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"That we’d cut out the ier nods She wipes away the snow clinging to her face "I don’t think the duht"

She hands the device to me I close the cover, slip it into eant," she says quietly, ordown her voice "What’s the call?"

I suck down a lungful of air, let it out slowly "Get back to the squad Pull everyone’s implant…"

"And?"

"Hope like hell there isn’t a battalion of Rezniks on its way right now"

I turn to go She grabs o back without iet it Then I nod, rubbing the back of ht up in their eyepieces without the implants "Poundcake will drop us before we’re halfway across the street"

"Hold them in our mouths?"

I shake my head What if we accidently s thee the wounds up tight, and…"

"Hope like hell they don’t fall out?"

"And hope pulling them out didn’t deactivate them…What?" I ask "Too much hope?"

The side of her mouth twitches "Maybe that’s our secret weapon"

62

"THIS IS SERIOUSLY, seriouslyus?"

We’re sitting against the concrete half wall of the garage, Ringer and Poundcake on the flanks, watching the street below Dumbo is on one side ofher head against my chest

"Reznik is a Ted," I tell him for the third ti us to--"

"Stow it, Zombie! That’s the craziest, most paranoid load of crap I’ve ever heard!" Flintstone’s wide face is beet red His unibrow jumps and twitches "You wasted our drill instructor! Who was trying to waste us! On a uys can do what you want, but this is it for me This is it"

He pushes hi back to the rendezvous point to wait for the evac This is…" He searches for the right word, then settles for, "Bullshit"

"Flint," I say, keeping my voice low and steady "Stand down"

"Unbelievable You’ve gone Dorothy Du this"

I pull the silver device from reen dot right there? That’s you" I scroll down to his nureen button flashes "Knohat happens when you hit the green button?"

It’s one of those things you lie awake at night for the rest of your life and wish you could take back

Flintstone juht have gotten to him in time, but Teacup’s in my lap and it slows me down All that happens before he hits the button is my shout of "No!"

Flintstone’s head snaps back violently as if someone has smacked him hard in the forehead His

Then he drops, straight down and loose-lis have lost their tension

Teacup is screah I do it anyway, I don’t have to check his pulse to know he’s dead All I have to do is look at the display of the device clutched in his hand, at the red dot where the green one used to be

"Guess you were right, Ringer," I say over my shoulder

I ease the control pad out of Flintstone’s lifeless hand My own hand is shaking Panic Confusion But er: I’m furious at Flint I a, fat face

Behind e?" He’s panicking, too

"Right now you’re going to cut out Poundcake’s and Teacup’s ioes up an octave "Me?"

Mine goes down one "You’re the er will do yours"

"Okay, but then what are we going to do? We can’t go back We can’t--where’re we supposed to go now?"

Ringer is looking at ht downturn of herherself, like she already knohat I’m about to say Who knows? She probably does

"You’re not going back, Duer corrects me "We, Zombie"

I stand up It seeht I step over to her The hips her hair to one side, a black banner flying

"We left one behind," I say

She shakes her head sharply Her bangs swing back and forth in a pleasant way "Nugget? Zoo back for him It’s suicide"

"I can’t leave him I made a proin How do I put it into words? It isn’t possible It’s like locating the starting point of a circle

Or finding the first link in a silver chain

"I ran one tiain"