AndroDigm Park 2067 Read online

  The third billboard was advertising the lottery for a trip to Mars Colony. It was a place where billionaires went to escape an overcrowded Earth. It wasn’t for the likes of ordinary men and women. Yet the lottery gave them one chance in a billion of winning that prize.

  As they wound their way through air lanes and the forest of billboards, Shelby relaxed. He had accomplished his mission, and they were well on their way to leaving the City. Then an alarm in the cockpit sounded.

  “What the… We’ve been tagged,” said Shelby, pulling out his handgun. He opened the door and leant out of the craft. Three small drones were following them. Shelby fired and one exploded. Shelby fired again and the second span out of control and collided with an electronic billboard advertising King Karma and his message of free love.

  The third shot missed its target.

  Shelby shut the door.

  “You’re carrying a tracker,” he shouted at Scarlet.

  “I’m not.”

  Shelby looked at the collar around her neck. “It’s in your collar,” he said. “Take it off.”

  Shelby took the collar and threw it out the door. It had no effect: the drone was still tracking them.

  Shelby ripped open her raincoat and his eyes focused on her monogrammed top. “It’s in your uniform. Take your top off.”

  Scarlet looked terrified. “I’m not wearing a bra.”

  “It’s that or I throw you out.”

  “All right.” She took off the raincoat and pulled her top off.

  He grabbed it and tossed it out of the craft. Nothing happened.

  She looked at him.

  “It must be your shorts. Take them off. Now!”

  “You’ve got to be kidding me.”

  He wasn’t. She slipped her thumbs into the sides of her shorts and pulled them down. Shelby grabbed them from her and threw them out the door. As they descended, the drone followed their downward path. They were safe again.

  He looked at Scarlet shivering. She was wearing only the tiniest of thongs and was trying to keep warm by crossing her arms.

  “You don’t have to stare.”

  He didn’t realise he was. “I’m sorry.” He handed her back the raincoat.

  “I didn’t realise they tracked us like that.”

  “Most companies that give their staff uniforms do. Guess they didn’t want you to leave the club.”

  “Nobody ever does — those that leave, usually end up dead.”

  “You left.”

  “Then you’d better keep me alive.”

  She put the raincoat back on. Several buttons were missing from when he ripped it open. She pulled the sides together to keep herself warm. She looked weak and vulnerable. He hadn’t intended to humiliate her, but he had.

  “This raincoat is a Gigot. It cost me a fortune.”

  Shelby thought a gigot was a piece of meat. He knew nothing about designer labels, but with the bounty from the mission he could afford to replace it. “I’ll get you a new one when we’re out of here.”

  Jess pulled the vehicle around and headed towards the outer reaches of the City. Five minutes later, they reached the perimeter of the City. Shelby turned off the heli-car’s transponder, making them invisible to air traffic control systems. Jess dropped their altitude to five hundred feet, cut their lights, and accelerated to Mach one. For a human, flying without lights at night, at that speed and altitude, would have been reckless in the extreme. But Jess was an android.

  CHAPTER TWO

  Three hours later, the heli-car landed with a jolt. They were in a forest. Shelby opened the door and checked around him for signs of change, but everything was much as he left it. His cabin and its barn were in darkness about a hundred yards away. The surrounding snow was fresh and untouched. It seemed unlikely that anyone could have gone near the cabin without leaving tracks.

  Shelby needed to raise the white camouflage net over the vehicle before dawn broke. Jess climbed out of the pilot’s chair and stood next to him.

  “Jess, take the fifty millimetre to the vantage point and keep watch tonight.”

  Jess responded by picking up the high-velocity sniper rifle from the back of the heli-car and headed up a trail towards the high ground at a brisk rate. He trusted her to keep the cabin covered for the rest of the night. Unlike humans, androids didn’t fall asleep, and functioned in sub-zero temperatures.

  “Bloody hell, it’s freezing,” said Scarlet as she climbed out of the heli-car.

  “British,” he said, finally recognising her accent.

