“Lovely.” Casey quipped. “This sounds simir to the atta the Flying ibals that Vivienne and I did to rescue Faye, except I am a little less prepared.”

  “What do you mean?” Sylvie watched the lines of red still cirg where Code was still thinking. “I don’t know much about how they met or what you all did before we came to the manor.” Sylvie blinked her half-moon eyes, “I think I broke Code, this is a bad thing.”

  “Give it time, all puters are a bit weird at times.” Casey offered. “What I meant was, I was armed to the teeth back then…” Casey suddenly had a fshback of Vivienne breaking her flesh with her long fangs and drinking from her with such care that she barely felt the blood loss. “...I-um…yes, ar-armed to… oh my Sylvie…this memory o stop.”

  When her HUD showed five hundred feet, Sylvie found a little nook and pulled to the side, and killed the engine. Flipping down the kickstand, She took off her helmet and helped Casey with hers. “What memory are you referring to?” Sylvie asked politely.

  Once freed from the straints of the helmet, Casey jumped off the motorcycle and hugged Sylvie tight. “I feel like my mind just cheated on you.” She mumbled and wished the memory hadn’t surfaced. “I was recalling the night we saved Faye, and I remembered a…closeness with Viviehat made me react.”

  Blinking with a look of fusion in her full moon and reflective white eyes, Sylvie pced the helmets on the bike and took Casey’s hand into hers. “How do you feel about Vivienne, right nohis moment?” Sylvie squeezed her partner’s hand, “I don’t mean how the memory made you feel, I mean right now.”

  Stumbling behind as Sylvie pulled her along, Casey nearly tripped on a loose rock but mao save herself somewhat gracefully. “I holy don’t feel anything for her right now. Respebsp; She took care of me for nearly a year and I made the decision to leave.” Casey righted herself a up with Sylvie. “I might have loved her at oime, but it’s not the same now.” Casey felt her blood rise and color her cheeks to a deep red rose. “Sorry. I will try not to do that again.”

  Without a shred of warning, Sylvie stomped her foot and came to a plete stop. She turo face a guilty-looking Casey and warmly spoke. “Love. My love. You are your memories. They are what shaped you into the lovely woman that I adore pletely. You ’t cheat oh your memory.” Sylvie took a moment and ko pick up a rock. “This is real, in the moment and solid.” Liftihin cw to Casey’s temple, Sylvie tinued. “That memory is just a shadow, it isn’t real any longer. It’s time is past.” Crushing the ro her hand, Sylvie blew the dust into the air where it disappeared. “Just like that, the rock is history. Our memory.” Smiling widely, she added a final statement. “We are creating memories together, we are together…” Sylvie pressed a light kiss on Casey’s heart-shaped lips. “You didn’t do anything wrong, Casey.”

  Suddenly recalling the four scars on her neck where she’d asked Vivieo leave them, Casey reached over to the small holes and rubbed them. “I will do my best to get these removed, Sylvie.”

  Peering over to see the fang marks that she’d seen a few times before, Sylvie ughed. “Why now? I have seen them for a while. Before you left and most retly in our lovely bedroom. Don’t get weird about them at this point.” She winked and resumed walking to Haley’s home. “Enough, we delve into yuilt ter.” Cag lightly to herself as they made a det pace, Sylvie added, “Depending on how guilty you feel whe home…I might just have one hell of a great time. Folks tend to work harder whehink they’ve been bad. My creamy-pop.”

  Suddenly seeing herself drenched in whipped cream, Casey felt her temperature again rise through her body, making her nipples visibly hard. “You are a devil, Sylvie.” She ughed and tugged gently on one of her partner’s rows. “I really want to get this over with now.” Casey purred and skipped beside Sylvie still enjoying the exg thought. “Are we close enough for Code to interrupt whatever is going on around here?” She held her hands up and spun in pce pyfully. “What about that satellite i pany thing? et-link or some nonsense?”

  “Code just came balih all green lights.” Sylvie followed suit and spun oh her progeny. “You wait until you have your own iing AI.” Sylvie got serious and spoke to Code. “Okay we are within three hundred feet of the house. What are you deteg? you reroute any data things until we are done? Or even elimihem pletely?”

  Blinking with green lights around the edges of Sylvie’s vision, Code finally responded. “Anomaly, detected. Rerouting memory addresses, sedary CPU online. Primary…primary…primary…c-c-cpu error.” Code started spilling out random numbers aers for a couple of seds then answered Sylvie. “780 Madison Drive has three rep access points to the i. Cable e, Satellite servi the rooftop and two different mobile units. Shutdown immi.”

  “Fuck.” Sylvie excimed and sat down somewhat defeated.

  Casey squatted beside Sylvie aly pushed on her girlfriend, “My line, darling-dove. I am sure Code will be baline in a few seds, don’t give up. Maybe use some blood?”

  Holding out her hand for Casey, Sylvie stood up and hugged her partner. “Great idea.” Sylvie summoned her blood to flow throughout her eyes, staining the full moons to make them appear like a pair of harvest blood moons. Roughly ten seds ter the HUD reappeared and the lights once more began lighting gree a time. “It seemed to have worked, Casey. I see it ing online now.” She hopped excitedly for a sed, “See, I keep telling you that this life was made for you. Blood IS everything, you’ve lear better than me and I have been around over two-hundred ay years.”

  “What a lovely pliment.” Casey squeezed Sylvie’s hand. “When we brag about this ter, I will say I saved the mission.” She stuck her to at Sylvie for a sed. “Someone should take care of the dish on the roof, that would solve ohing for Code.” Furling her eyebrows, Casey posed a question. “Does that t as us splitting up, since we are in the same pce?”

  Still waiting for Code to e pletely online, Sylvie tilted her head and nibbled on her lower lip briefly. “I wouldn’t say that ts. We are doing stuff together with the same mission.” She nodded, “Yeah, the dish would make it easier for Code, and it appears I shouldn’t push the puter too hard at this point.” Sylvie tapped her chest. “I will go take care of the dish, that way I program Code directly after. I will e in the back door after. Maybe we will catch Haley in the middle.”

  “So you wao go barreling through the front door?” Casey ughed and raised her eyebrow. “Seems really risky. There could be a trap at the door.”

  “Ha ha, a trap door.” Sylvie shook her head, “You spider-woman inside. You have my permission.” She giggled.

  Suddenly aware that the and was embedded in her mind and body, Casey smiled and shook her head. “You didn’t o officially do it…” She pulled Sylvie into her arms, “So domineering.”

  Code bleeped a up its normal question. “Querry?”

  Casey spoke first, “Thank fuck.” She kissed her partner. “I ’t have you habitually using my words.”

  “Code, what do you remember about the jamming or stop data request?” Sylvie carefully asked the glitchy AI. She gave a sly wink to her partner, “Your words are so fun though.”

  “Memory addresses firmed, recalling st recorded message.” Code started spinning the lights once more and after a few seds stopped and replied to Sylvie. “Three potential locations for i access. Querry?”

  Sylvie motioned for Casey to follow. Quietly Sylvie gave Code its instrus. “I will hahe satellite dish, and take it offline. That should make it easier on you to jam outgoing messages. I would like you to find the data. I am sure it is stored somewhere, with that failsafe.”

  Code blipped a few times and a few blue lights appeared in Sylvie’s dispy. “Sedary CPU perf all coded funs, Primary CPU perf jamming using 256-bit encryption enhanced beyond 1028 due to blood addition. Sing for files…sing…” Code went silent.