"Don't you fucking move."
The muzzle jammed hard against the back of Kane's skull before he could even get his knees straight.
Cold metal. Right on the bone. Whoever it was, her hand wasn't shaking.
"Hands where I can see them," she snapped. "Fingers spread. You do anything weird with those hands and I scramble your nervous system. You understand me?"
Kane lifted his hands slow. Palms out. The dead man's blood was still drying under his nails.
"I understand you're pointing a gun at the guy who just saved your ass," he said.
"Saved me?" She laughed, sharp and pissed. "You dropped three gangers in four seconds and didn't even blink. That's not saving. That's a problem."
He turned his head just enough to see her. Small. Wiry. Dark hair cut choppy, like she did it herself with a knife. Big eyes, mean mouth. Holding a jury-rigged pulse pistol like she knew how to use it. She was pressed close enough he could feel the heat coming off her jacket, smell burnt ozone and cheap coolant.
"You were about to get gutted," Kane said. "You're welcome."
"Yeah, and now their scanner says you're worth more dead than this whole scrap heap. So keep your hands up, freak."
She kicked the dead ganger's scanner toward him with her boot. It was still beeping. Red light flashing.
WANTED: KANE. VOID-CLASS. RECOVER ALIVE. REWARD: 2M CREDITS.
And underneath, smaller text: PROPERTY OF THE EMPIRE. DO NOT TERMINATE.
"That's you, right?" she said. "Kane?"
"I don't know," he said. Honestly. "Maybe. I don't remember."
"Bullshit."
"It's not bullshit. I woke up in that trash pile two hours ago with nothing. No name. No past. Just that thing beeping and those guys trying to cut my throat."
She stared at him. The gun didn't waver. Her eyes flicked down to his hands, his forearms, the blood.
"You don't remember anything?"
"I remember how to kill. That's it."
"Great. Fantastic. A glitchy Empire weapon with amnesia. Just what I needed."
She stepped back half a step, but kept the pistol trained on his chest. Now he could see the rest of her. Patched cargo pants, a beat-up deck strapped to her thigh, a burn scar running up her left wrist. Breathing fast. Not just scared. Cornered.
"Okay, here's how this goes," she said. "You walk that way. I walk this way. We pretend we never saw each other. You go be someone else's nightmare."
"You need me," Kane said.
"I don't need anyone."
"You do." He nodded at her leg. Her deck was blinking red. Dead battery or fried port. And her jacket — the left pocket was torn open, empty. "You were running before I showed up. Hiding in that container. You're not from this scrap-city. And that pistol? You've got maybe one charge left. You fire it at me, you're empty. Then what?"
Her jaw tightened. Bingo.
"You don't know anything about me," she hissed.
"I know you're alone. I know the Empire wants me alive. And I know if you walk out that door solo, those gangers' friends will find you in ten minutes. You won't make it to the port."
"And you will? You don't even know your own name."
"So help me remember." He lowered his hands an inch. She tensed but didn't fire. "You look like you can slice tech. You get me my memories back, I keep you breathing. That's the deal."
She let out a short, ugly laugh. "Oh, you keep me breathing? That's cute. You think you're in charge here?"
"Someone has to be."
"Not you." She raised the pistol higher. Right at his forehead now. Close enough he could see her finger white on the trigger. "I have the gun. I have the scanner. I can sell you right now and buy a ticket off this rock. Two million credits, Kane. You think I won't?"
"You won't," he said.
"Why the hell not?"
"Because you're Lyra." He saw her flinch. Hard. "I heard them say it. Before they died. They said Lyra the ghost, the one who cracked the Imperial vault. Empire wants you too, right? That's why you're hiding in trash. You sell me, they track the bounty straight to you. You don't get paid. You get a cell."
Her face went pale. Then red.
"You son of a bitch," she whispered.
"Maybe. But I'm the son of a bitch standing between you and everyone hunting you."