Part 19 (1/2)

”You made it, Cates,” Dawson gurgled. I stared at the door and imagined his voice as dark fog, spilling over the edges of the hover crate and pooling on the floor. ”That's the only entrance to the Inner Sanctum. The Holy of Holies where Brother Squalor contemplates his slice of forever and counts the heads as they roll in!”

I opened my eyes and stared at the door.

”I can't open it,” Dawson continued, managing somehow to convey glee through his warped digital voice. ”Only Squalor and his Cardinals can. Have you ever met a Cardinal, Cates? I'll bet you haven't. If you had, you wouldn't be here.”

”You can't open it?” I asked.

That dripping cackle again. ”You can't either. Right about now there are five hundred Monks homing in on you. You're trapped like, dare I say it, like a rat!”

I turned around and looked at Dawson, who lay smiling in the portable coffin, a mess of wires and insulation and coolant fluid. I s.h.i.+fted my eyes to Kieth, who stared back with pop-eyed nervousness, clearly terrified of what I would ask him to do next. ”Can you pry this f.u.c.king door open?”

He leaned sideways to run his eyes over the door. He shrugged. ”Maybe. Ty'll have to do some scans, trace some wiring. Might need some spare parts, which Ty did not not bring. He might also just as easily fuse everything shut pretty solidly.” bring. He might also just as easily fuse everything shut pretty solidly.”

I nodded. It was always some f.u.c.king thing. I couldn't believe it hadn't even been a month since d.i.c.k Marin had scooped me off the streets of Manhattan and ruined my f.u.c.king life. ”Kev, make sure Captain Dawson is telling us the truth, okay?”

”Right,” Gatz whispered, turned, and leaned down over the Monk, pus.h.i.+ng his gla.s.ses up onto his forehead. After a moment, he straightened up, putting a hand out to the wall to steady himself. ”Go ahead, ask,” he gasped, breathing hard.

”Can you open that door?”

Dawson shook, his whole torso vibrating. ”No,” he finally oozed. ”Can't.”

I nodded, reached out, and grabbed Kieth by the shoulder. I spun him around so that he faced the mutilated Monk. ”Anything in that motherf.u.c.ker you can use? Monks are just crammed full of interesting tech, aren't they?”

Kieth nodded, his shaved head reflecting the dull white light. ”Yes. Very possibly.”

I nodded. ”Rip 'im up, Ty. Take whatever you need.”

”Hey, Avery,” Gatz said between loud breaths. ”They're getting' closer, huh?”

I paused, listening. Kieth started to say something about the door, so I reached out and clamped his lips shut with one hand.

The shouts and gunshots were getting closer. Fast.

”What the-”

Before I could finish, Canny Orel suddenly appeared around the corner, guns s.h.i.+ning in his hands, running full-tilt. Seconds later one of the twins followed. Orel actually looked disheveled: hair mussed, coat torn, a large dark stain spreading through his s.h.i.+rt on one side.

”Well, Mr. Cates, I hope you no longer need a distraction,” he said, skidding to a halt in front of me. ”We did our best but there are a large number of the infernal machines hot on our trail.”

Despite his appearance, he wasn't out of breath at all, and calmly flushed his used ammo clips and began reloading.

”Ms. Milton,” he added casually, ”did not survive the onslaught.”

”Jesus f.u.c.ked,” I swore. ”How-”

”No time!”

As if they'd been drilling for years, Tanner dropped to her knees below Orel and they both opened fire on three Monks who raced around the corner. The Monks went down one, two, three, each a headshot, each from Canny, who moved his gun with surgical precision: Bam! A tic to the right bam! A tic to the left bam! I couldn't help but admire it.

For a moment, it was quiet, except for the latex sound of Dawson's melted laugh. Canny turned his head slightly to glance at me.

”Don't relax,” he advised with a wink. ”There are more coming. Mr. Kieth,” he added, louder, ”I forgive you your debt.”

”Why the h.e.l.l did you come here here?” I demanded. I was ready to let it roll over me, the huge, incomprehensible wave-just close my eyes and let it smother me-but Canny Orel got on my last nerve and I was d.a.m.ned if I was going to let him just do what he liked. This was my my job. ”You're supposed to be the G.o.dd.a.m.ned distraction.” job. ”You're supposed to be the G.o.dd.a.m.ned distraction.”

