Interlude
Be Innocent of the Knowledge
How much did Lusa keep from me? Kerr knew she had secrets. She had no right to them after a scant two days. But Masho was insinuating that she did. Kerr tried to catch her breath, but her nose throbbed after Cinder’s beating. Mind games. Just like Chalice, she told herself. “Such as?”
Masho plucked two dental implants from her mouth and threw them on the ground.
They skittered across the bare concrete.
“Her mother is part of a line that was isolated from the rest of the world. And when the virus came, it missed her.” Masho’s eyes glinted like she was divulging a secret over tea and not holding Kerr captive.
“We were isolated as well. New seas cut our mountains off from the rest and we were left to die on our own.” Masho raised her chin.
“Hard lives make hard people.” She removed one contact lens. Then the other.
“What virus? What are you talking about?” Kerr thought she would be learning about Lusa. This had nothing to do with her.
“You really have no idea?” Masho blinked. Her natural eyes had the same deep brown hue as Lusa’s. “It doesn’t matter. What I want is Model 2. And the Adlets.”
“Why? You know they don’t have any tech?” Kerr shifted in her seat, her joints stiffening.
“You may be worth nothing, but they aren’t. Your girlfriend is still fertile. All of them are.”
Kerr fell back into the chair. Lusa having sisters suddenly made so much sense. As did why they were hiding. Of course, Lusa would be secretive. Her, Pinga, all of them would have giant targets on their backs if anyone found out.
“And they’re growing in number.” Masho’s voice sharpened, her vocal implant distorting. “Which means they must have an uninfected male.”
“Uninfe..” Kerr’s forehead hurt. “What are you on about?”
Masho walked away, only to return with a chair that looked like it would collapse under her weight.
She sat on it anyway, crossing her legs in a way that looked both elegant and threatening.
“The reason you can use implants and she cannot – we cannot, is because the virus allows it. But there is a cost.” She produced a flame from some device Kerr had never seen before, lighting a simcig.
“Little robots, made at conception. They build your central processing array. It infects men, they spread it to the women.”
“Twenty-four.” Masho blew a stream of smoke “When was the last woman to have a child after that?”
Kerr waited for the answer. Masho tipped her simcig. “I don’t know?”
“Lusa’s mother. Giving birth to her fifth sister.” She looked Kerr in the eye. “We learned of it from traders.”
Kerr tried to angle her head away from the smoke, but it was futile. “And you think they have a man without the virus?”
“We dwindle while they increase. Time is running out.”
For the first time, Kerr felt a twinge of sympathy for her captor. “What do you want me to do about it?”
Masho took another long drag. “I need to know where they are hiding. You will do this for me.”
Interlude
It wasn’t often that Talia had a chance to observe a girl that had caught her daughter’s eye. After Danica, Lusa hadn’t introduced any of them to her. The experience, and Talia’s wisdom may have bonded them, but it also scarred her for life. The poor girl believed she was dangerous.
Which wasn’t necessarily untrue. They both were. But a mother still wants her daughter to be happy.
And so, perched in the rafters, she got to watch Lusa’s girlfriend be interrogated by this bloviating gobshite rather than doing it herself over a pot of Callie’s stew and a pint of Cam’s ale.
Her lopsided smile spreading across her face, Talia approved when Kerr said fuck you. Masho wasn’t pleased, but Talia couldn’t be more elated. Lusa had found someone who could take a beating and remain defiant. Positively romantic, as far as young love went.
Itching to slaughter Masho right now, Talia remained where she was. That wasn’t the plan. The old Talia would have, but Callie had been good for her. She’d tamed her, like that mountain lion that now dragged deer carcases to the edge of the woods. Absurd, if you thought too hard about it.
And she was grateful. Callie and Sesi had been there for her every step of the way. Every jolt in the middle of the night. Every trader who tried to take advantage. Every loss of control.
They grounded her. Reminded her that they had created something bigger than themselves. Something that needed her focused and stable and alive. She was a mother now.
Mothers protected and nurtured. Mothers did not go on vengeance sprees. Which is why Callie left out who had actually killed Piston when it came time to explain what happened to Sesi.
Perhaps not quite tame.
Because after all this time, after becoming someone else, evolving beyond her singular focus, it felt so good to wear her old skin again.
And down there, bound and unarmed with Alana guiding her through the warehouse complex, was her daughter, walking with her head held high. She didn’t hesitate for a moment when they suggested she act as bait.
The Styx lackeys eyed her with well-deserved scepticism. Talia stretched, testing her muscles. Checking her gear. Making her fingers memorise the location of every tool. If things went sideways, she would kill everyone in this building or die trying.
And if instead, everything went according to plan, Alana would set off a low range repeater ‘nade during the hand-off. With her strength amplifier patch removed and Lusa’s inability to install one, they would be the only ones left unfazed.
