Chapter 7
With deliberate grimness, Del turned away from the front door and sat on a seat in the living room, activating the large viewer that covered most of the wall. It flickered to life with a settings menu, one of which read ‘voice response activation.’ He clicked that and then jumped when a toneless voice said, “Welcome and thank you for activating the voice response system. Would you prefer your VRS to be male or female?"
"Uh ... female,” he answered distractedly. He'd expected to be able to activate the viewer by voice command when he picked that setting, not have the walls start talking to him.
"Your choice has been recorded,” a woman said in a voice that sounded a lot like Mina. “Would you care to change the default settings on your living quarters?"
"Um ... such as?"
"You may change the temperature, the light settings, the humidity levels—"
"No, that's all fine,” he cut her off, rubbing the back of his neck.
"Do you require a massage?"
"What?” He looked around a little wildly.
"Humans often massage their muscles as you have done when they are tense or sore. But you are unable to administer a proper massage to yourself. Do you require a massage?"
"You can see me,” he stated flatly, an ominous feeling starting in the pit of his stomach. They were watching him...
"I have sensors that monitor these quarters."
She'd said I. Only an AI would use that pronoun. Del was starting to feel paranoid. The only people he knew who had AI units in their homes were several class levels above his own and had very good connections. Why did he have one?
"Why are you here?"
"To provide you with comfort and convenience. I am also programmed to assist you with your schedule and finances, and can provide you with—"
"No, I meant why do I get an AI?"
"Because you are a pilot in the employment of Shay Enterprises."
"The other pilots have AIs, too?"
"That is correct."
"So they watch us all?"
"No other AIs have access to your quarters."
"I mean the Shays. You're recording my every move for them, aren't you?"
"No information has yet been recorded except your choice of VRS voice and your decision not to change the default settings on your quarters."
For lack of a better place to look, he blinked at the viewer. “Does that mean they can see in here or not?"
"These have been designated private quarters. You have not yet authorized any transfer of information from my systems to any other systems or persons. As a default setting, I am allowed to notify those requesting entrance to your quarters of your presence or absence. Would you like to change this setting?"
He thought about that. “So if the Shays try to get info on me from you, you can't give it?"
"Not without your authorization."
"Oh.” They hadn't set a babysitter on him after all. He ran a hand over his short dark hair with distracted aggravation.
"Would you like me to change the setting for those requesting entrance?"
"No, just leave it.” He sat for a moment, wondering if he should just shut the thing off. He'd never lived with an AI before, and the idea was a little intimidating, especially since he'd chosen a female voice. He couldn't help thinking that undressing was going to be a little uncomfortable. “So ... what's your name?"
"You have not yet given me a name."
"Well, what names have other people given you?"
"There have been no other people."
Del stared at the viewer nonplussed. “You—you're that new?"
"I am newly installed, yes.” Before he could come up with a response to that, she continued, “You have a visitor."
There was a gentle chime at the door and Del got to his feet. “What time is it?” he asked on his way towards the door.
"Five thirty six and twenty-three seconds. Twenty-four. Twenty-five."
"Just the hour and minutes is fine,” he muttered.
Cassie smiled at him as he opened the door. She'd unplaited her hair, and it was an astonishing wavy length of a variety of browns with hints of gold and red. She was dressed in casual slacks and a sleeveless top, looking much more relaxed than he'd yet seen her.
"Thought I'd check here first before heading up. Ready to go?” she asked with a questioning tilt of her head.
Del thought about the brand new AI system he'd inadvertently activated. “Oh, yeah,” he muttered and stepped out into the corridor with her.
She raised her eyebrows at him. “Sick of your quarters already?"
"Somebody installed a new AI in there and didn't warn me,” he grumbled as they walked down the corridor.
She grinned, brown eyes sparkling. “Let me guess. You picked female, right?” Del gave her a disgruntled look and Cassie chuckled. “It'll take some getting used to, but if you decide it's not for you, we can always uninstall her. Don't deactivate her though—we'll find her a new place."
