“I understand the principle of disguising you,” I said to break the flight’s awkward silence. “But was I obliged to dress up too? This is beyond ridicule. You do know that I have a pedigree.”
Like the two sapiens, I wore a multicolored kimono and thin white silk socks. I was spared the traditional hairstyle and makeup, although this didn’t stop them laughing at my condition as a martyred cat.
Remind me to donate to PETA.
The ship swerved, indicating that we had set a course on the forbidden moon of Europa. We were the only ones aboard this flying coffin piloted by a web-covered android. King Xiao and his henchmen didn’t trust any humans when it came to joining their underwater retreat.
According to the agency, we were the third secret delivery since the beginning of the month. The previous few trips had been one-way which didn’t bode very well. That’s why I preferred reviewing our plan from the start. It was so clear that even Ali could memorize it in less than a day.
“We find Xiao; we kill Xiao; we tear his FID off his cold body. And finally, we steal the necklace containing his digital treasure’s last coordinates or whatever,” recited my human, checking her gun; well-hidden between her thighs. Yet she didn’t seem comfortable. Something was worrying her. It must have reminded her too much of her past misadventures.
Zéphyr had also noticed the change in Ali’s attitude since she had announced this plan involving bypassing the prostitution network used by Xiao. “Are you okay?” the thief asked, making sure that the mechanical pilot was still focused on its work.
“No. I just don’t like being crammed in here like cattle for slaughter. Knowing what’s at the end…”
Zéphyr grabbed Ali’s face in her hands and kissed her. The Data Maiden then winked at her before continuing: “Let’s make sure this is the last delivery for this fat pig.”
Ali armed her Desert Eagle with iridescent reflections, ready to fight once on the spot. Zéphyr also checked her chrome daggers, and we remained silent until we reached the ice layer covering the hidden ocean of Europa.
Two hours later, we dived into the frozen waters of the abandoned moon in a cave specially designed to be a discreet entrance. It was then a long journey to the abyss. This same abyss possessed rudimentary life forms, brought back or not by the sapiens. As we got closer to our goal, the wildlife became more scattered before disappearing completely.
Illuminated by spotlights anchored to its walls, King Xiao’s sunken citadel cast its menacing shadow on the deep horizon. Up close, the underwater bunker was even more terrifying. It looked like the bloody fortress of Balmorya, the Goddess of Eyes, but hundreds of kilometers below the surface of Europa.
Once in the airlock preceding the reception hall, we were greeted by two thugs in black three-piece suits escorting an amphora-shaped tin can no bigger than a child. It was the robot who addressed us, inviting our group to follow him to his master’s lair: “Hurry up! We’re late! Late! Are you ready?”
Before we started moving, Zéphyr turned to Ali and whispered to her: “Will you be okay?”
My human trembled, but answered in the affirmative before I jumped on her shoulders to reassure her. “I’m here with you, little sapiens. Let’s give King Xiao the night of his life and go back playing Forgotten Quest on Thebe.”
She caressed me again before kissing me on the cheek. “Yes…” she said, answering the robot at the same time.
The former godfather’s castle was a veritable stronghold decorated with oil paintings, crimson draperies and shiny ceremonial weapons. We also saw some androids installing new canvases and communist antics recently purchased at the Ceres auction, a sign that further ships were connecting to the bunker. We had another way out if our convoy abandoned us to our fate.
The red doors leading to Xiao’s lair were guarded only by white porcelain vases and jade dragon statues. Indeed, patrols and servants were sparse. This was good news for our escape.
Two cyborgs were finally waiting for us at the end of a large scarlet doorway carved with the Triads’ underworld history. According to the automaton, it was time for the search, the most delicate moment. Especially since these improved humans had palpation implants. But fortunately, no IR nor scanner systems.
The sinister ogres examined the two guests while keeping a certain distance. When one of them wanted to put his hand between Ali’s legs, the robot ordered him to stop: “We don’t touch the Master’s threats!”
“Can’t you forget the protocol one minute, huh?” grunted the culprit.
The second guard stared at the three of us before brooding in his fake beard: “And the cat? Gotta be a snack!”
“It’s for the atmosphere, dear sir,” replied Zéphyr very diplomatically. “A touch of feline sweetness.”
“Silence!” cackled the automaton. “We’re late!”
The sentries nodded and opened the door to a small lavatory. I could feel Ali’s heart pounding as the robot escorted us through the curtain of pearls leading to Xiao’s personal apartments, a large hall covered with antique earthenware and punctuated by stone fountains. On the wall hung spears and shields of a forgotten Chinese dynasty. It was a remarkable collection.
But despite these idyllic aspects, the room was an antechamber of Hell. Between the marble columns were distributed what looked like various instruments of torture from all eras. Dozens of henchmen were waiting for us, their guns pointed in our direction.
“Shit…” Zéphyr swore, not knowing whether she should grab her knives or not.
