The warlord closed the door behind him, then pointed at the opposite wall. “Stand beside the windows, please,” he said.
They overlooked the street below. Ryan looked down at a sea of bobbing heads, too many to fight, and to the right, a fan of bodies.
Too many to move.
Loud, jangling music erupted from the rear. When he spun, Thrill Bill was smiling at him. The sound was coming from a small black box on the floor beside the bed.
“The people in the hall outside will be listening at the door,” the warlord said as he stepped closer to them. “A little white noise will give us some privacy.”
Then he faced Damm. “Okay, Sarge, let’s hear the story.”
“Mitsuki hired me to snatch Cawdor away from FIVE,” Damm said. “Me and the captain decided to pull a double cross on Mitsuki by taking him for ourselves. We planned to hold on to him until we scored safe passage to Shadow World.”
“Mitsuki sent the tactical unit after you?”
“Looks like they didn’t trust me,” Damm said. “Now we’re fucked in a great big way.”
“Not an exclusive club anymore.” Thrill Bill looked at Nara. “Never seen you so damned pale. What is it? All those dead folks out there giving you a flashback, Captain?”
Nara glared at him, then said, “Yeah, I never could stand the sight of blood.”
“Funny, that’s not how I remember it.” Thrill Bill adjusted the frayed khaki strap that held his goggles in place, then he changed the subject. “You’ve been over to the other side, Captain. Is it half as sweet as the tell-yous claim?”
“Sweeter,” she told him. “Space to breathe. More animals than people. Trees. Even birds. I saw birds, Bill.”
“Sounds like heaven.”
Ryan was sick of the banter, and the delay. He stepped up toe to toe with the warlord, close enough to see the fingerprints and grease smears on the lenses of his goggles. “I want out of here,” he said. “Back to where I came from. Back to Deathlands. If you can’t help me get there, you’re going through that window, hair spikes first.”
Thrill Bill threw back his head and laughed. “Your vid doesn’t do you justice, Shadow Man. You got style.”
Ryan tensed, preparing to do just what he’d promised.
“What a minute,” Damm said, inserting an arm between their opposing chests. “Maybe we can work something out.”
“I’m listening,” Thrill Bill said.
“Come with us,” Damm stated. “Otherwise you’ll rot here with everybody else.”
The warlord reached inside his armor vest and produced a red plastic tag. He showed it to them proudly. It had the number 79 printed on it. “Already got my ticket, Sarge,” he said. “I’m going over in the first wave with the CEOs.”
You might as well save some time and cut your throat right now,” Nara told him. “The lottery is a hoax. FIVE isn’t taking anybody below Level 100. Never had any plans to, either.”
Thrill Bill looked at her. “You wouldn’t shit me, now, would you, Captain?”
“Have I ever shit you, Bill?”
The two stared eye to eye for a long moment.
Then the warlord examined the ticket. “Guess I knew all along it was too good to be true.” He ripped the ticket in two and tossed it over his shoulder. “Fucked by the CEOs again,” he said.
“Fucked for the last time unless you hook up with us,” Damm said.
Ryan glowered impatiently at the warlord.
Thrill Bill twirled the tip of one of his hair spikes. “You three stand zero chance of reaching the Totality Concept complex. FIVE’S got the biggest army on the planet, and you can be sure it’s going to be protecting the CEOs’ escape route.”
“If you hang around Gloomtown, you’re going to starve to death,” Damm reminded him.
“Maybe Bill wants to stick around and see his flock out,” Nara said. “Very noble of him.”
“What, you don’t think I’m capable of something like that?” the warlord said. “You think it’s beyond a former dog soldier grunt like me to go down with the ship?”
Nara shook her head. “I know you’re up to it. I think it’s a pointless gesture. You can’t do anything for the people outside this room. You can’t make their dying any easier. You can only save yourself.”