"How did the Shays get so many AIs in the first place?"
Cassie gave him a shrewd look, a cynical smile quirking her lips. “Asked her a couple of questions before I showed up, didn't you? Not as many as you should have asked, though, judging by your suspicious expression. Shay Enterprises also has a very lucrative AI Research and Development business. Aside from the usual uses for AI, we've been playing with the idea of putting them in slicers."
"In slicers?” Del was so shocked by the idea of AI slicers that it took him a minute to register what else she'd said. “Wait, did you say we?"
She looked away from him with a decidedly uncomfortable expression as they stepped into the lift. “I, uh ... I help sometimes with AI research. I've had ... some education in that area.” She keyed the lift to go up several levels, avoiding his gaze. “Who knows, maybe you'll be one of the first people alive to fly a Shadow AI."
As a diversion, it was a pretty good one. The idea was incredible. “Don't tease me,” Del growled, and she chuckled.
"It's not that farfetched, you know, but it's still in the testing phases. The disparity between human minds and mechanical systems may be lessened by an AI mind, or the merging might be too much for humans.” She paused, her unfocused gaze on the wall next to him. Then she continued as though speaking to herself, “We still have much to do on that aspect of research."
Not willing to press her on such a touchy subject, Del decided to tease her instead. “Didn't Kai call you a geek?"
She shot him a narrow-eyed glare. “Like I said, he's a pain in the ass. That's not a trait you should emulate."
He chuckled, refraining from teasing her more as the lift doors opened. The suite was as luxurious as he remembered, but the people in it didn't seem to notice. With no surprise, Del found his gaze immediately searching out Sin. She was curled up on a divan with the burly pilot Lynch and appeared to be engrossed in a deep, serious discussion with him while they played with a deck of floating cards. Bib and Jinx were dodging in and out of the expensive furniture, playing some kind of holographic game. Their laughter echoed around the room. Kai was holding court with the other three pilots around the bar, telling an animated story that apparently required a lot of pantomime.
Del and Cassie stepped out of the lift and then had to promptly step back in it as the two holo-game players careened by.
"No cheating!"
"Don't be a tool, Jinx! How else am I supposed to win?"
Neither acknowledged the newest arrivals, but Sin caught sight of them and smiled, waving them in. Del clenched his jaw against the effects of that smile and moved with Cassie towards the divan.
"Hey, you two,” Sin called in greeting, but Lynch flicked a card at her, catching her gaze.
"High card, Sinsi,” he rumbled.
"Damn, how many times in a row do you plan on winning, anyway?"
"When you remember how to play, little girl, maybe you'll win, too."
She gave him a disgruntled look and shoved
the cards in a floating jumble at him before looking up at Del and Cassie. “He's fleecing me—I know it."
Cassie perched next to Lynch and flung an arm over one enormous shoulder with a pert grin. “So cheat."
Lynch sent her a glower from under his bushy brows as he shuffled the cards. “Don't go teachin’ her your tricks, Constellation."
Cassie narrowed her eyes on him and gave him a cuff on the ear that he didn't seem to notice. “Told you not to call me that."
"Call you what, Connie?"
Sin was grinning lazily at the two of them, but sent a quick glance up at Del. “So how was the training flight?"
"Good,” Del murmured, lowering into a chair next to the divan with a muffled sigh of relief. His whole body felt like it had gained a ton in weariness.
"Better than good,” Cassie interjected, her delicate face sobering to steady-eyed sincerity. “He's an amazing pilot, Sin. Fantastic reflexes and the kind of refined control I've rarely seen outside of the ascetic orders. As a matter of fact, he probably rivals you and Manny for talent. You're lucky to have found him."
Del stared at the little woman in dumb surprise. In all the time that they were on the training courses, she'd never even hinted that she found his piloting anything other than adequate.
