Chapter 36 · Nobody's Weapon

The gun was steady in my hand. Rock steady. Starfire steady.

Senna's pulse beat against the muzzle pressed to her temple. I could feel it through the metal. Seventy-two beats per minute. Elevated but controlled. She wasn't struggling. Wasn't begging.

Victor's finger was still on whatever remote he'd just triggered. "There we go," he said. Calm. Like he'd just proven a point in a lecture hall. "Starfire unit SF-17. Responding beautifully."

I wanted to rip his throat out. The impulse was clean and simple and *right* in a way that terrified me. My other hand twitched toward him.

"Kira." Senna's voice. Quiet. "You're still in there."

"She's really not," Victor said. He stepped closer, hands loose at his sides. Confident. "The trigger protocol overrides higher cognition. She'll hold that position until I tell her otherwise. Or until I tell her to pull."

My finger was on the trigger. I didn't remember putting it there.

"Kira." Senna again. Still calm. Her eyes were on mine, not on the gun. "What's my middle name?"

What kind of question—

"It's Reyes," she said. "After my grandmother. You asked me three days ago in the cargo bay. Remember?"

I did.