Automatic Reload: A Novel by Ferrett Steinmetz

Author:Ferrett Steinmetz
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Tor Books
Published: 2020-07-27T23:00:00+00:00

* * *

Tactically speaking, this isn’t a bad situation.

Silvia’s cross-legged on the ground, hyperventilating. But as far as I can tell, there’s only one gun pointed at me.

I replay his words: My pet prosthetics aren’t aimed at your gunports. They’re aimed right in the center of your left eye.

He got cocky. He shouldn’t have told me where he was aiming.

Silvia’s a coiled spring of hyperfast reflexes, so quick she could leap in front of me like the Secret Service. The fire wouldn’t penetrate her reengineered body; the crumpled bullets in Herbie’s foot wells proved that.

Donnie knows his hand is weak. That’s why he’s programmed the prosthetics to prevent me from telling Silvia what to do. He knows Silvia’s the key.

The problem is, Silvia doesn’t know Silvia is the key.

I look over, and my heart breaks. Her body’s always moved with an insectile quickness, but now she’s curled up like a dead bug you’d find on the windowsill.

“Silvia. You all right?”

No answer.

Pretty stupid question.

“This isn’t over,” I say. My skin prickles as I probe the edges of Donnie’s language processors. “There are … ways.”

The speakers overhead splutter as Donnie snorts. “For fuck’s sake, guys, I’m right here. You think I’m some fucking Bond villain? I’ve got you folks on speakerphone while I’m getting in the car.”

“It doesn’t matter.” Silvia’s words fall to the ground like snowflakes, delicate and melting. “We lost.”

This whole thing would be easier with a cigar. “Are you giving up because you believe it’s hopeless, or are you giving up because you believe you’re incompetent?”

Her head snaps around like an owl. “What difference does that make?”

I like anger. It means she gives a shit.

“I’ve been in worse situations, Silvia.” I mean, not globally, because even if we escape we’re still pursued by the police, and the IAC, and Donnie, and whoever was trying to kidnap Silvia from the IAC’s clutches, but, you know, baby steps. “This isn’t unwinnable.”

“Yes it is.”

“Shut up, Donnie!”

“No.” Silvia hooks her fingers into her hair, pulls hard; I hear a sound like carpet being ripped up. “He’s right. It’s unwinnable with me. I’m not … fit … for this stress. I could barely hold down a job where I met people once a week. And, and, I was stupid to think I could become some neurotic superhero, taking down world-class secret cabals when I didn’t know the first thing about detective work or computers or combat.…”

She trails off. Donnie stays quiet. I suspect his therapybots are telling him not to interrupt a self-sabotaging hostage.

“You can’t hold my hand through all that, Mat,” she finishes.

“I can.” My chest aches with how badly I want to hold her. “Silvia, we’ve come this far, we can—”

“You realize I’m a drawback, right?”

Her statement is so soulless my words shrivel at the thought of debating her. Her self-hatred’s ingrained into her emotional DNA.

“I’ll never be an asset to you, Mat. I’ve seen what I do to my mother. I’ll always be that person you have to work around—I’ve watched

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