Talia would toss Lusa her knife belt and she would take care of the disoriented Styx. Getting Alana and Kerr out would be trickier if reinforcements showed up as they would be dead weight until they got out of range. Knowing the risks, Lusa still agreed.
The corner of Talia’s lip curled upward watching her daughter march. The girl couldn’t pretend to be subdued if she tried. Clearly frustrated at Lusa’s inability to act the part, Alana’s grimace delighted her immensely. She’d been miserable to Lusa for years.
Masho held up her hand. Lusa and Alana stopped at the edge of the bare room.
“Pure hell,” Kerr yelled in disbelief. “What are you doing?”
Masho turned from Alana to Kerr. “You know her?”
Kerr grit her teeth.
Alana mustered her coolest expression. Talia remembered it from when she tried to play tough confronting her about what Lusa had done to Danica. Thankfully Sesi had intervened before they killed each other. “We met. Briefly.”
Talia tried to read Masho’s reaction. Something was off about her. The long jacket hid too much. And if she switched on her Opti to scan her, it would give her position away.
Eyes raked over Alana. “You look the part, but you’re not one of ours.” Masho shifted her stance and put her hands in her pocket. That’s when it clicked. She had no PalmInter. Talia strained her eyes but couldn’t find a scrap of cyberware. She would have to boot up hers to be sure, though.
“We didn’t issue a bounty.” Masho stepped closer toward Kerr. “Few people know we’re looking for her.”
Kerr raised her head to throw more insults. “I knew you were trouble the moment I laid eyes on…”
“In my day, we gagged them.” Alana seemed disappointed. She played the devil well. Or she simply was one at heart, Talia thought.
Masho placed a hand on Kerr’s shoulder. Kerr tried to bite it, but couldn’t reach. If she were her daughter, Talia would be proud of her too.
“It’s no longer your day.” Masho wasn’t buying it. Talia fingered her knives.
Two men appeared with guns drawn. “Alana Baxter,” one of them said after a quick scan. “Dead twenty-nine years ago.”
“You failed to kill me then. What makes you think you’ll succeed now?” Alana sneered. Talia caught the slight shift in her stance. The men lifted their rifles
Raising her hands, Alana cursed. With all the attention on her, Talia dared to restart her Opti. Masho had no biosig. She could figure out what she was doing running the Styx later, but this put a serious crimp in the plan. The ‘nade wouldn’t take her out, but it would still be two against one.
The man closest to Alana pulled the repeater ‘nade from her flak jacket magclip while the other kept his rifle trained on her biosig.
He tossed the ‘nade to the ground where it clattered and echoed against the largely empty warehouse.
Now the plan was fully shot. Talia preferred to improvise anyway.
Reaching for Alana’s pistol, the Styx lackey stopped short at the sound of a dull thud.
They both turned to see the second man collapsed on the ground with a knife in his eye.
The other one instinctively reached for his gun.
He should have finished disarming Alana, because he wound up next to his fallen comrade with her bullet through the back of his head.
Alana whisked about to face Masho.
“Cute.” She held a smaller, older pistol to Kerr’s head. Kerr continued to spew forth expletives. “What’s so special about this one?” Masho pressed the barrel harder into Kerr’s temple. “I know she’s a ghost.” Masho jutted her chin toward Lusa. “But you’re risking a queen for the sake of a pawn.”
Talia swore. She needed to get down from the rafters and it was too far to jump. Alana kept her gun raised. The whine of her IntelArms pistol locking on to the biosig broke the silence. “What do you want?”
Masho scoffed, a strange, hollow sound with her vocal implants. “I want your male ghost.”
“Cam?” Alana was very confused. “Why?”
“I don’t care what his name is. Hand him over or she dies.” Masho pressed the barrel so hard against Kerr’s head that her neck looked like it was going to snap.
“I thought we got rid of the Natalists.” Talia called, but Masho was smart enough to keep her eyes trained on Alana.
“Is that you, Talia? I should have guessed. Who else is married to their knives?” Lusa took a step toward Kerr, only to have Masho aim the pistol at her. “Are you still willing to make that trade?” Masho sang.
“You’re outnumbered,” Alana stated the obvious. “Give us the girl and you can walk away in one piece.”
Talia would do no such thing, but she wasn’t going to blow whatever Alana was negotiating quite yet.
“Oh please.” Masho swung the gun back to Kerr’s temple. “If I die, the girl does too.”
Alana flicked her eyes toward Lusa. Lusa gave the barest hint of a nod. “Fine. Here’s what you want.”
She shoved Lusa, hands still bound, toward Masho, throwing her off balance and forcing Masho to catch her. Alana raised her gun to fire. Talia realised her horrible mistake.
Alana’s gun discharged just as Talia’s knife hit her hand. The bullet sliced through the air toward Masho making as much of a turn as it could in the short distance.
Hitting Kerr squarely in the neck.