Human After All

by Connie Bailey

  “Don’t run.”

  Only then did Drue break from his trance and take to his heels. A solid weight hit him in the back and sent him flying. He landed facedown with the weight on top.

  “I know you have skills,” Drue’s attacker said. “But you can’t beat me, so don’t fight me.” He eased his iron grip on Drue’s throat.

  “What do you want with me?” Drue managed to say.

  “Where’s the other one?”

  “Other what?” Drue asked, and the throttling pressure returned.

  “Where’s the lobo that was guarding you?”

  “Let me breathe, and I’ll tell you.”

  The grip was released, and the murk let Drue stand up.

  “He disappeared before you showed up.” Drue stretched to ease his sore muscles. “Murd, you’re fast. And strong.” He rubbed his throat. “I’ve never seen a Combat Grade as fast and strong as you. What’s your Class designate?”

  “There is no name for what I am. You can call me Mino if it suits you.”

  “What do you want with me, Mino?”

  “You represent a significant amount of capital.”

  “I see. Who’s paying?”

  “Who isn’t?”

  Drue took the hint and swallowed the retort that rose to his lips.

  “You’re a shrewd one, aren’t you?” Mino said. “Do you know where this pack dens up?”

  “Terms?”

  “Tell me what I want to know, and you can live.”

  “This way.” Drue turned ninety degrees.

  “Lead on,” Mino said. “It’s refreshing to run across someone so reasonable.”

  “What would be the point of resisting you?” Drue said as he began walking. “I have no doubt that you could end my life before I could blink.”

  “Sometimes people decide they’d rather fight than live as a captive.”

  “And some people know how to choose their battles.”

  Mino smiled at the back of Drue’s head. “Sometimes the battle chooses you. Now shut up. I’m trying to decide if you’re worth more to me dead or alive.”

  “Be sure and let me know if I can do anything to influence your choice.”

  “Those whorish tricks won’t work on me. Be quiet and move faster.”

  Drue heard a grunt and a crash and took off running as thrashing noises rose in volume. He didn’t look back until he was sure he heard no sounds of pursuit. There was no one behind him, and he took a moment to catch his breath. He assumed Halz had ambushed Mino and that one or the other, probably Mino, was on his backtrail. It might be cowardly, and it might be wrong, but he was going to keep running.

  A quick look around established that he was completely lost. Choosing to have the wind at his back, he fled as silently as he could.

  MINO kicked the dead lobo at his feet, wasting no sentiment on this one. He was only annoyed by the delay in his mission. How many more of these mongrels did he have to delete before he reached his goal?

  Flinging blood from his gloved fingers, he started away in the direction the Exotic had taken. Not once did he consider collecting the Thoroughbred first. That one was soft and naive and could be intercepted at any time. The Fox, on the other hand, showed promise of living up to his Persona Tag.

  And this job had just become a lot more interesting.

  JAYMES woke and sat up, blinking at the trees that surrounded him. In his dream, he and Drue were making love in the Pasha Suite of the Cloister’s most exclusive hotel. The sheets were crisp and cool, the pillows like a bank of clouds, and the air was delicately perfumed by the bouquets of organic blossoms on the organic wood furnishings. He was close to climax, and abruptly, he was lying on the ground under the sky… alone.

  “Drue,” Jaymes murmured to the little yellow butterflies among the grass stalks. He could still feel the Exotic moving languidly against him, inside him, nudging him closer and closer to ecstasy. The disorientation continued as he got to his feet. His depth perception was all wrong, and when he took a step, the ground was much closer than he expected. The jolt shivered every bone in his body, and he fell to his hands and knees. His vision fractured and reassembled into a scene viewed from a higher perspective. “Drue.”

  Jaymes stopped trying to stand and channeled his energy into concentrating on what he was seeing. Underbrush parted before him, and the ground under his feet was soft with fallen leaves. He was lost.

  Jaymes shook all over as though an electric current had passed through him. Clenching his fists and his teeth, he made a beacon of his consciousness, broadcasting his position for any with the ability to home in on the signal. There should be only one. Drue.

