Second Life of Mr. Hunt: Book 3: Failover

by Gerrit Overeem

  “Is the jewel really a fake?” asked Gideon.

  “Not sure,” replied Nora, grinning ear to ear.

  Gideon returned the smile. “Aren’t you a deceiving little devil. Now, can you dance?”

  “I am familiar with thousands of possible dance routines. Are you being serious?”

  “Of course, I am. Dancing is the vertical motion of a horizontal desire,” Gideon said with a wink.

  Nora perked up with that quote as she processed it. Before she could say anything, Gideon put up his index finger to give him a minute. She watched him move to talk to an AI maître d’ floating by. The small AI nodded and floated off.

  Gideon returned, took Nora’s hand, led her onto the dance floor, took a few steps back, and waited. Nora looked at him, confused, and then the music started to play. It was the music for an odd dance for this modern era, a Rumba.

  Nora posed with her hand in the air and smiled as Gideon slowly walked toward her. Their left and right hands connected while their other hands swirled in the air and to the side. They moved back and forth with the rhythm of the music. Their steps were direct, and their hips moved smoothly.

  They came together, bodies sliding off each other as Gideon twirled Nora, and she stepped back into him. Now her back leaned against his front, his hands on her hips as their bodies swayed in unison, and their hands twirled out. This intimate dance of desires continued for another minute and finished with them tightly pressed together, looking eye to eye.

  They had not realized it, but a circle or people had formed around them, and some were even clapping when they finished the dance.

  “Excuse me,” said a voice from their right.

  They both turned to see a woman in a black ballgown and an ornate Venetian mask that covered her eyes and hooked around her ears to connect with dangling jewels. The left side of her face was covered with beautiful blue and gold feathers, and her left eye was almost owl-like under the mask. A small hovering AI platform stood next to her with an extremely detailed holographic image of Nora and Gideon.

  “That’s beautiful,” said Nora.

  “It is a gift of the cruise ship. For ten credits, I can supply you with a moving one as a keepsake.”

  Nora turned to Gideon and placed a hand on his chest. “Oh, hon, can we get the keepsake?”

  “Sure can.”

  “Excellent. Look at the AI to process the payment.”

  Gideon looked at the hovering AI, and a quick red light hit his eye. “Credits have been processed.”

  “All set. The image has been delivered to your room’s AI. Have a great evening,” said the masked woman.

  Nora and Gideon resumed dancing—a traditional slow dance that allowed them to sway back and forth.

  “I never would have taken you as a dancer,” said Nora.

  “My father was a soldier, but my mother was a dance instructor. When he was away on long missions, my mother would keep me occupied with dancing.”

  “Your mother would be proud of your dancing prowess.”

  Gideon snickered. “Yeah, I wish she could have heard you say that.”

  “Did something happen to her?”

  “She was killed in a pirate raid on a galactic flight about fifty years ago.”

  Nora could hear the sadness in his voice, and her eyes turned red. “We will find those pirates and kill every—”

  Gideon put his finger on her mouth to silence her. “My mother has already been…avenged.”

  Her eyes returned to blue when she understood. She was more attracted to him now than she had ever been.

  “We still have a few hours before we have to get ready,” said Nora. “Why don’t we go back to the room?”

  “If you want to, but it would be kind of boring up there sitting arou—”

  It was now Nora who put her finger on his lips. “Trust me, we will not be bored.”

  Gideon’s eyes opened wide. “Are you sure? I didn’t think you—”

  Nora kissed him, and he closed his eyes and returned the kiss.

  “I’ll get some champagne,” said Gideon. “If…you are OK drinking that…because I know you don’t need to and all, but—”

  “Please get some. I want a unique experience. I will meet you up in the room.”

  She watched Gideon move off at a quickened pace. She felt hot, and her processes were going crazy with scenarios, but for the first time, she desired something and not the machine.

  

  Gideon headed out of the banquet hall and went down to the alcohol storage area. He could have had an AI order something, but he wanted to take in the sight of the volume of alcohol choices one last time, plus the walk gave him time to clear his head.

  He was not expecting to have a romantic encounter on this mission, especially with an AI. He knew AIs could be configured to provide pleasure. His men would frolic with those models at foreign galactic ports, and it was something he had never partaken in. It wasn’t his thing, but he didn’t see an AI when he looked at Nora. He saw a beautiful and deep woman, and hoped she was not working off a programming level, but he didn’t feel she was. There was too much emotion coming from her, which confused him even more since AIs couldn’t have spontaneous feelings. Again, she was something more.

  He shook the whole thing off as he neared the entranceway. Based on the warning signs, he was sure he wasn’t allowed inside without an escort, so he waited for some AI delivery drones to shoot by before quickly sneaking in and down the stairs.

  The place was even better to look at the second time. Spinning around and looking up, Gideon slowly walked to take it all in. He passed the old bottle in the centerpiece and went down an aisle when he recognized some champagne names. He scanned the bottles and whistled when he started calculating the cost to purchase some of the rare varieties.