  “What’s wrong with that?”

  “Nothing… Better get into the cabin as quickly as you can,” said Shelby. “There should be a Parker and salopettes in the cabin. They’ll keep you warm until I get there.”

  He watched her head to the cabin and when she was safely inside, he hauled the camouflage netting over the vehicle.

  * * *

  Inside the cabin, Scarlet took a deep breath. She must have been crazy to help the marshal. What was she thinking? But what was done, was done. There was no going back. Now she had made a powerful enemy. The Morelli family would try to hunt her down and kill her, and the marshal and the android clown were the only ones she could rely on to protect her.

  She looked into a mirror on the wall. Her soulful eyes looked back at her. What had she become? Six months ago, she had been a happy, innocent young woman that knew nothing about life and even less about sex. She wanted to be like everyone else. The barmaid’s job at Lucifer’s Pleasure Cave offered her the means to be free. But it came at a price. She was colder, more cynical, less trusting and much tougher than she had ever been before. In the process, she had lost her soul.

  She felt a chill run down her spine. The cabin was cold, freezing cold. Underneath her raincoat, all she had on was a tiny thong. She was in danger of turning blue. Finding something warm to wear had become a priority. She looked around the room. The cabin had little in the way of amenities: a bed, a kitchen area, a bathroom, a series of cupboards, and twelve flat screen security monitors that covered one wall.

  There must be some clothes somewhere, she thought. Jess must have clothes. She opened a cupboard and found a ‘Zeppelin’ t-shirt. It surprised her that Shelby was an ancient rock fan. She remembered the group from her music culture history course at university. The t-shirt could become a makeshift dress for her. She put it on and looked in the mirror. She wondered if it made her look like a rock chick. But it wasn’t enough to keep her warm. Where was the Parker?

  In the next cupboard, she found the Parker. At last, she had something to keep her warm. She discarded the raincoat and put it on. Now, if only she could find something to keep her legs warm. What on earth were salopettes, anyway?

  At that moment the door opened, and she froze.

  “It’s you,” she said, relieved that it was Shelby and no one else.

  He looked at her legs. “You must be freezing. Couldn’t you find the salopettes?”

  She shook her head.

  “I must have left them in the heli-car. Sorry. I’ll get them for you tomorrow.”

  “Don’t you have any heating?” she said.

  “We can’t put it on yet. Not for a few days, anyway. It would give our position away to any thermal scanner looking for us.”

  “So in the meantime, we freeze — great.”

  He took off the body armour. She couldn’t help but notice his muscular, toned chest. Damn. The reason she was in this mess was because she had fancied him, and he had played her to get Morelli’s location. How could she have been so stupid?

  He turned away from her. His back was bloody: the effects of two painful looking wounds. She was annoyed with him, but she couldn’t help but feel some concern. She had to help.

  She let out a sigh. “Your back… it’s bleeding.”

  “It’s old armour. I’ve been meaning to replace it. It stops the bullets from killing you, but that’s all.”

  “Do you have a medi-kit?”

  He
went over to the cabinet and retrieved a small medical case. She took some medical gauze and antiseptic from the case to clean the wounds and then used a spray-on skin sealant.

  “That’s the best I can do,” she said, admiring her own handy work.

  “Thanks… Look, I’m sorry I shouted at you earlier.”

  She wasn’t expecting any kind words from him. Since their escape from Lucifer’s Pleasure Cave, he had had nothing but harsh words for her. Maybe they could be civil towards each other now.

  “Would you have thrown me out of the vehicle if I hadn’t given you my shorts?”

  He smiled. “Maybe not… But those drones had explosive charges. If we hadn’t got rid of the tracker, they would have brought down the heli-car. I’m sorry I embarrassed you.”

  He must be from a different world, she thought. In her world, nobody worried about a little nudity. In Lucifer’s Pleasure Cave, the patrons flaunted it. “You didn't. But without my clothes I was freezing up there.”

