Page 12 of Tyton: The Spider and the Dragonfly (Tyton #1)

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allie awoke to a flat cold surface against her cheek, rough, like asphalt, but not as smooth as Hexaline. Concrete maybe? She tried to focus on her Opti, but it only blinked offline .

She focused her eyes on Sparx who lay unconscious on the dull grey floor. She couldn’t see any bruising, but her hair was a disaster, which would likely upset her more than anything else.

“Good morning, sunshine.”

Callie turned stiffly to see the woman that had been walking toward them when they had blacked out. She sat, legs spread with her impressively large arms relaxed across the top of her head. Something stirred in her, but now was not the time to examine it.

“No sun for a month yet.” Callie sat up. She hoped her response would read as bravado instead of her very real fear. She shoved her hands in the front pockets of her SubSuit.

The woman breathed a laugh. “Cute,” she muttered. “I think I’ll keep you around.”

“You’re the skrae,” Callie said pointedly.

“The what?” The woman raised a dark eyebrow and curled her lip.

“The skrae?” Callie’s forehead wrinkled. She felt a lot less sure about the appellation than she had a few moments ago. She wished Sparx was awake to clarify things for her.

“I don’t know what the fuck you’re talking about.” The woman shook her head dismissively.

“So, you don’t live outside of the city?”

Sesi ignored the question. She leaned back in what appeared to be a rather uncomfortable metal chair.

Loose BulitWeave TacPants, all flak pads and pockets.

Her legs spread out, taking up as much space as she could.

She seemed so at home in this spartan environment without a scrap of anything warm.

And she waited. Like a spider, Callie thought.

Waited for Callie to get caught up in her web.

Callie clenched her jaw. “What did you do to us?” she groused with no small amount of petulance when nothing else had happened after several minutes.

Sesi slicked her shock of black hair out of her eyes. Callie noticed her shaved sides. A dated hairstyle, but she had no visible cyberware. No strength amplifier patch on her bare arms. No Opti. No magstrip. The style suited wearables. “That’s a trade secret.”

“So why are we here?”

“You don’t want to be here?” Sesi knew the question was ludicrous, but people tended to be more agreeable if you held the key to their relief. Annoyance just made that key a little bit shinier.

Callie rolled her eyes. Sesi grinned. She was cute. Freckles – far more than the smattering Talia wore. Short platinum hair and grey eyes. She permitted herself to enjoy the moment. In this context, her stare might be taken as threatening rather than salacious.

Freckles though. Sesi found something else in the look she returned besides anger. The eyebrows didn’t quite knit together as much as they should. Her look failed to achieve the pointedness required for real fury. Something else, indeed. There might be potential.

Sesi lowered her stare to her lips, pink and tense.

Then back to her other eye. There it was; a slight flush.

The corner of Sesi’s mouth rose just a hint.

Freckles lowered her eyes. The fit was so much easier with someone who wanted to be controlled.

Like a glove you’ve been wearing for years.

Sesi didn’t know if Freckles knew what she needed, but it pleased her that she did.

“I need something from you,” Sesi said after their little gazing game had concluded.

Callie narrowed her eyes. “You couldn’t just ask?”

Sesi laughed. “I’ll be honest, I hadn’t considered that. It’s a bit rare in this business.”

“What business is that?” Callie bit the corner of a fingernail.

Sesi considered. So far, Freckles had been direct.

She probably wouldn’t appreciate a grand manifesto or an appeal that they actually did a lot of good in the Rhea district.

Because they weren’t actually good guys .

Good guys didn’t exist. Not by a long shot.

There were only people who did things and people who looked the other way, but still reaped the benefits.

“The Adlets’s business.” Sesi watched the revelation spread over Freckles’s face. She was being held by the local gang. One she had probably heard stories about. Most of which were also true. Was it fear? Resignation, maybe?

“Why me?”Callie shifted her weight.

Sesi slid further down the chair, tenting her fingers. She hadn’t expected that response. She enjoyed Freckles more than she had predicted, based on what little intel Siku had gathered.

Callie didn’t know how she could possibly be comfortable sitting like that. She probably wasn’t.It must be an act.

“We need you to ask Model 21 something.”

“You know it lies constantly, right?”

Sesi pursed her lips and tilted her head from side to side. “Kind of.”

“What do you mean, kind of ?”

“It only lies when it doesn’t know.”

Callie narrowed her eyes. “How do you know this?

