In the Den of Lionesses
By Harris, Shaine, and Shatterclaw. Individual rating: R.
Sunday evening.
Dr. Vladimir Cinocard stood in the front lobby of Genom Chicago. He half expected the guards - Boomer or otherwise - to arrest him the moment he walked through the doors. Grown lax. Just like the rest of the human race...
He glanced at his watch, and the machine screen read off the hour. In another ten minutes she would know he was there. And in five more she would welcome him back, despite her orders to the contrary, and in another ten she would sell him her soul...
Vlad grinned, his sharp canines flashing in the bright light. A drop of blood trickled down his hand and fell to meet several others which had gathered on a now-crushed watch lying on the floor.
///
Carter read the report again - for a sixth time. For some reason, she could not keep her mind on it. Memories of Quincy, of Japan, kept flashing through her mind. Rice looked at her. The Boomeroid was giggling like a schoolgirl, in fact.
"Ms. Carter...?" Either Carter hadn't heard, or she was ignoring Rice. And Rice hated to be ignored.
"Ms. Carter. Vicky!" Carter hated to be called that, and Rice would be lucky to escape without damage.
"Uhmmm...uh...huh? Yes, dear, did you say something?"
"Yes, Ms. Carter. You seem...well...are you all right?"
"Oh, yesss, I am. Just feeling...reminiscent. You are dismissed for the day." Carter's tone was too sweet. It alarmed Rice; while Carter never truly yelled at her, she usually saved the maple-syrupy voice for when she had some nasty job, or was tormenting Erik. Mostly it was used in front of him...only for his ears...
"I said you are dismissed. Unless you want to help Erik-poo?"
"Yes, ma'am! I'll just gather up--"
"No. Go; I'll take care of it." Carter rose and opened the door. Rice, bewildered, could do nothing but obey.
Walking down the hall, she passed a tall, well-build human. Even for Rice's tastes he was, in a word, incredible. She could swear she saw his eyes change color as he looked at her, melting from brown into yellow...
At the same time, Carter stood in her office surveying her "toy" Boomers. She was in the mood, but for once didn't want a single one of them. On top of that, none of the new interns seemed to strike her fancy. For some reason she felt disgusted by the whole lot of her playthings.
She headed for the doorway, wondering where her secretary had gone, then opened the door.
He was incredible - more handsome than she'd remembered...
"Lord Vladimir!" she whispered breathlessly.
"My dear, sweet Victoria... I am no longer the lord I once was." He took her hand and kissed it. "I have fallen into disfavor with our king."
Carter giggled like a schoolgirl again. "Oh, and what brings you to my kingdom?" The game, their little lovers' game from so long ago...
How easily she'd slipped back into it...
"You have, my dear. I have come back to claim my queen." Her heart skipped a beat...then another.
"I...I've changed, my lord...my kingdom is far greater than it once was. What do I need of you?" She nearly ran to the desk, desperate to wrest control of the situation from him, and sat down. "Why are you here?"
"I...came for you..."
"And!" she cried.
"I need your kind and gracious help."
"Ohhhh...and you think you can walk back--" He'd gotten to the desk by then, and he touched her. A fiery bolt shot through her. Must be some form of Boomer syndrome...
"Yes, I have fallen into disfavor and lost my lab."
"I won't fund a new one. Genom wants nothing more to do with you."
"No, no, not Genom! Just you...you know what my needs are, and you own this city. Beloved, if anything...help me find a new lab."
"And what do I get out of it?"
"A new Boomer technology: one that will make them go rogue on command. And an advancement in replacement parts, one that would make your...play toy...more like the real thing."
"What?"
"I've found notes on a way to fill in the gap between Boomer and human, that ten percent can now be only one...and with a new lab, we can remake the world to fit Quincy's will."
"I see...and I would receive this new technology from you at what time?"
"Please, beloved! Let's not talk of this now. I've missed you...
"And I want to see if you've missed me." He pulled her from the chair with fluid grace. Before she could stop him, his lips had met hers and the warmth at her side spread throughout her body.
Rice disengaged her link to the security system. Whoever this man was, he was a danger to Carter. She had to find a way to stop him...and to keep her mistress from falling further into this insanity...
///
Erik felt like a fool. And justly so. He'd had no confirmation from the Drake's staff that his little surprise was going as planned, and he had to assume that meant Hase had already found it. She wouldn't fly into a rage, or kill him - that wasn't her style - but he knew well the flatter tone and narrowed eyes of her disapproval...had seen it directed at others...