  One bottle stood out, which would have cost him a year’s pay, but since he could expense everything, he grabbed this one off the shelf. It was a rare artesian champagne with a reddish color. Gideon twirled the bottle in his hands and held it up to verify the color, but froze when the lights dimmed.

  He slowly looked around, thinking he had been caught, but nothing came at him. He could have sworn he heard people. Ducking down, he slowly crept to the end of the aisle and accessed a hearing enhancement tech he kept dormant in case he was scanned.

  Peering around the corner, he saw five individuals in black combat outfits. They were in light body armor with face masks and held weapons. His hearing tech was picking up whispers, but not the words.

  Gideon instinctively reached to his right hip, but no las-pistol was there for him to grab. With all the ship scans, he wondered how these people were there with weapons.

  The attack team moved into positions behind the centerpiece and near the side of the stairs. He hoped an AI drone would come in and detect them, but there was nothing. Not sure if there was another way out, he grabbed another bottle of alcohol and decided to sit back and observe for now.

  The door at the top of the stairway vanished, and a figure entered the dimly lit room. It waited a few seconds and then slowly started walking down the stairs. Gideon could see the attackers tense and move a little with anticipation. This must be their intended target, but they hadn’t fired yet, so it wasn’t a kill team. Probably a snatch and grab mission.

  The figure was more than a third of the way down the stairs when a beam lit up the person’s face. Gideon recognized the person as the woman Nora ran into. Vicki took another step, and the attacker near the stairs started moving along the wall.

  “Run! You’re in danger!” yelled Gideon, throwing a bottle in the air and tossing the other at an attacker, knocking him down.

  Vicki and Gideon made eye contact. She immediately spun, and in two leaps, made it to the top of the stairway and out of the room.

  The bottle came crashing d
own, shattering everywhere and causing one attacker to slip on the champagne and tumble to the floor. Another attacker tried to take down Gideon, but he sidestepped the rush and sent the attacker crashing into a wall of bottles, causing them to shatter and spray alcohol everywhere.

  Gideon spun around to face another attacker, but two stun blasts hit him, and he fell to the floor unconscious. An attacker ran over and placed magnetic bracelets on his hands and feet.

  While Gideon was being restrained, the lead attacker raised a comm in his embedded comm chip.

  “Reader, this is Strike Leader.”

  “Report, Strike Leader.”

  “There has been an issue.”

  “Stay where you are. I will be there shortly.”

  It didn’t take long for Reader to get there. The room was listed as temporarily off-limits for maintenance on the outside display. She stormed down the stairs and cringed when she saw who was lying on the floor.

  “What happened?” asked Reader, her owl eye fluttering.

  “He was hiding down here and interfered when we were about to get Miss Van Buuren. She took off, and we were forced to stun him.”

  “Fredrick is not going to be happy, but we have no choice now. Miss Van Buuren will lock herself away or call in her guards. There is no way we are getting to her now. Bring him down to the planet and we will figure out what to do with him later.”

  The combatants removed their gear to reveal the ship’s crew attire they were wearing underneath.

  They placed a hover disk on Gideon, raised him off the floor, and placed him into a long alcohol storage crate along with their combat equipment.

  The AI drones started up their delivery of beverages again, and the team left the area.

  

  Vicki had come to the cruise ship in a desperate attempt to buy a potential cure that would return her sister to human form once she put her stone statue back together, but she had almost fallen into a trap, which had the smell of Fredrick LaRue all over it.

  She would have usually made a quick exit to safety, but Nora’s friend saved her from capture, and saving a friend of Nora’s might get her back in good graces with Mr. Hunt.

  Vicki remained hidden and watched the doorway of the alcohol storage room. The owl cross woman came out first, followed by five cruise ship workers with a hovering storage box.

  She followed them until they reached the ela-tubes to the docking bay. From the way the woman was flailing her arms, she must have been giving them stern directions. She turned and poked one of the men in the chest before storming off.

  Vicki cursed as she looked around, trying to devise a plan that did not have her attacking a group of armed combatants by herself. The only thing she could do was locate Nora and let her know, but she had no idea where to find her, and the ship’s security would not allow a guest to get another guest’s room number. A message could be sent, but it may not make it in time. Then she recalled something that had been bothering her. There was a concierge who always seemed to be lurking near Nora when she had seen them, and he looked familiar but couldn’t place the face.

  Her eyes opened wide as the concierge’s name popped from the recesses of her brain—DeMarcus Saint, an individual she had run into decades ago. She smiled and went to find a saint.

  

  It didn’t take Vicki long to get back to the ship’s central area and find a concierge desk. A virtual assistant hologram appeared as she walked over to a reflective wall. A light beam came out and scanned her face and eyes.

  “Greetings, Victoria Van Buuren. We are happy to have you traveling with us. How may I be of service?”

  “Yes, it’s always a pleasure to have me. I need to get a message to one of your concierges quickly.”

  “I can take care of that. We are directly linked to all concierges. Whom am I messaging?”

  “The message is to—” Vicki paused for a second, thinking if DeMarcus would be stupid enough to use his real name, and then continued. “DeMarcus Saint.”

