Part 30 (1/2)

And he pa.s.sed on by.

They listened to his footsteps fade. They took their first breath in unison. Then their second. Then Kris murmured, ”He's gone, Keeper. You got reasons for hanging on that I should know?”

”No.” Because, you feel so good wasn't really a reason Diana wanted to get into right now. She dropped her arm and tried not to feel bereft as Kris stepped away. ”What should we do about the boots?”

”Do?”

”They could come right through the window.”

”It's summer, there aren't a lot of them and even if they break the gla.s.s, the security cage'll keep them in.” She reached back and wrapped her hand around Diana's wrist. ”Come on.”

The feel of cool fingers on the skin between sleeve and glove was familiar.

”That was you, Friday night. You held Sam and me in the shadow so we didn't get caught in the beam when the security guard flashed back the way he'd come.”

”Yeah. That was me. Now do me a favor and never use the word flash in the same sentence as that scary old dude again.” Her lip curled, showing a crescent of teeth. ”Bad image frying the wetware.”

Diana caught the image and shuddered. ”Eww.”

”Big time.”

”But how did you . . .” She looked down at Kris' hand, still around her wrist, and then up at the other girl's face. ”We weren't even in the same reality.”

Kris shrugged. ”Reality's what you make it.”

”True enough. You got reasons for hanging on I should know about?”

”No.”

It was a familiar sounding no. Diana grinned as she followed Kris back out onto the concourse. Hey, Sam, I think she likes me.

It wasn't difficult to imagine Sam's response.

”And what am I, chopped liver?”

”No, I mean she likes me.”

”So what are you going to do about it?”

What was she going to do about it? And should she even do anything? And when? Actually, that last question was a no brainer.

Not now.

”Remember, stay low, move fast, and try not to look like a person. We're in the bad guys' f.u.c.kin' territory.” Kris dropped into a crouch and scuttled across the side corridor, one arm crooked over her head.

She looked exactly like a person in a crouch with her arm over her head, but Diana figured she knew what she was doing, so she folded herself into a mirror image of the position and scuttled after. Shadows spilled out of the far end of the corridor, but they came with no accompanying feeling of being watched, a faint feeling of looking ridiculous but that pa.s.sed as she reached the storefronts on the opposite side and straightened.

Tucked up tightly against the wall, Kris moved steadily toward the short hallway leading to the security office.

Security office?