"Well,
last night was a bust." Grizelda griped as she, Maria, and Kayla waited
for the Limo. She had brought out into the open what had been sitting
like a vulture on the chandelier during breakfast.
"Strange." Kayla shook her head, "56 was
coming regularly every night, smooth as clockwork. So now we're here
and she doesn't show."
"Makes one wonder." Grizelda said suspiciously.
"I locked out all of Meridiana from the
family cellphones, and blocked calls to 37's house the moment Mama told
me she was coming. No way 37 would know and warn her." Kayla said,
"Although I don't know if he'd do that if he knew."
Grizelda snorted, "If he knew, there'd
be two dozen of Meridiana's finest circling this joint, shooting the birds
out of the sky to make sure they wouldn't poop on mama."
Maria rolled her eyes, thankful that Grizelda
had held back most of her profanity during the trip.
"By the way, nice costume" Grizelda commented,
"Lot fancier than your black pajamas."
Kayla smiled, "Jose was modelling some
battle armor he was cooking up. I made some suggestions."
"No armor on the arms other than those
fancy ribbons?"
"Yes. I need my arms free to get
to and swing the katana." she said, demonstrating by reaching behind her
back to grasp its hilt, "It's not armored, just a design."
The limo pulled up. Kayla took off
her katana and slid in front next to Quaren, while Grizelda helped Maria
into the back and sat down next to her.
"Are we ready?" Maria asked as she
settled comfortably into the thickly padded leather seat.
"Ready." Quaren said, slipping on what
she hoped was a very cool looking pair of shades. Kayla and Grizelda
followed suit as she started the Limo.
"We are one bad-ass group!" she
thought as she pulled out of the Trodden mansion, "We only need Six
to make it perfect."
---------------------
Scylla got up from her customary back
booth at Don's Snack Shoppe and walked to the counter.
"You ready?" Mr. Diortti asked her, grinning
as he accepted her money.
"Yes. Are you? Last chance
to back out." she said.
Mr. Diortti glanced upwards, "*I* want
to see if that works!"
Her eyes joined his, "I do too." she agreed.
He rang up the sale and counted out her
change, "When is Henrique coming?"
She smiled as if she was a cat who had
eaten a bird, "Oh, he's around." she said lightly, putting her change in
her purse before passing it over the counter to him. He put it under
the cash register.
She went outside and leaned against her
lamppost. She glanced up at the window to her apartment and smiled
at the recollection of recent, pleasant memories.
-------------------------
"Excellent choice, Mr. Cornazon." Mr.
Tanoji complimented Cornazon on the choice of limosine that was now bearing
them to their appointment.
Cornazon nodded and opened the small bar
between the seats, "Would you like some Sake, Mr. Tanoji?"
Mr. Tanoji's guards looked at each other,
distain in their eyes after they both noted the two AK-27's lying on the
floorboard between the two back seats that faced each other. Raoul
was also in the back, while Dinazo drove.
"Yes, I believe I would like some." Mr.
Tanoji replied.
--------------------------
Kayla leaped easily from roof to roof
along the street that her searches had turned up. She stopped and
critically looked at each of the streetwalkers, shaking her head and moving
on. Even though they weren't 356, their situation in life touched
her and made her sad. It also made her more determined to recover
356 and return her home to the family and a new assignment, where she belonged.
She got to the middle block, looked about,
and smiled. A black haired woman in a simple and sensible white strapless
sundress was leaning against a lamppost outside of Don's Snack Shoppe,
looking as if she was waiting for a ride rather than soliciting customers
as a member of one of the oldest professions in the world.
It was certainly a sordid business, but at least she was showing some class
while doing it. Looked in fine shape too. Kayla decided to
stay put and not raise an alarm, despite her desire to see the cyber's
face to make sure.
"I think I see her," Kayla whispered into
the short range radio. "Middle block, in front of Don's Snack Shoppe.
I'm on the roof across the street from her, and she doesn't see me."
--------------------------
"Hmmm." Gordo thought as he looked
at the limosine that had stopped on a side street, "I wonder if-"
he walked closer, then backed away as the door opened. A woman got
out. She had long white hair and looked very beautiful, even though
she was obviously old. Gordo was struck by the green eyes that scanned
the street and rested on him for a moment, a look of pity and sadness appearing
fleetingly in them. He swallowed as the woman turned and walked toward
the street that Scylla was on, the limo slowly following her to the corner,
"Not
that one. Cornazon wouldn't have a nice lady like that in his big
fancy car. I hope she doesn't get into trouble! She looks so
nice and kind."
