“You left Leo locked in there with Fortunato?” Dick said.
“Understandable,” Cicada said.
“What?” Nick said.
“Shipmate, deadly enemy, locked door,” Cicada said. “She was just doing what came naturally to her. Obviously it’s a reflex.”
“I’m fixing this,” Lilliana said. “Right now.”
She went over to the console and undid her last lock on it, re-enabling communications between it and the interior one. Fortunato was ready and waiting to jump on the line as soon as it was open.
“Did we forget something?”
“Quite possibly,” she said.
“Are we having some regrets about walking out?”
“Are you?” she said. “Because you let me do it… you watched me go and you let it happen. I think if you look deep inside your… self… you’ll find that was the moment of your victory.”
“I think you’re right,” he said. “Because now I have one of your shipmates as a hostage.”
“Before, you had me and that shipmate,” Lilliana said. “Your victory was in learning to let me go. You could complete that victory by…”
“Oh, just shut up and get me out of here,” Fortunato said. “I don’t even care anymore.”
Lilliana was already working the keypad.
“I’m going as fast as I can, but I was trying to hobble the system so it would take longer to undo the lock then it would for… oh, there we go,” she said, and the door slid open.
Cicada leveled her GSMR at the opening as Fortunato came through, his sword out and his electrolaser pointed at the hulking woman.
“Your move,” Lilliana said.
“The hell it is,” Cicada said. “I’m hardened against electrics, and that sword’s not doing shit to my endoskeleton. I could drop him without spending a round.”
He shifted the gun to Lilliana.
“You’re still not doing anything especially worrying to me,” Cicada said.
“I mean to get the hell out of here,” Fortunato said to Lilliana. “I’m not saying you’re right… I’m not giving anything up and I’m not letting anything go. What’s mine is mine. I just don’t feel like fighting over it at the moment.”
“Are you talking about the Finger, or about me?”
“I’m talking about what’s mine,” he said. “Exact boundaries thereof to be established later, when I do feel like fighting about it.”
“You’d be an idiot to let him go after he says something like that,” Cicada said. “You’ll never have a moment’s peace as long as he’s out there.”
“Go, then,” Lilliana said, ignoring her.
“Idiot,” Cicada said. Fortunato slid around the outside of the small office, keeping his back to the wall and his weapons out until he disappeared through the door. Cicada aimed her pistol after him. “I could save you so much trouble, even now. I’ve got a siglock on the distinctive bastard.”
“Save your ammo instead,” Dick said. “We’ll need to make every last shot count.”
“I could make the last shot count now and get it over with,” she said. She put up her gun. “But I suppose he’s one more thing for everyone else to be shooting at, isn’t he?” She looked at Lilliana. “Get your fallen.”
“Nick, why don’t…” Lilliana said.
“Why don’t you?” Cicada said. “I’ve got one boomy bullet left, and right now I’m more confident of my ability to get myself out of here without it than I am of my ability to get the whole group out with it. I think that puts me in charge… ma’am, captain.” She nodded to Lilliana and Dick in turn. “Hop to it.”
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