My mind had turned to slush. “So…” I reached into my helmet and scratched my nose. “…so you didn’t try to kill me?”
“No, goddamn it,” she said, exasperated. “I think it was Sean Beekman, the team leader. We’ve been digging into his finances. Someone else has been paying him a lot of money.”
“Why did you invite me into AISOR, then?”
“Kowalski wanted you. I needed to see why. I was going to explain, but you ran as soon as we got you back from Tartarus.”
I nodded. “So that’s why you slept with me?”
“No!” She shoved me in the chest, and I nearly fell over my bike. “I fucked you because I liked you, you idiot.”
“Oh,” I said. “Oooh. Shit.” I glanced at her car sunk in the road. “I guess that makes me a bit of an asshole, doesn’t it?”
“You think?” She shook her head and rubbed her face with the palm of her hand. “It doesn’t matter.”
“Zhi…Brittany….”
“I said it doesn’t matter.” She snatched her ID back and turned away. “Kowalski made us. Maybe he already knew we were watching them, and now it’s time for him to silence us.”
“So you’re saying it’s definitely Kowalski behind this?”
“It has to be. As close as we can tell he’s been involved at every level. His people came for us an hour ago. They moved on Mayor White, pulled her out of her car, gunned her down in the street.”
Stretch was one of Kowalski’s people? Then what was he doing hanging around with Bohr? No, no time to worry about that now.
“I’ve lost contact with the rest of the undercovers,” Zhi said. “I have to get out of town.”
“Ah, Christ.” I stared at the car. It wouldn’t be going anywhere in a hurry. I’d screwed up again. Zhi…Brittany…threw a look behind her. She was scared off her face.
I made up my mind. “You know how to ride a motorbike?”
“What? Yeah, but—”
I grabbed her by the hand and pulled her to my bike. “Take mine.”
She tried to pull away from me. “Miles, I can’t. I need my bag.”
“Forget it, I’ll send you some nice new clothes. On me. I’ll write you into my will. You won’t have to wait long.”
“There’s evidence—”
I grabbed her and pulled her bodily onto the bike. It took nearly everything I had. “The clutch is sticky. Watch out for it.” I twisted the key in the ignition and the bike came to life.
“Miles.”
I pulled off my helmet and handed it to her. “You’ll need this.”
She was still mad at me, I could tell. I was mad at me, too. I’d let my paranoia drive me. I’d trusted the people I shouldn’t have trusted, and let the people who mattered slip away. Zhi would never fully forgive me, I knew. But that wasn’t what was important now.
“You need to get out of Bluegate as well,” she said. “It’s not safe here. They’ll find you.”
I almost laughed at that. “I’ll be fine,” I lied. “Get out of here.”
She buckled the helmet. It was too big for her. Her eyes met mine. “Thank you.”
She turned to face the road ahead. As she did, I slipped my hand inside her pocket and wrapped my hand around her revolver. I pocketed it before she could realize it was gone.
Then she gunned the engine and took off.
I watched her head for the East Bridge. She’d need to stop for gas once she was outside the city. I hoped she’d find somewhere to lay low. Kowalski would still be coming for her. Unless I dealt with him.
I inspected Zhi’s revolver. It was a small thing, made for someone with little hands. But right now I figured I needed it more than her. I opened the cylinder. Fully loaded, six rounds. It’d do.
I tucked the gun back in my pocket, turned my back on another woman I’d failed, and went to hail a cab.
Kowalski. You’re done.
TWENTY-FOUR
It was a hot night. The kind of night where your shirt sticks to your skin and you can feel the sweat of one and a half million people pressing in on you. The kind of night you just wanna spend with a cold beer in your hand, the river lapping at your feet, and maybe, if you’re real lucky, a warm lady at your side.
I didn’t have a beer or a river or a lady. I had a gun, a quarter bottle of Kemia, and a poison in my veins that stung every inch of my guts. Inside me there was no more piss and no more vinegar, just a deep, cold anger that kept my legs moving when they screamed at me to stop. My ear stung where I’d been sliced. My shoulder ached where I’d been peppered with buckshot. And a woman walked beside me. Dead, irretrievably dead.
