An Unexpected Debt – Chapter 8

I stalk back into the Amagi at a lightning pace.

“Carlos!” I call out, my voice echoing through the cargo bay as I close the connection to Orbital Station.

“No need to shout, Captain,” Nanci says, knocking me back a pace. “Carlos is in his room. He is alone and reading.”

“Thanks,” I mumble, making my way through the ship.

I can’t believe what that fucker just did. Does Takemo Diaz really think he can go against someone like me? I live for revenge. It feeds me. If you cross me, you can believe I will leave your life a living hell by the time I’m done with you.

I’m not proud of my ability to wage war…

Wait, yes, I am.

Super proud. I’m fantastic at it.

I press the announcement button on the panel outside Carlos’s room, and the door slides open after a beat.

“I need Ai,” I say, stalking into his room.

Carlos jerks his feet off his desk and sighs as he rests his datapad against his chest.

“No,” he says. “No, no, no. We agreed,” he stresses, but I wave away his concern.

“Whatever. That was before Takemo Diaz came into my life. I need her back. Like now.” I snap my fingers at him, and he lifts his eyebrows.

“Are you legit snapping your fingers at me? What do you think I am? A slave?”

I stop and look at this boy… this man, now. He’s not someone I can, or should, push around anymore. He’s his own person. Those years on Vivian’s farm did him a lot of good.

“Sorry,” I say, pulling my hand to my chest. “I’m pissed off… not at you.”

“Takemo Diaz?” he asks. “Why is that guy in your life?”

“You know him?”

“Who doesn’t,” Carlos says, standing up and setting his datapad aside. “When hauling trash makes you one of the most influential people in the Duo Systems, you tend to attract attention.” He slips past me and out the door. I turn to follow.

“I had no idea who he was,” I say, defending myself.

“He’s been all over the news for the past few years.” Carlos leads the way into his den of technology. “I thought you loved all that gossip stuff.”

I push out a heavy breath. “I stopped after Vivian ended up on OEN. It didn’t seem right to give them my ratings anymore.”

“That’s good of you,” he says, dropping into his chair and swiveling into his desk. “So, you want Ai? For what?”

His fingers fly across his virtual keyboards, and his monitors click to life. The room hums with activity. It wasn’t too long ago that this room caught fire, and we lost Ai the first time. She was my first ship’s AI, and though she was a pain in the butt because she had previously been a sexbot, she had a certain charm about her. I bought her from this totally incompetent guy (but a damned good lay) named Eamon, and he had made her from a hack job sexbot open-source nightmare. Look, I was broke, okay? I couldn’t afford a decent AI, but I needed something so I could still fly. Ai did the job, though she did it reluctantly and with a lot of sexual innuendoes.

“Here’s what I’m thinking,” I say, holding out my hands in front of me like I’m about to coach a football team to win the final game of the season. “We do everything in our power to make Takemo Diaz question his sanity.”

Carlos swivels slowly towards me.

“He thinks it’s a sane, good idea to have the Mikasa haul trash? Then I’m going to make him question everything he does or ever did.”

I rub my hands together as Carlos sits back. “Hold up there, Evil Queen. What’s this about the Mikasa hauling trash?”

I pop out the side chair and sit down. “Okay, let me give you the background.”

I explain the whole situation, the debt, the way my family kept everything from me, how I might lose the family business, and that the Mikasa belongs to Takemo Diaz, and he won’t sell it to me.

“I’m going to do everything in my power to make his life a little crooked and uncomfortable, you know? We’ll start with a whispering campaign, and then I’ll get Ai to figure out the kind of life he leads and fuck with it however we can. I have some ideas, but I need insiders to make it happen.”

“I’m a little afraid for this guy,” Carlos says, reaching into his fridge for a protein drink. I remember when he only drank sugary sodas and snacked on candy and chips all day. Am I the only one who hasn’t changed a bit in the last few years?

You would think a brush with death would make me reevaluate my life.

It did not.

It should have.

“So? Can you bring Ai back? She was so good at this kind of stuff. And I know Nanci is not the right AI for this job.”

“All we need is a shotgun and a shovel, Captain. I know the best place to bury the body,” Nanci says.

I burst into a laugh while Carlos pales.

“Thanks, Nanci,” I say, my heart warm and fuzzy. “I’ll call on you if murder is necessary.”

“Happy to help, Captain.”

Carlos places a hand over his eyes and breathes out a long breath.

“I fear for my life some days.” He clears his throat and returns to his keyboards. “Okay, if you want Ai for this, I can give her to you. I stored her on a remote host for the last two years, working on datasets I’ve given her about Vivian’s business.”

“Oh, I’m sure she loves that,” I say, rolling my eyes.

“She hates it. It’s not ‘sexy’ enough for her. She would rather be doing just about anything else. So whatever this revenge is you have cooked up, I’m sure she’s game.”

“What kind of datasets?” I ask as he gets to work.

“Vivian’s been working on those Rio plants now for years, and she’s been extracting DNA and comparing it to Earth-origin plants.” He shrugs. “I haven’t looked at any of the collated data. But she’s hoping to find something to help her.”

I lean back in the chair and tap my head against the wall. “I hate seeing Vivian stuck. I wish there was something I could do to help her.”

“Oh, there is,” he says, and I perk up. “Just solve the mysteries of life on Rio, and you’ll be all set.”

“Ha ha. Scientists have been working on that for over a hundred years.”

“Then I’m sure you’ll crack the code, Sky. It’s only a matter of time.” His grin makes me chuckle.

I peek over his shoulder as he types away, moving from one screen to the next, opening connections all over the duonet.

“Why didn’t you store Ai locally?” I ask as he opens another connection.

“I thought we learned our lesson the first time around.” He coughs into his hand. “After the fire, Yan and I worked on making a distributed network that’s so secure, no one can hack it.”

Yan Ramirez is Carlos’s long-time geek buddy. He’s done some work for us in the past.

“Not even you?” I ask.

“Quantum encryption,” he says, nodding his head. “I couldn’t crack it without the key, period. Even if I set my algorithms on it night and day, I couldn’t break in within a few centuries. It’s the best of the best.” He looks over his shoulder. “Athens Industries tried to poach me last summer.”

I gasp and pull back, and he nods. If Athens took Carlos away from me, I don’t know what I’d do. I’m sure he would recommend a replacement, but we’ve worked together for so long, I… It’s strange to say it, but I would miss him, and the Amagi wouldn’t be the same without him.

He shrugs. “But this is my home. I’m not going anywhere.”

When he turns to his consoles, my eyes smart with tears. I rest my hand on his shoulder and squeeze briefly. It’s the most intimate we ever get, but I have to let him know I appreciate him sticking around.

“Any chance I can get a raise?” he asks.

I laugh, sniff up, and whack him upside the head.

“Of course, you idiot. As soon as I buy back the Mikasa.”

He sighs. “Got it. So, never.”

“Don’t count me out yet,” I say.

With a few more keystrokes, Carlos wiggles his fingers in the air.

“Ai, say hi to Skylar, and welcome back to the Amagi.”

We both suck in our breaths and wait, but it only takes a millisecond.

“Well, I do declare. It looks like I’m back in the Amagi’s good graces once more. Who’s ready for an orgy?” Ai asks.

I let out my held breath, and Carlos swears lightly.

“Welcome back, Ai.” I clap my hands together. “Now, let’s work on our first plot of revenge. You up for some data hunting and hacking?”

“Oh honey, Skylar, that’s music to my ears. Who are we ruining today?”

I place my hand on Carlos’s shoulder and drop my head.

“The battle has begun.”

I can hear Carlos roll his eyes without having to see it for myself.