  “Jess should have some clothes in her kitbag. I think it’s in the heli-car. I’ll get it tomorrow.”

  She opened her Parker. “I borrowed your t-shirt. I hope you don’t mind.”

  “Keep it. It looks better on you than it ever did on me.”

  Was he complimenting her? “I didn’t expect you to be an ancient rock fan. I thought no one listened to that kind of crap these days.”

  “It was a long time ago, when I was your age.”

  “My age? What age do you think I am?”

  “Fifteen, sixteen, I don’t know.”

  “I’m twenty-five. I’m not a kid.”

  He looked at her as though he was looking at her for the first time and smiled. “I guess not.”

  Was there a little chemistry there, she wondered? She looked at him. There was something about him she liked. She noticed it the first time they met, but she couldn’t put her finger on it. She wondered about the sleeping arrangements. There was only one bed in the cabin. It wasn’t king-sized, but it could accommodate two.

  As if reading her mind, he said, “It will be dawn in a few hours. We need to get some sleep.”

  Scarlet looked at the bed and then at him.

  “What did you expect? I told you we had no facilities for guests. We’ll just have to share.”

  She had already worked that out. “You want me to sleep with you?”

  “It’s the only practical solution we have. And it will be cold, freezing cold tonight, so we’ll need to share body heat.”

  So he wanted to share body heat with her. She knew what that meant. He wanted the little joy she had promised him. Her pulse rate had already quickened at the thought of it. And maybe if she gave him joy, he would be in a mood to take her to Angel City the following day.

  She smiled. “All right — no problem.”

  She went into the bathroom to freshen up. She washed, fixed her hair. Her heartbeat raced. She hadn’t had sex for seventy-two hours and she was already feeling horny. Why not? She was a modern woman, who believed in the karma of love: giving pleasure to others was good karma.

  She looked at the t-shirt. It wasn’t the sexiest of nightwear, but it would have to do as a make-do nightdress. But she didn’t need the thong that night. She took it off, rinsed it through, and hung it in the shower. She looked inside her bag and pulled out a strip of Libido pills. Two pills remained on the strip. She pushed out a pill and swallowed it. She smiled at herself in the mirror. In ten minutes, she would be as horny as hell. Now she was ready for a night of joy.

  When she returned he was already in bed with his back to her. “Okay, I’m ready. What do you think?”

  He turned towards her.

  “What’s different?”

  She smiled, lifted her t-shirt to her waist and did a slow pirouette showing off her red bushy triangle.

  “Oh, I think somewhere we got our wires crossed.”

  She felt her cheeks flush with embarrassment. “You don’t want joy? So what was all that crap about sharing body heat supposed to mean?”

  “It means it’s going to be freezing cold tonight.”

  Her mouth was agape. She felt stupid and rejected. He wasn’t interested. He must think she's a trollop because she worked in a sex club. Damn him. She had a PhD in cybernetics. Whatever she was, she didn’t deserve to be treated poorly.

  Her temper boiled over. “You think I’m not good enough?”

  “It’s not you, it’s the job. I’m a marshal and while you’re in my protective custody, I’m responsible for you. We need to keep this relationship strictly professional.”

  “But no one would know.”

  “I would.”

  She scowled back at him. “Maybe I should sleep on the couch.”

  “There are some blankets in the wardrobe.”

  Scarlet opened the wardrobe and saw some dusty old blankets that must have been there for years. The thought of what might be living inside them filled her with dread. She closed the cupboard door.

  She swallowed her pride. “You’re right. Sharing is the only practical solution.”

  She turned off the light and slipped under the covers keeping as far away from him as she could.

  She closed her eyes and tried to fall sleep, but her legs felt like icicles. Five minutes later a cold sensation ran down her back and she couldn’t stop shivering. He turned and put his arms around her. “You’re freezing cold,” he said.

  “I froze my ass off in the heli-car.”

  He pulled her closer to him engulfing her body like a cocoon. She tried to wriggle away. But, he held her tight.

