Latents-on-top.’
‘Kind of what Oscar Britton wants.’
‘No, sir. Oscar Britton wants equal rights for Latent people. Scylla wants the apartheid she perceives to reverse. There’s a difference.’
‘So why are the Gahe helping her? What do they want?’
‘That, I don’t know, sir. I only know that if they want it, then I don’t, and violently.’
‘Okay, well I . . .’
Gatanas was cut off as a soldier ran breathlessly into the room behind Harlequin. His eyes widened as he saw who was on the screen, and he saluted halfway before realizing he was indoors. ‘Sorry, sir. I mean, to interrupt. Sorry. Master Sergeant Bilkes said I should . . .’
‘It’s fine, Specialist,’ Harlequin said. ‘What’s the problem?’
‘It’s . . . It’s the enemy commander, sir. She’s outside the T-walls. She threw this up, said you’d know what it was.’ He handed Harlequin a chunk of broken street signpost, tied with a scrap of white bedsheet.
‘What is that?’ Gatanas leaned across his desk, squinting. ‘Hold it up to the screen? I can’t see it.’
It was a long time before Harlequin could answer.
‘It’s a flag of parley, sir,’ he said, holding it up. ‘You wanted to know what Scylla wants. I guess we’re about to find out.’
Scylla stood some distance away from the line of T-walls. A Gahe stood to either side of her, black bodies crouched, heads turning, scanning for threats.
He flew over the T-walls, gathering dark clouds around him, boiling with lightning. As soon as he cleared the perimeter, he lowered himself to just six feet above the ground. He wanted the high vantage point, but if Scylla had some way to Suppress him, he wasn’t going to risk falling to his death.
The preparations were more than good battle sense. In a moment he’d be face-to-face with this woman out of his past, and that was not the time to lose focus. The lightning is for Scylla, not Grace. Remember that.
‘Isn’t this dramatic?’ Her voice carried over the distance. ‘You and me, New York City. Just like old times.’
She smiled, her confidence as smooth and enchanting as the most talented politicians he’d known since he’d come to be stationed inside the Beltway.
He breathed deeply in a failed attempt to slow his pounding heart. Not Grace. Not Grace. Not Grace.
‘You come to surrender?’ he asked, struggling to keep the tremor out of his voice. ‘I should warn you that your list of crimes makes it highly unlikely that any court in this country will let you live.’
She smiled wider. ‘I’ve been thinking about your court system. There’re some changes I’ll be making there. Thanks for reminding me.’
‘What do you want, Scylla?’ Saying the monster’s name felt good. Don’t call her Grace. That woman is dead.
‘To save your life, and the lives of whatever handful of Latent people you have under your command. You’re an idiot, but it’s an idiocy born of devotion to the institutions that raised you. It takes a lot to break those chains. You turned down the chance to come with me before, but . . . you know, since we were close, I figured I’d give you another one.’
‘You’re not making sense.’
‘I am the only one here making any sense.’
She held up a pistol. Without taking her eyes off Harlequin, she fired it into one of the Gahe . The creature didn’t flinch, the bullet vanishing into the dark surface of its body.
‘You have a lot of these,’ Scylla mused, looking down at the smoking gun. ‘Bigger ones, too. None of them will help, you know that?’
‘If you think that means I give up my position, you’re wrong.’
She shook her head, clucking her tongue. ‘That’s suicide, for you and your subordinates. And for what? So you can go on doing the bidding of people who are terrified of you? We’re the same, Jan. We both want to do good.’
‘You don’t want to do good.’
‘We’re the next rung on the evolutionary ladder, you and I. We are quite
‘Kind of what Oscar Britton wants.’
‘No, sir. Oscar Britton wants equal rights for Latent people. Scylla wants the apartheid she perceives to reverse. There’s a difference.’
‘So why are the Gahe helping her? What do they want?’
‘That, I don’t know, sir. I only know that if they want it, then I don’t, and violently.’
‘Okay, well I . . .’
Gatanas was cut off as a soldier ran breathlessly into the room behind Harlequin. His eyes widened as he saw who was on the screen, and he saluted halfway before realizing he was indoors. ‘Sorry, sir. I mean, to interrupt. Sorry. Master Sergeant Bilkes said I should . . .’
‘It’s fine, Specialist,’ Harlequin said. ‘What’s the problem?’
‘It’s . . . It’s the enemy commander, sir. She’s outside the T-walls. She threw this up, said you’d know what it was.’ He handed Harlequin a chunk of broken street signpost, tied with a scrap of white bedsheet.
‘What is that?’ Gatanas leaned across his desk, squinting. ‘Hold it up to the screen? I can’t see it.’
It was a long time before Harlequin could answer.
‘It’s a flag of parley, sir,’ he said, holding it up. ‘You wanted to know what Scylla wants. I guess we’re about to find out.’
Scylla stood some distance away from the line of T-walls. A Gahe stood to either side of her, black bodies crouched, heads turning, scanning for threats.
He flew over the T-walls, gathering dark clouds around him, boiling with lightning. As soon as he cleared the perimeter, he lowered himself to just six feet above the ground. He wanted the high vantage point, but if Scylla had some way to Suppress him, he wasn’t going to risk falling to his death.
The preparations were more than good battle sense. In a moment he’d be face-to-face with this woman out of his past, and that was not the time to lose focus. The lightning is for Scylla, not Grace. Remember that.
‘Isn’t this dramatic?’ Her voice carried over the distance. ‘You and me, New York City. Just like old times.’
She smiled, her confidence as smooth and enchanting as the most talented politicians he’d known since he’d come to be stationed inside the Beltway.
He breathed deeply in a failed attempt to slow his pounding heart. Not Grace. Not Grace. Not Grace.
‘You come to surrender?’ he asked, struggling to keep the tremor out of his voice. ‘I should warn you that your list of crimes makes it highly unlikely that any court in this country will let you live.’
She smiled wider. ‘I’ve been thinking about your court system. There’re some changes I’ll be making there. Thanks for reminding me.’
‘What do you want, Scylla?’ Saying the monster’s name felt good. Don’t call her Grace. That woman is dead.
‘To save your life, and the lives of whatever handful of Latent people you have under your command. You’re an idiot, but it’s an idiocy born of devotion to the institutions that raised you. It takes a lot to break those chains. You turned down the chance to come with me before, but . . . you know, since we were close, I figured I’d give you another one.’
‘You’re not making sense.’
‘I am the only one here making any sense.’
She held up a pistol. Without taking her eyes off Harlequin, she fired it into one of the Gahe . The creature didn’t flinch, the bullet vanishing into the dark surface of its body.
‘You have a lot of these,’ Scylla mused, looking down at the smoking gun. ‘Bigger ones, too. None of them will help, you know that?’
‘If you think that means I give up my position, you’re wrong.’
She shook her head, clucking her tongue. ‘That’s suicide, for you and your subordinates. And for what? So you can go on doing the bidding of people who are terrified of you? We’re the same, Jan. We both want to do good.’
‘You don’t want to do good.’
‘We’re the next rung on the evolutionary ladder, you and I. We are quite
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