---------------
Maria hesitated when she reached the corner.
She knew which way to turn, but was starting to get butterflies in her
stomach.
The use of brute force to bring 356 back
home was never an option, despite Quaren's words in Von Richter's office.
Rather, her three daughters were there to prevent 356 from leaving before
Maria could talk to her. Like Techno 54, they all believed that a
"talk with Mama" would get through and bring the prodigal back home.
For her part, Maria wished that she shared their confidence in the inevitablity
of the outcome.
When her husband had first broached the
idea to her of growing genetically enhanced beings to support the transition
of the planet to a peaceful, mutually supportive community, she naturally
was behind him from the start. But the enormity of the task didn't
strike her until she saw the first tottering steps of 500 young technos
as they emerged from their tanks, the beginnings of the support staff and
of a family that would exceed 10,000 members. Lord knows, they had
tried, and failed, to have children of their own, but she knew, deep in
her heart, that these were just as surely her children as any born of her
womb. Biology dictated that humans should have one child at a time,
at most two, with three or more just plain accidents that only technology
and human society could support.
In one instant, at the end of 6 months
of anxious monitoring and sleepless nights, Technology bestowed 500 boy
and girl geniuses on the Von Richters. Max, God bless him, could
be their father and worldly guide, but these bewildered children needed
a mother. Maria knew that it was her job, even if Max didn't
mention it, to forge a family in the middle of the Amazon.
Right from the start, Von Richter had known
that programming was necessary to ensure that his creations would not turn
on him or on mankind. Yet, to program "love" into them would have
created a sham and a lie at the core of their creations from the start.
Good behavior, yes. Determination, yes. Drive, yes. But
love? Never. They would have to develop it on their own, and
the Von Richters would have to work to earn that love, like anything and
everyone else.
So she had rolled up her sleeves, waded
in, and loved them all as best she could. As the batches came out
of the tanks, she wondered how she possibly could keep up, but somehow
she did. It was as if the children knew that she was trying her best,
and were responding to that.
Oh, there were challenges. The normals
who had to be transformed to save their lives were very difficult and took
up a lot of time as they adjusted to their new state. She still didn't
feel quite fully recovered from the loss of her granddaughter, Genesis.
Grizelda proved to be the most difficult personal challenge, but she soon
found herself showering the blue-skinned special with as much affection
as any of the others.
But the most difficult, and paradoxically
the least challenging, were the Cybers. Max had sworn he had not
programmed them to love, and she believed him, but they showed affection
so easily and bestowed it so freely that one just had to wonder.
At the core of their programming was courage and self-sacrifice: the willingness
to get out there and fight and die for others. She had finally concluded
that it was that willingness to take the risks that love requires that
made them stand out. It was easier to love and care for a 100 cybers
than 10 of any other model. Yet, it was so difficult looking into
those adoring, onyx black eyes and wondering who would live and who would
die on some far away battlefield. This was the true reason for the
high level of toughness and rigor of their training: Those who sweat in
peace rarely bleed in war.
The Von Richters were not ones to stick
their heads in the sand and ignore the obvious. One day, they would
die and have to pass the task and the dream on to others. Von Richter
had the luxury of having five or six likely candidates that would make
excellent overall leaders, and Reba was the obvious choice for Chief Geneticist.
But who would replace her, the one dedicated to forging and maintaining
the bonds that made the army of peace a family as well?
It took a while, but finally one showed
herself to be worthy of the mantle, rising head and shoulders above her
sisters. Who would have guessed that it would be the defiant, unrepentant
little Cyber girl-child who had started a riot in the cafeteria by punching
out three of her brothers who had called Grizelda names? That Cyber,
who never apologized for that action, continued to weave in and out of
the lives of the family, trailing behind her a rope of affection that she
eventually jerked tight to pull everyone she touched together.
One night, Maria and Von Richter had shared
who they wanted to succeed them, and had a good laugh when they both came
up with exactly the same individual as their first choice.
Right now, Maria wished that that Cyber
was here to retrieve her batchmate.
Of course, if that Cyber had not chosen
to murder herself, then this problem wouldn't have come up in the first
place.
