It began early. She rose for breakfast with the other girls, and Aunt was there, waiting. She picked three. Six, Xiu, and Shu. Led them beyond the school walls to a white windowless van. They got in. Aunt sat up front beside the driver, another of their instructors. The van drove for thirty minutes, and when it stopped Six emerged, blinking in the sun, staring at a tall brick structure the size of a warehouse. No windows. Only one door. Aunt made them go in. She said, "I will return later to let you out," and then the darkness closed around the three girls and they heard the lock turn.
They realized, soon after, that they were not alone. They realized, too, that they had been brought there to die.
Six remembered. She remembered men three times her size, moving in the darkness, hunting her. She remembered fighting them. She remembered killing them. She remembered the taste of that first death, how happy she was for it, how proud, because she was still alive, unharmed. Fierce; the need to survive was stronger than anything she could name.
She remembered, too, the screams. Shu. Broken leg. Cornered. Six had found her, saved her. She found Xiu, too, but later. Very close. Xiu could have gotten there first. Saved Shu some pain. But she had not. She had left the girl, used her as a distraction so she could run and hide.
There were nine men, total. Nine bodies at the end of the day, when Aunt came to unlock the door. She looked at each one, examining the way they died, the killing blows. She said not a single word. No praise, no apology.
She took the girls home. Shu healed, returning to the old routine. Xiu and Six did not. Aunt moved them on.
And here we are, Six thought, staring across the small cell at the other woman, who watched her with a stranger's eyes—eyes that Six knew almost as well as her own—eyes that had betrayed her down in the debriefing room, when Xiu had implied to the station commander that Six might be capable of inappropriate behavior. That she might give up her duty for a man.
Words to kill a career. Words enough to ostracize, blacken, send away—or worse, to put her in prison. A woman with her skills, after all, could not be allowed to run free if there was not the utmost faith in her honor and integrity. A woman like her, after all, would make a dangerous enemy.
Walk away, walk away, said a tiny voice inside her mind. It is not too late. Walk away and save yourself. Do this and your life will be over. You will lose everything.
Six gazed down at Joseph's body, covered in blood, beaten. His eyes were still strong, though, cold and dark and hard, and he looked at her as if he could see straight into her heart, as though he could see and did not mind to see, and it struck her how much that meant, how vitally important it was that someone, someone, know her. Know her for more than some badge. Know her for more than a weapon.
I know who you are, Joseph said inside her mind, his eyes shifting darker, softer. I know you, Six.
I do not know you, she replied.
You'll learn, he said. We both will.
Six tore away her gaze and looked at Xiu. "You had no authority to question this man."
"I have all the authority in the world," Xiu said smoothly. "As do you, though I am surprised to see you here. Ying said—"
"— the truth," Six interrupted. "That the wire went dead and I disappeared, that she did not know what happened. You, on the other hand, embellished."
"Also the truth," Xiu replied. "Or do you deny it?"
That you might give up your duty for a man? For Joseph?
Six said nothing. The other woman smiled. Joseph tried to stand. Six did not look at him. Part of her wondered how he had let Xiu hurt him so badly. His throat appeared unharmed. The air was cold.
Inside her mind she heard his voice again, quick and urgent.
Careful, Six. Xiu is not the woman you know. Her mind has been taken over by another. My rival. He is here to gather information for his employers. And kill me.
Sick heat flushed through Six's body. Is there a way to drive it out of her?
I'm sorry, Joseph said. All you can do is make Xiu's body uncomfortable for him.
Six steeled herself. Uncomfortable. She could do that. No use wasting time, either.
She lunged, fists striking fast, hard. Xiu dodged and whirled, kicking off the wall, coming back at Six with enough speed to break bone. Six cut sharp to the right and jammed two fingers into Xiu's kidneys. The woman grunted, but did not go down. She spun again, her knee catching Six in the gut, her elbow connecting with her jaw. Six dropped, kicking out. Xiu blocked her heel, but Six twisted fast, feinted, and managed to catch her other knee. Bone cracked. Her leg bent backward. Xiu screamed.
Six knocked her down with a hard fist. Pounced, landing on her chest, pressing her elbow against Xiu's throat. She tasted blood, and spat it out on the possessed woman's face.
"Let her go," she muttered. "Now."
"Go where?" rasped Xiu, and her eyes were indeed strange, unfamiliar. "Into you? There will be room enough before long. Your soul is going to run away from your body, girl. In a day, you'll be nothing but a shell."
"No," Joseph said, staggering close. "No, I won't let you have her."
Six gritted her teeth. "And you cannot have Xiu, either. Not alive, anyway." And she pressed even harder on the woman's throat, cutting off her air. Xiu's eyes bulged, her face turning purple as she grappled and writhed. Six refused to let go. She was careful not to crush her windpipe, but her strength was inexorable, and Xiu finally went limp.
Six, very cautiously, eased off. Her heart pounded. There was a ringing in her ears. "Did it work? Is Xiu alone in there?"
"Yes," he whispered, staring at her. "Are you okay?"
"No," she said, looking at him. "No, I am not."
Six leaned close to check on Xiu. She was still breathing, though the next time she looked in the mirror it would be an ugly sight. There was also a very good chance that Six had just ended her colleague's career in Squad Twelve. A broken knee was not an injury someone like Xiu could fully recover from. It would be easier for the military to replace her with a younger, newer, woman.
Two women, she thought. You just ruined yourself, as well.
Fear crushed down on her heart; she could hardly breathe with it. Six had just ended her own life. Twenty years of knowing nothing else, and now—now—
Joseph touched her. He wrapped his arms around her shoulders and tugged her close until her back pressed against his chest and the rise and fall of his breathing mirrored her own. He felt strong, solid. And it was a comfort, no matter how unfamiliar, or small. His mouth pressed against her hair. "Everything will be fine," he murmured.
Six turned to face him, searching his eyes. "How can you say that? How can you believe?"
A grim smile touched his mouth. "Because I just do."
Because I just do. Another kind of faith. A new clock. Six touched his lips with her fingertips. His blood was still wet. She stood on her toes and kissed him, tasting the hot metallic burn, the spice of ginger. His mouth was hard, as were his arms as he crushed her close and tight.
Six broke away, breathing hard. She glanced down at Xiu, then bent close, rummaging through her pockets. She found keys and took them.
"Come," she said to Joseph. "We have to leave. Now."
She went to the cell door and peered out. There were no guards in the hall. No one had heard Xiu scream—or if they had, no one wanted to investigate. The members of Squad Twelve were not known for needing help. It was a reputation they encouraged.