he?”
Sanchez nodded. “I believe so.”
There was a strangely expectant hush.
Finally Echo spoke. “How can I thank j’ou all for saving my child?”
2Face bit her cheek to keep from screaming. Here we go again …. That idiot, Jobs, actually blushed. He opened his mouth but no words came out. Dork. Badger, Mattock, and Cocker just stood there, mouths shut, looking stupid.
“Don’t worry about it,” Mo’Steel said lightly. “It makes my day to play hero. I might even get myself a cape.”
Echo looked puzzled but Mo’Steel didn’t seem to mind. How full of himself is this guy getting, 2Face wondered. But still, she kept her mouth shut.
“I am afraid,” Echo said then, rubbing the baby’s back. “I don’t want to lose my child. But…
I’m ready to trust j’ou all. And Billy.”
Olga put her arm around the girl’s shoulders and looked all goopy.
“We figured out the critical moment,” Mo’Steel said to Echo now. “All the pieces are in place. But you understand that none of us knows for sure if the regreening will go down okay.”
Echo nodded.
“You’re still willing to take this chance?”
Again, the Alpha girl nodded.
And 2Face’s stomach fell. Crap. Now that everything was in place for the regreening ritual, she didn’t have much time…. She could destroy Lyric’s watch, throw off their timing. But that wasn’t definitive enough. No, 2Face would stick to her original plan to eliminate the cause of all their troubles: Billy.
And she would be very sure to throw suspicion off herself.
“Wait a minute,” Noyze was saying. “Where’s Newton now?”
Mo’Steel smiled oddly. “Well, he decided not to stick around for the consequences of his actions. In short, he ran away.”
“You let him go?” 2Face blurted.
Mo’Steel shrugged. “Why not? My guess is that he won’t get far before something big and ugly takes him down.”
A downright jolly laugh burst from the hideous girl named Grost. Yeah, well, 2Face admitted silently, I’d be laughing, too, if I were her. Until Mo’Steel killed that Beast and put Newton in his place, Newton had made Grost his personal punching bag.
“Too bad about that Newton,” Aga said, shaking her head. “He could have been a good —”
“Good riddance to bad rubbish,” 2Face shot back vehemently.
Olga chuckled. “Now there’s an expression I haven’t heard in a long time!”
“Yeah. Mom, remember Grandpa used to say that?”
“He had a cliché for every occasion. I —”
“Could we stick to the subject, please!” 2Face cried. God, she thought she would explode.
“The important thing is that Billy is safe and that his plan can proceed without obstruction.”
“And just in the nick of time!” Noyze said.
Most everyone moved off then to check on the freak or whatever.
Violet stayed behind. 2Face didn’t like the look in her eyes.
“So, you seem to have done a turnaround as far as Billy’s concerned,” she said.
2Face forced a tone of innocence. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
“Sure you do,” Violet said blandly. “It wasn’t too long ago that you were blaming Billy for our being stuck on this ratty planet. You thought he was in cahoots with Yago and the Troika.
You said so.”
2Face kept her mouth shut. She was giving her nothing.
But that didn’t stop Miss Goody-Two-shoes.
“It’s just that now you’re all pro-Billy,” she said. “You act like you trust him.”
“I do trust him,” 2Face said simply, forcing a tone of truth.
Buy it, you moron, she urged silently.
Violet hesitated. And then something shifted in her eyes and she shrugged.
“Okay,” she said. “So, see you around.”
It was all 2Face could do not to grin triumphantly.
“Yeah,” she said sweetly. “See you around.”
CHAPTER 18
“I CARED ABOUT YOU.”
It was okay that he was going to die. There were far worse things. Like being awake and alone for five hundred years.
Besides, Mother wouldn’t let
Sanchez nodded. “I believe so.”
There was a strangely expectant hush.
Finally Echo spoke. “How can I thank j’ou all for saving my child?”
2Face bit her cheek to keep from screaming. Here we go again …. That idiot, Jobs, actually blushed. He opened his mouth but no words came out. Dork. Badger, Mattock, and Cocker just stood there, mouths shut, looking stupid.
“Don’t worry about it,” Mo’Steel said lightly. “It makes my day to play hero. I might even get myself a cape.”
Echo looked puzzled but Mo’Steel didn’t seem to mind. How full of himself is this guy getting, 2Face wondered. But still, she kept her mouth shut.
“I am afraid,” Echo said then, rubbing the baby’s back. “I don’t want to lose my child. But…
I’m ready to trust j’ou all. And Billy.”
Olga put her arm around the girl’s shoulders and looked all goopy.
“We figured out the critical moment,” Mo’Steel said to Echo now. “All the pieces are in place. But you understand that none of us knows for sure if the regreening will go down okay.”
Echo nodded.
“You’re still willing to take this chance?”
Again, the Alpha girl nodded.
And 2Face’s stomach fell. Crap. Now that everything was in place for the regreening ritual, she didn’t have much time…. She could destroy Lyric’s watch, throw off their timing. But that wasn’t definitive enough. No, 2Face would stick to her original plan to eliminate the cause of all their troubles: Billy.
And she would be very sure to throw suspicion off herself.
“Wait a minute,” Noyze was saying. “Where’s Newton now?”
Mo’Steel smiled oddly. “Well, he decided not to stick around for the consequences of his actions. In short, he ran away.”
“You let him go?” 2Face blurted.
Mo’Steel shrugged. “Why not? My guess is that he won’t get far before something big and ugly takes him down.”
A downright jolly laugh burst from the hideous girl named Grost. Yeah, well, 2Face admitted silently, I’d be laughing, too, if I were her. Until Mo’Steel killed that Beast and put Newton in his place, Newton had made Grost his personal punching bag.
“Too bad about that Newton,” Aga said, shaking her head. “He could have been a good —”
“Good riddance to bad rubbish,” 2Face shot back vehemently.
Olga chuckled. “Now there’s an expression I haven’t heard in a long time!”
“Yeah. Mom, remember Grandpa used to say that?”
“He had a cliché for every occasion. I —”
“Could we stick to the subject, please!” 2Face cried. God, she thought she would explode.
“The important thing is that Billy is safe and that his plan can proceed without obstruction.”
“And just in the nick of time!” Noyze said.
Most everyone moved off then to check on the freak or whatever.
Violet stayed behind. 2Face didn’t like the look in her eyes.
“So, you seem to have done a turnaround as far as Billy’s concerned,” she said.
2Face forced a tone of innocence. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
“Sure you do,” Violet said blandly. “It wasn’t too long ago that you were blaming Billy for our being stuck on this ratty planet. You thought he was in cahoots with Yago and the Troika.
You said so.”
2Face kept her mouth shut. She was giving her nothing.
But that didn’t stop Miss Goody-Two-shoes.
“It’s just that now you’re all pro-Billy,” she said. “You act like you trust him.”
“I do trust him,” 2Face said simply, forcing a tone of truth.
Buy it, you moron, she urged silently.
Violet hesitated. And then something shifted in her eyes and she shrugged.
“Okay,” she said. “So, see you around.”
It was all 2Face could do not to grin triumphantly.
“Yeah,” she said sweetly. “See you around.”
CHAPTER 18
“I CARED ABOUT YOU.”
It was okay that he was going to die. There were far worse things. Like being awake and alone for five hundred years.
Besides, Mother wouldn’t let
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