Chapter 23 · Diving into the Neon Gut

"Hold him down, or I cut the wrong wire." Doc slammed his palm against my shoulder as the surgical rig locked over my chest.

"Try it and I’ll bite your hand off," I said.

"You can barely keep your eyes open."

"Still got teeth."

Vala stood at the edge of the operating platform with her pistol aimed at my face. Not at my chest. Not at the black veins crawling up my neck.

My face.

That was the problem with Vala. She always knew exactly where to point the threat.

"You’re not biting anybody," she said. "You’re going to stay still."

"You dragged me into a butcher shop with a power grid. Don’t act like this is a spa day."

"It’s a clinic."

"The corpse in the corner disagrees."

Doc kicked the dead man’s boot away from the cables. The body hit the wall and slid down, leaving a dark smear across the metal panels. His stolen chip had fallen out during the fight.