'You've beaten it.'
'so far.'
'Maybe this is far enough.'
'What?'
She pointed to the window beside them. 'What if we break in here?'
'Why should we?'
'It's somebody's office. We could hide in it.'
'What about Bollinger?'
She raised her voice a notch to compensate for a new gust of wind.
'Sooner or later, he'll go to your office.'
'So?'
'He'll see the window. Carabiners and ropes.'
'I know.'
'He'll think we went all the way to the street.'
'Maybe he will. I doubt it. 'Even if he doesn't think that, he won't
know where we stopped. He can't blast open every door in the building,
looking for us.'
The wind whooshed between them, rebounded from the building, rocked them
as if they were toy figures.
it wailed: a banshee.
Snowflakes sliced into Graham's eyes. They were so fine and cold that
they affected him almost as grains of salt would have done. He squeezed
his eyes shut, trying to force out the sudden pain. He had some
success; but the pain was replaced by a copious flow of tears that
temporarily blinded him.
They pressed their foreheads together, trying to get closer so they
wouldn't have to yell at each other.
'We can hide until people come to work,' she said.
'Tomorrow's Saturday.'
'Some people will work. The custodial crews, at least.
'The city will be paralyzed by morning,' he said.
'This is a blizzard! No one will go to work.'
'Then we hide until Monday.'
'What about water? Food?'
'A big office will have water coolers. Coffee and sodavending machines.
Maybe even a candy and cracker vendor.'
'Until Monday?'
'if we have to.'
'That's a long time.'
She jerked one hand to the void at her left side. 'And that's a long
climb!'
'Agreed.'
'Come on,' she said impatiently. 'Let's smash in the window.'
Bollinger stepped over the fallen liquor cabinet and looked around
Harris's office.
Nothing out of the ordinary. No sjgn of the prey.
Where in the name of God were they?
He was turning to leave when the green velvet drapes billowed out from
the wall.