  DRUE pulled the thumbnail-sized beacon from his pocket and rubbed it for what seemed like the millionth time. Of course there was no reaction. Whoever Alvera was hoping to contact out in the Grange was not coming to save Drue. He was going to have to find a way out of this wilderness by himself. If he could run across the T-bred at the same time, he wouldn’t complain. Glancing at the sun told him nothing other than that it was past noon. Brushing aside some flowering branches, he pushed on.

  JAYMES stopped with his head up as though sifting the breeze for an elusive scent. Against his palm, he felt the silkiness of real flower petals. Without thinking about it, he turned forty-five degrees and began walking again, certain he was going the right way.

  DRUE reached a stream and stopped to pee into the running water. He was almost finished when a noise behind him made him turn abruptly.

  “Here are your trowz,” Jaymes said, pulling a bundle from the back of his waistband. He glanced down at Drue’s cock. “You might want to cover up.”

  Drue caught the fauxstrich pants and put them on. “Thanks,” he said. “I would’ve missed these. You can’t get this material anymore.”

  “Then I guess everything’s all right.”

  Drue grinned. “I’m glad you’re all right too.”

  “Thanks,” Jaymes said, annoyed by the rush of warmth he felt. “You’re alone.”

  “Yeah. That See You that chased us outside the Covillion is still after us. He took out the guys who were with me, and I have the strong feeling he’s trailing me right now.”

  “And he’ll find us and take me back to fry for the Deep’s murder.”

  Drue took out the linx beacon again and shook it. “Work, you jeedee piece of slag!”

  “Let me see it.” Jaymes held out his hand. As soon as the small disk touched his skin, the green display appeared, seeming to hover above the metal surface.

  “Stellar!” Drue said. “Rub your thumb over the display.”

  Jaymes did as instructed, and the green line blinked twice before turning white.

  “Yes!” Drue crowed, throwing his arms around Jaymes in a hug. “The beacon’s on!”

  Jaymes allowed himself a few seconds to enjoy the embrace before he spoke. “Who are we expecting to answer?”

  “Alvera’s techie friends, the ones who found it too restrictive to work under the government’s laws. A lot of them used to be genetic engineers, but now they use their skill to help the Pygmalion movement. In fact, one of them created the mechemical that subverted Gentren’s programming.”

  “I’d like to meet him or her.”

  Drue smiled. “That sounded like a threat.”

  “You have a good ear.”

  “Thank you.”

  “So do we just camp here and wait for these Pyg friends of yours?”

  “No.” Drue took hold of Jaymes’s wrist and moved his hand. “See that?”

  “It got a little brighter.”

  “That’s the direction we’re going.”

  “Good.” Jaymes started walking, glad to have something to follow.

  “So what happened after we split up?” Drue asked as he fell into step with Jaymes.

  “Lochler took me to an underground base. I had a shower—an act I’d like to repeat as soon as possible. He gave me these clothes, and then he had some kind of warning.
He dragged me out of there, and we went to a rendezvous point. He claimed to be able to communicate with his friends mind to mind.”

  “I wouldn’t call him a liar.” Drue cleared his throat. “Where is he now?”

  “I don’t know. We stopped to—finalize a transaction, and he got anxious again. Without a word to me, he disappeared. I sat down to wait for him to come back and fell asleep. When I woke up, I went looking for you.”

  “I’m touched, Prince.” Drue fell back on sarcasm to mask his pain. Of course the Prince had used sex to control the lobo leader. Drue would’ve done the same in his place, but it still hurt to think of Jaymes with Lochler. It shouldn’t have, but it did. Though he’d been conditioned to view sex as a tool and of no more significance than any other bodily function, it was different when it came to Jaymes. And no matter how badly Drue wanted to deny his feelings for the pampered, snobbish T-bred, they were a part of him now and influenced his every act and thought. “And I’m completely fragged,” he said under his breath.

