"We're not moving from here until we sort this out."

"Why is it so important for you to know?" Tarris asked in a defiant tone.

"Because it concerns you." Asher looked at her.

"Something's always been there, hiding away until it sees a chance to make me think things."

"What sort of things?"

"Things I have no use for."

"You mean sexual things." Tarris hung her head. "Things you want to experience and feel. Things that get you excited."

"Yes." Tarris said the word so softly that Asher barely heard it.

"Well, I'd call that a vivid imagination, but it certainly isn't something to be feared." Tarris didn't look convinced. "Obviously you've been thinking about sex a lot, despite what you told me before. I think you've held yourself in check very well for sixteen years in limbo. If it were me, I'd probably still be ravishing you."

Tarris let out a small chuckle.

"That's better. Tarris, honey, it's nothing to fear, all right? It's just your libido stretching its mental muscles. It wants action, and you're trying to hold it back."

"But-"

"Did you hear me complaining? In fact, I think I did quite the opposite. I look forward to you fulfilling those imaginative thoughts of yours in the future." Asher winked at her and drew another smile from her.

"The future?"

"Unless you don't want me around anymore." The question was tentative, yet Asher said it in a voice that was anything but. She wanted Tarris to see she had made her mind up. She had answered her question. She was with Tarris to the end.

The water had receded enough for them to venture farther down the tunnel toward the next station. Tarris held the torch high above her head to light the way.

Asher was right. It would have been simpler to send Rya on this mission, but Tarris had two reasons not to. First, Rya was now at a point where she must be treated as more than a fetch-and-carry service. Rya had developed into a sentient being and had earned the right to be treated as such. Right? Tarris was trying very hard to convince herself that this was the prime reason for this foolish venture into the unknown, because the second reason was even more foolish and fraught with danger. She didn't want to spend any more time alone with Asher than was absolutely necessary, because she was scared of her own feelings toward her. She had seen the essence of her true nature, and despite Asher's assurances to the contrary, she wasn't sure she could handle it.

Tarris amended the word "scared." Scared wasn't a word she used often, and especially not when referring to herself. She was "concerned" or "troubled," but never scared. It implied cowardice, and she never thought of herself as a coward. After what she had gone through in the last sixteen years, she was sure no one else would use that word to describe her either.

Then what was it that concerned her about Asher? Was this ache around her heart Asher's doing? Was this need to protect her something more than just concern?

You rationalize things too much, sister, Rya said.

Tarris sighed. She couldn't even console herself in private.

The darkness receded, and another platform came into view.

"Hello? Jerad?" Asher's voice echoed around the empty space without an answer. "Stay here and I'll check it out." She clambered up onto the platform before Tarris had a chance to even argue the point. While she watched Asher move about the platform, she rested her chin on her forearms and leaned against the platform edge.

"No luck?" Tarris called.

"Well, he's not here." Asher said. There was a rattle of metal. "The exits are all blocked off. He didn't leave this way." Asher reappeared from around a corner. "I did find this, though." She handed over a discarded bottle.

"Someone's been through here recently. This type of bottle heater wasn't invented until about nine years ago."

"Maybe it was Jerad."

"I don't think so. I don't normally carry this type of bottle. Besides..." Tarris hesitated and rummaged through her backpack. "No, I only grabbed two when we left and they're here."

"Then this means..."

"Yes, it does, and all the more reason we need to find Jerad."

Tarris waited for Asher to come and sit down on the edge. She placed her hands around Asher's tiny waist and effortlessly lifted her down to the rail tracks. Asher's stunned expression made her smile. It was one of the few times her body's limitations had caused that reaction. "Come on." She extended her hand in invitation and led Asher back into the darkness at the far end of the platform.

They had passed through another three platform areas with the same result. The exits were blocked, and Jerad was nowhere to be seen.

"What do we do now?"

Tarris could see that Asher was concerned. "We can't go back, and there's no other way out. We have to keep going forward and hope we meet up with Jerad."

"And if we don't?"

Tarris didn't want to think about it because it meant the kid had run out on them and left them to wander around in the dark. Tarris had always thought she was a good judge of character, despite her decision on Derille. She put that down to an aberration. If she was wrong about Jerad, did that also mean he would turn them in? The chance for a big reward would certainly be tempting.

"I just hope he got out and is hiding away somewhere. If they find him, he could end up like his parents."

Tarris felt Asher's shiver through her fingers.

"So for now," Tarris continued, "we go forward and hope to find a way out of here." She led the way and used the light from the torch to pick her way through the debris in the tunnel. In fact, this was their second torch. The first one had burned down to a stump and left Tarris fumbling around for a quick replacement.

"So what does Rya think about this gung-ho attitude of yours?" Asher called from behind.

"She's all for it."

That's not what I said. Rya stated. My way is a lot safer.

The conversation echoed along the long empty tunnel. The only other sounds were the dripping of water into a puddle and a low, audible scratching. They carefully stepped along the tunnel, moving from one wooden piece to the next between the metal rails. Tarris pulled up short, and Asher ran into the back of her. "What are you-?" Asher's words were cut short when Tarris held up her hand to signal stop.

Voices could be heard far-off. "Shhh," Tarris whispered.

"Well, d'uh..." Asher followed in Tarris's footsteps. The ground was uneven, and they had to carefully watch where they placed their feet.

The blackness started to fade and turn to gray with every step closer to the voices. Tarris disposed of the torch in a nearby puddle of water. She moved over to one side to hug the tunnel wall. She expected Asher to follow close behind, and she didn't waste her time confirming the fact.

