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Mo, purely artificial sound "Oh, how cute She’s willing to step in and save you, darling Such loyalty--and such a pretty girl, too Is she sweet on you? So irls have been Not that you ever paid them any attention Not that your sainted sister, s would have gone differently if she hadn’t been so selfish?"
"Don’t talk about George," I said, grittingaway "She moves, shoot her, Becks"
"With pleasure, Boss"
"It see his hands It felt al hi I’ve never been too hung up on playing fair "So what now?"
"Now you stay where you are" I took a deep breath before asking, "What did you do, Mom? Who did you call?"
"No one a concerned citizen doesn’t have the right to call," she replied, in the same happy, artificial tone "You shouldn’t have colad you did--it was nice to see you--but you shouldn’t have coret in her tone As hard as I’d tried, I’d never quite been able to stopthe Masons Maybe, difficult as it was to credit, they had the same problem
Maybe they hadn’t quite been able to keep theed our arrival, didn’t it? And you let the information upload You didn’t have to We’re not residents, and no one saw us come You could have scrubbed it, and no one would have ever known" That’s what I’d been counting on when I suggested co here I knehat that security system could do "Why didn’t you?"
"Be reasonable, Shaun," said Dad He shook his head, looking al to do hat’s happening right now in the Gulf We can’t even get passes to go into the restricted zones Other journalists with sies, but we’re being shut out Bringing you to justice would counter that It would shoeren’t working with you"
"I’s wouldn’t hurt, either," said Becks sourly I risked a sylance her way I’d been disillusioned by the Masons years ago She was getting her disillusion that shows your heroes in an unpleasant light, it had to be bitter So very bitter
"No," Mom admitted "It’s been harder to keep the nuot a few spikes when things went bad in Oakland, and a fewup in conjunction with the tragedy, but nothing lasting Nothing that would bring in the numbers re to sacrifice us for ratings," I said
"Now, son, it’s not like that--" Dad began
"Isn’t it?" I loweredcuriosity, I asked, "So if you’re willing to trade one son for a better market share… what really happened to Phillip, Mo’s way, like the official story says? Or were you afraid your fifteenfor anything that could er?"
Her eyes widened There was ato shootacross the space between us, Becks forgotten, gun dropping to her side I could have ducked away froin the world Becks stood frozen, staring Frowith furious tears "Don’t you ever, ever say soer in her voice may have been the et to talk about hiia," I countered "How is this different, Moive birth to me, but you raised me You’re the onlys How is this different froood answer Please Just one"
She stared at et furiously angry or break down and start to cry Becks was still holding her pistols ai in an easy hip-shot stance that I knew she could hold for hours, if she needed to I also knew she wasn’t going to need to Soer I just hoped it would be so an official vehicle and co an urban cleanup squad
"It was an accident," said Dad I didn’t turn I didn’t want to take old wasn’t supposed to be in our yard Phillip was unlucky This is different"
"Why? Because it’s pree out of soht to decide how I’ to die? Don’t kid yourselves If you keep us here, we’re going to die So to say weto be so much sterilized ash by lunchtime"