When Good Toys Go Bad by Debbie Cairo Read Free Book Online Page A

hanging.
    I searched frantically for the medkit, all thoughts of my conversation with Brynn flying out the air shield.
    “Where’s the medkit?” I screeched.
    “It’s here.” Brynn reached under her seat and pulled out the red plastic box with the white plus sign on the top.
    “What do you need it for?” Kai asked.
    “To patch you up.”
    “All you need to do is touch the contact again.”
    Duh, that made sense. It was like I had taken stupid pills tonight. Maybe it was all the stress, but I was not acting like myself. I picked up the screwdriver and tapped the magnetic end to the contact in Kai’s chest. The skin crawled up like a living creature and reattached itself. Within moments Kai’s chest was healed and scar-free. There was no evidence of the procedure in his flesh.
    “We’re here,” Brynn announced, as we pulled between two totally dark pods. The tram rested under some sort of enclosure.
    “You know this isn’t going to hide us from them.” I was always good at stating the obvious.
    “Dar, you honestly do need to give me a bit more credit. I can assure you we are quite invisible. There’s a scrambler built into the wall to hide the tracker on the tram. The outer surface is covered with a polymer I designed to absorb light and reflect sensors.”
    “Damn, I always forget how smart you are. Maybe it’s because you’re always dating those bimbos.”
    Brynn gazed from me to Kai and back to me again. She had a strange look on her face, as if she was stifling something. She shook it off.
    “Let’s get inside,” she barked. “Once we’re inside, don’t speak until I’ve swept for bugs. I don’t think they know about this place, but we can’t be too careful.”
    “Who are they?”
    “Shush,” Brynn shot back at me. “I told you I’ll explain everything.”
    Kai remained silent. He observed the interaction between Brynn and I. Judging by his facial expressions, he was regarding us with one part curiosity and one part amusement.
    Brynn’s modifications restricted the size of the tram bay. We needed to squeeze sideways through the narrow opening. I wasn’t sure Kai was even going to fit. He was much larger than either of us.  
    “Illuminate, fifty percent,” Brynn ordered, and the lights obeyed.
    The pod was bigger than average and furnished with the most expensive materials. There was even a table made of real wood from topside. You could tell the hydroponic wood from topside wood because of the texture. Something about the hydroponics left the trees with a subtle grain and very few rings.
    “Scan,” Brynn commanded. A small robot lying dormant in the corner sprang to life. The mechanical creature raised a clamp-shaped hand, which held some sort of electronic device that looked suspiciously like a PMP, a personal music player. With a whoosh of speed, the small machine was off, covering every inch of the pod. When it finished it came to a screeching halt in front of Brynn.
    “Clean,” the robot said in a somewhat childlike electronic voice.
    “Thanks, Max.” Brynn patted the meter-high metal box with arms, and the bot withdrew to the corner where it had come from.
    “Everyone have a seat at the table. I’ll pour us some wine. Do you drink?” Brynn addressed Kai.
    “Yes, please.”
    Brynn punched a code into the food dispenser. The bell rang. She pulled out a tray with a bottle and three glasses and placed them on the table.
    “I think this will help to calm our nerves a bit. It’s the good stuff. Be careful, though—this table is worth a fortune.”
    “Whose house is this?” I inquired.
    “Friends of my parents. They’re on my ideal vacation. Relaxing at Shangri-La, lying in springs heated by the earth’s core, playing tennis and eating themselves into a stupor. They won’t be back for a couple of weeks.” For a brief moment, a dreamy look fell over her face. She jerked back to reality and poured wine for us both, like any ordinary get-together.
    I was about to start