typically purchase it but if Sophie says it is, I would take her word for it. Which makes me wonder how there's enough of a glut to allow people of Sophie's class to afford it.”
“An interesting puzzle, and one that would be worth investigating when there's less immediate reason to worry about other things.”
The cab took a sharp turn and began moving faster. David grabbed for the horn. “What's going on, George?” He demanded.
“You told me to lose the people following us if I could, sir. We just got the chance to run for it where they couldn't follow us. You're in for a bit of a jostle, sir, but we'll lose them here for sure.”
“Do what you have to, George,” David said and turned the horn away.
The previously smooth ride became one that jolted them all over the place, causing Brian to slide along the floor of the cab and hit hard against the door. David picked him up and held him on the seat next to him, letting go of the wooden box that went sliding. Sophie caught it and held it close, not shifting much in her seat and thankful for the extra weight that kept her from moving too hard.
George came over the horn and shouted down to them. “Sorry about the ride, sir, but they're following closer than I would have thought they could for this area. If I go any faster, it's gonna be dangerous to be in the cab.”
“Find a place to drop us off, George, we'll run for it,” David told him.
“Run for it?” Sophie asked. “Where are we going to run if the cab can't get away from them.”
Chapter 17 – Down a Dark Alley
The cab came to a swaying halt in a dark alley off a busy street. The three passengers exited quickly and David pushed them into the shadows between buildings before it left. It moved faster than they'd ever seen a cab move in the city, not being overly careful about the obstacles in the alley. A carriage came past, obviously chasing the cab, driven by a man in a dark coat, his scarf pulled up over his mouth and flying goggles over his eyes. If there was anybody in the carriage, they couldn't tell and didn't wait in the alley long enough to find out.
“I really hope you have a plan, David,” Sophie said, picking her way past the garbage in the thin passage between the buildings. “I'm barely dressed, we left what little I have in George's cab and there's no way anybody is going to mistake Brian for anything other than some kind of monster.”
“My dear Sophie, where is your sense of adventure?” David asked with a smile she couldn't see.
“I left most of it in my burned down apartment and the rest fell off after the hospital caught on fire. Now, I just want to know where we can go that's going to be safe.”
“The young lady has a point, Mr. Alexander,” Brian said. “There are few ways to disguise who I am and we have none of them here. Most of your people may not look down except to see where their feet are going but all of them will recognize that I am not human.”
“You look enough like a dog in the shadows,” David said. “If we're near the airdocks, there's a place we might be able to go and wait for George.”
“Do you really think he's going to come back for us if he manages to lose the people chasing him?” Sophie asked.
“George is a good man and loyal to his friends.”
“Are we his friends, David? We've been nothing but trouble since the start. I wouldn't blame him if he wanted nothing more to do with us. Hell, I want nothing more to do with this mess and I'm in the middle of it.”
“Take heart, Miss Sophie. I have the feeling you are but a small part of a much bigger conspiracy.”
“I don't care about the bigger conspiracy, David, I care that my part of it is to be taken apart so they can use my pieces.”
“An understandable concern, Miss Sophie, and one reason I'm glad George brought us to the airdocks. We're going to need to get you away from the city in something faster than a cab.”
“How? I don't have enough
“An interesting puzzle, and one that would be worth investigating when there's less immediate reason to worry about other things.”
The cab took a sharp turn and began moving faster. David grabbed for the horn. “What's going on, George?” He demanded.
“You told me to lose the people following us if I could, sir. We just got the chance to run for it where they couldn't follow us. You're in for a bit of a jostle, sir, but we'll lose them here for sure.”
“Do what you have to, George,” David said and turned the horn away.
The previously smooth ride became one that jolted them all over the place, causing Brian to slide along the floor of the cab and hit hard against the door. David picked him up and held him on the seat next to him, letting go of the wooden box that went sliding. Sophie caught it and held it close, not shifting much in her seat and thankful for the extra weight that kept her from moving too hard.
George came over the horn and shouted down to them. “Sorry about the ride, sir, but they're following closer than I would have thought they could for this area. If I go any faster, it's gonna be dangerous to be in the cab.”
“Find a place to drop us off, George, we'll run for it,” David told him.
“Run for it?” Sophie asked. “Where are we going to run if the cab can't get away from them.”
Chapter 17 – Down a Dark Alley
The cab came to a swaying halt in a dark alley off a busy street. The three passengers exited quickly and David pushed them into the shadows between buildings before it left. It moved faster than they'd ever seen a cab move in the city, not being overly careful about the obstacles in the alley. A carriage came past, obviously chasing the cab, driven by a man in a dark coat, his scarf pulled up over his mouth and flying goggles over his eyes. If there was anybody in the carriage, they couldn't tell and didn't wait in the alley long enough to find out.
“I really hope you have a plan, David,” Sophie said, picking her way past the garbage in the thin passage between the buildings. “I'm barely dressed, we left what little I have in George's cab and there's no way anybody is going to mistake Brian for anything other than some kind of monster.”
“My dear Sophie, where is your sense of adventure?” David asked with a smile she couldn't see.
“I left most of it in my burned down apartment and the rest fell off after the hospital caught on fire. Now, I just want to know where we can go that's going to be safe.”
“The young lady has a point, Mr. Alexander,” Brian said. “There are few ways to disguise who I am and we have none of them here. Most of your people may not look down except to see where their feet are going but all of them will recognize that I am not human.”
“You look enough like a dog in the shadows,” David said. “If we're near the airdocks, there's a place we might be able to go and wait for George.”
“Do you really think he's going to come back for us if he manages to lose the people chasing him?” Sophie asked.
“George is a good man and loyal to his friends.”
“Are we his friends, David? We've been nothing but trouble since the start. I wouldn't blame him if he wanted nothing more to do with us. Hell, I want nothing more to do with this mess and I'm in the middle of it.”
“Take heart, Miss Sophie. I have the feeling you are but a small part of a much bigger conspiracy.”
“I don't care about the bigger conspiracy, David, I care that my part of it is to be taken apart so they can use my pieces.”
“An understandable concern, Miss Sophie, and one reason I'm glad George brought us to the airdocks. We're going to need to get you away from the city in something faster than a cab.”
“How? I don't have enough
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