Before he could disconnect, a tinny voice came over the line without a corresponding picture. “What is it?”
“Ladee,” he said after a moment. “Is everything okay there?”
The viewscreen suddenly clicked on. Zelup was able to see the lab, but there was no sign of the little robot. Then the view shifted, and he realized the view was coming from the robot itself. He was seeing the lab through Ladee’s eyes.
“As you can see, nothing out of the ordinary.” The robot’s eyes landed on Dawn and rested there for a moment. Zelup felt like he’d been kicked in the chest. In that moment, he couldn’t believe he’d considered taking Sheveen to his bed. Not when she paled in comparison to the perfection before him.
Then the view shifted and the ache in his chest intensified. He considered ordering the robot to return his gaze to his beloved but decided against that. The sooner he realized it was over between them, the better it would be for all parties involved.
“Was there anything else?” the robot asked with a polite cough. “I did make it clear that this connection was to be used only in the case of emergencies.”
“Can she hear me?” Zelup whispered.
“No. This is a purely internal communication on my personal array. She can’t hear me now, either. For all intents and purposes, we’re talking inside my mind.”
“Are you certain there is nothing out of the ordinary taking place?”
“You saw that for yourself,” the robot replied, a tinge of impatience in the tinny voice. “What has prompted this sudden concern? Is it personal, or do you have evidence of an impending attack?”
“Both,” Zelup said, then sighed. “And neither. I’m sorry for disturbing you, and I appreciate your—”
At that moment, a dark mist began to fill the lab. As he watched through the robot’s eyes, two figures appeared when before there was nothing. One had long blond hair, and the other was bald.
Zelup’s eyes widened. “Ladee, that’s them! You have to—” Without warning, the connection between them was severed.
“Fuck!” he screamed, startling the patrons closest to him. For a split second, he almost picked up his chair and smashed the viewscreen but decided better of it. Not because he didn’t want to cause the damage but only because there was no time to spare.
He rushed toward the exit, smashing into several club patrons and even knocking a few to the floor. Zelup burst out the door and ran full tilt to his ship, all the while imagining whatever horrible things those two men could be doing to his little doll.
“I’ll fucking kill them,” he growled, causing the two old women shuttling out of the casino in front of him to gasp. Still, he ran, his heart beating hard enough to echo in his ears. “If they lay a hand on her, I’ll rip those hands off and force them down their throats.”
Reaching his ship, he barreled inside and immediately plotted a course back to Pallas. Then he input Ladee’s number into the communication console and waited for the call to connect as he lifted off and headed for the shield gate. Over and over, the number dialed, and over and over, nothing happened.
There was no answer.
A cold shower of fear poured over him and he found that he was praying. “Please, Goddess of Light. Have mercy. Please let her be okay.”
Please let her be okay.
Please.
