Part 89 (1/2)

It took a full second for the impact of that to hit me.

The boy still spoke in that old woman's voice, but she'd called me Captain.

I don't wear captain's bars. None of my team wears a rank or unit patch. No one in the DMS ever does when they're in the field.

So how in the wide blue f.u.c.k did this little freak know what I was?

I made sure my voice was controlled. ”Who are you?”

”I need to give you a message, Captain.”

The figure stood there, arms still out to the sides. I ran the light over his face. The eyes were as dark as holes. The burned flesh around them was puckered and raw.

”I won't tell you again,” I warned him.

”I have something you want. You have something I want. I wish to complete my end of the bargain.”

”You are going to shut your f.u.c.king mouth,” I said sharply. ”Right now.”

I took another step forward and reached a careful hand out to do a gentle pat-down. It didn't matter that Bunny had already searched the kid. It didn't take all that long to pocket a pistol or strap on a C4 vest. The body inside the robes was as thin as a scarecrow, and dust plumed out from the dry cloth.

The flesh between my shoulders twitched and contracted, because even though the shape my eyes saw was a boy, the shape my hand touched was not. The hips were wider, the waist narrower, and there were b.r.e.a.s.t.s. Huge, pendulous, drooping nearly to her waist.

My hand recoiled as if it had a mind of its own. Recoiled in horror and disgust.

”What the . . . ?”

I raised the pistol and pointed the barrel ten inches from the dark eyes, and with my other hand, I tore open the front of the robe.

There was a flash of something.

The world seemed to go red, as if the whole cave was washed with a crimson floodlight. I had a split second's look at the body revealed beneath the robe.

Definitely not a boy.