HAWK

CHAPTER TWO: ARTIS (4/6)

'Sorry,' said the clerk with a patronising smile. 'We're full up.'

Kas dropped her elbows on the counter and gave him a look that made his smirk falter. 'You're what?'

'We're... fully booked.'

'You have three hundred pods,' she argued, struggling to keep her cool. Her hair was soaking wet, saturated with the highly acidic rain that had bombarded her from the moment she reached the surface. It had left her skin dry and itchy and was now eroding her patience. She'd been using The Black Hole for going on six years and it had never been fully booked. This guy had to be a moron.

'Yes, and tonight they're all taken. We recommend always booking at least a day in advance.'

'Since when?'

'Since always.'

Kas calmly raised her left hand to her head and combed her fingers backwards through her mohawk as she was prone to doing before a fight.

'Maybe you could check to see if there have been any cancellations.'

'I've already checked.'

'Then check again.'

The clerk forced his smile back on and turned to face his computer terminal. While Kas waited, she glanced at the adjacent wall where a TV panel displayed round-the-clock news. There was a picture of a Sharanese man she recognised along with the headline:

BIO-MECH INVENTOR FOUND DEAD

Kas raised an eyebrow and walked over to listen.

'...was found dead in his home this morning. While little has been released concerning the circumstances of his death, local police have revealed that Lor died more than three months ago. Sae-quin Lor became increasingly reclusive after his pioneering work on bio-mechs was met with hatred by animal rights groups, receiving hundreds of death-threats per day. It has not been revealed at this time whether the police are treating his death as suspicious.'

Kas realised she was smiling. While she didn't agree with murder, she was pleased to hear Sae-quin Lor was dead. He may not have been the one to physically make bio-mechs, he certainly enabled them, and Kas saw that as a crime he'd never paid for.

'Pretty crazy, huh?'

Kas turned her head to see a man standing beside her. He was around the same age as her, maybe a little older. His blonde hair was short and wavy (and dry) and parted on his left with atomic precision. More importantly, Kas saw he was wearing a state-of-the-art carbachrome defence vest with the letters C.A.P. emblazoned on the chest. She already hated him.

'Looks to me like he got what he deserved,' Kas replied.

The man smiled. 'I take it you're not a bio-mech fan?'

'You could say that.'

'You've gotta admit they're useful.'

'They're living things, not kitchen appliances. They should all be put out of their misery.'

'Who says they're miserable?'

'You telling me if I replaced your organs with machinery and fused metal to your skin that you would be happy?'

The man didn't have an answer for that.

'Didn't think so.' Kas turned to walk away.

'I overheard you talking before,' the man said. Kas turned back.

'Excuse me?'

'I think we might be able to help each other out. I've got a pod booked for tonight that I don't need anymore. I just came to cancel, but apparently, this place doesn't do refunds. I'd be happy to sell it to you if you still want it?'

Kas squinted. 'What kind of pod?'

'I'm not sure, I just asked for the nicest one they had.' He reached into his pocket and produced a small black coin. Kas saw 'SD-1' printed in silver on one side.

'SD's are expensive. I doubt I could afford it, blondie.'

Blondie smiled and shrugged. 'How about half price? That's three hundred. Mohawk.'

Kas hesitated. Three hundred wasn't much more than she would've paid for a basic pod anyway - and this would've been a hefty upgrade - but she didn't like the idea of accepting the favour of a stranger, especially one in a cap vest. The man seemed to sense her thoughts.

'Two-fifty,' he tried, his smile faded. 'That's more than fair, I think. Do we have a deal?' Before Kas could respond, he had flicked the coin in the air. Kas's eyes hooked onto it as it whirled and spun like a neutron-star heading straight for her. Like lightning, her left hand shot out and plucked it from the air between her thumb and index finger. Blondie's eyebrows raised imperceptibly.

'Yes, we do,' she said.