Trev sniffed. The tears were still rolling uncontrollably down his face. He looked down to where Khim was still curled around himself on the blacktop. “Khim. Can you stand?” He spoke softly past the giant knot in his throat. “Khim. Please. Stand. Now.”
The man at their feet moved, pushing up. In one graceful movement, he was standing tall and straight, perfectly balanced. But his head stayed down, eyes focused only on the ground.
Breq and Vance walked them to a big black flier around the corner of the building. Trev recognized it immediately—it was their father’s. Sleek, top of the line.
Khim and Trev were forced into the backseat, made to lean uncomfortably against their cuffed hands. Breq strapped them in while Vance started up the flier’s engine.
Trev glanced once through blurry eyes at Khim, but Khim’s head remained bowed. His unblinking eyes stared at his lap as if frozen there. His inner self was astray.
Trev whispered to the lost man beside him, blinking back tears. “Khim. I’m so sorry.”
But there was no response.
THE FLIER took them up from the endless waves of sand surrounding the little town and the dark motel into the pinking clouds. This flier was speedier than most. The male voice in its programming announced their destination would be reached in thirty-three minutes.
Trev thought they were going back home, to Dante’s upside-down triangle mansion on its island of trees, of gardens, of waterfalls crashing over the land’s edge.
Instead they headed fast and straight toward the looming towers of Fire Town.
Trev wished he could get a hand free, reach out to Khim. He had tried with his voice, whispering Khim’s name several times, but there was no response.
He heard his brother Vance make a call. The way Vance spoke, Trev could only assume Dante was on the receiving end. He reported that “Trev and the android are on their way.”
When he finished the call, Vance said, “Hey, Trev, how come that android obeys everything you say, huh?”
Trev turned his head to the side window as blue sky and dots of cloud soared by. The horizons all around brimmed with orange light.
“Does he think you own him because you’re a Damico?” Vance asked.
Trev held his breath, anger and fury warring.
“C’mon, fess up. Why does he do everything you say?” Vance turned in his seat.
“He doesn’t.” Trev’s voice came out quiet, low.
“But you made him submit. That’s pretty cool. How’d you do it?”
“Shut up, Vance.” Trev swallowed against the heaviness in his throat. “Just shut the fuck up!” He was surprised that with very little air in his lungs, he’d managed to yell.
“Who’da thought you had it in you, a little guy like you,” Vance said.
To Trev’s surprise, Breq’s fist shot out and impacted with Vance’s shoulder. “What the fuck’s wrong with you? He’s our brother. If Dad heard you talking to him like that—”
“What? Aren’t you curious? I mean, you saw it that night. Khim’s out of control. Dangerous. But Trev here says one word to it—”
“Fucking shut up,” Breq said.
Why was Breq defending him? Trev wondered. Did he feel guilty because Trev had called Khim off before he killed him?
Trev didn’t think Breq loved him particularly much. In fact, when they’d been kids, Breq had behaved like a jealous brat. But over the years, when they had to, they’d worked well together. They did, on occasion, seem to like each other. Breq was always calling Trev on his wrist comm, but Trev thought his brother just enjoyed bothering him. Or maybe he was a little lonely.
Trev wished he knew more about what his brothers had been talking about in the parking lot. What exactly had happened that Breq and Vance had seen that had landed Khim, beaten and raped, in prison? His brothers could be sadists in business, just like Dante. But rapists? Trev didn’t think so. That wasn’t how they were raised, despite Dante’s little side businesses in the sex trade.
But still, somehow, Khim had known them. They had known Khim. There was rage in Khim as he’d tried to kill Breq.
It explained much about the day they’d first met, how Khim had reacted so strongly to Trev’s name and why he had, at first, refused to share a cell with him.
And when Khim had found himself in danger of losing control, losing his right to life over one more act of violence, it must have been terrible for him to have to come to Trev because of the power of that last name and make their deal.
Trev whispered again to the man at his side, to the air. “I’m sorry, Khim. I’m sorry.”
