TUELLER: Tueller handles the two minutes of getting off a call politely, and then hangs up.
TUELLER: “Sorry, Bwana. I know you don’t like to wait, but Mr. Caro needs his ego stroked and these talks are very delicate.”
TUELLER: Tueller stands up and walks over to her, and takes her hand gingerly in his.
TUELLER: “How are you feeling?”
STORY: Esinam looks at you a long time, her head tilted slightly forward.
STORY: “Ousted.”
TUELLER: Tueller smiles, at a loss for words.
TUELLER: “Sure, I guess you could put it that way.”
STORY: She nods.
STORY: “All right. I’m going to catch up on some tv.”
STORY: She starts to leave.
TUELLER: Tueller is having trouble knowing what to say next, he keeps opening his mouth to speak, and rethinking on it.
TUELLER: “I love you, sis. I’m glad you’re up.”
STORY: “Thanks.”
TUELLER: “And when you catch up a little, and feel well rested, you should dive into our projects. I think you’re going to be amazed at what we’re doing with it all.”
STORY: “Good luck, little brother. Don’t get us blown up.”
TUELLER: “No promises, sis.”
Chapter 95
TUELLER: “I hear you’ve gotten up to some shit.”
STORY: Thasht blinks at you. She releases Alejo and stands, nodding.
STORY: “I have.”
ALEJO: Alejo stands up slowly. “It’s so good to see you, Thasht,” he smiles tearing up a bit.
TUELLER: “Anything good?”
STORY: “We have conquered many.”
TUELLER: Tueller smiles.
MILLICENT: “Atta girl.”
TUELLER: “Thank you for saving the ship, by the way.”
STORY: She nods. “Half.”
TUELLER: “It’s unclear whether this is a visit or the start of your newfound freedom, but we might need to get your word of honor that you won’t kill anyone on this ship.”
STORY: “Absolutely not. It would be a dishonor to myself and my people not to kill my captors.”
STORY: “Now free me.”
MILLICENT: “I’m confused.”
Chapter 79
MILLICENT: “We need a supercomputer. Well, we need a network of supercomputers. And they must be in the Sol system.”
RYO: Ryo nods and tilts his head thoughtfully, listening for the rest of the details.
MILLICENT: “And I doubt anyone who owns such an array in the Sol system will be amenable to the idea of Noma and myself commandeering their use so we can peer under the hood of the most advanced and crucial tech in the system.”
STORY: Calixta moves over to a console. “You mind?”
RYO: “Please.”
STORY: She pulls up a star chart.
STORY: Pointing at the current locations of the planets in the system, she explains. “Got a couple options. We can all become priests and use the Exodus supercomputer on Enceladus. We can break into Chandra’s base on Titan, good luck with that one, or, well, there’s Io.”
STORY: “But I suspect Esinam Ya’Makasi isn’t interested in letting us borrow some time on her rig.”
STORY: “So basically we’re fucked three ways.”
MILLICENT: “One of three ways.”
MILLICENT: “Now we must simply choose the manner of our fucking.”
RYO: Ryo nods in agreement. “Spoiled for choice.”
Chapter 78
STORY: “You and Tueller are known enemies. Why should we believe your testimony for a moment?”
STORY: Sergio smiles again, looking Tueller in the eye. “What have I got to lose? I’m receiving nothing for my testimony today, no deals made. I simply wish to see justice done.“
STORY: Becker shakes his head, looks back at Tueller.
STORY: “No further questions, your honors.” He sits next to Tueller, puts a hand on his shoulder. “I’m sorry.”
TUELLER: “You’re worth every penny I spent on you.”
TUELLER: “And not one more.”
Chapter 56
STORY: “Your business partner, Sergio Ndrangheta.”
STORY: “I need him.”
TUELLER: Tueller perks up.
TUELLER: “In what sense?”
STORY: “Intact.”
TUELLER: “In what sense intact?”
TUELLER: “He’s already missing a limb.”
STORY: She looks at you patronizingly.
STORY: “He is CJH section chief on the Ark. I can’t simply send A-Sec to pick him up. I need you to bring him to me.”
TUELLER: “I’m not trying to be difficult. I’m asking…do you need him compromised, or just standing in front of you?”
STORY: “He’s already compromised. I simply need him present.”
STORY: “Will you help me?”
TUELLER: “Oh, sorry, I didn’t know our help was ever in question on this.”
TUELLER: “Of course.”
STORY: He makes sure there’s enough space between you two and Millie before lowering his voice conspiratorially. “I want to talk about how you blew it with the doc.”
STORY: “How bad was it?”
ALEJO: Alejo sighs in answer. Then shrugs. “Complicated.”
STORY: Tux throws back his head and laughs. “What isn’t with you?”
ALEJO: “Yeah. I know.”
ALEJO: “I’m trying to reform.”
