Vas recognized the muffled voices of the rest of the crew as they drew close to the motel room. By the time Alix came through the door, he’d already risen from his place on the bed. He smiled when he saw the excitement on her face.

“How did it go?” he asked.

Alix called over her shoulder, “Lynx!”

The robot said in a simple, unassuming voice, “I am the champion.”

Behind them, Ciro laughed and Jane whooped for joy.

Vas took Reyer’s shoulders and kissed her forehead.

“Sorry it took us so long,” she said. “There was a lot to deal with.”

“The winnings!” Ciro said.

“The job offers,” Alix added.

“Job offers?” Adan said. “The house wanted to hire you?”

“When I politely refused him, he gave both Ciro and I an open invitation to come back whenever we wanted.”

“Miss Reyer,” Lynx said, “remember his stipulation.”

“Ah, yes. He demanded two weeks’ notice so he could advertise.”

Vas let out a breath of laughter. “I’m glad he wasn’t bitter about the fact Bobbin failed him.”

“No. I think the night was a net gain for him.”

“But an hour? He must have worked hard to charm you.”

Ciro scoffed. “He didn’t get more than two minutes. He had to contend with everyone else.”

Vas looked back at Reyer.

“There were a few other masters who wanted to buy me away from Ciro to coach their bots.”

“You smiled at them, didn’t you?” Adan said.

“It’s nice to know someone thinks my skills have value.”

“Were you tempted?”

“I was. I’ve never made that kind of money in my life.”

Ciro put a hand on Vas’s shoulder. “Don’t worry, bro. None of them have an attractive older brother. I checked.” He winked at Reyer.

“I’m sorry I couldn’t see the tournament,” Adan said. “It must have been spectacular.”

“Jane!” Ciro called. When she dropped a nan-card in his hand, he held it up for his brother to see. “The director’s cut recording. That’s what the fabulous Dr. Jane Bonumomnes was doing while Reyer and I were shaking hands. All she had to do was ask politely. I’m telling you, that dress more than paid for itself.”

“Ciro,” Adan said, “you knew we were waiting.”

His brother stood up straight and cleared his throat. “Obviously, I need to study this recording with an eye to improving Lynx’s programming and design.”

“You mentioned popcorn, Master Ciro.”

“Shush, my champion!”

Alix stepped closer to Adan and put a hand on his arm. “Why were you waiting? Didn’t you get the information?”

Vas glanced at the door to the bathroom. Reyer followed his gaze and saw Tennama sitting on a chair in the doorway, one leg braced across the opening. His e-pistol was out and sitting on his lap.

“What’s wrong?” Alix demanded.

Tennama shook his head.

“Bobbin didn’t feel like talking,” Vas explained. “He fought us every step of the way. The man’s got nails that Cuss would envy. We had to bring him here by force.”

“And we couldn’t be gentle about it,” Tennama added.

“How bad is it?" Reyer asked.

“We didn’t hurt him—well, we tried not to hurt him. His arms are going to be sore. And his jaw.”

“His jaw?”

“I didn’t hit him, Alix! But he’s been gagged for over an hour.”

Reyer briefly put a hand to her head. In a weary voice, she said, “What’s the situation?”

“He’s still bound and gagged. We put him in the tub so he’d stop trying to escape.”

Jane muttered, “Are you joking?”

“He quieted down about a half-hour ago,” Tennama said.

“Did you try talking to him then?” Reyer asked.

At first, they didn’t answer. Then Adan said, “We thought we’d give him some time to calm down.”

“We were waiting for you,” Anthony said. He stood up from his chair. “Alix Reyer is very good at getting people to talk.”

Reyer stared at Vas for a long time. “You didn’t make this easy, Captain.”

“I prefer to think that he didn’t make it easy.”

“Bring him out. Lynx, get Tennama's chair. Place it so it’s facing me.” She pulled out the only other chair in the room.

The captain untied Bobbin's feet. He and Tennama worked together to re-tie his hands in front of him. Once that was done, they led him into the main room. He didn’t try to fight, but he did act as if he was faint. The captain almost had to carry him. Tennama followed close behind.

Once Bobbin was seated, Vas muttered, “Should we tie him to the chair?”

Reyer inspected the small figure.

“No," she said. "He’s tired. Why did you blindfold him?”

“It slows him down.”

Her eyebrows jumped a fraction. “Lynx, lock the door, then go check the bathroom window. Make sure it’s secure. Ciro, please check these windows. Adan, you can take off his blindfold.”

This content has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

Bobbin tossed his head as the cloth was being removed, then he stared around the room. He noted that Tennama and Vas were beside him. His eyes passed over Ciro and Jane. They lingered for a while on Lynx. Finally, they settled on the woman sitting in front of him.

