Chapter 7 · The Kill Count

"That's not a loop counter." Ada's voice cut through the hum of the core room. She stood three feet from the main terminal, her fingers still hovering over the cracked interface panel.

Victor stared at the glowing numerals on the screen. Instance-00007. Below it, two columns of numbers that made his stomach drop.

KANE, V. — 43 FROST, A. — 61

"Those are kills," he said.

"No shit." Ada pulled her hand back, wiped her palm on her thigh. "Mine's higher."

"Proud of that?"

"Should I apologize?" She turned, eyes flat. "You want to compare notes? Talk about who deserved it?"

Victor moved closer to the screen. More names scrolled past. GOMEZ, L. — 19. CHEN, M. — 3. OKAFOR, D. — 0.

"Lane's at nineteen," he said. "That's low for someone who's been here as long as us."

"Lane's smart. He doesn't waste energy." Ada crouched, traced a finger along the exposed wiring beneath the console. "He lets other people do the work, then steps in for the last kill. Efficient."

"You sound like you admire him."

"I sound like someone who's still alive."

Victor scanned the rest of the list. Fifty, maybe sixty names. Most had single-digit counts.