huge, big enough to fit perfectly in the space I had originally called the Bug bed, though I’d no idea what the Bugs used the space for; I had dragged in an old RV bed and set it up for sleeping and under-bed storage. Every few months, I placed the quilts, pillows, sheets, and all my stinky clothes under the AG Grabber and then took them into town to a laundry while I shopped for supplies. I’d probably be charged for the cat-hair cleaning now.
It was past time for cleaning. But maybe I’d take a few nights to sleep in the bed and smell Jagger on my pillow before I took the laundry load to town. Just a few nights where I could feel less alone. I put a hand on Jagger’s. His was calloused and rough and so hot it almost hurt. A cat butted my hand away and hunched her shoulders at me as if in warning. I stepped back.
Jolene said, “Next satellite will rise above the horizon in ten seconds. Nine. Eight . . .”
I retook my command seat and placed my hand over the control that worked as an off button for the shield.
“. . . Three. Two. One.”
I slammed my hand down. The B/B shut off.
Instantly, half-cooked people raced from the Mammoth. Mateo targeted them and took them down. It took maybe thirty seconds. Everything went silent.
Mateo spoke through my earbud.
“Initiating silent tracking in case someone got away. I’ll keep watch on the wreckage. It’ll take hours before the vehicles are cool enough to inspect, even by me. It’ll be dawn by then and I’ll drag them to the back of the property, under some ghillie-tech cloth and out of sight.”
He fired another shot at something I didn’t see.
“Roger that,” I said. “Don’t forget to eat something.”
“Yes, Mom,” he said, making fun of little ol’ me trying to take care of warbot him.
I ended comms and spun in my seat. The cats were all looking at me.
“Okay, that’s unnerving.”
Tuffs lifted her tail and walked to the storage compartment where the preserved goat milk was stored. Pointedly, she looked back over her shoulder.
“Ah,” I said. “I guess you do all deserve something special. Stay away from the vehicles out front and stay off the office roof where the B/B array is. Both are probably hot.”
I opened both airlocks to retrieve the cat bowls. Cats came running from everywhere. I used all the remaining goat milk, added some powdered milk and water to it, poured the last of the fish stew into a tiny bowl for Tuffs and Notch, and poured a lot of crunchy krill-based kibble—placing the extra-special treats outside, near the body of Rikerd Cotter, which was beginning to smell.
I didn’t need to look at his face. Or the faces of the ones out front. I killed them on purpose because they were trying to kill me and mine. And they were all just protein now.
Tuffs made a demanding chuff, looking at the kibble and the lack of two sets of cat bowls. She sniffed in disdain.
“I’ll add serving dishes and sardines to the grocery list. I haven’t forgotten our deal.”
I peeled the purple malleable explosive material off the door seal and rolled it all into a ball. Mateo might be able to use it someday. Back inside, I sniffed. My office smelled of cat and feverish man. Jagger was still deeply asleep, his fingers and feet and twitching, his face twisted in pain.
At the med-bay, I released the hatch. I removed my protective armor sleeve and placed my bare palm on the face of the damaged female. I let my bio-nanos go to work.
After five minutes I said, “Wake up.”
She didn’t. So I put my other hand on her, holding her face between my palms. I could practically feel my nanos entering her pores and her bloodstream. After another five minutes I repeated, “Wake up.”
This time, she did. I smiled. She smiled back.
“I’m Shining. What’s your name?”
“I’m Cupcake. I’m Red’s Old Lady.”
“Tell me about Clarisse Warhammer. And the location of Evelyn Raymond. And the plans of the Angels. Tell me everything.”
She smiled happily. She started talking.
* * *
Seventy hours and some minutes later, the entrance and the road out front were clear of scrap and bodies and anything else that might have made an uncomfortable new memory for Jagger.
Waggling his thumb and little finger at me in a gesture that was more Hawaii surfer than mainland biker, he took off on his One Rider,