Diamond Star (36 page)

He followed her into the shadows. "Hey Delilah, is that you?"

Darkness closed around Del. He couldn't imagine why Delilah would go down here. He was about to turn back when someone grasped his arm from behind and swung him toward the wall.

"Hey." Del tried to pull away. "Cut that--"

He grunted as someone hit him across the back, knocking him into the wall. He barely turned his head fast enough to keep his nose from cracking against the concrete. A nozzle pressed his neck and a hiss whined in his ear.

"Don't!" He tried to turn, but someone large held him in place. A stink of sweat made him gag. His legs buckled and he slid down the wall, his palms dragging along it.

"You're such sweet mischief," a woman scolded nearby.

The world turned black.

Del lay on his back, swimming into consciousness, saturated with pleasure. Ricki had
never
gone down on him like this before. He wanted it to go on forever.

A sour note intruded into his bliss. Ricki couldn't be here. She had walked out on him after he had bared his heart to her. Hadn't he been at the Coliseum . . .

Del cracked open his eyes. Dizziness hit him even though he hadn't moved, and his vision blurred the way it did when he was drilled. He tried to think through what had happened, but his mind was sluggish, and blurred with pleasure.

He was lying in a dimly lit room on a mattress on the floor. Someone had opened his shirt, baring his chest. She had unfastened his pants, too, and her blond head moved up and down as she pleasured him, her hands cupping him underneath while her tongue did its wonders. It was
Delilah,
not Ricki.

Confusion washed over him. He should tell her to stop. But ah, gods, he never wanted it to end. Maybe this was her inspired way of apologizing for whoever had hit him. Had to find out . . . what was going on . . . he sank into the haze of lust. All too soon, it turned into an ecstasy that burst over him. With a groan, he lifted his hips and thrust deeper into her mouth. As he spent himself, he collapsed back, and dizziness swept him into sleep.

Del rose to consciousness like a swimmer through the ocean. It took a while, but gradually his thoughts formed. Someone had whacked him and shot him with an air syringe.

He lifted his head. "Delilah?" His voice rasped.

She was lying between his legs, her head resting on his thigh, her eyes closed, one hand under her cheek, the other resting on his other thigh. His vision went double for a moment, creating two Delilahs.

"Come here, sweetheart," Del murmured. Despite the bizarre situation, he felt a rush of affection for this woman who had given him such pleasure. And she hadn't left him to wake up alone.

She lifted her head, her face framed by silky blond hair. "Hi," she said softly.

Del reached for her, and just that slight amount made his head swim. She slid up his body, into his embrace, and he sank onto his back with his arms around her. She stretched out against him, her arm across his chest, and her leg tangled with his, wearing nothing except lace panties and a soft little top that felt as if it would fall apart under his hands.

Del stroked her breasts. "What happened in that hallway?"

"Darkman hit you."

"Is he your man?" It wouldn't be the first time a girl had come on to him and an angry boyfriend showed up to retaliate.

"He thinks so." She snuggled against him. "You're my man."

Del wasn't, but he did like her. He kissed the top of her head. "How did you get rid of that fellow?"

"I didn't."

He lifted his head with a jerk. "You mean he might come back?"

She watched him with her eyes half closed. "He never left."

What the hell? Del looked around, struggling to focus. "I don't see anyone."

"He's the other room, running the holo-cam."

"
What?
" He sat up, pushing her away, and groaned. His stomach felt as if it were about to heave up. "He's recording us?"

"Of course."

"No!" Del fastened his pants, though his fingers seemed too thick and clumsy to work properly. "You can't do that!"

She rolled languorously onto her side. "You can't go."

When he tried to stand up, his dizziness surged and he barely made it halfway to his feet before he lost his balance and fell onto his knees next to Delilah.

"There, there." She stroked his arm. "Don't get upset."

"Stop it," Del said. "What did you give me?"

"Just spikers and tranquilizers. Enjoy it."

"You can't give me drugs! It could kill me."

"Don't be silly. You'll have fun."

"
No!
" Using the wall for support, he tried again, and this time he made it to his feet. He sagged against the rough surface while nausea rolled over him.