I need her support, and her trust. Oh, God, how I need her trust...
A bottle of "adequate" Piesporter dangling from one hand, he finally arrived at her room. No more waiting, at least.
The door swung open to reveal a woman of only average height but commanding presence. Hase Kant stared up at him with dull, inhuman eyes, saying nothing. She closed her left hand around the neck of the bottle, trapping his own hand in the process, and led him inside.
Unless she already did. "So, Erik. Are the metal birds keeping you awake at night?" Her mouth twisted oddly around the words, legacy of a stunner blast that had hit too hard and paralyzed a few nerves.
"Not quite yet, no. How are things back home?"
"Well as can be imagined. I'm sure your reports are no more complete than mine. It would appear than Lissa Dearest wants that chunk of Thüringen back that the Western Army got from her during our mountain vacation."
"Hm." One corner of his mouth tugged upward a bit. "She can go to hell first, and I'm sure that's what the Bundestag told her. What about Antarctica?"
Not letting go of his arm - or the bottle - she led him to the couch and sat down. "Do you want to know how we are doing, or how We are doing?"
The change in inflection was quite familiar. He smiled. "I have fairly complete reports on Genom and West Germany; how about a breakdown on the Easterners? My network over there still has holes in it."
"Same as last month. Gaining a little ground from the Belgians, but the Canadians are continuing to pummel them."
"Good." He made a move to set the bottle down on the coffee table, and she let go. Her eyes remained squarely on his, however, and as dead and expressionless as before.
She switched from English to German. "So what is it you're thinking about, Erik?" Can't bring up any real business yet, especially not with that embarrassing...mistake...to conceal. Better to let him talk for a while.
"Well, Bunny, I was hoping to surprise you but I suspect you've already found me out."
"Oh?"
He looked her in the eye, then glanced ever so slightly away. "Didn't bring Hack and Slash?"
Her lips pursed. "My Boomers are running an errand. I trust I don't need them..."
"No," he cut her off, smiling. "You don't."
Perfectly on cue, a second Erik entered the room. Hase stared at the Replicant, her eyes widening and her lips parting ever so slightly. She glanced back at Erik, then at the Boomer again. The first Erik - the human one, she assumed - clasped her hand and pulled her closer gently, pressing his lips to hers, as the other knelt before her and began removing her blouse.
///
Monday evening.
It was perhaps a quarter to seven, and the base had fallen quiet. Jinks was still confined to medbay, Belladonna was out with friends, and most of the others were occupied by work.
Harris sat in his room resting when he heard a knock at the door. A few beats later it came again, a bit more forcefully.
"Come in."
Saki entered, wearing a mandarin-cut, jade green dress. Her hair was pulled up and adorned with a pale green flower. "Good evening!"
"Hello..."
She looked at him; there was a polite smile on her face but her eyes seemed to say something entirely different. "Are you ready to go?"
Harris pulled himself up, throwing his coat on. He had his guns already, actually did sleep with them. "Yeah."
"Good. I know this great Thai restaurant, near the lake..."
"All right..."
She held out her arm and seemed to wait for something.
Sighing, Harris took by the arm. "Shall we?"
"By all means, Harris. Let's go."
There was a Benz all warmed up and waiting for them at the motorpool. Saki picked up the hem of her dress and headed for the driver's side.
Harris held the door open for her. "Thank you." She bowed slightly, and ducked under the gull-wing doors. As soon as he was inside she took off, the abrupt start reminding him of their meeting a week earlier.
"Would you like to listen to some music?"
"No, thank you."
She nodded gracefully and continued: "How was last night's mission?"
"All right."
"Mmm, from the way Crimson acted it had to be more than just all right." A tiny smile seemed to form on her lips. "And I noticed that we ran out of Mountain Dew...which means Ms. Kohl had a few too many."
"Ah well..."
They passed into the outer rim of the downtown area. "Is there any connection yet between the Boomers and the battlesuits?"
"You'll have to ask Crim. I just follow orders."
"But you have a mind... Surely not all orders are to your liking?" She thought of the punishment Crimson had assigned and fought back a grimace.
"I do what I'm paid to do."
"I see." She grinned slyly. "Are all of your talents for sale?"
"At the right price...but you must speak with Crimson; he is my current employer."
