“Apologies. I was up running last minute tests on her all last night,” Nex-as-Marek said, running a hand through his ruffled hair.
“I bet you were.” Rafiq eyed the two of us coolly, then looked to Voss, who didn’t seem upset by our condition in the least. “I would triple my bet if I gotbothof them.”
“So you could start your own doll production line without me? I don’t think so,” Voss said, a morning mimosa in his hand.
In his own way, he was as wrecked as we were.
His jacket was rumpled. His cuffs undone. A smear of what looked like dried blood—but not his, I was sure—darkened one side of his collar. His eyes were puffy with sleeplessness, but also bright and alert, like he’d been riding a high.
He wasn’t crumbling—he wascrackling.
A man delighted by the match he’d struck, even if the fire might burn him too.
“Then who won?” Arnaud inquired, pushing the glasses I was sure he didn’t need up the bridge of his nose.
Voss milked the moment for as long as they allowed it. “In some ways . . . all of you. In others . . . none?”
The gathered men looked to one another for confirmation that they’d all heard the same thing—and in the distance, I heard apop.
Like the crack of a gun.
Closely followed by another, then another.
And then I was hit by a wave of raw emotion and frightened screams.
I grabbed Nex’s arm. “He’s setting them off.”
“What?” asked Verdejo.
“Who?” demanded Kolokov.
“The Hollows,” Nex whispered in horror. “The MIHR dolls you took on board. Some of them were bombs, and now?—”
Each of the men was getting frantic phone calls, and a plume of black smoke rose from the next yacht over.
“Did you really think that you deserved anything from me?” Voss said, rearing back, as his own Hollows pressed forward, holding guns. The bodyguards the men had left behind at a respectful distance started scuffling—and then one of them exploded, clearing half the deck, leaving a crater big enough to see the floor below.
“Shit,” Kelly said, for once not joking. “This just got biblical.”
“Where’s your tablet?” Voss’s assistant demanded of Nex.
Nex stiffened. He hadn’t brought one. And since it didn’t look like I was going to be given away anytime soon—I looked to the remaining soldiers and pushed—jump overboard. Tread water. Stay,and they did as they were told.
Voss gave me one glance and snarled.
“We may be connected—but I don’t think you out rank me,” I said, stepping up, trying to be louder than whatever commands he was attempting to give his dolls.
“You think I don’t prepare for contingencies?” he growled—as a handful of armed soldiers who also had neural masks stepped up.
“Fuck!” I cursed and grabbed Nex, pushing him into the hole that’d been bombed, so that we both dropped down to the next floor.
I knew my mother was nearby; I could feel her waiting in the wings.
Whatever you were planning on doing, Mom—start!
56 /XEN
Royce’s gazelifted from his private thoughts. “Go is authorized,” he said.
