Page 42 of Jump or Fall
Instead, he reached for her left wrist, his touch gentle as he flipped open the clear casing over the gauntlet’s controls. A quick tap brought up a soft blue projection—a 3D map hovering just above her wrist. It was the intersection, and showed two star markers indicating where the explosives were planted.
He twisted his fingers in the projection, rotating the image and zooming in. “You can move it around to view different angles. This button here,” he pointed, “will set off the EMP. The red one next to it will detonate the blister box. When they go off, you’ll see an impact radius. If you tap your wrist again it’ll kill the display.”
Mara tapped and watched the projection flicker and vanish.
“How long do we have?” she asked.
Gordon checked his gauntlet. “Five minutes until Wells starts the fire.” He pressed a button and added, “I’ve sent a bird, so they know we're here.”
“A bird?” Kimmie had said that the night before, but she’d forgotten to ask what it meant.
“It’s a robotic surveillance bird,” he clarified. “Looks real though and Naxos is pretty keen on them.”
“Do you think you’ll ever go back?”
His jaw tightened. Maybe she shouldn't have asked that.
“Probably not,” he said. “But I haven’t planned that far out. This is a win-or-die-trying kind of thing.”
The weight of those words hit deep in her chest. She turned back to the window, trying to stifle the ache. She didn’t want to imagine him dying.
After a beat, he spoke again. “Do you plan to leave Hyperion? Teichus?”
“I don’t know.” Her voice was quiet. “I guess my answer’s the same. But I wouldn’t even know where to go. I don’t know if anywhere would want someone like me.”
Or anyone.
He frowned. “What do you mean?”
“My entire life is making armor and being a plaything for a sadist.” She shook her head. “And I’m not needed for the armor anymore. The synth-minds don’t just improve the suits—they can replace everything I do. We won’t need a person to take measurements, troubleshoot, or operate the joiner. It can all be automated. The data can be analyzed and optimized without human expertise. The synth-mind can even think of better designs.” Her voice dropped lower. “I started saving skiff to have an out for when Dawson decides I’m too old or gets bored of me. But now, I realize it’s for when I can’t make armor anymore. It’s the only outlet I have, and soon… it’ll be gone.”
It was strange to say it out loud. She didn’t exactly have anyone to talk with about these things.
Gordon’s expression was troubled. He started to speak but was cut off as a flare of orange light came through the window. Down on the street, a trash bin had burst into flames.
The people outside scattered, desperate to get away from the flames and impending accusations. The vendor from before quickly retreated with his cart.
Enforcers arrived within minutes, alongside a fire containment crew. The containment team extinguished the blaze quickly and vanished, but the enforcers stayed, fanning out across the intersection.
Gordon switched his gauntlet display to a live aerial feed. An enforcer came into view and tapped their head twice.
“That was Kimmie,” he said. “She’s given us the signal.”
He pointed at Mara’s gauntlet. She brought up the projection, watching the figures converge at the marked location.
Gordon nodded once.
Fingers trembling slightly, she pressed the button.
On the feed, their targets recoiled, tapping their helmets and waving in confusion as they realized their comms were down.
Two more rushed over.
Gordon gave her a stiff nod.
Can I really do this?
She inhaled slowly, steadying herself. Then she hit the second button.