"And how much would one have to pay if one had to top our fair employer?"
"Triple, at least."
"How does quadruple sound...plus bonuses?" She pulled up toward two bronze dragons, which loomed over either side of the car. A man in a kimono stood off to one side.
"And what would I be doing?"
"I would have many things for you to do," she evaded, "As well as still being open to Crimson's needs."
"A tempting offer..." The man walked up to the car and opened the doors.
"I assure you, I can make it much more tempting."
"If you're serious, list what you want me to do and give it to me...and I'll consider it."
She stepped out of the car, straightened her dress. Then she handed him a palm pilot. He pocketed it for the time being and reluctantly took her arm again. She placed her other hand on his arm and led him up the stairs to the restaurant.
The table was on a balcony overlooking the main room, with a waterfall running down behind it, and the menu, seven pages long, was printed in Thai. The only thing Harris could decipher was the prices, which were astronomically high.
He shook his head and handed the menu to Saki. "Do you have a favorite dish?" she asked.
"Nope."
"Then would you trust me to order for you?"
"Sure, go ahead."
"Would you like anything to drink?"
"Sure. Water will do."
The waited returned and she spoke swiftly to him. He scooped up the menus and left again.
Saki turned back to Harris. "I love it here; it reminds me of my family home. ...Where did you grow up?"
"Grow up?" He seemed shocked.
The waiter appeared next to him again with a teapot and a glass of water, which he set down before inobtrusively fading back into the background.
"Yes, where your family is from," Saki continued.
"Michigan."
"What was it like there?"
"Eh...let's not talk about that."
"Then what shall we talk about?" He felt the rounded tip of a high heel running up and down his leg. "I don't think you'd want to discuss world politics, hm?"
He gently pushed her foot away. "I don't know... You, maybe?"
"And what could I tell you about me?"
"Whatever you want."
"Well...that would make it harder."
"Oh?"
"I have been many things...none of which should be discussed in polite company. As of now, I am vice-president of an emerging company. I work out and run five miles every day. I...have been lucky enough to have met Crimson...
"I enjoy antique weapons and have a vast collection. My earliest spear dates back to 765BC. I also have two museums, to which I've donated some of my lesser weapons."
"Indeed. You have an active life."
"No, not as much as one would think - and not nearly as much as I'd like..."
"Seems active enough to me."
"But I could be so much more active..." The food arrived just then, and she fell silent.
Most of it looked edible: fish, meat, rice, potstickers, steamed vegetables...some kind of dumplings, egg rolls... Saki named each and told him what was in them. "Well? Are you going to try some?"
Harris suddenly felt as if he were being watched. He turned instinctively, one hand reaching for a gun inside his coat. Saki froze, her expression going warmly blank.
Victoria Carter stood behind Harris, a tall man at her side. "Ms. Veldez. How nice to see you."
"A pleasure, Ms. Carter."
Harris turned around again, looking at Saki. He still had one hand on the gun. She shot him a warning glance.
"It's been far too long."
"Yes, two months, I believe? It was the merger of Greenco."
Harris shook his head, pulling out a handkerchief which had been tucked behind the gun. He used it, then placed it back inside his coat, without saying a word.
"Yes, yes it was! How is Ms. Johnson doing of late?"
"Well, and very much looking forward to next month's buy-out of Genom."
Carter laughed and turned to Harris. "She has such a good sense of humor! ...And who is your companion here?"
"An old friend." She gave a false name. He stared at Carter warily.
"Well, it is so nice to meet you..." The man standing next to her whispered something in her ear. "Oh, but I won't keep you any longer. Have a good night!"
"The pleasure is all mine," Harris replied.
Saki's gaze never left Carter as the two disappeared. She picked up a knife, and balanced it in her hand. "I'm sorry. It seems I'm no longer hungry. Would you mind if we were to go back home?"
"No, it's okay. Let's go."
She motioned to a waiter for carryout, then they left. The ride back to the base was completely silent.
///
"...Yeah, so did you hear about Harris and Saki? Word is they went out for dinner tonight!"
Shaine stiffened, and looked blankly at Belladonna. "Oh. Really?"
"Yeah."
"I didn't know those two were..." She trailed off. All of those things I said to him, and he...and she...
Ohhhh, shit.
"Yeah, seems Carter saw her and came by. And Saki's freaked by the way Carter kills all of Mom's boyfriends..."