Whatever it was that drove 356 to abandon
her post and go on her own, Maria hoped that there was still some feelings
of love and affection within that she could call upon to draw her back
home. Quaren, Grizelda, and Kayla were just there to introduce delays
so that Maria could have a chance to talk. Imprisoning her and returning
her home would be unthinkable. They were counting on the power of
love.
For if love didn't really work in real
life, then there would be no hope for this poor world, since all the other
ways that could be used had already been tried by others, and had been
found to be not worth calling upon at times like these.
Resolutely, Maria turned and walked down
the street, eyes scanning the women of the night, comparing each face against
the profile of 356 that was burned into her memory.
---------------
"Why aren't we there yet?" Cornazon demanded
of Dinazo over the intercom.
"Getting close! We'll be four or
five blocks up from the place after this next turn!" Dinazon replied.
Raoul and Cornazon took the seats next
to the window, picked up the AK-27s, and checked them out. Mr. Tanoji
smiled indulgently and shot a glance of amusement at his guards, who looked
up at the ceiling in mock despair. "Amateurish, but effective,"
he decided, "Whatever works."
The limosine made a slow, left turn.
There was the sounds of safties being flicked off. Raoul looked across
at Cornazon, "Like old times." he said
"Yeah. I'd forgotten how it felt."
Cornazon confessed, grinning.
--------------
Maureen frowned as the old lady walked
on. It appeared as if she was looking for someone. This was
NOT the day for business as usual. She glanced down the street at
Scylla, and wondered how the woman could look so calm. She glanced
back at Estella, who grimaced and faked fanning herself with her hand.
The old lady caught sight of Scylla and
walked purposefully toward her.
-----------
"There she is!" Maria thought,
heart thumping. "Here goes nothing! At least she doesn't
LOOK like a hooker, thank goodness!"
She got within two meters of the girl when
the sound of her footsteps made her turn her head. The onyx black
eyes widened as the girl realized who was walking up to her.
"Please don't run, 3-" Maria started
to think, when suddenly, she realized that the face didn't match the description
or the photos. There were small, subtle differences that were within
the variances set for members of a batch set. From long years of
experience, Maria began mentally subtracting, adding, and adjusting features
like eye set, nose length and width, length and shape of the neck, set
and size of the chin and cheeks, iris size, and a half dozen other factors,
half wondering if a mistake had been made and they'd encountered a wild
normal. Yet, the girl's reaction meant that she, Maria, was no stranger
to her.
"Mama!" The girl said, fear and terror
in her voice.
Maria was the only woman on the planet
who knew for a fact that those two syllables could be pronounced in 10,000
unique and different ways, and could recognize each and every one of them.
Shaking and incredulous, Maria walked up
to the woman, put out her hand, and caressed her cyber's cheek gently.
"It's time to come home, Cybersix."
She murmured, her vision blurring from the tears welling in her eyes.
----------------
"Cybersix?" Kayla could barely
hear the words, "Did mama just call her CYBERSIX? But she's dead!
Is mama losing it?" she got ready to leap down if necessary.
----------------
Julian was beginning to feel a bit dizzy,
looking around in all directions, trying to identify a car that MIGHT contain
Cornazon and blazing death for the woman he'd come to regard with more
affection than he was willing to admit. "I sure hope she knows what
she's-"
His instincts screamed danger the moment
his eyes rested on the stretched limosine that was coming up the street.
He turned, ran into the middle of the intersection, put his fingers to
his mouth, and cut loose with the loudest, longest whistle he could manage.
---------------
"Please! You must get out of here!
It's-" Cybersix started, only to jerk her head at the whistle. She
caught sight of the limo also, and her instincts agreed with Julian's,
especially when her sharper and keener vision noted that the car window
on her side of the street was coming down, and two black tubes were sticking
out of it a few centimeters. She turned and whistled loudly also.
"EVERYONE!" Mr. Diortti's voice boomed
out in the snack shoppe, "Please get down under your tables and stay here!
GET DOWN NOW!"
Maureen, Estella, and the other prostitutes
on the street began grabbing passersby and forcing them into nearby stores.
---------------
"Uh oh! Something's going down!"
Grizelda's voice came out from the back, even though nobody could be seen
there.
"Gotcha!" Quaren started the engine, pulled
out and around the corner, and caught sight of Maria standing next to a
girl that sure looked like a cyber to her.
--------------
Kalya went on full alert, glancing around,
trying to figure out from what direction the danger the cyber was clearly
worried about was coming from.
