Part 15 (2/2)
”So, you know too much? They not let you go.”
She made me forget for a short while, now she reminds me?
”Right. I'm surprised that they haven't put more security on everything. Unless maybe Alec wants someone to leak it.”
Cinmei picked up the helmet of his gear from a plush white chair by the bed and sat down across from him.
”Was more security precaution,” she said. ”Helmet can control you. Can make you forget things you see.”
Chris stared at the helmet in horror. ”It's done something to my brain?”
”No. I disable it. Otherwise, you not find anything out. Then I not find anything out, either.”
”You? You knew about it?” Chris stared at the helmet. ”Wait a minute! Captain has trapped me here because of that! He discovered it. He said I caused a malfunction.”
”I did not know. Very sorry,” she said rapidly. ”I here to find out things. To report back. We work together. Have others like me. I arrange our escape.”
Chris struggled to a.s.suage his anger with her offer of escape. ”That's ... I guess that's a good thing! I need to figure out how to get away and warn VG about this. h.e.l.l, warn the whole world!”
”One thing ...”
”Yes?”
”We escape to China.”
”Oh.”
Nine.
Aldriena and Martin debriefed in an engineer's pod on board the hydrogen barge. They sat on the floor of the boxlike interior, crammed amid ceiling-high stacks of replacement parts and food crates. The gentle spin of the giant barge gave them a fraction of their normal Earth weight, but it was enough to orient them in the pod. After she recounted the details he didn't already know, the conversation turned personal.
”Have you been Black Core for long?” she asked.
”Five years.”
”You go to Xanadu often?”
He laughed.
”What?”
”It sounds like that pick up line ... come here often?”
”If I decide to pick you up, trust me you'll know.”
”You're a very confident woman.”
”How could I do this job and not be confident?”
Martin nodded. ”Yes. You're right.”
”So do you do this a lot or what?” she asked.
He laughed again. ”Yeah. I do.”
”So are you like the artist who paints the nude and always sleeps with the model afterward?”
”That depends on the girl.”
”Oh, you poor thing. You have to rely on their whims?”
”No. I meant that I only sleep with her if she's exceptional,” he said.
”Oh! Now who's the confident one?”
”How could I do this job and not be confident?”
”Good point,” she said.
”I wouldn't head back to Silvado just yet,” Martin told her. ”I've heard stories of people disappearing on these things out in deep s.p.a.ce. Sometimes they're never heard from again.”
”Well, sure. I've heard all those kinds of stories,” Aldriena smiled. For once, Aldriena wasn't flirting as part of a manipulation. Martin treated her with respect, and he understood the value of her skills. Besides, he was Black Core, too, which meant he was more than capable. For once, she could talk to someone without having to lie.
As she stared at Martin, she admitted to herself that she liked him for more reasons than that. His jet-black hair and broad shoulders had their effect as well.
”We've got a lot of time to kill,” Aldriena said. ”You have a bunkmate?”
”No,” he said.
Aldriena didn't actually have much experience with men, but she covered her uncertainty with aggression. She leaned forward from her cross-legged sitting position onto all fours, moved forward, and kissed him.
”You don't believe in wasting any time, do you?” he said.
”People like us don't have time to waste.”
She kissed him again, pressing ever forward until she pinned him against a giant supply container. He responded to her eagerly, running his hands through her hair. They clutched each other in the low acceleration, moving slowly as if in a dream.
She unzipped his vac suit all the way to his groin. Her hands slid over his flesh underneath, then her mouth followed.
At first, Martin remained a gentle lover, although as they rolled about in the tiny cabin, he slowly stepped up his own urgency to match hers. Aldriena directed the course of their lovemaking as if to remind herself that she had chosen this encounter rather than having fallen victim to the whims of a male. She reluctantly gave up the reins as he neared his climax, yielding at last to this man and his instincts. She admitted to herself that it did feel good, at least physically.
Afterward, Aldriena quickly slipped back into her Veer skinsuit.
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