Free Fox Hunt (Fox Meridian Book 1) by Niall Teasdale Page A

see you again, Kit.’ He glanced over at Fox, the smirk widening. ‘I still think it’s really cute, but I also can’t believe Terri did it.’
    ‘She’s evil,’ Fox replied, pouring coffee. ‘You want some of this?’
    ‘Coffee makes me hyper and we are going out tonight. You’re not getting out of it.’
    Fox grumbled and turned to the sofa. Kit watched her, quite calmly, saying nothing. Kit was Teresa Martins’ latest project, expected to hit the market in the summer. Teresa, who was Terri to her close friends, had presented Fox with the computer and software ‘for consumer testing.’ Officially, Kitsune-592.23 was a class 4 artificial intelligence, software with a full capacity for rational thought and creativity, but constrained to operate under the direction of an owner. The constraint was there because society regarded AIs as potentially dangerous, if very useful, tools. The fact that Terri had given Kit the ‘Kitsune’ designation and the appearance of the AI’s avatar suggested that Terri was having a little joke.
    Kit’s avatar was a cute little anime-style figure, a Japanese girl with her features blended toward occidental and then exaggerated. She had a rounded face with a small, pointed chin, a pert nose, huge green eyes surrounded by clearly artificial, very black lashes, and a small mouth which still managed to have quite full, red lips. Her skin was pale and her hair was an ash-blonde mass which formed fox-like ears at the top. She was always dressed in an anime heroine’s style: a short, strapless, white dress cupped her small, but very pert, breasts and had a puffed out, pleated skirt. There was a bolero top with lace epaulets, white collar and cuffs, white knee-high, high-heeled boots, and then there was the thick, white brush which extended from her back. She was a kitsune, a fox spirit, and Terri had been grinning the entire time during the ‘product demonstration.’
    ‘We’ll go out. I’ll grab a shower and change. Give me a chance.’
    ‘I’ve had suitable clothes laid out in your bedroom, Inspector Meridian,’ Kit said.
    ‘Thanks… You see, this is what I mean. I’m not used to this kind of efficiency. I mean, you have to have had the house robot do that before I got here, so you anticipated me needing it and… I’m not used to servants.’
    ‘I’m not your servant,’ Kit replied. ‘I’m your personal agent and, if you work with me, I can be an exceptionally good one.’
    ‘Yeah… I know this. Sorry. The lunar trip came at a bad time. And transit flights make me cranky. Give me local news, please. If there are no urgent messages waiting, I’ll go through them tomorrow.’
    The window sprang to life as Kit walked out of Fox’s view of it, displaying not the outside view but a wall full of her preferred local news channel, IB-62. ‘There are no urgent messages,’ Kit said. ‘I would have ensured such were forwarded to you.’
    ‘Right…’ Fox sank onto the couch beside Sam, took a drink, sighed, and leaned back, closing her eyes. ‘Okay, so I am happy for you to be visible to Sam and Terri. Uh… and I’ll designate others as needed. Can’t think of many…’
    ‘It isn’t like your address book is overflowing,’ Sam commented.
    ‘I’ve only been in this metro for two years–’
    ‘And you know me, Terri, her father… Is there actually anyone else?’ Fox opened her mouth to respond but Sam added, ‘That you actually talk to rather than the ones you dumped.’
    Fox frowned. ‘I don’t make friends easily, or lightly. Where are we going anyway?’
    ‘New club opened in Lexington Tower while you were bouncing around on Luna. “Two Seven Lex” they’ve called it.’
    ‘Weird name.’
    ‘Something to do with Chinese lucky numbers.’
    ‘Seven is traditionally a number considered auspicious for relationships,’ Kit supplied without prompting. ‘Two may represent a doubling or something like “bright.” Two and seven together suggest a