Angel Of The City (12 page)

Jirou grins at me.
“And the chair reclines. I have had to sleep on it a few times myself.” He looks sheepishly at Meki.

Meki argues for a few more minutes, but finally acquiesces. Something passes between her and Abby; an unspoken expression and then she
’s bringing us blankets and hustling Jirou out. Saying goodnight, they retire to their bedroom.

They leave the
DVL on and the intent is clear: Abby wants to talk in private.

“
Something’s upset you,” she says, when we’re alone.

“
We’re putting these people at risk by being here.”

“
They know the danger,” she says.

“
Do their children?”

Her odd expression annoys me.
“What?” I ask.

“
It’s just…. I didn’t think that would bother a man like you.”

I mutter
something under my breath and begin to stand, but her hand is on my knee in an instant. “I’m sorry. That was a stupid thing to say. I have no right to judge. I know nothing about you and I owe you my life.”

I ease back into the chair.
“Forget it.”

The silence grows.
“You think we’re fools, don’t you?” she asks.

“
I think you’re risking your lives and the lives of their children for nothing. All you’re going to accomplish is to make them orphans.”

She pauses before
answering. “You were raised in the Alba district?”

I nod.

“Then you know what poverty is.”

“
Everyone in the city knows poverty. At least everyone not born in the Garden.”

She flushes.
“I suppose I had that coming. You’re right, I didn’t grow up hungry and poor, but I’ve spent my life in the shadows of those that are and I’ve seen lives so hard it grinds people into dust. They’re born, they live and they die without ever having hope of something better. Yes, I understand the risks, so do Meki and Jirou, but they won’t willingly cede their children a future without hope.”

“
Hope? Hope for what?”

“
For a better life: for freedom; freedom from hatred; freedom from oppression and fear.”

I shake my head. I
’ve heard this song before, from Reed and others. A slight variation of the lyrics, but the tune remains the same. “Abby, that’s just a fantasy, a dream that in the end will only get you all killed.”

She sits up
, defiant. “Maybe, but I’d rather die for dream than live in a nightmare.”

I
say nothing. I don’t want to press her and I’m too tired to start another argument. Suddenly, my stomach growls loud enough for us both to hear. “By the way, what was all that about having just ate?”

“
I’m sorry, but they would have pressed us to eat even though they can barely feed themselves and their children. Why, are you hungry?”

“
Not since you put it that way.”

She smiles, but it
’s forced and fades quickly.

“
What is it?”

“
I don’t trust Kingston.”

I shrug.
“I don’t trust him either, but I think he realizes now that the guns are useless to him.” I try to recline the chair but something locks in the back and the footrest won’t raise. I make several more attempts before finally giving up. Jirou must have really pissed Meki off to be forced to sleep in this thing. “What’s his story anyway?”

“
Kingston? He was a junior professor of history at Polytechnic. Two years ago his wife became associated through a reading group with people the Ministry alleged were subversive. When the Counselors came for her, he resisted.”

In an escalating altercation, go for the legs. If the agitator can’t stand, he ceases being a problem.

“You knew him?” I ask.

“
We were friends. We had even dated for a short time before he met his wife. Nothing serious. Of course after her arrest, he was discharged from the University.”

“
Which explains how he became involved with the resistance.”

“Yes.”

“
And you kept in touch with him? Dangerous.”

A frown.
“I don’t turn my back on my friends.”

“
Noble.” I try not to sound snide, but I’m not sure I succeeded. I rattle the chair one last time, then stand and go the window, pulling back the curtain just enough to gaze out. A black van rolls slowly and silently down the street. Counselors will be out patrolling in force tonight. “So naturally, you reached out to him after the purge.”

“
He was the only person I knew who felt like I did.”

I turn back
before I can completely wipe the smirk from my face.

“
Something you want to say?” She asks.

“
You heard Kingston. He doesn’t feel like you do. He isn’t interested in bringing the quarters together. He wants to overthrow the government—violently.”

She lowers her voice almost to a whisper.
“I’m against violence, but maybe bringing down the government wouldn’t be such a bad thing.”

“
Yes, it would be.”

“
Strange words coming from the man who just broke me out of a station house.”

“
Like I said, that was just a job.”

“
Yes, you’ve made that very clear.” She shakes her head. “I don’t understand you. You’re a shade, living outside the law. You obviously have no reservations about killing a Counselor and yet you sit here and defend the government.”

“
I’m not defending anything. I just don’t want to see the government overthrown.”

“
Why?”