-------------
"Cybersix, why-" Maria started, then stopped.
There would be time later for "Why". Right now, she had to make sure
there would be time later. "No, forget that. Please, just come
home with me! We've all missed you terribly!"
Cybersix struggled for a moment, then deliberatlely
and calmly forced herself to lean back on the lamppost and said nonchalantly,
"What? Are you AC-DC? 500, take it or leave it."
"What?? What are you-" Maria was
confused, then suddenly realized that Cybersix was acting as if she was
a prospective customer!
"Must wait. Must wait. Can't
let everyone down! Must wait!" Cybersix thought to herself.
--------------
"There she is! Gotta be, right in front
of a snack shoppe, lookin' like a girl waitin' for a ride!" Dinazon said
excitedly, "Just like they all said! Damn, they were right!"
"Pull up right next to the bitch!
Even if she ducks into the store, we'll shoot through the windows!" Cornazon
ordered.
Mr. Tanoji nodded and leaned back smiling.
"Yes,
he'll do nicely to get things started, before we move our own people in
here." he thought.
---------------
The moment Cybersix heard the sound of
the tires on the pavement, she moved. She grabbed Maria around the
middle, lifted her, and ran into the shop.
"NOW!" She shouted, leaping upwards and
rightwards, spinning around, just as the two AK's in the car opened up,
shattering the pane glass. She came down hard on the wooden floor
on the other side of the bar, cushioning her mother with her own body.
---------------
"DAMN!" Kayla reached behind, pulled out
her katana, and leaped down to the street.
---------------
At the sound of the AK's, Henrique awoke
and rolled off the bed in Cybersix's upstairs apartment onto the floor.
He fumbled around for his pants, found them, and dug his cell phone out,
"This is a code four! Repeat, Code four at Don's Snack Shoppe!
Send assistance and ambulances!" he shouted at the dispatcher, "Code Four
at Don's Snack Shoppe!"
---------------
"HEY! THEY'RE SHOOTIN' AT MAMA!"
Grizelda shouted with an indignant squawk, only to be thrown backwards
into her seat as Quaren stomped on the gas pedal.
---------------
One of the ninjas saw Kayla land on the
pavement. He reached over and tapped the knee of his partner and
pointed. The other nodded and reached for the door handle to let
them both out.
---------------
Mr. Diortti yanked hard on the rope, which
undid the knot, which kept the two large sheets of plate steel suspended
by one end from the cieling. They swung down and went through what
was left of the picture window, catching and deflecting the bullets.
The sheets of plate steel that Cybersix and Henrique had forced between
the booth seats protected the diners crouching under the tables.
Mr. Diortti had put up the tables and chairs in the middle of the shoppe,
so there was no one in the space between the booths and the bar.
The thick hard wood of the bar was sufficient to stop the bullets by itself,
but they had removed an inner layer of wood and replaced it with panels
of plate steel just to be sure. It had been long, hard work, but
they all were glad they'd put forth the effort now.
"Ooooff!" Cybersix moaned, rolling and
sliding Maria off of her, "Where is it?"
Mrs. Diortti quietly handed her the assault
rifle Henrique had liberated from the heavy riot gear room. She took
it, pulled the bolt, flipped the safety off, then got into a crouch.
"NO! Don't go!" Maria grabbed at
her wrist.
Cybersix smiled dourly, pulled her wrist
away, bent forward, and planted a gentle kiss on her forehead, "I love
you, Mama." she said softly, before she jump-flipped over the bar and into
the storm.
---------------
Well, look who's pretending to
be a warrior!>> one of the ninjas chuckled as they both drew their swords.
Dishonorable dogs, pitting two
against one!>> Kayla replied in flawless Nipponese, whipping her katana
through an elaborate warmup as she approached.
They quickly threw glances at each other,
then both leaped at her, their Katanas upraised.
With a whirl, Kayla struck one, then the
other, making the blades sing as she weaved between them, "These guys
are good. Better not hold back." she thought.
---------------
"You're her mother?" Mrs. Diortti yelled
over the gunfire.
"Yes!" Maria tried to rise, but Mr. Diortti
forced her down.
"Wonderful girl you have!" He yelled,
"Good girl in a bad business! We tried to get her out of it, but
she's stubborn too!"
"Thanks!" Maria yelled back, too worried
about Cybersix to wonder about the feelings those words stirred up in her.
