in the exhilarating blast of air that flowed past them. He was actually disappointed when they entered a cleared area and stopped.

  “This is home base,” Lochler said.

  Jaymes looked around. There were only three buildings inside the dilapidated stockade.

  “This is just for the satellites,” the Granger said as he walked toward the largest structure. “The rest of it’s underground. We took some caves and modded them out.”

  “I enjoyed the ride,” Jaymes said politely as Lochler led the way into a ’vator.

  “Yeah, I love the way that machine feels between my legs and the way the wind hits my face.”

  Jaymes nodded. “It took my breath away. May I ask where we’re going now?”

  “What difference would it make if you knew?”

  “None at all. I’m just making conversation because I’m nervous.” Jaymes flinched as the ’vator dropped suddenly.

  “I didn’t always live here, you know,” Lochler said. “I used to work in the Inners. Had an unlimited day pass and everything. I know how to treat a T-bred. Theoretically, anyway.” He smiled. “You could use some lookin’ after, couldn’t you? A bath, some food, am I right?”

  “That would be most welcome right now.”

  “Beautiful,” Lochler said as the ’vator doors opened on a well-lit corridor. “You really live up to the stories. It’s like havin’ royalty in the house.”

  “I don’t mean to sound—”

  “Shhhh.” Lochler put a finger to Jaymes’s lips. “I don’t want apologies from you. I just want you to be yourself.”