Part 20 (1/2)

”It's because of the office. It's what people expect of him.” Derek shrugged. ”He's not the only one who acts that way.”

They sat at a small corner table in the galley. Simon picked at his food even though it was the first home-cooked meal he'd had in months. The steak came from the ag floors and the potatoes and green beans came from the hydroponics farms. Everything tasted better than he would have expected.

”I don't fault Booth.” Simon sipped his tea. ”The truth is, I've never liked him and he's never liked me. Before, when he didn't hold office, it really wasn't a problem.”

”But it is now,” Derek said.

Simon shrugged. ”I can work around it. I don't expect to be holed up here for long.” He waved his fork.

”I want to be out there.”

”Out there,” Derek told him, ”isn't a very good place to be.” He sipped his tea. ”Out there can only get you killed.”

”Maybe.”

”Trust me, it would.” Derek shook his head, his face heavy with emotion. ”Our numbers are drastically cut. That's what High Lord Sumerisle planned. But we're short of warriors. Everyone we lose out on the battlefield-” His voice came to a stop.”Everyone counts, Simon. We can't afford to keep losing trained warriors.”

Simon forced himself to work through his food like a machine, stoking the fires in his belly. He sipped water. ”I can't stay here,” he said finally. ”Even if Booth wasn't in charge of this area, we still wouldn't get along.”

Derek grinned slightly. ”I know. He hates you for breaking his nose and embarra.s.sing him all those years ago.”

Once the meal was over, Derek took the lead, twisting through the Underground complex. The Templar Underground occupied several levels, each built so it could be closed off in case of emergency. Most of the tunnels were dim, more twilight than bright of day.

Simon knew the Elephant and Castle station enough to get through it, but not all of the personal levels and quarters. Each section of the Templar Underground was maintained by different houses. House Rorke was located near the Baker Street tube station.

If things had been normal, they would have dressed in street clothes and taken the fifteen-minute trip to the tube station. Instead, they walked.

Armed with a sword and a Spike Bolter, Simon trailed Derek through the dark tunnel. This time, though, Simon wore a compact pair of night-vision goggles that rendered the tube tunnel in various shades of green.

Similarly equipped, Leah trailed after him.

Bodies lay along the tracks. It hurt Simon to look at them. The smell of death was thick. ”Why have you left them here?” Simon asked.

Clad in his armor, Derek glanced around. ”We can't do anything with them.” ”Why not?”

Derek's faceplate was expressionless, but his irritation at the question showed in his body language. ”Think about it. If we start taking the bodies away, what's going to happen?”

The question was enough to point Simon in the right direction. He was embarra.s.sed he hadn't already thought of the answer on his own.

”The demons will know someone is down here,” Simon said. ”Yeah.”

”So you're just going to leave them here?” Leah sounded like she couldn't believe it. ”We are,” Derek said.

”That's...that'sinhuman.”

”That's survival. We're here to fight a war, Miss Creasey.” Derek stepped over the body of a woman who'd died protecting a small child that lay within her arms. ”It's hard. Every time we pa.s.s this way, we're aware that we're stepping away from the softer part of us that keeps us human.” He sighed so heavily the audio pickups inside the mask broadcast it. ”We do worry about that.”

”Do the demons come through the tubes?” Simon asked.

”Yes. Several of them have started using the Underground as a base of operations. And there are humans who have taken up residence in the Underground as well.”

”The tubes would be a good ambush site,” Simon mused. ”Narrow confines. They could only come at you a few at a time.”

”We've considered that. But-again-we have to be concerned if they learn we've got dwellings built down here.” Derek was silent for a moment as he moved through the darkness. ”They're going to figure that out soon enough. Everyone who died at St. Paul's Cathedral bought us some time. We don't know how much. But if the demons think that we're not a threat, maybe we can learn enough about them to be even more of a threat than we are right now. That's what we all hope for.”

At the Baker Street station, distinctive because of the Sherlock Holmes wall tiles, Derek continued to the hidden doorway and put his palm against a wall section that only he could see. Simon knew the video circuitry in the helmet allowed Derek to spot the pulse communicator.

He laid his hand across it.

A few seconds later, a deep voice said, ”Stand back, Knight Chipplewhite.” Derek stepped back. Simon and Leah followed suit.

Simon felt a little heartened. He'd grown up in the Baker Street tube area, within the hidden walls of the secret Templar base. The fact that it still existed gave him hope, but it also sharpened the pain he had over his father's loss.

The door flared open. Templar knights flared out and brought them into the hidden area. The door closed behind them.

A ma.s.sive knight squared off in front of Derek. ”State your business.” ”I'm reporting with Knight Simon Cross,” Derek replied.

The Templar inside the security room turned to Simon. The lead warrior opened his face s.h.i.+eld. ”Simon?”

”Bryan,” Simon said, recognizing the younger man. Bryan Hedges hadn't yet been brought into the ranks as a full knight two years ago when Simon had left. Looking at him now, Simon didn't think the young man had even started shaving. He was still smooth-cheeked.

But Bryan was no longer innocent. Simon saw that from the hurt inside the young man's blue eyes. The last few days of the demon infestation had taken their toll.

Bryan hesitated a moment, then held out his mailed hand. ”It's good to see you, Simon.” Simon took his hand and shook. ”It's good to see you too, Bryan.”

Frowning, Bryan asked, ”You've heard about your father then?” Simon nodded. ”I have. That's part of why I'm here.”

”It's too little and too late,” one of the other Templar muttered.

Ignoring the comment, Simon released the younger Templar's hand. ”I've come for my armor.” Bryan nodded. ”It's with your father's things.”

”Where...” Simon's voice locked up and he had to try to speak again. ”Where's my father?”

Taking a deep breath, Bryan shook his head. ”I don't know. Things at St. Paul's Cathedral became extremely complicated. You have heard about the battle there?”

”Yes.”

Bryan looked at Derek. ”Of course you have,” the young man said. ”It was confusing...afterward. We didn't get a chance to recover the bodies. There were...just...toomany of them.” Tears glinted in his eyes. ”My own father died there as well. We couldn't return for him, either.” ”Can you track his armor?” Simon asked.

”Yes. My father's armor is still at St. Paul's.” ”Is my father's?”

”No.” Bryan looked sympathetic. ”The military and police force recovered some of the bodies. They have them in various holding facilities, from what I understand.”

”Why?”

”We don't know. Probably to study them.” Simon didn't say anything.