---------------
"DAMN! Can't shoot around those
damn swinging-" Cornazon started.
"AAAAAAAHHHHHH!" screamed Dinazo.
He had been facinated by the sight of the exploding plate glass and the
splintering of the building stones by the bullets that he didn't notice
what was happening right in front of him until he heard the roar of an
engine approaching. Cornazon jerked his head forward just in time
to see a black limosine driven by a furious looking blonde teenager apparently
intent on plowing it into his rented limo.
---------------
Quite safe once the plates had come down,
Cybersix patiently waited for the plates to swing aside. Catching
sight of Cornazon in the limo through the gap, she pulled the trigger immediately,
sending a short burst of bullets through the momentary gap right at his
head.
---------------
The two ninjas spun and attacked again.
Again, Kayla's quick blows deflected the flashing blades and made their
hands sting. She darted around to one side and began to fiercely
attack one of them, weaving to keep him between herself and his partner.
---------------
The impact of Von Richter's limosine on
Cornazon's shoved the larger car two meters backwards. Dinazo had
braced himself for the collision, shoving his back up straight against
his seat.
Cornazon fell forward, the seat jerking
out from under him, making his head drop into Raoul's lap.
Raoul had been sitting in the rear facing
seat. The movement of the limo shoved the seat into his back, snapping
his head backwards and against the headrest. Thus, when Cybersix's
bullets went through the window where Cornazon used to be, the movement
of the limosine caused by the impact carried him through the deadly stream.
He took two in the head. Dinazo was equally unfortunate, for the
stream continued and went through his head also.
Mr. Tanoji, who had been sitting next to
Cornazon, also fell forward as his seat left him behind. He had been
sitting across from the electronics center. However, being older,
his neck couldn't stand the impact against the miniature Sony TV that moved
into his forehead. He was left with a broken neck, paralyzed and
unable to breathe.
---------------
Quaren kicked the door open, "Find out
what's happened to Mama!" she shouted to Grizelda as she leaped out to
assist Kayla.
"Oh Crap!" Grizelda thought as she
kicked the door on her side open, "Daddy's gonna be real pissed about
this!"
---------------
Cybersix blinked, "What happened?"
she thought when she saw the open car window through which they had been
shooting appear through the open door of the shoppe. She ran toward
the door and ducked behind the stone pillar between it and the large picture
window, feeling quite exposed.
She had counted on them pulling up next
to the lamppost and start shooting at her, which dictated the positioning
of the steel plates. The thugs had behaved exactly as expected, and
the plates had worked to perfection. However, the new position of
the limo allowed them to shoot through the door into the shoppe.
She glanced behind her at the bar to make
sure the Diorttis and Mama were staying behind it.
---------------
Raoul sagged down, pinching Cornazon's
head between his belly and lap. "Get OFF me!" Cornazon yelled as
he struggled to push Raoul off of him, cursing.
---------------
"DAMN BITCH!" Henrique cursed as he fumbled
through Cybersix's apartment, "She hid my gun SOMEPLACE in here!"
---------------
The ninja trying to get around his partner
to add his blade to the battle stopped and threw a glance at the two limos
at the sound of the impact. His partner leaped backwards to
buy time for a look also. Thinking it safe, Kayla flung a glance
at the two vehicles just in time to note the further destruction of the
Von Richter limo as Quaren grabbed the door and yanked it off it's hinges.
"HEY PAJAMA BOYS!" She yelled, throwing
the door like a frisbee at them. One flipped into the air, the spinning
door barely whipping by his spinning body and wrapping itself around a
lamp post, while the other dove to the side and ran to Cornazon's vehicle
to check the man he was responsible for. The jumper came down and
started parrying the blows Kayla began to deliver.
----------------
Cornazon finally got Raoul off of him,
and was about to demand what was happening when he saw the two bulletholes
in the side of Raoul's head. He sat, momentarily stunned at the loss
of a childhood friend, before being consumed with a blaze of anger that
swept what common sense he had left away.
----------------
Cybersix heard Quaren's shout and Kayla's
katana, "Great, if Quaren's here, she's in charge. She'd pick
Kayla and Grizelda, which means..."
She barely heard the light taps of approaching
steps, "Grizelda! Get OUT of the line of fire!" she hissed under
her breath.
"CYBERSIX!!!???" Grizelda recognized the
voice of her favorite Cyber immediately.
