Page 36 of Stalker

His eyes dart between me and Vorpa. "I ain't saying shit."

I grasp his pinky finger. "Wrong answer."

The snap echoes through the attic. His scream follows a heartbeat later.

"Daniels!" He clutches his mangled hand. "Commander Daniels hired us. Said some nosy detective was getting too close."

Vorpa's golden eyes narrow. "How long has he known about me?"

"Weeks. He's got eyes everywhere. Said to make an example—" His words dissolve into whimpers as I reach for another finger.

"That's enough." Vorpa's scales ripple with barely contained rage. "He's known I was investigating him this whole time."

The thug slumps in my grip, passed out again from the pain. I let him drop.

"Now what?"

"Now we move faster." Vorpa checks her weapons. "Before Daniels decides to make an example of someone else."

"Daniels doesn't know about me." The McPistol's weight feels lighter now that I've drawn blood. "He won't see me coming."

Vorpa's tail twitches. "These thugs have seen your face."

"True." I level the garish weapon at the unconscious man at my feet. "But they won't be telling anyone."

The first shot echoes through the attic. Clean. Efficient. The smart-mouth's body goes slack, blood pooling beneath his head.

My ancestors stir, their approval thrumming through my bone spurs. This is what we are. What we do.

The second thug tries to crawl away. The McPistol barks twice more. His movement stops.

Number three doesn't even have time to scream before joining his companions. The last one, the one with the broken nose, manages to reach the door.

"Please—"

The word dies with him.

Vorpa's scales have paled to a dusty pink. Her golden eyes are wide, but she doesn't interfere. She understands necessity.

"The ancestors demand blood." I holster the smoking weapon. "And I have promises to keep."

Maryse's face floats in my mind - her smile, her trust, her love. To deserve that future, I must first honor my past. No witnesses. No loose ends.

The bone spurs along my arms pulse with ancestral approval. Soon, Mother. Soon you'll have justice, and I'll be free to build something new.

"We should go." Vorpa's voice sounds strained. "Before someone investigates the gunshots."

I nod, stepping over the cooling bodies. My ancestors whisper their satisfaction as we descend the stairs. Four more lives claimed in service to vengeance.

Four steps closer to Daniels. Four steps closer to my future with Maryse.

CHAPTER 14

MARYSE

"As you can see from the molecular breakdown charts..." June points to our holoscreen with perfect academic poise. "All matter is fed back into the system to begin the next cycle. And the best part?"

Eve bounces on her toes. "It can handle the biological waste of over ten thousand sapient species."