The velvet-snake of a line outside Kato’s was long enough that Trig would never have waited in it under any other circumstances. If it were any other night, he’d have used connections, clout, belligerence in general to skip the queue and head inside. As it was, waiting around the corner from the front door worked out in his favor.

  Tucked between a group of girls from down in Neo Paloma who were slumming it in Mercy for kicks and a couple of guys who had tried to get in with those girls and failed spectacularly, Trig and Oz were camouflaged as they watched Bekker’s warehouse.

  “Whatever network they have going in there is hard-closed,” Oz muttered as they rounded the corner. “No signal coming in or out?”

  Trig wasn’t surprised. No way this job was going to be so easy that Oz could hack them at a distance. If that was the case, Harry wouldn’t need Trig. The king of Mercy would rent Kato’s upper room and enjoy a cigar and a drink while Oz hacked from the comfort of their VIP chairs. “What about the doors?”

  Before Oz could say if xe could get them in, a black car pulled up to the warehouse. “Look.” The two armed goons at the front stood up straight and gave the driver a nod.

  Trig recognized Bekker exiting the back. Spending big money with a chrome-plated smile meant that everyone in Mercy had seen his face and knew his name. The tech dealer was tall and bulked up with bio-muscle. Piss yellow hair stood high in a coif above a long horse-face. When he turned, Trig ducked his head to not meet the man’s gaze as it trailed over the club.

  “Let’s get inside,” Trig said, turning towards the door. A few minutes later, he paid and ushered Oz within.

  Kato’s wasn’t the biggest club but it specialized in having large dance floors, fantastic VIP service, loud music, and cheap booze. That all made it one of the best spots to party in Mercy. Grinding hardstyle techno sound-washed the room. Already a mass of sweaty bodies writhed on the dance floor underneath neon strobes.

  “Trig!”

  Turning, he saw a tall, black enby with iced hair and a dozen chroma facial piercings slide towards them. “DIdn’t know you were coming tonight. Want me to start gathering the ladies for the VIP lounge?”

  “Not tonight, Sphinx. Is Kato around?”

  “He’s upstairs. Busy man, as usual.” But Sphinx wasn’t looking at him while he spoke. His dark eyes were now focused on Oz. “Who’s your friend?”

  Trig didn’t blame them. Oz had been clocked as soon as xe walked in. Verana had done wonders with the Droido. If he hadn’t seen Oz go in the back and taken a good look behind the bangs of the black asymmetrical wig xe now wore, he would have sworn that this was not the same person. Who could have guessed under the charcoal sacks xe’d been passing for clothing that Oz had a tight little body. Now, xe was wrapped in a black and blue mesh dress and matching thigh high stockings. Xyr arms were decorated with fake tattoos and what could be seen of xyr face had streaks of blue makeup that made their big brown eye look even larger.

  Oz looked good. Borrowed-pretty, dangerous in the wrong way, Trig thought, seeing the way Sphinx liked their lips.

  A strange urge to push Oz behind him and out of sight nearly overtook him. He cleared his throat and gestured. “This is my friend, Oz. Oz, this is Sphinx.”

  “Enchanted,” Sphinx said, taking Oz’ hand and kissing xyr wrist. “Mmm, is that Neon Lace? I used to date a lady who wore that same perfume. It’s delicious. Made me want to lick her from head to toe.”

  It was clear Sphinx had something similar in mind when looking at Oz who responded with a polite, if blank, smile.

  “You want to dance?” Trig asked, pulling Oz away from Sphinx and against himself.

  Xe blinked up at him. “I don’t know how.” It wasn’t coy, the way some girls were when they said that same line to him. No, this was a blunt fact and that made it all the more appealing to Trig.

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  “It’s easy,” he said, then nodded to Sphinx. “Let Kato know I need to see him?”

  They smirked knowingly and nodded as Trig led Oz to the dancefloor.

  Keeping Oz in a close-in, shielding xem from roaming hands, he carved a path for them through the floor storm to where he could dance comfortably while also keeping an eye on the hall leading to the VIP lounge stairs and Kato’s office. Once situated, he focused back on Oz.