“To say the least,” intervened one of the two cyborgs that had just appeared behind our backs.
The guards apprehended my two acolytes through the curtain of pearls while, grabbed by the scruff of the neck, I was pinned to the ground by the robot who later threw me into a magnetically locked cat carrier.
“Ali!” I shouted. “What is goi—”
King Xiao entered, his head bent between the two giants. The master of the Lost Triads measured easily within three meters. He didn’t have the stature of a 90-year-old grandfather at all despite his long white beard and shaved skull covered with brownish spots and glowing microchips. I saw some of them turning red before the godfather’s nose started losing drops of blood. He then stared at Zéphyr before chuckling. “Don’t even try speed-hacking us, fool!” he said with the deepest voice I’ve ever heard in all my lives. “This could backfire badly.”
We were violently led to the center of the room, where the henchmen had placed a ruby throne. The robot had positioned me on the right armrest, the cage gates facing the main fountain. Xiao sat down comfortably next to me after adjusting his velvet robe. I could see him through the side ventilation filter of the box.
“My grandsons are now fastening both of you with an explosive necklace unjustly prohibited by the Technocratic Slave Convention,” the giant explained. After these words, he took two remote controls out of his inside pocket and pressed the single button on one of them. When he released his metal thumb, an electric shock caused Ali to scream, and she collapsed to the ground. He reiterated his gesture, without worrying about Zéphyr’s furious protests. Our friend had shut down her holosuit and took back her original appearance. “After three warnings, the collar explodes. Nevertheless…” Against all expectations, King Xiao thumbed the button a third time but this time he didn’t take his finger off it. “Nevertheless, I doubt the Kitty’s crew understands the concept of an ultimatum.”
“Monster!” I yowled behind bars.
“They were armed, Yéye!” shouted one of the men, probably his grandson, after displaying Ali’s caliber.
“Of course, they were!” Xiao snorted. “They’re no entertainers but bounty hunters and data thieves, báichī!”
Another thug threw Zéphyr’s blades into the fountain basin facing me before King Xiao rose from the throne and grabbed the Maiden by the throat. He lifted the cyborg’s metal body three meters off the ground, at arm’s length, without the slightest effort.
“You fools!” started Xiao. “I’ve seen Korolev walk on the moon with a Nazi-designed rusty rocket. I watched an Irishman winning the last American election thanks to the Sicilian crime syndicate. And I’ve witnessed my hometown being turned into glass by a synthesized devil my own country programmed.” The godfather tightened his grip, making the Data Maiden cough white blood. “Nothing can surprise me anymore!” Xiao laughed again, before pointing his electronic pendant with his chin. “Is this what you’re looking for, right? I have a lot of questions for you, Zéphyr the data zéi—about you, the Guild and that shéngùn of Mancéphalius. But, we will get to that later, won’t we?”
Our friend wished to protest, but Xiao silenced her by slipping Ali’s remote control between the teeth. He then ordered her to clench her jaws if she didn’t want my partner to meet the end he had predicted.
Hell! It was a disaster! By being too self-assured, we had been totally outwitted. Zéphyr had led us right into a trap. Disarmed, tied up and imprisoned in the heart of an underwater bunker, we had no chance to escape. The likelihood of being rescued was equally ridiculous.
I had to calm down. I had my freedom of movement at least in this box. So, I was the one with the most leeway. But what could I do?
“Shackle the ‘borg to these gallows. I’ll keep her for myself,” shouted Xiao, cracking his fingers. “And with a double knot! Because we have a master thief and a real Houdini!”
As he approached Ali, he ordered his henchmen to violently tear off her kimono. My partner wanted to fight and beat her attackers, but the godfather slammed her to the ground with a titanic slap. Her lips had burst in shock. A thin stream of vermeil ran down her chin and pearled on her breasts. She didn’t move anymore, tetanized.
“Ali! Ali!” I shouted again, tearing my lungs out.
Zéphyr tried to do the same, but if she loosened the teeth of the remote control, my sapiens was doomed.
The rest was even worse. Xiao’s henchmen had tied Ali to one of the instruments. She was upside down, rushed off blows until she was motionless. It was so violent that the leather laces threatened to snap.
While the goons of the Emperor of the Outer Worlds beat her under the demented laughter of their godfather, I gnawed at the steel bars that separated me from the outside. She had to hold on. I was about to save her!
“Do you think we didn’t see your marks from that old Lunar tattoo, wáwá?” cried one of the executioners.
“Tak Khunn! The Niku’s not moving! I suppose we finally broke it!” said one of the two cyborgs who had joined the other henchmen.
Tattoo? Niku? No! How would they know about this?
They all laughed in chorus while my partner’s blood flowed on her belly and beaded on her face.
“They don’t mold meat-dolls as strong as they used to do,” joked Xiao. “Don’t spoil it, hóng gùn. Open it! I’d like to see what the Gods managed to do with the tech they stole from us. Kuài yīdiǎn!”
