She took the river home.
Crashing through white water, the familiar skyline of New Pretty Town before her, Tally wondered if this would be the last time she'd ever see her home from the outside. How long did they lock you up for attacking your own city, accidentally destroying its armed forces, and getting it into a bogus war?
The moment she reached the city's repeater network, the newsfeeds rolled over Tally's skintenna like a tidal wave. More than fifty channels were covering the war, describing breathlessly how the hovercraft armada had broken through Diego's defenses and sent its Town Hall tumbling to the ground. Everyone was so happy about it, as if the bombardment of a helpless foe had been fireworks at the end of some long-awaited celebration.
It was weird hearing Special Circumstances mentioned every five seconds—how they'd stepped in after the Armory had been destroyed, how they would keep everyone safe. Until a week ago, most people hadn't even believed in Specials, and suddenly they were the saviors of the city.
The new wartime regulations actually had their own channel, a cheerless scrolling list of rules to be memorized. Curfew restrictions on uglies were stricter than ever, and for the first time in Tally's memory, new pretties had limits on where they could go and what they could do. Ballooning was completely forbidden, hoverboards restricted to parks and sports fields. And ever since the disintegrating Armory had lit the sky, New Pretty Town's nightly fireworks displays had been canceled.
No one seemed to be complaining, though, not even cliques like the Hot-airs, who practically lived in their balloons during the summer. Of course, even if two hundred thousand people had been cured, that still left about a million bubbleheads. Maybe those who wanted to protest were still too outnumbered to make themselves heard.
Or perhaps they were too afraid of Special Circumstances to raise their voices at all.
As she passed through the outer ring of Crumblyville, Tally's skintenna connected with a drone patrolling the city limits. The machine gave her a quick electronic frisk before realizing that she was an agent of Special Circumstances.
She wondered if anyone had figured out how to get past the new patrols yet, or whether all the tricky uglies were gone by now, either run away to Diego or drafted into Special Circumstances. Everything had changed so much in the few weeks she'd been gone. The closer she got to the city, the less it felt like she was home at all, especially now that Zane would never see this skyline again…
Tally took a deep breath. Time to get this over with. 'Message to Dr. Cable.'
The ping bounced back to announce that the city interface had put her in a holding queue. Apparently, the head of Special Circumstances was busy these days.
But a moment later, another voice answered, 'Agent Youngblood?'
Tally frowned. It was Maxamilla Feaster, one of Cables subcommanders. The Cutters had always reported directly to Dr. Cable.
'Let me talk to the doctor,' Tally said.
'She's not available, Youngblood. She's meeting with the City Council.'
'She's downtown?'
'No. At headquarters.'
Tally slowed her board to a halt. 'Special Circumstances headquarters? Since when does the City Council meet out there?'
'Since we went to war, Youngblood. A lot's happened while you and your miscreants have been wandering around in the wild. Where on earth have you Cutters been?'
'That's a long story, one I have to tell the doctor face-to-face. Tell her I'm coming, and that what I have to say is extremely important.'
There was a brief pause, then the woman's voice came back, annoyed. 'Listen, Youngblood. We are at war, and Dr. Cable is currently acting chair of the Council. She's got a whole city to run, and doesn't have time to give you Cutters your usual special treatment. So tell me what this is all about, or you won't be seeing 'the doctor' anytime soon. Understand?'
Tally swallowed. Dr. Cable was running the whole city? Maybe confessing to her wasn't going to be enough. What if she was enjoying being in charge too much to believe the truth?
'Okay, Feaster. Just tell her that the Cutters have been in Diego the last week—fighting the war, okay?—and that I have some very important intelligence for the Council. It concerns the safety of the city. Is that good enough for you?'
'You've been in Diego? How did you—' the subcommander started, but Tally gestured to cut the feed. She'd said enough to get the woman's attention.
She leaned forward and engaged the board's lifting fans, heading for the factory belt at top speed, hoping to get there before the City Council meeting had ended.
They were the perfect audience for her confession.
Special Circumstances headquarters stretched across the plain of the factory belt, low and flat and unimpressive. But it was bigger than it looked, descending twelve stories down into the earth. If the City Council was afraid of another attack, it was the logical place to hide. Tally was certain that Dr. Cable had welcomed the Council with open arms, happy to have the city government cowering in her basement.
Tally stared down from the summit of the long, tilted hill that overlooked the headquarters. Back in ugly days, she and David had jumped on hoverboards from here down to the roof. Since then, motion sensors had been installed to keep another break-in like theirs from happening again. But no fortress was designed to keep one of its own out, especially when she had important news to deliver.
Tally opened her skintenna feed again. 'Message to Dr. Cable.'
This time, Subcommander Feaster's response was instantaneous. 'Quit playing around, Youngblood.'
'Let me talk to Cable.'
'She's still with the Council. You have to speak with me first.'
'I don't have time to explain everything twice, Maxamilla. My report concerns the entire Council.' She paused to take a long, slow breath. 'There's another attack coming.'
'Another what?'
'An attack, and very soon. Tell the doctor I'll be there in two minutes. I'll come straight to the Council meeting.'
Tally cut her skintenna feed again, choking off more sputtering replies. She spun her hoverboard around and shot down the long, sloping side of the hill, then turned to face the summit once more, flexing her fingers.
The trick was to make her entrance as dramatic as possible, blustering past everyone and straight into the City Council meeting. Dr. Cable would probably enjoy one of her pet Cutters dashing in to deliver vital intelligence, proof that Special Circumstances was on the job.
Of course, the announcement wasn't going to be what Dr. Cable expected.
Tally urged her hoverboard forward, fans and magnetics fully engaged. She climbed the hill, building speed all the way.
At the top, the horizon suddenly slipped away the ground disappearing beneath her, and Tally soared into the sky.
She cut the fans and bent her knees, grasping the board with her fingers.
The silence stretched out, the roof of the headquarters growing as Tally fell. She felt a grin spreading on her face. This might be the last time she would do something this icy, with all her special senses sucking up the world; she might as well enjoy it.
A hundred meters from impact, her lifting fans spun to life. They pressed the board up against her, struggling to bring Tally to a halt. Her crash bracelets pushed against her wrists, straining against the force of the fall.
The hoverboard smacked hard and flat against the roof, and Tally rolled from its riding surface and straight into a run. Alarms were sounding all around her, but with a single gesture, her skintenna placated the security system. She shouted for emergency access through the hovercar doors ahead.
There was a short pause, then Feaster's anxious voice replied, 'Youngblood?'
'I need in, double-quick!'
'I told Dr. Cable what you said. She wants you to head straight for the Council meeting. They're in the Level J operating theater.'
