Clary nodded as we entered the marbled lobby, the black stone flecked with white that didn’t even show in the dim light. All the recessed lighting had dimmed for the night and Clary made his way toward the stairs, evading the beams shining down from overhead as though he were trying to stay to the shadows.
“I want a full debriefing when you’re done seeing to them,” Ariadne said. “The Director will want to be informed.”
“I’ll be there once I finish dropping them off,” I told her. “Give me about ten minutes?”
She nodded and disappeared toward the elevator banks while we filed down a long, narrow hallway.
“Good to see you,” I said to Zack, and got a tight smile in return. “How was your day?”
“Not as exciting as yours, I’m guessing,” he said with aplomb, repositioning Kat in his arms. “What happened on your mission?” There was a clatter as Perugini rolled the gurney down the hall ahead of us, hitting the small grooves where the tile separated from the carpeted areas.
“We destroyed the Omega safe house.”
“Uh…weren’t you supposed to surveil it?” Zack asked, his face contorting as though he were trying to find a diplomatic way to ask the question that was on his mind.
“Clary,” I said simply as we walked through the doors of the medical unit. I set Scott on a bed, being as careful with him as possible. “He decided to walk up and knock on the door.”
“And then what happened?” Zack asked, laying Kat on the next bed over from Scott.
“Then Clary go boom,” I said, brushing Scott’s curly locks off his forehead. There were some scabbed-over cuts still there. “Our prisoner answered the door by blasting it off its hinges. He’s quite strong, that one.”
“What is he?” Zack asked, lifting the rail on the edge of Kat’s bed into the locked position to keep her from rolling out.
“Clary? An idiot.” I lifted the rail on Scott’s bed and started to adjust it to sit him up at a forty-five degree angle. “As for the meta we picked up at the Omega safe house, I have no idea what type. He didn’t really show any other abilities that I noticed other than an uncanny knack for destroying everything around him.” I frowned. “Is there a nuclear bomb type?”
“Yeah. Aleksandr Gavrikov,” Zack said with amusement. “No fire, though, right?”
“No fire,” I said, as he made his way around the bed and over to me. “Just a lot of property damage that resulted in a house caving in.”
Zack brushed his fingers over my forehead. “Did you get hurt?”
“Not bad,” I said, and ran my fingers through my hair. They came back coated in white dust, and I coughed involuntarily. “I did inhale a few rooms worth of plaster, though, so if I spit out a whole wall later tonight, you’ll know why.”
“I can’t believe Ariadne sent Clary with you,” Zack said, stroking my hair, brushing the dust out of it. “Everyone knows that guy is an idiot.”
“A useful idiot at times, though,” I said.
“You’re not mad at him?” Zack looked inquiring.
“Oh, I’m super pissed,” I said. “I’m thinking about killing him, actually, and I don’t tend to think about that, ever.” Zack raised an eyebrow. “Not seriously,” I added. “But it would be satisfying to smack him around for a while.” I nodded. “And I did, actually. I think we understand each other now.”
Zack looked at me, wide eyed. “You…smacked Clary around? Like, really did?”
“Yeah. Like, I really did. And we’re good now.”
“And he didn’t…splatter you all over a wall?”
I slapped his shoulder lightly. “He’s scared of me. We’re good.”
Zack thought about it for a moment and gave a slight shrug. “I don’t blame him.”
“Would you two please take your pitiful necking activities out of my medical unit?” Dr. Perugini bustled over. “There are sick people here, and if I have to listen to any more of your banter, I will be one of them.”
“You’ve got a great bedside manner, Doc,” I said with a smile. “Did you learn that when you worked for La Cosa Nostra?”
“Oh, you are thinking you are funny!” She jabbed a finger at me as she prodded at Scott with her stethoscope. “But let me tell you something, the disasters you bring me are not funny, they are sad.”
“Will everyone be all right?” I asked.
“Does it look like I have examined everyone yet?” She wagged her finger at me again. “Your brother is fine. Cosmetic damage will heal in the next day or so, but he doesn’t look so pretty until then.” She looked down at Scott. “What happened to this one?”
“Internal and external bleeding,” I said. “Will he be all right?”
“Away from me,” she said, waving me off. “Go to the corner, neck for a few minutes, then come back when I am done.”
“How about your office?” I asked. “We could—”
“Away!” She flailed an arm at me.
“She seems more uptight than usual,” Zack said as we made our way over to Reed’s bed. “Seriously, though, physical stuff aside, how are you holding up?”
“I’ll be all right once I get a shower and…” I let my voice trail off as I pulled my jacket off. It was ruined, the black leather torn in several places. “Bleh. I should have known better than to wear something I actually liked on a mission.”
“Your gun,” Zack said and pointed.
I looked down to where he had pointed, to the holster under my arm, and I pulled out my pistol. The barrel was bent at a ten-degree angle, either from one of the times I was hit or one of my landings. “Damn. I liked this one, too.”
“You didn’t use it?” Zack asked.
I looked at the black finish. “No. I didn’t even draw it. Guess I was too focused on subduing the prisoner.”
Zack raised an eyebrow. “People tend to get pretty subdued when you put a few bullets in them, especially if they’re a meta and can heal from that sort of thing.”
I slid the wrecked gun back in the holster. “They also tend to die sometimes, in case you don’t remember that certain girl—”
“Andromeda?” Zack’s mood shifted. “Kinda hard to forget.”
“Yeah.” I tried to think of something happier. “Oh. I saw Dr. Sessions earlier today. He’s discovered something…interesting.”
“Oh?” Zack’s face locked into a grimace. “What’s that? A new way for you to kill people?”
“Ah, no. The opposite, actually.” I smiled at him. “He can manufacture a suit for you that will allow you to touch my skin.”
“A suit?” A raised eyebrow again. “Like with a tie?” He tugged at the bottom edge of his coat.
“No, like…” I eased closer to him, and stopped when I realized I was covered in dust. “Like a plastic one that adheres to your body. Like…skintight.”
He frowned, his brow crumpling. “Like spandex? So I can dress like a superhero?”
“No,” I said. “Like…skintight thin latex. So you can…touch me.”
There was a moment’s quite pause, the only sound coming from the beeping of Reed’s pulse-oxygen monitor. “I can already do that,” Zack said, breaking into a smile. “In dreams.”
“Yeah,” I said, “but this way you could touch me in real life. And in every way .” I raised my eyebrows at him, trying to be suggestive.
“You mean like…” He froze, as if it was almost computing, then his eyes got wide. “Oh. Skin tight, totally skin tight, and form fitting.” He looked pensive. “How do I get into something like that?”
I thought about it for a beat. “I don’t know, maybe it comes in pieces? Or maybe it’s like a jumpsuit with a zipper on the back. I don’t really know and I don’t care that much, either, as long as it works. It means we could actually…” I awkwardly started to place a dirty glove on his shoulder and then stopped myself. “Sleep together.”