Reyer watched him with a thoughtful look on her face.

Two minutes passed. No one said anything.

Reyer reached forward to remove his gag.

Vas pulled out his pistol and put it to Bobbin’s head. “If you touch her, I will shoot you.”

Something about the man’s voice made Bobbin think holding still would be a very good idea.

Alix finished removing the gag and sat back.

There was another minute of silence before Bobbin spoke.

“You're one scary lady.”

A smile twitched at Reyer’s lips. “Why?”

“I was watching you. Creepsville. You get a thousand guys, and they’re all screaming like they’re about to cum themselves from excitement. Or you get the delicate types, and they all wince and turn away—as if those bots could feel anything. I’ve never seen someone study it, like carnage is their business.”

“What name do you like to go by?”

“Mick.”

“Mick, why are you so scared?”

His leg started bouncing up and down. There was another long silence.

“Are you in charge of these assholes?” Mick asked.

“No.”

Mick tossed his head toward Vas. “But that one—”

“He tends to be a little protective. Technically, you could argue that particular asshole is in charge, but our hierarchy is more malleable than some.”

“How so?”

“He’s our captain, but his authority is hampered by the fact that none of us are assigned to be under him.”

Bobbin blew some air out of his lips. “All the authority, none of the clout. Hey! Captain! Don’t feel impotent. It’s better than my boss.” Bobbin looked back at Reyer. “We’re all assigned to be under him, and still, no one listens to him.”

“Is that your boss at Gid’s?”

“Yeah.”

“Sommers?”

“Yeah. You would’ve met him. Nice guy. But”—he leaned forward—“word to the wise, he’s a cheater. So if you’ve got pride, don’t work for him.”

Reyer acknowledge the hacker’s humor with an amused smile.

Mick went on, “Man, why did you have to tie me up? And gag me? That jacket was filthy.”

“It was your jacket,” Tennama said.

“I know. I know where it’s been. Gross.”

“I’ve been told you made it hard for them,” Alix said.

The hacker’s exaggerated smirk oozed self-satisfaction. “Don’t hold still. That’s how they get you.”

Reyer put her elbows on her legs and leaned forward. “Mick, who's after you? Why are you so scared?”

His thin lips disappeared when he pressed them together.

Reyer went on, “You could hear us, so I think you’ve figured out that we don’t want to hurt you. You probably figured that out when you attacked these guys and they didn’t—”

“I attacked them?”

Reyer’s laugh was no more than a breath. “You’re right, Mick. Why don't you tell me what happened?”

“I come out of the arena, and there are these two massive giants looming over me! They jumped me.”

“Are you sure they’re giants?” Jane asked. “And it’s not that you’re kind of small?”

“Look who’s talking, Tinker Bell!”

Alix held a hand up to stop Jane from responding. To Mick, she said, “They should’ve told you they only wanted to talk to you.”

Mick’s face morphed into a scowl. “They were blocking my exits. You kidnapped me.”

“I'm sorry about that. We didn’t want to, but we couldn’t afford to let you run. We went through a lot to find you, Bobbin.”

After a pause, Mick said in a voice the size of a mouse, “How did you find me?”

Alix looked over her shoulder. Ciro came and sat on the edge of the bed.

“I studied all the hacks you did under the tag Bobbin," he said. “Then I searched through all the great hacks that had happened after you disappeared, looking for the uncredited ones. There were three that all had your style of code—”

“Lots of people steal my code.”

“Your codes, yes, but I was looking for your style. The next evolution of what you’d been doing. All three of them led back to machines on this planet—”

“I routed those through at least a dozen different places!”

Ciro put his head in his hands, exhausted by the memory of those seven days of searching. “I could’ve sworn it was more than that.”

The hacker’s eyes darted back to Reyer.

“Like I said,” she said, “we went through a lot to find you.”

“You, the fight, the championship—all that was to find me?”

Reyer nodded.

Bobbin sniffed. “See, I don’t like this.” His leg was bouncing again.

“Why?”

“People only want Bobbin for two reasons—to punish or employ him. And you know—you guys especially know—the more work I do, the harder it is for me to hide. Hiding is kind of what I do now. It keeps me safe.” He put his bound hands up to his skinny chest. “I can’t help you.”

“We don’t need you to hack something for us.”

“Then what could you possibly want from me? I don’t think I’m your type, honey!” Mick heard a soft click and leaned away from the muzzle of the gun that was pointing at his head. He let out a high-pitched laugh. “Okay. Yeah. He’s a little protective.”

“Adan,” Alix said.

“No, please!” Mick cried. “Put a gun to my head! I’m flattered you think I’m competition.”

