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The sound started again, h the ceiling and clattered to the center of the cell’s floor Three more dropped after it

Thorne craned his head as one of the screws rolled beneath his cot

A , followed by two dangling legs and a startled cry The legs wore a white cotton jumpsuit that matched Thorne’s, but unlike his own plain white shoes, the feet attached to those legs were bare

One wore skin

The other a plating of reflective irl released her hold on the ceiling and fell into a crouch in thehis elbows on his knees, Thorne tilted forward, trying to get a better look at her without ht build and tanned skin and straight brown hair Like her left foot, her left hand was irl stood and brushed off her jumpsuit

"I’m sorry," Thorne said

She spun toward hi jail cell Do you need directions to get back to yours?"

She blinked

Thorne sirl frowned

Her irritationher He’d neverbefore, much less flirted with one, but there was a first ti

"These cells aren’t supposed to be occupied," she said

"Special circu rew "Thank you, but no I started a riot on the yard" He adjusted his collar, before adding, "We were protesting the soap"

Her confusion grew, and Thorne noticed that she was still in her defensive stance

"The soap," he said again, wondering if she’d heard hi

"I have sensitive skin"

Her mouth opened and he expected sympathy, but all that ca herself up, she kicked the fallen ceiling tile out from beneath her feet, then proceeded to turn in a full circle, surveying the cell Her lip curled in annoyance "Stupid," shea palainst it "One room off"

Her eyelashes suddenly fluttered as if dust were stuck in theainst her te"

"Not at this veryher head "But, yes, that is the general idea" Her face lit up when she spotted the port in his lap "What model portscreen is that?"

"I haven’t the faintest idea" He held it up for her "I’ether a portfolio of the wo herself from the wall, she snatched the portscreen away and flipped it over A tip of her cyborg finger opened, revealing a s before she’d undone the plate on the underside of the port

"What are you doing?"

"Taking your vid-cable"

"What for?"

"Mine’s on the fritz"

She pulled a yelloire from the screen and dropped it back into Thorne’s lap, then sank cross-legged to the floor Thorne watched, mystified, as she tossed her hair to one side and unlatched a panel at the base of her skull A ed with a wire similar to the one she’d just stolen froirl’s face contorted in concentration while she installed the new cable

With a pleased sigh, she shut the panel and tossed the old cable next to Thorne "Thanks"

He gri away fro like that" The girl stood and ran a hand over the wall again "Ah, that’soff, she pushed the button in the corner A glossy white panel slid up into the wall, ejecting the urinal with sap left between the fixture and the wall, searching