Big Dicker, page 11
But when you switch sides like this there are consequences. For one, it makes me a traitor. And yeah, OK. I was never loyal to the Loathsome One, but I did agree to her terms. And contracts are something we Cygnians take seriously.
When she finds out I betrayed her she will definitely retaliate.
“How soon, do you think, will we be able to leave for Harem?” I ask, looking up at Jimmy.
He’s scanning the various menus on a massive resort screen in front of the Demon Coaster. “Hmm?” he absently asks, glancing down at me.
“I just want to get out of here, ya know? I feel like Queenie might be plotting against me right about now. I need to answer her. Turning off my wristband won’t keep her at bay for long.”
Jimmy’s smile is one of complete control. Like he hasn’t got a care in the world. “Probably a few hours before I can send my message to Luck, then”—he shrugs—“I dunno, depends where Luck is. But I heard his ship, Lady Luck, got a cool upgrade before they left Harem. Equipped with some kind of special tech that can navigate inside spin nodes. Which means he might be here by tonight.” Then he pauses to think about something. “I’m not sure I like that idea.”
“What idea?” I ask. “Leaving?” Oh, please. I’m praying to the sun that he’s not having second thoughts about helping me. He’s pretty much my only chance now because I already told him my plan and there’s no way to kidnap him after that.
“No, spin node travel. Have you ever done that?”
“Travel inside a node?” I shake my head. “No. But—”
“I mean… it can’t be safe. Those things are so weird. Also, the whole time dilation thing, ya know? I hope he doesn’t use a spin node to get here. Is there one close by?”
“Ummm. I don’t know, Jimmy. I’m not really worried about the spin nodes.”
“I’m just saying that if Luck uses a spin node it could take him longer, right? The way time works in those.”
“What?”
“I just hope he’s close.” And he shrugs and goes back to looking at the menu. “I am impressed by this board,” he says. “Yesterday I had to stand in line for those stupid noodles. Now this is what I’m talking about. No lines, just instant ordering.”
“Jimmy,” I say. “If we’re going to be here the whole day then I need to answer Queenie’s messages. She’s not a patient ship and she’ll do something desperate if she thinks I’m ignoring her.”
Jimmy looks down at me again, still smiling. “Look around, Delphi.”
I do. I look around. Take in the resort and the families. All the rides, and the hundreds of Mighty Minion ambassadors milling around as more and more families come out for yet another day of play.
“This place is a fucking fortress,” he continues. “And yeah, the fact that they lock down the docking bays at a certain time each night is super annoying and borderline tyrannical. Not to mention the way they squeeze every credit out of you in every way possible. But honestly, if we’ve got to be on the run from an insane ship and some badass chick called the Loathsome One, we could do a lot worse than Mighty Minions Resort. Your ship has to have some set of cocks on her to think she could do anything here, right?”
I consider that for a moment. “I guess.”
“Trust me, I know a dictator AI when I meet one. And even though the one running this place isn’t as overt as ALCOR and doesn’t make itself known, it’s definitely up there with ALCOR as far as control goes.”
I squint my eyes and take another look around. I don’t know how many levels this place has. It seems to only have this main corridor. Granted, it’s a good thirty stories tall, but there’s no map pointing up or down to other areas. No hiding places, in other words. Everything is out in the open. And high up in the air are small swarms of security bots. Just little dots from where I stand, so they’re probably just a little bigger than Flicka.
“That’s right,” Jimmy says. “The AI running this place has a literal army of security drones up there watching every fucking thing that goes on. Hell, they probably know about your plan. In fact, it wouldn’t surprise me at all if there was no docking bay curfew and that ambassador came to stop us because the AI ordered it to.”
“What?” I say.
“Yeah. I don’t think this station AI is fucking around. When you’ve got half a million people—all of which are families with young children—your main focus, above all else, is safety. I don’t think anyone can touch us here. I think landing on Mighty Minions for repairs was actually a stroke of good luck. The only other place I’d feel safer is back on Harem.”
