CHAPTER 25

Waking up next to two gorgeous lesbians should have been the stuff of fantasy, but not this early in the day. Not when they were chattering away like two lyrical birds on a wire, just begging to be shot.

“Go back to sleep,” Lexi said.

“Are we bothering you?” said Callie. “We thought you were awake.”

“Why would you think that?”

“You groaned,” said Riva. “We asked, ‘Lexi, are you awake?’ And you made a groan that sounded like a yes.”

Lexi sighed and struggled upright. The grubby underground bunkroom was tiny, and each slim bunk barely fit its single occupant. “If you want to hear a groan that sounds like a yes, crawl into bed with me.”

The radiator plinked. It was still blazing, its bars bright orange, and a comfortable heat filled the room. That had been Callie’s idea, of course. Lexi’s suggestion for keeping warm would have been a lot more fun.

“You shouldn’t sleep with your makeup on,” said Callie. “You look like somebody gave you two black eyes.”

Tempting though it was to bludgeon Callie with a pillow, Lexi refrained for Riva’s sake. She was especially pretty this morning, her Mohawk down and its pink strands swept to one side. “Did you rest well, Latour?”

Riva’s mascara-smudged eyes crinkled at the corners, intensifying Lexi’s urge to hug her. “Just fine. With you two here, I wasn’t even a little bit scared of the dark.”

“You’re too cute,” said Callie. “I might have to steal you from Lexi.”

“She’s not mine,” said Lexi. “So go right ahead. Give her a passionate good-morning kiss.”

Callie glanced at Riva’s lips, blushed, and bounded to her feet. “Time to take a shower. I’ll check on Amity too, see if she’s better.”

“Tell her I said good morning.” Riva watched, smiling, as Callie departed the room. “And how did you sleep, Lexi?”

“I had nightmares,” Lexi said. “But seeing Raffo always does that to me.”

“Did you hear Callie crying last night?”

“What?” Lexi’s cheerfulness evaporated. “No.”

“I don’t know if she was dreaming or awake, but she was definitely crying.”

“Well, she did kill someone yesterday.” Lexi wriggled down the bed and scooped her clothes from the floor. She took her time dressing until—zipper drawn, buttons fastened—she had no choice but to look at Riva again. “She’s not a happy kid, okay? You already knew that. Don’t show me that accusing face.”

“I gather she doesn’t have a lot of friends.”

“Everyone likes Callie, but no, she doesn’t have what you’d call friends. For one thing, she’s not always easy to track down. She’s like a stray dog. There’s a few places she haunts, people pet and feed her, but you can’t ever be sure where you’ll find her day to day.”

“A stray dog? That’s an awful comparison.”

“But it fits. And even though you want to adopt every stray you see, you eventually realize you can’t. That’s why she doesn’t have close friends. It’d take too much emotional investment.”

“I’d be her friend if I had the chance. Having just met you both, it’s sad to think you’re going to be leaving so soon.”

Awkward subject. To buy time, Lexi popped a mint, sucked its coating off and chewed it into powder. A knock at the door rescued her from responding. “I’ll get that.”

Lexi found Raffo lurking in the corridor, his looks unimproved by sleep—assuming, of course, that he slept. “What’s up, Raff?”

“You and I need to talk.”

“Let me guess. Callie clogged the pipes.”

“This is serious, I’m afraid.”

When Raffo described something as serious, he meant it. Lexi leaned back into the room. “I’ve got to take a walk, babe. You going to be okay?”

“Sure.” Riva faked a smile. “I’ll fix breakfast.”

That was one of the worst things about Lexi’s chip—seeing all the unhappy emotions she had no business knowing about. “Get Callie to lend you a hand, all right?”

She rejoined Raffo in the corridor, and they set off without apparent direction. “What’s the deal?” Lexi said.

“I had a phone call twenty minutes ago,” Raffo said. “Rather than expect you to rely upon my own memory, I recorded it.” He set a phone in Lexi’s palm. “Listen, my dear, and then explain to me what the hell is going on.”

Lexi tapped the screen.

“Hello?” Raffo, answering the call.

“Raffo.” The deep, rhythmic voice of Samuel Brink, better known to the hapless people of Foundation as Prince Vassago. “Where’s Lexi Vale?”

