"Enough," the boss barked. "Bring the bot. The whore needs to feed, I bet."
Hmm, that didn't sound good, Riordan thought. He had mentioned nothing about needing a serving a seth right now, and hadn't even asked about Kyle. That meant that they hoped he would try to contact Xana. Were they that stupid? They had kidnapped him and had no idea how to get in touch with the person they were trying to blackmail? Now that was one level plus of fucked up.
He didn't protest, of course. They would sit there and stare at him, so meddling with Kyle's internal circuits would be a tough call. Nonetheless, while he played the fool, maybe he could pull something.
The young guy, Lewis, disappeared for a moment and returned, pushing Kyle in. The bot looked unresponsive. They must have messed with his system already.
"Can I have a bit of privacy?" he asked. They had to have cameras everywhere. He had tried to scan the room with his eyes, but so far, nothing had stood out. These guys were either real pros, or just a bunch of idiots. It was hard to say which version was true.
The boss didn't say a thing but he gestured for the others to go out.
"Is he going to suck on the bot's tit or something?" one of the three idiots asked.
They walked out of the room, single file. The boss stopped Lewis and pointed at Riordan. "You stay here, keep an eye on him."
Riordan observed them without protesting. That meant there was a possibility that there were no cameras. Another interesting bit to save for later.
Lewis nodded obediently and remained close to the door, while Riordan focused his attention on Kyle.
"Hey, no funny business," Lewis called out in his young, unsure voice.
"What funny business do you expect me to perform, soldier?" Riordan asked, dropping his pretense of vulnerability for a moment. He opened his arms and legs, letting the guy eye him at leisure.
Lewis blushed and looked away.
Riordan shrugged and began feeling Kyle's frontal panel. He looked over, at the young soldier, while his fingers worked quickly. He hadn't messed around much with the bot's systems until now, but he knew where everything was. After all, even Xenos counted on wires to make things happen, as far as their bots were concerned.
Well, he hoped Xana understood the message. There was no time for him to do more than that.
Lewis looked at him again, and Riordan licked his lips as if he had just sucked on the bot's tit, as that idiot had crudely put it earlier. "I'm done," he said.
Obviously, the youngster had no idea how seth was administered by bots in that world. They all seemed to be lacking some basic understanding of the planet and its rulers, while being quite informed on other areas, such as how to gain access in the home of one of the most prominent political figures on Xeno or the overall layout of the said home.
Riordan smelled a story of betrayal. Someone wanted Xana's head, someone who was among his brethren. And these poor schmucks only served as cannon fodder, without knowing. They thought themselves some hot stuff, righting what they considered a wrong, the turning of humans into breeding pouches for the species that had prevailed over them.
Not so long ago, he would have sided with them, but not anymore. He had the egg inside him, and he couldn't think for a moment that he would do something in good conscience to hurt it. Xana had mentioned something about wanting the brat to have Riordan's eyes. That meant that the kid would be his to some degree, too. That thought alone was enough to make him want to get up, search for the bald guy and strangle him. But the same thing was keeping him from acting recklessly. And that was fucking new for him.
Anyway, the message had been, hopefully, transmitted. He also hoped that Kyle could be repaired. No, Kyle would be repaired. There was no way he would get another bot to replace the guy.
"Are you happy with your owner?"
The question took him by surprise. He eyed Lewis carefully, his big green eyes, filled with doubts.
"Actually, I am," Riordan said simply.
The young soldier moved his weight from one foot to the other. "And how is it like?"
"What? Do you want to apply to become a bearer, too?" Riordan asked, without hiding his amusement.
Lewis blushed to the white of his eyeballs. "No. It is wrong and disgusting."
He barely had the time to say those words, because the sound of an explosion interrupted him. Lewis threw Riordan a wild look and hurried to him. He shielded him with his body, while Riordan slid off the chair and flattened himself against the floor.
He covered his ears to protect the delicate drums inside. The next second, the door was blasted open, and the cries of pain of those outside reached them. He pulled hard at Lewis' hand. As encumbered as he was with all that equipment, he fell and Riordan forced him to lie down. "Do you want to live?" he shouted at the guy.
Lewis had no time to reply, because the room filled with newcomers and new sounds. It looked like Xenos had their fair share of combat bots, too. The beeps and swishes were nothing like Kyle's speech, but he understood one thing.
He was safe, again. When one of bots leaned over them, he put a protective arm across Lewis' back. "Don't kill him," he said, and the bot stepped back.
***