[ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]
could see us, wherever he was. If he still was at all. Heaven or the Pleroma or Philadelphia. I wondered if he knew
I d finished the job. Would he have been proud of me? I had screwed everything up from the start, but I d seen it
through. No plan had ever worked the way we d meant it to, but then Coin s hadn t worked out either. I imagined
Eric would see that as a win.
I hoped so.
I didn t sleep, but I wasn t perfectly conscious either. It surprised me when a man s broad hands lifted me to
sitting. Aaron was beside me, looking concerned. Kim was at my other side, ready to lift me if needed. Candace
was helping Ex walk to the stairway.
We need to go now, okay? Jayné? Can you stand up?
I killed Randolph Coin, I said. I can do anything.
Aaron grinned. He looked young when he did that. Like a little boy.
Yeah, he said. I think you can.
I rose slowly and started toward the open stairway. At the doorway, I stopped.
Backpack, I said. I need my pack. We can t leave anything here.
It s okay, Kim said. We ve got it covered.
Laptop? I said.
Yes, we got your laptop too, Aaron said. Don t worry about it. How bad are you? Do we need to go to
the hospital?
The hospital, I said. Aubrey! We need to see Aubrey!
It s okay, Kim said. We ll take care of that once you re all right.
I m fine, I said. I m perfect.
I didn t remember walking downstairs or out to Candace s car. A bump in the road brought me back to
myself, and we were driving down the highway toward the house, Aaron and Kim in the front, Candace in the
back with me and Ex slumped beside her. Ex s mouth was pinched with pain, but there was a light in his eyes. I
thought that was what redemption must look like. When he saw me looking at him, he smiled. When I smiled
back, he took my hand.
I was asleep before we got home.
Twenty-six
Later, Ex told me that Chogyi Jake had appeared on the doorstep of Eric s old house the morning after Coin had
died. His motorcycle was marred by deep, white scratches on the left side, and Chogyi Jake himself had a bruise
on his back that looked like he d been whipped by a bullwhip with legs like a centipede. The forces of the
Invisible College had chased him just the way we d hoped. They d been in pursuit before he d gotten six blocks
from the house. He d eluded them, but only just. Midian had never arrived at the airstrip that I d reserved for his
flight out. We didn t know if he d made it or not, a fact that haunted me for a long time. Chogyi Jake slept for
fourteen hours, but I hadn t noticed at the time, since I crashed for almost twenty.
I woke in my bed, only half aware of where I was and what had happened. I d stumbled out to the main
room in a T-shirt and sweats to find Ex very slowly preparing one of Midian s frozen meals and reading a new,
deeply anonymous report that had been dropped off on my doorstep.
Randolph Coin had been killed in something that looked like a drug-trade hit. His personal secretary,
Alexander Hume, had also been shot and killed. The police were investigating, and it appeared that the attack was
linked to a heroin and prostitution operation in Boulder. Aaron was mentioned by name as being part of that
investigation.
That was the first three pages. There were nineteen others that followed. I d wolfed down potatoes and
green chili and two cups of black coffee while Ex read the report out loud. By the end, Chogyi Jake and Kim had
joined us in the kitchen, all of us listening to Ex declaim the words of my lawyer.
When we d all gone over it twice, I called Aubrey and he answered. We d gone to see him as soon as we
could, and now Chogyi Jake and I were almost done bringing him up to speed.
He looked pretty good for a guy who hadn t been in his own body for over a week. His eyes were bright,
and his smile came out often and with almost no prompting. He even had his hair washed and cut. Apart from the
skimpy little hospital gown, he was the picture of health. Way ahead of the rest of us. He flipped through the
report, his eyebrows slowly sliding up his forehead.
They re falling apart, Aubrey said.
Just the way Eric said they would, I said. The Invisible College just took a long dive into an empty
swimming pool. Coin was the linchpin. All of the things he d done in the world fell apart when we killed him.
Including my coma. It sounds like it was quite the experience, Aubrey said. I m sorry I missed it.
I wouldn t be, I said. It was mostly not fun.
All the more reason I should have been there, Aubrey said.
Next time, I said, and put my hand on his knee. It was a small gesture, that touch. Not even skin against
skin. Still, I could feel him tense at it, and then relax.
I can t believe you called Kim, he said, with something like a laugh, except it was a little forced.
Kim s all right, I said. I like her.
The atmosphere grew tense. Chogyi Jake cleared his throat and rose.
I m sure there s a restroom around here somewhere, he said, and made his discreet exit. The other bed in
the suite was empty. Aubrey and I were alone. Tentatively, he took my hand. I had the powerful memory of being
in his apartment, in his bed. I looked away, willing myself not to blush.
I owe you, Aubrey said. After it all went south, I would have thought you d run. And instead you& you
did it. You went after him. You won.
Well, it was that or leave you as neurologically active broccoli, I said. It seemed like the right thing to
do. Besides which, they killed Eric. It wasn t like I could just let it slide.
It was brave, he said.