I kept walking.
Vivian wasn’t there when I finally dragged myself back to her apartment. I knocked a couple of times, and when there was no answer, I used a splash of Kemia and a Pin Hole to unlock the door.
Toto started squealing right away. The spider-dog came scampering out of the bedroom and leaped at me. He was little, but not that little. He hit me with the force of a eighteen-wheeler and I went down on my ass again. Christ, he was an ugly little son of a bitch. Smelly, too. I pulled him against me and stroked his fur until he quieted down.
“You hungry?” I asked him. He yapped and nuzzled my chest.
I put him down and hauled myself to my feet. Dizziness hit me for a second, but it passed. The little bastard ran around my legs as I staggered to the kitchen, nearly tripping me a couple of times. I aimed a half-hearted kick in his direction, but he easily raced around my foot and went back to nipping at my heels. I gave it up and opened the fridge to see what I could scavenge.
“What do you eat anyway?” I asked. With teeth like that, he was obviously partial to meat. It didn’t look like Vivian had been shopping much lately. Aside from half a bottle of milk, a couple of specks of ketchup, and a container of margarine, the fridge was nearly bare. I found a sad-looking carrot buried at the bottom of the vegetable drawer, but Toto turned up his nose at it, so I started munching on it while I pulled open the freezer door.
“Here, how about this?” I pulled a couple of frozen pork chops out of the corner. Toto squealed and leaped at them, teeth gnashing. “Hold on, damn it. Let me defrost them first.”
I tossed the meat in Vivian’s microwave and pressed buttons until it started working. While I waited, I rummaged in the cupboards for the biggest bowl I could find—I think it was supposed to be a fruit bowl—then filled it with water and put it down on the kitchen floor. Toto buried his head in it immediately and started making horrible slurping sounds. I left him to it.
I didn’t have much longer. I had to prioritize. Bohr and his goddamn Collective were just as willing to kill and maim to get these crystals as Kowalski and AISOR, but I had no way of getting to them. The Collective had gone to ground. Hell, maybe they weren’t even in the city anymore, though I doubted they’d leave. Not before they got what they wanted. But either way, one day they’d stick their nose up and make a mistake. I trusted Vivian to track them down and nail their asses to the wall.
That left AISOR. I still had no idea what they wanted the crystals for, but it sure as hell must be important if they were willing to kill the mayor in broad daylight and leave a trail of bodies behind. I could probably just sit here and wait. They’d come find me eventually. I was the only living host for these crystals of theirs, and they wouldn’t let me get away from them. There were others they could try to use. Caterina. Tania. The other Tunnelers in the city who’d taken Chroma. But they’d made their choice. And they were moving in for the kill. Maybe after they were done with me, they’d go after everyone who’d been involved. They’d hunt down Zhi. Maybe they’d kill Desmond, if they linked him to me. And Vivian and Detective Wade. I couldn’t care less about the pretty boy, but if they killed Vivian, that’d be strike three for me and my guilt.
But that was all moot. I wasn’t going to sit here. I wasn’t going to wait for them to come find me. In a few hours I’d probably be too weak to do much more than flop aroun
d like a drunk koala. I needed to act while I still had strength. The strength to open a Pin Hole or two. And the strength to pull a trigger.
The microwave beeped. The pork chops still seemed a bit cold, but they’d have to do. I stuck them on a plate and left them on the floor next to Toto’s water bowl. He hooted at me and started tearing them apart with so much gusto I decided to leave the room. I hoped Vivian wouldn’t get too mad at me for stealing her food and painting her kitchen floor with it. I guessed I wasn’t going to get a chance to make it up to her now.
I went to the couch, opened the window, and sat down next to it. The breeze helped, even if it was warmer than I’d like. It was a hell of a summer. I always hated summer.
I fished my cell phone out of my pocket and dialed. It rang eight times, then someone picked up. No, it was just voicemail. Maybe it was better that way. The pre-recorded message ended, the phone beeped, and silence waited for me to talk.
