“What’s with you?” Sharron asked as I gently smacked my head into the wall.

  “Helen is gone,” I replied quietly. “Or at least, the samurai the family sent down here couldn’t fi the Guiding Light pound, and she didn’t have the skills to track Helen, so I’m back at square one.” I sighed, and stopped smag my head against the wall for a mio look at Sharron. “The versation was made way worse, because the samurai I was talking to, Stalking Shadow, was kind of a stuck up bitch.”

  Sharron gave me a kind of crooked smile. “Yeah… I ’t imagine you two would see eye to eye, since she’s one of the corporate liaisons.”

  “Wonderful. I’m gd she dragged her ass down here, only to bitch at me because her target wasn’t hao her on a silver ptter,” I said. “Fuck… I just want this shit to be over with.”

  “I take it you haven’t been able to find Helen, ever since she called you yesterday,” Sharron said, gently rubbing me on the back.

  “No… I think she literally disected her augs from the work to prevent anyone from finding her, and my head is killing me fr to monitor all the southerors,” I sighed. “I don’t think I’ve eaten since yesterday either.”

  “Then it’s time for food and family time!” Sharron said, grabbing me by the arm and forcibly draggiowards the residence.

  “Put me down! I’ll just have Nyx deliver something to me,” I said, trying to squirm out of her grasp. She just tightened her grip and tinued pulling. “When did you get muscle enhas anyways?”

  “Ba Seattle, for the situations where I had to be out of my suit,” Sharron replied. “Don’t think you distract me, so you wriggle out. You’re stressing out again.”

  “Of course I’m stressing out! It’s a stressful situation,” I mumbled back as she shoved me into the residence.

  As I stumbled inside, Jane looked up from the tablet she was studying at the table. “Wele back. Did you solve your samurai issues already?”

  “Nope, but Evelyn has not only pushed herself to the limit again but fotten to eat for awhile,” Sharron replied.

  “Hey! Don’t tell her that. You’re supposed to be helping me look after the family, not the other way around,” I said, elbowing Sharron.

  “We take care of ourselves, unlike a certain someone who’s always thinking about other people and never herself,” Jane said, putting dowablet aly pushio a chair. “Since you’re here, it’s a good time to have lunyways. I’ll call the others.” She sat down, closed her eyes for a few seds. Within moments, there was a squeal of glee as Issi came bsting down the hallway, followed by Eddie and Jennifer.

  “Hey Evs, you look like shit,” Jennifer said as she sat at the table.

  “And you have grease on your face. I thought you worked on maes with your hands, not your forehead,” I replied. “How’s the learning going? Any issues?”

  “Pnts are fun, I just wish I could pnt more,” replied Issi, her head just barely poking above the table.

  “Well, I still io provide you all with additional space I actually have the time,” I told the little ones.

  Jennifer just nodded, Eddie wasn’t paying attention, like usual, and Issi cheered, “More room!”

  “Yeah, I just o wait for the beavers to finish,” I told her. The room fell into a fortable silence for just a moment before I asked, “Where the fuck is An?”

  “I messaged him with everyone else,” Jane said with a shrug.

  “Fuck… I’ll get him. Nyx, please provide a meal for everyone,” I said as I got up from the table. I could hear Issi squeal in delight as I made my way down the corridor to An’s room.

  I knocked on the door politely… ohen smmed my fist into the door a few seds ter when he didn’t aowledge me. “Yo, A off your ass and e to dinner, or I’m ing in to get you.” I waited for a couple more seds, and when I didn’t hear anything I kicked the door. “Nyx, open it.”

  The door silently slid open, revealing a dark, and surprisingly empty room. I poked the bed, just to make sure he wasn’t uhe slightly lumpy bs, before heading bato the hallway. “He’s not in here,” I yelled down the hallway, towards the kit. “He wasn’t with any of you before dinner?”

  The kids all shook their heads. “Has anyone seen him at all this m?” Again, everyone shook their heads. “Well, where the fuck did he go?”

