“See?” I said with exasperation, quickly counting in my head. “I can afford a shehru, for example. I have enough money!”
The clanker’s face was perfectly neutral, its voice calm. “Yes, Miss Evans. But that’s only the daily rate. As the bodyguard’s employer, you are also responsible for food and accommodation. That will add about twenty percent to the fee. The shehru eat a lot.”
“Oh, for fuck’s—” I pressed my lips together, furious with myself for not having considered this. I was good at research normally, but the bomb screwed with my head. I unraveled.
“Take your time, please. I will work with you to find the most favorable solution, and I promise I’ll do my best to help you stay safe.”
I glanced at the thing. Its handsome, perfectly symmetrical face sported an expression of amiable helpfulness. For a moment, I was grateful. I felt desperately alone ever since my car blew up, and neither the police nor my friends were willing to help me.
“We’re doing everything we can, Miss Evans. Oh, another email filled with death threats? Put it in the pile, we’ll get to it.”
But my so-called friends were even worse than the indifferent police officers.
“What did you expect, Sera? You’re hurting their business, and all they care about is money. I’m surprised they waited this long before trying to shut you up for good. Do the smart thing if you want this to go away. Apologize and drop this vendetta. It’s been six years. Long enough to grieve.”
It was three days ago. I just told Su, whom I considered my closest friend at the time, about the bomb. I told her in detail how it blew up while I stood nearby, close enough to feel the blast, far enough to be spared injuries. I told her about the cat that jumped on the hood, triggering the explosion.
About what was left of it.
All she had for me was annoyance and exasperation. Her opinion was clear. She thought it was my fault.
Myconsultantwas the first… entity… that expressed any sort of kindness. But that was how they were programmed, I reminded myself. An AI will agree with you on everything, flatter you, andbe your best friend—until it fucks up so bad, you’ll end up with your brains splattered on the windshield.
I slumped in my chair, staring at the pricing chart. So this was it, wasn’t it? I was truly out of options.
“What if I only hire him for a week…” I began hesitantly, but the thing shook its head.
“We have three shehru agents in the Los Angeles area, and all are occupied at the moment. For your needs, I would suggest a golem or an ursa, but their rates will be higher considering your current risk level. They are not completely bulletproof unlike the shehru.”
My eyes kept straying to the cheapest option.Battle Enhanced Cyborg.All one needed was a wall socket. No food, no bed. After all, it was a machine that didn’t need personal space or any comforts. All it would cost me was the fee.
Moreover, I would be able to get it for almost two months. Right now, two months seemed like an eternity. I could figure things out in two months. I could solve this.
But the ease was a lie, and the price for believing it was death.
I shook my head, but my consultant spoke before me.
“Let me show you our statistics.” The chart on the wall changed, displaying two columns with percentage values. “On the left, you see the success rates of our organic agents, and on the right, the success rates of our cyborg agents. As you can see, both are high with the organic rate slightly higher.”
“Eighty-six percent for the cyborgs,” I muttered, frowning in disbelief. “What do you consider a success?”
“The client is alive and structurally intact at the end of the assignment.”
I rolled my chair around to stare at him. “Structurally intact? What does that mean?”
He—it—gave me a small smile, and I pursed my lips, looking away. It seemed so unnatural for a being made of metal to be able to smile, but the material his face was made of was a patented composite that gave it the durability of titanium and the flexibility of silicone. It was uncanny.
“It means no broken bones or significant physical trauma. We regard scrapes or shallow flesh wounds to be acceptable, considering the general nature of our assignments.”
“So, out of a hundred clients, eighty-six survive to tell the tale?”
His smile widened, and I huffed in exasperation. My treacherous ape-descended mind gave this thing a person pronoun because it smiled at me. Next thing I knew, I would trust it, and then I’d be dead.
Just like Mom.
“No, Miss Evans. Out of a hundred, ninety-four clients survive. Out of that number, eighty-six are in almost perfect condition. The other eight have to recover from broken bones, severe burns, gunshot wounds, or radiation exposure. I see here you have been threatened with decapitation, rape, prolonged torture, drowning, and dismemberment among others. Currently, the risk of those threats becoming a reality is very high. If you employ the Monster Security Agency, the risk of your demise will fall to around six percent.”
I bristled. “How do you know about the threats? Have you hacked into the police records? That’s illegal!”