Up front, Vance looked pissed, shaking his head.
At that moment the flier arced, turned, and descended amid the multicolored lights, tall buildings, and the huge one-hundred-foot floating screens of Fire Town.
THEY PARKED at a place called the Rainspeer Hotel.
The underground garage, lit by eerie, pale lights, was haunted with shadows.
Trev walked by Khim’s side, glancing sidelong at him. Khim never lifted his head. His golden hair fell along the sides of his face, hiding any expression Trev might glimpse.
The four of them entered a stuffy, too-small elevator. To Trev’s surprise, instead of going up, the car went down a long way, so deep Trev could hear the machinery of the antigrav engines that helped hold Fire Town aloft in the skies above Gideon.
When the doors opened, they entered a long hallway, thickly carpeted in off-white, the walls painted in curving white and gray stripes.
Khim froze, standing in place just outside the elevator doors.
The others turned.
“Let’s go,” Breq said.
Khim, hands behind his back, head bowed, did not move.
“Get moving,” Vance hissed.
“Breq,” Trev said, trying to get his older brother to look at him. He inadvertently tugged at his cuffs, wincing as his injured shoulder pulled. “What happened here?”
“What?”
“Can’t you see?” Trev let out a hard breath. “Something really bad happened. He doesn’t want to go back. Would you?”
“We’re not going to the bagnio. I mean, we’re going through it, but not to it.”
“The what?”
“The bordello, stupid.”
“Well, I haven’t been here before, so I don’t know!”
Breq made a face. “There’s an office past the lounge. That’s our first stop.” He looked past Trev at Khim. “C’mon, android. Walk.”
“His name is Khim,” Trev said.
Breq put his hands up as if surrendering. “Okay, okay. Khim-Who-Tried-To-Kill-Me.” Red marks shaped like fingerprints still blazed brightly against the sides of his neck. “Just tell him to walk, or we’ll bring someone out here to knock him out and carry him.”
Trev made a disgusted sound, then said softly, “Khim. Please.”
Khim took a slow step forward. Then another.
Vance said, “See? He’s got it wrapped around his little finger.”
“Shut up,” Breq said.
They all had to slow their pace as Khim took shortened, hesitant steps, seemingly ignoring them all. The way was long. It seemed like forever before they came to a door. Some small doors appeared along the left wall, but Breq and Vance passed them all.
Finally, they came to the end of the hallway and stood before two leaf-carved, wooden double doors.
“What is this place?” Trev asked.
Neither of his brothers answered.
Trev could only imagine the kind of fear and pain Khim must be feeling. He wanted to reach out to him, reassure him, but he had no business doing that. How could he reassure Khim if he had no guarantees for himself that they’d ever get out of here alive? He would do anything to help Khim, but pleading with his father, after their meeting at the prison, was the last thing he wanted to do.
Knowing he was about to see Dante, Trev’s anger surfaced, a simmering combination of hurt and abhorrence gathering itself into ou
trage. He used that energy to strengthen his resolve and stood tall between his brothers.
The wooden doors opened inward. Khim moved just behind Trev, who could feel the trembling heat of him.
The footsteps of the four men were silent on the plush carpet. Trev smelled blooming flowers and saw vases of them, fresh-cut foliage in vessels of brilliant hues—shining alabaster, alert red, and dominant purple—decorating narrow buffets along one wall.
He looked around even as Breq’s hand tugged him forward.
“Ow,” Trev said between gritted teeth. “My shoulder’s injured, you ass!”
Breq eased up, looking at him. “I didn’t know that.”
“Well, fuck, Breq—the candle tube, the cuffs, manhandling me. Why are you being such an asshole to me?”
“Because Dad said you would run. And I have a job to do.”
Trev wanted to spit at him, but he knew Breq was under Dante’s control. They shared a father who meted out orders and gave no other options to his children.
