clues.'
'I could fly up.'
Cristof paused, then looked thoughtful as he contemplated her metal wings.
'Would you know what to look for?'
'Anything useful,' she said, deadpan. He made a disgusted sound and looked back up at the mountaintop.
'It's too dangerous. We don't know where the killer's hiding.'
'I could take you with me.' She glanced at the low sun. 'But not until dawn.'
Cristof's expression grew guarded.
'What do you mean, take me with you?'
'Flying. You know, Alister kept joking about going flying. He wanted me to bring him some wings and take him aloft. I never did, though.' If Cristof hadn't been suspended from the investigation, it would be easy to get him to the Tower. But doing it secretly posed some problems. She thought through the problem out loud. 'We could leave tomorrow morning, as soon as it gets light. Paulo's on midnight-to-dawn shift. If we're lucky, he'll be dozing and won't notice that we're using the dock. First shift starts when the sun crests the mountain, so we could be long gone before anyone else gets there. If we use guest wings, someone might notice, but check-in and check- out are a little chaotic right now. And it'd be safer than taking somebody's personal wings.'
'I'd have to wear wings?'
'Well, it's the only way up. I can counterweight you and keep a safety line between us. You wouldn't be in any danger.' She nodded, satisfied. 'I think it would work.'
'If we're caught—'
'If we're caught, you're going to use every ounce of influence you can muster make sure I'm not grounded for the rest of my life,' Taya stated. 'I'm willing to help you, but not at the price of my freedom.'
For a moment Cristof seemed to debate with himself, taking off his glasses and pinching the bridge of his nose. Then he sighed, pushing the frames back into place again.
'I'm certain that between Viera and I, we can keep you safe from prosecution. And I can't think of any other way we'll be able to search Alister's offices in a timely fashion.' He shoved his hands into his pockets, looking down at the street. 'Tomorrow morning?'
'We'll kick off the moment you can see your hand in front of your face,' she affirmed.
'All right.'
'By the way, what did you do with those punch cards?' Taya asked. 'Are we going to take them with us?'
'No. I returned them to Lt. Amcathra this morning. I'd prefer to have kept them, but they're safer under lock and key. I've also put in a recommendation that the Labyrinth Code be rewritten as soon as possible.'
'Maybe Kyle's team could do it.'
'I suggested them.'
'That was nice of you.'
'I owed it to Alister.'
Taya was pleased. Underneath Cristof's prickly exterior and lack of interpersonal skills, he had a sense of fairness she was starting to appreciate.
They fell silent as they walked.
'How did your work go this morning?' Cristof asked, at last. 'Did the search teams find anything new?'
'No. More metal scraps, but that's all.' She glanced at him. 'Some searchers found a few bones, but they were too old to be… anyone's. The coroner said they're probably wild dog bones.'
'Did you see them?'
'No. I decided to work with the engineers.' Taya swallowed. It took a particular kind of person to work on a body reclamation team. Just the thought of finding something she might recognize made her feel sick. 'They think they found part of the bomb.'
'I'd like to see it.'
'A team of experts was examining it.'
'I wonder if I know any of them.'
Taya shrugged, looking around. They were turning toward the switchback road that descended to Secundus.
'Did you did you find anything at your brother's house?'
'The mansion?' Cristof stopped. 'The lictors searched it. But I was being questioned, and then they pulled me off the case.' He made a sharp turn left, instead of taking the road to Secundus. 'I'm an idiot. It's about half a mile away.'
'Do you want me to go with you?'
He gazed at her, puzzled.
'You're free for the rest of the day, aren't you?'
'Yes. I just thought it might be too personal for you. Going through your brother's things.'
'Oh.' He looked away and gave an abrupt, dismissive shrug. 'I have no intention of bursting into tears, if that's what you're afraid of.'
'Your mask is in place.'
'I did all my grieving last night.' His voice was hard. 'Now all I want to do is give Alister a peaceful rebirth by putting his killer behind bars.'
Taya walked side-by-side with him, her wings straining against the harness when the winds caught them. She was glad he'd said ‘behind bars’ and not ‘to death.’ At least he wasn't going to do anything stupid.
Ondinium would execute the killer, anyway. The city wasn't tolerant of murderers.
That reminded her of her own fight. She glanced down at the cuts on her hand, which were nearly healed.
'Do you know if the Demican I stabbed is still alive?'
'So far.'
'Did they find the Alzanans who were with him?'
'Not the last I heard. I expect the investigation has been suspended.'
She mulled over that a moment, then attempted a joke. 'Maybe after we've borrowed you a set of wings, we can walk around Tertius and try to get mugged. See if we can tempt them out.'
'As long as we're walking.'
'Oh, I wouldn't take you flying down there. Too many towers and wires. Flying up to the Tower will be a lot safer.'
'Good.' Cristof took a deep breath. 'Alister learned how to fly when he was fourteen or fifteen. He said it was the most exhilarating thing he'd ever done. I didn't pay much attention to him. He was always getting excited over some new adventure or another. His enthusiasm would last a month or two, and then he'd move on to the next thrill. I imagine that being with you made him want to strap on a pair of wings again.'
'He could fly?'
'Yes.' Cristof looked at her. 'He didn't tell you?'
No. But he'd led her to believe that he'd known nothing about flying.
A lie of omission, Viera would have called it.
She would have brought Alister a pair of wings, expecting to teach him what to do, and he would have been able to show off. To impress her.
Taya took a deep breath, shaking her head.
Just forget about it. It doesn't matter anymore.
'But you never learned how?' she asked, forcing herself to sound natural.
'No.'
'You'll do all right. Knowing how armatures work will give you an advantage.'
'Knowing how armatures work is different from actually using them.'
'It's easy,' she assured him. 'The icarus docks are above all the towers and cables, except the wireferry to
