Page 57 of The Omega's Unexpected Bounty
I learned many things from being a bounty hunter over the years. I wouldn’t have time to list them all, but two things come to mind. Most people don’t look down or up. That’s an advantage when you’re dealing with a hand-sized sim that runs under crates, hovercars, or leaps from rooftop to rooftop. With his strength and agility, it didn’t take too long for him to get to Nate’s building. I watched through his eyes while he explained the situation to another Omega who might be in trouble.
Once he explained, Nate looked down into Tiny’s eyes and by proxy into mine. “You have a really fucked up way of treating people you later need Caan.”
“Yeah,” I whispered. “Look who’s talking? You gave me up, and I helped you.”
Through Tiny’s connection, I saw Nate’s eyebrows rise. “Did Caan say anything?”
“How about we go with ‘no,’” said Tiny.
“I’m so sure.” Nate grimaced, and his gaze went off into the distance.
“Pan around slow without making it obvious,” I whispered. My shoulders slumped even though I was sitting; the floor and walls were cleared of furniture and decorations.His place is so empty.I made sure he got a dwelling that was clean and in a good neighborhood. It wasn’t extravagant, but it was near the ocean and had a few rooms. He had a Smart-Box so he wouldn’t go hungry, but you wouldn’t know it from the bed and blankets shoved into a corner.
Why? He’s got room now.
His life was better than before although it was so low it could only go up. “Tiny,” I whispered, “give me direct control please.” I rarely did this since two people were better than one. It was also weird, my real surroundings at the cave entrance overlapped with Nate’s empty living room. My hand went out, and Tiny’s arm and hand matched my movement. “It’s me.”
He nodded his head in understanding. “Sub-dermal implant.” He said it as a statement, and it was more or less correct. It wasn’t as primitive as the type he pasted on his head back in the mining colony. I didn’t feel like getting into the differences between Volardi tech when I had something more important to discuss.
“You aren’t a good man,” I said, “or at least you weren’t. I feel I should forgive you but I can’t, because I can’tforget.” My hand went over my stomach, and Tiny mimed the action. “You gave me away… not because you wanted a better life for me. You wanted your old body back.”
“All stuff I know,” he said softly.
“Then we don’t need to get into what you tried to do with Peter.” His neck muscles corded and I wondered if I went too far. “I’ve killed. There’s Volardi that wouldn’t consider me a good man.” I sighed at what I was about to say. I only had a few seconds to say it. Otherwise, I don’t think I would ever be able to. “Guess to some folks, that would make me your son.” That got his attention and raised his eyebrows. It wasn’t ‘Pa,’ but it was close. “I don’t know if they’ll come for you,” I said.
His voice was barely over a whisper. “So you do care?”
“I guess I do.”
He scratched at his chin. Maybe if we were together, and I wasn’t hand-sized, we might have hugged, but I doubt it. He looked down, and his gaze lingered. I knew what it meant to him and understood why he didn’t dwell on it. There were other things to discuss.
“Here’s a question…son. Why announce it over the videocast? Why didn’t they get you? It sounds like somebodywantsyou to run. What about the guard Tiny mentioned?”
“Why wouldhebe behind this?”
He shrugged. “Take down the Royal Family, who is in control then?”
“He’s right,” said Tiny. “Having the guard ascend would be highly unlikely but possible. Normally there would be several heirs. However, the king has two sons. Neither has given birth. There’s no Dara either for anyone in the Royal Family. In theory, he would be in line with the throne and get it if King Darius, Balo, and Graden dies. Taleen and yourself would be in legal limbo as would your children.”
Shit, he has a point.It was a few seconds of thought, but maybe I should followhalfof his instructions. Running seemed a pretty good idea but what if it was into a trap? “Can you access the Planetary Datanet instead of just listening?”
His voice drew out in my mind, “Yes but it will take time. Every planet has different protocols and security algorithms.”
“How long?”
“A few months.”
“Damn.”
“That’s virtual-reality time. With a few doubles, it should take no more than… and I’m done. Planetary network accessed. We can query and request information.”
“Transport?”
“Negative. That’s beyond my capability. I’ve already devoted a few years virtual time to it. I or rather my doubles are locked out.”
His eyebrows furrowed together. “Is that why you wanted access?”
“Sort of, but I have another idea. I need to find two people, one’s a Soturi and makes ceremonial armor and weapons. The Dara bakes desserts. They recently moved in together somewhere in–”