  “Yes, he is currently taking a break, but I can send him a direct message or direct you to another concierge for immediate service.”

  Vicki rolled her eyes at his stupidity.

  “No, a direct message is fine. Please let him know that Victoria Van Buuren would like to meet him ASAP on the forward view lounge and that she would hate to see a little lamb suffer if he was not to show up.”

  The virtual assistant repeated the message to her and sent it once she gave verbal approval.

  “Is there anything else I can assist you with?”

  “Please have a hovercar meet me here.”

  “One is on the way. Have a nice evening.”

  

  Vicki stood in the forward view lounge located in the ship’s bow. The room walls were made of a transparent metal that curved outward to make a perfect viewing bubble. The cruise ship had long since come out of a wormhole and was preparing to align itself so people could watch the Giant Space Tardigrades.

  The room was occupied when she first arrived, but she convinced a couple engaged in romantic activities to leave when she arrived. Of course, she had to hold the male up by his throat to get her point across, but at least she hadn’t ripped it out.

  She stood in the center, looking at the planet and some bright stars in the distance. She didn’t recognize them but had no interest in exploration unless there was something in it for her. But that selfishness is what may have gotten her caught in a chain of unfortunate events.

  She sighed when she sensed someone stalking up behind her and spun around. DeMarcus Saint was standing there with a las-pistol in one hand and a cross in the other.

  “DeMarcus, how lovely to see you again. If I’m not mistaken, you were in that same pose when I escaped our last meeting. Of course, there were a lot more bodies lying around.”

  “I am in no mood for chatter, witch. By God’s holy grace, I will allow you to repent for your sins before I end your existence. Where are you keeping the victim?”

  DeMarcus took a step forward and thrust the cross toward Vicki, causing her to pull away, but she stopped when she realized there was no need to react. Confused, he took another step forward, pushing the cross ever closer. Vicki leaned back a little and then stepped closer to him.

  Beads of sweat formed on his head. He closed his eyes and started mumbling prayers to his lord.

  Vicki slowly inched forward, extended her hand to its fullest, pointed her index finger out, closed her eyes, and touched the top of the cross. She waited for the burning sensation, but there was nothing. Both she and DeMarcus opened their eyes and looked at her finger.

  “Well, that was unexpected,” said Vicki. “I must be losing my touch. I may have to slaughter a school or something.”

  With that statement, the smell of burning flesh emanated from her finger, and the cross started glowing blue. She immediately pulled her finger back and shook it. “Sorry, a comment of poor taste.”

  The cross stopped glowing, and DeMarcus lowered it and brought the las-gun up in its place.

  “I know not what powers you now control that blocks the will of my Lord, witch, but I will end you right now unless you tell me wh—”

  “Oh, calm down. And first off, I take offense at being called a witch. Demon, Vampiress, or Mistress works. I’m far superior to an old cackling witch. Second, I’m not holding anyone against their will. I needed to get your attention so you can get a message to Nora. Her studly guy was taken prisoner.”

  DeMarcus started to bring the las-pistol down, brought it back up, and then brought it back down to the center of his torso at the ready. “How do I know you speak the truth, Demon?”

  Vicki rolled her eyes and stuck her palm out. “Go ahead.”

  DeMarcus dropped the cross in her hand and nothing happened. She even placed it against her forehead before ha
nding it back.

  “I guess we both learned something new today. It would seem I won’t burst into flames if my intentions are pure, even though I am considered an insult to the living.”

  He looked at her oddly and touched her again with the cross, and when nothing happened, he placed the las-pistol in a holster on his back at the waist.

  “If my Lord deems you worthy, I will believe you. Explain.”

  “You were always direct. It turns out I was set up, and Nora’s male companion got caught in the middle, allowing me to get out. I followed his captors, but they escaped via the docking area. Most likely, they had a way off the ship, and if I had to guess, they are headed for the planet with the weapons facility.”

  “Why do you think that?”

  “It was easy to figure out Nora and her companion are on some mission and not here to watch the stupid space bugs. They must want something in that facility, and it has to do with Fredrick LaRue. If he had captured me, I assume he would bring me there. He likes it when there is an audience for his capers…overdramatic nitwit.”

  “I can get the message to her. Anything else?”

  “Yes, there was an owl cross woman with them. I remember seeing her on the ship earlier. She must be the inside person.”

  DeMarcus nodded and took off for the door.

  “Not even a thank you,” said Vicki.

  “Remember, Demon. I will be watching.”

  Vicki pursed her lips and shook her head. She spun around and looked out at the planet, thinking of how, for the first time in her existence, a religious symbol hadn’t affected her.

  “Mr. Hunt has made an impact on me after all. Interesting…”

  Chapter 21

  An odd ally

  Nora was pacing in her cabin. She was shocked at the thought of what she was about to do. The act of a sexual encounter did not bother her since she had assimilated many programs related to it, and her subsystems had data on how to please hundreds of species, but the fact she impulsively wanted to move forward with this encounter with Gideon is what shocked her.