Cybersix groaned. She waited half
a second more, then stepped out into the open, fanned air with her left
hand, felt the collar of Grizelda's uniform, grabbed a handful of it, jerked
her sister off her feet, and flung her into the shoppe behind her.
-----------------
"YAAAAAAAHHHHH!" The furious Ninja turned
on Quaren as the culprit responsible for the blue death of his charge.
He ran at Quaren, swinging his katana viciously. Quaren bobbed and
weaved about, the tip of the katana sometimes mere millimeters from her
skin, and occasionally nicking her top.
-----------------
Cornazon heard Grizelda's cry. Grabbing
his AK, he popped up and began firing, sweeping the gun down.
Cybersix heard his gun and saw him at the
same time. She pulled the trigger of her own gun.
----------------
You are barely passable.>>
Kayla taunted her foe as they locked blades over their heads, literally
looking at each other eye to eye..
AAAHHH! I shall not be beaten
by a woman!>> the ninja cursed, leaped backward, then charged, screaming
at the top of his voice.
She stepped lightly aside, knocking his
blade away. As the ninja ran past, she brought her katana back around
and sliced at his back, neatly dividing him in half. Both pieces
fell to the street.
The last bursts of gunfire made her head
snap around to the snack shoppe door.
-----------------
"Hey! This ain't fair!" Quaren taunted
her panting opponent.
His eyes crinkled, as if he was smiling.
Suddenly, he brought out a throwing star and threw it at her.
Quaren dodged it, reached out, and grabbed
it in mid-air, the spinning spikes slicing the webbing of her hand
between thumb and forefinger, "Gee thanks!" she said, holding it up to
show it to her astonished opponent, "Is THIS how you use it?" she asked,
flinging it toward him.
It went through the ninja's throat and
spinal column before burying itself three fourths of it's diameter into
a telephone pole about 200 meters away.
Quaren didn't have time to say "Ewww!",
for the last bursts of gunfire drew her attention elsewhere.
-----------------
"Now why the HELL did Six do that any-"
Grizelda started to think irritably as she disentangled herself from the
stacks of chairs at the back of the room when the last bursts of gunfire
gave her a sudden chill. Frantically, she scrambled out of the pile
and ran to the door.
Cybersix was swaying, the gun having dropped
out of her hands. Grizelda glanced at the limo and saw the bullet-riddled
head of Cornazon leaning back in the seat. Glancing back at Cybersix,
she gasped at the two bullet wounds in her right shoulder and lower left
side.
"Mama. Okay?" Cybersix asked in a
whisper, sagging to her knees and touching the bleeding hole in her shoulder,
"Just
great!" she thought a bit woozily, "Now I've got a matching set!"
She set her back against the booths to support herself, winced, and reached
down to feel the wound in her side, "Wonderful. Went just under
the floating ribs, which means..."
Grizelda looked wildly about, but couldn't
see Maria.
"Everyone okay?" Mr. Diortti asked.
"I'm fine!" Maria said, rising, "What about
my daughter!?"
Quaren banged against the doorjamb to stop
herself. She took one look at Cybersix and gasped, "Oh god, no!
Six??"
"Hiya." Cybersix said, smiling weakly.
Kayla arrived two seconds later, "Ahh!
It IS Six!" she gasped. Both women fell on their knees beside their
wounded sister.
"Quick-" Cybersix gasped, "Get-away."
The sounds of distant sirens filled the
air.
"We're not leaving you!" Quaren insisted.
"Get-mama-away." Cybersix repeated, "Must-not-have-questions."Damn,
hurts like hell in my side. I wonder..." she thought.
"She's right!" Kayla whispered, "They'll
detain us and ask questions!"
Biting her lower lip, Quaren glanced up
at an ashen faced Maria, "Get Mama out of here!" she ordered.
"Six! No!!" Maria cried as Grizelda and
Kayla rushed her out the door.
Quaren grabbed Cybersix's jaw with one
hand and forced her to look into her eyes, "Live, damn you! Or I'll-I'll-"
"You'll-what?" Cybersix smiled wanly, face
pale, her lips losing the red lustre they usually had.
"Aaahhh!" Quaren groused. She turned
and dashed out of the shoppe. Running to the rear of Von Richter's
limo, she grabbed the fender, lifted it up, and dragged it up the street
in a half trot, ignoring the terrible burning in her heart that demanded
that she return to her sister's side.