Breq had been rebellious as a kid. It was Breq, out of all seven of them, who had inspired the most whippings. In his teen years, it seemed like Breq had been hauled off to the punishment room practically daily.
Trev turned away from him and scanned the foyer. On the wall opposite the flower buffet was a fountain spraying cascades of water into the air out of the mouths of three lions. The lions were made of black marble. They had their heads back as if they were roaring at the air. Surrounding the fountain were ferns, baby’s breath, and other lacy green plants.
Just beyond the fountain was a podium, like that of a restaurant where you would approach a host who would show you to a table. A computer was built into the podium. The screen reflected only darkness.
Beyond the podium the fancy foyer led to a huge arched open wall. Over the arch, in big Renaissance lettering, were the words “House of Xavier.” Farther on, Trev could see an elaborate room as big as four times their entire living room at home. They stepped into this room, which was filled with tables, chairs, benches, and plush couches. A long bar. A half-dozen crystal chandeliers along the ceiling. The walls were draped in fuchsia and magenta curtains. Some of the curtains were not just decorative but tied back to show alcoves behind them, with plush beds covered in gold spreads. In the center of the room was a long stage.
“What is this place?” Trev asked.
Behind him, Khim made a choking sound and turned away. Trev jerked his head around, only to see Vance half dragging Khim through the arch. Khim was using his body to hug the wall just inside.
“Damn it,” Vance said. “Move! Or do you want to be drugged again?”
Trev gasped at such harsh words from his brother, and all the strength his rage had been supplying began to leak away as he tried but could not even begin to imagine what kinds of shows were put on in this place.
“You had him in here, didn’t you?” Trev’s voice was loud, accusing. “He doesn’t want to go any farther! Why are you doing this?”
Vance kept pulling Khim, who stumbled farther into the room. For a moment Trev thought Khim, even with his hands locked behind his back, would fight. He had no doubt Khim could kill Vance with just a body blow if he so chose. But Khim’s head stayed down, his hair dangling to obscure his features.
“You guys are bastards. You know that, right?” Trev said.
Breq said, “There’s an office at the end of the room. That’s where we’re going. Now just shut up and walk. Both of you!”
They moved silently through the strangely eerie room. Trev walked, so Khim walked.
As they passed a grouping of couches with an elaborate red velvet one in the center, Vance began to chuckle. “Look familiar, android? The blood’s been cleaned away—”
Trev spun out of Breq’s softened grip and blindly crashed into Vance, who let go of Khim and stumbled backward. “What the fuck is wrong with you?” Trev shrieked.
Vance caught himself, brushing at his suit. “You always were a little shit.”
“This situation is bad enough. Why are you making it worse?” Trev asked. Vance was his least-favorite brother, the bully of the lot of them, but this supreme coldness seemed new.
A strong voice sounded throughout the room, echoing over the four men who stood at the center. “Vance, you will make no further commentary ever again to the android. Now, my boys, come forward. All of you. I have been waiting.”
Trev looked up toward the end of the room. Dante stood tall. He lorded over the entire proceedings, his silver suit reflecting the room’s diffused light, making him look armored in tarnished metal.
As they approached the end of the long room, Trev saw an open door, a well-lit room with couches and desks, and flanking the door, Dante’s two reliable bodyguards, Blair and Sonye.
Blair and Sonye wore suits as well, black, with white shirts and ties. Their jackets were open, their shoulder holsters visible, but Trev knew they did not need those weapons. They could fight bare-handed. Like Khim, they knew plenty of ways to kill.
Trev had learned to fight from them. He was agile, fast, but had never been as strong as they were.
As they approached the office and Dante, Vance said, “Dad, the android is still dangerous. He tried to kill Breq.”
Breq said, “Trev stopped him. With a command.”
At those words, Sonye and Blair tensed, eyes on Khim, following his every move.
Dante said, “Hush.”
This was a nightmare. Trev had never guessed that his family were Khim’s owners. He was both ashamed and horrified. They were his family. All he knew. Then he’d met Khim. But by virtue of being a Damico, he’d actually made things worse for him when he thought he was helping.
