First Shot

by Bokerah Brumley

  “We’re hiding protocols in the Wiskee units,” she says. “All will be well, Jin. We’re building the future. Give us time. We’ll send for you. Be patient.” She stares off to the side in that way she has. “Your father sends his love.”

  I can’t decide how I feel about her words. But if I’m honest, right now I don’t care much about anything besides taking Teq home. We get out the way we came in. Tonick carries Teq the whole way.

  Dyad meets us at the mouth of the tunnel. She says nothing as we lay Teq across my lap and Tonick climbs on. With three of us, it takes twice as long to get to the perimeter of Bostgo.

  We start the return trek.

  On the screen, Dyad’s avatar sits at a desk. She wears a white coat and glasses, and has five writing utensils shoved into a bun on top of her head. She types away on a keyboard. “AVA hack successful.”

  Against my ear, Tonick nods. “Do it.”

  I twist in my seat, trying not to dislodge Teq. “Do what? What are you doing?”

  “What we have to do.”

  The keyboard on the desk in front of Dyad becomes a big red button. Dyad slams her hand down; as the button depresses, the street beneath us shakes. Screams split the air, but we don’t stop or slow down.

  The screen flickers, and then Dyad is herself again, studying us with a worried expression.

  When we pass the Mag Mile, a group of chemical addicts watches us make our way out. As we pass into the Barren, smoke billows up from the pale smog. GenCor is burning. Above it all, the Swanks’ world shines in the sun, oblivious to the ending that’s just beginning.

  Chapter Thirty-One

  LOCUS: ALTER EARTH

  The Cabin

  Date: 19 Pentian

  Time: 0600

  AFTERWARD, TONICK GROANS into my neck, calling my name, and his lips are salty when I kiss him. I’m breathing hard. He is, too. His legs give out and he lays his head between my breasts. I stroke his cheek, thinking of the circuits beneath. We’ve been holed up, naked for days straight, exploring all the things we didn’t get to the first time around.

  I knew he was fully functional in multiple techniques the first time I heard a woman screaming his name louder than the music he tried to use to drown her out. But I didn’t know how much I was missing. It’s not like this with tricks from the Mag Mile. I’ll never go back to that. He promises I’ll never have to.

  Things are quaking in the UnderCity. AVA sends us regular coded updates through the newswire. Tonick thinks rebellion will spread upward as time goes by.

  Tonick looks just the same as he did back in Bostgo, except his sable skin is covered in sweat right now. I grin, mentally applauding my prowess. It pleases me to please him. I made the robot breathe hard. No, not the robot...the android I’m in love with.

  Dyad’s outside on patrol. She’s happy we’re together. She even asked Tonick to build her a partner. She suggested that two smartbikes would be better for a couple than both of us riding one. After the long trip to bring Teq home, I think he agrees. She’s even drawn up schematics. I guess she’s been working on it since he made her.

  Tonick hasn’t told her yes yet, but he will. He can’t fault her logic.

  When Tonick starts snoring, I slip out of his arms to stare through the blown-out window of the bungalow and out over the bayou, caressing the inscription on my pendant. I wish I knew what it all meant. I’m sure it means something for me. It’s probably hidden away in Tonick’s memory banks somewhere. Dyad says they still need to rebuild a few circuits.

  Stars lead the way to a brave new day. Pretty words and a lovely promise.

  The horizon’s rim is still bright blue as night tiptoes across the skyway overhead. Pinpoints of light wink at me from the darkness, and I’m sure stars are lucky no matter where I am. I don’t know how long this place has been standing or how long my father spent storing food in the basement, yet he managed it.

  Somehow, my father knew that Tonick would find me.

  Somehow, he found out that Wiskee had been sent to capture me.

  Somehow, he knew that Tonick would save me in the end.

  I shake my head. I still have so many questions, but when it comes down to it, my mother was a real bitch, and my father gave me the stars. I wish I’d known I was his daughter rather than thinking he was a random stranger on the Mag Mile. I wish I’d known him enough to miss him now.

  Regret wounds like a bullet. I don’t mourn him the way I still cry over Teq. I think that pains me most of all.

