Steelheart (The Reckoners #1)(22)

I’ll give you a good price.”

I glared at him, and he just shrugged. Loch Ness was in Scotland, I knew that much, and it seemed that the crest on Cody’s cap might be some kind of Scottish or English deal. But his accent didn’t match.

“Prof,” I said, turning back to him. “Phaedrus, sir, please. You have to see my plan.”

“Your plan?” He didn’t seem surprised that I’d worked out his name.

“For killing Steelheart.”

“You have a plan?” Prof asked.

“For killing the most powerful Epic in the country?”

“That’s what I told you before.”

“I thought you wanted to join us to get us to do it.”

“I need help,” I said. “But I didn’t come empty-handed. I’ve got a detailed plan. I think it will work.”

Prof just shook his head, looking bemused.

Suddenly, Abraham laughed. “I like him. He has … something. Un homme téméraire. You sure we aren’t recruiting, Prof?”

“Yes,” Prof said flatly.

“At least look at my plan before you burn it,” I said. “Please.”

“Jon,” Tia said. “I’d like to see these pictures. They’re likely fake, but even so …”

“Fine,” Prof said, tossing something to me. The magazine for my ri e. “Change of plans. Cody, you take Megan and the boy and go to his place. If Enforcement is there and looks like they’re going to take this information, destroy it.

But if the site looks safe, bring it back.” He eyed me. “Whatever you can’t carry easily, destroy.

Understood?”

“Sure,” Cody said.

“Thank you,” I said.

“It’s not a favor, son,” Prof said.

“And I hope it’s not a mistake either. Go on. We may not have much time before they track you.”

It was getting quiet in the understreets by the time we neared Ditko Place. You’d think that, with the perpetual darkness, there wouldn’t really be a “day” or a “night” in Newcago, but there is.

People tend to want to sleep when everyone else sleeps, so we settle into routines.

Of course, there are a minority who don’t like to do as told, even when it comes to something simple.

I was one of those. Being up all night means being awake when everyone else is sleeping. It’s quieter, more private.

The ceiling lights were set to a clock somewhere, and they colored to deeper shades when it was night. The change was subtle, but we learned to notice it. So, even though Ditko Place was near the surface, there wasn’t much motion on the streets. People were sleeping.

We arrived at the park, a large underground chamber carved from the steel. It had numerous holes in the ceiling for fresh air, and blue-violet lights shone from spotlights around the rim. The center of the tall chamber was cluttered with rocks brought in from outside—real rocks, not ones that had been turned to steel. There was also wooden playground equipment, moderately well maintained, that had

been

scavenged

from

somewhere. In the daytime the place would ll with children—the ones too young to work, or the ones with families who could afford not to have them work. Old women and men would gather to knit socks or do other simple work.

Megan raised her hand to still us.

“Mobiles?” she whispered.

Cody sni ed. “Do I look like some amateur?” he asked. “It’s on silent.”

I hesitated, then took mine o the place on my shoulder and double-checked. Fortunately it was on silent. I took out the battery anyway, just in case. Megan moved quietly out of the tunnel and across the park toward the shadow of a large rock. Cody went next, then I followed, keeping low and moving as quietly as I could, passing large stones growing lichen.

Up above a few cars rumbled by on the roadway that ran past the openings in the ceiling. Late-night commuters

heading

home.

Sometimes they’d throw trash down on us. A surprising number of the rich still had ordinary jobs.

Accountants, teachers, salesmen, computer

technicians—though

Steelheart’s datanet was open only to his most trusted. I’d never seen a real computer, just my mobile.

It was a di erent world above, and jobs that had once been common were now held by only the privileged. The rest of us worked factories or sewed clothing in the park while watching children play.

I reached the rock and crouched beside Cody and Megan, who were stealthily inspecting the two far walls of the chamber, where the dwellings were cut. Dozens of holes in the steel provided homes of various sizes. Metal re escapes had been harvested from unused buildings above and set up here to give access to the holes.

“So, which one is it?” Cody asked.

I pointed. “See that door on the second level, far right? That’s it.”

“Nice,” Cody said. “How’d y’all a ord a place like this?” He asked it casually, but I could tell that he was suspicious. They all were.

Well, I suppose that was to be expected.

“I needed a room by myself for my research,” I said. “The factory where I worked saves all of your wages when you’re a kid, then gives them to you in four yearly chunks when you hit eighteen. It was enough to get me a year in my own room.”