  “WE’VE been walking for hours,” Jaymes said as he stopped and leaned against one of the smooth-barked trees.

  “Let me see the linx,” Drue said, holding out his hand.

  Jaymes tossed the small, heavy lozenge, and Drue caught it neatly. Passing the ball of his thumb over the surface, he watched the display for a couple of seconds.

  “We’ve been walking for almost an hour,” Drue said. “But there’s no reason we can’t take a break. I’m sure the See You is taking breaks too.”

  “Why are you so hate-worthy?” Jaymes groaned as he pushed away from the tree and started walking again.

  “Why are you such a vac-head? We have to keep moving or Mino will find us. He’ll probably find us regardless, but let’s at least make the effort to reach help before that happens.”

  “Some slack, please? I had made a deal and was on my way out of this mess, and now I’m right back in the murd with you. I’m entitled to my disappointment.”

  “Fine, when we get to civilization, we’ll find you a Citizen to cry to, but for now could you keep it to yourself?”

  “You don’t care about anyone but yourself, do you?”

  “Coming from you, that’s hilarious.”

  “I don’t see the humor in it.”

  “It’s hiding behind your huge lack of self-awareness.”

  “I think I’m dealing with this reality very well, considering.”

  Drue stopped and turned to face Jaymes. “You still think you can deal your way out of this. Despite all your moaning about your life being over, you still think you can get it back. When you admit that’s not going to happen, then you’ll be dealing with this reality.”

  “Clearly, my reality differs from yours.”

  Drue had a smoking retort ready, but swallowed it when someone spoke from the foliage behind Jaymes.

  “Don’t run, boychicks.”

  Drue recognized the gravelly voice. “It’s the See You,” he said, shoving Jaymes ahead of him. “Run.”

  “I said don’t run,” the CU barked as he broke cover. “Why do they always run when I tell them not to?”

  A plasma bolt charred a clump of leaves next to Drue’s left ear, and he stopped in his tracks. “Go!” he shouted at Jaymes.

  “Stop or I’ll fry the Zot.” The voice came from directly behind Drue.

  Jaymes stopped and turned to face Drue. “Sorry,” he said.

  “Quiet,” Mino said.

  “No, I won’t be quiet.” Jaymes addressed the assassin as though the man were a house guard, pulling the aura of a Thoroughbred around him like a cloak. “I’m tired and hungry and filthy, and if you’re not here to remedy the situation, your presence is not welcome.”

  Drue watched the T-bred half in admiration and half in horror. He was proud of Jaymes’s spunk, but terrified of the CU’s reaction to it. Their only hope of surviving this was if Mino needed them alive for some reason.

  “You should have stayed where I left you,” Mino told Jaymes. “I could have taken care of business and come back for a little fun, but now it’s a big, murd-sucking mess.”

  “Who are you, and what do you want with us?”

  Mino chuckled. “Strut it, boychick, strut it. I love it when a top shelf proz goes all royal on my tookies. It’s so… cute.”

  “Must I ask your intentions again?”

  “You don’t have to do anything but pout and look pretty while I tranz you back to the Cloy.”

  “Why would I go with you?”

  “I could drug you, but then I’d have to carry you. I could leverage your cooperation by threatening the Zot, but then I’d have two of you to watch, and I don’t underestimate your abilities in combat or coercion.” The CU paused and glanced up. “Murd,” he said.

  Lochler dropped from a branch onto the CU’s back. His arm went around the soldier’s thick neck, and he grasped his wrist with his opposite hand as he locked his legs around the other man’s waist. “Howdy, Mino the Murk. This has been a long time comin’.”

  Mino dropped to his knees and tried to pitch Lochler off, but the lobo clung like a burr.

  “Get out of here,” Lochler growled at Jaymes and Drue.

  “We can help,” Drue said.

  “No you can’t. Go!”

  “Run,” Mino said in a strained voice. “I enjoy hunting you.” On the last word, he threw himself backward.

