“You killed her.”
“That’s what I thought too.”
“Holy shit,” says Lynx, once again on the general line.
“I see it,” says the Operative.
“Jesus,” says Sarmax.
The valley above them is even more shrouded in shadow than the one they’re in. But the angle of the cylinder’s rotation allows reflected sunlight to dribble across its upper reaches. The surface revealed is alive with movement. All of it going in one direction …
“The asteroid,” says Lynx.
“Going to be quite a slam-dance,” says Sarmax.
Only question now is when it starts.”
“It may already have,” says Linehan. “Meaning?”
“They may have already gotten inside the perimeter.”
“I guess we’ll find out soon enough.”
“Maybe sooner.”
“What’s that supposed to mean?” asks Spencer. “It means you and I are big fucking asterisks.”
“Said the man who used to be a SpaceCom assassin.”
“Used to be?”
“You about to tell me something I don’t want to hear?”
“Turns out they got in here as well,” says Linehan. “Who?”
“SpaceCom.”
“While you were out hunting ammo, I was talking with some of the marines.”
“Yeah?”
“Yeah. They said that SpaceCom managed to infiltrate a bunch of assholes into the Platform to take down the Throne.”
“They were trying to use the Rain
“No one uses the Rain. The Com learned that lesson the hard way last time. No, this was a separate plot, aimed right at the president.”
“And they didn’t make it.”
“Didn’t get near him.”
Spencer’s eyes narrow. “And were you part of this?”
“If I had been, I’d
“The Manilishi definitely cleared you.”
“But the Throne still didn’t like the looks of me.”
“Can’t say I blame him.”
“It’s enough to make a man paranoid.”
“Isn’t that your natural state?”
“Paranoid about
“You need to relax,” says Spencer.
“You need to tell me who you really are.”
“Get a grip on yourself.”
“Just answer the question.”
“I’m Lyle Spencer,” says Spencer as he readies his weapons. “Who are you?”
“Seb Linehan.”
“What the hell are you on, Linehan?”
“I’m high on life.”
“And a damn sight more than that.”
“So what if I am?”
“So what are you on?”
“Ayahuasca.”
“Getting dosed in South America wasn’t enough?”
“Same dose, Spencer.”
“What?”
“You’re still—”
“Hallucinating. Yeah.”
“Three and a half days later?”
“Has it been that long?”
“You don’t
“I don’t even know which way is up anymore.”
“There is no up,” says Spencer. “Not out here.”
They’re deep into the valley now. They’re sticking to the forests whenever possible, though far too many of the trees have been ripped from the ground, along with all the leaves. It’s like the land of endless winter now. There’s no sign of life anywhere. No sign of movement either.
“Too dark to see if that shit’s still up there,” says Lynx.
“We’ll dodge it if it is,” says the Operative. “They’re not looking for us. They’re just busy getting into their assault positions around the Throne’s perimeter.”
“Fucking great,” says Lynx.
They move out of the woodlands and start along a riverbed. The water’s at one with the vacuum now. Sun glints above them as the cylinder rotates, gleams off the tens of thousands of bodies drifting along the axis as Sarmax starts up the one-on-one again.
“I’m telling you it
“You’re saying Indigo Velasquez has risen from the dead?”
“I’m saying I didn’t finish the job.”
“Oh. All that time, and all you can say is
“And her body was never recovered.”
“Nothing was,” says Sarmax.
“Easy,” says the Operative.
“Ten years gone,” says Sarmax. His voice is hollow. “Ten minutes I lay senseless in those tunnels. I drifted against a wall and the combat raged around me. I opened my eyes and couldn’t move and
“Faces can be imitated,” says the Operative. “Just ask the Throne.”
“It wasn’t just the face,” says Sarmax. “It was the way she looked at me. The way her eyes narrowed. She
“She was the perfect soldier. If she saw you, she would have killed you.”
“She was the love of my life.”
“Exactly.”
“Look—”
“No,” says the Operative,
