James climbed out of the car to meet the newcomer face to face. She was young—about the same age as he and Sera—with long brown hair, wearing a red leather jacket, slacks…and a gunbelt. James said the first thing that came to mind: “Who are you, and why is my sister a car?”

The girl raised an eyebrow. “Your sister, huh? That’s a new one.” She frowned. “Unless…” She pulled a pair of tinted shades from one pocket, flipped them open one-handed, and slid them on. The display on the back of the lenses flickered to life. “You’re James Katz? And Sera Rothchild?”

James frowned. “So what if we are?”

“You’re flagged in our database. Marauders were supposed to try a snatch. Sera has some local knowledge they needed for a job. Fur and I were supposed to run intercept, but we got reassigned at the last minute.” Her glasses flickered again. “And now your files are sealed by Aegis R&D. Officious bastards.”

She frowned. “Hey, you, in the car. Sera. Did you have any…injections, innoculations in the last week or so?”