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"I proht back"

"You can’t promise That’s the proble me, Lewis?"

"I want to put in a fail-safe I need your cooperation" Fail-safe

This was soenerally used on Wardens who’d demonstrated behavioral problems - those ere , and fail-safes were sometimes the only way to be absolutely sure you could stop a Warden before it was too late and the body count was too high

I’d never thought I’d be facing the possibility myself

"Fine," I said, and e to my ears "Do it"

"I also need your consent"

I rolled my eyes "Didn’t I just say do it ?"

His smile was very thin, and not at all happy "I need you to say more than that Infor to sue? Fine, here’s the cover-your-ass speech: I hereby authorize you to put a fail-safe switch in my brain, to be under your sole control, which you can use to shut er to those around e in ive you permission to kill azed at ood deal of resentht?"

"Yeah I’et why it’s necessary, so let’s get it done before David finds out what you’re thinking about" We probably looked like ere justwaterfall Two friends, standing cal our Zen on

Lewis held out his hands, palms up I put mine over them, palms down

I had to stand there, open and horribly vulnerable, as Lewis’s Earth powerht fire at the base ofout over the cap of ht I couldn’t see what he was doing, but I felt it - a sharp, bright spark deep in my brain, quickly contained My whole body jerked, and

It took several seconds for my vision to coradual definition to the edges of shapes

Lewis’s face, intent and focused

He sighed, and I felt the power drain away fro eh flesh until it terh the soles of my shoes

"Done?" I asked He nodded "How does it work?"

"It’s a signature switch I’m the only one who can trip it, and I have to do it a certain way, in a certain sequence"

"And if you do, it’s lights-out in my head? Instantly?"

"Yes," he said He sounded beaten and very, very tired "Lights-out"

"No pain, though"

"Very little About like a pinprick It’s over in about three seconds"

"I can’t believe we’re even talking about this," I said "What’s to stop o all Team Evil on you? And once I know, Bad Bob could know He could just disable the kill switch"

"I know," Lewis said He looked very sad, and very guilty "That’s why I had to get you off alone before I did this I needed to be sure I was the only one who knew about it" I didn’t get it "But I know about it"

He just stood there watching e "I need to say this," he said "Just this one time I love you I’ve loved you for half h I know it’s not possible for you to love ht have been - things ht have been different But I knohen I’m beaten"

I was stunned Lewis, of all people, was not a confessor He didn’t blurt out his emo secrets, not to anyone, especially not to me

"I have no idea what you want me to say," I said "You kno I feel about you, you’re - you’re LewisGod, why are you telling me this now ?"

"Because I can Because you won’t re about it thirty seconds froer to the exact center of my forehead

"No - "

The world exploded into jagged shards

What the hell had I just been saying?

I’d so at the waterfall for too long I shook off the blurring fascination and gave Lewis a doubtful look "Jeez, I just spaced like ?"

Leas leaning on the railing, staring into the falling curtain of water "You were saying you’d die for us," he said "For the Wardens"

You’d think I’d re else?" He see, but then he shook his head and shifted gears I could tell froed, froh check of every Warden Make sure there are none of Bad Bob’s crew in our particular woodpile When you’re done, interview the passengers and creant everybody, absolutely everybody, checked out by you and David" Soto take all night"

"Oh, at least Let "

"You are such a bastard" I sighed "Is that all? Want me to build the Sistine Chapel out of paper clips in my spare time? You know, you didn’t need all this hush-hush privacy to tell me to do your scut work "

"I know I didn’t," he said "I just wanted to show you the waterfall" I glanced at it "Pretty," I said "Anything else, O Lord and Master?" He continued to lean on the railing, staring into space "That’ll about do it" I walked away, still wondering why the hell he’d draggedpersonal Maybe he’d been about to declare his undying love for me

Yeah, like that would ever happen

Whatever it had been, he’d chickened out, and I could only think that was a good thing, given the circumstances

I had a lot of work to do

Sitting the Wardens down for their loyalty checks was easier than I figured it ht be -