Page 102 of The Fall

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.

Mashö 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?”

Mashö 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 Mashö’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.” Mashö 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.” Mashö 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.

Mashö 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.” Mashö 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. Mashö 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 Mashö.

“Cute.” She held a smaller, older pistol to Kerr’s head. Kerr continued to spew forth expletives. “What’s so special about this one?” Mashö pressed the barrel harder into Kerr’s temple. “I know she’s a ghost.” Mashö 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?”

Mashö 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.” Mashö pressed the barrel so hard against Kerr’s head that her neck looked like it was going to snap.