“Because one of ours works with Model 2. And another one designed the Ruskov chambers.”

Emotions swirled in Callie’s head as she put two and Model 2 together. Talia . That explained everything about that night.

“You sent Talia.” Callie pointed her finger with the accusation.

Sesi frowned. “What?”

“Talia. You sent her to… I don’t know, do something with me on New Year’s Eve!” Saying this out loud made Callie a lot less certain of what she knew for a fact only seconds ago.For the second time.

Goddammit, Talia, don’t you ever do what you’re told? Sesi thought. Of course, she didn’t. That was one of the many things that Sesi had loved about her. Still loved, if she was being honest. Which she wasn’t.

“No, we sent the mixer. Talia wasn’t even supposed to be there.

” At least Callie had indirect confirmation that Talia was one of theirs.

No second date then. A mixture of disappointment and embarrassment swirled in her stomach.

She couldn’t help but notice the hint of annoyance in the woman’s voice, though.

“The one that Sparx knew?” Callie’s eyes flitted to her unconscious friend still lying on the floor.

“We’re well acquainted with Sparx. Sparx is less-well acquainted with us.”

Callie sighed, flapping her arms, letting them fall to her sides in exhaustion. “What do you want me to ask it? I assume you’re going to threaten me or my mom or Sparx or something?”

Sesi’s eyebrows rose. She hadn’t expected it to be quite this easy, but she would take it. “I was going to pay you. Why? Do you enjoy being threatened?” a lewd twinkle in her eye. Sesi had to restrain herself from squealing with glee when Freckles’s face grew red.

Before Callie could process her feelings, Sesi stood.

Her thick arms and wide stance made her appear a lot more menacing than her height would suggest. The plain white tank and TacPants combo also helped.

She could probably derail a train with a disapproving look.

Callie’s recovering brain did not need the extra stimulation.

She looked away, though not before Sesi noticed.

“C’mon Freckles, I’ll take you home. We’ll go over specifics on the way.”

“What about Sparx?”

Sesi looked down at Sparx, still where she left her. “Siku will take care of her. She’s dealt with him before.”

Callie bit at her fingernails, eyes filled with worry. She didn’t really want to leave Sparx, unconscious in a cold, windowless room.Not that she would be able to defend her in this situation.

Sesi inhaled sharply. “It’s okay. I promise you she’s safe here.” It sounded more impatient than soothing and Sesi knew it. “Look, if we wanted to hurt her, we would have.” That still came off a lot less comforting than she had hoped it would. Freckles hadn’t yet blinked.

Sesi fished around in one of the pockets of her TacPants and found a protein bar. She placed it next to Sparx’s head. “For when she wakes up,” she said.

That seemed to have shown sufficient care for Sparx’s well-being that Freckles nodded and moved closer.

“Okay then. Follow me.” Sesi led her to another room. Dirt and filth coated the walls and it smelled of wet boots. “Through here.” She pointed to a wall with a large utility panel.

“What’s in there?” Callie asked.

“The access tunnels. All power, pipes and ports are in these tunnels.”

“And we’re going in there, why?”

“It’s the only way in or out of this place. If you decide to do more work for us beyond asking Model 21 a question, maybe I’ll explain more.” Sesi ducked her head and disappeared into the darkness.

Callie hesitated, but didn’t really have much choice, so she tentatively stepped through the panel.

In the darkness, all she could see was Sesi’s torch attached to her belt.

Some of the more advanced Optis could adjust for this sort of light level, but Sesi didn’t have one and Callie’s wasn’t the right model.

Sesi placed her hands on her shoulders and guided her away from the hole so she could replace the cover. Her brain struggled to reconcile Sesi’s current gentleness with being kidnapped and it led to some feelings she should definitely not be having right now.

“Stay close to me. It’ll be a few meters yet before we get to the functional emergency lighting.”

Callie followed the torch, swaying with Sesi’s hips. Fuck, Callie, get a hold of yourself . She dug her fingernails into her palms.

Sesi interrupted her thoughts. “We need you to ask Model 21 about a product called Lumijute.”

“The shibari rope they demoed at Binge? Why?”

Sesi sighed. It would be a long story and telling it would make her seem like she was trying to justify her actions. And while she had her reasons for doing what she did, Sesi did not justify her actions to anyone. “How much do you care about the human race?” she asked instead.

“What?” Callie frowned, but no-one could see it in the dark. “Are you a terrorist? Are you trying to break Model 21 free?” Panic rose in her voice.