The Rise of Io by Wesley Chu Page B

hanging do we have to do?”
    There was a long pause.
    â€œHey, Io?”
    Yes?
    â€œThat famous general you used to possess, the one that died to a bunch of American Indians, his name wasn’t Custer, was it?”
    As a matter of fact, it was.
    â€œGo figure,” Ella sighed. “Of all the aliens I get in my head… Wait, you weren’t at that Alamo place, were you?”
    No. Why do you only know those historical events and not the important battles I led, like Brownstown during the War of 1812 or Kemmel Ridge during the Great War?
    Ella shrugged. “I get my education from television and cinema. If they didn’t make a movie about it, it couldn’t have been that important.”
    Rescue came later that evening. To Ella’s shock, it came in the form of Coward, the man who had kidnapped her and brought her back to his apartment. The tall thin Englishman, looking decidedly uncomfortable, arrived with a suitcase of money and offered to bail her out. Manu was almost as surprised as she was and began to tack on demands to the final bill. Not only did Coward have to pay for bail, he also had to repay the money Ella had supposedly conned from Manu, as well as an additional fee for services rendered. To Ella, it was an astronomical amount, but Coward didn’t even bat an eye as he counted the money and pushed the pile across the table.
    â€œPleasure doing business,” Manu purred. He turned to Ella. “And you stay out of business, you hear?”
    Ella filed out of the police station and took a deep breath. It still smelled like garbage right outside the precinct, but not nearly as bad as her cell. She had only been there a few hours, but she felt as if she had done hard time. She looked over at Coward walking beside her, and stuck out her hand. “I guess I should thank you, Coward.”
    â€œI guess you should,” he replied, shaking it. “My name is Hamilton, not Coward. Hamilton Breckenridge.”
    â€œHam, Hameel… Feck…” Ella struggled over the name. She often had trouble with English words with too many syllables. “Can I just call you Coward?”
    â€œAbsolutely not.”
    â€œAll right, Hammy. How did you find me anyway?”
    â€œIt’s Hamilton. I’ve been monitoring you ever since you joined with Io. As her auxiliary, it’s my duty to assist her in any way possible. It’s important these days for all hosts to have backups.”
    Ella pretended not to notice Hamilton’s face darken at that last sentence. “Well, does that mean you’re backing me up now?”
    â€œAll hosts are ranked as commanders. I am here to assist you in any way possible.” There it was again.
    Ella had a pretty sharp eye when it came to tells. Being observant came with the territory in her line of work. She could learn a lot just from watching someone walking down the street, much more if they opened their mouths. From the cadence of their footsteps to the inflection on certain words, or even the way they hung their hands at their sides, everyone had tells.
    It was also in the way their face scrunched or the way they spoke with gritted teeth. The biggest tells were always in the eyes, and right now, Hamilton’s eyes were telling her he was unhappy with her, or this situation, or perhaps with Io, but he was doing his best not to show that he was surly.
    â€œHey Io, what’s his deal?”
    Hamilton was with my previous host for only a few months. He is sensitive.
    â€œSensitive about what? The guy is barely hiding the fact he hates my guts. Is he mad because I kicked his ass when he was creeping all over me?”
    He was not creeping over you. He was tending to your wounds, and I believe he would disagree with you on who won that fight.
    â€œWhatever. Whoever comes out of a fight prettier wins. If he’s not mad that a girl half his size showed him who the bigger man was, then what is he angry