  Lochler wrenched his entire body sideways and avoided being trapped under Mino’s weight. The murk pitted his strength against the lobo’s as he tried to break Lochler’s stranglehold.

  “Is this personal, lobo?” Mino ground out as he pulled at Lochler’s arm.

  “Tomas Lochler, Beta Officer, Ice Pack One,” Lochler replied.

  “Murd,” Mino said again, pouring every ounce of his strength into the battle.

  The bones of Lochler’s forearm snapped as Mino flipped him over his shoulder. The two men rolled across the ground in a ball, breaking bones and shredding flesh, each seeking the other’s jugular with nails and teeth.

  Jaymes was first to move toward the combatants, but Drue was right behind him. They flanked the fighting men and looked for an opening. Each got hold of one of Mino’s arms and tried to pull him off Lochler. The murk ignored them as they hammered at him, trying to get him to let go of the Granger’s throat. Lochler pressed his thumbs into Mino’s eye sockets, but the strength was quickly draining out of him. Jaymes let go of the assassin’s arm and got his hands around the man’s neck when the world disappeared in a clap of thunder and a burst of searing white light.

  “JAYMES, can you hear me?”

  Jaymes turned toward the muffled sound of Drue’s voice. He still couldn’t see, but his hearing was returning.

  “For your safety, don’t move,” a man said from what seemed a great distance. “The stun bomb’s effects will wear off soon.” There was a pause. “Frag! Where’s the See You?”

  “You don’t have a visual?” someone answered from the left. “Where the frag is he? Can anyone see the murk? Frag it! Is anyone listening to the comm?”

  “Calm down,” the first man said. “The See You is only thinking about one thing right now. Getting as far away as possible as fast as possible.”

  “What if I’m in his way?”

  “Good point. Now shut it for a minute and have a look at that lobo.”

  Jaymes heard the swish of grass against trouser legs as someone stopped next to him. “Who’s there?” he said.

  “My name’s Lorrance, but everybody calls me Lorez. Which one of you has the linx?”

  “It’s in my pocket,” Drue said. “And I’m very glad to see you.”

  Lorez smiled at the ancient joke. “A pleasure to meet you in the flesh, Fox. My bias is females, but the images of you that Alvera sent us were enough to make me curious. And your friend must be the Prince. You can both frij now. You’re safe. Give me a minute.”

  As Jaymes’s sight returned, he watched Lorez speak into a microphone set
in a metal framework that curved along the contour of his cheekbone. The brass-plated apparatus was attached to a cap of dark brown wool and canvas that had a vaguely military style, as did the khaki coveralls crisscrossed with leather straps. The metal of the buckles was unpolished to prevent it from catching the light, and the knee-high boots were scuffed and supple with much wear. These Pygmalions weren’t playing at soldier; they’d had some experience.

  “What do you mean, you can’t find him?” Lorez said into the mike. “Not even with the Skyeye? Did you try—what? Are you absoposi sure there are no heat sigs besides ours? Frag! What? No, don’t stop looking yet. Give it another two klix and then follow us in. Outtie.”

  “You can’t find the See You?” Jaymes said.

  “Not yet,” Lorez answered. “He must have some kind of defense against stun weapons. That bomb we set off should’ve incapacitated every living thing for fifty feet in all directions.”

  “He’s different,” Drue said. “Don’t ask me to explain, but there’s something really different about him.”

  “I know what you mean, frair,” Lorez said. “I feel the same way about you. You’re trippin’ my no-way-dar. Arkay said you’d been upgraded, but he didn’t say how. I’m a fieldie, not a labrat, so I probably wouldn’t understand the behavior-mod chemistry anyway, but you put the hair up on the back of my neck.”

  “Why?” Drue asked curiously.

  “I feel like a little birdie chirping at a couple of big cats.”

  “Hey, Rez!”

  Lorez turned to where another Pyg crouched over Lochler. “Can he travel?” he called out.

  “That’s what I’m trying to tell you. He’s fragged up but his legs work fine. I just need your go-ahead to give him a shot of marching juice.”

  “Risk?”