••••
’We have a plan,’ Loveth’s words appear to , and I wake up.
Stephanie is sleeping peacefully in my arms, and as I try to pull away to see what they’ve co up with, she wakes and pulls back to her.
"Did it hurt that bad for you?" she asks, and I just nod as she shivers at the mory.
’They have a plan,’ I send to her ntally, and I smile as she gasps.
"I have my own heads up display!"
I laugh as I take her out to the others in the adjoining room and fill her in on the finer points of the nanites.
My laugh is cut short when I see the look in Loveth’s eyes. "The kids?" I ask, suddenly worried, only to breathe a sigh of relief a mont later when she shakes her head.
The plan to take out the twins is laid out before , and despite Stephanie’s misgivings, I agree to it. Those twins have to be stopped....
.....
I feel naked, digging my toes into the soft, cool dirt beneath my feet. Despite knowing how fast Vage’s ship can travel, I am having a hard ti believing that I am currently standing in the Southern Arizona desert, miles away from anyone else. The land stretches flat and endless in every direction, broken only by distant saguaro silhouettes and low ridges that cut jagged lines against the horizon. This ti, there will be no chance of innocent bystanders.
The night air is cool, dry, and thin. It carries the faint scent of dust and desert plants. Sohow Vage and Harana were able to get the light suit to function outside of her ship. I cannot see it, but I can feel it hugging my body like a second skin, humming faintly with restrained energy. Even now, the four females and six children are hovering a couple of miles above , far enough to remain unseen tonight, but close enough to reach in a crisis. Loveth had hinted again at helping , but with the light suits active, there can be no physical contact between us. The suit isolates . Protects . Leaves alone.
"You ca," a voice said behind .
The words, spoken from behind , startle , and I spin around to face the twins. My heart kicks hard against my ribs before settling into a controlled rhythm. Thankfully, they do not launch into their dramatic Team Rocket introduction again.
"I see you got my note," I tell Jas.
Stephanie had delivered it to them, and sohow they managed the multi-hundred-mile trip in only a couple of hours. That alone is a reminder of what I am dealing with.
The moon hangs low and enormous on the horizon, framing the two of them in pale silver light. They are holding hands. Of course they are. The nanites in my blood adjust my vision automatically, compensating for the backlighting. Their all-white clothing seems almost luminous, giving them an otherworldly glow. Saints painted in moonlight. Executioners dressed as angels.
"You’re ready to surrender your evil ways, then?" Jessie asks, her gaze traveling over my apparent nakedness. "Or did you hope to tempt us into your wicked ways?"
"You will not tempt us. We are stalwart in our convictions. God is on our side, and we shall prevail!" Jas declares imdiately after her, as though they rehearsed it.
Wow. These two are beyond pompous.
I run through the plan again in my mind, testing each step. The suit should protect . Vage was confident. Harana was less certain. That mory sits uncomfortably in my thoughts. A secondary plan hums quietly in the background of my mind, one I hope I will not need.
"Surrender? Who told you I called you here to surrender?" I said, a smirk splitting my face.
Shock flashes across their faces. And I pondered if they had truly convinced themselves that I was giving up?
The note I sent only told them where to et . They caught by surprise last ti, but this ti, I chose the battlefield.
"Then why do you call us here?" Jessie demands.
I cannot hide my smile.
"Because God hates murderers," I reply, playing into their narrative, "and you need to be stopped."
Their composure shatter, and rage floods their features. A sphere of fire blossoms in Jas’s palm, swirling and crackling with contained fury.
"Your vile tongue will not sway our holy mission!" he shouts, hurling the flaming projectile toward .
But I am ready for it this ti.
An air shield snaps into existence in front of , the invisible barrier distorting the air just before the impact. The fireball detonates against it in a burst of heat and sparks. I leap sideways, roll across the dirt, and co up on one knee with my hand already extended. I flip the switches I prepared earlier, targeting the chanisms that secure their necklaces.
The chains snap free and drop.
But they are ready for it though. Both twins snatch their necklaces out of the air before they hit the ground, clutching them tightly.
Predictable, but It was only a distraction.
While they focus on the necklaces, I create more switches on the move, layering them rapidly. From our last fight, I learned I cannot directly manipulate their internal systems. But their clothing is another matter.
I flip the switches.
The molecular bonds holding their white garnts together dissolve. Fabric disintegrates into drifting particles that scatter on the desert wind.
Jessie shrieks in outrage. Jas stiffens, shock splintering his righteous façade. I cannot help but notice that the carpet of Jessie’s matches the drapes before she manages to cover herself. She had been monts away from launching that crushing wave of force at , but embarrassnt fractures her concentration, and a blast of compressed air erupts wildly, kicking up a wall of dust several yards to my left instead of flattening .
"What wicked trickery is this?" Jas demands, his voice cracking with fury. He tries not to look at his sister, but his eyes betray him.
Another switch activates.
A cool desert breeze sweeps across them. The temperature difference is subtle, but enough. Even I am intrigued with how hard Jessie’s nipples get before forcing my focus back where it belongs.
Distraction works both ways
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