“
Because as soon as it falls, every quarter, every tribe, every clan, will be at each other’s throat and no one will be able to stop it. I have my own problem with Counselors but as bad as they are, I’d rather have them out there than not.”

“
You can’t mean that.”

“
Are you afraid of them?”

“
What a stupid question.”

“
Are you afraid of them?”

She hesitates
before answering. “Yes.”

“
Yes, and so is everyone else. Remove that fear and the quarters will tear into each other like packs of rabid dogs. Forget about unfriendly stares and the occasional riot. You’ll have heads on pikes; wholesale slaughter; ethnic cleansing; mass rape. You couldn’t paint a picture grim enough to describe it. It will be quarter against quarter, block against block. A week without the fear of Counselors and there’ll be nothing left of this city but burning rubble, with the survivors in the streets, cooking their enemies over a slow fire.”

She shake
s her head sadly. “You have a sick view of humanity.”

“
Do I? Tell me Abby, why
are
we the last city? What happened to the world? What did we do to each other?”

The question throws her off.
“No one knows the answer to that. It could have been anything. Disease, drought…”

“
War.”

“
You don’t know that.”

“
No, I don’t. But whatever the reason, those that survived finally found their way here, where the first thing they did was to set themselves apart by tribe, or race, or whatever. Think about it: even after watching the death of their world, they couldn’t bear the bear the sight of one another. That tells you something, doesn’t it?”

“
That’s the Ministry’s doing.”

“
The Ministry manipulated the situation, sure, like they do everything else to their advantage, but they didn’t create it. We did. We the people.”

“
So what are you saying, that we’re all monsters? That we aren’t worth saving?”

I don
’t answer immediately and her jaw drops. “That really is what you think, isn’t it?”

I look away, grumbling.
“No, not exactly. Anyway, it’s no longer a question of
if
we’re worth saving, but if we
can
be saved. Maybe we’re too far gone.”

“
I don’t believe that. I’ll never believe that. There are thousands, millions of people in this city just like Meki and Jirou. They don’t hate, they just want a chance at a better life. Maybe you’ve lived in hiding too long. You’ve become afraid of the people. Well I’m not afraid.”

“
Aren’t you? Abby, where do you think they recruit Counselors from?”

She flushes, but remains defiant.
“Believe what you want. I still think most people are decent,” she says, lying down and pulling the blanket over her. “You’ll see. The future will prove you wrong.”

I
’d like to tell her that no, the future will do no such thing, that very soon humanity will show just what it is capable of, but why? In the end, she can no more change things than I can. I settle back as much as I can in the chair and try to sleep.

T
he next morning I’m still trying to figure out a way to get back to Reed’s with all the extra security out, when Jirou offers to take me in his delivery van. It’s the best offer I’ve gotten in days and I accept, thankfully.

Abby looks unsettled.
At first I think it’s a result of our discussion last night, but soon it becomes clear she’s just worried about what to do next. She can’t go back to her old place and obviously doesn’t want to endanger Meki and Jirou by staying here any longer. I have no right to offer up Reed’s place as a haven, but I find myself doing just that. I try to rationalize it by reminding myself that her capture would probably be quickly followed by my own, but there’s more to it than that. How much more, I don’t want to examine.

Traffic is dense as usual in the morning and it
’s an hour later before Jirou finally pulls to a stop in the ally next to Reed’s shop. I lead Abby quickly up the fire escape and jimmy the window open. I offer her the use of the shower and she accepts. When she’s finished, she sits nervously on the couch until I tell her to relax; that it will be hours before Reed comes home and there really isn’t anything we can do to help Pen for now. She must have slept as poorly last night as I did because she no sooner lies back, then she’s asleep. I take a quick shower and settle on the bed, staring up at the ceiling. I have no idea how Reed will react to this invasion of her home, and that uncertainty makes sleep late in coming.

I awake to the feeling of lips on mine. Reed
is sitting on the edge of the bed, her expression composed.

“
Reed. I wanted to be awake when you got home…to explain.” I point toward the living room.

“
I know. I already spoke with Abby. Actually we’ve had quite a long conversation.”

“
I’m sorry. I had no right to bring her here.”

“
No, you didn’t.”

“
Are you angry?”

“
A little. I was angrier before I spoke with her. She told me everything. What is it you intend to do?”

“
Just keep her under wraps for a few days, until this Kingston agrees to give Devon what he wants and we get her sister back.”

“
And then what? What’s going to happen to them?”

That question has been i
n the back of my mind as well. “Kingston or someone in the resistance will have to find a new safe house for them.”

