Every muscle felt like it was about to tear from her. Her fingers, pressed white against the stone, were all she had left. She released one hand and lunged upward, wrapped her fingers around the god’s ankle. She found purchase, adjusted, got more of a hold. Wrapped her entire hand over the ankle.
‘Motherfucker,’ she gasped.
‘Nasira!’ Aviary called from below.
She looked down, saw Aviary looking over at the clock beside them. An unmasked Blue Beret peered out the open window. Nasira took her other hand and tried to draw the NYPD Glock. She aimed it at the Blue Beret.
The Beret scanned the viaduct below, shielded his face from the hurricane wind, and then withdrew.
Nasira placed her Glock on the ledge and brought her elbow up. Once she did that, she was able to pull her chin over the ledge and reach up to grab the god’s knee. Using his entire leg, she pulled herself up and over, back into his crotch. Aviary found purchase on his leg and was able to drag herself up.
Nasira reached under his leg, retrieved her Glock and stuffed it deep into her waistband.
Aviary was shaking. The hurricane was almost on them. They couldn’t slow now.
Nasira held her shoulders. ‘You did good!’ she shouted. ‘Nearly there. Look, the easy part!’
Aviary looked up. She wasn’t convinced.
They had to climb over the god’s shoulder and onto the other side — the rooftop.
‘OK, you first!’ Nasira said.
Aviary seemed reassured by that and crawled over Nasira, her hands clamping over the god’s stone bicep so tightly Nasira had to push her over. She made it over the other side of the arm, checked her footing behind the god, then slowly released her grip. She disappeared from view, landing on the roof of Grand Central terminal. Nasira barely heard her feet hit the ground.
There was enough room for Nasira to follow her over. She scaled the god’s shoulder relatively quickly. The roof was almost square. There was a giant rectangular gap before her, cluttered with fans and circulation units and a drop down to skylights below. There were arched windows that let light into the main concourse. Wind whipped over the roof and Nasira crouched to stop from falling over. They needed to get off the roof. Low and careful, she led a gradually panicking Aviary around the edge of the roof, past another row of skylights and circulation units.
They eventually reached the MetLife skyscraper, which was connected directly to the roof. Nasira knew this was going to be the only realistic way out, as any other way would involve a six-level drop or venturing back into Grand Central. She found an access door and started picking the lock.
‘Hurry up!’ Aviary screamed.
Nasira barely heard her over the wind. Her hands were wet and the lockpicks slippery. Her fingertips went white as she held onto them. She raked the lock a few times, hoping for an easy cylinder. But it wasn’t that easy. She risked a glance over her shoulder and saw the darkness reach Grand Central. The edge of the hurricane looked paler than the night’s sky. It whipped towards them with rivulets of orange and purple. Skylight panels shattered. A wrought-iron barrier tore free and smashed through one of the arched windows into the main concourse below.
Aviary clung to Nasira’s back. Nasira couldn’t hold onto the door: she needed both hands to pick the lock. The force of the wind kept smashing her into the door. She pressed herself against the door to keep herself steady.
A circulation unit tore free, sending fans tumbling across the roof. One of them was spinning towards Aviary. Her ears were filled with Aviary’s screaming.
The last pin seated.
Nasira opened the door, pulled Aviary inside. Away from the doorway. The fan smashed into the doorway, too wide to make it through. Bits of metal sprinkled down the stairwell. Nasira held Aviary in the corner. She could feel her heartbeat racing in time with her own. She reached over and slammed the door shut.
‘Stay close,’ Nasira said.
Aviary nodded, gulping air. She said nothing.
Nasira took her down the stairs. She needed to get them away from the terminal before planning her next move.
The MetLife lobby lacked any soldiers or operatives, and for that she was grateful. Instead, a strange glass structure loomed above them. She passed under it and exited with Aviary through a gloomy parking-lot exit, shadowed by the viaduct. The hurricane was right on them so they couldn’t stay outside long. She grabbed Aviary’s hand and they crossed the narrow road quickly, straight into a loading dock. The wind and rain tore them off course. Nasira whisked Aviary through the next building as fast as the redhead’s shaky legs would allow. She didn’t stop for a breather until they were three blocks from the terminal and Nasira had a moment to watch for any followers both on her phone and using her eyes. There were none.
She picked an office floor three levels high. There were no lights on in this building by default, but some light cast in from adjacent buildings. She told Aviary to keep away from the windows. The hurricane battered them, which Nasira hoped would deter her. The sound rippled through the empty office building. Aviary was panting, soaking wet. She didn’t have the energy to complain. She collapsed into an office chair.
‘Giving some serious thought to just napping on the floor for a bit,’ Aviary said.
Nasira left her to it and found a water cooler. She drank three cups in quick succession before returning to Aviary with two full cups. Aviary sipped it patiently, her fingers still shaking.
‘We made it,’ Nasira said.
Aviary nodded. ‘Yeah. And I almost got you killed about ten times.’
Nasira didn’t know what to say. ‘We not dead, are we?’ she said. ‘That’s what matters.’
Aviary reached for the second cup of water. ‘Yeah.’
Chapter 40
Sophia felt like she was breathing for the first time in a while. She kept her hand on the lever, guiding the train forward into darkness, just as Czarina had done when they’d first commandeered the train.
Czarina returned to the cabin. ‘Train’s clear, no one got on.’
Sophia swallowed. ‘Good.’
‘We’re heading north,’ Czarina said. ‘What’s the plan?’
‘We burn the meteorite,’ Sophia said. ‘At two thousand five hundred degrees, preferably.’
Czarina lowered her carbine. ‘How about thermite grenades? We could raid the ESU. There’s one in the East Village. Precinct 13.’
‘They won’t have any,’ Sophia said.
‘So what then, a blast furnace?’ Czarina said. ‘I don’t think there’s one of those on the island. We’d have to go upstate—’ She stopped and said, ‘Oh. That’s where you’re going.’
‘They can’t have blocked all the tunnels,’ Sophia said. ‘And they can’t all be flooded. We’ll find one. Hopefully before Denton finds us.’
The headlights dimmed, then cut out. The tunnel went dark and the train slowed. Sophia checked the lever. She was still holding it upright.
‘That’s not good,’ Sophia said.
‘Denton cut the power to the track,’ Czarina said.
‘Aviary,’ Sophia said to herself. She hoped Aviary and Nasira were alright. She trusted Nasira would keep her safe. ‘We need to get as far away from this train as possible.’
Czarina didn’t say anything further. She moved out to the first carriage, her carbine pointing to the floor.
‘I guess we’re walking,’ Czarina said.
Sophia stepped around her, moved to the nearest doors and pried them open. She still couldn’t pick up on any hostile emotions from Czarina. All she could detect was stress and an element of relief. She hoped it was for the right reasons.