Contagion (Toxic City, #3)(46)

“We do,” Lucy-Anne said. For the first time since his return, she saw a flicker of what might have been emotion cross his face. He seemed briefly happy, and she thought it was happiness for her. He wanted his sister to survive.

“But it's impossible to get close,” Andrew said. He looked at Jack. “For all of you together, at least.”

“Jack, maybe you could do what Fleeter does and carry Hayden inside,” Lucy-Anne said.

Jack shook his head. “It's far too risky. When I carried Rhali out at Camp H we had a clear route, no distractions. And even then I hurt her. Here, I don't know the way, and there are dangers all over. One wrong move and I could kill him. And what about the booby traps?”

They all turned to look at Hayden. The Chopper looked at the friends, and they could all see in his expression that he felt excluded and alone. But he also understood that with these people—the kids who had grown up too fast, the boy with amazing powers, the ghost—lay his only hope.

“I didn't design the security, but I know the guys who did. They were briefed that once the bomb was armed and initiated, no one should be able to get close. So there are security measures, some linked to small explosive devices or toxic gas, a couple linked to Big Bindy itself.”

“What sort of measures?” Jack asked.

“Trip wires.”

“Easy,” Sparky said. “We go slow.”

“Infrared, air movement and body heat detectors, and lasers.”

“Right. Not so easy.”

“And some of them trigger the bomb?” Jack asked.

“Yeah, in case all the others fail or are breached. Open the tank it's planted in and it blows. And the trigger mechanism in the bomb is contained in a vacuum chamber—expose it to the air, it blows.”

“Basically, fart anywhere south of the river and the bomb blows,” Sparky said.

“I've been there,” Andrew said. “Nomad is there also.”

“Well if she can get in…!” Jenna said, staring pointedly at Jack.

“Maybe,” he said. “Although she knows what powers she has, whereas I'm still feeling around for mine. Lots of trial and error. And besides, what good would it do if I could get in? A year ago I had trouble wiring a plug.”

They heard a sound in the distance, a cross between a growl and a bark. It came from no dog Lucy-Anne had ever imagined.

“We should wait,” she said. “Get off the road again and decide what we're going to do. As it is we're just marching towards the museum without a clue about what comes next. We need to come up with a plan.”

“We don't have time,” Jenna said.

“We'll only get one chance!” Lucy-Anne said. The cooling dusk air seemed to swirl about her as she spoke, as if in agreement. And then Fleeter stepped from the shadows and collapsed into the gutter.

“Shit!” Sparky said. “I wish she wouldn't do that.”

Lucy-Anne was the first by her side, kneeling and reaching out for the strange girl. Even before she touched her she knew something was wrong.

“The sickness?” Jack asked. He sounded so childlike, so lost, that Lucy-Anne felt the burn of tears for her friend. But it was not the sickness.

“No,” she said. “I think she's been shot.”

“Close,” Fleeter said. She held Lucy-Anne's proffered hand and squeezed. “Explosion. Got hit…” She swept her other hand across her left hip and down her thigh, not quite touching. There was plenty of blood, although much of it was dried and sticky.

“Who is this?” Hayden asked.

“A Superior,” Jack said. “She's killed dozens like you.”

Lucy-Anne saw the look of terror on Hayden's face and could not help smirking. Really? Siding myself with Fleeter? It was a strange thought.

They helped her up and guided her into a deep doorway.

“What happened?” Jack asked Fleeter. “Where did you go? Have you been outside London again?”

“Tried,” she said, wincing at the pain. As she spoke Jenna cut her blouse from hip to armpit, revealed the wounds, and started tending them.

“And?”

“Went with Reaper and the others,” Fleeter continued. “I didn't know if he'd have me back. But Reaper…he's special to me. I guess you knew that, Jack. And I'm sorry. He still cares for you, too. There are parts of him that are so strong and determined, and I always felt—”

“I don't need telling what a bastard my father's become,” Jack said. “You came back to us for a reason, so just tell us what happened.”

“We tried to get out,” she said. “Me, Reaper, Shade, Puppeteer, Scryer, a few others you've not seen or met. It was down to me and Shade to set some distractions.”

“We saw some of them,” Lucy-Anne said, remembering the plunging helicopter seen in the north.

“We went south,” Fleeter continued. She winced, Jenna apologised and continued cleaning her wounds. “I went ahead and scouted our route, and it seemed safe. Returned to Reaper and the others. We set off. But I must have set off an alarm of some sort. As we crossed the Exclusion Zone we hit a rapid deployment patrol.”

“Nothing like that seems to have bothered Reaper in the past,” Lucy-Anne said. “I saw him take down a helicopter with a shout.”