I opened my eyes as I felt the motion of the car come to a stop; I looked out the window and saw we were parked in what appeared to be a back alley. Grey brick walls surrounded the car on both sides. I wrinkled my nose as the stench from the alley worked its way past the glass windows.

  Willis and Tuari had already made their way out of the car, their doors closing with a soft hiss behind them.

  Sat in the front passenger seat José unclipped his seatbelt and turned to look at me, eyes hidden behind red lenses I didn’t need to see them to read the concern that laced his features; he turned his gaze to the softly snoozing Poppy, who was still asleep on my shoulder, and his lips drew back into a fine line.

  “You’re a grown-ass man, so I don’t need to give you this advice but I feel the need to anyway. I would watch how you handle this situation,” he said, nodding to Poppy. “I can guarantee you, Necktie, she isn’t like any other woman you’ve ever met or been involved with before, so tread carefully otherwise it could end up badly for you.”

  “You mean it could end up worse than being kidnapped against my will?”

  José gave me one of his toothy grins. “By all means, my amigo, you’re free to go any time you want, but I doubt you’ll last five minutes out there. Those men that hit Jerry’s bar weren’t part of Arun’s crew, which makes me think we have multiple players after your culo. I know every two-bit crew in this godforsaken borough, and I’ve never seen those men before. The way they moved, the way they fired, makes me think they’re military or even mercenaries.”

  I thought back to the mercenaries stationed on my ship and shuddered inwardly. What if they thought I had something to do with the deaths of their men? What if they thought I had done a runner and I was trying to sell whatever was on that stupid stick to the highest bidder?

  What if they were out for revenge?

  Shit! I had to get in contact with Gregory, my boss, and let him know where I was and what had happened. From there, Xcorp could decide on the best course of action and try to get me out of this mess in one piece.

  “Anyway, my statement still stands: if you want to leave then be my guest, but I would take my advice about her,” he said, nodding Poppy’s way.

  “Thank for the advice, but I’m happily married with kids.”

  José said nothing as he stared at me for a minute or two. “Funny, for a man who’s happily married with kids, this is the first time you’ve bought them up.”

  I stared at his back while he exited the car and swallowed the anger that wanted to explode from the pit of my stomach. Taking a deep breath I lightly tapped Poppy on the shoulder and watched as she slowly opened her eyes. Despite myself, I couldn’t help but stare as her eyes fluttered open and she smiled my way.

  My eyes traced the lines of her curves as she stretched like a cat, her breast straining against the fabric of her shirt.

  “What?” she asked softly.

  “Er… what? Nothing. I mean, we have arrived,” I said hastily, trying to make a quick exit out of the car but failing horribly as I got caught up in the seatbelt that restrained me. She laughed at my predicament before unclipping me and stepping out of the car to follow the rest of the crew.

  Focus, man!

  I told myself that as I exited the car and followed them. They were still my captors; they were still murderers, and I had to figure out a way to ditch them before it got too late. It was only a matter of time before the data-stick passed through my gut, and then I would no longer be needed by them.

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  I sidestepped rubbish that littered the floor and bumped into Poppy, who gave me a smile and pointed to a brown wooden door with peeling paint. “This is our safe-house for the next twenty-four hours until we can figure something out.”

  I ran a hand over the bullet holes in the wall beside me and took in the dilapidated door a strong breeze could knock off, and looked at her in confusion, “You said safe-house, right? As in safe to be in?”

  “Trust me,” she said.

  Willis, José, and Tuari had already made their way inside as I followed her. She held the door open for me and I couldn’t see anything as I stepped inside and smashed my face on something solid.

  “Fuck!”

  “Sorry,” came Poppy’s voice from behind me, “I forgot to say to you not to walk forward,”

  I couldn’t see a thing in front of me until my eyes adjusted to the gloom, and a door made of solid steel materialised in front of me. I waited until Poppy closed the other door behind us causing darkness to descend upon us, until a light flickered from above. The sudden illumination from it felt like I had stepped into the sun.

  “Please identify yourself,” came a voice from the speakers.

  “Poppy Palmer.”

  “Voice recognised. Question, what do you fear the most?”

  Poppy didn’t respond as the seconds ticked away. As I was about to speak she cut me off: “I fear myself.”

  “Answer accepted: welcome, Miss Palmer.”

  The door swung opened revealing a hallway that wouldn’t be out of place in any family home. It took me by surprise, but what surprised me the most was the bowing AI robot that stood in front of us, dressed in a butler’s uniform. No AI machine could be modelled after the human form anymore. No silicone flesh-like coating, no human-like features.

  A soft light metal casing covered its skeletal form, with a speaker for a mouth and scanners for eyes. The World Government had set laws in place after WW3, banning countries from replicating lifelike human AIs and also placing a limit on how intelligent they could be. During the war, they had been used to great effect, with one AI machine being able to kill hundreds of men in a matter of hours. The AIs were growing smarter and stronger every day.

  It gave humanity a fright, and it was one of the key elements to a call for a ceasefire during the war.

  “Hi, Geoffrey,” Poppy said, patting the bot on the shoulder. “This is Quinton, he’s going to be our guest for a few days; treat him as if he was one of us.”

  “Certainly, madam, should I also tidy up after him as well?” said Geoffrey in a British accent.

  “As long as you don’t wipe his ass like you do Willis,” Tuari said from somewhere in the house.

  “That was one time, you cock-gobbler! And it was because I damaged my hands after that stupid prank you pulled! Remember, the one with the hot potato?” Willis shouted from somewhere in the house.

  “I would have thought you would have found it funny, what with you liking potatoes and—”

  “I already told you!” screamed Willis from the top of his lungs. “Not all Irish live and die on fucking potatoes.”

  “Well, this could go on all day,” said Geoffrey dryly. “Would you like to follow me, sir?”

  I gave Geoffrey a second look as I tilted my head to the side but he was already on the move; I looked back at Poppy, who gave me a wink and a smile as she walked past me. Doing as I was told, I followed Geoffrey up a couple flights of stairs till we got to the top floor. He pushed opened a door that led into a low-ceilinged room with a spare bed in one corner and a wardrobe in the other.

  “I’m afraid ‘guests’ get to stay in the attic,” Geoffrey said, turning to me. “It’s not all doom and gloom though, you have your own bathroom through that door, although there’s no running hot water and the flush on the toilet sometimes doesn’t work, but apart from that this could be a penthouse suite in any serial-killer motel you would happen to stay at.

  “I would say make yourself at home but…. it appears sir is travelling light.”

  “Yes, most of my things are still on the ship The Kennel.”

  “If this is a long stay, I would suggest sir get it before he begins to smell. Hygiene is of utmost importance.”

  “Yes, I, you’re right,” I said, feeling at a loss for what to say.

  Geoffrey gave me a nod then turned and exited the way he came. “Oh, one more thing, sir, if at any time you hear what sounds like a fire alarm I assure you it’s not; the best thing you can do is arm yourself with the nearest weapon available and make for the exits.”

  “Right,” I said, watching him leave.

  I walked towards the nearest window and pulled back the curtains to find it bricked over. On further inspection they all were. With little means to escape and the only door leading out of this place being controlled by voice recognition, I knew I was in for the long haul.