Through the window, peering out into the darkness, he saw the flash of red hair as Hannah got out of Zade’s van. “God damn it, Sisko!” He slammed his hand on the sideboard table. It collapsed, broken in half.
“Noah,” Caro’s voice was that soothing, velvety violet shade. “It’ll be OK.”
He turned to her. “The hell it will.”
The soft gold cloud spreading out from her chest shut him right up. He stared into her eyes while the colors embraced him. Images of all had happened between them the night before played vividly in his head. The frantic scrolling slowed.
One by one, the kill plans began to wink off his inner screen.
Strange. With all his mods and implants, he felt like he’d only really started seeing since he met her, as if there were new eyes deep inside him now, and they were wide open. Seeing more than all his other techno shit combined. So much data.
But unlike the AVP, he didn’t want it to stop. Bring it on.
Hannah came through the door first. Zade followed. Hannah’s gaze fastened onto Asa, who looked uncomfortable. For the first time, his brother seemed at a loss.
Hannah made an almost imperceptible movement toward Asa, but stopped short. She opened her mouth to speak, and closed it again. Her throat bobbed.
After an agonizing minute, Asa broke the silence. “What’s with the red hair?”
Hannah’s chin went up. “Really? After thirteen years, that’s your opener?”
“Gotta start somewhere,” Asa said. “You’re blond or you were. I’m thinking you should’ve gone lighter, or darker brown. Even platinum would be more convincing than that shade of red.”
“Who asked you? My hair is my business,” Hannah said haughtily.
“Argue later,” Noah told her. “You two weren’t invited.”
Hannah shot him a mulish look. “I don’t care. I never care. Get that through your head.”
“Mark took my brother,” Zade said. “I’m here to plan payback and I don’t have to ask your permission to fuck him up.”
Noah held still, trying to calm down the combat program with just the breathing exercises, but it wasn’t working. His muscles tensed to the point of pain.
“Stay away from him,” he said, biting out the words. “He has your stun and kill codes.”
“At least I know he has them,” Zade said. “That’s more warning than Luke had. Maybe I can break Mark’s jaw or tear out his tongue before he can spit the codes out.”
“Good luck with that,” Noah growled.
“I’m all over this, like it or not,” Zade told him. “And you need us. Even with this guy in the mix.” He gave Asa an unfriendly onceover, which Noah’s brother ignored.
Caro watched the scene from where she stood behind the couch. Her sharp, level green eyes caught everything.
“You’ll definitely need a freq weaver,” Hannah said.
“What’s a freak weaver?” Asa asked.
“Freq as in frequency,” Hannah explained. “A freq weaver is fitted with intracranial implants and nanotech that receive or block various frequencies.” She pointed to her head. “All kinds of crazy stuff in here underneath that red hair you hate. Life’s been interesting since you took off.”
“I’m sorry,” Asa said, stiffly.
“For what?”
Asa shrugged. “That I didn’t come back sooner. That you got modded. For everything that happened.”
“Well. Whatever.” She looked away for a moment, and turned to Noah, a belligerent set to her jaw. “I’m not going to rock on a goddamn porch swing and listen to crickets while you fight Mark,” she said. “You need a freq weaver. So eat it.”
“You guys aren’t tracking,” Noah said. “If Mark recognizes any of us, we’re screwed. And the more of us there are, the more likely we get noticed by the police, the media, and Obsidian.”
“I won’t let him see me,” Hannah said. “Not that he’d know me if he did. Last time he saw me, I was half dead and totally bald.”
Asa frowned. “Why?”
“Brain surgeries. Holes in my skull. My cool neon hair means it’s really unlikely that Mark would make the connection.
“He’ll recognize your sig,” Noah pointed out, staring at his sister.
“So? He’ll know yours too, if it comes to that.” She met his gaze, her eyes full of defiance. The air hummed with tension. Caro was watching from behind the couch. Catching his eye. Silently telling him to chill with her eyes, with the colors around her body. But he couldn’t.
“I can’t let you do this.” He was slammed by the flat certainty that he couldn’t control her or protect her any longer, even as he said it. So fucking futile.
“You’d keep me in a padded room if you could,” Hannah said. “I love you for wanting to protect me, even though it drives me nuts. But no more. I’m done with that.”
“Listen for once,” he said. “It has to be me. Only me. You guys need to disappear, to locations that aren’t in my head, so they can’t be drugged or tortured out of me.”
“Sounds like the doomsday plan.” Hannah crossed her arms over her chest. “Updated?”
“Yes,” Noah said.
“You have got to be kidding me,” Zade muttered.