Close Remembrance by Anna Zaires Read Free Book Online Page A

drunk – not even if you drink five shots an hour. Our bodies metabolize alcohol really quickly now.”
    Mia grinned, remembering the last time she’d gotten wasted. It would’ve been nice to have all those nanocytes back at that club; it would’ve saved her quite a bit of embarrassment.
    They played for an hour and Mia drank at least six shots, choosing the ‘dare’ option over answering some very probing questions about her sex life. Other girls had no such compunction, however, and Mia learned all about Moira’s preference for black leather pants, Jenny’s passion for foot massages, and the fact that Sandra had once had sex in a lifeboat.
    Finally, the party came to an end. Feeling mildly buzzed, Mia headed home, eagerly anticipating seeing Korum and finishing what they had started earlier today.
     
    * * *
     
    Saret walked through the slums of Mexico City, dispassionately observing the dregs of humanity all around him. He had already planted the devices in the center of the city, so this excursion served no particular purpose except to satisfy his curiosity – and to reinforce in his mind the rightness of what he was doing.
    On the corner, a pair of thugs were threatening a prostitute with a knife. She was reluctantly pulling money out of her bra and simultaneously swearing at them in very colorful Spanish. Saret walked in their direction, purposefully making noise, and the thugs scattered at his approach, leaving the whore alone. She took one look at Saret and ran away too, apparently realizing what he was.
    Saret grinned to himself. Fucking cowards .
    It was already after midnight, and the area was crawling with every kind of lowlife. Drug-related violence in Mexico hadn’t gotten any better in recent years, and the country’s government actually went so far as to appeal to the Krinar for help with this issue. After some debate, the Council decided against it, not wanting to get involved in human affairs. Saret had privately disagreed with that decision, but he voted the same way as Korum: against the involvement. It was never a good idea to openly oppose his so-called friend. Besides, it made no sense to help humans on such a limited scale. What Saret was doing would be far more effective.
    He was heading back to where he left the transport pod when a dozen gang members made the fatal error of crossing his path. Armed with machine guns and high on coke, they apparently felt invincible enough to attack a K – a mistake for which they paid immediately.
    The first few bullets managed to hit Saret, but none of the other ones did. Consumed by rage, he was hardly cognizant of his actions, operating solely on instinct – and his instinct was to rip apart and destroy anything that threatened him. By the time Saret regained control of himself, there were body parts all over the alley and the entire street stank of blood and death.
    Disgusted with himself – and with the idiots who provoked him – Saret made his way back to the ship.
    He was more convinced than ever that his path was a righteous one.

Chapter 4
     
    The next day, Mia finished running the simulation for the third time and sent the digital results to Saret, hoping that he would get a chance to look at them soon. Without his feedback – or Adam’s input – there was really nothing else she could do to move the project forward at this time.
    It was only eleven a.m. on Wednesday, and she was already done with what she had set out to do in the lab for the day. Of course, she could always do some mind-related reading or watch some recordings, but that was something she tended to do in her spare time outside of the lab. Lab hours were for doing actual work, and Mia hoped she could find something to occupy herself with until she got the necessary feedback on her current project.
    As usual, Saret was gone somewhere, and the other apprentices were in Thailand again. They’d left her alone in the lab – which Mia thought was probably a sign of trust.