"What's past is past..."
He wanted to shake her. "No, Lil. Someone powerful has pulled that detail up to an accessible level of your file, probably to discredit you, certainly to affect your future."
Fear flashed in her eyes. "I don't believe you. I was promised—"
"Then someone lied, or changed their mind." He leaned closer. "What I need to know, Lil, is where is the child?"
She paled. He could see as much even in the darkness. "Dead," she whispered.
"That can't be true."
She started to argue but Montgomery shook his head. "No, Lil. The truth."
She swallowed and looked away, stepping away from him in her consternation. She was as upset as he had ever seen her, although she fought to pretend otherwise. "Hidden," she said so quietly that he barely heard the word.
Montgomery's heart clenched. There was a child and the Devil himself was seeking her. He didn't doubt that there would be others. "No one is ever really hidden in the Republic, Lil," he said gently. "You know better than that."
"Gid took care of it!" she said, then clapped a hand over her mouth. He saw dismay in her eyes.
"That's what you owed him," he guessed and she turned her back on him.
"I married Gid because he said he loved me," she said, her words tight. "And he proved it."
Montgomery knew he didn't imagine that she was shaking. She took a deep breath, pivoted, and met his gaze with the old fire back in her eyes. "I don't know where she is," she said with such bravado that it had to be a lie. "And I won't begin to speculate, for anybody. I don't care what price I pay. She's safe, Gid ensured that, and I won't be the one to put her in jeopardy."
What did it take to earn Lilia's loyalty? She would protect that secret until her death; he could see it in every line of her body. Montgomery was impressed by Lilia's fierce devotion to those she loved.
He was shocked by how much he wanted to be in their company.
He wasn't going to get there by pushing for the surrender of her secrets.
Instead, he tried to coax her smile. He folded his arms across his chest and regarded her, letting his own lips curve in a smile. "I'm going to add a notation to your file, Lil."
She responded to his attempt to make peace immediately by giving him a smile of her own. "Do I get to know what it is?"
"I'm thinking that you should never be considered for police work."
"Now there's a way to break my heart."
"You left the door ajar and unlocked," he chided gently. "Anyone coming along the hall would have seen that and known that someone was in these offices." He tapped a ringer on the tip of her nose. "You put yourself in danger too easily."
She eyed him, looking strong, sexy, and skeptical. "Who cares?" she demanded softly.
"I do."
He saw a glimmer in her eyes, which might have been a tear, but she brushed it away. "And there are so many people strolling along the hall outside the offices of Breisach and Turner in the middle of the night." She shook her head as their palms chimed midnight in quiet unison. "Montgomery, I'm thinking this isn't much of a risk."
They both straightened at the sound of footsteps in the outer corridor.
"You're right," Montgomery muttered. "Your luck has bailed."
XVIII
Saturday, October 31, 2099
"Get back," Montgomery said through his teeth, then flattened Lilia into the wall when she didn't move fast enough. They were behind the door, chest to chest. The only things separating them were clothing and that file.
Even the fat file was an insignificant obstacle. Montgomery could feel Lilia's curves and smell her perfume.
One taste of Lilia Desjardins hadn't been nearly enough. He thought of Lucifer, of his own revelation, and knew what he wanted.
All he had to do was convince Lilia.
When he couldn't make her any promises about the future. He had to finish this quest to protect her and her child, but success would mean his own return to the heavens.
And Lilia again would be alone.
So would he. It wasn't an enticing prospect.
The outer door to the offices opened, creaking slightly on its hinges, then closed again. Broken glass crunched under a boot.
Montgomery slid his hand down Lilia's side, searching for her laze. He would have preferred to not fire his own weapon again, especially on a secured investigation site where he shouldn't have been. The smooth fabric of her evening suit invited more exploration than would have been smart.
The woman had a talent for distracting him. Montgomery resolved to make love to her more slowly the next time.
More thoroughly.
He couldn't find her laze and she shook her head minutely, as if guessing what he sought. He couldn't imagine that she'd left it behind voluntarily but the story would have to wait.
Because Montgomery smelled gasoline.
Gasoline? The scent was only vaguely familiar and he was momentarily uncertain of his conclusion.
The intruder stepped into the office where they were hidden. The file drawers clicked in succession and Montgomery feared that the visitor would notice that one file was missing.