"Is this why Jerad didn't come back?" Asher said in a low voice.

"Uh-huh." Tarris suspected this was the "facility," as the Prime put it. She was about to find out why the facility was so important. At that precise moment, her suit squeaked. This was not good.

"I thought you said you cleaned that thing."

"Shhh," Tarris hissed. She thought she had, too, but Asher had broken her concentration and left her fragmented. No wonder she missed a spot or two.

"What's going on?"

"You just can't stop talking, can you?" Tarris turned and faced Asher and spoke a little louder than she wanted to.

"I'm just asking a question."

"At the wrong time."

A strange voice said, "Oh, I wouldn't say that."

"Shit!" Tarris spat out.

"You got that right." The guard sounded amused. "Now, move it." He waved his weapon in front of them.

Do you want me to take care of him, sister? Rya asked with concern.

Not yet, Rya. Let's see what we can find out first. Tarris would take the opportunity presented to her. She hoped she could get them out of the situation they were in if the need arose.

"Now look what you've done," Asher said.

"Me? I wasn't the one asking all the questions."

"Shut up, both of you." The guard shoved the muzzle of his gun in Asher's back and pushed hard.

But...

It's all part of the plan, Rya.

Tarris, this is either incredibly bold or monumentally stupid.

When did you develop a vocabulary?

Pretty neat, huh?

Yeah, Tarris said. Neat.

So you're going ahead with this plan when I can easily solve this for you?

Tarris gulped heavily. She wasn't sure whether it was her guilt that made the statement sound like she was a useless tagalong or whether Rya had developed a case of overconfidence. Yeah. Tarris inwardly sighed. Something like that.

As they approached the next platform, two guards stood on the edge and peered down at them, their weapons drawn and ready. At the far end, Tarris caught a glimpse of two more guards carrying what looked like a dead body between them. A disintegration booth had been set up in the corner of the back wall. When the guards reached the booth, they tossed the corpse into the beam. It sizzled and crackled for a moment, lighting up the dim space with a blinding flash, before the booth fell silent. No remnant was left. The former human being had been obliterated.

"Who was that?" Asher murmured.

"Some poor homeless person from the Sweeps." Tarris made an educated guess, but she knew she was right.

"Move it." The guard prodded Tarris in the side.

"Which way?"

"Up," he answered and waved his gun in that direction.

"Then I'll need help."

The three guards laughed.

"It's true," Asher said. "She'll need help to get up onto the platform."

"Then you help her," the first guard said with finality.

Tarris laced her fingers together and waited for Asher to put her foot into the stirrup. Once she was safely up, Asher reached down with her hand. "I don't know if this'll work, but I'll try."

Tarris grabbed the offered arm and tried to lift herself. Her arm and back muscles strained as she struggled to lift her own weight by sheer strength. It didn't take long for her to realize that something more was needed.

"What's the matter with you?" the guard on the railway track asked.

"Can't you see she's wearing a walking frame, you idiot!" Asher snapped. "She's not going to get up here anytime soon without some help."

The guard placed his weapon on the platform next to one of the other guards, who kicked it backwards and out of reach. They trained their sights on the two women as the guard lifted Tarris from below, and with Asher's help, she managed to get onto the upper level. Asher moved behind, placed her hands under Tarris's armpits, and lifted until she could get her buckled legs underneath her. The frame protested loudly as Tarris activated it to move into an upright position, the servos grinding against the grains of dirt still within the rods. Asher steadied her as Tarris slowly rose. One of her arms inadvertently brushed against the base of Tarris's scalp and the hidden tab.

Tarris felt the movement before she saw it. The guards took a few steps backward as the color drained from her hair to reveal her true identity. "That's right, fellas," she growled. "Be afraid, very afraid." However, having just fumbled around to get onto the platform had, at least in Tarris's mind, destroyed the myth that surrounded her identity.

Find the boy, Tarris stated.

But- Just find the boy then return here. I want to make sure he's not in any danger.

As you wish, sister.

There was no gentle exit by Rya this time. In a show of strength to her enemies, Tarris told her to make it dramatic. Discarded waste stirred in the whirlwind of air that traveled along the platform like a mini tornado. Nice one, sister, Tarris said as Rya slid off the platform and into the darkness at the other end.

They will not underestimate us again. The thought faded, as did the breeze.

The three guards pointed their shaking guns at the two women, each one glancing at the others, obviously nervous. "D... D... Don't move." But the order was less than authoritative.

Asher looked at Tarris. "What's wrong with this picture?"

She was right. They should have been shot on sight. "I'd say someone issued a new order."

"Control, this is Team Alpha Three D." The third guard spoke in the direction of his shoulder and the implanted microphone in his uniform. "We've caught the two women you were asking about. What do you want us to do with them?"

"Bring them in." The reply could be heard clearly. It gave the guards approval to take them through the border security and into the heart of the operation. As far as Tarris was concerned, everything was going along nicely.

Her hands were manacled behind her back with plastic strips, as were Asher's. Tarris knew they were unbreakable. They were the standard equipment used in law enforcement, and it was another reminder of who the enemy was here. The State. Or at least the Prime. He was the law, and unless someone acted now, he would extend the mandate of his brand of law until no one would be able to stop him.

"Let's move it." A rifle butt waved toward the far end of the platform. "Stay four steps ahead and two feet apart. We want to see both of you at all times."

As they approached their destination, Asher mumbled. "And what's the plan?"