back. Those barricades won’t hold, and when the enemy breaks through . . .’
‘Lieutenant Colonel Thorsson,’ Hewitt said through clenched teeth, ‘this is New York. I don’t think you fully realize the kind of people who live here.’
‘Maybe not, but I realize the kind of people who are going to die here if we don’t get this city evacuated.’
‘Gentlemen, enough,’ Gatanas cut in. ‘You’ll get FEMA. I’m already getting as many SOF teams as I can beg, borrow, or steal into the city to get refugees out. They’re going to be working on their own, but you might find them knocking on your door from time to time for resupply or to drop off civilians.’
‘Resupply? Sir, I don’t have the . . .’
‘What else?’ Gatanas cut him off.
‘I need General Bookbinder.’
Gatanas looked uncertain. ‘The general is . . .’
‘Sir, it would really help if we just dispensed with the illusion of secrecy. We both know what Bookbinder can do. If I can’t have Sorcerers on the line here, then I need ordnance capable of harming the enemy. Magical ordnance.’
Gatanas rubbed his eyes and sighed. ‘Yes, I figured that was coming. The general is . . . we’re having some trouble raising him at the moment. As soon as we can get ahold of him, he’ll be relieving you of command.’
If Gatanas had meant the threat to Harlequin’s authority to check him, it failed. ‘That’s fine, sir, so long as he makes with the magic bullets. How long until he’s inbound?’
‘I have no idea. As soon as I know, you’ll know.’
Gatanas was clearly already at his wits’ end. Pushing matters wouldn’t get him the help he needed any faster. ‘Okay, next. I need Sarah Downer.’
Gatanas suddenly looked awake. ‘What?’
‘Sarah Downer. I need her out of detention, back in uniform, and standing next to me.’
‘You know damned well that isn’t going to happen, Lieutenant Colonel. We’re still questioning her. Her pretty face hasn’t been on TV either, so Porter isn’t under any kind of public pressure to play nice, which, I might remind you, is the only reason you’re not in a cell next to her.’
‘No doubt, sir,’ Harlequin said, ‘but you’re asking me to protect a city of over eight million people with no arcane support. Downer can take a couple sparking wires and make an elemental platoon. I need force multipliers, and apart from Bookbinder, she’s the best one you’ve got.’
Gatanas was quiet for a moment. ‘This is personal for you, Thorsson. You’ve been pushing for her release since we took her into custody.’
‘Downer is loyal, sir; she wants to serve.’
‘Which is no doubt how you feel about your own sorry ass.’
‘Your words, sir, not mine.’ But absolutely true. ‘ I need her magic, and I need it right now.’
Gatanas paused. ‘I’ll see what I can do.’
‘One last thing,’ Harlequin said. ‘If this country doesn’t have the magical resources to deal with this threat, then we need to reach out to partner nations who do. I need lines to the defense attachés for Canada and Mexico. This is a threat to them, too.’
Gatanas rubbed his temples. ‘How is it that you can call all that “just four things”?’
‘Because that’s what it is, sir. Four things, without which, I can promise this city will fall.’
Gatanas shook his head. ‘What does she want, Thorsson?’
Harlequin tapped his finger against his chin, driving all thoughts of the woman he had known from his mind. Instead, he conjured the face of the monster who had slaughtered hundreds in the SOC liaison-office parking lot. ‘Revenge. And I don’t just mean smacking the SOC in the face for what we did to her. I mean total revenge. Making all non-Latent society pay for what she perceives as some kind of genetic apartheid. I talked to her plenty when they first put her in “the hole”, sir.’ And plenty before that, too . ‘She’s convinced that she’s the one to usher in a new age of
‘Lieutenant Colonel Thorsson,’ Hewitt said through clenched teeth, ‘this is New York. I don’t think you fully realize the kind of people who live here.’
‘Maybe not, but I realize the kind of people who are going to die here if we don’t get this city evacuated.’
‘Gentlemen, enough,’ Gatanas cut in. ‘You’ll get FEMA. I’m already getting as many SOF teams as I can beg, borrow, or steal into the city to get refugees out. They’re going to be working on their own, but you might find them knocking on your door from time to time for resupply or to drop off civilians.’
‘Resupply? Sir, I don’t have the . . .’
‘What else?’ Gatanas cut him off.
‘I need General Bookbinder.’
Gatanas looked uncertain. ‘The general is . . .’
‘Sir, it would really help if we just dispensed with the illusion of secrecy. We both know what Bookbinder can do. If I can’t have Sorcerers on the line here, then I need ordnance capable of harming the enemy. Magical ordnance.’
Gatanas rubbed his eyes and sighed. ‘Yes, I figured that was coming. The general is . . . we’re having some trouble raising him at the moment. As soon as we can get ahold of him, he’ll be relieving you of command.’
If Gatanas had meant the threat to Harlequin’s authority to check him, it failed. ‘That’s fine, sir, so long as he makes with the magic bullets. How long until he’s inbound?’
‘I have no idea. As soon as I know, you’ll know.’
Gatanas was clearly already at his wits’ end. Pushing matters wouldn’t get him the help he needed any faster. ‘Okay, next. I need Sarah Downer.’
Gatanas suddenly looked awake. ‘What?’
‘Sarah Downer. I need her out of detention, back in uniform, and standing next to me.’
‘You know damned well that isn’t going to happen, Lieutenant Colonel. We’re still questioning her. Her pretty face hasn’t been on TV either, so Porter isn’t under any kind of public pressure to play nice, which, I might remind you, is the only reason you’re not in a cell next to her.’
‘No doubt, sir,’ Harlequin said, ‘but you’re asking me to protect a city of over eight million people with no arcane support. Downer can take a couple sparking wires and make an elemental platoon. I need force multipliers, and apart from Bookbinder, she’s the best one you’ve got.’
Gatanas was quiet for a moment. ‘This is personal for you, Thorsson. You’ve been pushing for her release since we took her into custody.’
‘Downer is loyal, sir; she wants to serve.’
‘Which is no doubt how you feel about your own sorry ass.’
‘Your words, sir, not mine.’ But absolutely true. ‘ I need her magic, and I need it right now.’
Gatanas paused. ‘I’ll see what I can do.’
‘One last thing,’ Harlequin said. ‘If this country doesn’t have the magical resources to deal with this threat, then we need to reach out to partner nations who do. I need lines to the defense attachés for Canada and Mexico. This is a threat to them, too.’
Gatanas rubbed his temples. ‘How is it that you can call all that “just four things”?’
‘Because that’s what it is, sir. Four things, without which, I can promise this city will fall.’
Gatanas shook his head. ‘What does she want, Thorsson?’
Harlequin tapped his finger against his chin, driving all thoughts of the woman he had known from his mind. Instead, he conjured the face of the monster who had slaughtered hundreds in the SOC liaison-office parking lot. ‘Revenge. And I don’t just mean smacking the SOC in the face for what we did to her. I mean total revenge. Making all non-Latent society pay for what she perceives as some kind of genetic apartheid. I talked to her plenty when they first put her in “the hole”, sir.’ And plenty before that, too . ‘She’s convinced that she’s the one to usher in a new age of
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