531

More Than A Pretty Face

The office of Chan Yi was set in one of the seedier sections of the Builds. On a good day, you could get clean rain on the windows to wash away the muck that fell from the Skylines. No rain had fallen yet today, but he had a rain jacket just in case. He might be an AI, but he was just as uncomfortable in wet clothes as the next guy.

He slumped into his office, bone tired. He needed to recharge, but more than that, he was emotionally exhausted. He'd been on a stakeout for the last 48 hours. Guy thought someone was breaking into his house. Yi caught the person, but he wasn't after Yi's client. They were more interested in his client's Virtual Integrated Counterpart. He'd been breaking in and making use of the Vic. He hated the creepy cases.

Yi discarded his jacket onto the empty station across from the door. No one had ever sat at that desk, but it didn't feel right to have an office alone; no matter how often he reminded himself his partner was gone. He turned away from the station and dropped into his chair behind the old cherry wood desk set at a diagonal in the corner.

Everyone wanted the newest tech and the latest buzzword, but Yi liked the feel of the warm wood against his skin. He ran his hand over it, appreciating the warmth and beauty of the grain before he slid over to the control panel and opened the computer and communications array. There was a message from a contact in the Piles. Two articles were flagged for him by a friend in the precinct. He deleted seven messages from a newly updated dating VR claiming they could find his one and only, and the latest advertisements from After Ebotics. A smile crossed his lips as he imagined what After Ebotics would do if he showed up and asked for an upgrade. As much as AI infiltrated their lives, there was no AI like him. If the general population knew about his creation, they'd revolt against the Skylines, no matter how high their towers were.

A knock on the door had him reaching for the pistol strapped under his desk.

"Fuck, I'm becoming too human," he cursed as he pulled his hand away from the weapon and stood. Like he needed that gun in hand to deal with whatever was on the other side of the entrance. Besides, the ammunition was meant to take out something bigger and badder than a human. He straightened his shirt a bit and ran his hands over the fine silk.

Yeah, he had his vices like every other man. They made the skin of his hands so smooth that they were overly sensitive. He indulged himself by running his hands over things and he made sure they were the good things.

He opened the door and stepped back as a woman entered the office. She brushed against his shoulder as she passed and didn't speak as she looked out the window on the back wall. "Come in, won't you? No, please don't wait for an invitation. Make yourself at home."

The woman took note of the room before she took a seat at the leather chair across from his desk. Her back was rigid, and she settled her gloved hands confidently on her lap. "I'm here for business, not pleasantries, Mr. Chan."

"Oh good. For a second there, I thought I opened a tea shop."

She turned to face him, lips opened to what he was certain would be a scathing rebuttal, until she actually looked at him.

Beauty was an unexpected thing south of the Skylines. It stopped people in their tracks, and there wasn't much in this world prettier than Chan Yi. Mariner Tech designed him that way, though he wished otherwise. A little less eye-catching would have served him better in the long run, but the designer had firmly believed that beauty opened doors that brawn couldn't. Chan Yi was both, but only one of those was apparent at first sight.

He watched the woman's lips tighten as she tipped her chin up higher to address him. "They say you can find anyone, and I need you to find my husband."

"Check with his mistress," Yi said, moving around the desk to take a seat. Murder always began with the mistress.