‘Don’t look at me, Charlie,’ Fawn said sharply. ‘Unless you want to get zapped.’

Fawn paused by the sofa and glowered at Ed.

‘Baby bro’s quite handsome for a mongo,’ she said, as she stepped close behind Charlie, tapping the high-voltage prod in her palm.

‘What did I ever do to you, Fawn?’ Charlie asked, trying not to satisfy her big sister with a sob.

Fawn spoke in baby talk. ‘Is ickle Charlie sore because her silly boyfriend got turned to crackling?’

Man Bun entered the room quietly, dressed in clean pants. He lined up with the two guards at the back of the room as Fawn touched the cattle-prod tip against the back of Charlie’s neck.

‘Is this switched on?’ Fawn asked, pressing the trigger. Charlie yelped, shot forward and banged her head on the desk. ‘Well, I guess it is.’

Man Bun laughed appreciatively in the background.

Charlie rolled on to her back and glowered defiantly.

Patrick squealed, ‘Stop hurting her,’ as Fawn swung the prod over Charlie’s face.

‘How ’bout a zap on the nose, sis?’ Fawn asked, then took a deep breath and smiled. ‘You did ask an interesting question back there. Why must I torment poor little Charlie? Before you were born, I used to trap spiders and mice. I’d pull off their wings, or legs, or put pins in them. But when you came along it seemed way more fun torturing you.’

‘You’re a psychopath,’ Charlie hissed.

‘Say it once, say it loud, I’m a psycho and I’m proud,’ Fawn sang cheerily. ‘And look where it’s got me! I was born trailer trash and now I’m the richest woman in Vegas.’

Fawn let this linger as she continued menacing Charlie with the cattle prod.

‘The question is, what to do with my lovely sibling?’ Fawn continued airily. ‘Good lab workers are tough to find and there’s always plenty of work. So I think I’ll set you up here at UrbanScape. I’ve got four thousand empty hotel rooms to choose from. You can work fourteen hours a day. I’ll give you every third Sunday afternoon off, if you behave. You seem fond of your little godson, so we’ll keep him close and make sure he suffers if you don’t.’

Fawn adored the torment on Charlie’s face and gave her a zap on the thigh for good measure.

‘Then there’s young Ed,’ Fawn said as Charlie balled up, convulsing from the electric shock. ‘I generally think it’s better if cripples and morons are disposed of. But my lab techs often need a test subject for trying new mods. Someone has to be the guinea pig and it might as well be him.’

‘I’ll never work in your labs,’ Charlie growled. ‘I don’t care how you try to force me.’