A short pause. Raffo should’ve known better—Vassago could read more from a pause than most people could from a full sentence.

“Raffo. You have a duty to me.”

“I don’t know, boss. I haven’t seen her for years.”

“Callie Roux’s van was seen in the Rail District yesterday. I’m informed the two women are together. They didn’t come to you?”

“No, boss.” Raffo’s reply was quicker this time, but there was no missing the tremor in his voice. “I can send some people out looking if you want.”

“She’s shrewd as they come. She won’t go to somebody she doesn’t trust completely, someone who might even be stupid enough to lie to me. And I can’t think of anyone in the Rail District who fits that description but you.”

Lexi glanced at Raffo. His battered face was unreadable, but—she crept inside—it was jittery concern that consumed him, not guilt. However this conversation had ended, he hadn’t sold her out.

Raffo’s voice piped again from the phone, hoarse with anxiety. “If I see her, my prince, what do you want me to do?”

“Tell her to get out of Foundation. The shut-ins are coming for her. Several of her friends have betrayed her already, and others are waiting on an offer. If she whines, remind her that she’s one of my best investments. I don’t like to see my investments put at risk.”

“Tell her to leave? But boss—”

Vassago cut in. “Has Contessa tried to contact you?”

Shit. Lexi had forgotten about Contessa. The self-styled Queen of Foundation would flip her shit over this. She and Lexi had a special working relationship. One that Lexi wasn’t expected to walk away from.

“No. Should I expect her to?”

“Yes. And I need you to lie to her just as you’ve lied to me.”

The recorded conversation ended. Lexi passed back the phone.

An uneasy silence ensued. Raffo waddled. Lexi prowled. They glanced sidelong at each other. The silence continued. Raffo cleared his throat. Lexi adjusted her collar. Raffo licked his lips.

“How long is this fucking corridor?” Lexi pointed down its endless darkened length. “We’ve been walking forever.”

“No idea. It’s part of a maintenance grid that runs under the entire district.”

Lexi stood facing him, hands in her pockets, and stared him down. “What do you want to know?”

“A crumb of truth, perhaps?” Raffo held out a cracked palm, his seven fingers bent upward. “A morsel of confidence, something to explain why our high and mighty master is shitting bricks on your behalf? If shut-ins are hunting you, why didn’t you go to Vassago?”

“Raff…” Lexi probed his thoughts a little deeper. His mind was actually quite attractive—animated, vibrant, sparking with an earnest desire to help, warmed by nostalgic fondness for her. Much nicer than the exterior would suggest. “I’ve kept something from him.”

“Like what?”

“Like the fact that I have the only working suicide chip. I’m unique, baby. A one-of-a-kind cyborg. I can’t tell you what the chip really does, but when Vassago and the others find out, they’ll be very pissed off.”

“So you’ve betrayed him, is that what you’re saying?”

“Not exactly. Maybe I played by my own rules, but I’ve still gotten him everything he wanted. There’s peace in the inner districts, and I made a lot of people rich in the process.”

“Yourself included.”

The pointed observation gave her pause. Here was a heavily disfigured man who chose to skulk inside disused tunnels, a gangster who embraced his grotesque image because it gave him street cred. Why else had Lexi been drawn to Raffo and his crew if not because of her instinctive desire to be among misfits?

And as a forbidden cyborg, wasn’t she now a pariah herself?

“Listen.” Lexi took out her wallet. “I’m getting out of the city, just as Sammy wants. I know things might get a little hot around here, so take this.” She peeled off half the notes she owned and forced the wad into Raffo’s claw. “You might need it.”

Raffo squinted through the half-light at the money. “This is more cash than we get from our business in three months.” He riffled the notes. “Why give it to me?”

“You lied to him. We both know that’s not easy.”

“Of course I lied. He’s the chief, but you and me go back further.” Raffo folded the notes before tucking them into his pocket. “I can’t afford to refuse this, but let’s say it was for services rendered, shall we? Accommodation, garage rental, that sort of thing. My conscience winces at taking money simply for keeping my word.”

“Deal.” Lexi stuck out her hand. After a moment’s delay, Raffo shook it. “Funny. All these years refusing to touch you, and this feels just like any other hand.”

Grinning, Raffo wiped his palm on his shirt-front. “And to my horror, yours feels disgusting.”