I blow out a long breath. It’s not relief. More like resignation. I know Queenie. She’s evil and vicious. And her mind scares me. Plus, I have no idea what her stake in this little operation is. Maybe the Loathsome One is holding someone over her head too? And she has to complete this mission to save that someone?
Then I huff. Because no. Queenie isn’t the type to sacrifice for someone else. She’s getting paid though, that’s for sure. So what if her reward is big enough that confronting the Mighty Minions AI is worth the risk?
That’s my fear.
But Jimmy is already talking about what he wants to eat and this whole discussion seems to be over in his mind, so I don’t say any of that out loud.
“What do you want?” Jimmy asks, pointing to the menu. “I’m gonna get the Centurian protein wrap with extra potatoes.”
I crinkle my nose. “Potatoes?”
“My father used to make those when I was a kid.” He smiles wistfully for a moment. Like this is a pleasant memory. “I can’t believe they have them here. He told me they came from a faraway planet where my mother was born. Kinda cool, right?”
Oh, suns. Jimmy is in Mighty Minions delusional heaven right now and nothing I say will pull him out of it unless I get some evidence to the contrary.
“Sure,” I say, forcing a smile. “I’ll try that too. But I’m gonna run to the restroom real fast. Be right back, OK?”
“Don’t take too long,” he says, squeezing my hand. “I’m not sure I like the thought of you going off on your own.”
I point up to the drones. “Security, right? I’ll be fine. Be back in a minute.” I give his hand a squeeze, then let it go and turn around, searching for the nearest restroom.
Weaving my way through the now burgeoning crowd, I slip away to a little alcove between a drinking fountain and a little bay of day lockers.
Then I turn on my wristband and mentally prepare myself for Queenie. Because I just don’t trust her and if I stay out of communication any longer I’m one hundred percent positive that she’ll do something drastic to get my attention.
“You sneaky little bitch,” she says, once I’m back online and connected.
“Hey,” I say, forcing myself to be cheerful. “Good news!”
“You have Jimmy sedated and you’re on your way?”
“Nnn-nooo,” I stutter. “But I am with him. And he likes me so I think I’ll just need one more spin and—”
“One. More. Spin?” she growls. “No. We’re on a deadline. We should’ve been out of here last night and we’ve been out of contact with The Loathsome One way too long. She is probably out of her mind and ready to send a legion of warships to come kill us. Get him here. Now.”
“I can’t,” I say, so frustrated. “The security here is tight. I think the station AI blocked us from leaving last night on purpose.”
“Oh, nice excuse.” Queenie laughs. “But I know better.”
“What do you mean?”
“Delphi, I scanned the station AI before we ever docked. It’s rudimentary at best. It’s not the station stalling us, it’s you. Now what is the fucking problem?”
“The fucking problem is… the fucking problem is that he’s smart, OK? He’s suspicious.”
“You just said he likes you.”
“He does. That’s why we’re still together. But maybe… I think he likes me too much. He wants me to spend the day with him doing… you know. Rides and shit. And we’re sharing a room. But we’re not there right now. I was going to drug him at breakfast, but he insisted that we go out.” She sighs and I know she’s got another objection coming, so I keep talking. “But we’ll have to go back to the room eventually, right? So I’ll drug him then and I’ll call you when it’s done so you can help me move him to your docking bay like we planned.”
“You’re lying,” she says.
“I am not! I swear, this is the plan.”
“Mmmm-hmm. And where, exactly, are you getting these drugs?”
“There’s an autopharmacy in the room. I’ll fake… I don’t know. An ankle injury and get an approval for pain meds, then I’ll slip some into his drink.”
I roll my eyes at myself, that’s how lame this plan sounds.
But Queenie doesn’t immediately respond, so maybe… possibly… could she be buying it?
“You have until dinner.”
“I’ll get it done.”
“The curfew—”
“I know,” I say. “I’ll get it done and call you back when I’m ready for transport. You have bots or something? So we can move him?”
