Layla, wisely, for once shut the fuck up.
“You’re talking to me?” I asked, despite the obvious signs.
Fanny’s brows arched in a pained,Why am I stuck dealing with dimwits?“Yes, you. Of course I’m talking to you. You’re the one who gave the others immortality. If you can do it for them, you can do it for Magnum.”
“I-I can’t,” I said, without pausing to think. “What you’re suggesting’s absurd.”
“Are you saying you won’t cooperate? You don’t want the deal I’m offering you? I assure you, it’s a good one.”
Layla said, at least only for us this time.
“How can I tell you what I don’t know? I didn’t give”—I laughed nervously—“immortalityto anyone. And I certainly didn’t takepowersfrom anyone else, either. I-I … I mean, that’s not possible.”
Fanny studied me for long beats, during which my heartbeat thundered. Eventually, on a heavy sigh, she said, “That’s one thing you’ll never have that Magnum does. He doesn’t allow believing something isimpossibleto stop him. He decides on a result and then moves entire worlds to achieve it. That’s why he’ll always win over you, every time. You have never stood a chance against him. No matter how many times we do this, he’ll always come out on top.”
I had no idea what to say to that.
“Fanny, be reasonable,” Hunt said. “How can we provide you with information we don’t have? That Joss doesn’t have?”
“Because you know it. Even if it’s somewhere deep inside you, you must know it. Your kind simply aren’t this stupid.”
“Our …kind?” Griffin repeated.
Fanny smiled, sadly now. “Yes, your kind. Not all the way human, remember?” Shetsked again. “How am I expected to do anything with this level of idiocy? Really?”
“If you share what you know,” Hunt countered, “maybe then we’ll understand. And once we do, we can give you the answers you want.”
“We’ve tried that before. You don’t remember, but we have, many times. You always hold back on me in the end. You cheat. No, it’s time to change the dynamic. This clearly isn’t working. We’ve made it too easy for you. Too nice. Too many comforts.”
She scowled and spoke to the chip in her head, “Shut up, Todd. I told you to leave me alone, soobey.”
When her attention landed back on us, something indeed had changed, and I didn’t like it one bit. Her face was … blank, as if the woman felt absolutely nothing at all.
“Todd, stay out of this. We’ll tranq them in a second. They won’t remember anything I’m saying. I have an idea.”
Her features grew animated just to hiss at him, “If you utter a single other word, I’ll rip your dick off—from the inside—drag it up through your intestines to your throat, and make you choke on it. You hear me?”
My friends and I exchanged wide-eyed looks. Griffin guided me behind him once more. Hunt resumed his stance in front of Layla. And Brady cracked his neck to either side, preparing for a fight.
One we had little chance of winning.
But hey, we still had our notes, right? It wasn’t a total loss. We’d learned new material, however difficult it was to wrap our minds around at present.
Todd, apparently, recognized a psycho when he heard one and opted to remain completely silent.
Fanny brought the gun up in front of her, patted it on one of her palms. Then, as if arriving at a decision, she muttered under her breath, “Screw it.”
In whip-fast movements, she flung her empty hand at the Escalades behind her. Some sort of shimmering shield rose around them … completely blocking them from sight.
I gasped. Next, with the speed of a lifelong soldier, she disassembled her gun with a series of fast clicks and slides, flinging all the separate parts, including the loaded magazine, in separate directions. They sailed into the woods at inhuman velocity, reaching no doubt inhuman distances.
Another gasp slipped from my lips, joined by sounds of my friends’ surprise.
Then, oh then … fucking then, Fanny gripped either side of her head—and motherfucking tugged.
Her scalp … split open…
“Oh fuck,” I breathed while my legs wobbled. My insides churned in utter, stark disbelief.