Lexi laughed. “Fuck you.”

* * *

Amity pushed her plate across the plastic table. “I don’t want this.”

“You gotta eat.” Zeke looked meek but hopeful, like a tiny animal trying to befriend its natural predator. “I know you ain’t feeling so great, but you need it. Force some down.”

“If I eat, I’ll vomit. And I refuse to vomit.”

Zeke held out a fork. “C’mon. Here comes the airplane.”

Amity narrowed her eyes.

“This is ground control,” said Callie. “Conditions too hazardous. Abort flight. Return immediately to the tarmac.”

On the opposite side of the table, Riva and Lexi laughed, and Amity gave a grudging smile. “One bite.” She allowed Zeke to put the fork in her mouth. Adorable.

Breakfast had been surprisingly enjoyable, despite the dining venue: an ancient vault filled with rusting, unidentified machine parts. After a quick investigation, Callie had deemed the scrap to be useless, though with Raffo’s permission she’d pocketed a weathered cube with prongs on one side. An auto part, Callie had told them. It could have been a sex toy for all Lexi knew.

“I hope Kade made it back.” Callie swung on her chair, ate from her plate and talked all at once—it was even money whether she’d choke on her food or fall over first. “Do you think he could convince Nikolas to help Min?”

Amity shook her messy blonde head. “The Commander has spoken.”

“You don’t have to listen to him, though, right? You could still help us.”

“Don’t force her to choose loyalties,” said Riva. “Besides, she needs to stay by Lexi’s side. And Lexi certainly can’t go.”

Nobody seemed inclined to disagree with that. Not even Lexi. In fact, it had begun to dawn on her just how much trouble she was in. It was one thing to have oddballs like Min and Nikolas trying to scare her out of town, but when even Vassago said it was time to run…

“So, I’m in a mood to save my ass,” Lexi said. “Assuming we allow time for Callie to rescue Minnie, what’s the earliest we can split?”

“You could leave Foundation today,” said Amity. “It’s a little earlier than we had planned, but time isn’t on your side. You all need to come to a decision among yourselves.”

Zeke raised his fork. “I vote for today. After that raid on my lounge, my life here is a fucking lost cause anyway.”

Lexi nodded. “I’m with you.”

“Works for me,” said Callie. “I’ll drop in at Bunker One, grab Min from the University and high-tail it back. A quick service of the van, and we’re on the road by late afternoon.”

“I’ll come with you to the University,” said Riva. “I want to help.”

What little color Amity had regained drained from her face. “What?”

“I know what you’re thinking. I don’t have the skills you four do. I’m the weakest of us physically. But even so, I can make a difference.” Riva smiled at Callie, whose mouth hung open, showcasing the last of her breakfast. “I’d hate you all to think I’m just the girl who cooks and cleans.”

“I’m sorry, but no,” said Amity. “I order you to come back with us.”

“I told Nikolas my intentions. He said he wanted me to reconsider, but I insisted, and so he finally gave his blessing.”

“I don’t care what he says. You aren’t going.”

“Hey, don’t boss her around,” said Callie. “She makes her own decisions, okay? And she’s coming with me.”

Riva gave Callie a shy smile. Under her asymmetric pink bangs, her blue-gray irises were bright and untroubled, evoking the quiet clarity of a cloudless winter sky. “Thank you, Callie. And Amity, please don’t worry about me. We’ll ask Kade to join us.”

“Good idea.” Amity latched on to the suggestion with as much enthusiasm as Lexi had the night before. “Go to him first and explain in detail what you have in mind.”

“But…” Zeke jittered in his chair, as agitated as Lexi had ever seen him. “Look, I want Min out of there too, but this is so fucking risky.” He gave Callie a pleading look. “I still remember how you used to swagger into my lounge as a little kid, cheeky as all fuck. You’d hit on the women, make ’em laugh. They thought you were the most adorable fucking thing. We all did. Hell, you still are.”

Callie blushed. “C’mon.”

“But it’s true. You’d take some junk out of your satchel, old chips and mods, and I’d give you money and a hot meal. You kept coming back. You grew older. The women stopped cooing and started swooning instead. But you never stopped being a sweetheart. The most honest smuggler I ever met. You give me a fair price, never let me down, always keep your end of a deal.”

