[sylvanSpider]

Yoruba's gun was out the second she saw a flash of metal – much could be said about the strength of her reflexes – and holstered after the second click she realized the gun was almost empty. “I suppose nothing can be said of your intelligence, then. Do you know shit about guns? Rule number one is never point a gun at someone you don't intend to shoot – empty or not. I learned that rule when I was five. It's a rule to live by, or die by if you're stupid enough not to follow it. It's a miracle you're still alive, honestly,” Yoruba snapped back, “If the stuff doesn't do a damned thing, then that dead motherfucker is leading us on a suicide mission across the country only to die and his name should be cursed further. If he saw me as a liability it's only because I fucked his squeeze before he ever had a chance to.” Emily winced at the words, though she knew there was more than a little bit of truth to them. She, however, kept her mouth shut, and Yoruba continued,[b] “Look at the odds, sugar. If the chances are high that he collected nothing but stories, going to Seattle is useless and he is literally leading us all to our deaths from the grave just because he was spiteful enough to keep it to himself. You're doing nothing to clear his name. Do you hear me? Nothing. If anything, you're making me hate him even more if only because the little shit still continues to put Emily in danger even as a corpse.”

She took a couple of deep breaths unclenching her fists so she could tap her thigh. “So once again, I'm left with a decision to stay or go. That decision has already been made for me, because I will literally walk through hellfire for that girl over there and there is strength in numbers. That, and you don't know shit about guns. I'm an engineer, and a certified genius. I earned my doctorates in early twenties. I know that the papers mean nothing now, but the knowledge I used to get those papers is still there. If you doubt me, ask Emily.” Emily nodded in assent. “That being said, we can't push through that cursed city without preparing first. Based on my solo excursions, most of those things are weak to fire. The tank that you see me carrying around? It's a flamethrower. I want to make one for each of you before we go in and you both are going to have to go through training to learn to use it and strength training to be able to carry one at full capacity. Those fuckers aren't going to know what hit them.”