With a wry smile, Vas lowered his weapon.

“Mick, we want to know who put the bounty on you," Reyer said.

“You know about that?”

Reyer nodded.

“Why do you want to know?” Mick asked.

“We want to kill her.”

Bobbin let out a low whistle. “Oh. Well. Now we can talk.”

He held up his wrists. Tennama drew his knife and slit the tie. The hacker shook out his hands and rubbed his wrists before leaning back in the chair.

“So, what will you offer me?”

Alix didn’t bother hiding her surprise. “I’m sorry?”

Bobbin put both hands to his chest. “No, I’m sorry—you are”—he pointed at them—“you are the people who spent all that time, did all that work, for this juicy little piece of information. It must be worth a lot to you. I don’t know why, and I don’t want to know why, but trust me, as a hacker, I know how much information is worth. So what are you going to give me?" When no one answered, he said, "How about that bot?”

Ciro stood up. “Lynx isn’t for sale.”

“You couldn’t afford him if he was,” Jane added.

“All right. All your winnings from this evening. Purse included.”

“Why should we give you anything?” Alix asked.

“Because I can give you what you want.”

“Why wouldn’t you give it to us for free? We’re trying to kill the woman who put a bounty on your head!”

“That won’t help me, sweetheart! That bitch put my payout in a trust account. Even if she dies, it can still be claimed. I’m going to spend the rest of my life running.”

“And you don’t want revenge?” Vas said.

“Hmmmm, no. Not really. I’m not that petty. And don’t bother threatening me, because you’re right—I know you don’t want to hurt me.”

Vas and Reyer glanced at each other.

“Is there nothing we can do to change your mind?” Reyer asked.

“Large sums of money would help.”

“A thousand. And, Mick, that’ll be the only offer.”

Mick laughed. “I thought you knew who I was. Bobbin wouldn’t fetch you a glass of water for that little money.”

Alix stood up and leaned over him. “The offer is gone.” She went over to the door and unlocked it.

“Uhhhhh…hey, hey now! Wait!”

“Oh! Did you think I was joking? Because I don’t joke about things like that.” She opened it. “Goodbye, Bobbin.”

“Where are you going to go? I’m the only person that has this information!”

“I was thinking of going to your former agent.”

“He wouldn’t tell you something like that.”

“I wasn’t going to ask him for her name. I was going to tell him the exact process we used to find you.”

Mick’s face fell. “Why would you do that?”

“Because I am petty, and I do like revenge.”

“Fine. I’ll take your thousand.”

“That offer is gone.”

Bobbin moaned and shook his head. “Don’t you know how to do this, lady? You offer, I counter-offer—”

“I’m not playing a game, Mr. Bobbin.”

“—you give me a counter-counter offer.” Mick tried out his charming smile. “I can tell you what you want to know. I want to help you. Please, scary lady, give me a counter-offer.”

Reyer shut the door. “Tell me what you know and I won’t teach every bounty hunter in the galaxy how to find you.”

Bobbin scrunched up his face. “Yeah. Good offer. You want to kill her, you say?”

“I thought you weren’t petty,” Tennama said.

Bobbin held up his hand with his thumb and forefinger a centimeter a part. “A little petty. A little.” He dropped his arm. “The woman’s name is Chloe Naaji. She was the assistant to Devi Kumar. I thought she was acting on behalf of our illustrious senator from P5, but…maybe not.”

“What do you think now?” Vas asked.

“I think Naaji hired someone to kill the senator, then used the peacekeepers to get away. She must have realized I figured it out, and now I’m worth a fortune to everyone except me.”

Reyer returned to her seat. “How do you use the peacekeepers to get away?”

“She came back after Kumar was cold-dead, and she’s got one more job for me.” This time Mick’s laugh sounded much more real. It was a low chortle—low, that is, for him. “That was a new one. I didn’t even have a prepped program. I had to improvise the path.”

“What was it?” Ciro asked.

Bobbin latched on to the light of interest in Ciro's eyes and turned to face him. “Get this—she had me hack into the Supremacy MI’s database—whatever, normal routine, right?—but I had to hunt down where the niche was, because I didn’t even think of it, or I would’ve realized it must be there.”

“Was it hard to get in?”

“Eh.”

“What was it?"

“It was the list of randomized planets available to protected witnesses when they’re choosing where to hide. She has me add one.”

He laughed again. He didn’t seem to sense the tension that had settled on everyone else in the room.

“Mr. Bobbin,” Reyer said, “the name of that planet would be worth a thousand credits to us.”

“You must be kidding me.”

“Final offer, Mick.”

“Ionu. It was Ionu.”