"Oh."
"It's not much of a thing, if that's what you mean."
"I...see. I didn't think so; they never really seemed that way around each other."
"I don't think he likes her all that much. But she might... You know, she's never really had a boyfriend. See, from the age of five she was trained to be a killing machine, so boys were just like...well...targets. So I guess that's why she finds Harris so...whatever...'
"Yeah. Guess so." Shaine shrugged, and ripped open the case of Dew she'd bought on her way home from Starbright.
"Maybe she thinks he'll understand her." Bell shook her head. "So...should I dye my hair red?"
Shaine looked up in surprise. "Huh?"
"Well, I was thinking of dying my hair."
"Well...I don't know. I'm not exactly a fashion expert, Bell."
"Mom wouldn't let me, but she would at least tell me if it was a good idea. C'mon, one woman to another!"
Shaine squinted, staring at her. "You know, I really don't think I could see that..."
"Whaddaya think? Pink, turning to red? No, huh?"
"Just can't imagine it on you."
"Okay. Soooo...do you like Harris?"
"Huh? What are you talking about? He's tried to shoot me at least four times!"
"Come on, the way you reacted when I mentioned him and Miss Xena... Besides, he's tried that with everyone but Crimson. I don't think he's that nuts."
She smiled devilishly. "But...it may be a sign he likes you..."
"Oh, come on!"
"...After all, he came to your room, not Saki's..."
"He threw me down on the ground and unloaded a clip of blanks at my head. You call that love?"
"Well no, but he might!"
Shaine shook her head and took a sip of Dew.
"Or at least to, you know, show you he's the big dominant male and all..."
"I don't play that kind of game, Bell."
"Well all I'm saying is he seems to like you; it's just he doesn't know how to act. So he starts with this commando Army macho role thing where he has to be in charge, all the time..."
"Yeah, well, I'd appreciate it if you wouldn't mention that to him."
"Not a word! I need my pretty little head right where it is."
Shaine rolled her eyes. "Thanks, Bell."
"No problem! Hey...I know, let's go get some ice cream!"
"Okay."
"Cooool. Haagen-Dasz or Ben and Jerry's?"
"Oh, man...um...both?"
"Both? Did you say both?"
"Yes..."
"A girl after my own heart! Come on!"
She led Shaine to the motorpool and selected an Explorer. "Where to first, Hog or T&J?"
Shaine shook her head. "Don't make me choose..."
"Okay. Heads Hog, tails T&J..." She fished a quarter out of one pocked and flipped it. "Heads. Let's go...Pfish Food here I come!" She grinned sheepishly. "Hey, 'hand-dipped ice cream here I come' just doesn't sound right..."
"Yeah..."
It was a short drive, and soon Bell was forcing Shaine to pick out flavors. "C'mooon!"
She sighed. "Well...just give me whatever's got the most chocolate."
"Whoah...triple chocolate?"
"Yeah, you got a problem with that?"
"No, no! Just we need more then. Chocolate will attract the birds."
"Oh." Shaine stopped, then grinned.
"Hey, think about it! Three men...five women...do you dare think in small terms? Even Miss Xena eats a gallon on her best nights.
"Of course, then she beats up on the male gender...but that's another story."
"I'm sure Harris must love that," Shaine murmured.
"Don't know. Want me to ask?"
Shaine glared at Belladonna sharply, and she responded with her best 'don't kill me, I'm young' smile.
Bell paid for the ice cream - using Crimson's credit card - and headed back to the truck. "You know, I could be wrong but...what if he doesn't really like her?"
Shaine shrugged. "Not gonna lose any sleep over it."
"Come on! You like him, don't you?"
"Unless they start a shootout in the Nest, I don't care what they do."
"Oh, that would be fun. An all out war...guntoting madmen and Amazon nutcases in a firefight..."
Shaine stared out of the window blankly.
"That's just great...make me start a firefight...I'd be grounded for years!" Just then they pulled up in front of the Ben and Jerry's.
"Phish Food! ...And other fine flavors of chocolate..." Bell leapt out, ran into the store, and began ordering large amounts of ice cream.
"Hey...make sure you pick up a few Bovinity Divinity..."
"Yeah, some of that! And whatever you have in cookie dough. Tonight the pack will be well fed..."
Shaine wisely decided not to ask. Mechanical birds who watch television and eat ice cream...?
