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“No!” Bryn screamed, and raised her gun.
“Careful,” said the man killing her sister. “I’m just making a point. Look. ” He loosened the bag, and slipped it up just enough that Annie sucked in a deep, agonized breath. “Play nice, Double Trouble. I’m not going to tell you twice. ”
Double Trouble. Oh, God.
The man torturing her sister was Fast Freddy Watson. His smile was like razors, and there was bitter triumph in it. “You fucking lunatic,” she spat. “Take that off of her. Now!”
“Nah, I don’t think so; I love watching you squirm,” he said, and snapped the bag back into place. Bryn watched helplessly as her sister arched against her bonds, sucking plastic as she tried to breathe. “How’s life after death?”
She fired a round right by his head, adjusted her aim. He ducked behind Annie, spoiling the shot. “Let her go,” she said. “She’s your leverage, you asshole!”
“Trust me. It’s not going to kill her. Just fuck her up a little bit. ”
“I swear to God I’ll shoot you. ”
“Gotta shoot her first!”
Behind her, she heard McCallister enter the kitchen. When she glanced back, she saw he’d brought Mercer, and he had his gun at Mercer’s temple. “Let’s call this a draw,” McCallister said. “I pull the trigger and you get no more antide-cay medicine, Freddy. We don’t want that, do we? Let her go. ”
Annie was gagging on the bag. It was misted over from her breath, and Bryn had that double-vision nightmare again. She didn’t blink as she met Freddy’s gaze, just visible over her sister’s head. “I’ll put you down, Freddy,” she said. “Don’t think I won’t. ”
“I know you would,” he said, “but we both know I’ll get up again. ” He shrugged then, and yanked the bag off Annalie’s head. “Whatever. ”
Annie coughed and sobbed and gasped, tears streaming down her face, and Bryn came forward, grabbed Freddy, and shoved him facedown onto the floor. “You got him?” she asked McCallister.
“Got him. ” He put a foot on the back of Freddy’s neck, and kept the gun trained on the real threat. Mercer.
Bryn rummaged in the kitchen drawers, found scissors, and cut Annalie’s ties at the wrists and ankles. Annie pitched forward into her arms, sobbing wildly. “Shh,” Bryn said, and stroked her matted hair. “Shh, baby, you’re okay. It’s all okay. ”
“No, it’s not,” Annie sobbed. “It’s never going to be okay. Never. ”
“She’s right,” Freddy said. His voice was muffled against the floor, but he still sounded creepily sure of himself. “Poor little Annie. Not the first time she’s been through that. Right, Annie?”
“What …” Bryn looked at her sister, scraped the hair back from her face, and looked into her eyes. “Annie?”
Annie whispered, “It happened before. The bag. Coming back. The bag. ” She was shaking all over, and her face was ice white. If Bryn’s eyes were haunted, Annalie’s were blind mirrors, reflecting only panic and horror. “He likes it. ”
Mercer sighed. “I told you not to play with her, Freddy. ”
“I was bored,” Freddy said. “She’s fine. ”
“She’s no good to us insane. ”
“Annie! Annie, look at me. You’re safe now. It’s all right. Understand?” Bryn hugged her again, and got her to stand up with her. Annie’s skin felt damp and cold. Where she’d been tied, it was …
. . . Discolored.
“Annie?”
Her eyes weren’t just blind; they were ever so slightly cloudy. The whites were discolored.
There were livid red bruises on her skin where it had rested on the chair’s arms.
“Annie. Oh, God …” Bryn felt suddenly, violently sick, and had to fight the impulse to throw up. She turned, screamed out her fury, and pointed her gun at Freddy’s head. “You killed her,” she said. “You son of a bitch! You killed my sister! You killed her and you brought her back too many times!” Burning tears blinded her, and she came close, so close to pulling the trigger. That was why there were bruises. Why Annie’s eyes were cloudy, even though she hadn’t been long out of revival.
Because he’d been using up the nanites too quickly by torturing her.
Mercer said, “I needed leverage, Bryn. Something you cared about other than your own survival; I couldn’t count on you not being ridiculously self-sacrificing, what with your military service background. Now you’ve got good reason to work with me. Oh, and please don’t shoot Freddy; it’ll be hours before he’s any good to me again. ”
