Page 25 of The Fall

Danica followed her eyes and pulled her collar down farther. “That was how long ago. Nobody cares about that anymore.”

Lusa bit her cheek to keep herself from commenting. Chelsea and Tara were the first to get pregnant and that had started a cascade of young women who had given up hope that a nanite-free man would be found. Long-term partnerships were starting to coalesce. But those deeper connections weren’t for her. She hurt people.

“You came here about Pinga, not me,” Lusa deflected.

Danica looked disappointed. “Right. Pinga left.”

“What?” Lusa almost let the fur slip again. “When?”

Danica held out a scrap of paper. The same one Lusa had seen Chalice pass to her. “She told me to wait an hour and then give you this.”

“And you did?” Lusa took the scrap. It was an address in Tyton, but not the place where they’d made the exchange.

“No!” Danica scoffed. “Pinga’s an idiot. She stole a transport and left ten minutes ago.”

“Goddammit, Pinga.” Lusa dropped the fur and started throwing on clothes.

Danica bit her lip.

“For fuck’s sake, stop gawking and help me pack.” Lusa threw a rucksack at her.

Danica caught it. “Why? If you leave now, you’ll catch her before she makes the last few kilometres on foot.”

“The other transport is in pieces.” Lusa found her monocle and pinged Sparx.

Within minutes, Lusa, Sparx and Siku had assembled in the hangar.

“I know you said not to tell anyone yet, but one, Talia will kill me and two, Siku was already here.” Sparx looked like she hadn’t gone to bed yet.

“I heard the transport take off.” Siku didn’t look pleased. “I told them they were worried about the wrong kid.”

Setting aside the small measure of vindication, Lusa focussed on how to prevent Pinga from walking into such an obvious trap. “How do I get to Tyton without a transport?”

“You know you’re not responsible for her, right?” Sparx leaned against the grease covered tool bench, shoving her hands in her pockets.

“She thinks she’s going on a pussy run and she’ll deal with the consequences when she gets back,” Lusa said. “Do you honestly think that’s why Chalice slipped her the address?”

The colour draining, Sparx looked to Siku for reassurance. Siku held it together better, but his neck stiffened at the implication. If the Chargers knew about Pinga’s fertility, they would either traffic her or torture her to reveal the location of the Lake. “They can’t possibly know about that.”

“And if they do?” Lusa rifled through the supply cabinet. She was ready to go after her on foot if she needed to.

“She’s right.” Sparx cleared away some debris in the way of the rovers. “It’ll take you a day, but that’s faster than we can put the transport back together.”

Lusa shook her head and pointed to a dustcloth behind it. “I’m taking that.”

“My bike?” Sparx looked offended.

Siku shook his head. “You’ll make it there, sure. What about getting back?” He tapped the fuel gauge. “Two of you on the bike will take more and there’s nowhere to fill up between here and Tyton.”

Lusa brushed the hair out of her eyes. “We just have to make it to where she stashed the transport. That’ll carry us both back here.”

“Sure.” Siku pointed to the giant fuel tanks. “But she didn’t fill up before she left. That needle hasn’t moved.”

“Fuck, Pinga,” Lusa swore. “Get me your survival gear while I prep the bike.” She ordered Sparx around like it was her job. “I’ll get Pinga and then we’ll camp while we wait for you outside the city.” Lusa had already pushed past her and wheeled the motorcycle to a clear spot on the floor. She grabbed an impact gun and started pulling apart the cowling.

“What are you doing?” Sparx tried to pull her away.

Lusa threw her off. “I’ll get there faster if I make it lighter.” She tossed a side panel on the ground. “If you get me the gear, you don’t have to watch.”