The room had no door. No furniture. Nothing except the mattress and a mechanized commode against one wall. Del stumbled to it and fell onto his knees. Leaning over the bowl, he vomited as if his insides were tearing out.

"That's disgusting," Delilah said behind him. "That won't give us good material for the virt."

Del wiped his mouth on a paper-mesh towel that left a sour taste as it delivered enough soap to clean his mouth. He dumped it in the commode and watched it swirl away. "Who are you people?"

"I told you." She stood above him. "I'm Delilah. My friend is Darkman. You're our guest." Then she added, "For a while."

Del climbed to his feet. "You have to let me go."

Delilah took his wrist, but it wasn't in affection. She looked revolted. She held up his hand as if it were an accusation. "You're deformed."

"What? No, I'm not."

"Imperfect." She touched the hinge and her voice turned ugly. "When I first saw this in one of your live concerts, I felt sick. I don't like imperfection."

Del jerked his hand away from her.

With no warning, lights flared. Squinting against the glare, he peered across the room. A man was coming inside, but the light obscured any molecular airlock that might have appeared, and Del could barely make him out. He tensed into a
mai-quinjo
stance, preparing to defend himself, though he had never used the martial arts in self-defense, only as exercise--

Then the guy came forward, out of the light, and Del's stomach felt as if it dropped through the floor. The man held a giant Viper-IV laser carbine gripped in both hands.

"I think you should leave her alone," the man said.

Del lowered his hands, moving slowly. "Yeah. Whatever you want." The guy wore dark clothes, but he had spiky yellow hair and a blue laser-lit tattoo on his cheek. "You're Darkman?"

"Delilah calls me that." An edge grated in his voice. "You can call me Raker."

"Don't make a virt of me," Del said. Given that Raker had the gun, he could do what he wanted, but Del had to try.

Raker smiled, and it wasn't pretty. "Virts of you are floating all over the planet." He walked forward, his monster gun glinting. "All those cheap, unimaginative replicas of
The Jewels Suite.
"

"Uh, sure, yeah." Sweat beaded Del's forehead. "Unimaginative." He felt sick.

Raker stopped next to Delilah, looming over her, huge and muscled. Del felt small.

"People will look for me," Del said. "A lot of them." Except he had tricked Cameron. It could be hours before anyone knew he had disappeared.

"They won't find you," Raker said. In a deathly calm voice, he added, "I used to be a mech wizard for a conglomerate bigger than your little Prime-Nova. Our security force was better than special ops in Allied Space Command. I know all the tricks."

Del pressed his hand against his stomach, willing it to settle. He stared at the gun, then lifted his gaze to Raker. "What do you want with me?"

"I have to do this," Raker said. "You're fresh, uncorrupted, new. Your genius isn't contaminated." His voice filled with righteous anger. "But it
will
happen. You'll get old too fast. Too much hard living. You'll sell out. You'll become a money-making machine. One day you'll wake up, and you'll be used up. All that talent? Tarnished. All that energy? Gone." A manic light glinted in his eyes. "My virt will immortalize your perfection before success destroys you."

"Sure. Okay." Del wanted to scream. "I'll always have that."

"You won't need it." A stern look came over Raker's face. "I can't have you ruining the perfection I create." He glanced at Del's hand, then put his arm around the scantily clad woman at his side. "Delilah wouldn't like that."

Del felt ill again. Only one way would ensure that the reality of Del's future never intruded on their "perfect" virt.

Get rid of the real Del Arden.

XVI: Red Sky

Mac stood in front of the door of the hotel room. "Come on, Del." He was growing annoyed. "We have to leave. Open up."

No response. Mac strode away, simmering. Del must have overslept because he spent so much time in that damn
Jewels Suite
virt. What did he find to do for so long? It hadn't interfered with Del's commitments, so Mac had left him alone, but now he wondered. Maybe it affected Del more than he realized.

He stopped at Jud's room and flicked the pager. Within moments, the door opened.

"Hey, Mac," Jud said amiably. "I'm almost ready. You better go wake up Del."

"I tried," Mac said. "He's not answering."

Jud stopped smiling. "He didn't answer my comm, either."

"Maybe I should have the hotel let us in."

"You don't have a mesh-key card for his room?"

