She ground her teeth and shrugged him off. "Yes," she agreed.
Seer demanded, "Make me a weapon."
"Sure thing. What kind?"
"Something to break buildings and shoot planes from the sky," he said. This was one of the most mundane requests Nell had ever received, and she nodded.
"I need metal, metalworking tools, lots of wiring, some servos, and pretty much anything else you can get your hands on."
"Done," he said, and moved to leave.
"Seer," Nell said, suddenly remembering. "What did you do with that boy?"
His eyes widened in surprise, and then his cheeks burned with guilt. His jaw clenched in annoyance. "You're lucky I'm not carrying my stun baton, bitch." He swept out of the room, walking arrogantly but hurriedly.
"Jackass," Nell muttered. Her guard, who had sat passively in the corner, chucked quietly to himself. The girl smiled, and said, "Good to know someone agrees with me."
Again, the man nodded subtly. Nell began deconstructing the Rube Goldberg mechanism, saving all of the nuts and bolts and screws for her next project and tucking them into her pockets. She'd forgotten the rush of making and fixing in all the time she'd spent with Derek.
"Am I going to be turned over to the government?" she asked as she worked.
The guard shrugged.
"I think Seer's going to do that when he's done having me make stuff," she chatted. While generally introverted, Nell was most able to open up when having a one-sided conversation. Her guard was a good listener, and she knew he didn't like Seer. A few subjects later, she wondered aloud, "Why did he pay you to kidnap me instead of just pay me to make his weapons? It's not like I ask a lot of money for what I do, just enough to..."
She trailed off. She had never told anyone what she did with all the money she made, why she was homeless and emaciated and unhealthy despite the fact that she made many thousands of dollars every year.
Seer demanded, "Make me a weapon."
"Sure thing. What kind?"
"Something to break buildings and shoot planes from the sky," he said. This was one of the most mundane requests Nell had ever received, and she nodded.
"I need metal, metalworking tools, lots of wiring, some servos, and pretty much anything else you can get your hands on."
"Done," he said, and moved to leave.
"Seer," Nell said, suddenly remembering. "What did you do with that boy?"
His eyes widened in surprise, and then his cheeks burned with guilt. His jaw clenched in annoyance. "You're lucky I'm not carrying my stun baton, bitch." He swept out of the room, walking arrogantly but hurriedly.
"Jackass," Nell muttered. Her guard, who had sat passively in the corner, chucked quietly to himself. The girl smiled, and said, "Good to know someone agrees with me."
Again, the man nodded subtly. Nell began deconstructing the Rube Goldberg mechanism, saving all of the nuts and bolts and screws for her next project and tucking them into her pockets. She'd forgotten the rush of making and fixing in all the time she'd spent with Derek.
"Am I going to be turned over to the government?" she asked as she worked.
The guard shrugged.
"I think Seer's going to do that when he's done having me make stuff," she chatted. While generally introverted, Nell was most able to open up when having a one-sided conversation. Her guard was a good listener, and she knew he didn't like Seer. A few subjects later, she wondered aloud, "Why did he pay you to kidnap me instead of just pay me to make his weapons? It's not like I ask a lot of money for what I do, just enough to..."
She trailed off. She had never told anyone what she did with all the money she made, why she was homeless and emaciated and unhealthy despite the fact that she made many thousands of dollars every year.
