Jungle Of Steel And Stone

Veil watched as Reyna wrapped her clothes around the Nal-toon and clutched the idol to her breast. 'Reyna, you can't—'

'Oh, yes I can! Go, Veil! I'll get the cops off your back. Just keep going! I'll find you!'

'Reyna!'

But Reyna was already gone, sprinting out from the line of trees and across the moonlit expanse of the golf course. Immediately there were shouts. A helicopter rose from behind a banked sand trap, its air wash blowing sand that swirled and eddied in the glare of the craft's searchlights.

Veil waited, staring anxiously after Reyna's racing figure. Then the helicopter and police moved off after her, and the area directly in front of him was suddenly shrouded in darkness, providing him with a long, deserted corridor of night.

Toby was now semiconscious. Veil set the K'ung warrior on his feet. He wrapped his jacket around Toby, then pushed Reyna's sneakers on his feet. Deciding that they now had as good a chance in the streets as on the golf course, Veil steered Toby to the right, along the line of trees.

Toby tried to walk but could not. Again Veil swept the man up in his arms and hurried forward. There were no signs of any police.

He emerged from the line of trees at the point where the cemetery, the golf course, and the sidewalk intersected. Dozens of people were milling around in the street and on the sidewalk. Veil feared he might immediately be surrounded, but hardly anyone even bothered to glance at him or his burden; people were maneuvering for position in order to see out over the golf course, and everyone seemed to be talking at once, asking for or volunteering information.

'Get out of the way,' Veil said, shouldering people aside. 'I've got an injured person here.'

A man called, 'What's happening?'

'It looks as though they may have the African trapped in the cemetery,' Veil replied. 'Let me through, please.'

And then he was through the crowd. He slipped through a line of police cars parked at the curb with their motors running and lights flashing, then hurried across the street. He trotted into the next block, then stepped back into the night-shadows and waited. Ten minutes later Reyna, dressed and carrying the Nal-toon, emerged from an alleyway between two buildings near the intersection. Veil stepped out from the shadows. Reyna saw him, hurried down the street.

'Voila!' Reyna said with a broad, triumphant grin. 'Surprised?'

'Surprised isn't quite the word for it, but I can't think of what is,' Veil replied, sighing with relief and gently touching his forehead to Reyna's. 'How the hell did you get out of there?'

'A piece of cake. I made it into a stand of trees, hid the Nal-toon behind one, sat down, and started screaming. When the cops came, I just pointed and said that my boyfriend was chasing some crazy, naked black man who'd tripped over us. They ogled me for a while, then ran on. And here I am.'

'I'm suitably impressed.'

Reyna touched the unconscious Toby's forehead. 'Lord, Veil, he's burning up.'

'I know. We're running out of time. Check the parked cars and see if there are keys in any of them.'

Reyna ran up and down the block, trying the doors and looking into the windows of the parked cars. She darted across the street, repeated the procedure, then ran back to Veil. 'Nothing,' she said, panting. 'Do you want me to steal a police car?'

'No. They'd have us in five minutes. I could break into one and try jumping it, but the cops could be coming out of there anytime now. I'm afraid that carrying around Toby and the Nal-toon makes us a bit conspicuous.' He paused, thinking, finally continued, 'We're too close to what we want to risk losing it all by rushing things. The whole area's probably crawling with cops. After all that shooting in the cemetery, there could be roadblocks. What we need is a place to hole up, at least for a couple of hours.'

'Veil, the racetrack! Aqueduct's only a few blocks away. If we could get in, there'd be water to cool Toby, and telephones! Do you think—'

'I certainly do,' Veil said. 'Let's go.'

'Toby must be getting awfully heavy.'

'No. Keep a steady pace. We're exposed now, and looking like we're in a big hurry will only draw more attention. Stay close and try to keep the Nal-toon between us.

They walked on, Reyna keeping close to Veil and using the Nal-toon and her shoulder to help support Toby's weight as best she could. People stopped and stared at them, but they continued walking at an even pace, their eyes straight ahead.

'I can see the parking lot!' Reyna cried as they turned a corner. 'Veil, we're going to make it!'

Suddenly Toby stirred, opened his eye, spoke.

'Veil? Toby says that he can walk.'

Veil set Toby on his feet. The K'ung swayed unsteadily, but remained on his feet. Reyna pressed the Nal-toon against his chest. Toby's arms came up, wrapped themselves tightly around his god. Veil and Reyna gripped Toby's arms, and they hurried forward until finally they stepped over a chain into the darkness of one of the racetrack's vast, empty parking lots.

'I'll run around,' Reyna said. 'There has to be some way for us to get in.'

'No time,' Veil said, taking the gun from the waistband of his jeans. 'Too many people saw us, and I don't want to be wandering around if a police car comes cruising into this lot.'

Using rags from a trash can to muffle the pistol's report, Veil fired two shots at the lock on one of the gates; the bullets served only to jam the locking mechanism. He was successful at a second gate; the first bullet pierced the lock pins cleanly and forced them apart. Reyna opened the gate, closed it behind them, and they moved into the racetrack.

Chapter Eighteen

The enormous clock on the wall over the bank of pay phones read eleven o'clock. A few of the trainers and jockeys who had arrived before dawn were still working their horses on the track, but the stands were empty—at least for the time being. There had been a few policemen wandering through the complex, but fewer than Veil had expected.

The phones were in the open, at the junction of a long concourse and an exit ramp. Hunched down behind a row of seats just behind the ramp, Veil scanned the area around him. Satisfied that there was no one around, he vaulted over a steel railing to the ramp, then hurried to the nearest phone. He dropped a quarter in the slot and dialed the number Walrus had given Reyna. The phone was answered in the middle of the first ring.

'Yeah.'

'Walrus, we have a problem.'

'Where are you?'

'Aqueduct. It looks pretty quiet around here at the moment, but the police must be watching the neighborhood.'

'Oh, you bet your ass they are. Besides the police, you've got what must be half the population of New York City wandering around Queens looking for the three of you. You'll have to wait until after dark.'

'That's a long time to wait, Walrus. Toby's living on borrowed time. Is John there?'

'He's on another line talking to my documents people in Canada. You want me to get him?'

'No. There's nothing he could really tell me from there, anyway. I'm not a doctor, but I'm pretty sure that every hour counts with Toby.'

'I hear what you're saying, Veil.' There was a long pause, and then the mercenary on the other end of the line continued, 'If you want, I'll bring a car over right now and take you out. What worries me is the possibility that a car going into an empty parking lot will attract attention; then we have to get the three of you and the idol out and into the car. If there are eyes on the place, we'll be fucked. If you can hold things together until tonight, at least it will be dark.'

'We'll still have a problem, Walrus. They've got night racing here again.'