  The song shifted as the base dropped and ground deeper, vibrating the floor under their shoes. “Feel that?” he asked Oz who nodded. “We’re gonna follow that.”

  Gyrating his hips with the base beat, Trig pulled Oz’s hands into his and out away from them to make room for xyr hips. “Like this.”

  Oz’s hips made hesitant, jerky motions as xe watched Trig’s waist. The warm strobe above them cast a light across xem. That small furrow in xyr brow was visible even with the dark wig obscuring half xyr face.

  “Relax,” Trig said, moving in closer so that their bodies brushed against each other. He put Oz’s hands on his hips. “Look at my face.”

  Xe looked up in between glancing at other people bumping into them here and there.

  “Focus on me,” Trig instructed. “Just me.”

  Oz nodded, swallowing as xe stared at Trig’s face.

  “Its not much different than sex,” he flirted. “Focus on your partner and let your body move instinctively.”

  At that, the Droido frowned and xyr hips stilled.

  The realization hit Trig like a slug. After a second he leaned in to keep his question private. “You…have had sex right?”

  A shake of xyr head threw him even though he expected the answer. Fucking hell.

  “Well…no big deal. It's all still instinct.” He pulled xem close until their bodies pressed against each other. “Move your hips and feet to the base and upper body to the treble. Relax and let it happen.”

  It took a few moments for Oz to relax enough to let Trig’s body move xem rather than just grind against xem. Once xe gave in, the two moved fluidly and Trig was able to spin, slide, and guide them around the floor.

  He leaned in close to murmur a word of encouragement and got a whiff of xyr perfume - all gravity and heat. He’d smelled it in the car on the way there but now, warmed by sweat and body heat from dancing, it was even better. Sphinx hadn’t been lying about how it made him want to lick the flesh covered with that smell. Would Oz taste good too?

  Shoving the thought away before he tried it, Trig spun his partner and looked back at the hall. Still no sign of Kato.

  A girl in a bright pink leotard and not much else bumped into Oz, turned and instead of apologizing gave xem a look over and a wink.

  Oz watched pinkie move away then looked back at Trig without a change in expression. The interaction made him wonder.

  “What are you into, Oz?”

  Xe took long enough to respond, Trig wasn’t sure if xe heard him. “What do you mean?”

  Taking the opportunity to spin them around then press in from behind, Trig gestured to the crowd. “Men? Women? Neither? Both? What do you like?”

  Oz reached back to brace xemselves with a hand on Trig’s thigh. He hummed a soft moan at the feeling as he ran a hand over xyr belly.

  “I don’t know.”

  “You ace?” he asked, belatedly wondering if perhaps sex in general was an unwanted topic or activity for the Droido. For that matter, he couldn’t recall ever hearing if Droidos were in general sex averse. Did all that tech in their heads shut down that part of them? “Its ok if you are.”

  Oz shook xyr head slightly and glanced back at Trig. “No. Its simply that all bodies are beautiful in their own way if you think about it.” Xyr head tilted in thought. “Well not all. I don’t think I’d like to see more of some.”

  “Like Harry’s?” He wasn’t sure where the question came from but damn its origin all the same. Trig didn’t like the idea of Harry’s body on display in the same room as Oz. His stomach twisted when he considered what scenarios that would involve. He’d never considered the Droido’s relationship with the crime boss until now. Did Harry use Oz for more than standard Droido work? Was sex part of that standard? Did he care?

  “Harry likes women,” Oz said matter of factly as if that settled things. “Besides, I think he would view having sex with me like having sex with a tool in his workshop.”

  This brought even more complicated emotions and thoughts bubbling up for Trig. On one hand he was grateful that the old man wasn’t handling Oz like that. On the other, Oz wasn’t a tool, was xe?

  No, xe’s a Droido. That’s it. Right?

  The appearance of a stocky man with a chrome cap on his bald head stepping out of a back room meant he’d have to shove this all aside and focus on the job. “That’s Kato. Let’s go.”