  “This is not working. You’re hypothermic. Take off your t-shirt,” he said.

  Before she could protest, he had lifted her arms up and pulled the t-shirt over her head, tossed it on the floor and rolled her onto her back. He climbed on top of her.

  “What happened to no sex?”

  “I’m trying to save your life. Trust me, you need my body heat.”

  He lay on top of her, pinning her down.

  “You’re crushing me. I can’t breathe.”

  “Open your legs.”

  So he lied: he was after sex. But why the pretence? What happened to romance, a little smooching and passion? She opened her legs. He climbed between them and shifted his weight onto his knees and elbows. And with his weight moved, she could breathe freely again.

  “Is that better?” he said.

  She nodded. Her heart was pounding. She was naked; and he was on top of her wearing only a pair of thin cotton boxer shorts. Why wouldn’t she be a bit excited? She closed her eyes. She could feel him between her thighs pressing against her. Damn, she could hardly control herself. And the effects of the Libido pill had started to kick in. Did he have any idea what he was doing to her? This was torture.

  The minutes drifted by and nothing happened, but she was getting warmer.

  Ten minutes passed by. He hadn’t said a thing; he had done nothing except hold her. Who was this guy? Was he even human? She opened her eyes and looked into his eyes. They were sky blue — beautiful. Why didn’t she notice them before? All he had to do was kiss her and she would melt. Damn. Surely, he could tell.

  “It’s working. I’m getting warmer,” she said, breaking the silence. “But you’re holding me too tight.”

  He released her and sat back. She noticed him glance at her breasts. Her nipples were firm. He must have noticed them. Did he know how excited she was? Did he know she was high on Libido?

  “Are you warm yet?” he said.

  “I’m hot now.” She was definitely hot and in more ways than one.

  He leaned back, and she rolled onto her side. In the process, she glanced at his shorts. She wasn’t the only one to get excited.

  “My back still feels a little cold, she said.” It was a lie, but it had the desired effect. He cuddled up behind her, wrapping his arm around her waist and resting his hand just below her breasts. She willed his hand to move onto her naked breast, but it didn’t wor
k.

  Then she noticed his hand holding her and the wedding ring. Damn. There were some things she would never do; and having sex with a married man was one of them. She pulled away from him.

  “What’s the matter?” he said.

  “Just tired, exhausted.” She closed her eyes and soon drifted into sleep.

  CHAPTER THREE

  Scarlet woke to the sound and smells of cooking. Shelby had already dressed and was at the stove stirring something in a pot. She stretched her arms and yawned. Then she realised she was in bed naked, and her t-shirt was on the floor in the middle of the room. She had spent the whole night with this man naked in his bed and, as far as she could remember, nothing had happened. It was hard to believe. Maybe he was gay. Then she remembered the bulge in his shorts in the middle of the night. Perhaps not.

  “Can you pass me the t-shirt?” she said.

  He turned, looked at the t-shirt on the floor, and turned back to his cooking. He had ignored her. Okay, she thought, if he wants to play games, she could too. She was proud of how her body looked. She climbed out of bed, walked over to him and peeked into the pan: scrambled eggs. Two plates were on the table with two mugs of steaming black coffee.

  She looked at the broken, discarded eggshells. “You’re using real eggs?”

  “Yeah. Can’t stand that synthetic crap they sell in the supermarkets these days. This was a working farm once.”

  He poured the scrambled egg onto the plates and handed her a knife and fork. It didn’t look great, but she was starving. Then he picked up her t-shirt and handed it to her.

  “Thank you.”

  She had made her point. So she pulled the t-shirt on and then tucked into the eggs. “Yummy,” she said.

  They ate in silence.

  After breakfast, he gave her the salopettes. “They were in the heli-car,” he said. “You’re smaller than Jess, and they might come up a little big on you, but they’re all we’ve got. Get dressed. You’ll need the Parker and salopettes. We’re going out.”

  Scarlet dressed as quickly as she could. Shelby picked up a melon from the fridge, and they left the cabin.