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  “I considered it. That was my original plan. A lot has happened since this started though.”

  “I can believe it.” She sighs. “You’re not going to tell me what you two uncovered, are you?”

  “No. If this goes wrong, not knowing will keep you safe. Or safer, anyway. If Angel’s plan succeeds, then you’ll find out anyway.”

  “In that case, I look forward to us celebrating with a bottle of honesty.”

  “So, what are we doing?”

  “The plan is that you, Angel, and five Sweepers are going to enter Jonah’s house and find your way down to the floors below. Angel said you know which room you’re aiming for, but she’ll be leading the way anyway. Once you get there, she’ll take care of negotiation. You’re there as a familiar face. She trusts you to step in and take control of the situation if negotiations don’t go well. Plus, you’re tough enough to survive.” She pauses. “Oh, and she said if things go how she expects them to, you’ll have a simple task to accomplish.”

  “Which is?”

  “She said you’d know what to do when it happens.”

  I glance at Charlie and, when I realise she’s serious, ask, “Are the Sweepers up to date with what’s going on?”

  “They’re hired guns, so no. They know they’re working against a man named Casille di Franco, but not who he really is. Interesting aside, though, these tunnels were built with the blessing of the Four Kings. In that respect, us Dealers have always had a link to the Kings. Or one king as it turns out. After today, we’ll see who holds the power.”

  We arrive at a small ladder and Charlie points at the hatch above. She lowers her voice to a whisper and says, “This is where I leave you. Angel and the Sweepers are above ground, watching the house. Listen. I know you. Far better than Angel does. What you said about keeping me safe? I’m doing the same for you. Whatever happens, trust that, and trust what I’m certain you’re planning to do, okay?”

  I nod and silently climb the ladder. When I push my way out into the light, Angel helps me up out of the hole and says, “I’m glad you came.”

  “In the end, there was really only one choice I could make. Still, eleven seems a little early for this. Should we be going in at night?”

  “Jonah’s wife and daughter are out right now. At night, they’d be home. I’m trying to keep casualties to a minimum. The last thing I need is another revenge-focused person coming after me. I have far too many of those already. You have your Glock, right?”

  “And plenty of magazines.”

  “Good. I don’t see Bert anywhere.”

  “With the way he is, I thought he might complicate things.”

  She nods. “There’s some lightweight body armour behind that rock over there. Slip it on and we’ll head in.”

  Sure enough, Angel has supplied me with a sturdy vest. It’s a good fit too. Once I’m dressed, we head down to the house and Angel once again uses a less than subtle round of kicks to break the front door open. This time, the Sweepers go in first, moving with a highly trained precision as they cut alarms and check out rooms before we enter. The door to the basement is unlocked, so we head straight down.

  On first glance, it’s no different than you’d expect. Boxes piled in corners, cobweb-covered things under dust sheets, and even a rack of expensive looking wine are all present. Knowing which way the complex extends make it easy to find what we’re looking for. A large crate sits against one wall and, when examined closely, has a set of hinges hidden on the side. A couple of hard pulls, and the front of the crate swings open, revealing a door at the back with a call button on the side.

  Angel presses the button, and once the elevator arrives, she gives her first order of the mission. “Two of you stay put up here in case anyone comes in. The rest of you come with me.”

  I follow her into the elevator, and three of the Dealers’ mercenary task force step in in front of us. They turn and train their guns on the doors as they close, and the metal box starts to descend below ground.

  *

  The elevator stops with a bump. “That didn’t take long.”

  “I guess they didn’t build it too far underground,” Angel replies and hits the button to open the doors.

  The three Sweepers fan out into what appears to be a simple waiting room and make a show of checking the doors for obvious watchers. Once Angel and I make it into the middle of the room, they turn in unison and point the guns directly at us. For the first time, I take in the fact they’re carrying assault rifles. Great. How is this protecting me, Charlie?

  Angel smiles and leans closer to me and then whispers, “Here we go.”

  “No chatter,” one of the Sweepers says. “On your knees, hands behind your heads.”

  We comply, and he lowers his gun to use his radio. “Okay, you can head down now.”

  “Roger,” comes the reply.

  The clear leader turns to the security camera in the far corner of the room and says, “We’ve got them, Mister Di Franco.”

  The elevator noisily starts heading back up, and Angel rolls her eyes. “So, how long have the Dealers been planning to turn on me?”

  “They didn’t turn on you,” the Sweeper clarifies. “They were never really on your side to begin with.”

  “I see. I don’t suppose I could buy your contract, could I?”

  “Once a contract is signed, it cannot be outbid.”

  “I thought so. Shame that.”

  “Enough talk, Tanner.”

  The elevator stops back on our floor, and the doors slide open.

  Bang. Bang.

  The bullets slam into the lead Sweeper’s head, and he falls back slowly, discharging his rifle as he falls. Lucky for us, his bullets hit the ceiling alone.

  The other two Sweepers react slower than I expected, and before they can get a clear shot, each has an LV on them. The masked assailants slam the mercenaries against the wall and, in an almost choreographed motion, bring their guns up to their foes’ chins and pull the triggers in unison.

