Page 116 of The Fall

“Does it matter?” Mackenzie pulled her head back, clearly not understanding why.

Lusa did not have time to explain why a gang leader, an assassin and the woman who abhorred violence, yet kept them together, might have different parenting styles. “It does. Which mom?”

“Talia.” Mackenzie tilted her head to the side, waiting for more information.

“Okay, then.” Lusa wasn’t going to give it. Mackenzie wouldn’t understand that in any other time and place, Lusa would have been placed in a psych ward, or at the very least, therapy. Instead, she got Talia, telling stories behind each of her trophies and how they were penance for leaving her sister. The message; I’m more fucked up than you, and I found someone.

Lusa doubted the truth of it until Caoimhe. Caoimhe knew. Caoimhe helped mitigate it. And most of all, Caoimhe still wanted her.

Once it became obvious that Lusa wasn’t about to explain, Mackenzie gave up. “Your mom said you would feel weird about it if she taught you, so when we get back, you and Caoimhe will learn how to tie rope. That should make keeping your teeth to yourself a bit easier.” Mackenzie bit the air, clacking her teeth together.

“I’d rather die.” Lusa faced the window in a huff, rocking the chair as she spun around.

“Your moms can teach you then. I understand they’re quite good at it.”

Lusa looked over at Sparx. Sparx raised his hands. “I’m staying far away from this one.”

“That’s a first,” Lusa muttered. “Fine. You can teach us.”

The transport touched down among the low scrub brush. The old part of Tyton could be seen as a hazy blue outline in the distance.

“Why so close? Won’t we be spotted?” Lusa unclipped her flight suit from the frame.

“This tower array died long before I stopped working out here. And this was always a dead zone.” Sparx removed his comms set and flipped the switch to release the hatch. “You’ll see why in a minute.”

Lusa attached her monocle and turned to Mackenzie. “Ready for a hike?”

“That thing looks ridiculous.” She hopped out of the transport. “Let me bioengineer one for you.”

Lusa ignored her and started toward the city, murky water welling up around her feet. Sparx was right. It would have been futile to build a transport corridor here. “Let’s get this over with.”

By mid-afternoon, swamp and grass had given way to hunks of asphalt, destroyed by years of frost heaves and zero maintenance.

“These boots are surprisingly comfortable.” Mackenzie lifted a foot to show Lusa, as if she’d never seen a boot before.

“Were boots not comfortable when you were alive?”

“I admit, I’d never worn boots before. They’re horrifically ugly.”

Lusa stared at one of the most beautiful pair of mukluks her mother had ever made. The thrill in her eyes when Callie brought home just the right seal pelt for them and she had the gall to call them ugly.

Lusa looked her dead in the eye. “If my mom was here, she would slit your throat.”

“Which one?”

Talia would have already killed her. So would Callie, though she would hesitate and be less skilled and therefore it would be more painful. Sesi would make sure she unlocked the vault before she tied her to a chair and made certain she really regretted it before finishing the job. “It doesn’t matter.” Lusa continued walking.

Sparx grimaced before moving on to follow Lusa. “She’s not kidding. You really need to watch what you say around them.”

“How have you survived this long, then?” Mackenzie blew out her cheeks and picked up the pace.

“Callie likes me,” Sparx said proudly.

The dilapidated strip mall somehow looked even worse than the last time she’d seen it. Gulls lined the eaves while swarms of them milled about below as if it were some sort of seagull social event. One nipped at a loose string hanging from Mackenzie’s rucksack.

“Get the fuck away from me,” she yelled, flapping her arms. The bird looked offended and skipped off.

“All that time as a computer and you can’t handle a bird?”