Dualed Read Online Free Page A

in the crossfire.
    “There’s nothing you can do about that,” Luc says. His voice reveals nothing, but the memory of our mother circles. She was a PK, too, in the wrong place at the wrong time last fall, hit by a stray bullet at the grocery store. I push the image of her body away. Her being dead can’t keep Chord from doing what he needs to do.
    Clutching the back of Chord’s seat and aiming for a calm I don’t feel, I say, “If he’s not alone, then he’s not alone.”
    “One-story house, three bedrooms at the most,” Luc says, running it down. “Window in the front is the living room, the smaller one next to that probably the kitchen or dining room.” He cranes his head to see. “And the one at the side is frosted.”
    “The bathroom,” I say. Like all houses in Kersh, the windows are plain glass, not the bulletproof type businesses are allowed to install to prevent damage during a completion.
    “We’ll go around back to where his bedroom must be,” Luc says. “We might luck out and find an open window. Otherwise, it’s the back door.” He looks at me in the rearview mirror. “Like we agreed, you stay here. As soon as you see us, start the car.”
    I can feel my face go stiff. “Actually, we didn’t agree. You guys decided.”
    “Same thing.”
    “You don’t need me to be ready to take off. It’s not like anyone’s going to chase you guys down afterward for an RK. The Board would never let that slide.”
    Revenge Kills became so rampant a few decades ago that the Board had to step in. RKs undermine the reason for assignments and the filtration system as a whole, and for an Alt to win only to be mowed down later is seen as a huge waste. Alts who complete their assignments are stronger, smarter, and more skilled—they’re supposed to stay alive, just as the weaker, dumber, and less skilled are supposed to die. If someone pulls an RK today, the Board sends a harsh message by shutting all doors: no chance of job advancement, no marriage, no kids. So not much chance that Chord’s Alt’s family or friends wouldseek revenge, but I will argue whatever I can to make Luc and Chord let me help.
    “West, you’re not coming in, and that’s it,” Luc says, brushing me off. “Besides, I only have one gun.”
    “Even one gun’s too many,” I protest. Assist Kills—accidental or not—are punished just the same as RKs. There are EKs, too, the rarest of all unnatural completions. Early Kills are when two Alts happen to meet as idles, before their assignments, and one or the other decides to go for completion. Enough of these happening at the same time and Kersh wouldn’t be much different than the Surround, so punishment for AKs, RKs, and EKs is swift.
    “You know you can’t use a gun,” I say.
    Luc lifts one eyebrow. “Neither can you.”
    “Then give it to Chord. It’s too risky for you to have it.”
    “You think I should give the gun to Chord? He’s the worst shot in Kersh.” Luc looks at Chord.
    “Thanks, bud,” Chord says.
    Luc shrugs, grins. “Sorry, but you know you’re way better with a blade.” He glances at me in the rearview mirror again. “We don’t know what we’re walking into. It can’t hurt to have the gun with me, even if I only end up using it to scare someone else off.”
    “So I’m the getaway driver.” I hate how I sound. Sulky, childish, whining. But I don’t want to be useless. Haven’t I already been useless enough, with so many people I care about dying?
    “Yeah, exactly.” Luc swings the car door open. Takes off his watch and passes it back to me. “Here. So you don’t have to keep checking your cell.”
    “You don’t need a driver!” I hiss at his back, tossing the watch up onto the dash. “I’m not even supposed to be driving.”
    “It’s never stopped you before, when I didn’t say anything about you sneaking out for a joyride and Mom and Dad didn’t happen to notice.”
    “What if I said I’m starting to feel bad about breaking