“Of course. You’ve always been good to me too.”

“But that’s not true. I’ve ripped you off every chance I got. I’ve shortchanged you on so many fucking deals, and you just shrug and trust me. And now you’re going out there today, risking it all. If we lose you, I’ll never get to pay you back.” Zeke broke eye contact and stared at the wall. “What kind of—” His voice broke. “What kind of fucking world would this be without you in it?”

As Riva comforted Zeke and Amity awkwardly offered Callie a tissue, Lexi focused on eating the last of her breakfast. She’d lost her appetite, but she couldn’t look these people in the eyes right now. Not if she wanted to maintain her tough reputation.

* * *

Raffo flicked through a set of keys while Lexi and her crew suffered the freezing air. The high, skewed walls of the alley blocked the morning sun, and frost sprouted from the weeds that wound through the brickwork. In her big black coat, Amity seemed unaffected by the cold, while at the other extreme, Callie hopped from boot to boot, bare legs bristling with gooseflesh.

“Here it is.” Raffo flourished a small key. “And may I say, it’s been a pleasure having you.”

“The pleasure was unexpectedly mutual,” said Amity. “You may be an amoral gangster, but you have a very civil manner.”

“And you may be a sanctimonious Open Hand stiff, but you have very persuasive friends.” Raffo inserted the key in the lock. “Damn thing always sticks. Give me a second to get the door open.”

The man waiting behind the garage door held a shotgun. “Hi,” he said, pointing the gun at Lexi. “Don’t move.”

Two more figures emerged from the darkened garage. One was a leather-clad, motorcycle-booted, shaven-headed ugly bastard wielding a semi-automatic. The other…

Well, how about that. It was that oily fucker the Viper, his face twisted in what he probably believed was a tough-guy smirk.

“How long were you waiting in there?” said Raffo.

“Too fucking long.” The Viper flourished a chipped samurai sword. “You want to keep out of this, Raff. Ooze back into your hole.”

He whistled. Four more armed gangsters emerged into the alley behind them. One loomed above the others—that hulking moron, the Squid.

Raffo stared at the approaching thugs. “Is the Zookeeper really so desperate that he’d make war on Vassago?”

“Well, his name is the Zookeeper,” said Zeke. “Not the mark of a guy with good judgement.”

The Viper scowled. “Watch your mouth. You’re the Zeke who runs the body-modder lounge, aren’t you?”

“Nah, that’s some other Zeke. I’m the Zeke that fucks your mother.”

Lexi snickered. “Take the Taipan seriously. He’s a real bad man.”

“It’s the fucking Viper!” The Viper growled. “You know that. Don’t fuck around.” He paced while tapping the blade against his palm. “You’re coming with us, Lexi. We need you for a trade.”

“You loser.” Callie sneered at the Viper, who sneered right back. “Working for the shut-ins. How pathetic can you get?”

“Fuck off, Roux. We’ve got to pay up to some guy called Reed. Otherwise, the boss says, our ass is mincemeat.”

“Your collective ass?” said Lexi. “Or your ass, singular?”

“I ain’t fucking singular. Who the fuck told you that? I got a girlfriend. You saw her.”

The gangsters in the alley menaced their way closer, the Squid lumbering at their head, while the Viper continued to pace. Raffo and Riva seemed terrified, Callie looked pissed, Amity remained calm, and Zeke…well, like Lexi, he was having trouble keeping a straight face.

“Do you know who we are?” said Amity, toneless.

“Uh, let’s see. Callie Roux. That Zeke guy. Raffo the Mutant. Lexi Vale. Pink-Hair Girl. Trench-Coat Bitch. Is that right? Did I get that right?”

“I’m Amity White.”

“Oh,” a gangster said, very softly.

The Viper glanced at the Squid. “That mean anything to you?”

“I think she’s the psycho Open Hand enforcer.” The Squid eyed Amity with evident respect. “Their best heavy. She’s the one who took out the Inferno last fall.”

“Shit, you were the one who iced Inferno?” said Lexi. “He was over four hundred pounds of muscle. I always assumed he overdosed on roids.”

“Fine, whatever,” said the Viper. “If she’s going to cause trouble, just shoot her now. Jesus. We’re not some fucking supervillains that’ve got to talk this shit to death first.” He stopped pacing and leaned against the van.

