He finally got it together enough to pull out his PDC. Calling Mickles back, he didn’t even pretend to be calm. “Sergeant, I need a forensic team down here at Saturn Towers ASAP!”
“Yessir! Sending out the call now, sir!” She tapped on her holograms with urgency. “Are you ok, Special Inspector?”
“I’m fine! But Officer Jones is missing, and I have every reason to suspect foul play!”
***
“That bothered you back there,” Grant broke the silence a few minutes out from Saturn Towers.
“Whaddaya mean?” Seven looked at him quizzically.
“The cop … The fact that I was attracted to her … it made you uncomfortable.”
“Oh yeah, that,” Seven nodded, now up to speed. “Yeah, I guess it did.”
“You don’t like me.” Grant studied the young man, trying to read him. “At least that’s what I gather from some of the comments you’ve made.”
“It’s not that, dude. I don’t even know you. Only laid eyes on you this morning. It’s just that …”
“You think I’m a freak,” Grant grinned, no malice in his smile. “A Frankenstein monster, here to rape and pollute your women.”
The kid shrugged. “I don’t know what to think, to be honest. I ain’t never been around crazy shit like this. I mean, this isn’t exactly standard ARA procedure, kidnapping a cop. We’re supposed to be the good guys. At least I thought we were. Frost, I wonder where he’s coming from sometimes.”
“I think Frost has little use for laws, except what benefits him,” Grant remarked.
“And there sure ain’t no dog men or fox girls back where I come from,” Seven continued to vent.
“And where is that?”
“North Carolina. I grew up just outside of Charlotte. I got my start in all this working corporate security with the banks.”
“Yes, I don’t imagine there’s a whole lot of freaky, furry creatures walking the streets up there.”
“Yep, and the folks up there sure wouldn’t cotton to ‘em after their women. Hell, I’m not saying you’re bad, just saying it don’t seem natural.”
“You do realize I’m not natural,” Grant looked to him, wondering if Seven was comprehending it all. “I’m not a product of nature, at least as far as natural selection … or any kind of evolutionary process. I’m a product of science and fantasy. I was custom designed based on a customer’s desires and the amount of money she was willing to spend. I was then genetically engineered and grown in a glass chamber filled with amniotic fluid.”
“Did she want leather and pinstripes?” Seven joked as he fished a pack of cigarettes out of his overalls. They both chuckled good-naturedly. He offered one to his partner, who politely declined. As he lit it, they sat in silence for a few moments. Grant sensed things were about to turn serious again. He sat patiently, waiting.
“Y’know, a lot of people, especially around here … they wouldn’t think too much of your mistress, whoever she is.” Seven finally got the courage to say it, trying to sound as least offensive as possible. “Y’know … this being the Bible Belt and all.”
Grant’s eyes narrowed, and his face darkened. When he spoke, his voice had changed; it was almost a snarl, menacing and hateful. “I don’t give a fuck what these superstitious, backward people around here think.”
His tone and the profanity caught Seven off-guard. Grant had seemed too frosty for school. Refined. Articulate. The young merc suddenly realized he was locked in the cabin of a hovercraft with a half-animal being, and he’d just upset the thing. Brilliant move, dumbass! He felt fear creep down his spine like ice water.
He didn’t know if talking would make it better or worse, but he figured he had to do something. “Listen, friend. I was just making an observation. I wasn’t trying to sta—”
“Let me ask you a simple question.” Grant’s voice was a little calmer, but his eyes were still as cold as a shark’s.
“Seriously, Grant, I don’t wanna …” Seven was wishing he’d learn to keep his mouth shut. Anytime those wiser years were ready to hit him, he would be more than welcoming.
“No, you opened this door.” Grant wasn’t going to let him off the hook. “Besides, there’s no right or wrong answer. It’s not a trick question.”
“Awright,” the kid sighed. “Just promise me you won’t get mad since you insist I answer, but I dunno what you’re gonna ask me.”
“It’s all frosty. And it’s nothing personal.”
“Ok, well, let’s get it over with.”
“You’ve seen the vixen, haven’t you?
“Up close and personal.”
“Be honest. How many of the same redneck, inbred cousin-fuckers who would crucify my mistress for having me made … for taking me as a companion … would, without the slightest hesitation, lay with that bushy-tailed bitch if they got the chance?”
“Shit!” Seven had to laugh, realizing where this was going. “Depends on how many would be honest and how many would lie about it.”
“My point exactly.”
“Hell, I can’t say I wouldn’t wet my wick in her myself … if she wasn’t shootin’ at me. Bitch can handle a piece!”
“The point is … men are hypocrites. They lie, and they cheat. It’s ok for them to fantasize. I mean, why does that bitch we’re chasing even exist? Because some rich bastard somewhere wanted a plushie toy with a vagina. Am I right?”
The human shrugged. “You ain’t wrong.”
“But if a woman does the same thing, she’s a whore.”
“It’s always been that way, dude,” Seven shrugged. “Probably always will be.”
“True,” Grant agreed. “Because men think women are stupid and naïve. They think they can pull off that double standard bullshit. I’ve got news for you, my young friend, you’d be wise never to swallow that line.”
“That so?”
“I saw the record before they shut down the Yiff project at GenetX. Orders for women were increasing at a faster rate than those of men at the end.”
“So, women were getting their own live play toys?”
“After centuries of men getting theirs and then leaving
