Chapter Eighteen
Jumping Out
Trasher's Corner
Snohomish, Seattle
July 14, 2059
9:44 pm
Night comes to the sprawl. It drowns out the residents of the day and lets new forms of humanity awaken for their nocturnal activities. Bright flourescent signs and street lamps replace the sun. The clouds that have been gathering throughout the day now block out the stars. A thin mist begins to fall. It slowly soaks the dirty, grimy streets with the pure nature of water.
A jackrabbit is parked across the street from a long deserted building. The engine and the lights are off, leaving it bathed in darkness. Nightsky's eyes adjust to the lack of light with little problem. He's calmer than he thought he would be as he patiently waits for the moment to move in. Linna sits in the passenger seat, obviously more nervous than he is.
"This is it?"
"Yes, Michael."
"Looks big."
"I know. Leave it to Barnabas to choose a place like this."
Linna shrugged. "Why do you say that?"
"It was a slaughterhouse before soy became more affordable than beef."
"Slaughterhouse?" Nightsky frowned. "You've got to be kidding."
The whole situation was becoming something that Nightsky dreaded. The sheer number of unstable factors were enough to give even Lenny a headache. The block of plastique felt reassuring in his pocket. A combination of Riggs' technology and Smiley's lunacy. The shadows let to some strange habits indeed, but it never hurt to have a trump card.
Oddly Nightsky found himself missing something. Then he realized what it was. It was Lenny's words. In a situation like this he would say something like "We're all going in and we'll all come out" or "Look after your teammates." Something to get everyone focused.
Nightsky wasn't Lenny.
"I can't believe I'm doing this." Nightsky and Imira exchanged glances. "If you had told me yesterday that I would be sitting outside a slaughterhouse about to take on a Banshee with you to trust I wouldn't have believed it."
"Michael, I don't know how many times I can say it. I thought I was doing what was best for both of you."
He frowned soberly. "You were wrong."
"I know that now. All I want is a chance to fix it."
"You're only going to get one. I hope you don't screw it up. Everyone ready?"
Imira nodded silently. Linna looked unsure, but she agreed.
"Great. Let's get this over with."
Nightsky opened the door, stepping into the stale night air. The air left a musty scent in his nose. It reminded him of the roasting flesh from the suborbital's crash a few days ago. He pulled a sword from the back seat. It had a thick, broad blade two feet long made for hacking away flesh. The handle was almost as long as the blade. Heavy and sinister looking. It stored somewhat ungainly in an oddly shaped pouch. Two pistols rested on Nightsky's person. A heavy automatic on his right thigh. An Ares Viper Silvergun rested on his left hip. The pistol was in a cross-draw holster as he used guns with his right hand. Nightsky's left forearm had added weight to support with a new snapblade. Having the bulky box there took some getting use to as it made his coat fit tighter.
If Linna was scared she didn't show it. The uncertainty that filled her in the tense moments before leaving the car had gone away. Hours earlier at Nightsky's flophouse she had shown that her knowledge of firearms was limited to knowing which end the bullet came out. The idea of giving her a firearm to protect herself left Nightsky with a sinking feeling once he saw the extent of her skill. Still, she was persistent. The two eventually reached an agreement. He gave her a compound crossbow loaded honest to god wooden bolts. She seemed happy with the arrangement after Nightsky sighted the infected's sensitivity to wood.
Imira's face did not show any emotion or feelings. Her eyes were transfixed on the large, double doors of the slaughterhouse. It seemed that the building was the only things in existence to her.
"Let me go in first. I'm the one Barnabas is expecting." Imira said.
Linna didn't like that idea. "What if they see us and decide to kill Alona?"
"Barnabas isn't that rash. He'll ask what your doing here first. He might believe that I brought you here like Darvish ordered."
"That is definitely not going to be the case." Nightsky scolded. "Linna, go with her."
"What?" She was shocked. "You want me to go alone with her?!"
"You've got a point about Barnabas killing Alona if he sees all of us, but Barnabas doesn't know you. He won't be expecting to see me so soon." Nightsky motioned at the broken windows. "I'll find another way in and meet you in the middle."
"How will we know your ready?" Imira sounded worried.
"I'll be ready." He pulled a grapple gun from the back of the Jackrabbit.
"But what if something goes wrong and I'm stuck with them!"
"You can go home any time you want, Linna." Nightsky reminded. In all honestly, he hoped she would take him up on that offer. Linna didn't have any business here. She didn't know how to handle herself if things went bad. In this situation the odds of them going bad were actually pretty good. Too bad she had to be so insistent. "I need at least five minutes. Stall him if you can."
"How are we suppose to do that?" Linna wondered, but Imira gently interrupted her.
"We'll think of something." Imira supplied.
"Give me my five minutes. Then with any luck we'll grab Alona and put Barnabas down."
Luck? That was something they would need a lot of.
9:54 pm
Barnabas glanced at his watch, an expensive Fuchi TimeMaker straight from Japan. Fortunately the marvelous, and graceful, timepiece actually kept perfect time.
"Five minutes." Barnabas noted, sparing a glance at Alona. "It's almost time."
Alona sat in the center of the room. Chains and meathooks hung from the ceiling high above her. The metal chair blended in perfectly with the old furniture of the slaughter house. She quietly pulled at her restraints. Her eyes wondered over the streetpunks that had arrayed themselves around the old slaughtering room.
"What are you going to do with me?"
"Honestly?" Barnabas brushed his seamless suit. "If it were up to me we wouldn't be having this conversation. I wouldn't be in this cesspool of humanity. Instead I would be enjoying a fine meal in California with the company of some fine Tir vixen who's radiance is matched only by her exquisite taste."
Nails grunted. "I have no idea what you just said."
"You don't have to!" Barnabas scorned, his voice carrying an unearthly tone that bit right to the bone and sent shivers up the spine.
"I don't care what you say!" Alona spat. "I'm not letting you use me! I'm not letting you use my mother! I don't care what you said about her. She loves me!"
"Love?" Barnabas chuckled. "Love is overrated. It's nothing, but a tool that a smart person can use to get what they want. You really think Imira cares for you? Do not delude yourself with what she is. At least I won't lie to you. Imira's been doing that all of your life."
"No!"
"Foolish girl. You still don't understand. There is no good in humanity. Everybody is out for what they can get. Other people are just a means to an end."
Willis came trotting into the room. Barnabas held up his hand to silence Alona as the overweight punk began gasping for breath.
"Well, what is it?"
It took a moment for Willis to get a good breath into his lungs. Then he spoke the news Barnabas had been waiting all day to here.
"She's here!"