But the drawers were being opened too quickly, and the smell of fuel was getting stronger. Montgomery peered around the door. A man in a pseudoskin was dumping the contents of a large gas can across the tops of the filing cabinets. The drawers had each been left open and a bit of liquid splashed inside. A veritable fortune was being poured into the files, which were worth a fortune in their own right.
Then he understood. Paper, which had the advantage of holding data outside of the Republic databanks, had the disadvantage of being flammable.
What if Lilia hadn't claimed the right file?
He couldn't take the chance.
Montgomery stepped out of the shadows, his laze aimed at the intruder's heart. "Freeze!"
Lilia snagged Montgomery's flashlight and shone it on the intruder. He was wearing a pseudoskin and a closed helm, and was just another anonymous man in black.
The intruder froze. Could he have been surprised by their presence? He must have seen the broken glass in the outer door, but then maybe he hadn't been able to see that well with the tinted visor of his helm down.
He lifted one hand and moved to put the gas can down before raising the other. There was something in his upheld hand, though, something small that he held between finger and thumb.
Montgomery couldn't see it clearly, but didn't trust him one bit. He took a step forward, keeping his laze trained on the man's chest. "Put the can down slowly."
The intruder lowered the can toward the floor.
Suddenly his upraised hand moved, and he struck something against his belt. He had been holding a match and with the strike, it flared to life. In the same instant, he flung the gas can at Montgomery.
Montgomery ducked and the can clattered against the wall behind him. Too late. The intruder threw the lit match into the closest filing drawer and turned to run. The flames leapt up with surprising speed, hungrily devouring the gasoline. They jumped to the next drawer almost immediately.
Montgomery aimed his laze at the fleeing arsonist.
"You'll spread the fire!" Lilia shouted, in the same moment that Montgomery realized the same thing.
He swore and gave chase. The intruder was already in the outside office, running for freedom. He kicked a trash can behind himself in the corridor. Montgomery was close behind him, shouting for him to freeze and halt, which had no discernible effect.
Too bad he wanted this guy alive.
The intruder jumped over the bannister in the stairwell. Montgomery raised his laze, thinking he might be able to injure him, but there was no clear shot before his silhouette disappeared into darkness.
The door to the street slammed in the foyer down below.
"Someone will see him," Montgomery said, putting his laze away with dissatisfaction and not really believing as much.
Lilia came to a skidding halt behind him, armed
with his flashlight and that fat file. "No, someone will hear him and by the time they look out the window, they'll see us."
She was right.
It would be stupid to exit the building on the street level.
It would be equally stupid to remain in the building. There was a lot of smoke spreading into the hallway and absolutely no chance of returning to the offices of Breisach and Turner. The fire alarm began to ring and it would only be moments before the emergency crews arrived.
Lilia wasn't any happier than Montgomery. "You could have just fried him, you know, and saved us a whole bunch of trouble."
Montgomery slanted a look at her, then started down the steps. "Remind me to make that note on your file. You would make a lousy cop."
"Well, forgive me for having doubts about your policing capabilities right now," she said, trotting right behind him. "I thought it wasn't about what you were packing, but about how fast you were. What were you waiting for, Montgomery? An invitation with a bitmapped target display?"
"I couldn't get a clear shot." He was talking through his teeth, and if Lilia had been smart, she'd have let it go.
He knew better than to expect that.
"I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but the building is on fire and that gasoline is a good guarantee that the whole thing will go. I wouldn't have let a little potential damage to the common areas stop me."
"Then maybe it's a good thing you didn't have your laze. Where is it anyway?"
"The hotel security staff confiscated it." Now she was growling. "Theoretically, they'll return it when I check out."
Montgomery didn't ask what would happen if they didn't. He could imagine. "It wasn't potential damage to the building that stopped me," he said instead. "He's more useful alive than dead."
"What? So he can hunt us down and kill us?"
"Leave it, Lil." He marched down the stairs.
She darted after him, waving his flashlight. "Tell me, who would know if you broke the law? You said that your monitor was fried. I can be bought, if you're worried about me testifying against you."
He paused to confront her. "Do you really think they don't take a burn print from every police laze as soon as it's issued?"
That set Lilia aback. "I'm not used to considering the Republic to have a lot of foresight."
"You should get over that. The stupidest thing you can do is underestimate your opponent."
"So now I'm up against the Republic?"
