Something from the Nightside

again without one hell of a fight. There's a television camera in every room, so they can be watched over even while they sleep. Some of them even have explosive devices taped to their bodies, ready to be triggered at a moment's notice. Word is there's enough ammo and bombs in that place to fight a fairly major war.'

'Does it work?' said Joanna.

Alex shrugged. 'They're not the kind of people you ask personal questions of. They're always on the lookout for Men in Black. Anyway, over the years the Fortress has become something of a haven for

anyone who needs help or protection, or just somewhere safe and secure to crash for a few days. A lot of runaways pass through the Fortress.'

'Are they good people?'

'Oh sure. Paranoid, violent and crazy as a cat on crack, but...'

I decided I'd heard enough. I put the phone down and went back to join them. Alex might or might not have known I was listening. It didn't matter. I nodded to Joanna.

'All I can get is the answerphone. We'll have to go round there and ask in person.'

'Can't wait,' said Joanna. She downed the last of her drink in one. Alex blinked respectfully a few times. Joanna slammed the glass down on the bar. 'Put it on Taylor's tab.'

'You're learning,' said Alex.

I headed for the metal stairs, Joanna at my side. No-one looked around as we passed. Joanna looked at me suddenly.

'John?'

'Yes?'

'Did they really eat their dog?'

FIVE - The Harrowing

 We left Strangefellows, stepping out into the sullen gloom of the back alley, and the solid steel door shut itself firmly behind us. On the whole, things hadn't gone too badly. Eddie had come up with a solid lead, no-one serious had tried to kill me, and Alex hadn't even mentioned my long-standing bar bill. Presumably because he knew a rich client when he saw one. I'd hate to think he was getting soft. Joanna looked vaguely about her, frowned, and hugged herself tightly, shivering suddenly. Understandable. The alley was freezing cold, with thick whorls of hoarfrost on the walls and cobbled ground. The night had turned distinctly wintry in the short time we'd been

inside. Joanna looked at me accusingly, her breath steaming thickly on the still air.

'All right, what happened to the weather? It was a nice balmy summer night when we went through that door.'

'We don't really have weather, as such, in the Nightside,' I explained patiently. 'Or seasons, either. Here, the night never ends. Think of temperature changes here less as weather, and more as moods. Just the city, expressing itself. If you don't like the current conditions, wait a minute, and something new but equally distressing will come along. Sometimes, I think we get the weather we deserve here. Which is probably why it rains a lot.'

I started off down the alley, and Joanna strode along beside me, her heels clacking loudly on the cobbles. She was working her way up to asking me something intrusive. I could tell.

'Eddie said bad people were looking for you,' she said finally.

'Don't worry. The Nightside is a big place to get lost in. We'll have found your daughter and be long gone before anyone can catch up to us.'

'If people are always looking for you here... why don't you just stay out of the Nightside?'

I did her the courtesy of considering the matter for a few moments. It was a serious question, and deserved a serious answer. 'I tried, for five long years. But the Nightside is seductive. There's nothing in

everyday London to match it. It s like living in colour, instead of black and white. Everything's more intense here, more primal. Things matter more, here. Beliefs, actions, lives ... can have more significance, in the great scheme of things. But in the end, it all comes down to the fact that I can make a much better living here, than I can in London. My gift only works in the Nightside. I'm somebody, here, even if 1 don't always like who that person is. Besides, you can't let anyone tell you where you can and can't go. It's bad for business.'

'Alex said this was your home. Where you belong.'

'Home is where the heart is,' I said. 'And most people don't dare reveal their heart here. Someone would eat it.'

'Eddie said they were bad people,' Joanna said stubbornly. 'And he looked like the kind who would know bad. Be honest with me. Are we in any immediate danger?'

'Always, in the Nightside. All kinds of people end up here, drawn and driven by passions and needs that can't properly be expressed or satisfied anywhere else. And a lot of them like to play rough. But most of them know better than to mess with me.'

She looked at me, amused. 'Hard man.'

'Only when I have to be.'

'Are you armed?'

'I don't carry a gun,' I said. 'I've never felt the need.'

'I can look after myself too,' she said suddenly.

'I don't doubt it,' I assured her. 'Or I would never have let you come with me.'

'So, who's this Suzie, that Eddie said we'd meet at the Fortress?'

I looked straight ahead. 'Ask a lot of questions, don't you?'

'I believe in getting my money's worth. Who is she? An old flame? An old enemy?'

'Yes.'

'Is she going to be a problem?'

'Perhaps. We have a history.'

Joanna was smiling. Women like to know things like that. 'Does she owe you a favour too?'

I sighed, reluctantly realising that Joanna wasn't going to be put off by curt, monosyllabic answers. Some women just have to know everything, even when it's patently none of their business.

'Not so much a favour; more like a bullet in the back of the head. So ... Suzie Shooter. Also known as Shotgun Suzie, also known as Oh God, it's her, run! The only woman ever thrown out of the SAS for unacceptable brutality. Works as a bounty hunter, in and around the Nightside. Probably got paper on someone hiding out in the Fortress.'

Joanna was looking at me closely, but I kept on looking straight ahead, my face carefully calm. 'All

right,' she said finally. 'Would she be willing to help us?'

'She might. If you can afford her.'

'Money is no object, where my daughter is concerned.'

I looked at her. 'If I'd known that, I'd have charged you more.'

She started to laugh, and then it turned into a cough, as she hugged herself hard again. 'Damn, it's cold! I can hardly feel my fingers. I'll be glad to get back into the light again. Maybe it'll be warmer, out on the street.'

I stopped abruptly, and she stopped with me. She was right. It was cold. Unnaturally cold. And we'd been walking for far too long still to be in the alley. We should have reached the street long before this. I looked behind me, and Strangefellow's small neon sign was just a glowing coal in the dark, far away. I looked back at the alley exit, and it was no nearer now than when we'd started. The alley had grown while I was distracted by Joanna's questions. Someone had been playing with the structure of space, stretching the alley ... the energy drain manifesting as the sudden cold ... I could feel the trap closing in around me. Now I was looking for it, I could sense magic in the air, crackling like static, stirring the hair on my arms. Everything seemed far away, and what sounds there were came slow and dull, as though we

were underwater. Someone had taken control of the space around us, like closing the lid on a box.

And as I looked, six dark silhouettes appeared, blocking the exit to the alley. Dark men in dark suits, waiting