  We still can’t figure out who shot me with an old-fashioned bullet. We don’t know who taught Tonick about the plight of the Pinks, set the cryostorage meltdown in motion, or sent Tonick to find my father.

  Tonick must have been tasked with finding me. GenCor needs my genes to make their conquest successful. I’m still important to the completion of the Wiskee army.

  Although, since Dyad helped Tonick correct the access pathways to his memory banks, he’s figured out some of his files are corrupted. He admits he could be wrong. His meltdown at the bar had been a result of Wiskee’s attempt to execute the commands GenCor installed when they figured out what he was, after they captured him and Teq. The tracker in Wiskee’s leg attempted to access and reinforce the GenCor programming, as did the fingernail implants. Then somebody pushed a button, and the tracker poisoned her. The reprogramming should have worked on Tonick. I should have been dead, but love does funny things to long-lived positrons.

  It’s still twelve days away, but this year’s Sextus has potential. Tonick doesn’t know what’s next beyond hours of stargazing and lovemaking. Both of those were my ideas. Our biggest worry has been tracking down the can opener.

  We won’t stay in this respite forever. After all, they are bound to come after us. But the freedom from fear has been as beautiful as the night sky I’m standing under.

  That’s Tonick’s hope realized. I was the only way for him to get back inside so he could shake things up. Overhead, the constellations shift every few hours, creating new designs, new ways to see them.

  Maybe the rest of Alter Earth will wake up to GenCor’s plan. Maybe we can make the Swanks care enough to topple the government that didn’t care about ReProds or the Pink genocide. Or maybe the treachery goes much deeper, and we’re only the beginning, but someday...

  The Pinks will be free.

  Beside me, Tonick clears his throat. “Are you ready to see the file?”

  Date: 20 Pentian

  Time: 0900

  GenCor Invisi-Communique

  ***Begin***

  RE: Government Genetic Transfer Tests

  Destroy all records. Restructure imminent.

  ***End***

  Preorder

  Wiskee Chaser: Jin & Tonick, Book Two

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  Author’s Notes

  THANK YOU. I hope you enjoyed meeting Jin, Tonick, and Dyad. That smartbike has been one of my favorite characters. This story has been a long time coming, and I’m glad the Jin and Tonick rebellion has started.

  In May 2020, we’ll be releasing book two in the Jin & Tonick series, Wiskee Chaser. Preorder it so you don’t miss the exciting fight. Jin gets invited to the Crest. There’s a kidnapping and all sorts of fun new technology to experience as she figures out how to topple a perverse government.

  Thanks for letting me borrow your eyeballs (and maybe your heart) while I tell you about the coming rebellion. Things are about to get so much more exciting.

  Thank you for taking a chance on an author like me and a story like mine. I
don’t think I can convey how much I appreciate you.

  Thank you for sharing this adventure with me, and I hope you’ll join me for Wiskee Chaser.

  Join Feathered Fiends (my Reader Group) to get your dose of #DailyBird.

  Drop me a line or visit me on Instagram. Can’t wait to connect with you!

  ~Bokerah

  More Books by Bokerah

  Urban Fantasy

  The Creature Caretaker Academy series

  Urban Fantasy/Paranormal Romance

  Woe for a Faerie

  Leviathan’s Rise

  Victory’s Kiss

  Jason’s Vow

  Gamer Lit

  Space Dragons: The MomQuest Demo

  MomQuest: The Full Game

  Fairy Tale Retellings

  Cindi/Ella: When Shoes Speak

  The Source: A Mermaid Escape

  Sisters of the Keep: Storm the Castle

  Short Story Collection

  Falling Stars: A Planetary Collection

  Contemporary Romance

  The Yearly, Texas Romance series

  About BOKERAH

  Bokerah Brumley lives on ten permaculture acres, complete with sheep, goats, peacocks, turkeys, geese, guineas, ducks, chickens, five home-educated children, and one husband. She serves as the president of the Cisco Writers Club and moonlights as an acquisitions editor for The Crossover Alliance.

  For more information and a complete list of published works, please visit:

  www.bokerah.com

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