The copter’s blades sliced the air and blew the smoke away from the crater and Joe watched as the vehicle looked for them. They were lucky. Either the smoke stopped the occupants from seeing them or they’d been told not to blow up the rest of the block along with the building they’d already destroyed.
Not-Gene dropped the cover back in place, sealing them off from anyone looking for them. Joe stood in the ankle-deep filth of the sewer.
“Where are we going?” Not-Tina’s voice was only a little petulant.
Joe grinned. “We’re going for a night on the town, kiddies. I think we earned it.”
“We need better clothes.” Not-Kyrie’s voice was still agitated.
“We’ll get them.”
“We need-”
He held up his hand for silence. “We’re going to get clothes. We’re going to get money. We’re going to eat like kings. And then, we’re going back to the hotel to leave a message for the failures.”
“What’s my name?” Not-Cody asked the question casually.
Joe shrugged and suppressed a wince as his arm reminded him that it was still hurting. “You tell me.”
“What do you mean?” A quick frown.
“I mean you’re not Cody. He already has a name. You have to decide for yourself what you want to be called.”
Not-Cody stared at him in the darkness of the sewer tunnel-the darkness barely affected any of them-and smiled. “Cool.”
“Give it some thought. Until then, I’m just calling you ‘Hey, you.’”
They walked in silence for a while, which suited Joe just fine because his ears were still ringing from the explosions earlier.
Chapter Thirty-two
Evelyn Hope
Evelyn watched the footage in silence, her hands held together in front of her face as if she might be praying.
She wished there had been cameras inside the building instead of merely the ones along the perimeter. Her life would be easier if she could see their faces clearly and decide if they were anyone she knew.
One of them, one on the roof. There was something unsettlingly familiar about him. The others? Nothing. The only things they had in common were unbelievable reflexes, oddly poor choices in the sizes of their clothing-which were universally too small-and a penchant for savagery.
George watched the footage with her. No one else was allowed in the room. There was no one else she trusted as implicitly as she did her second-in-command.
She kept a careful count of the men she saw fall to the strangers who’d come into her territory.
“Well, this is hardly the sort of footage I was hoping for, George.”
He nodded. After they watched the building getting blasted into debris, he finally spoke. “Do you think they got away?”
“Of course they did. There were plenty of opportunities for a competent athlete and these ruffians, they are decidedly athletic.” She paused for a moment and then used the remote control to slowly reverse the film. “There. See?” She pointed at the shadowy forms near an opened manhole cover. “Right there. That’s them getting away, I suspect.”
“Cheeky little bastards, aren’t they?”
“George, they killed twenty-five of our men. I think that makes them more than ‘cheeky.’”
He frowned. “Well, to be fair, I think the helicopter probably killed most of them.”
She waved a finger at him. “Let’s avoid the debate. Find the right people to make sure this is read as a gas main explosion and make sure you pay them off quickly.” He nodded. “When that’s done, clean out the secondary offices.” She sighed. “I have no doubt that the ones on the roof got one of the men talking.”
“Full cleanup?”
Evelyn shook her head. “No. Give them something. Let’s assume they’re looking for me, shall we? Give them an address.”
“What location?”
“Somewhere isolated, where we can have a better chance of controlling the outcome. Really, George, I’d hardly expect this to be challenging for you.”
He made that little tsking noise she so despised. “I know you, Evelyn. If I don’t double-check, you’ll be pointing a finger at me if it goes wrong.”
“I’ll be pointing a finger at you either way, George. That’s why you’re my assistant.”
He sighed. “Anything else you need me to take care of?”
“Yes. One more thing.” She tapped the remote again and backed up the recording until she got the clearest shot of the two intruders on the roof. “Does either of them look familiar?”
George leaned in closer to the screen. The high-definition monitor was as clear as ever, but the recording was grainy. It wasn’t meant for close-ups. He frowned and scowled and squinted each way he could. “I don’t suppose we’ve had this sent off to get the images cleaned?”
“Not yet. We only just had the situation a short while ago, George. These things take time, and they require that you actually call on the appropriate parties.” Her voice was sharp, but he ignored the slight.
“Yes, I’ll get on that.” His tone was snide. “Just as soon as I’ve handled every other whim of yours for the day.”
“And you call other people cheeky. Honestly.” Still, she smiled a little. Anyone else would have been fired, but George was allowed a little room. It was one of the benefits of being someone she trusted.
He pointed to the male in the dress slacks and bloodied shirt. “He almost looks like… ” His voice trailed off. “Is that even possible, Evelyn?”
“Well, I would hope not, but no body was ever found, now was it, George?” It had been over four years since the last time Bobby had tried to contact her. After he stopped trying, they had to assume that Seven was dead and Bobby along with him. They were inseparable, after all.
George stared hard and slowly shook his head. “Seven? Could he be alive after all of that?”
Evelyn leaned back in her seat and sighed, making herself stay calm. There was a possibility that her son was alive out there, along with his other half, Subject Seven. The boy who made her life a better, brighter place and the monster who’d taken away her husband and son. “We’re going to have to work under the assumption that he is.” The thought sent a hundred different feelings through her. Seven. Alive. Was that even possible? Did she dare hope for that? After all that he’d done, after all that he’d taken. Her hand moved to the necklace again, fondling the ring and the tooth next to it unconsciously.
“Well, that’s not a comforting notion, is it?”
“Not at all.” She rose from her seat, wincing slightly as her legs protested. She might have kept her figure, but age was starting to wear away at her joints.
“Make sure you get one of the teams prepared.”
“One of the teams?” He frowned for a moment. “Rafael’s group?”
Evelyn nodded. “Yes. Rafael’s team should be the best suited for this.” She waved a hand of dismissal. “In fact, send him in here. I need to have a talk with him. After that, we can send him out with the cleanup crew for the second building. It’s best to have a backup plan for something like this, don’t you think?”
George frowned more deeply. “Right away.” He disapproved. She could understand that, but it was necessary. Rafael was the best and brightest of the soldiers they had available.
“I know you disagree, George, but this is for the best. I need him to know what Seven is capable of, and I need him to look at this footage.”
“Do you think Rafael is strong enough to take on Seven and what looks like others?”
“There’s only one way to find out, isn’t there?” She looked at her second and he in turn looked back at her,