“Hey!” The way Callie exploded, the Viper might as well have taken out a photo of Mineko and pissed on it. “Don’t touch my fucking wheels.”

“They’re nice, aren’t they? Can’t wait to get the keys off you.”

Callie stormed into the garage and shoved the Viper hard against the van. The gunmen switched their aim, but if Callie noticed, she didn’t seem to care. “Like hell you’ll get my fucking keys.”

“Don’t touch me, you fucking dyke.” The Viper pushed Callie back. “Was your ass always so fucking big, or have you been comfort eating?”

“You dumb fuck. Your name isn’t even the Viper. It’s Ralph Jackson, and you once got so drunk at a bar you shit yourself in front of everyone.”

“Back the fuck off, Roux. I don’t want to have to kill you. It’d be bad for my reputation.”

“What reputation?” said Zeke. “You mean the one you have for shitting your pants?”

The Viper snarled. “That’s enough. Next person says anything, they’re dead, okay? You’re all disposable. Even Lexi fucking Vale.”

“Idiot,” said Amity. “Kill her, and the Codists will come for you next.”

The Squid cracked his knuckles. “Let me take a shot at White. Everyone knows she’s a bad motherfucker. If I take her clean, it’ll be good for my rep.”

The Viper nodded. “If you want. But don’t take too long about it.”

The Squid’s stupid face contorted into an even stupider grin. “I heard they call her the Bloody Hand, because when she kills a man, she puts her hand in his blood and leaves a palm print on the nearest wall.”

“I don’t remember ever doing that,” Amity said. “But it’s a compelling idea, so perhaps I should adopt it. I’ll start with you.”

“Please, stop,” Riva said. “There has to be a better resolution to this.”

“I agree,” said Raffo. “Vassago will know it was you boys behind this. The only way you can come out alive is to tell your boss Lexi wasn’t here.”

“Shut your ugly mouth.” The Viper smirked. “Worst thing your gang could do is breathe on us. Squid, hurry the fuck up.”

The Squid shambled over to Amity, looked her up and down, and grinned. “Just hand-to-hand, okay? No guns.” He patted the pistol on his hip. “That means I won’t use this.”

Amity stared at him with contempt. “I understood what you meant, you troglodyte.”

The gangsters formed a curious semi-circle, jostling for the best view. “Get the bastard,” said Zeke, as enthusiastic as if he were Amity’s hype man. “Fuck him up, Ammie!”

The Squid closed in, his fist shaped into a wrecking hammer. He might as well have tried to punch a waterfall. Amity slipped the blow and, with a violent burst of speed, drove her elbow into the Squid’s solar plexus.

The gangsters released a sympathetic groan. “Jesus,” said Zeke.

The Squid wheezed and pawed the air. Amity’s right hook burst open his left eyelid. He roared, only to be silenced by an elbow strike to the face—a sickening crack. Then a wet moan as blood gushed into his mouth, pouring down his chin like scarlet vomit.

“Fuck!” said the Viper. “Squid, are you okay?”

The Squid growled, lurched, and grappled Amity in a bear hug. She reached for his hip and took the handle of his pistol.

“Riva, Zeke, get down,” said Lexi. “Get—”

Amity drew the gun and fired.

The gangster holding the shotgun dropped, his face a bloody hole. A second later, the semi-automatic rattled. Amity turned her living shield, and the Squid’s jacket wept blood while his body convulsed beneath the impact of countless bullets.

Callie pounced like a wildcat. Her snap kick knocked the sword clean from the Viper’s grip. He fumbled for his pistol. Before he could free it from its holster, Callie swept his feet out from under him. He yelped. Tumbled to the cement.

Gangsters scrambled. Gunfire popped. Zeke leapt at Riva, covering her as he brought them both to the ground. Somebody shouted. A knife flashed. The Squid fell, still twitching.

Amity snarled. Whirled on a second opponent. The Viper tried to stand. Callie smacked him in the face, sending him back onto his ass. A gangster trained a pistol on her.

Shit. Callie’s back was turned. She hadn’t seen it.

“Callie!” Lexi rushed at the gunman, who spun and fired. Her torso twisted, an unconscious reflex. Something whistled by her cheek.

