Chapter 9 · Dead Man's Name

"Target acquired. Sector 4, Sub-level 2. Eliminate on sight."

The drone's voice wasn't human. It was a synthesized screech that tore through the humid air of the maintenance tunnel just as the red laser dot painted a bullseye on my chest. I didn't think. I dove behind a rusted coolant pipe, the metal shrieking under my weight.

*Bang.*

The wall next to my ear exploded in a spray of concrete dust. I coughed, the taste of alkaline and old blood filling my mouth. I didn't have a gun. I had a stolen data-pad and a set of stolen reflexes that felt like they were vibrating under my skin.

"Come out, Iteration 74," the drone droned, circling above. "Your expiration is overdue. Compliance is the only remaining variable."

"Screw your variables!" I yelled, pressing my back against the pipe. My heart was hammering against my ribs like a trapped bird. "I'm not going back into that box!"

I lunged. I didn't go for cover; I went for the machine. I slid across the greasy floor, the friction burning through my pants, and leaped. My fingers clamped onto the drone's chassis, the cold alloy biting into my palms.