Daniel Suarez - Kill Decision

The Argentine ants were reducing biodiversity. Other insects could not survive their onslaught, and the birds who ate those insects were also starting to suffer-and on up the food chain. Humans weren’t the only ones capable of wrecking their ecosystem by succeeding too well, apparently.

And yet somehow McKinney’s enthusiasm for swarming intelligence seemed greatly diminished. It wasn’t academic anymore. How long until the weaver drones started appearing elsewhere? She tried not to think about it.

Instead she kept walking. While wandering the edge of an orange grove, McKinney heard a familiar caw and turned to see one of Odin’s ravens on a nearby fence post. It examined her curiously. She noticed it wasn’t wearing the wire filament headset or transponder. “Hello, Muninn. How are you today?”

The raven spread its wings and puffed up the feathers around its head, caw ing and hopping along the fence wire.

She stood in front of Muninn and leaned on her hiking stick. “Where have you been?”

The raven cocked its head at her.

In a moment Huginn landed next to Muninn on a nearby fence post.

“Hello, Huginn.”

The birds both caw ed in response, but then the first one started preening the new arrival, as the second one emitted gentle keek-keek sounds. It was as though he were caressing her.

“I guess this is a holiday for you two, then? A little jaunt down to Mexico?”

McKinney decided to leave them alone and returned to her walk along the edge of the orchard. The ravens started to tag along, flying in bounds overhead, and then across the road into a nearby peach orchard. They were both walking around the branches and took great interest in a squirrel that was gathering up rotting peaches that had fallen. One of the ravens apparently decided to have some fun and tugged at a peach on a branch until it broke off and rolled down onto the ground-where the squirrel immediately descended upon it.

McKinney watched in fascination as the ravens let out more clicking noises and hopped around the branches with apparent delight. They seemed to be… feeding the squirrels for the fun of it.

Soon bored with their game, they flew off, heading toward a copse of trees in the distance. McKinney watched them go, only to see them circle back and caw at her loudly. Another dip of the wings, and they headed back toward the distant tree line. McKinney watched them go again, this time more closely. The birds were clearly communicating with each other as they flew. It was fascinating to watch.

Another glance down at the Argentine ants, and McKinney decided to take a break from swarming models. She slipped beneath the fence wire and headed across a pasture toward the copse of trees a couple of hundred meters away. She could see the ravens sitting on a tree branch there, until one of them descended, presumably to engage in more mischief.

She remembered when she’d first arrived at the Ancile base in Kansas City and started exploring the halls. Muninn had sounded the alarm. Now they seemed to have accepted her. It surprised her how good it made her feel.

She considered this as she headed into the trees along a narrow but well-worn path. The ravens caw ed about something ahead. McKinney wondered whether she was being foolish for heading down this path on her own, but the presence of the ravens was oddly comforting. They didn’t sound alarmed. It was their normal voice.

Before long she came to the edge of a stream that flowed over rounded stones in clear ripples and reflected the trees above in still pools. Standing there on the bank, his back against a tree, was Odin.

He was grimly concentrating on the water, lost in thought. He finally looked up in alarm as she snapped a branch with her foot.

His surprise truly surprised McKinney. “I thought you had eyes everywhere. Your trusty companions seem to have failed you.”

He frowned and looked up at the ravens on branches above. “Someone’s apparently getting a little too used to you.”

She walked up to him and looked out at the water. “This is nice. I didn’t know this was here.”

He nodded.

She noticed he held a mirror and scissors. “What are you up to?”

“Shaving the beard.”

McKinney put on an exaggerated, shocked expression. “Really? That thing must have taken you ages to grow.”

He nodded again.

“Doesn’t look like you’ve made much progress. Hard to part with it?”

“I guess it is. But it was for a mission I spent too much time on.”

She studied his face and walked up to him as he tried to look into the tiny handheld mirror.

He stopped for a moment. “What?”

She extended her hand, and when he hesitated, she took the scissors from him. “I can see better. You want it all off?”

He nodded.

She started clipping through his beard and realized there was some gray in the black hair. This close to him, she realized what a formidable man he was. His jaw solid.

His face was still stern.

“You okay?”

“They’ll be sending assets after us eventually, and I don’t want to attract them here. Which means we need to move on.”

“To where?”

He seemed at a loss. “That’s the problem. I’m trying to figure out a way back for you.”

“What about you? You’re still going after these people-aren’t you?” She kept clipping, and now she was starting to see his real face for the first time.

“I have no choice.”

“Have you uncovered anything about who’s behind this?”

“That’s the other problem, but it’s my problem.” He looked at her. “I’m sorry you’re involved in this.”

McKinney continued clipping. “You saved my life. You don’t have to apologize to me.”

He absorbed the comment silently.

She stepped back a step and gripped his jaw in her hand, turning his head side to side. His beard was quite short now-at shaving length. McKinney couldn’t help but notice how handsome David Shaw was. It was the first time she’d really seen his full face. “You look a lot better without that beard.”

She let go, and he checked her handiwork in the mirror, rubbing a hand along his jawline.

He knelt down to pull shaving cream and a folded straight razor from a kit in the bag at his feet. As he stood she extended her hand.

“Let me.”

He eyed her warily and gestured to the straight razor. “You know how to use one of these?”

She nodded. “I used to date a swimmer.”

He gave her an odd look.

“Don’t ask.”

He reluctantly relinquished the razor and took off his T-shirt to hang it over a tree branch. McKinney noticed scars crisscrossing his back and shoulders. What looked to be old wounds along his ribs, another one above his right shoulder blade. His lean, muscular frame flexed easily as he splashed his face with water.

He turned to face her, and she could see more scars along his chest, one leaving a hairless trail along his right pectoral muscle. He had almost no fat on him.

Odin noticed the look on her face and nodded toward the razor she held. “You gonna be safe with that? ’Cause I’m full up on scars already.”

“I’ll be fine. I didn’t know you’d been so badly hurt before. Are all these combat wounds?”

He shrugged. “Comes with the territory if you stay long enough. I’ve been luckier than most.”

She pointed to the nasty scar tracing along his chest. “What was this?”

He looked down. “Training accident in Texas. We were dropped into trees. I got impaled on a branch.”

He saw the look on her face.

“Ah, you were expecting it was from a knife-wielding terrorist?”

She nodded. “I guess I did.”

He applied some shaving cream to his hand from a can and started rubbing it along his jaw and face. “That’s this one over here…” He gestured to his side.