After one more stop to pick up toppings, they headed back to the base. Belladonna led Shaine back to the kitchen.
She put her finger to her mouth and opened a pint. Shaine, meanwhile, already had a triple chocolate open and was diving into it, not even bothering with a bowl.
Bell plaed a spoon on the table, then showed Shaine her watch and held out one hand, five fingers extended. Shaine looked up from the ice cream curiously.
About four minutes later, Lark walked in. "Oh, ice cream!"
Sprocket came running. "Did someone say ice cream?"
Shaine's stomach gurgled. Shit...I did not want this to be a public event...wonder if they'd just let me drag some of this back to my room?
"Hold me back...I don't..."
Bell shoved a pint in Sprocket's face. "Become one with the Dark Side!"
"Okay...gimme!"
"Um, Bell? I think I'm just going to take some of this back to my room." She started to get up.
"You'll never make it...at least not alive!"
"Huh?"
"She's joking. She trained her raven to steal food from anything that moves."
Bell punched Lark in the shoulder. "Hey! Croft doesn't steal, he hunts."
At the sound of his name, the raven flapped into the room and landed on Bell's shoulder.
"Well..."
"Caw, caw! Caw!"
"Um, you were saying...?" Belladonna held Ravencroft's beak closed. Shaine sat back down slowly and started eating again.
"Hey, um...Jinks is doing better. Branks says she'll be up in a few days, hopefully."
"That's good..."
"Well, she's been stressed lately, with everything that's been going on..."
Bell gave Lark a forceful look. "She'll be fine. I mean, Crim's got the best health care for us..." She played with her spoon.
"Yeah..."
"So what have you and Mitch been working on, Shaine?"
"Me and Mitch? You mean, together?"
Lark and Sprocket looked at each other. Oh, crap...is she trying to get me shot?
"Yeah...that chip thing with the rogue Boomer? Didn't Crimson have you trying to figure that out?"
"Well, I don't know what Mitch is doing, but I'm still working on cracking the last few bits of it... I haven't had much time between work and, well...work..."
"What kind of code?" Lark asked.
"It overrides a Boomer's programming."
"Yeah, I heard Crim say something about that while he was helping the doc with Amster."
"That's what made the police Boomer steal the K-suit. It just made it go crazy...steal things..."
"Oh. What, you can do that with just a code?"
"Aren't there backups or something?"
"This bypasses the backup."
"Ouch. ...Can I get one? One of my profs is a Boomer."
"They're all Boomers."
"Hehe, yeah, but how many actually come with 'Genom' stamped on their rears? She's a K-7, mannequin Boomer... I've never tried hacking in on her..." But her face told a different story.
"Enh...I wouldn't suggest it, going at a hardware-driven system like that. Either you have to direct connect, or you have to leave some sort of physical trace... I prefer clean software hacks. Network runs."
"Laser. Tightbeam to their interface..."
"Oh...yeah. There's that. I just never really got into it. If I wanted to get into a Boomer's code all I had to do was ask." She shrugged.
"Bell, if I get called in to your school for that, I'm going to kick you!" Lark shot a glance at Shaine. "Please don't teach her that... Don't even tell her that; outside of the Ravens, our Miss Belladonna is the principal's pet - for trouble."
"Don't worry. Sucking up to Uncle isn't high on my list of desirable skills..."
"I can see why," Bell said unhelpfully.
Shaine winced. "Yeah."
"Kind of like my dad... He was really scum, and still is. Only with Erik, he seems all evil, when you see what he's done..."
"Bell, drop it, okay?" Sprocket glared at her.
Just then, Saki came in and looked at the ice cream. Shaine looked up nervously, just in time to see her walk out.
"Oh, someone's pissed!"
"Yeah..."
"BELL!" Lark and Sprocket thundered.
"Hey, when has Miss Xena turned down ice cream and gossip?? ...Okay, maybe she does always turn down the gossip, but still..."
Shaine shook her head and set her spoon down. "I'd better get going, you guys. Have to get up for work tomorrow, and there's still that code to finish."
"Okay..."
"Guess I'll see you later."
"Don't work too hard!" Lark called after her, just as Sprocket moaned, "Ugggh...I have class tomorrow!"
Shaine found her raven sitting on the couch watching "Zorak's Lone Talk Show of the Apocalypse and Armageddon Musical Revue."
