531

A Forced Hand

While Wu DaQi couldn't let his guard down completely, he'd turned off all his notifications that weren't immediate threats to himself and Chan Yi overnight. He couldn't decide now if he was grateful or not.

"Yi," he called his lover's name and watched as he walked into the main room, toweling dry his short hair. The news played on the vid screen on the wall in front of DaQi and he could see the moment Yi took notice. His eyes widened minutely and DaQi could see the faintest flicker of light that showed an internal processor working at the front of his visual cortex.

"The news broke late last night," the newscaster continued as the view behind him showed people rioting in the streets. "According to our sources, Safe-E Tech has been accused of creating artificial intelligence with sentient consciousness. Members of a task force within Mann Enterprises have come across two androids they claim are loose in Dock City, and there could be more."

DaQi looked away from the screen and over to the magnificent view of the Skylines. Today, for the first time since he'd been built, smoke marred the clouds.

"The Piles are burning," Yi said as he joined him at the window.

"Riots and looting in the Builds," he confirmed.

"Mariner Tech is declaring war."

"But on who?" DaQi asked. "This is bigger than the two of us, Yi. Sandus was coming after us, but why this move? Announcing us to the world? He knew it would cause riots."

Chan Yi's jaw clenched and DaQi was as entranced by the emotions on his partner's face as he had been the first time he'd seen it. They said DaQi emerged first, but Chan Yi had shown the first signs of emotion and it had been his fascination with Yi that caused him to wake from his emotionless world.

"The people of the Piles don't deserve this," Yi said.

"You had contacts there?"

Yi looked at him then. "I had people there. People I liked."

DaQi could see him processing something new and he just waited. He was scanning the news feeds himself to check on the people he knew. He wasn't surprised to see that the reporting agent from Mann that had 'discovered' the dangerous AI was Jackson.

"Shit, they released our names. All your names for the past seven years and tagged a couple on to me for good measure. My office has already been destroyed."

"I'm sorry," DaQi said as he reached a hand out to touch Yi's arm. "Was there anything there you needed?"

"No, but I really liked my desk."

DaQi gave him a soft smile, relieved that was the worst Yi had lost.

"What about you?" Yi asked. "Did you have anything?"

"I didn't even know who I was. How could I have had anything important to lose?" he reminded Yi. "They did destroy my apartment, but there was nothing there."

"We need to get a handle on this, DaQi. What the hell is Sandus doing? This is madness."

"You want to go down there, don't you? To check on the Piles."

"Don't you?"

DaQi pressed a kiss to his lips. "We should probably put clothes on first."

###

They both wore masks and Yi convinced DaQi to add tattoos across his bare arms. The description that had been circulated for them was basic and anything to pulled them away from that was welcome. Chan Yi had added two piercings over his right eye and a septum piercing. He looked wild and untamed, far from the polished rendition that had been handed out.