Total pages in book: 210
Estimated words: 200837 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 1004(@200wpm)___ 803(@250wpm)___ 669(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 200837 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 1004(@200wpm)___ 803(@250wpm)___ 669(@300wpm)
“I was there,” the voice of Tyse says. “I remember it vividly. So you can skip the replay.”
“Sorry, Mr. Jarvinen—”
“Mr., is it now? What happened to Captain?”
“When this final meeting is over, your ranking will have been stripped and there will be no public record of it anywhere.”
Since Tyse’s face has been replaced with the soldier scene, I can’t see his reaction. But I think he’s pissed. Like maybe this part hadn’t been explained to him.
“As I was saying,” the administrator continues, “this is procedure. Close your eyes if you don’t want to see it, because the replay starts now.”
And then all the soldiers spring to life. There is sound, but it’s low, so I can’t really make out the words. Plus, everyone is in a panic. Something very terrible is happening. Then one of them—the woman—falls to her knees, screaming and holding her head like her brain might explode. This part I do hear, because her screams are so loud, there’s no way to miss it.
“It’s inside me, Tyse! It’s inside me! Get it out! Get it out!”
The next thing I know, her head explodes. Bits of bone and blood just go everywhere. I’m so shocked, I almost drop the little disc. Not even sure how I manage to keep hold of it.
Because whatever she meant by her last frantic words, whatever was inside her head—that wasn’t what exploded it.
It was Tyse.
The scene switches to another point of view and there he is, with some kind of weapon, still smoking from the discharge, pointed where her head used to be.
Then another soldier is screaming. A man, the one wearing only that thick vest. And he’s saying similar things. It’s inside me. Get it out. The other two soldiers start up as well. And then Tyse discharges his weapon three more times and all the heads explode.
He puts the weapon up to his own head and I gasp. Even though I know he didn’t kill himself, it’s still shocking to me. Then he waits—eyes closed and gulping down breaths—for whatever invaded his team’s minds to invade his as well.
The scene ends and Tyse’s floating and rotating face is back. His eyes are closed here now too. Like maybe he didn’t watch the replay.
“You were accused and found guilty of murdering your own team. This is a high crime in the eyes of—”
“I had to.” Tyse cuts him off, spitting these words out between gritted teeth. “They were infected.”
“The trial is over, Mr. Jarvinen, so save it. The conditions of your sentencing and discharge are the following—”
I let go of the disc and the image disappears.
He killed four people. Just… blew their heads off.
Of course, as a soldier, he’d have killed many people. Dozens? Hundreds? Does it matter?
The take-home message here is that Tyse Saarinen is lying about his identity and he’s a convicted murderer.
I pinch the disc again, the image appears again, and I watch it all the way through again.
Then again.
And again.
And again.
CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN
The job offer from Stayn for this week is security. Most of the time Stayn hires out his off-duty patrolmen for private bodyguarding when important people come into Tau City for meetings or whatever, and doesn’t bother calling me in. But there’s a big political thing happening this week and all his off-duty guys are busy.
I’m always the last one on the list when it comes to jobs he needs done, but I don’t mind because nine out of ten times when he makes me an offer like this, I don’t even take it. I’ve gotten used to the retired life. I like calling all the shots and have little interest in being accountable to people for coin.
But I feel the need for space after last night’s conversation with Clara about her boyfriend. Actually, it’s not all about her boyfriend, it’s more that I need time to think about who she is because I think my first impression of her was wrong, so this job is a reason to get myself some space.
I don’t make many mistakes when it comes to figuring people out. Normally, I have a highly refined sense of intuition and these instincts have saved my ass in the Omega Outlands on more than one occasion.
But it turns out that there’s more to up-city Clara Birch than I first thought. Maybe even much more. It’s not surprising that she has a boyfriend. She’s pretty, she’s young, and she’s smart. Not to mention the hot body. Which is all I thought she was—the body—when I first found her down in the lower levels of the tower.
I’m still not sure what was up with the dress she was wearing, but she alluded to it being out of her control, and that makes sense. Because the Clara Birch I have started to get to know is not a tavern wench. Not even close. She’s some kind of princess. Not in the literal sense, though maybe she is, for all I know. It’s possible the Tau City she comes from has royalty. But it doesn’t matter if she’s got the blue blood or not, she’s… refined. And you only have to spend a few hours with her to see it. Slutty dresses cannot hide the things she is inside and if there’s one thing that’s certain to me now, it’s that Clara Birch is intrinsically polished.