  The Sweepers drop to the floor, leaving a streak of blood to mark their trajectory down the wall like a macabre snail trail.

  Angel gets to her feet first and checks out the assault rifles. “Fingerprint locked. Ah well, we’ll have to stick with what we have. You can get up now, Cassie.”

  I realise my arms are, embarrassingly, still behind my head and drop them to my side before standing up. “The two Sweepers in the basement?”

  “Dead,” one of the LVs replies.

  I eye our saviours and then turn back to Angel. “Now what?”

  “Now we keep moving. This way.”

  Angel checks the door opposite the elevator, and once she’s certain the coast is clear, she starts us off on a run through the halls. Being the last through the door, I just about make out the sound of metal landing on metal somewhere inside the elevator. Stay close, Bert.

  We make our way into another room and stop in our tracks, barely avoiding the bullets that land in the floor in front of us. At the back of the room, Devin Carmichael and Sunglasses Paloma stand guarding a door, guns raised and pointing our way. For all the familiar Southern edge to his words, I can’t help but shiver at the coldness in Devin’s voice as he states, “That’s far enough.”

  The two men step forward, and in a flash, the LVs have moved to meet them. Angel shoves me to the side, and both of our masked colleagues succeed in disarming the scariest men in New Hopeland before taking aim and firing off a series of shots. Neither Devin nor Sunglasses are so easy to kill, though, and manage to duck under the guns and lay into their assailants with punches and throws.

  Angel grabs my shoulder and drags me back out of the room, telling me, “We’ll go the long way.”

  “Diu. Who are those two?”

  “Efficient soldiers who screwed up in a major way and almost got me caught back in California last month. In truth, they likely won�
�t be able to kill Devin and Ethan, but they will definitely keep them busy. Live or die, their debt to me is cleared.”

  “Did they know who they’d have to fight?”

  “Of course. But they also knew it was this or I finish them myself. That would be a much slower process.”

  “If you expect them to lose, then doesn’t that mean you’re expecting us to have to deal with Devin and Ethan ourselves?”

  “No. All we need is time. Make it to the main room, and I win. I’m certain they’ll place the heads of the project there just in case I have intel as to their location. It’s a logical way to try to control my actions. Those people are likely indispensable to the project. We take them, and we have leeway for a safe exit.”

  “That seems a bit…”

  The sound of metal landing heavily cuts me off mid-sentence. Up ahead, Donal O’Brien tears around the corner, wearing full anthro TS gear. Time slows for me as he charges forward, and I notice Angel dart forward, pulling something off her shoulder as she does. As Donal dives at her, she drops into a slide and launches the little metal box at him. It magnetises itself to his TS gear, and the next thing I know, there’s a large flash of light and the sound of electrical static blasts out. I slow long enough as I pass to see the smoke rising from his suit and then speed up again to come in line with Angel.

  “That leaves one more,” she says, and sure enough, as we pass an open door, Lieutenant Hanson leaps out and barrels me into Angel.

  We all hit the floor, and when Angel catches my eye, I mouth, “I got this.” She nods and scrambles to her feet and then runs on. Hanson starts to do the same, and I lunge, dragging her back to the floor.

  “You stopped transmitting to us,” she says, fighting to get on top.

  “I know.”

  Hanson pushes me back and rolls to her feet. I stand up far less gracefully but manage to draw my Glock and point it right at her. She looks at me and says, “I have faith you’re not doing something stupid. Or not more stupid than normal, anyway.”

  “I wish I did.”

  “It doesn’t have to go down this way, Cassie. You can still make the right choice here.”

  I sigh. “There was only ever one choice I could make.” I swing my gun upward and shoot out the lights above Hanson, causing her to turn her head away and guard her eyes. That gives me the chance to dash forward and swing a hard right into her head, dropping her to the floor. I look down at her unconscious body and say, “I’m sorry,” and then run to catch up with Angel.

  She enters a room, gun drawn, and I hear her say, “Hello King.”

  I slow to a stop and, pushing up against the outside wall, sneak towards the room. When I look back over my shoulder, I have company. It’s now or never.

  Turning quickly, I enter the room and bring my Glock up. I aim it straight at Casille di Franco. He hears the movement and glances over his shoulder. I notice the confusion on his face as he starts to back up, moving his gun between me and Angel. I have to time this right.

  “Where are the others?” Angel asks.

  Casille smiles. “Once they knew what was going on, most of them scattered to safe locations. I’m one of the only Council members left in the facility.”

  “That’s fine,” Angel replies. “You were the main one I was after anyway.”

  “Is that so? You do know I wasn’t the first to hold this position, don’t you?”

  “Lower the gun, Casille,” I say, keeping my voice low.

  He looks at me and I flick my eyes over my shoulder. He follows and, seeing we’re not going to be alone for long, backs himself to the semi-circular table taking up most of the back end of the room. “This isn’t a kill the ruler to assume their spot sort of role. Disposing of me won’t change anything.”

  Angel shrugs. “This was a show of power more than anything. But now I know you’re not the only one here, I can indulge myself a little. I do so hate leaving things unfinished.”