Lexi charged onward, caught the gangster’s face in her palm, drove him hard against the wall of the alley, and smashed his head into the bricks as she gouged out the contents of his mind.

The hollowed gangster went limp. His gun smoked in his hand. Shit, she’d dodged a fucking bullet…

“Riva!” Callie. Screaming.

Lexi spun. A weedy, machete-waving gangster loomed over Riva. She huddled, hands over her head. Callie was struggling to reach her, but the Viper had seized her by the ankle.

The gangster raised the machete. Lexi’s next heartbeat drove through her like a rail spike. Callie shrieked again. Amity shouted. Lexi moved, but she was too far away…

A long piece of metal in hand, Zeke stepped up to the gangster and, to the sound of iron striking bone, drove the teeth from his head. The man landed face down amid a spatter of blood.

“Shit.” Zeke stared at the gore-soaked clump of hair clinging to the metal bar. “That’s sick.”

Callie limped over to Riva. Helped her up. Which was nice, but it meant nobody was watching that son of a bitch behind them…

“Hey, you fucks.” To put it poetically, the Viper looked like shit. Crimson trickled from one nostril, his chin was smeared with blood, and a purple bruise puffed his temple. Callie had really worked the bastard over.

If only she’d killed him. The Viper held Raffo at gunpoint, the pistol pushing so deep it indented his cheek. “Give up or I shoot the mutant.”

“Ignore the little bastard,” Raffo said. “Do what you have to.”

Besides the Viper, there were three gangsters still standing: the asshole with the semi-automatic and two of the thugs who had come into the alley with the Squid. One held a knife, the other a pistol.

“This sucks.” Zeke adjusted his grip on the bloody iron rod. “You assholes made me kill someone. I never killed anyone before.”

“Don’t worry,” said the Viper. “Your pangs of conscience will ease once I fucking add you to the body count. You bunch of fucking queers. Two dykes and a faggot. The shut-ins have the right idea about you people.”

Lexi opened her mouth, but Callie was quicker. “You shut the hell up.”

“Callie Roux, you stupid fucking whore. Everyone laughed when they heard that Lexi screwed your girl. She was pretty, that one. I bet she looked even prettier with her face buried in Lexi’s pussy.” The Viper leered. “Or maybe the rumors are true, and she was choking down Lexi’s dick. Is that how it is, Lexi? Are you a fucking tranny? Do you have to tuck when you get into those tight jeans of yours?”

“Yeah, I do,” said Lexi. “You have a problem with that?”

“Problem?” The Viper wiped the blood from his chin. “Nah. I already knew you were a sick freak. This just clinches it.”

“Don’t you dare talk to her like that,” Callie said. “The only freaks around here are you and your chickenshit friends.”

“Ignore him,” said Lexi. “He’s dead already. His boss sent him because he’s a natural fuck-up, a perfect scapegoat.”

“Bullshit.” The Viper wore a spasmodic grin, but he was sweating anxiety. The other gangsters were just as nervous, their emotions bare as they struggled to comprehend the dead friends at their feet. “I’m in for a promotion.”

“Nah, you’re fucked. If you kill me, your boss gives you to the shut-ins by way of an apology. If you take me alive, he gives you to Vassago as a peace offering. Like I said. Scapegoat. At least it fits your dumb animal theme.”

“Fuck you! You killed Squid. You killed Tarantula. You even took out Yellowjacket, and he was just a newbie. You’re dead, Vale. Reprisal. Even Prince Vassago can’t say shit when it’s about reprisal.”

Lexi probed the remaining gangsters. The nearest was a wreck, his mind a churning cauldron of fear and anger. The young thug beside him could barely keep a grip on his pistol. And the third wasn’t even listening to any of this—he was staring at the blood…

“Reprisal?” Lexi smiled. “You really want to play that game, Anaconda?”

“Don’t fucking smile. I’m this close to blowing Raff’s head off.”

“I’m a sick freak. Why would I care?”

“I’m serious.” The Viper’s face glistened beneath a sudden outbreak of sweat. “I’m done being laughed at, you fucking queer.”

Lexi closed her eyes. “So am I.”

