Partials

neared, becoming two engines, then three, then four. Kira dropped the last few feet to the ground and raced into the underpass, crouching in the shadow of a thick concrete pillar. Samm threw himself down beside her, and they listened as the cars rumbled overhead, streaking away to the east and slowly fading into the distance.

Kira whistled. “That was close.”

“Not as close as it’s going to be,” said Samm. His voice was stiff and strained.

“Are you hurt?”

“No,” he grunted, “just … what’s your plan?”

“They can’t sense me coming, right? So I’m going to jump one from behind and take his gun.”

“They can’t sense you on the link, Kira, but that doesn’t mean you’re invisible.”

“How much can they sense from you?” she asked. “Thoughts? Motive?”

“Not exactly,” he said, “more like health, proximity, emotional state. Things like that. I won’t be able to glean anything from them that would help you grab one.”

“I don’t want you to read their minds,” said Kira, looking out at the wide, tangled lawn. “I want you to be bait.”

“Whoa.” He held up his hand. “Are you serious?”

“It’s okay,” she said. “I’ll stop them before they hurt you.” She grinned. “You said they rely too much on the link, right? So if the link tells them there’s a Partial hiding around one corner, they won’t even bother to look around the other.”

He shook his head. Kira could see that his breathing was accelerated; his face twitched and scowled. “As soon as you jump one, the link will tell the others he’s in trouble.”

“Then we hit fast and be gone before they show up.” She pulled him farther behind the pillar. “I know it’s dangerous, but my friends are in the same danger — worse, even, because they don’t have you.” Her voice softened. “We can do this.”

“That’s great,” said Samm, “but you’re talking about finding a scout trained and equipped to avoid being found. It’s not going to happen.”

“Keep your voice down,” Kira whispered. “It already has.” She gestured around the edge of the pillar, and Samm carefully peeked out. He ducked back and pressed his mouth to her ear.

“Forty yards out.”

“He probably heard us fall out of the tree,” Kira whispered. “I don’t think he’s seen us yet — he’s not trying to hide, just checking something out.” She pointed to the far side of the underpass. “You crawl over there. He’ll see you and walk right past me.” Samm seemed nearly rigid with tension, like he was clenching every muscle in his body; he’d been like that for a while. The other Partial’s too close, she thought. I don’t have time to see if he’s injured. “Are you sure you’re all right?”

“Fine,” he grunted. He turned and crawled through the underbrush, working his way to the far pillar, then across to the next in line. Kira nodded, impressed at the tactic. This way the rebel scout won’t pass as close to my pillar, she thought, so he’ll be less likely to look behind it. Samm moved stiffly, almost painfully, and she wondered again if he’d hurt himself in the jump to the tree. But no — he was already acting strange on the road above. What’s going on?

“Hold it,” said a voice, and Kira was shocked to hear that it was female. She froze in place, hoping her plan had worked and the Partial wouldn’t notice her. Samm stopped as well, pausing on his hands and knees in the thin weeds below the bridge. He didn’t speak. Kira heard footsteps behind her, to the side, then held her breath as the Partial walked past in a straight line toward Samm. Seen up close she was obviously female: thin in the waist, round in the hips and chest, a bun of jet-black hair done up behind the strap of her gas mask. Her eyes had a marked epicanthic fold, like she was Chinese, which Kira couldn’t puzzle out — the Chinese were the enemy in the Isolation War. Why make a Partial the other soldiers might mistake for an enemy? She held a menacing rifle trained on Samm’s back, the muzzle tipped with the fat black cylinder of a suppressor. Kira recognized it as a sniper rifle.

The girl stopped just a few yards away, maybe two good strides if Kira sprinted — probably not enough time for the girl to react. Kira nodded, gearing herself up for the attack. She’d learned a little hand-to-hand in school, though not much; the Defense Grid figured if a Partial got that close you were screwed anyway, since they were so much stronger. Kira hoped it wasn’t true, and rose to the balls of her feet.

“Don’t say anything,” said Samm. His voice was strained, like he was speaking through teeth clenched as tight as he could make them. “Don’t speak.” He put his hand to his face, covering his mouth and nose. Kira stood, placing her feet carefully, coiling her muscles for a charging tackle.

Small of the back, she told herself. Hit low and hard. Pin her arms. Strike at the base of the skull to knock her—

“Samm,” said the girl, and Kira froze.

She knows his name? Is that part of the link?

Or is she part of his company?

“Don’t speak,” Samm growled, but already Kira’s thoughts were flying, connections snapping together in her mind. If this girl knew Samm, that meant they were part of the same faction, which meant the nearby soldiers were Samm’s own comrades. Samm’s own officers. He’d said the link was also used to enforce the chain of command: They could sense Samm was here, and they were ordering him to respond. That’s why he was moving so stiffly — it was taking every ounce of his strength to resist them.

But why is he hiding from his own people?

“Talk to me, Samm.” The woman stepped forward, keeping the rifle aimed squarely at his back. “We thought you’d been captured.”

Samm lowered his head, nearly collapsing into the dirt. He won’t hold on much longer, Kira thought. Go! She pelted forward, arms spread wide, shoulder down to nail the Partial in the small of the back.

And then the Partial whirled around.

Kira was already inside the range where the long rifle would be useless as a gun. Instead the Partial brought it down like a club, slamming the heavy stock into the side of Kira’s face just as Kira wrapped her arms around the girl’s waist and knocked her solidly to the ground. Both girls gasped in pain at the impact, but Kira’s head was still ringing from the rifle blow, and the other girl recovered first. She dropped her gun and grappled Kira with cold efficiency, twisting one arm behind her back and kneeing her painfully in the stomach. Kira fought wildly, clawing at the Partial’s face and neck and very nearly escaping from her grip, twisting just enough to keep it from becoming a true submission hold. Suddenly Kira felt the cold metal edge of a knife on her throat, and the girl spoke calmly in her ear.

“Stop moving now.”

Kira froze; there was nothing she could do. If she’d had just two more seconds to work with, maybe, but somehow the Partial had known that Kira was there.

“Let go of her, Heron, she’s with me.”

“She doesn’t link.”

“She’s human.”

Heron’s voice was surprised, but she didn’t loosen her grip. “You captured one? The mission was a success? Where’s the rest of your team?”

You captured one? thought Kira. She loosened the girl’s grip on her throat and shouted loudly at both of them. “What the hell is going on?”

“They’re dead,” said Samm, stepping closer to Heron, “but it’s not what you think. You can let her go — she’s not a threat. She’s on our side.”

Kira couldn’t believe what she was hearing. “Were you planning this all along?” she asked. “Was this whole thing just a trick to get me back here?”

“It’s more complicated than that,” said Samm quickly. He was in front of her now, the mask ripped off. “Kuso, Heron, let her go, she came willingly!”

“So there was no peace proposal?” Kira demanded. She felt herself grow hot, felt her eyes begin to tear, felt a rush of shame and anger that she had ever trusted this thing. “No truce?”

Heron smiled. “A truce? I’m impressed, Samm; you may have a future in espionage.”

Kira saw a flash in the corner of her eye, the glint of light on a hypodermic needle. She screamed and felt it