  Bang.

  My shot catches Angel in the knee, and she drops, turning the gun towards me as she does so.

  With a loud roar of, “Caw,” Bert leaps from his position on the ceiling and lands on her arm. His weight forces her hand down as she pulls the trigger. Bert clamps his beak down on her hand and, with a loud rip, launches the gun across the room, bringing two fingers with it.

  Angel lets out a guttural scream and clamps down on the remaining stubs with her other hand, trying to stop the flow of simulated blood. Quick as a flash, Casille is in front of her, his gun pressed to her head. She turns to face him and starts laughing. “You won’t kill me, Casille.”

  “No?”

  “No. See, I know there are two reasons you never kill anyone yourself. One is to avoid getting your hands too dirty to keep up this charade of yours. The other is that you can’t. You aren’t like me or even the detective over there. For all your power, you don’t have the stomach for it.”

  Casille smirks and replies, “My father did though. He was smart too. That’s why you killed him, wasn’t it?”

  “Exactly. I’ll be fair; he never once begged for his life. He died as well as anyone who has ever opposed me. But die he did. By my hand.”

  Casille’s eyes glaze over, and I swear I can feel the temperature in the room drop. “You’re right. I could never kill another living person. I’ve seen enough of that over the years. The thing is, you’re a machine. You’re not a person.”

  “Ah.”

  Bang.

  Angel’s head snaps back and her body follows. She hits the floor with a thud and turns her head to face me, synthetic blood pouring from the open wound. “You really don’t disappoint…”

  Bang. Bang. Bang. Bang.

  Each successive shot removes another chunk of her face, until all that’s left is a vaguely human shell, electrical sparks flying from the remains as it lies in a pool of red liquid. It’s not the same as real blood. Not when you’re looking for differences.

  “Seven, nine, thirty-one, D.”

  I know that voice.

  “Caw.” Bert slips into a standby pose.

  “Jonah?” I say, but as I turn my head, something hard hits me.

  Just before everything goes silent, I hear Casille yell, “Wait!”

  *

  Light.

  Bright enough to hurt.

  I groan and cover my eyes, forcing myself into a sitting position. Slowly, the room comes into view. I’m sitting on a very basic-looking bed. The only other things in the room are a toilet and sink. Inspecting the door, I realise I’m in a cell. And my head is still hurting from whoever hit me. “Diu.”

  Outside the room, I hear someone say something muffled, and seconds later, the door opens. Hanson steps in. She sits down against the wall, watching me. “I’ve changed my mind,” she says, rubbing her head. “My advice to Lori is to not piss you off.”

  I nod at the locked door. “Bit much, eh?”

  “Yeah, I told them this wasn’t necessary, but that decision was above my pay grade. Still, it could have been worse. If Casille hadn’t stopped Jonah…” She shrugs and then says, “Anyway. Can I get you anything?”

  “The time would be a good start.”

  “About six in the evening.”

  “I’ve been out for a few hours then.”

  “Yeah.”

  “Any chance of coffee, dinner, and the key to this cell?”

  She smiles. “How about coffee, half a chicken sandwich, and nice try?”

  “That’ll have to do. You lied to me though. About the King’s Guard.”

  Hanson opens the door and waves at someone who passes her a mug and a plate, which she, in turn, passes to me. “No, I didn’t. I may have danced around your questions over the years, but I’ve never once lied to you. I make a point of that these days. Now Donal, he told you I wasn’t KG, so he definitely lied to you. If you see him, feel free to take it out on him.�
��

  “Is Donal okay? I thought…”

  “He’ll be fine. Whatever that thing Angel hit him with was, it was effective. He’s got a few burns that’ll need some time to heal, and I’ve not got a clue how he’ll explain it to Hoove, but he’ll recover. It’s weird though.”

  “Weird how?”

  “The box had multiple settings. Any of the top three would have killed him. I don’t get why she didn’t go all out. She’s never seemed like the sort to underestimate people’s strength.”

  I chomp down on the sandwich and take a mouthful of something that smells very caffeinated. “Can I ask you something? Without you dancing around the answer.”

  She shrugs. “I owe you that at least.”

  “Angel told me you killed Casille’s mom. Is that true?”

  Hanson sighs. “This would have been back in early 2053. I was working for the police department there, but not as a full-time member of staff. I was sent to California specifically to track Angel down. All the department knew was I was aiming to capture her, and they needed to accommodate me. She was already causing them a lot of trouble, so they were more than willing to let me do what I needed to.”

  “Who were you tracking her down for?”

  “Dean Hollister. He’d made some deal with the military, and the group I was part of decided I was a good fit for the job. He’d heard rumours about Angel, and after talking to Jonah, he knew an AI like that would be useful for his bigger plan. Jonah was happy to build him another one, but he wanted to try recovering Angel first. The best way to do that was to target one of her people. Arthur di Franco was a logical choice because he was a mid-level criminal at best but had ambition. If we could get close to him, that would give us a way in. The plan had been to work it so we could drive him upward and ride the coattails and then use him to get what we wanted.