"Don't I know it,” he heard Sin murmur and turned his baffled gaze on her. She was smiling in a secretive way that was both tantalizing and nerve-wracking. But the smile changed subtly as she caught his eye, and she leaned towards him. “Del, I hate to cut this party short for you, but I've got somebody I'd like you to meet. If you don't mind."
Off balance from Cassie's compliments and Sin's attention, Del cleared his throat and said, “Uh, sure."
"Don't keep him too long, Sinsi,” Cassie said as the two of them rose to their feet. “Del's worked hard today and deserves a break.” But she didn't look at them when she said it, seemingly engrossed in stealing cards from under Lynch's big hands.
"Understood,” Sin answered as she led the way back to the lift.
Del's first thought when the doors closed them in wasn't a comfortable one. Alone, his mind whispered, and he took a deep breath to counteract a sudden increase in his heart rate. That didn't really help, since her scent filled the air around him. Caught in a sudden lascivious fantasy, it took him a second to register the frown between her brows as she keyed their destination into the lift controls.
"I hope you won't think I overstepped my bounds,” she said as she turned to look up at him. Her green eyes looked a bit uncertain.
"What do you mean?” he asked.
"Well, I didn't exactly ask your approval."
He frowned down at her, feeling muzzy and dull. What the hell was she talking about? He didn't get a chance to ask that aloud, though. The lift stopped, and Sin stepped out ahead of him, leading him to the Shay offices. Entering the imposing main office, she walked across the room towards the overstuffed chairs flanking the fireplace. Del followed, watching as a man rose from one of the seats and took a step forward. There was something familiar about him...
Del slowed to a stop, his heart taking a tremendous knock in his chest as his eyes met a pair as dark as his own. He was vaguely aware of Sin pausing to look over her shoulder at him, but for once his attention was totally captured by someone else.
"Del, I'd like you to meet Nicholo Givliani,” Sin said in an amused voice.
He barely heard her. There was a ringing in his ears as he looked at the man who used to be a boy as inseparable from him as his own flesh. “Nick?” he murmured incredulously. His brother had changed so much ... and his expression wasn't exactly a warm welcome.
"I'll leave you two alone,” Sin said as she headed towards the glass partition. “I'll be in the next room if you need me."
Nick watched her leave and then took a step towards Del. His face, filled out and hardened from the youthful one that Del remembered, seemed uncertain. “So ... you pissed at me?"
Del stared at him for a long moment in total incomprehension. “What? Nick, is that really you?"
Amusement softened his brother's face as he took another step closer. “What the hell, I haven't changed that much, have I?"
"You...” but Del couldn't finish, a sudden thickening in his throat stopping speech. With two quick strides he reached his brother and hauled him into an embrace. Tears pricked the backs of his eyelids as his brother returned his hold with equal intensity.
"It's been too long, brother,” Nick rasped in his ear, his voice hoarse with emotion.
"I know,” Del managed to whisper, tightening his hold for a second before pulling back to look into his brother's face. Dark brown hair brushing over his forehead, eyes night dark, skin a deep gold, strong stubbled jaw ... it was like looking in a mirror, except this face was more handsome. Clearing his throat, Del said, “You grew up while I wasn't lookin'."
"Ain't that a bitch?” Nick grinned despite the bright liquid gleam in his eyes.
Del couldn't answer that grin just yet. Guilt gnawed at him acidly. “Yeah, it is. I missed you, little brother. I'm sorry I never..."
Nick gave a fierce shake of his head and clapped Del on the shoulder before he stepped back.
Del was a little shocked to discover that they were now the same height and of the same muscular build.
"Don't start that, Del. You did what you had to do. I'm just sorry I didn't do anything earlier. So, are you pissed at me?” His brow furrowed in uncertainty again, and Del made an exasperated noise in the back of his throat.
"Pissed at you about what? I'm the one who dropped you in the middle of nowhere to get along on your own."
