2400 AD

“Good to have you back,” Gideon said.

Sweat trickled down Callum’s brow and face. He couldn’t say anything.

“It gets easier.” Gideon helped him remove the helmet.

He tried to get up but found his legs heavier than the rest of his body. Gideon pushed him back into the seat.

“Five minutes. Relax for five minutes while your body returns to normal.”

“Jesus!”

Gideon made a joke, an old one, but relative to the situation. “Talk to me, I’m closer.”

Callum rested his head against the back of the recliner. “What were we doing on my street?”

Gideon folded his arms across his chest and leaned back. “It was a straight forward observer mission. We needed to test your resilience. Needed to know if you’d observe the rules.”

“But why my street?”

“You needed to see what Xenocon is capable of doing. This is Xenocon’s way of saying they are onto you. You’ve crossed the line and there is a price to pay.”

Callum tilted his head to face Gideon. “Were there casualties during this mission?”

“We lost an Android.”

“Why were those people firing at us? How did they know we were coming?”

“They’re scared. Apathetic. Ruled by fear. They retaliate the only way they know how. Xenocon controls all of them. How did they know we were coming? I don’t know. Okay, you can get off that seat now. Oh, and when you get to your apartment, contact me.”

“Contact you? You want to know if I reached the apartment safely, right.” Callum offered a cheeky smile. “Or maybe you don’t want me to wonder off alone into the night maybe?”

Gideon frowned. “Callum, just contact me.”

***

Callum felt light-footed as he made his way back to his apartment. Maybe it was the afterglow of being immersed. Maybe it was Gideon who made him feel that way, he couldn’t be sure. The mission could have ended his life if he had revealed himself when prompted. With all the fancy equipment in this facility, he wondered if they knew he wanted to reveal himself. Gideon would have censured him he was sure of that.

Gideon. The man seemed to have a certain cogent power over people. Convincing. He felt safe with Gideon around and the physical attraction was overpowering. He hadn’t experienced matters of the heart for six years and hadn’t been interested in anyone else since that morning when he woke up and found himself alone.

The day his dreams shattered.

He should have been wrapped in the arms of his husband. Warm. In bed. Spooning. Maybe even exploring each other’s bodies.

This morning there was no husband.

He called out. Waited for an answer. Naked, he searched the house from top to bottom, called across the garden, even tried to contact him by holophone.

He whipped open the closets and immediately raised an eyebrow, then stepped back.

“What?”

Wide eyes stared in disbelief at the empty closet. Only the smell of Jason’s Marbert Man deodorant remained.

He checked the garage.

Jason’s hoverbike was gone.

“What?”

His face twisted into a marble fresco of pure agony. He punched Jason’s number into his phone and waited as the ringtone continued into voice message.

“Is this a joke? Because if it is you’re not funny. Hologram me as soon as you get this message. No. Phone me right away. Like now. Where are you Jase? What the hell just happened? You couldn’t have been kidnapped. You couldn’t have gone on holiday without me. No, Jase. I just checked your closet…” and this is where he raised his voice to an explosive shout. “…and all your fucking clothes are gone. Everything. Plus your bike - just everything. This is not a case of a missing person, Jase. You’ve walked out on me. Any fool will know that. I need to know why, Jase. Why couldn’t you come to me about this? So phone me. Let’s at least talk. I need you. I love you, Jase. Talk to me.”

By the time the call ended, Callum was in the bathroom, staring into the mirror at a face white with fear and rage and anxiety.

“What?”

His hands trembled as he placed his holophone on the ceramic washbasin.

The number ten filled his thoughts.

Ten years of marriage filled with ups and downs. But the gist was to remain together through thick and thin. For richer or poorer. They had a happy marriage. Not a harsh word spoken, ever. No violence. Just conversation. Maybe a difference of opinion here and there. Nothing drastic. Nothing to cause a walkout.

“What?”

At some point Callum must have realized that it wouldn’t do him any good to stand in front of a mirror muttering “What” after every thought.

Jason was gone.

And there was nothing he could do about it.

He never saw him again and after two years filed for a divorce.

Gideon stirred up feelings that Callum had suppressed all these years. If he was to succeed as a team member he’d have to suppress those feelings. He knew nothing about Gideon. Didn’t know if he was gay, straight, bisexual, and transsexual. Was he married? Did he have children? Not knowing was worse than a failed gauntlet. He stood in front of his apartment, pressed the button and the door opened.

They must have sensed him coming. The moment the door opened both dogs leaped up and began barking and yelping and dancing around.

“What the hell? Where did you guys come from?”

Aramis, the ginger Yorkshire Terrier spun around in circles like he was chasing his own tail. Jenkins, his golden-brown Rhodesian Ridgeback, leaped up and place his paws and full weight on his chest.

Callum fell over and jostled with both dogs. This is what the gauntlet was all about. Save my dogs? It was a miracle that both were alive. He was over the moon because they had become his constant companions over the years. His best friends.

After a while playing with them, he told them to quieten down and relax. Both took a seated position and watched him as he spoke into his phone.

“Gideon.”

The phone immediately spread a ray of light around the room and Gideon appeared lifelike before him.

“I see you’re beaming with joy.”

“I’m over the moon. Thank you. Thank you.”

“They’ll be well looked after in our animal pen when you’re away during the day. Oh, and if you press the button on the right side of your bathroom, a panel will open and they’ll have access to a small garden designed especially for dogs and cats where they can do their business.”

“I don’t know what to say.”

“Then don’t say anything. There’s a meeting I have to attend right now. Get some rest. I’ll see you in the morning in my office.”

***

The Tango helped Gideon forget.

Sometimes he imagined dancing with Paul. They danced slowly and smoothly. Paul was strong and determined, took long steps without any up and down movement.

Now Gideon wished he were dancing with Callum, their pelvis and upper bodies in close contact. Flexing their hips. Lips touching like feathers falling. Their eyes merging in wanton abandonment.

Suddenly he stopped.

The music stopped.

His entire body trembled.

He would never dance the tango with Callum. Only he knew the reason. A secret he had kept to himself all these years.