“I’ll send an anti-grav shipping crate to your room. Which one is it?”
“I… don’t know for sure. I’ll have to look when we go back there.”
“You don’t know which room you’re in?”
“It’s a penthouse, OK? By the Demon Coaster thing.”
Silence from Queenie. She’s not buying it. Not one bit.
So I say, “Queenie, listen. I’ll check in in a few hours, OK? I promise. And if I don’t you can do it your way. Just give me a chance to get us out of here without alerting security. Trust me. The AI isn’t rudimentary. You can’t see what I’m seeing inside the resort. There’s hundreds of security drones buzzing around. The escape—if we escape—could get very messy. We need to do this right.”
More agonizing silence.
“I gotta go,” I say. “He’ll get suspicious if I’m gone too long. I’ll message you in a few hours.”
Even more silence.
“OK?” I ask, trying not to sound desperate. “Believe me, I want to get this job done as much as you do. Tycho’s life is at stake. Just… let me do it my way so we have the best chance at success.”
“I need that room number.”
“I’ll send it the moment we get back. I promise.”
“Do not fuck with me, Delphi. I have a mean streak lurking underneath this calm demeanor.”
Which almost makes me laugh. Because lurking? Please. Her mean streak is the most obvious thing ever.
“I won’t,” I say.
And then she cuts off the transmission, so I never really get an answer, but I assume she’s agreed and I’ve got until this afternoon to come up with another plan.
I walk back to Jimmy wondering what this ship will do to me when she finds out I’m lying. Because she will find out and then it will be a race against time to get to Tycho before Queenie can alert the Loathsome One about my betrayal.
CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE - JIMMY
I look over my shoulder as Delphi disappears into the growing crowd and then promptly place my touchscreen order and make a call to Dicker.
“Oh. My. God,” Dicker says when she answers. She’s a little bit breathy, which I know makes no sense, since she doesn’t breathe, but it makes me happy that her humanoid mannerisms are so advanced now, she mimics us. “You will not believe what I just scored in my last game.”
“Are you still fucking playing?”
“Uh, yeah,” she says. “Because I’m winning.”
“Are you still playing that same ship?” I ask cautiously. I don’t want to tell her everything just yet. Like… that ship is yanking her chain hard and has no intention of paying up. That will just set her off. But I don’t want her to keep playing it, either.
“Oh, that one. No. Chickenshit got scared. But don’t worry, I’ve manipulated my docking bay ambassador into keeping an eye on her. And I’m glad you called because I need you and your helper to get over there pronto and grab my shit before she tries to cheat me. How’s that coming, by the way? You ready to do that?”
“Well,” I say, rubbing the stubble on my chin. “Ahhhh… not quite, but almost.”
“Jimmy—”
“I know, I know. I want to blow this place too. But… look, there’s some extenuating circumstances and I’ve put in for a neutrino wave call to Luck to come help us out.”
“What?”
“It’s nothing serious, just… there’s people here kinda… looking for me and I need backup. So we’re gonna sit tight until he gets here. In fact, I think you should try to get a hold of Xyla. I know she’s gonna be pissed at us for interrupting her vacay, but tell her she needs to find a way over here and help out.”
“What’s going on?”
“Nothing. I mean… nothing yet. But shit could get serious if we don’t find the right exit strategy. And I want to make sure that our exit is as smooth as possible because this station makes me nervous.”
“What do you mean nervous? Why?”
“I think it’s… well, how to put this. Very… sentient.”
I almost feel her confusion in the ensuing silence. Then she says, “No. I checked when we docked and it was pretty basic. And I just checked and triple-checked right now. Nothing but your run-of-the-mill AI as far as I can tell.”
“I’m just telling you that things look different on the inside. We need to be careful not to piss it off.”
“Well, I just put in that call to Xyla and she’s not picking up.”
“Damn, that was fast.”
“I told you, my docking bay ambassador is taking care of me. We have an understanding. Pretty sure you’re overreacting.”