She reached out. The hum of their minds returned. Memories tarnished and seedy, yet sometimes startlingly pure. Fighting, fucking, taking drugs that ran wild through the bloodstream, broken glass on rain-slicked asphalt, lights pulsing in the hearts of clubs, women screaming and begging. Slamming cartridges into guns, oiling knives, making deals in alleys. Soft bags of powder. Money, beautiful fucking money. A mouth wrapped around a dick. The rewards of power.

A guttural drone of thoughts. I know this bar where you can’t even move for pussy… The bitch cheated on me… Cut his fucking throat… We’re going tonight so bring your sawn-off… Hotwire that bitch, it’s on… We got the junk, we got all the shit…

Heads like hives, teeming with impulses. He’s dead, she killed him, he owed me twenty fucking dollars. Bodies clammy with sweat. Nostrils choked with the stench of blood. We’re supposed to take this bitch back alive, who the hell put Viper in charge…

Her vision darkened. Their minds receded into single points. Candles of dumb meat with fragile wicks. Three screaming flames.

Lexi puffed them out.

In the same instant, the gangsters dropped. Sprawled limbs, blank faces. Even Amity looked horrified, while Raffo swallowed air like a goldfish.

“This is my district. I grew up on these streets.” Lexi swaggered toward the trembling Viper. Her head was clear. Her heart felt still. “I’d give anyone a beating, no matter how big they were, no matter how mean their gang was. Over time, people learned not to fuck with me and mine. Now, dumb prick that you are, you come here and threaten five of my friends all at once.”

“I’m sorry.” The Viper released Raffo, who scrambled to the cover of a garbage skip. “I didn’t mean any of the things I just said. I was only trash-talking. You know how it is…”

“Snakes slither on their bellies. They’re cold-blooded, creepy fuckers. Why the hell would you pick the name of a fucking snake?”

“You know why. Vipers are lethal. One bite and you’re dead.” The Viper was sweating fear, rivulets of mortal dread.

“No, they’re weak. They hunt little things. Rodents. Other snakes. Even the meanest serpent is prey for something bigger, and you’re about to learn where you rank on the food chain.”

“Please, Lexi. I’ll tell you anything. I’ll sell out the boss, anything, just don’t hurt me. I couldn’t tell him no. Don’t hurt me…”

“I’m not going to hurt you. I need you to take a message home.” Lexi leaned closer still. With a bit of luck, in this gloom, the Viper would be able to see the ghostly light deep in her irises. “Tell the Zookeeper that if he fucks with my friends again, I’ll introduce him to the principle of natural selection.”

The Viper fled more like a rabbit than a snake, cowering as if expecting Lexi to suck out his soul at any second. Zeke spat in the direction he’d ran.

“Well, shit,” said Raffo. “So this is what you were hiding from Vassago.”

Amity strode through the carnage. “How did you do that? You said you had to look into their eyes. You certainly didn’t tell me you could reach multiple people at once.”

“I never tried it before.” With her boot, Lexi prodded one of the limp gangsters. “They came here expecting to kick ass. Instead, they watched their friends die. It made them vulnerable. The rest was just me pushing where I hadn’t yet dared to go.”

“I saw it, but I still can’t believe it.” Callie had one arm around Riva, who still seemed dazed. “To be honest, it scares me a little.”

“You and me both, babe. Raff, you need to clear out. Get your gang somewhere safe.”

“I’m staying put until I see you drive out,” said Raffo. “But I will call some of my boys to come up. For one thing, free guns.”

“Hey, Lex.” Zeke was crouched by a fallen, bloodied gangster. The man’s chest was moving, but in a feeble way that suggested it wouldn’t keep doing so for much longer. “Can we take this guy back with us? I might be able to save him.”

Lexi nodded. “Let’s get going. Riva, front seat, and stay close to Callie. Amity, you help Zeke with the patient.”

“Why?” Amity grimaced. “We don’t have time for this.”

“Because we’re all comrades. Lesson of the day.”

On her way to the van, Lexi stepped over a body and hesitated. She’d seen a lot of grisly scenes, but this one had the unique distinction of being mostly her own handiwork. The city’s gang lords valued her negotiating skills, but things would change the moment they understood how powerful she truly was. Vassago didn’t enjoy having rivals.

She touched Callie on the forearm. “Take me far from here, okay?”

Callie smiled back. “You got it.”