We haul the prizes out of the car. I lean in and lift the bag off Lyria’s head, positioning myself so that Gorgo can’t see her hidden in the back. “Remember, rabbit. Silence is golden.” I set the bag back and leave her in the car. I let Volga carry both the prizes over her shoulders to Gorgo. He stands as we approach, eclipsing me by more than a foot and a hundred kilos. His black shark eyes drift back and forth between us and the prizes.
“Right on schedule. The Duke awaits.” He puts out his burner and motions for us to stop. “No weapons.” I put my pistol on the chair and Volga sets her plasma rifle down. Gorgo pats my arms, torso, balls, and legs with his huge hands.
“You enjoying that?” I ask.
Wordless, he slides the stiletto out of my boot and takes four more knives out of Volga’s jacket. “Really?” I ask her. She shrugs. Gorgo finds two more knives in her boots and an acid shooter strapped to her calf. He stacks these with our other weapons and seems amused by the collection. “Little crow likes toys. Would you like to be one of mine?” She ignores his predatory smile.
With the children in tow, we take a lonely lift up to the fifty-second floor, where the Duke waits for us amongst a host of Syndicate thorns. They stand in the shadows of the half-constructed highrise, light from their burners catching on jewelry, platinum smiles, and chromejob eye implants. At the far side of the floor, a sleek luxury yacht rests outside on one of the highrise landing pads.
The Duke applauds as we approach. “A debt was owed. A debt is paid!” He wears a jet-black asp skin jacket with long, calf-length tails. His lipstick is violet tonight and he sits behind a plastic table with a steaming pile of half-eaten crab claws and two bottles of wine.
“Punctual. Well dressed. And devastatingly handsome. My dear Ephraim. You are a treasure.” He eyes Volga. “You brought a bodyguard this time. How precocious of you.”
“She’s luggage detail.”
The three Obsidian men behind him stare at Volga. All are ice Obsidian, probably ex-legion, and wear dusters and their bright white hair long and unbound. The biggest is a head taller than Volga and has emerald piercings in his chin. He grinds the haft of a chrome pulseAxe into the concrete floor.
“The prizes, as agreed upon,” I say flatly. The night’s exhausted me, Dano’s death robbing me of any humor. Volga hands over the prizes to two thorns, who lay them down on the table. The Duke pulls the hoods off the children’s faces and coos to himself.
“My, my, my. The Queen will be pleased. See, I told you, Gorgo. He’s pure quality. Syndicate material.” Gorgo shrugs. “Gorgo here did not think you were up to the task. He thought you would run. Fly to Earth, Mars, but no, I said. A man’s reputation is his life’s work. It is all he has. And you have lived up to yours. That gravWell…” He shudders. “Patent Ephraim ti Horn.”
He looks down at the children, focusing on Pax.
“Hello, little prince.” He bends to inspect the boy more closely. “You may call me dominus.” He rears back and slaps the boy across the face. Volga twitches. A red welt forms on Pax’s cheek. “Weep.” He slaps him again. “Weep.” Pax stares on at him, trying to be brave. “Weep.” The Duke’s voice loses the affected polish bit by bit, till it sounds like an animal inside him is trying to escape. “Weep. Weep. Weep.”
The sight of it disgusts me, but I stay rigidly still, afraid.
“My Duke…” Gorgo says. The Duke looks up at him, murder in his eyes. Gorgo stares back evenly but says nothing more. The Duke slaps Pax again and tears finally leak out of the boy’s eyes. The Duke shudders with pleasure and tucks back the pink locks of hair that have fallen over his eyes. He takes a teardrop on the tip of his finger and licks it off with his eyes closed. “Tastes like justice.”
His men laugh. Volga’s trembling with anger. Poor girl looks like she’s going to lurch forward and strangle the man. I shake my head at her, but her eyes are fixed on the Duke.
The man’s voice softens to a coo as he bends to stroke Pax’s face. “There, there, little prince. Do not weep. Shhh. Consider me an ambassador, welcoming you to the real world. The rest of us have been here for some time. But do not worry. You’ll soon learn the rules.” He turns to his thorns. “Put them in my yacht. No rough play. We mustn’t damage the Queen’s merchandise. She has quite a plan for them.” The men haul the children up and take them away. Volga’s eyes follow them till they disappear into the ship.
“Apologies,” he says, the polish back. “At the root, I am a creature of severe passion.”
“I expect the rest of my payment now,” I say, eyeing the thorns behind me. They’ve crept closer. My voice sounds dead even to my ears.
“Yes. Yes.” He makes a dismissive gesture to a thorn. My datapad vibrates as the funds transfer.
“Thank you,” I say, checking the number. “It’s been a pleasure doing business.”
“That’s it?” the Duke asks, raising his plucked eyebrows. “Am I a payday so summarily dismissed? I thought our fraternity ran deeper. I even saved you a bottle of La Dame Chanceuse. I was hoping we could drink it together.”
“Now?”
“Yes, now. A toast to a success for the ages. A triumph for the little men.”
“It’s been a long night. I’m not thirsty.”
“My darling Ephraim, where did the rogue go? Where is the bluster, the charisma? Dirty deeds deserve sweet reward.” His fingers run along the edge of the bottle. “If I didn’t know better, I’d think your scruples were rankled.”
“You hired a professional,” I say. “If you want a social companion, I suggest you call up some Pink entertainment. I hear they’re splendid company.” His smile disappears. “Thank you again for your time, my good Duke.” I turn to leave. Volga doesn’t turn with me.
“What will you do with the children?” she asks.
No. No. No. I turn back around. The Duke’s eyebrows float upward. “It speaks.”
“She’s passionate too,” I say. “Means nothing by it. Come on, Volga.”
“Not at all!” The Duke beams. “It’s a fair question for the curious crow after all the sweat and ill deeds. What if I told you I was going to give them to the big brutes behind me to play with as I was played with my entire life?” the Duke asks. “What would you do?” Volga doesn’t answer. “What if I said I was planning to feed them to ants? What response would that elicit? Violence, perhaps?” He smiles. “Yes, I think so. Morality is a dangerous thing for a thief to possess in company such as this.”
I pull Volga’s arm. Would be easier to tug on a house.
I’m about to say something when a pipe clanks behind us near the stairs beside the elevators. The thorns wheel around with their weapons as a bolt of red hair disappears down a stairwell. The Duke snaps his fingers and his Obsidians are loosed. Their long legs cover the distance in two breaths and they fly down the stairs. My blood runs cold. You stupid girl.
Gorgo blocks our path to the elevators.
“Did you bring company?” the Duke asks me.
“No.”
“Are you certain? There are motion detectors on all the entrances. Your flier was the only one allowed in. Who did you bring with you?”