She nods and neither one of us
has to mention the obvious: that for all its immensity, the city is still a walled enclosure. There are only so many places to hide. Eventually, Counselors will catch up with them. But there’s nothing I can do to prevent that. She stands. “I’ll go make dinner.”

Reed
’s easy acceptance of Abby takes me by surprise. She obviously realizes that just having her here puts her own life at risk, yet the two of them get on like old friends. But then Reed has always been a bit of a revolutionary at heart. She’s far too cautious to openly defy the government herself, but it’s obvious she admires Abby for what she’s doing. True friendships are hard to come by in the city, as everyone censors their own words for fear of saying the wrong thing. Maybe in Abby she sees the first person besides me that she can open up to.

By the third day, they have settled into a routine, with Abby cleaning the apartment and having dinner made by the time Reed closes the shop. Reed thanks her repeatedly, as she
’s picked up a cold and doesn’t feel like cooking. But I’m edgy. We haven’t heard from Kingston and Devon isn’t known for his patience, so it’s with a sense of relief when Reed runs up to tell us a plumber’s van is waiting in the alley.

As usual, Jirou is smiling and pleasant. He takes us to the hospital and we
’re ushered in to see Kingston. The room hasn’t changed much. Boxes still sit on the floor, unpacked. They seem to be taking their time moving in. He’s standing over two large metal trunks.

“
Fifteen assault rifles and ten thousand rounds, as agreed. If he tries to squeeze us for more, he can go fuck himself.”

“
Thank you,” Abby says.

He shuffles nervously in his braces.
“Don’t thank me. Just get Pen back so we can close the chapter on Devon Blaze.” He nods to Jirou. “Jirou’s agreed to take you and the weapons to Devon. I don’t want him waiting around, so once the exchange has been made, you’ll have to find your way back here. We’ve located a new place for you and Pen.”

Abby starts to thank him again but he talks over her, this time to me.
“I don’t suppose we’ll need to have any further contact with each other after this?”

“
I can’t imagine.”

“
Good. Well then, you had better be on your way.”

With Jace and Jirou help
ing, we manage to haul the trunks to the back of the van and climb in with them.

“
I’m sorry about Kingston,” Abby says as we drive through the streets. “He can be abrupt. I think he really is grateful for your help.”

“
He’s grateful to be rid of me, but that’s all right. I feel the same about him. I know you haven’t asked for advice, but I’m going to give you some. Stay away from Kingston. You want to help change the world, fine. But for next few months you and Pen need to remain as deeply underground as you can. No organizing; no distributing, nothing. You’re the Ministry’s only connection to these weapons and they’ll be turning over every brick in the city looking for you.”

“
Thank you. For everything.”

When we reach Devon
’s place, his men are already in the street. I don’t know if he knew we were coming or if they’ve been there waiting for the last three days, but the vehicle barely stops before they’re removing the trunks and carrying them quickly down into the nest. Abby and I follow.

We enter the room and Devon is waiting, grinning and motioning for his men to drop the trunk
s on the floor. He seems almost amused to see me.

“
You keep showing up like this, I might have to put you on the payroll full time,” he says.

“
I’m just seeing things through. Once this is done, so am I. Where’s Pen?”

“
She’s around, she’s around.” He has one trunk opened and pulls out a rifle, his grin widening. “HaHa. Now this is firepower. Looks like I got some new toys to play with.” He nods to his men. “Check them out.”

“
You have what you want,” Abby says. “Now I want my sister.”

“
Eh? Sure, sure.” He snaps his fingers and Pen appears from a side room, lead by the arm by one of his men and walking a little unsteadily. She’s wearing new clothes: a loose, silky dress that barely reaches to her thighs. There’s a glassiness to her gaze and something else—a black smudge on her nose.

Abby runs to her, holding her head and looking into her eyes. She spins around and curses at Devon.
“You bastard. You gave her coal dust!”

“
Gave?” he asks indignantly. “Sure, I gave, but only because she asked me for it. What kind of host would I be if I refused my guests, eh? Lighten up, Angel. Little sister ain’t so innocent like you think.”

Abby turns back to Pen.
“Is that true?”

Pen stares at her for a moment, then turns away.

One of Devon’s men has broken down a rifle and is examining the parts. He calls out to Devon and holds up a small square piece of plastic, not more than half an inch wide. A tracer tag. Kingston must have replaced them before sending the rifles out.

It takes a second for it to register and when it does, Devon
explodes. “That son-of-a-slag! What was he thinking?”

No one has the chance to answer.

