Kingdom of Cages(138)

“Piss off,” she replied genially. “If you’ve got something for us, let us know the price.” Her eyes flicked over his shoulder to scan the boardwalk. “Fast.”

“When he gets back, you tell the cop that my friend here ran off.” He jerked his chin at Teal.

“When she actually went into the dirigible?” Cole raised his eyebrows inquisitively.

“Very good, Cole,” said Wilseck. “You’re catching on.”

Grace rubbed her chin. “That’s a lot. Aside from the usual threats, what are you giving us?”

“Teal Trust was in my shop,” he said. Teal hoped no one saw how every muscle in her body tensed. “She wants to stay out of the hot-houses, for a wonder. She wanted some of her alleles changed so she’d be a little less attractive to them. I told her I’d have to think about it before I arranged to have something so valuable cut into. She told me where she’s staying.”

Teal’s heart hammered painfully against her ribs. Believe it. Believe it, she urged the guards silently. It took all her strength not to look at Wilseck.

Cole glanced at Grace. She paused, considering. “Is any of that true?”

“No,” said Wilseck coolly. “But I can make it sound really good for your constable.”

Grace snorted. Then she nodded.

“Go,” said Wilseck quietly. So much of Teal’s energy was bound up in not bolting, it took her a second to realize that he was talking to her.

When she did, though, she didn’t hesitate. She trotted down the jetty toward the waiting dirigible. One of the tenders scowled at her and looked back at the guards. Grace waved her arm in a signal that must have meant all-okay, because the man stood aside and allowed Teal to duck through the low doorway into the gondola.

She had expected a passenger cabin like they had on the one that brought them down here from Athena, but this dirigible was more like a flying warehouse than anything else. Nets bolted to the walls and floor held huge piles of crates and cargo containers. Teal stepped to one side of the doors and stood there for a second, uncertain what to do. A tall thin man in brown coveralls stepped out from between the piles of cargo holders and looked her over.

“Passenger seats up front.” He gestured toward the gondola’s interior. “Better get going.” He continued on out the doorway.

Teal didn’t move. Nothing inside her was convinced that the guards, let alone Regan, would go for Wilseck’s threats or stories for long. They’d come in here. They’d haul her out.

Her eyes darted left and right, trying to take in the whole of the gondola quickly. There wasn’t much to it. Other than the netted piles of cargo, there were only the curving walls lined with cabinets and padding, and the support girders that held the walls in place.

Cabinet’s too obvious. It’ll take too long to find which crates are empty. Her eyes traveled up and down the girders. They had holes into which brackets or ring bolts could be fit. They’d make great toeholds too.

Teal snatched up an empty cargo net from a rack by the door and stuffed it into the waist of her trousers, because she had no pockets big enough. Then she found a toehold in the girder and started climbing.

Her longer arms and legs proved good for something. Even though everything still hurt, Teal managed to clamber up to the ceiling girders more easily than she would have before the operation. She wedged herself into a corner, bracing her back against one girder and her feet against another. She reached for the cargo net, intending to sling it in place to make herself a nice little hammock, when she heard movement below.

Teal froze. Her heart thundered so wildly she thought its noise echoed off the walls. Below, Regan and the two guards from the pier walked into the gondola.

“Check the passenger seats,” said Regan. “Just in case she’s doing something really obvious.” One of the guards—Cole, Teal thought— headed forward.

Grace and Regan stayed where they were. So did Teal. The girders bit into her palms and buttocks where she braced herself. The joints in her knees began to hurt all over again.

“So, what do we do now, Constable?” asked Grace. Her voice sounded hollow as it reached the ceiling. “Start knocking on crates and opening cabinets? I’m telling you, she took off.”

“But you can’t tell me where she took off to,” said Regan doggedly. “So, I have to check.”

Cole’s footsteps echoed as he came back. “She’s not up there.” Both the guards looked at Regan.

Regan began walking around the cargo containers. Every now and then he would touch one or tug on the lines of the nets holding them in place, as if he were trying to see which ones felt loose.