Chapter 36

"What?" Renee said, then shook her head when he began to repeat it. "No- fuck, Matt, you said you'd give me warning!"

'I have given it, ' retorted the AI. 'Speaking any earlier was likely to cause distress, sibling. And a brain marinating in adrenaline will soon lose the edge.'

The synthetic bit back a curse and strode out of the room.

The younger Simon scrambled to his feet, like a soldier caught sleeping on watch.

"What does Henry do when he gets home?" asked the girl. She squatted down to be level with the kid, tried to keep her words calm. "What'll he expect?"

The boy shook his head, eyes wide.

"What? You don't know, or you can't say?" She unclasped her weapon's holster, glanced at the hall with renewed intensity.

This is the only place it can happen.

"He doesn't know." A croak from the room she'd just left. "Henry expects- expected me in the bedroom." Simon peered at her from the doorway. "He'll come here when he notices Seven isn't there."

"Here?"

"He knows we talk. Sometimes." The older boy glanced at his copy. "He didn't like it. But he liked punishing us."

'The man has entered the front door, dear, ' said Matthias.

Renee shut her eyes tight, trying to block out the Shitshitshit- running through her head. Think!

The hall was too narrow for any furniture, nothing for her to hide behind. It met the larger corridor that Henry would come from ... but she couldn't wait at that corner, because then Simon wouldn't see.

Hiding in Simon's room was almost a good idea, but too much could go wrong. Henry would see the open door; he'd either turn the lights on inside the chamber and reveal her - or she could have Matthias refuse his command, and lose the element of surprise.

"Fuck," she whispered again. Renee turned to the kid. "Go over there," she pointed to the other end of the passage, the opposite from where Henry would come. "Watch."

The boy did as she ordered.

She stood, examined the corridor in another fruitless attempt to locate a better position. Nothing.

Nothing.

Renee backed up against the wall, so he'd not see her until the latest second, at least. The weapon in her hand was shaking, despite how much she tried to convince her limb to stop shivering.

'He knows something is amiss.' The cool voice of the AI in her head, 'He is on his way.'

A quick glance confirmed that Simon could see. He nodded to her, propped up against the door.

She aimed, needed both hands for it to be steady enough. It was little more than twenty feet.

The man entered her sigh.

She fired.

The tiny dart that escaped the gun soared fast...

But not to the right target. It lodged into the wall, slightly to the left of the man, then disintegrated into smoke.

Henry's eyes widened at the sight of the armed girl.

Renee tugged the trigger again, multiple times, each sliver missing her mark by mere inches as he dodged from her line of sight.

"Shit," she said. The synthetic took three steps toward the hallway branch, when the man called out from his hiding place.

"Simon, disarm her."

The girl spun around, the younger boy racing towards to her, and the elder struggling to his feet.

"No, stay there-" she said, swinging the gun at one and the other.

'Not going to work, sister, ' noted the AI in her head.

"I know, I know," said the girl, jerking the weapon back. "Fuck." She stepped toward the enemy again.

Just in time to be tackled by the older Simon and slammed against the wall.

He frantically grasped for the weapon, his master's command overcoming the weakness of his body. "Sorry, sorry, sorry," he repeated, over and over, face an inch from hers.

But he didn't capture the gun - his clone did. Seven peeled her fingers from the barrel as his genetic twin pushed her wrist into the wall, then tugged it free.

"No!" said Renee, knowing it was useless, knowing a synthetic can't fight a direct order...

But you can subvert them.

"Simon," she said.

He still held her against the wall, still spouted apologies.

"Simon!" she hissed. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Henry round the corner again. "Listen to me!"

He flinched, and the stream of words sputtered to a halt. Bloodshot eyes met hers.

"Think. Henry never specified who he was talking to." She tried to give weight to the rest of the thought, maintain eye contact, make him believe it. "He was talking to the other one."

He shook his head at first, an automatic, logical denial ... but then his eyes widened. Simon looked from his fists holding her, to her insistent expression. The boy grinned and released his captive, just as his master reached the youth.

Renee launched herself at the youngest boy, barely a few feet away.

But her motion was cut short by a fingers wound and grasping her dark strands of hair.

Henry pulled her away from his newest synthetic with little effort, shoving her back into the wall she had just left. Then he slammed her against a few more times, just to pacify.

"I told you to hold her," he growled at the older Simon. "How the fuck did you-" His eyes narrowed and he turned to the girl trying to pry his fingers apart. "What did you do to my computer? Who are you?"