Mac shook his head, his concern growing. "Del said he was tired of everyone going in and out of his room."

Jud regarded him uneasily. "So how'll you get in?"

"I'll manage." Mac had agreed to act as Del's manager only if Del signed a power of attorney that let Mac do whatever he felt necessary to protect the youth. Like get into his hotel room.

Jud stepped out into the hall. "I'll come with you."

* * *

Jud couldn't believe it. No one at the Sunset Commander Hotel had questioned Mac when he asked for access to Del's room. That was strange enough. Now they entered an empty suite. It didn't even look as if anyone had been here.

"Del?" Mac called, walking into the bedroom.

Jud followed him just as Mac muttered, "I knew it!"

"What--oh," Jud said. Del was slouched at the console in his virt suit, his helmet down, his hands folded across his stomach, his chest rising and falling in the even rhythms of sleep.

"Come on, Del." Mac shook his shoulder. "Wake up."

"Wait." Jud came closer. "Del isn't that big. It's Cam."

"Cameron!" Mac shook his shoulder harder. "What are you doing in Del's virt suit?"

Jud glanced around, expecting to see Del sprawled in bed. But the floater mattress was empty. It looked undisturbed, but it could have neatened itself up. Except Del never got up this early unless someone dragged him out of bed. Given that the wake-up duties always fell to Cameron, Mac, or Jud, this made no sense.

"Huh." He pushed back his dreadlocks. "That's odd."

"How do you get someone out of this?" Mac had quit shaking Cameron. "I guess I could pull off his helmet."

Jud leaned over the console and flipped open the virt cavity. "Mac, no!" Swinging around, he said, "
Don't touch it.
"

Mac froze with his hand on the helmet. "What's wrong?"

"Pull him out and you'll fry his brain."

Mac straightened up. "What are you talking about?"

"It's not just a virt!" Jud couldn't believe that Del, who supposedly had needed a loan to survive, could have this setup. "It's a direct node-to-brain system without a safety." He motioned at the cube in the console. "Does that look like any virt you've seen? It's a damn bliss-node."

"How would Del have one of those?" Mac asked.

"A good question." Jud crossed his arms. "He's been claiming he can hardly afford his rent. He acts like he's broke. And while I was trying to help my debt-saddled friend, he spent half a million buying a bliss-node. That fucking bastard."

"Jud, wait. Del wasn't making that kind of money. I manage his finances. He needed your help." Mac's face had paled. "How do we get Cameron out of this thing? I want to know why he's here instead of with Del."

"So Del dumped him." Jud was tired of Mac's constant worrying about Del, who was apparently perfectly able to take care of himself, to the tune of half a million dollars. "Maybe Del went off with some triller."

"I don't care how many girls he went with," Mac said. "He
knows
he can't leave Cameron behind.
Cameron
knows it."

"What is with you?" Jud said. "You're Del's manager, not his keeper. I don't care how much money Prime-Nova thinks he'll make them. It's his life. He shouldn't have cut it so close getting back here, but if he wants to go off, it's his business."

Mac spoke in a too quiet voice. "You have no idea what you're talking about." He indicated Cameron. "How do I get him out?"

"You have to wait until the session finishes."

"A way must exist to take him out now."

Jud almost said,
I have no idea.
But Mac's reaction was starting to unnerve him. "You need a neurologist. The helmet extends filaments into Cameron's brain. If we just pull them out, it could scramble his neural pathways."

Mac stared at him. "Then how does anyone get out?"

"You set it for a certain time," Jud said. "When it gets near that time, the node starts to untangle itself from your brain. It takes a while, but when it finishes, you come out of the session."

"Cripes," Mac said. "Why do you kids do that to yourselves?"

"
I
don't," Jud said. "I don't get any thrill out of locking myself into some fake fantasy world."

Mac studied Cameron's prone form. "Can you tell when he's due out of this one?"

"I don't know. He must have fallen asleep." Jud motioned at the glowing cube in the console slot. "But that's lit, so the session is still going."

"Talk about bizarre," Mac said. "A VR sim for someone to sleep in. What a waste of half a million dollars."

Jud stalked to the bed, then spun around to Mac. "It doesn't look like Del slept here at all last night."