Chapter 20 · Vera Presses Start

"Contact down!"

The bullet slammed through Vera's shoulder before she could turn. She hit the marble hard, her knees cracking against the floor as blood soaked through her blazer.

The tactical officer raised his rifle for the finishing shot. Iris's mechanical arm locked around his throat and hurled him through the wall.

Marble exploded. The officer vanished into the dust.

"Vera." Iris dropped beside her. One hand pressed against Vera's good shoulder while the mechanical arm stayed extended, blue-white light pulsing along its metal joints. Dark fluid dripped from the fingertips. "Look at me. Stay with me."

Vera forced her eyes open. A cut marked Iris's cheek, blood dried in a thin line down to her jaw. Same brown eyes. Same eyes that used to sneak into Vera's room at two in the morning to steal her physics homework.

"I said it was your fault," Vera rasped. Her voice came out thin. "I said you ruined everything."

"You said a lot of things."

"I meant them."

"No, you meant to hurt me." Iris checked the wound and pulled her hand back. "Through-and-through. You're not dying."

"You're X-07."

"Yeah."

"You've been killing things for three months."

Iris's jaw tightened. "Yeah.