An explosion rips through the room, coming from the direction of the door and tossing me to the floor. The sound of automatic gunfire fills the air. My ears ringing, I lift my head and see Abby and Pen lying on the floor as well, clutching each other. Devon’s men, the ones that weren’t killed in the explosion, are firing back and soon it’s a gun battle.

Keeping down, I crawl to Pen and Abby and pull them to the back of the room, toward the escape tunnels. Stray bullets whiz by, but for now the Counselors
attention seems focused on the armed men. We pass two of Devon’s bodyguards lying dead on the ground and I grab their revolvers and hand them to Pen and Abby. My own is already in my hand.

Devon has also moved to the back of the room. Twice he tries to fire the assault rifle, but when it won
’t respond, he tosses it away and pulls out his pistol. But he doesn’t fire. No need to draw attention to himself and away from his men. He turns and opens a back door and disappears behind it. A second later I follow, Pen and Abby with me.

Devon
’s moving quickly, not looking behind him. He’s pulled a flashlight from somewhere in his robes and the beam sweeps the floor as he runs. I’m matching his movements, putting my feet down only where his have been. As we run, I tell Pen and Abby to do the same. “Don’t touch the walls; don’t step anywhere except where he steps.”

The tunnel goes on for maybe a hundred yards before it turns right. We just make the turn and hear a loud explosion behind us. As I suspected, the tunnel is booby-trapped. Apparently, a Counselor hit a trip wire.

Devon stops and turns around, the beam from the flashlight aimed at me. In the glare I see his gun raised.

I raise mine as well.
“Don’t! If any of them get through, you’ll need more than six bullets.”

He
hesitates, then nods. “All right, but follow me and keep your hands off the walls.” He turns and runs.

It
’s more of a maze than a tunnel. We pass openings that lead in opposite directions, most probably dead ends filled with enough homemade explosives to ensure that anyone who goes in, doesn’t come out. After maybe another hundred yards, we step into a wide entryway with corridors leading to the left and right. Just then there’s a much larger explosion behind us, one that sends us all flying to the ground. Dust fills the air.

Devon gets up and looks back down the way we came, grinning.
“HaHa. They collapsed the tunnel. No one is coming through that for days. We can relax a little. He reaches his hand out to help me up and I never even see the butt of his gun come down on my head.

When I open my eyes, I see Abby on the ground, bleeding from her lip with Devon standing over her, waving his flashlight in one hand and his pistol in the other.

“You dirty slag! I save your ass and this how you repay me? You set me up!”

She shakes her head.
“I didn’t know. I swear…”

“
Shut up!” He points the gun at her and the sound of the shot echoes throughout the room.

Devon stands unmoving
, the gun in his right hand still pointing at Abby. His left hand, the one holding the flashlight, clutches his chest and for a moment I can see his eyes, glazed and unfocused. Then he spins around, falling to his knees.

Beyond him in the corridor,
Pen has her gun leveled. A faint wisp of smoke curls from the barrel. Her face is expressionless as she watches him. Devon fires and falls flat on his face.

The shot hits Pen
high in the leg and she screams as she falls, the gun clanging on the floor. Abby and I are up and to her in an instant. Abby cradles her head, crying, as I examine the wound. It looks to have missed the bone, but she’s bleeding profusely. I tear strips of cloth from Devon’s robes and tie it around her thigh. The bleeding slows significantly, but doesn’t stop.

Pen has stopped screaming, but she
’s grimacing in pain, any movement making her cry out. We have to keep moving. Even if what Devon said was true about the tunnel collapse, we don’t have days. Pen won’t last that long.

I search Devon
’s body and take his gun, along with the silver tin of dust. Tapping a small amount on the back of my hand, I hold it under Pen’s nose.

Abby slaps my hand away.
“Are you crazy? What are you doing?”

“
It will help with the pain. Abby, we have to get her out of here.”

She looks uncertain, but releases my hand. Pen sniffs up the dust without hesitation. In a few minutes her body relaxes and her breathing slows.

“Kingston,” Abby says. “He risked getting us killed just to get rid of Devon.”

I put Pen
’s arm over my shoulder and lift her to her feet as gently as I can. She groans, but is able to stand. “What makes you think he was after Devon?” I ask.

Abby knits her brow.
“What do you mean?”

“
Later. We have to get moving.

I have no way of knowing which corridor to take and just head into the one on the right. Unlike the way we came, this tunnel is straight, wi
thout any intersecting tunnels. Along the way, I manage to pick up two trip wires before we step on them and disarm the explosives. It’s slow going with Pen, but after an hour, we reach a wall with no apparent exit.