Free Havoc by Ann Aguirre

that her moment had passed. Dred turned the gun over in her hands; Jael came up to stand at her shoulder with a military posture, inspecting it along with her. Automatic sighting, improved heat flow, larger battery pack to expand firing capacity. The rifle was a definite improvement from what had been on the market when he was a merc, forty turns or so ago now.
    â€œWe weren’t sure how effective our weapons would be against their armor, but this is top-of-the-line,” Dred called out. “And this is only the first of many victories. Now we just need to pick them off.”
    It would obviously be a lot tougher than that, but with those words, she put heart back into worried men. As she lifted the rifle, they raised their arms, and shouted, “Dread Queen, Dread Queen!”
    That ought to hold them for a little while.
But he knew better than anyone how fast human beings could turn.

7
    Adapt or Die
    As the celebration continued, Dred dragged Jael to her quarters. He might think she didn’t pay attention to the details, but it was obvious from the way he moved that he wasn’t all right. Once inside, she was surprised to find that Tam and Martine had relocated.
Hopefully that means he’s a little better.
But more likely, the spymaster had felt uncomfortable lounging in her private space. He had very regimented notions about what was proper, as if she really were royalty. That opened the door to all sorts of questions.
    â€œShirt off,” she snapped.
    â€œThis is so sudden. I feel like we should cement our emotional bond first. Or perhaps you should offer a bride price for me?”
    He was so ridiculous that she had to smile. Jael was the only one who could dig beneath the impenetrable mask she showed the rest of Queensland. She tapped her foot. “You were wounded back there. Let me see.”
    â€œFine. But only because you said please so sweetly.”
    He pulled off the ragged shirt and showed her his back. She sucked in a sharp breath at the black, puckered skin in the center of his back. Mentally, she tabulated how long it had been since he had been shot. “Shouldn’t it look . . . better than this by now?”
    â€œI can’t see, can I, love?” It was a blithe, slick reply.
    As she inspected the wound, the mass of it shrunk infinitesimally. “It’s healing, but . . . not like you normally do.”
    â€œI
had
noticed,” he said dryly. “There’s still plenty of pain.”
    That troubled her. He’d just about emptied his veins in saving her life; though normally a primitive transfusion wouldn’t work, Jael had unusual healing abilities, acquired as part of his Bred heritage. Since then, neither of their bodies had been quite the same.
    â€œThis might seem like an odd question, but . . . what you did for me, have you ever done that for anyone else?”
    He laughed. “I don’t put out for just anyone, love.”
    â€œDon’t flirt with me. This is serious.”
    â€œFrom my perspective, it just means I’m a few steps closer to normal.”
    â€œNormal people die in here,” she said softly.
    â€œWould that trouble you?”
    A fist clamped around her heart. She didn’t want to feel things, let alone admit them. So Dred squared her expression and offered him the same coin. “Obviously, it would. Where would I be without my secret weapon?”
    To her relief, he didn’t show disappointment in the pragmatic response. “Shoved down the chute, I reckon.”
    â€œYou got that right. We’re going to try an experiment.”
    â€œDoes this mean you’re taking your top off, too?”
    â€œNot at the moment.” Dred got out a slim blade that she kept in her boot and drew a line down her arm before he could stop her.
    â€œWhat the hell is wrong with you?”
    Blood welled up from the thin cut; it wasn’t deep, so he was definitely overreacting.