Excerpt from Cargo Lock 5

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Taylor did a small dance up the steps to street level, humming a tune to himself. This was the real him, the guy who never listened, not even to himself. Two officers responding to the disturbance at the lightrail hustled past him down the steps. They would have a hard time explaining the damage in the wall. But Taylor wasn’t about to write any reports, he was just waiting for Catheri to show up. The android girl had walked up the steps, which meant she thought she had lost him. He was good with that.
The steps led to a stretch of restaurants, hotels, and the best coffee in New Seattle City. Taylor wondered if this was her home or if it was just the first stop she took to try to lose him. He approached a bench on the sidewalk and stood on it, peering across the bobble of heads moving up and down the street. When Taylor saw her, tall and unnatural, sliding among people like a wolf through a herd of sheep, his adrenaline came back. He hopped down and eyed her from a distance, watching as she entered a cafe. Taylor walked to the far side of the street, keeping an eye on the cafe while hiding behind a noodle soup vending machine. It would be best if he didn't spook her again, not yet. He redialed Catheri with unsteady fingers, damn adrenaline shakes. He took a long breath, he could do this.
“Catheri, where are you? I’m near Café Bella. Hurry and I'll buy you a cup,” he said. Taylor chewed the bottom of his lip as he ended the call. Here he was, perched one blaster away from solving this entire murder case and getting his life back in order. He would become the hero who stopped a killer robot, which he didn’t know of anyone else ever doing, and he would be forever endowed with major clout as a Detective. Even Keeb would be forced to pin a medal on Taylor after swallowing his manhood worth of pride.
Taylor would have a free pass to do what he wanted to, because Keeb wouldn’t be able to touch a public hero. The city would name a street in his honor. Parents would name their firstborn children Taylor. And it was all five minutes away from happening. Taylor didn’t know how these daydreams came to him so easily, but they did.
The android waited in her seat near the window, alienated from the world around her. No one noticed her, but that wasn't uncommon in a city like this. People kept to themselves, even a man dying in the street would see people walking by. That, and at first glance she looked like someone who was modded, not obviously a robot. Taylor was bouncy, he prayed she didn't get up and leave. This spot was public, and perfect.
Four minutes later Catheri came walking up the street, a shopping bag in her hand. The morning sun was rousing, holding everything in a stiff early grey. Men and jealous women watched Catheri anywhere she went. She always looked stunning. Taylor realized he had never seen her without makeup and perfect hair, not even in the morning.
“A bit early to be hunting, isn't it Detective?” She handed the bag to Taylor who held it unwillingly. This was a lady's shopping bag, big and pink.
“This?” he questioned.
“I can’t carry a hand-cannon in public, it makes people nervous,” Catheri said. She was the only girl who would carry a gun in a shopping bag for him. It made him feel warm inside.
"Really?” Taylor asked and then ripped the bag away. He held a department issue ultra magnum blaster, easily capable of shooting through walls. Catheri had a gift for getting the best gear from the Supply chief. It was as if she had slept with the guy. Taylor considered the blaster and her warning. “Maybe you're right.” With a loose stride he crossed the street, a look in his eyes.
Taylor pushed open the door to the café, his badge hanging out over his shirt, the blaster held loosely at his side. There were lots of witnesses to tell the tale of this day. The android turned her head, looking him in the eye. Taylor raised the blaster, cupping it with both hands, and fired a shot so loud it shook the coffee cups. The table shredded into thin air, her face froze in artificial terror as she flew through the window and crashed to the street. Damn, this gun packed a punch! Taylor’s forearms tingled from the jolt of the blast. He followed her outside, climbing out the window he just destroyed, careful not to cut himself with a shard of glass. The morning sun made her glow on the concrete, her robotic truth suddenly naked to everyone. She was trying to get up, mechanically unable to, since part of her torso was missing. Now the morning herd of commuters stopped, realizing something was happening. Eyes widened and mouths gasped. Taylor heard their questions, their whispers, their shock. An android? Yes. Take it in while you can, Taylor thought.
Taylor raised the cannon and blasted again, the sound was much easier on his ears this time, being outside and all. Her chest erupted into sparks, pieces of metal and plastic ricocheted from her body, clattering meters away down the street. Her body jolted in a confusion of useless signals. Taylor had never seen an android die before. He had never even seen one, actually. Sparks crackled from loose circuits, her arms and legs convulsed. The wave of gasps swelled from the citizens watching. Taylor meant to take a look around, to let everyone see who had done this, to flash his badge proudly. But he didn’t. Or, he couldn’t. Instead he watched her die in the street, until she was unmoving, and saw the light in her eyes go completely dark.
Taylor held this moment, trying to taste his victory, before turning to address a very nervous Catheri. The taste was not as sweet as he expected. It was almost bitter.
“Call it in.”


If you enjoyed this and would like to read more, Cargo Lock 5 is available on kindle here: Cargo Lock 5 or go to Amazon here
Paphos Books 1-5 are also available
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