army, and you kind of stand out.'
They started to cross the Laurel Bridge, which spanned the Elitespace and the Elgin hanging gardens. Hallway across, theyhad to press back against the guardrails as a troop of lancers trotted across, driving a dozen frightened women and four young boys in front of them, goading them on with the sharp tips of their lances. Several levels below, a line of four vehicles with a large escort of lizard riders and horsemen was driving slowly up the broad expanse of Khedive Boulevard. Reave recognized the armored car that was second in line.
'That's Bapiste down there.'
'How do you know?'
'I know his car. I figure Protexus, Taraquin, and Zero are in the other vehicles.'
'So the warlords have entered the city.'
'The end can't be long now.'
Billy caressed the multiplex and looked down, judging the range. 'I've still got half a clip of smartbombs left. We could finish this right here and now.'
Reave also looked down. 'We'd never get out alive.'
'I could take them all out at once.'
Reave regretfully shook his head. 'The army would destroy the city anyway.'
Billy put away the smartbombs.
They were approaching the front lines, and there appeared to be no way to their destination without passing through the fighting. Then the Minstrel Boy had an idea.
'You figure the sewers and conduits are still open?'
Billy nodded. 'It's worth a shot. This fighting's been pretty simplistic up to now, all blood and dash. It's possible that they haven't considered the sewers.'
'So we go through the sewers like Harry Lime?' Renatta asked.
The three of them stared at her.
'Who's Harry Lime?'
She shrugged. 'It doesn't matter.'
As Billy had predicted, nobody had considered the sewers. The only things there were the rats and the marls. Almost bent double, they made their way through the semidarkness. The sewers in Krystaleit ran through the actual thickness of the various city levels, and they could tell when they were passing under the shifting combat zones by the impact vibrations that shuddered through the stone and concrete. At one point they halted as a major explosion shook cascades of dirt and dust from the roof of the tunnel.
'I feel like a goddamn mole.'
'Better a goddamn mole than a dead hero.'
The impact vibrations began to decrease, and it seemed that they were actually behind the lines of the defenders.
'I think we should try the surface again.'
They crawled on until they reached a vertical shaft that ran up to a manhole. Reave took the point, climbing the iron rungs that were set in the wall of the shaft and hoping first that the cover would not be locked down and second that it would not open up on a new firefight.
He put his shoulder under the heavy cast-iron cover and pushed up. At first it stuck, but as he applied more pressure it slowly lifted. The first thing he saw was three pairs of solid military-style boots standing around the hole. As he pushed the cover back farther, he found that he was looking into the muzzles of three weapons. For a gut-wrenching moment he thought they had come up on the wrong side of the line. Then he saw the militia uniforms behind the guns.
'Don't shoot! Don't shoot! We're on your side.'
One by one they climbed out of the manhole under the watchful eye of three very nervous militiamen. They seemed to have emerged into a hastily established command area right in the shadow of the core. The sound of heavy fighting was very close, and the troops that were moving around had the grim if hopeless determination of men who were preparing for a last stand in which they had only the most remote chance of prevailing. There was no attempt to disguise the fact that the preparations being made were for selling their lives at the highest possible price. The last of the heavy ordnance was being ranged along a tight perimeter. A half dozen of the heavily armored troopers stood waiting to be deployed in the final last-ditch effort. Close by, a team of technicians were setting up a complicated communcations unit, while groups of officers clustered around looking worriedly at maps and three- dimensional biode displays. The overall atmosphere was one of single-minded concentration on the tasks at hand. Nobody wanted to think about the future when only a miracle would allow them to live to see it. The DNA Cowboys were left in no doubt that they had once again crawled into the frying pan.
Two of the militiamen kept them covered while the third hurried off to find an officer. As they waited, a familiar armored figure powered in on dorsal jets, touched down briefly, had a fast conversation with a group of officers, and then took off again. The DNA Cowboys looked at each other in blank disbelief.
'Jet Ace?'
'What the hell is he doing here?'
'Seems to be on our side.'
'Hurray for us.'
'I think it's confirmation that the world's gone crazy.'
Their exchange made the militia guards even more nervous. The one with a noncom badge snapped at them. 'No talking.'
Renatta tried to reassure them. 'Just take it easy. We're the good guys.'
A short, harried-looking junior officer hurried up. His expression made clear that the last thing he needed was the arrival of the DNA Cowboys.
'Who are you people?'
Reave did the talking. 'Free-lancers. We were separated from our unit, and we've been making our way back through the sewers and conduits.'
'How do I know that you're not enemy infiltrators?'
'You don't, but I doubt that the enemy needs to do any more infiltrating.'
'What's the name of your commanding officer?'
'Reft Zill.'
The officer looked around. 'At least that is easily settled.' He called across the area. 'Master Zill, could you come over here?'
Reave sighed as Zill came waddling up. He could not think of any situation that could be improved by the presence of Reft Zill. 'Hi, Reft. Still alive, I see.'
'I could say the same for you.'
'Do you know these men?' the officer asked shortly.
Zill nodded. 'Sure. They're mine. In fact, I've been trying to locate them.'
'Can I leave them with you?'
'By all means.'
The officer and the three militiamen hurried away. Zill looked the DNA Cowboys up and down.
'So where have you been skulking?'
'Skulking? I'd lay bets that we've been closer to the fighting than you have.'
Zill made a dismissive gesture. 'This is all beside the point. I have a new assignment for you.'
Reave raised a suspicious eyebrow. 'An assignment? Now? What are we supposed to do? Form a suicide squad?'
'Our contracts have been transferred.'
'What are you talking about?'
'You get yourselves to the quadrant J platform. The last we heard, it hadn't fallen to the enemy. If that's the case, transportation will be waiting.'
'Transportation?'
'I thought that would get your attention. If you can make it there alive, you'll be getting out of the city.'
'Why us?'
Zill shook his head. 'Don't ask me. The biode came up with your names. You'd have been the last ones I