”We didn't have a choice, Mr. Cates!” Orel snapped back, eyes fixed on the intersection and the three felled Monks. ”We were f.u.c.king herded herded here.” here.”

”It's true,” Tanner said, her voice cracking and shaking. I looked down at her sharply, noticing for the first time that her face was a rictus of emotion, her body stiff and shaking, as if she'd physically felt the death of her twin. ”Everywhere we turned, they pushed us back-except one direction. They came and came at us, and we f.u.c.king took dozens of those f.u.c.king Tin Men out, Cates, but if we fell back in the right direction, they let us.”

Two Monks flitted through the intersection like insects. Orel and Tanner tracked them, pumping sh.e.l.ls, but missed, the Monks disappearing on the other side.

Anger flooded me. My hands spasmed, trying to clench into fists; it took all my concentration for a moment to stop myself from firing a sh.e.l.l into the floor, to keep my hands under control. I wanted to throttle Orel where he stood, so calm, so capable-probably the only one of us with a chance to fight his way out of this. I hated his competence, hated the fact that he was better, tougher than me. If I was going to die inside this f.u.c.king tomb, it was going to be my my decision. I'd been dancing for Marin and Moje and everyone else for too long. I didn't give a f.u.c.k about the cash-which I doubted I'd ever see, anyway-I wanted to put a sh.e.l.l into Dennis Squalor's head because I'd come this far and I wasn't going to get stopped decision. I'd been dancing for Marin and Moje and everyone else for too long. I didn't give a f.u.c.k about the cash-which I doubted I'd ever see, anyway-I wanted to put a sh.e.l.l into Dennis Squalor's head because I'd come this far and I wasn't going to get stopped now. now.

I whirled on Ty Kieth. ”Get that f.u.c.king door open open!”

He swallowed and glanced down at his handheld, pointing it at the door and prodding its screen with his thumb, a practiced, smooth gesture. Licking his lips, he nodded.

”I can probably do it, but-”

”Do it,” I snapped. ”Or we're all dead, right here, in this f.u.c.king hallway.”

He nodded, prodding his screen madly.

”Cates!” Orel snapped without turning. ”It doesn't matter.”

”What the f.u.c.k does that that mean?” mean?”

More Monks appeared at the end of the hall. A volley of sh.e.l.ls from Tanner and Orel, and two fell into a heap.

”Cates, we were herded here. here. On On purpose. purpose. Did you encounter any resistance? No,” Orel said slowly, eyes fixed on the sights of his guns. ”I think that door is going to open soon, all on its own. I think you've been played. I Did you encounter any resistance? No,” Orel said slowly, eyes fixed on the sights of his guns. ”I think that door is going to open soon, all on its own. I think you've been played. I think think that opening that door is the last thing we want.” that opening that door is the last thing we want.”

I stared at him for a moment, thinking. Then I turned and looked at the door, smooth, unmarked, implacable, just as another volley of shots announced more Monks. What it came down to was, you always had a choice. There was always something something you could choose to do. you could choose to do.

I turned and looked at Kieth. He looked back at me. He was shaking.

”Mr. Kieth,” I said steadily. He jumped a little. ”Get the G.o.dd.a.m.n door open.” I smiled, the familiar crazy laughter catching in my throat. ”Let's f.u.c.king surprise them.”

Kieth didn't hesitate. He seemed almost happy as he pulled his small bag of instruments from his jacket. A slight smile played on his lips, and he didn't even flinch when a fresh wave of Monks at the end of the hall brought on another volley of bullets from Orel and Tanner.

”Two more!” Orel shouted. He sounded almost happy, too. I was surrounded by madmen. Madmen of my own choosing.

Kieth began scanning the door with his little handheld device, running it up and down the thin, faint lines outlining the opening. While bent over scanning along the bottom, he paused suddenly.

”Huh,” I heard him say quietly. ”That's-”

The door suddenly emitted a loud, hollow banging sound. Kieth stood up instantly, and Gatz and I turned as one, me with my gun held out, Gatz with a shaking hand on his gla.s.ses. Behind me, there was more gunfire, and a stream of curses from Orel. I squinted down the sight of my gun, hand hurting from gripping it so tightly.

The door banged inward as if a silent, dark explosion had propelled it, knocking Kieth back hard into Dawson's temporary coffin. I glimpsed the figure revealed in the doorway for just a split-second, because in the balance of that moment I ticked my gun's muzzle to the left an infinitesimal amount and pulled the trigger twice, turning his head into cheese.