“Hey, Des,” I said after a moment. “It’s me. Don’t delete this message yet. I just wanted to say you were right. I’ve been going about this all wrong, but I’m out of time and it’s too late to change trains now.”
I paused and rubbed my forehead. Christ, I could use a drink.
“Anyway,” I said, “I know this isn’t exactly going to pass as a legal will, but if you can swing it, I want you to have my stuff. Most of it’s sliced to bits, but maybe you’ll be able to salvage something. My coins and my Kemia are yours if you want them. If you don’t, just make sure Tania doesn’t get her hands on too much at once until she’s ready. You made a promise to me last winter, and I know you’ll keep it now. Tania’s training will be in good hands. She’s gonna be a hell of a Tunneler one day, if she can keep herself in check.” I snorted. “Hell, she can’t do much worse than me, right?”
The voicemail didn’t answer.
“Take a couple of hundred out of my bank account and give it to Vivian. I need to reimburse her for a couple of things. If there’s anything left, do what you want with it. Use it to fund your neighborhood watch. Might be illegal as all hell, but it saved my ass, and I approve of anything that can do that. Help out Vivian with anything you’ve got on the Collective, if you can. Just don’t go incriminating yourself, all right?”
Toto trotted back over to me, pink blood coating his mouth, the bone between his teeth. He dropped it at my feet and hooted. I ruffled his fur.
“Anyway, I should go,” I said. “I got some crazy shit to do. I just wanted you to know there’s no hard feelings. You hit like a sissy anyway.” The phone grew heavy in my hand. Any minute now I was gonna start blubbering. No. Keep it together, Miles. “Keep fighting, Des. And thanks for everything. See you round.”
I hung up and returned the phone to my pocket. Fatigue drooped over me. Coming here was a mistake. I should’ve kept moving, not let my body know how tired it was. Now that I was sitting down I could barely move a muscle. Someone had glued lead weights to my eyelids. The room faded to a slit. And then it went black.
That was better. The pain wasn’t so bad in the dark. I felt like I was lying on my back in the middle of the sea, floating on a bed of water and salt. I could taste it, taste the salt. No, maybe that was just blood. Never mind. Never mind.
“Miles.” Claudia’s voice floated as well.
“No,” I said. “Go away. You’re just a Chroma hallucination.”
“Get up,” Claudia said.
“You were nicer last time.” I tried to open my eyes, but they wouldn’t move. “Don’t I even get a song now?”
“No song. I’ll sing when you’re dead.”
“No, you won’t. When I’m dead, you’ll be dead too. You only exist in my head.”
“Get up.”
“No.”
“Stop being a bitch.” Claudia’s voice changed, grew deeper.
“You really were nicer last time.”
“I’m not real. I’m what you need me to be.” The voice was definitely different now. Familiar.
“Get up,” I said.
“No,” I replied.
“Lying down is for saps,” I said. “So is pussying out.”
I had me there. “What should I do?” I asked.
“What you need to do,” I said.
“You’re right,” I said.
“Yes.”
“Get up,” I ordered.
“Yes.”
“Now.”
I opened my eyes. Something wet and slimy was touching my hand. Toto was nuzzling my palm. He screeched a few times as he bumped his head against my leg. Christ, no one was willing to let me lie down and die.
I got to my feet. They trembled under me. The world swayed. But I stayed upright. Everything hurt. But that was all right.
I picked up the spider-dog and carried him as I walked through the apartment. I’d brought a spare bottle of Kemia with me when I’d stayed here last night, so I swapped it out for the nearly empty bottle I was carrying. I found a pocket knife in the kitchen drawer and a pair of binoculars that might come in handy, and I counted out all my Pin Hole coins to make sure I hadn’t lost any. Each one was a different size, and each one had a different Pin Hole. I hoped they’d be enough. If anything unexpected happened, I’d have to make do and see what I could come up with on the fly. I was Miles Franco, the Tunneler that wiped out half of John Andrews’ gang. Even Caterina Andrews said I was powerful, and she was my mortal enemy. Or something. And if my Tunneling failed, well…
I touched Zhi’s revolver sitting in my jacket pocket.