"Greetings, Citizens! I am Space Ghost. Welcome to my show!" Oh, it's a classic...first episode, I think?
Zorak glared at Space Ghost with his typical weary gaze, insectoid eyes narrowed derisively. "This isn't your show, Space Ghost."
Space Ghost shot Zorak with his powerbands. The raven's caws sounded almost like triumphant laughter as the camera changed to a shot of a very crispy Zorak.
Shaine closed the door and walked past Morrigan to the bedroom. "Just remember who's got the Orkin Man on speed dial!"
"Araw?" Morrigan flapped over to Shaine and sat down next to her on the bed, grooming her feathers.
///
Hase almost smiled as she set her Kalashnikov down on the dresser. Well, that was satisfactory. No runaway N-6 to show yet, but I think I can keep Herr Erik from discovering that just yet...
Erik looked up from his channel surfing. "Good hunt?"
"Yes. Your city is a welcome diversion. It leveled the playing field a bit, not quite knowing my way around." She sat down on the bed next to him. "Anything on?"
"No, not much. There's a Bond flick, I think..."
"Hnh. Escapist drama...I think we're already past that...?"
"Well, yes. But it's either that or the noise they call music in these parts."
Hase plucked the remote out of his hand and turned the television off. "Or we could entertain ourselves the old-fashioned way. Tell me about these Steel Ravens of yours."
"Well...they've been picking up recruitment, it looks like. There are at least three new ones, a shorter female and two tall men, and when they intercepted the shipment of Dobermans I saw a few that haven't been active lately."
"Hmmm...you're sure there are two men? And the woman isn't one of the two younger girls?"
"No, both of the girls were accounted for already and the two men have very different styles. One uses some sort of laser claws and a brutal style; the other seems better trained. Professional, maybe military or Majestic 13."
"Mph. So what do you think of this?"
"It's only predictable...after all, we project they lost half of their team in the last sat strike."
"An unexpected bonus, hm?"
"Well, yes." He smiled. "And as for the individuals in question, I think only one of the men will pose any threat. The other's too aggressive, doubt he'll last long."
"And the woman?"
"Ah...now there's another thing." The smile went false, forced. "I don't think she'll last long, either..."
"But you want her to."
"She's the perfect candidate. Seems to be in charge of communications, and her fighting skills are still weak. She hesitates. We could pick her up easily in the middle of an ambush..."
"Not to mention the fact that you're thinking of adding a real flesh-and-blood to your, ah, collection?"
"I was." He glanced at her darkly. "We've gotten a few of their transmissions decrypted...garbled, can't make out distinct voices...but it's clear she hates Genom with a passion. I wouldn't feel safe near her."
Hase leaned in. "So what do you plan to do?"
Hm...maybe I can use this to my advantage. She hasn't seemed this excited about nearly anything since that one N-6 prototype went rogue right in the lab... "What I'd like..." He closed his eyes. "To break her. To be the center of her universe, and then destroy her while she's still wondering what she did to displease me."
Enough of that, then!... "So why exactly is it you're here? I know it's not just to drop off those new Boomers."
She sat back a bit. To any outside observer she would have seemed deep in thought, but Erik knew that the expression - or lack thereof - could mean any one of a dozen things. Fear, anger, envy...
"I have a problem, Herr Erik, and I think you might have the solution."
"Oh?"
She swallowed. "There's a group of schoolgirls...they seem to be following in your Ravens' footsteps."
Erik suddenly found the tip of Hase's nose absolutely enthralling. Anything but look into her eyes. I must not laugh, I must not laugh...
"Do you think...they meant it as a slight against you?"
"They call me Wicked Lady. And preface every attack with a sermon about the evils of Genom."
"Well. May I at least hope that they are not as well trained or equipped as the Ravens?"
"It would appear so." Hase looked down, frustration beginning to show upon her face. "They want to fight, but have no idea of how."
Her jaw clenched and she muttered, "I'd like to teach them how..."
"From the other end of an assault rifle? I know the feeling." Her head flew up, but he wasn't looking at her anymore. "Send a few of your Replicants after them; if they're untrained schoolgirls they shouldn't stand a chance."
She nodded. "I was planning to. But I'm not sure if our Mr. Mason would be inclined to investigate such a thing. After all, we don't want him knowing just how much information we still share. We're meant to be in competition, to wear each other down so that we don't pose any threats to him.
"Or to Shoham..."