Page 92 of The Fall

Reaching around Lusa’s neck, Mackenzie’s eyes sank, heavy-lidded, pulling herself to Lusa’s lips “You’ll have to do.”

He Jests At Scars That Never Felt A Wound

Kerr awoke, surrounded by screens, most blown. The ones that still had power displayed only static. Her Opti had run its diagnostic and asked if she wanted to replay the elapsed time. Kerr selected no this time. Something was wrong and she needed to find out what.

Looking over herself, she found Mercutio still locked in her grip. She holstered her, silently thanking herself for selecting auto-lock instead of auto-release during the last firmware update.

The room had a bank of important-looking tech, all of it smouldering and sparking. She doubted any of it could be salvaged, even if she did manage to get a crew in here. In the centre, encased in plastic, she found a large red button. Next to that, the statue of a woman in robes, but her face was a skull – almost like the Styx tags.

That’s why she was here. Kerr remembered one of them throwing her across the tunnel. Something behind her caved in and they both fell. After that, things were hazy. Someone must have carried her to safety, but with everything dark and broken, she didn’t feel particularly safe.

She drew Mercutio and checked the magazine. Four rounds left. Pulling the SmartTargeting chip from her pocket, she reconfigured her gun. Best to make her bullets count.

The door opened to a hallway. Smooth walls. Clean floors. An expensive-looking desk. Static played from what she guessed had once been advert displays. The lobby. This was the wrong way.

Kerr retraced her steps and found another set of doors. This one had a bright red sign that read No Entry Without Cryosuit. It had to be the Ruskov Chamber.

A blast of humidity hit her when she opened the doors. Kerr’s Opti recalibrated, adjusting to the even darker environment. The Doc Pod – open and still connected to the black tower, though none of the lights were on. The terminal too, was shattered. Model 2 was gone.

But past that, two figures huddled together. Lusa, she recognised. The other, laying supine in her arms, the most beautiful woman she had ever seen kissing the love of her life.

Kerr’s heart plummeted, along with her pistol. Lusa turned toward the clatter. Kerr covered her mouth and ran.

Alana arrived holding two RDC cylinders. “Is this the…”

“What the fuck is wrong with you?” Lusa yelled.

“You’re the one who told me to get these.” Alana made her way across the darkened Ruskov Chamber, two RDCs in hand.

“Not you. Her.” Lusa muttered angrily, bile rising in her throat.

“I don’t think she can hear you. Who is this and why is she naked? What happened to Kerr? I liked her.”

Lusa mumbled thanks and took the glucose RDC, holding it to the woman’s thigh. It hissed and discharged the contents into her bloodstream. “This is Mackenzie. She used to be Model 2. Then she kissed me. Then Kerr saw, dropped her gun and ran off.”

“That explains the nudity.” Alana handed Lusa the other RDC. “And why she tried to kill Kerr.”

“What?” Lusa pressed the second canister to Mackenzie’s thigh.

“She told Kerr to go stand near the entrance. If I hadn’t stopped her, she would have been killed in the first explosion.”

Lusa tossed the empty RDC on the floor. Its hollow clatter echoed around the room. “Would you be upset if I killed her after she unlocks the vault?”

Alana placed her hand on her shoulder. “You’ve known her for two days.”

Lusa’s temperature rose. Alana was back to being a bitch to her.

Alana pulled her hand away. “I’m sorry. I know how,” she paused, eyes darting around the room. “Intensely you feel things.”

It was a wholly insufficient apology for everything over the past ten years, but it was a start. Lusa could work with a start. “I know, it’s stupid. I shouldn’t care because she can’t know where we are. I’ve probably already told her too much. And I don’t belong here.”

“You don’t really belong at the Lake either.” Alana put her hand back on her shoulder. Lusa couldn’t remember the last time Alana had touched her.

Lusa wanted to be offended, but she knew Alana was right. Her and Talia were too much alike, but Talia had Sesi and Callie to temper her.

“I told you, she’s good for you,” Alana said. “Your uncle Cam was good for me. And neither of our lives turned out the way they were supposed to.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?”