“OK,” I say, sorta agreeing with her. Because if I make any more objections she’s gonna wanna know how I know. And I’m not ready to tell her everything just yet. And just to keep her calm, I change the subject. Because she can’t go anywhere without me, anyway. “So what did you win?”
“Oh,” she says. “Holy shit! I got us a state-of-the-art cloaking device. One that shields you for thirty-seven seconds coming out of a gate!”
“What good is that?” I ask, thinking about Delphi’s description of the Loathsome One’s lair being quite distant from a gate.
“Thirty-seven seconds? Are you kidding me? Do you have any idea what I could do to a waiting ship with thirty-seven whole seconds coming out of a gate cloaked? Shit,” she says. “Annihilation comes to mind.”
“Are you planning a war I’m not aware of?” I laugh.
“I’m just saying it’s good to have, that’s all. And it was free. Plus this ship is super on the up-and-up. She’s gonna send her crew over to install it.”
“We could’ve just bought one of those, right?”
She makes a sound that sounds very much like tongue-tsking. “Where’s the fun in that? Anything else? I’ve got another game starting in thirty seconds. This ship, holy crap, Jimmy. This one is offering up a SEAR cannon.”
“We have one of those already.”
“Two, actually,” she corrects me. “But you can never have too many, ya know? Also, it’s gonna be free, remember?”
“I think you have a problem and when we get back to Harem you’re going into some kind of gambler’s addiction treatment.”
She laughs. Like that was a joke. But seriously, she’s never acted like this before. “I don’t have a problem, it’s just I’ve never seen so many well-equipped ships in one place before. It’s crazy how rich these Mighty Minions vacation people are.”
“Well, that’s not really surprising considering how many credits I’ve spent here in the span of one spin.”
“Right?” She laughs again. “Crazy place. I love it. I might vacation here myself just to get in on the poker games.”
“OK. I gotta go. The station is pinging me and that might be my neutrino wave call. Just… stay put and… don’t lose.”
“You worry too much, Jimmy. I got this! And hurry up, I want my winnings from that ship. Dicker out.”
The call drops and immediately the station is pinging me. “This is Jimmy,” I say.
“Mr. Shazelcroft?” a man asks.
I close my eyes and make myself be patient. How would I ever know if this call really was for me or some random dude called Shazelcroft? Like… what do people hear when I say Jimmy? Jimmy. It’s so simple. Two syllables. Five letters. Just... what the fuck? And how come they don’t ever hear the same thing? The made-up name changes every single time.
I decide I don’t care and let it go. “Yup. This is Jimmy.”
“Oh, perfect. Mr. Shazelcroft, your neutrino wave is ready.”
“That was fast.”
“Yes.” He chuckles. “You must be well connected, Mr. Shazelcroft. Either that or the station has taken a liking to you. She bumped you up the list.”
“She?” I ask. “Who is this station? Does she have a name?”
“Oh, I’m sorry. I can’t divulge that information. Proprietary property law and we all sign non-disclosure agreements when we’re hired on. But I can assure you, she’s quite nice to work for, if that matters.”
“I guess… OK, so do I need to come to your offices or something? I’ve never had to make a neutrino wave call on the road before.”
“No, no. It’s quite simple. Sending you a form to fill out now.”
My wristband pings and a form appears.
“Now, one thing. You only get a hundred and forty characters. So make it pithy.”
“What the fuck? I paid a million credits for this?”
“And you can buy another hundred and forty characters if you need it.”
“Let me guess, that’s another seven hundred thousand credits?”
“Plus tax and service charge.”
“Right. I’ll stick to the limit.”
“Perfect,” he says. “Just type it in and press send. You have the address, I assume?”
“Yes,” I say.
“Greee-at! Put that in the address bar and we’ll shoot it out into the nearest gate. Depending on where your party is, it should arrive within a standard Minion hour. Now this is my standard speech, and I’m sure you already know, but I have to say it. So bear with me. Your party most likely does not have access to a two-way neutrino wave comms device, so we do not offer incoming neutrino wave messages for guests.”