STORY: “So does that mean…” He points to her and himself, questioning.
SWEET: “He’s asking if you mind if he takes a shot at it, buddy.” Sweet says as he walks past them.
ALEJO: Alejo does a double take as he walks by. “Uhm. I mean. . .” he hesitates. “Sure,” he finally says, unconvincingly.
STORY: Tux tilts his head to you. “That doesn’t sound like enthusiastic consent, Soto.”
ALEJO: “I mean, she’s remarkable. You’re remarkable. So . . .” He swallows. “Makes sense.” He keeps his gaze forward.
STORY: Tux tries to make eye contact with Sweet.
STORY: Pointing between Alejo and Millie, mouthing, “WHAT HAPPENED HERE?”
SWEET: Sweet points at Alejo.
Chapter 35
MILLICENT: Millie comes over the comms. “You’re about to have company. But if you’ve disabled Tigralt’s friend, he should be able to disable the security bot.”
MILLICENT: To the silence, “Tigralt, I mean. Tell him I said hi.”
ALEJO: “He’s gonna have a hell of a hangover headache after the takedown Tueller just gave him,” Alejo says into the com, in response.
TUELLER: “More of a migraine. Comes from the top of the head.”
MILLICENT: A long pause. “Were you guys listening when I said this was an inside job in the briefing?”
TUELLER: “We’re inside now.”
MILLICENT: “I seem to remember there was some kind of squabble over the last cruller.”
TUELLER: “Let’s do the job.”
STORY: Figgan shrugs.
MILLICENT: Millie shrugs.
STORY: Somewhere, Kahn sighs unhappily.
TUELLER: “No, I don’t know what you mean.”
ALEJO: He stands and walks over to Tueller. “I think you do.”
MILLICENT: “I think he means the nigh ceaseless killing.”
ALEJO: “But I agree we need a better chain of command. That’s absolutely true.”
TUELLER: “You’ve killed more than I have, Millie.”
MILLICENT: “Which is, admittedly, why I shouldn’t wear the big hat either.”
TUELLER: “Well, we might be about even.”
MILLICENT: “It’s not a race.”
TUELLER: “It’s a marathon.”
ALEJO: “Yup. Yup. And you both are very smart. Very capable. Amazingly vicious.”
MILLICENT: “We had a meeting last week and decided we’d like to be called indomitably pragmatic.”
Chapter 34
STORY: Wen looks at the group of you, gesturing to Alejo. “You gave me your blessing, man.”
ALEJO: Alejo goes back to get Aki, who is still looking up to Wen. “We gotta go.” He says this softly.
STORY: Alejo, Akilah takes your hand, without looking away from Wen. She shakes her head sadly.
STORY: “Tueller, you were my best man!”
STORY: He’s just sputtering at this point.
TUELLER: “You’re better off not being part of this family, man. I’m sorry.”
TUELLER: Tueller looks mildly sorry.
ALEJO: Alejo closes his eyes for a moment. “Jesus.” He looks up to Wen again. “I’m sorry, Wen. I truly am.” He squeezes Aki’s hand and heads, with her, to the shuttle.
STORY: Wen just looks pathetically at the scene. Akilah turns away and hustles to the shuttle.
MILLICENT: Millie waves at Wen. “Sorry! Good luck with the in-laws!”
Chapter 31
MILLICENT: “Good evening, Mr. ’Ndrangheta. It’s polite to wait for an invitation to sit.”
STORY: He looks down at the menu, scanning it in a sort of general way. “I wonder if Tueller explained to you why he’s my nemesis and not just another man that I’ve killed.”
STORY: He reviews the wine list on the back, scoffing. “If I were to publicly confront him, that would make things complicated for my family. And if I were to kill him, well, that would make things complicated for his family, which, in turn, makes things complicated for my family. So we circle each other, swatting now and then, both daring the other to finally cross the line.”
STORY: He puts the menu down, making clean eye contact with you. “You, however, my dear, are not afforded the same protection.”
Chapter 12
MILLICENT: “Search archived files for “Ruma” and “attack”, show files on visual.”
ALEJO: Alejo is watching the door, but he turns his head back to watch the screen now.
STORY: A paper file appears in her hands, and she opens it for you, displaying a list of folders on the display inside. She stands so her breasts hang over the edge of the file.
STORY: There are four entries, three encrypted.
ALEJO: Alejo raises his eyebrows at this and shakes his head. “What a complete loser,” he mumbles quietly.
MILLICENT: “Dear, if you could just,” Millie shrugs her shoulders to indicate, then, when no movement. “Move your breast, I can’t read the file names.”
MILLICENT: “Run encryption, unlock files.”
STORY: She smiles and does so. “Password required, handsome.”
MILLICENT: Under her breath, “How on earth did he learn to kiss?”
Continue reading “Chapter 12”