I’d thought I could use Zhi to get to Kowalski, but that was never going to happen. I’d have to do this the hard way. I couldn’t be sure where Kowalski would be. I didn’t know where he lived. But on a night like this, after he’d already got in a few casual murders before dinner, I figured I could make a good guess where I’d find him.
I scratched Toto under the chin and turned him toward me. “Listen. You need to stay here and look after Vivian. Make sure no one comes gunning for her. She’s always getting into trouble. You know what she’s like.” I tickled the top of his head and he squealed happily. I put him down on the carpet and let him nibble my feet a few minutes longer.
There was a sheet of scrap paper and a pen by the phone. I held the pen poised to write for a moment, trying to think. Vivian had been kind to me. A hell of a lot kinder than I deserved. Pity, we wouldn’t be able to have that talk she’d promised me.
Ah, to hell with it. I put pen to paper.
Gone fishin’, I wrote.
I patted myself to make sure I had everything. Spectacles, testicles, bottle of Kemia, revolver. Good. No more delays. Kowalski was mine.
I was a dead man walking, murdered for something I didn’t even fully understand. Everyone I cared about I’d driven away, or worse. I was half-mad, with only a Chroma-induced hallucination to keep me company. Most of the people who’d come to me for help were dead. I wasn’t far behind.
In short, I had nothing to lose.
I closed the apartment door on Toto and made my way down the stairs alone.
TWENTY-FIVE
Kowalski was right where I expected him to be. I crouched on the fire escape of an abandoned apartment building opposite the AISOR offices, a pair of binoculars to my eyes. The night was warm and empty. Behind me, to the north, the river flowed. The Bore would be glowing. Customs would be busy even at this hour. The city didn’t stop imports and exports between Earth and Heaven for some pesky little thing like nighttime. But in front of me was the reason I was here. Only a few lights were on in the AISOR building. I figured if Kowalski’s office would be anywhere, it would be on the north side, facing the Bore. He was an interdimensional physicist at heart, after all. And lo and behold, there he was, the top of his head just peeking over the back of his chair, silhouetted in the light of his office. He was working late. He had some sort of criminal affairs to conduct, I expected.
I wanted to look him in the eyes. I wanted to hear from his own lips why he’d killed Cl
audia, why he’d dragged me into this whole sordid mess. I wanted to make him beg for forgiveness. I wanted him to tell me what the crystals did. And then, if he was really lucky, I’d let Vivian and Wade take him away and give him a cell in the worst prison possible. If he was lucky. If I could keep myself from throwing him out the window.
Now I just needed to get to him. Coming here, I’d figured I could requisition one of those window washing scaffolds that were always conveniently in place in action movies. But the wily bastards hadn’t left any out for me. If I was stronger, maybe I could’ve fashioned a Pin Hole that’d get me up there. But I was running on fumes. Any Tunneling would have to be simple. So it looked like I was doing this the hard way.
I counted off the floors to Kowalski’s, then half-climbed, half-slipped back down the rickety fire escape. My hands weren’t working so well anymore. It felt like I was trying to do everything with ski gloves on. My spinning head didn’t do anything for my balance either. The metal platforms shook and rattled with every step, and it was only my death grip on the handrails that kept me from nose-diving into the pavement.
I made my way slowly down the final ladder and stepped onto the sidewalk. Traffic was light. A couple of stray cats watched me with yellow eyes as I waited for a car to pass, then I lurched drunkenly across the street. I shoved my hands in my pockets to keep them from shaking. I had to keep going.
AISOR’s giant TV screens above the front doors were flashing with color, giving the pitiful neighborhood an eyeful of their logo. I staggered toward it like a moth to a flame. A moth with a gun in his pocket. There was a light on behind the wide glass wall leading into the lobby. I could spot a security guard lounging with his feet up on the desk inside, fiddling on his smartphone. He didn’t look like the usual weedy kid working a nightshift job to fund his studies. More like police academy dropout. He probably didn’t know what Kowalski had been up to. He was probably just a dumb asshole working a shitty job.
The Man Who Walked in Darkness (Miles Franco #2) (Miles Franco Urban Fantasy) Page 21
