Barb didn’t go back to the Child Bank but headed to the flats to find a place from where she could watch the arrival of the Wuckers. It was mid-afternoon by the time she arrived.
She decided that hiding within the block might be risky if they did a full sweep of the building. Few safe properties stood in this area beyond the habitable part of the city, but for some reason, this slab of concrete had survived the clearances. There must have been around one hundred flats laid out in a grid, ten up, ten across, with a stairwell at each end. Once it would have had others matching it, but now only rubble and the outlines of walls remained. In the centre of the ruins was an old, overgrown play area. The swings no longer swung and now dangled from one rusted chain, and the roundabout was anchored by the creepers and weeds that had taken hold of it.
In the centre was a climbing frame with an enclosed rope hut at the top. Taking care not to slip on the vegetation, she scaled the ladder and settled down to watch. Looking around the square, she could see all the flats and the four staircases, one in each corner. An archway allowed vehicles in to park around the outer edge, a throwback to the days when ordinary citizens had cars to travel in.
It was wet and uncomfortable, but the damp barely had time to soak into her trousers before the Wuckers arrived.
Her body shook uncontrollably, and she could taste bile in her mouth. She hugged herself and rocked to ease the fear, focusing on the details of the bodies jumping out of the black van. Wearing the uniform black overalls, gloves and helmets, each clutched a rifle, which they held before them as they split up and poured up all four sets of staircases. She had imagined a stealthy approach but could hear the thundering boots pounding the steps even from this distance. It would be amazing if Vander slept through that racket.
Sure enough, after a short delay she saw a third-floor door thrown open towards the end of the level. The two figures came out and headed for the stairs. Straight into their arms, Barb thought with satisfaction. But instead of heading down, she could see them running up two levels and into an empty flat.
As Barb watched, she toyed with the idea of running out to warn the Wuckers, but she quickly ruled that out. By the look of them, they weren’t the subtlest team, and they would probably shoot her before realising that she was on their side.
Barb scrambled down from the climbing frame, wiped the green slime from the ropes off her hands and skirted around the edge of the building before making a break for the deserted street. On the other side of the block, she took up a position, curiously watching the flat.
It wasn’t long before the window opened and Vander and companion edged out onto the crumbling balcony. They got a bag and swung it out and onto the level below. It was quickly followed by Vander, and after much coaxing, the girl came too.
Vander and the girl were down four levels now and only had the final drop to go. She was surprised and rather impressed. Normally, she would be very happy to see someone get the better of the Wuckers, but it was a bitter irony that the one time she was seeing it was when she had set it up.
Shaw would not be pleased. Worse than that, his bosses would not be pleased. She wondered if he would step up and take the blame alone or decide to share it with her.
It was time to go.
She had walked quite a distance before she realised that she was automatically heading back to the Bank. Home.
Her step faltered, and she looked back to see Vander and the girl heading the other way, towards the river. She could follow them, but her anger was fading and growing numb. She longed to find a sheltered spot and lie down to sleep, succumbing to the exhaustion that was washing over her. Scratch was gone, but the Bank was all she knew, and she needed to go back to her kids and see how they were getting on. Let the Facility and the Wuckers chase them around. For now, she needed to focus on the living and banish the dead from her mind.