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purposely chose to name themselves after angels to challenge the LINK version
and to remind people of the possibility of hoax and of a human hand behind
the stir.
The glass-encased buildings grew denser as we ap-
proached the center of the city. The city was deadly quiet. No pigeon coo or
insect buzz broke the unearthly silence. In the warm afternoon air, I imagined
I felt the deadly chain reaction reaching up to grab me from every surface.
"We're here," Rebeckah announced, jumping down into the window well of a
basement-level apartment.
Over flash-frozen marigolds in a window box, I could see the dark hairs of her
flattop. She knocked three times on the bottom pane. After a few seconds,
someone on the other side removed the false glass.
Rebeckah crawled through, motioning for me to follow her.
Gingerly, I lowered myself. It was tempting to use the fire escape for
leverage, but I wanted to avoid as much direct contact with the Medusa glass
as possible. I crouched, ready to take the awkward plunge and crawl through,
when a hand from inside offered a pair of armored gloves.
"Thanks," I said, pulling them on. Ducking my head, I scrambled through the
narrow opening. The
Medusa blast had entered the apartment the same way I did, through the open
window, freezing everything inside. The new occupants had removed most of the
walls that were glassed in the explosion, including the ceiling. The same
armored fabric that comprised Rebeckah's camouflage suit draped the outer wall
and the floor. With the false glass in front of the opening, the danger was
effectively minimized.
Even so, the four guards wore fully operational combat armor.
One of them waved the tip of his flechette rifle in my direction. His eyes
were locked on Eion's vestments. His voice held a thin, incredulous tone when
he asked, "Your guest, Commander?"
"Yes, and see that she gets outfitted with armor pronto, soldier," Rebeckah
said. Acknowledging his
"Yes, sir," with a brief nod, she gestured me farther into the complex. "Fm
afraid I can't give you the full tour, you understand, but let me show you to
the mess hall. We can get something to drink while you wait for some decent
clothes."
Sure, I murmured, willing to be led anywhere, especially since the action
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didn't involve any thinking on my part. I stripped off the gloves and looked
around for a place or a person to return them to. One of the other guards took
them from me wordlessly.
"Thanks," I murmured.
I followed Rebeckah into the bowels of the apartment complex. The hallway was
dark, except for a string of Christmas lights running along the seam between
the wall and the ceiling. The light was weak, but steady. The apartment was
too deep inside the glass city for the Malachim to be easily siphoning power
from the main grid. I deduced that they must either have their own generator
somewhere or a really good
LINK-hacker on their team. Knowing Rebeckah, it could be both.
The number of people we passed surprised me as I shuffled along the nubby
carpeting. Occasionally, wild silver locks interspersed among the dark,
militaristic haircuts. Rebeckah must have noticed my eyes following a pair of
silver heads as they disappeared up a flight of stairs, because she said, "The
Gorgons lived here first. It didn't seem right to oust them. Besides, they've
proven to be excellent scavengers . . .
and surprisingly willing to barter."
"Politics and strange bedfellows." I shrugged. I was intrigued by the alliance
between the Malachim and the Gorgons, but too tired to pursue it. My eyes were
distracted by the soft colors of the Christmas lights. Someone had made a Star
of David at the intersection of two hallways. "Nice decorations."
Rebeckah laughed and held out her hand to indicate the direction I should go.
"The Gorgons," she explained. "They must have found a warehouse full of the
lights. They string them up wherever they go.
Some of my boys augmented their haphazard design and siphoned a bit of power
for them. The light is strange, but I've gotten used to it."
"I've seen something like this in the abandoned service tunnels in Manhattan."
"I'm not surprised." Rebeckah nodded. "The tunnels are a great way to get
around unnoticed."
"For you or them?"
"Both," Rebeckah said, as we headed up a flight of stairs. The stairway was
too narrow for us to walk side by side, so Rebeckah took the lead. Over her
shoulder she asked, "Why?"
"Do you have your own generator, or do you boost the city's power?" I asked.
My fingers brushed the
handrail. Red lights looped around the rail, giving the shadows of Rebeckah's
armor a purplish cast.
"You didn't answer my question, Deidre. Why do you want to know if we use the
service tunnels?"
I waited, saying nothing. I hoped she'd drop her question, but I knew I'd
never win a game like this one with Rebeckah. At the landing, I paused to
catch my breath. Rebeckah turned to regard me evenly.
"All right, all right." I gave in. I smiled, because I knew I'd be the first
to break. "I only ask because I saw these strange boxes set at intervals
throughout the tunnels running along the old cable-car power lines.
They didn't look like maintenance units; they were too purposely concealed. In
fact, I wouldn't have noticed them at all if it weren't for the Gorgon's
lights. Are they yours?"
Rebeckah looked genuinely surprised by my information. "No. Manhattan, you
said?"
"Yeah, not far from the deli we met at, actually. I guess that's why I
suspected they might be your power siphons."
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