Love and Robotics by Rachael Eyre Page A

until she had climbed into her vix and screeched around the corner.
    “You’ve liked it, haven’t you?” Alfred asked. “You haven’t wanted to go home?”
    Josh could have told him any number of things but settled for, “It’s been interesting.”
    “Good.”
    Past the equestrian statue with its mantle of pigeons, a craft decanting tourists. Alfred took Josh’s elbow as they descended, knowing his difficulty with stairs. Down they went into the shanty town of tents. Another ring of fires had been lit. Protestors were singing.
    “I’m going to miss this,” Josh said. “It’s been the first time I’ve been with real people.”
    “What do you work with, jelly fish?”
    “They’re odd at CER. They live in an ivory tower.”
    Josh had seen the resolve in Sienna’s eyes. CER wouldn’t rest until an investigation had taken place. He imagined Malik, her monotone jeer, and Fisk. The praying mantis would bite heads off in earnest.
    For now they were together. He didn’t want to waste their remaining time -
    “Get down!” As Alfred jabbed his fingers into his back, he banged his chin against a waste disposal unit.
    “What are you doing?”
    “The word you’re looking for is ‘Thanks’.”
    A tank was rolling through the tents, squashing a food vendor flat. The gun spun and blasted through an outside toilet. Sewage sprayed ten feet into the air. The protestors stampeded.
    “What damn fool’s driving that tank?”
    “The army?”
    “They’d never be that incompetent. Can you walk?”
    “Think so.”
    They raced through the puddles, Josh’s teeth chattering.
    “Pack the tent up. I’ll see what this lunatic’s doing -”
    The gun’s cross hairs lit their faces. Josh moved in front of Alfred, expecting to be shot any minute.
    “Bet Nanny never foresaw this,” Alfred said.
    “Any last words?”
    “No. You?”
    The turret corkscrewed. Out burst a shock of candyfloss hair. “Langton! Fancy seeing you!”
    The corner of Alfred’s mouth jerked. Josh slipped his arm beneath his and gave him a warning squeeze.
    “Hello, Jerry,” he managed.
                  “The Mayor?” Josh whispered. “No wonder the country’s going to hell.”
    “Isn’t she a beaut?” Jerry Etruscus jumped down and slapped the tank’s side. “Borrowed her from that old trout Gossington.”
    “Why are you here?” Alfred’s voice was taut with tiredness.
    “Some silly buggers were cluttering the place up. I thought I’d give it a spring clean. Who’s your friend?”
    Realising they were clinging to each other, Alfred and Josh moved apart. “My name’s Josh Foster.”
    Jerry’s face was all rainbows and delight. “The bot? This is epic! My PR crew’s coming along in a mo, do you mind having your picture taken? I’m a huge fan -”
    Which is why, in a matter of hours, every newssheet carried an image of Josh having his arm enthusiastically pumped by the Mayor. Alfred groaned in the background with a hand over his face.
     
    “Not a word, not a message. We were out of our minds!”
    Josh was standing in the middle of Fisk’s office. She hadn’t stopped pacing for fifteen minutes.
    “I was with Lord Langton -”
    “See?” Malik was so short he hadn’t seen her over the top of the chair. “I told you that old soak’d lead him astray. Sienna found him in a gambling den -”
    “It wasn’t a den, it was a betting shop.” Malik always rubbed him up the wrong way. “Besides, why was she there?”
    “How our employees relax off duty is none of your concern -” Fisk began.
    “I’m an employee, aren’t I?”
    “It’s different for you. You’re -”
    “The face of the company? Find yourself another face. I quit.”
    Fisk shook her head wearily. “This is your first offence so we’ll overlook it. I need hardly say this isn’t the kind of behaviour we expect.”
    Weren’t they listening to him?
    “Are we friends?” the mantis demanded.
    “I suppose so,” he muttered.
    “Speaking of