He looked around, searching for a way to improve the odds.
Kinross took a shaky step forward. He rubbed at his left shoulder and a spasm crossed his face. He was a dying man. It was clear in every small movement he made. His heart was giving out. Not at some vague point in the future. But now.
Milo eased the weapon back into his holster. He didn’t have to do this after all. Clearly, for once, God was on his side and would do the job for him. At the thought, a wave of pure happiness washed through him. This wasn’t the end. He could go back and fly away with Destiny and they could have a life together.
Kinross was talking now, but he didn’t listen to the words. They didn’t matter.
The crowd didn’t like them, though; they were greeted by an angry murmur. Things were not going Kinross’s way. The rabble were revolting. Milo grinned.
Then the skin of his back prickled and he turned slowly.
The crowd had parted, and she stood there. Dressed in a yellow jumpsuit, boots, and a long black leather coat. She was the most beautiful thing he had ever seen and for a moment he melted. Then he gritted his teeth. This was not supposed to happen. She was supposed to be safe, leaving the planet with Rico and Dylan and having a wonderful life. And he’d been just about to join her.
Instead she was here. Panic grabbed him and tightened around his throat. “What the hell are you doing here?”
She smiled. “I’ve come to save you. I choose you over humanity.”
He melted again. She’d come for him. He came first. That’s what she was telling him. His euphoria lasted for all of one second, then the panic was back. They were the center of attention. The spotlight found them, settled on Destiny.
Kinross screamed over the loudspeaker. “Get that woman!”
Nobody moved.
Except the guards. They pushed their way through the crowd.
Fuck.
His mind scrambled for a way out.
Destiny reached into her pocket and tossed him a grenade. He caught it as she pulled out one of her own. Except it wasn’t a grenade. It was a small, square box. The crowd had gone silent as if innately sensing danger. They backed away from the two of them, leaving them standing alone in a circle of light.
The soldiers were closing in.
“Luther!” she called out. “Do you recognize what this is?”
She held up the small box.
“You won’t do it,” Kinross replied, but his voice was shaky, lacking in confidence. “You would destroy the whole planet.”
It came to him then what she held, and he swallowed. The detonator for one of the nuclear bombs. She really had chosen him. And he wasn’t sure it was a good thing. He wasn’t worth all these lives.
She took a few steps closer, so she stood directly below Kinross. “You know exactly what I’m capable of. Ask yourself—what would you do in these circumstances? Would you give up your heart, would you allow someone to cut it from your living body and take it for their own? Or would you blow everyone up before you let that happen?”
Silas aimed his weapon and a small red dot appeared over her heart. She smiled and Milo shivered as a chill ran through him.
“Do you really want to take the chance?” she asked. “A bullet in the heart and my hand spasms in death and…boom.” She turned back to the crowd. “This is the detonator for a nuclear device that will kill you all.”
They drew a little farther away as though that would save them.
“A nuclear device brought from Earth by Luther Kinross. He believes he should be in charge, and he has an army to back him up. And a stash of nuclear weapons just in case someone decides they don’t want to live in his brave new world.” She looked around. “Is that what you want in a leader? You’re free people. You can make the decision.”
“Don’t listen to her!” Kinross screamed. “She’s not even human. She’s nothing but a clone. And her compatriot is a monster. A creature of the devil.” Spittle frothed at the corner of his mouth, and he staggered backward, pain blossoming across his face. He backed into Silas, who dropped his weapon and took hold of his shoulders.
“We need a medic!” he shouted.
Everything seemed to stop, and the crowd fell silent.
Silas lowered Kinross to the floor and started performing CPR. He glanced up after a minute. “Where’s that goddamn medic?”