"No, no," Sandy assured him. "We’ll disable those controls. You'll drive it yourself."
With a gleam in her eyes, Pixie said, "Unless you want the fish to drive!"
"We absolutely do not want the fish to drive," said Carter.
Fen, her voice wavering in a way that he knew meant she was stifling hysterical laughter, said, "Let’s take a look at the truck.”
“I’ll take you to it,” said Pixie.
As they walked out, Carter brushed against a robot. It made a sad popping noise and fell on its face.
He hurried past, ignoring the exclamations of dismay behind him. But the sight Pixie led him to was no improvement. Carter had been very clear over the phone about what kind of aquarium truck he wanted. He'd specifically said he did not want whatever was in the tank to be visible from the outside. Whoever he’d spoken to had assured him that it wasn't. And yet the enormous tank mounted on the truck was completely made of glass.
He wheeled accusingly on Pixie. “I was told that the aquarium wasn't visible from the outside."
Pixie blinked a pair of innocent blue eyes at him. "Why would anyone want an aquarium tank if they don’t mean to drive on the freeway and have everyone see the sharks swimming around and video it and post it on Instagram?"
“Never mind why,” Fen said icily. “The point is that we were promised that the aquarium would be hidden. Why were told that it would be if it isn’t?”
Fen’s dark eyes met Pixie’s blue ones, and Pixie quailed. “Oh, um, I’m sure whoever you talked to meant that itcanbe hidden. We can put a tarp around the tank if you like."
"Yes," said Carter. "We would like."
While Locs and Sandy wrestled a huge canvas tarp around the tank and tied it down, Pixie showed Carter and Fen the fish driving controls and how to disable them. Carter checked three times to make sure they were disabled.
As they paid, Locs appeared to register his name for the first time. "Hey… You’re Carter Howe!"
"I am." He waited for her to say something nice about his phones.
"You're Carter Howe, and you're not going to let the fish drive the truck?” She heaved a disappointed sigh. “I thought you'd be cooler."
He was so irritated that he had to stop himself from deliberately touching another robot as he left. But Fen, seething beside him, deliberately bumped him so his hand brushed up against a robot. Nothing happened.
Outside, she said disappointedly, “I thought you’d blow up the robot if you touched it.”
“Sometimes I do, sometimes I don’t. There doesn’t seem to be any pattern to it.” He bent and kissed the top of her head. “But I love that you tried to get revenge on my behalf.”
“She called you uncool.” Fen shot a glare over her shoulder fit to blow up a robot. “Coming from a woman who thinks we should let Norris drive…”
“To be fair, she didn’t know what we’d have in the aquarium.”
“That makes it even worse.”
Fen was only soothed by the distraction of trying out the aquarium truck. It wasn't the easiest vehicle in the world to handle, but they could manage it. They took turns driving it around quiet streets until they felt comfortable enough to take it to the swamp. They parked it at the secluded dock they had used before, and Carter released Precious from her cage. She launched into the air, swooping and chirruping. Clearly she had fond memories of the swamp. Sugar popped out of Fen’s cleavage and joined Precious, gliding from branch to branch.
“Little darlings,” remarked Fen, watching their pets play.
Aren’t you glad you listened to us about our small sister?a monster hissed.
You should listen more often,growled a monster.
[smug ochre]
Yeah, yeah,Carter muttered inwardly.
He walked to the edge of the dock and took out a flare gun. He was about to fire it when he remembered what had happened when he’d touched the robot, and handed it to Fen.
"Yes,” she said, delighted. “Give the girl the gun.”