"Shit on that, you left me with good people. I was lucky to have them.” Nick narrowed his eyes on Del's face with a sharply assessing look. “You really don't know what I'm talking about?"
"Well, if it helps any, if you don't spit it out, I'm bound to get pissed,” he said blandly.
Nick flashed him a grin and inclined his head towards the seats, moving that way himself. Del followed and sat across from his brother, still barely able to believe that he was there. He had the sudden urge to poke him, to check the reality of what his eyes said was true, but restrained himself.
"Don't know why they wouldn't tell you, but I'm the reason the Shays went after you."
Del frowned. “How are you the reason?"
"I knew what a bind you were in, what a bind you'd been in for so many years. I've always known, but couldn't ever do anything about it until now. I'm an FPA inspector, in case you didn't know. Just made that rank a few months back. I've been saving up to help you, but that promo was a powerful boost to my salary, so I got enough to come to the Shays for help."
Del stared at his brother, feeling like there was a rollercoaster in his head. That was a whole lot of information to take in all at once. “The ... Shays,” he muttered vaguely in response.
"Yeah, I came to them because I knew the Core would just brush me aside if I went to them directly. But I learned some things about the Shays from my partner. He likes to call their courier service an ‘interesting outreach program,'” Nick said with sardonic amusement, his voice heavy with implications that Del was too tired and distracted to sort through. “So I asked them to get you out and gave them the credit to pay off your debit."
That part he understood perfectly, but he asked for clarification anyway. “Wait a minute. You put up the hundred thou?"
Something in his voice must have tipped his brother off, because Nick's expression turned wary. “Uh, yeah. Saved it up over the years."
Clenching his jaw, Del rose to his feet and turned towards the glass partition. “Shay!” he roared, his booming voice echoing in the large office.
He could see Sin on the other side of the glass, talking with someone on a viewer. He didn't think sound penetrated the partition, but either she'd been listening in on their conversation or the office's control system had relayed his shout. She immediately glanced over her shoulder at him, then turned off
the viewer, and stepped towards the partition with purposeful strides.
The glass melted away from her, and she came towards them, the corners of her mouth turned up in faint amusement. “You bellowed?"
"You took my brother's credit?” he asked in a deceptively low tone, feeling fury—based on a sense of betrayal—building tightly in his chest.
"Yes, I did,” she answered with cool calm, but there was a subtle tensing in her form. Her eyes flickered to Nick as he rose to his feet, but came back to meet Del's almost immediately.
"You paid off my debt with my brother's credit and didn't tell me?"
"No, that I didn't do. I took his credit, but didn't use it to pay off anything. Actually, I did buy something with it. Your brother now holds stock in Shay Enterprises, more specifically in our slicer development department."
"What?” Del and his brother said in unison. Del took a quick look at Nick to see a storm gathering on his brother's brow.
"Lady, I gave you that credit to free my brother!"
"And so I did. Just not with your credit. Feel free to remove your stock any time you like. They've only gained you a small fraction since I've invested them for you, but it's your credit, of course. Do with it as you please."
Del glowered down at her to hide his relief. She'd deceived them both, but at least his debt was still his to pay off. He wasn't sure he could have handled his brother saving him after all those years of going through hell thinking it was the other way around.
Nick didn't sound the least bit happy to hear that he still had all his credit—and more besides. “Damn it, that's not freeing him. That's making him yours instead of the Core's!"
Sin gave him a bland smile before turning towards the lift. “You gentleman have a lot to catch up on, I'm sure. The party will go on for a while, but don't feel that you have to make an appearance. Goodnight."
They watched her go in thwarted silence. “That woman is dangerous,” Nick muttered darkly after a moment.
Del couldn't argue that one. “She's right about catching up, though. Come on, let's get out of here. This place is about as comfortable as a bed of nails."
Sunscapes Trilogy Book 1: Last Chance Page 11