"What about neighborliness and hanging together in times of trouble?"
"Maybe they'll have some of that out in Iowa where you grew up, and maybe there'll even be a pocket or two of it around here, but not enough to matter. The good folks will be driven into hiding and the slime will be free to do whatever they damn well please."
"I don't believe that. I don't want to believe that. And it disturbs me to know you believe that."
Jack shrugged. "In my work, you get to spend a lot of time hip-deep in slime. You—"
"Oh, my God!" Gia cried, craning her neck and staring up through the windshield.
Jack slowed and glanced up. Something bright in the sky. He struck his head out the window—and stopped the car to stare.
Vicky popped her head out behind him. "Ooooh neeeeat!"
"Jack!" Gia said. "What's happening? What is that?"
"Looks like an apartment building," Vicky said.
Half a mile up, probably over the West Side Highway or the midtown piers, was a heart-stopping sight…a building floating in the air. It hung as if suspended on an invisible wire, turning slowly, its roof canted slightly eastward, its torn underside westward. Light from the rising sun flashed off the few unbroken windows. Masonry that had broken away was floating up with it. Tiny figures leaned out the windows, waving shirts and towels in panicked attempts to attract the attention of the police helicopters that circled it like flies around a corpse.
"Jeez!" Jack said as he stared upward at the slowly dwindling shape. "It's still rising."
Those poor bastards trapped up there were doomed unless they could find a way of transferring to one of the helicopters.
At least now he knew where all the cops were.
"Let's get out of here," Gia said.
Jack flipped the little gearshift lever back into drive and they continued west. He refrained from saying I told you so as he ran red lights all the way to Amsterdam Avenue, then raced uptown to the Isher Sports Shop. Abe was outside, waiting by his panel truck in front of his store's smashed windows. So fixated was he on the flying building that he barely noticed their arrival. Jack screeched to a halt half a dozen feet in front of him.
That got his attention.
"Gevalt!" Abe said, cringing back. "You're trying to squish me or something?"
He was wearing a black jacket; his white shirt and black tie were clean. Obviously he hadn't had breakfast yet.
"Ready to go?" Jack said, pulling Vicky and a suitcase from the back seat.
"Yes, of course." Abe gave Gia a hug and Vicky a kiss on the top of her head. "I should want to keep two such beautiful young ladies waiting? Come with me. I've got coffee, juice, and not-so-fresh bagels in the front seat."
He opened the rear doors of the panel truck, then ushered Gia and Vicky around to the front. He returned as Jack was loading the last suitcase into the rear compartment. He pointed a trembling finger at the building in the sky.
"It's happening like you said, isn't it?" Abe's accent was gone, vanished without a trace. "All rules—man's and God's—pffft!
Jack looked and saw that the building was considerably higher than before. When would it stop rising? Would it stop rising?
"Double-pffft!" Jack nodded toward the shattered storefront windows. "Looters?"
Abe shrugged. "Nothing's missing. Must have been those flying things. Haven't seen any looting."
"Plenty of it going on in the high rent district. They just haven't got this far yet."
Abe reached into his pocket and pulled out a set of keys. He thrust it into Jack's hand.
"Here. These are for the armory. They'll need a cannon to get in without them. You need anything, help yourself."
Jack hefted the keys and stuffed them in a front pocket. "The armory" was the basement of the Isher Sports Shop where Abe stocked his weapons—the illegal ones, plus the legal ones he sold illegally. He carried everything from blackjacks to Claymore land mines. It would be handy to maintain access to that sort of variety.
"I might move in," Jack said.
"Be my guest. You have the wavelength written down?"
"Yeah. Got the shortwave set on it. I'll be listening at seven a.m. and seven p.m. Don't forget to call in."
"Don't worry."
"Which way you heading out? The Lincoln?"
Abe nodded. "From what you say, the quicker we get out, the better."
"You know it. You carrying?"
Abe patted the heavy lump in the right side pocket of his jacket. "Of course."
"Good. But maybe I'll tail you down to the entrance anyway—just in case."
"You don't think I can protect your women?" he said huffily.
"I wouldn't be sending them off with you if I wasn't sure of that."
They stared at each other in silence a few seconds.
"Seems like we should say something here," Abe said. "'I mean, two old friends at the end of the world. One of us should be able to come up with something meaningful."
"You're the guy with all the education. You do the honors."
Abe looked down, then smiled and thrust out his hand.
"See you soon, Jack."
Jack smiled as they shook hands. That just about said it all.
"Enough of this stuff," Jack said. "Get in the driver seat and I'll say my goodbyes to the ladies."
After a big hug from Vicky, Jack held Gia in his arms.
"Be careful, Jack," she whispered in his ear. "And thanks."
"For what?"
"For making us get out of town. I think you were right. The city's turning ugly. But you watch out."
He grinned. "Hell, I'm uglier than any city you can name."
"I'm not talking about that. I'm talking about her."
"Oh."
He'd told Gia last night about how he was going to try to find Kolabati and get her necklaces for Glaeken. Gia knew a few things about Kolabati, but Jack had never quite got around to telling her that they'd been lovers for a brief time.
"Don't give me 'oh.' You got involved with her before and it almost killed you."
"That was my choice."
"She left you to die, Jack. This time she might finish the job."
"This time is different. I know what she is. I'll be careful. I've got a lot to come back for."
She kissed him one last time, long and deep, then she got back into the front seat of Abe's idling truck. Jack hurried back to his Corvair. He followed Abe over to West End and followed that downtown.
Along the way, the lights were against them. They'd gone out of synch for some reason and Abe stopped at every red. Jack knew why. He probably had enough weaponry in the back to overthrow a banana republic. He didn't want to get stopped and searched.
It happened at about where West End starts calling itself Eleventh Avenue. As Abe pulled to a stop at yet another red light, three guys leapt from a doorway and charged the truck, two running around to the driver side, one leaping up and reaching in the passenger window.
One of the guys on the left had a big hunting knife and the other had a lead pipe. As Abe tried to pull away the second guy began beating on Abe's window. Jack was already accelerating when the glass shattered and the guy started swinging the pipe at Abe.
The guy with the knife spotted Jack coming. He leapt out of the way as Jack sideswiped the truck, catching the pipe swinger hard in the backs of both calves. As he was spun and twisted between the two vehicles and tumbled to the pavement, screaming with the agony of two broken legs, Jack swerved at the guy with the knife and caught him head on with the Corvair's nose. But the car wasn't moving fast enough then to knock him sprawling. Instead he rolled up and over the hood and windshield and landed on the canvas top. He had to be hurt but he wasn't out of action yet. He rammed his knife through one of the slits and stabbed blindly at Jack. Jack ducked and grabbed the swinging wrist. He wrenched the knife free, and paused, wondering what to do. Then he heard Vicky scream.