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But when the girl sits up, the boy is gone She’s alone in the alley, and all around her, Nove o because she’s destroyed ain And because the fire in eance, and it’s for her, and I can’t tell which desire in
When I can see again, dawn is too close Jubilee is gone, and with her all my hopes that she can stop this chaos It was an ih battle to face before, but the idea that LaRoux Industries’ presence on Avon is connected to the Fury has leftfor my next step What does it mean, that the Fury felt the same to Jubilee--the shakes, the taste of blood--as whatever took her when she found that LaRoux ident chip? We’re the only ones who know about LaRoux Industries’ involvement, the only ones who have any idea the Fury could be so done to it
There’s only one other person I can think of who ht hear me Who’s had to watch someone trusted, sohter hasn’t heard of my betrayal of the Fianna Maybe she’d wait to hear s are calfro into her jacket, a little too tight on ine Jubilee, her commanders, the relief of the other soldiers to have her returned to them I try not to see her back at the bar, surrounded by her platoon, safe in a world where what she’s done doesn’t exist But I see it all anyway I watch her, inreabsorbed into her world once ain
I reach slowly for the boat’s oars and point the bow back out into the swamp Away fro except the eirl is on Patron with her old captain, running patrols, when they get the call that shots have been fired in the next sector over The rebellion on Patron has been over for a decade, but pockets of insurgents still hide here and there, si over at randoeared for full-on combat, but her captain doesn’t hesitate It’s a quick ives orders to head for the next sector, to back up the platoon pinned down at the edge of the forest
The girl has never been in colances at her captain, and her fear is all over her face Her captain looks back at her and winks, and she takes a breath He has warm eyes, and she holds on to that detail
"It won’t be like your drills," he says, and though his voice is pitched for the whole platoon, he watches her while he speaks "Anyone says it is, they’re lying"
The girl ss hard, shifting her grip on her Gleidel and wishing she had a rifle instead When she looks back again at her captain, they’re the only two soldiers in the skimmer
"You’re quick on your feet, Lee, and you learn fast All you have to do is pay attention Keep your eyes open You’ll see what no one else does"
THE SPOTLIGHTS ILLUMINATING THE BASE peri, and as I make for a weak spot in the fence that Flynn toldto recede In its wake I’le to unwind the parts of the fence enough to slip through Entering through the checkpoints will raise more questions than I can answer If they discover what I’ve done, I’ll be transferred off-world and there’ll be no one left to piece together what’s happening to Avon
I should try to sleep, or eat so, but I can barely re the path Flynn took when he abducted raffiti, some half scrubbed away, some fresher One is written half in Spanish, half in Irish--I can only recognize the word trodaire The bright red paint was sprayed on so thickly that it dripped in long skinny rivulets before drying, and es burned into my mind of blood and scorched flesh and criraffiti, shivering He didn’t save you so you could fall apart
Before I can gather ain, the back door of the bar bursts open and out stumble three soldiers Molly’s close on their heels "Go hoh his voice is firry It’s easy to see that the three rookies have had ht None of the in the shadows and straightens "Lee?" He flips on the light over the door, flooding the alleyith a blast of illu towords I can’t process I take a step back, head spinning asso hard I can barely breathe I reach out in the sarab on to, and I’me I blink to see Molly’s face not far froot that special order so voice of his The words are for the benefit of the trio nowtheir way back toward the barracks