  If I may, Nyx cut in. You made sure that the entire family had trackers built into their augs, just for this reason.

  “Yeah, well, that was in case something happeo one of the kids. I didn’t think I’d have to use it to tray dumbass little brother,” I replied.

  “Is there a problem?” Jane asked from the table.

  “No, I just need a minute,” I called back down the hallway, as I pulled up the tracer. The signal was strong, but it was also a couple blocks outside the shelter, somewhere to the south, by the lift. “The fuck is that risk averse asshole doing outside without an escort?” I muttered to myself.

  , I pulled up the visuals of the unit, which was one of the escort foxes I’d assigned before, so he apparently didn’t leave pletely undefended. “So, An. What was so important that you left the shelter without an escort? Or, you know, telling anyone?” I said, using the fox.

  The boy paused. “Teddy? Hey… I just had something to do alone,” he said, slowly turning around. He slumped a little when he realized the fox was talking. “I thought I could get out and back before aiced. I fot you could take over your bots.”

  “Just get back here,” I hissed, “you have no idea the kind of people I’ve been dealing with.”

  As I talked, he looked just past the fox, and turned pale. “Actually, I think I do. Not many people have fully automatic ons and w vehicles down here.”

  “Motherfucker… You start running right now, and don’t stop until you’re baside the shelter,” I said, turning the fox around. Of course, one of Helen’s cars was here, along with a half dozen goons in pin clothes. I don’t know why they bothered, the ons they had on them made them stand out even more than the culty uniforms.

  “That’s the kid, don’t hurt him. Bosses orders,” one of them grunted. “Don’t know why he brought an unarmed bot with him for prote.”

  I stepped between the first goon and An, then waited until he was right on top of me. “ly unarmed,” I said. With a thought, I popped open the partment in the foxes arm that taihe cealed SMG, and hosed the man down. He colpsed almost instantly, his torso pletely saturated in tranq rounds. I turowards the rest of the group, spraying wildly, I retty sure I winged one or two before the leader pulled out a familiar on. The two-stage magnum pistol. Before I could trate fire on his position, the first round smmed into ‘my’ head. The impact caused my e to the bot to glitch out for a moment, I could only watch as a sed round was directed at the fox's head, then I was disected.

  “FUCK!” I shouted before I realized I was back standing in the hallway, within earshot of the kids.

  “What happened?” Jane asked, “You’ve been standing there for a couple minutes. Did something happen to An?”

  “Not if I help it,” I replied, as I stormed towards the garage. Sharron quickly got up to follow me, while the kids just turheir heads, watg me go.

  “Something bad happened, right?” Sharron asked quietly, once we reached the garage.

  “Helen’s goons took down An’s escort. I still don’t know WHY he was out with only an escort bot, or where he went, but I’m redireg the bots to his location. The squirrels were close enough to get eyes on the car, but the bears are still a mi,” I reported, as I yanked open the door to my truck.

  “I’ll keep an eye on things here, don’t worry about that,” Sharron told me.

  I hen quickly directed my truck out, towards An’s st location. It had only been a mi most, since I lost trol of the fox, and I’d already lost track of his signal.

  I could see why, through the squirrel. The cultists were already in the midst of pushing An, and their unscious rade, into the back seat of the car, and Helen’s signal blog was interfering with my tracker.

  The leader stopped befetting in the vehicle, looked up at my squirrel, and then took out a piece of paper. He held it out for the squirrel to see, then walked to the side of the road and pced it under a random brick, befetting bato the car. Seds ter, the vehicle was driving away, disrupting the signals from all the squirrels assigo watch it.

  I swore softly. Without the squirrels to track them, I ractically at square one.

  It only took about two mio arrive at their st known location. I hopped out of the truck before it had pletely settled, and rao the piece of paper. On it was a time, and a location. A trap, or a meet-up? It holy didn’t matter that much, I o get An bao matter how much a pain in the ass he was. Now that Helen showed what she was really capable of, I was going to have to do the same.