Chapter Nineteen

 

"This is a terrible idea," yelled her brother from the bathroom. "It's going to get us killed."

"Then you shouldn't have brought me down here," said Vasilisa, attaching the sheath to her calf and letting the pant leg fall over it.

"You think that's going to save you?" asked Emilio as he pulled a shirt over his broad shoulders.

"Better than not having anything at all."

"I still think this is a terrible idea," he said.

"I think I recall more than one story of yours that involved similar stupidity, so I think your opinion is rather flawed."

"Figured you'd actually remember those stories," he said.

"I idolized you. You were my big brother, one of the best waku of his generation. At least until Pan came along."

Emilio hesitated as he considered the bowie knife they'd bought in a Terreno shop. They'd agreed not to use any weapons that might tie them to the clans.

"Past tense?" he asked.

"I assumed you knew what the hell you were doing, but after the last two years, I realize that everyone older is just making things up as they go along."

Emilio wagged his eyebrows. "The illusion of adulthood."

"I wish someone would have told me," she said, throwing on her leather jacket.

"For the record, I still think—"

"I'll put it on our gravestones if you're right."

The wash of people in the Terreno was heavy, forcing them to fight through the crowd. The announcement of the grand melee had brought more tourists from the light. It was easy to pick them out by the way they stared at the glittering lights attached to the stone ceiling, or gawked at the Alliance waku striding through the passages. Vasilisa wanted to stop and tell them those idiots were posers, and the real deal was standing right beside her.

"Who are we looking for?" whispered Emilio in her ear.

"I'll let you know when I see them."

She led them near the eastern entrance, the one that came from Big Dave's Town. Two carts of tourists were unloading while talking too loudly and wearing too much perfume. Wearing anything that smelled in the Undercity used to be a death sentence as multiple critters hunted by scent, but those days were long gone. At least around the Terreno.

A half dozen Alliance guards looked bored at the gate, performing cursory checks for unauthorized weapons. Nothing more than a pocketknife was allowed, unless they were a competitor. Vasilisa picked out the guards standing to the side, chatting quietly, and strode up from behind.

"Hey—"

The words died on her lips when they turned. She recognized one of them as a friend of Andy's. Her entire face went numb and the words trickled off her lips unsaid.

"I'm not a guide. Bugger off," he said, turning back.

Emilio put his hand on her arm to pull her away, but she shook him off.

"We need a ride."

The guard screwed up his face. "Do we look like the fucking ticket booth? The taxi between here and Big Dave's is over there."

"Not to Big Dave's. To the big dig in the south."

She heard Emilio's in-breath behind her, but ignored it.

"What the fuck did you say?"

The guard gestured towards the others and suddenly they were surrounded.

"I fucked up," she said.

"You're damn right you did. We might have to take you up north for some questioning."

Before her brother could do something stupid, she stepped in his way.

"We just got hired by Lee Travic. We're excavators. They have a problem and we're supposed to be joining the team, but my stupid brother forgot to set the alarm and we missed the caravan down there." She pulled out a wad of bills. "I'm paying for a guide and protection. Half now, half when we get there."

The anger on their faces turned to greed with open mouths and calculating eyes. The guy that had been Andy's friend, said, "I don't know. I don't want to get in trouble."

"You won't because you'll be dropping us off with Lee and his team. If we're lying, you'll find out then. Either way, you get a big paycheck."

The guards conferred for a minute before returning with an answer.

"We'll take you, but you have to listen to us, and if you do anything to put us in danger, I'll cut your throats and leave you for the predators in the shadows."

"Understood."

The guard pointed his finger over her shoulder. "Tell him to stop eyeing me or you're not even gonna make it that far."

"Adam," she said, pulling him away.

They settled on four guards to come with them, which told Vasilisa that the Undercity was still dangerous outside the guarded areas. The guards searched their backpacks and patted them down, but made no mention of their knives. The rest of it was standard exploration gear like headlamps, food, water, and nylon ropes.

Not long after they left the Terreno, heading south, the familiar darkness brought a sense of comfort and attention, and she returned to the habits that one learned growing up in the Undercity.

"Don't worry," said one of the guards to her brother when he spotted him checking the upper areas of the caverns they passed through. "You're safe with us."

The guards made hand signals, which were easy to interpret, despite the differences between the clans. She bugged her eyes out at Emilio not to react when they started talking about her ass and making bets about which one of them she'd take to bed.

Twice during the journey, the guards made them stop and huddle against the wall while two of them scouted ahead. She assumed one of them had picked up a noise with their amber. Emilio did a good job hiding that he had the same abilities, which she was thankful for, since he wasn't known for his subtlety.

The guards didn't take them by routes she knew, but after three hours of careful travel, they arrived at the dig site. Floodlights revealed large canvas tents. Generators hummed from another area while men and women in hard hats hurried around the space like cockroaches in the light, tension in their hunched shoulders and harried expressions. She spotted Lee Travic angrily gesturing to a group of workers.

"Here's your other half. Thanks for the guided tour. We'll check in with Lee now," she said, holding out the wad.

She knew they were in trouble when the guard was staring over her shoulder as he took the cash. "I think we'll wait and make sure everything's as you said it was."

Emilio gave her a look, but she responded with a tight shake of the head. They weren't going to get out of their situation with violence.

"Who the fuck are you and what are you doing on my dig site?" asked Lee, marching up, red-faced and looking like he hadn't slept in days. She assumed after a hard day of drinking, he'd hurried back and hadn't slept.

"We were sent here to help with the dig," said Vasilisa, holding out her business card. "Molly and Adam Franks."

Lee stared at the card as if it might be explosive. "Who sent you?"

She could feel the eyes of the guards who'd brought them on her back.

"Elani Perez. She sent us a message at our hotel that our services would be needed."

As soon as the guard spoke, she knew they were in trouble. "I thought you said you were expected."

"What's this?" asked Lee.

"She claimed she was expected at the site to help," said the guard.

Lee grabbed her arm and got in her face. He smelled like day-old whiskey.

"You better tell me who the fuck you are, or should I throw you over the edge? Tell me what the fuck is going on."

"Okay, okay," she said, holding her hands up. "I lied about Elani sending us here and that you were expecting us. We're new to the Undercity and hungry for business. We can be a big help."

"Sounds like bullshit to me," said someone to her left.

"No, it's not," said Vasilisa. "Think about it. Why else ask to be delivered right to you, Lee? I knew it wasn't going to be pretty, but I hoped we could show you that we can be valuable. We know excavation and we're pretty clever when it comes to new projects. We can be an asset. I swear. Give us a chance."

Lee glowered. His cheeks were bright red. "You're right. You are going to be a big help."

"That's great," said Vasilisa, exhaling with relief. "I'm glad you understand. I'm sure you were young and ambitious once too."

Lee gestured to the guards. "Grab 'em. We're taking them into the pit. They can help us figure out how to get past the wards. And if not, then they're not my problem anymore."