The Wicked Cyborg (15 page)

“
Wuzzle burple zuzz,
“ said Joshua.

Tad said, “Show them in.”

The mist was spinning all around them. Tad, shoulders hunched, walked along the Foghill path. Dawn was not far off. “Okay, I’ll listen,” he said to Electro.

“My assumption is your father will want to return to Barnum,” the robot said, wiping beads of mist off his surface. “With Cousin Joshua in the hands of the ILS someone will have to look after Rhymer Industries’ affairs here on Esmeralda.”

“Cousin Cosmo will do that.”

“He’ll need help.”

“I’m sure he doesn’t think I’m capable of—”

“On the contrary,” said Electro. “I put in a recommendation for you before we departed Blackwatch. As you must know, Cosmo often follows my advice.”

They came to the place where they’d left their borrowed skycar. “Maybe I ought to go home to Barnum, too.”

“And leave all your new-found friends?”

“Such as?”

“Myself for one, first and foremost.” Electro scrambled into a passenger seat, folding his arms. “There is also Jana.”

“She’s . . . older than me.” Tad took the control seat, got himself buckled in.

“A temporary condition, my boy. Another few years and the distance between you won’t seem so great.”

Tad set a takeoff pattern. “She’s always talking about what a terrible person she is, about her past—”

“A defensive bit of badinage,” said Electro. “Once her hubby—a first rate scoundrel, by the way, and I unearthed some splendid proof to that effect while collecting dirt on Cousin Joshua— once she’s severed for good from Taine you’ll see many changes in Jana.”

The skycar lifted up into the misty dawn. “You’ve sure changed your attitude toward her.”

“I’ve mellowed,” the robot admitted. He looked across the cabin at Tad. “Are you going to stay?”

“I’m going to stay,” Tad said.