I felt a flash of annoyance, and Aubrey must have seen it. He sat back, suddenly tentative. He started to take [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]
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could see us, wherever he was. If he still was at all. Heaven or the Pleroma or Philadelphia. I wondered if he knew
I d finished the job. Would he have been proud of me? I had screwed everything up from the start, but I d seen it
through. No plan had ever worked the way we d meant it to, but then Coin s hadn t worked out either. I imagined
Eric would see that as a win.
I hoped so.
I didn t sleep, but I wasn t perfectly conscious either. It surprised me when a man s broad hands lifted me to
sitting. Aaron was beside me, looking concerned. Kim was at my other side, ready to lift me if needed. Candace
was helping Ex walk to the stairway.
We need to go now, okay? Jayné? Can you stand up?
I killed Randolph Coin, I said. I can do anything.
Aaron grinned. He looked young when he did that. Like a little boy.
Yeah, he said. I think you can.
I rose slowly and started toward the open stairway. At the doorway, I stopped.
Backpack, I said. I need my pack. We can t leave anything here.
It s okay, Kim said. We ve got it covered.
Laptop? I said.
Yes, we got your laptop too, Aaron said. Don t worry about it. How bad are you? Do we need to go to
the hospital?
The hospital, I said. Aubrey! We need to see Aubrey!
It s okay, Kim said. We ll take care of that once you re all right.
I m fine, I said. I m perfect.
I didn t remember walking downstairs or out to Candace s car. A bump in the road brought me back to
myself, and we were driving down the highway toward the house, Aaron and Kim in the front, Candace in the
back with me and Ex slumped beside her. Ex s mouth was pinched with pain, but there was a light in his eyes. I
thought that was what redemption must look like. When he saw me looking at him, he smiled. When I smiled
back, he took my hand.
I was asleep before we got home.
Twenty-six
Later, Ex told me that Chogyi Jake had appeared on the doorstep of Eric s old house the morning after Coin had
died. His motorcycle was marred by deep, white scratches on the left side, and Chogyi Jake himself had a bruise
on his back that looked like he d been whipped by a bullwhip with legs like a centipede. The forces of the
Invisible College had chased him just the way we d hoped. They d been in pursuit before he d gotten six blocks
from the house. He d eluded them, but only just. Midian had never arrived at the airstrip that I d reserved for his
flight out. We didn t know if he d made it or not, a fact that haunted me for a long time. Chogyi Jake slept for
fourteen hours, but I hadn t noticed at the time, since I crashed for almost twenty.
I woke in my bed, only half aware of where I was and what had happened. I d stumbled out to the main
room in a T-shirt and sweats to find Ex very slowly preparing one of Midian s frozen meals and reading a new,
deeply anonymous report that had been dropped off on my doorstep.
Randolph Coin had been killed in something that looked like a drug-trade hit. His personal secretary,
Alexander Hume, had also been shot and killed. The police were investigating, and it appeared that the attack was
linked to a heroin and prostitution operation in Boulder. Aaron was mentioned by name as being part of that
investigation.
That was the first three pages. There were nineteen others that followed. I d wolfed down potatoes and
green chili and two cups of black coffee while Ex read the report out loud. By the end, Chogyi Jake and Kim had
joined us in the kitchen, all of us listening to Ex declaim the words of my lawyer.
When we d all gone over it twice, I called Aubrey and he answered. We d gone to see him as soon as we
could, and now Chogyi Jake and I were almost done bringing him up to speed.
He looked pretty good for a guy who hadn t been in his own body for over a week. His eyes were bright,
and his smile came out often and with almost no prompting. He even had his hair washed and cut. Apart from the
skimpy little hospital gown, he was the picture of health. Way ahead of the rest of us. He flipped through the
report, his eyebrows slowly sliding up his forehead.
They re falling apart, Aubrey said.
Just the way Eric said they would, I said. The Invisible College just took a long dive into an empty
swimming pool. Coin was the linchpin. All of the things he d done in the world fell apart when we killed him.
Including my coma. It sounds like it was quite the experience, Aubrey said. I m sorry I missed it.
I wouldn t be, I said. It was mostly not fun.
All the more reason I should have been there, Aubrey said.
Next time, I said, and put my hand on his knee. It was a small gesture, that touch. Not even skin against
skin. Still, I could feel him tense at it, and then relax.
I can t believe you called Kim, he said, with something like a laugh, except it was a little forced.
Kim s all right, I said. I like her.
The atmosphere grew tense. Chogyi Jake cleared his throat and rose.
I m sure there s a restroom around here somewhere, he said, and made his discreet exit. The other bed in
the suite was empty. Aubrey and I were alone. Tentatively, he took my hand. I had the powerful memory of being
in his apartment, in his bed. I looked away, willing myself not to blush.
I owe you, Aubrey said. After it all went south, I would have thought you d run. And instead you& you
did it. You went after him. You won.
Well, it was that or leave you as neurologically active broccoli, I said. It seemed like the right thing to
do. Besides which, they killed Eric. It wasn t like I could just let it slide.
It was brave, he said.
I felt a flash of annoyance, and Aubrey must have seen it. He sat back, suddenly tentative. He started to take [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]