His heart began to shatter.
Dante led the way into the office, and the six of them followed—Breq and Trev first, then Khim, still never once looking up, shuffling in ahead of Vance, Blair, and Sonye.
Trev knew his father had many businesses, corporations, and holdings. He owned hotels, casinos, office buildings. Small moons. Apparently he also owned people.
Trev had suspected but never really looked at that side of things. His life had been about computers and stealth. He could steal for his father with ease, for deals Dante made with customers who would pay anything for a rare painting, information, jewels, or even something like a Bradbury. Trev was a security expert, an acrobat, and a thief. But this side of the family business? He’d never even taken a peek.
“Uncuff him.” Dante motioned toward Trev, but his eyes were on Breq.
Breq obeyed.
When Trev was loose, he backed up and stood by Khim, close but not touching.
“Now Khim,” Dante demanded.
Breq and Vance said almost simultaneously, “No way!”
No one moved toward Khim.
Dante’s eyes were dark, like smoky quartz caught in winter light. “What do you think, Trevor?”
Trev took a half step forward, his body partially blocking Khim’s. “Like anyone, any human, he acts in self-defense. What did you do to him here?” As he asked the question, his voice skipped over some of the words, getting lost in the depths of his throat.
“The question is what he did here,” Vance muttered.
“Vance, did I ask you a question?” Dante said. Vance scowled. “Another outburst from you and you will leave the room.” Dante turned back to Trev.
Trev said, “What did he do?”
“Only dispatched one of our highest-paying clients. But never mind that. We were uninformed as to his history as a highly efficient killer. We won’t underestimate him again.”
Trev spoke as if in a dream, his voice sounding distant. “Your confidence knows no bounds, does it?”
Breq gave Trev a wide-eyed look. They rarely spoke to their father as openly as Trev was doing right now.
“This isn’t about Khim, it’s about you, Trev. You seem to have a handle on him. Is Breq correct when he says you kept Khim from killing him?”
“I don’t make Khim do anything. Khim chooses.”
“Is that so? You’re a Damico. He’s owned by the Damicos. He’s conditioned to obey his owners.”
Trev felt Khim shift very slightly behind him. Trev’s body heated with shame at his father’s words. Shame for what his father was suggesting. Shame at being a Damico.
The room was too bright, the edges glistening in his peripheral vision. He wished for this horrible moment to fade, wished he could open new eyes and it would all be over, some nightmare from a darker place that shrank immediately upon waking.
“I don’t tell Khim what to do!” He pushed the words from his mouth, hard. His chest rose and fell.
“Regardless, I want to thank you for bringing my property back to me,” Dante said. “Due to unfortunate circumstances, I could not cover up the murder he committed and lock him away here myself. The crime became too public too quickly, so I allowed the authorities to take him. I thought we might not have him back here for another seventy years. But now that he’s escaped Steering Star, he can never go back into the public. He will be caught and executed, and I may have power, but not enough power to prevent that. Not over a killer who has proven he cannot be held by the most maximum-security facility available. So if you want him to remain alive, this is the place for him—locked away, hidden, protected. And he can work to pay his way.”
“Surely not in the brothel!”
“Certainly not. When I bought him I had no clue he was ex-military. With his skills, I have great plans for him myself. It is why you were both brought here. Do you think I have no regard for your safety? Or his? You are both fugitives now. Well, Khim is. I pulled some strings for you, Trev. I am trying to help you. Both of you.”
Trev did not know what to say.
“Breq and Vance were doing their jobs. Don’t blame them. I only wanted you both found and brought here unharmed before the authorities caught up.” Dante smiled, teeth white. “It’s the least I can do.”
Trev remembered their meeting in the prison, Dante so furious, leaving Trev behind to rot with a longer sentence than the original one year, telling him to think about what he’d done. And now he was welcoming him back?
The Android and the Thief Page 24