"Weren't you always?" He sighed, not really expecting, or needing, an answer to that. "Haven't you heard that dead men tell no tales, Lil? This guy knows something and seeing how everyone else has ended up dead, I thought a live informant would be a nice change."
"Are you being sarcastic, Montgomery?"
"You figure it out."
She trotted after him and he could practically hear her thinking. "They'd never get a laze print from a burned building."
"Don't be so quick to assume that the whole building will go. There are always bits and pieces left."
"And that would be the piece they found? Come on, Montgomery, you've got to be luckier than that."
Montgomery wasn't ready to count on it.
Sirens blared in the distance, drawing closer with every heartbeat, and Montgomery spared her a look. "Would getting caught at the scene of an arson be a sign of good luck?" She opened her mouth to argue with him and Montgomery had had enough. "Move it, Lil. We're not going to be here to welcome the fire department."
"Not even as the official voice of law enforcement in the community and witnesses of an offense made against property?"
Instead of replying, Montgomery seized her hand and dragged her down the stairs into the netherzones. Montgomery didn't doubt that she'd interrogate him as soon as they were away from the scene. He had a few questions of his own but needed to find a more private place to talk.
He was so irritated with Lilia and himself that Montgomery made a classic mistake.
He let his guard down too soon.
They entered the deep netherzones beneath the office building when Montgomery realized his error.
He heard a sound behind him.
A footstep. Montgomery spun and saw the silhouette of a man taking aim at Lilia. He understood immediately that the arsonist had only slammed the door to the street, and had kept running down the stairs. Then he saw the laze fire.
Montgomery leapt toward Lilia, flinging her behind him and putting himself in the line of fire. He pinched off a shot himself, but it was too late.
Searing heat dinged his right shoulder, making his shot go wide of the mark. The hit made him spin, even as he heard Lilia shout his name. He heard the arsonist running, out of the light and into the protective darkness, and swore under his breath.
"Get down!" he roared at Lilia, hoping that for once she did what she was told. He fired after his attacker, shooting blind into the netherzones.
The second shot seemed to come out of nowhere. It grazed across the back of his shoulders, leaving a burning trail. Montgomery fell heavily to one knee, like a drunk fighting to remain on his feet. The third shot grazed his temple and he fell to the ground, dazed.
He felt the slick heat of his own blood. The concrete floor of the netherzone was cold under his cheek, a welcome respite from the damage done by the laze. He felt his grip slacken on his own weapon and felt the darkness close around him.
Lil snatched his laze from his fingers. He heard her swear and saw the flutter of paperwork falling all around him. She fired four shots into the distance and he wondered idly whether she'd hit anything.
It was hard to care.
The drifting documents reminded him of feathers. The pain reminded him of his choice to volunteer.
He was back in that warehouse again, his world ending all over again. He was going to die while he was earth-bound, losing everything over a stupid mistake.
He'd find out what had really happened to Rachel because he would share her fate.
"The bastard got away," Lilia said with frustration.
Again. She expected Montgomery to add the correction but he didn't.
She lowered Montgomery's laze. "I could have nailed him if I'd had my own weapon," she complained to the prone cop. "How do you deal with this antique? The repeat is terrible."
Montgomery still didn't answer. He looked like a felled giant, stretched large and dark across the concrete floor.
Lilia bent down beside him, fear filling her heart. "The confiscation of private property by zealous hotel personnel has to be against some law somewhere. Doesn't it?"
She considered the scattered papers from the file that she had stolen from Breisach and Turner's offices and didn't think she should argue about stolen property anymore.
Montgomery wasn't just silent, but far too still.
Lilia had a bad feeling. His cloak had been shot right from his back and had swung over one shoulder to splay across the floor. His jacket and shirt were sheared from his skin. There was blood coming from his right shoulder and his back, as well as a nasty welt on his left temple. The sight of a dark puddle spreading steadily across the concrete made her bile rise.
Montgomery couldn't be dead, not when she was starting to count on him.
Not when she was starting to unravel his inconsistencies.
Not when she hadn't had nearly enough of him.
Worse, he had taken a hit that had been meant for her. It couldn't kill him: that wouldn't be right. She owed him and she wouldn't have a chance to even the score if he died.
But Lilia knew the world didn't always play by her rules.
Montgomery was bleeding copiously and he had lost consciousness. He was still breathing. She could feel his pulse when she put her fingertips to his throat but it wasn't as strong as she would have preferred.
Lilia wished she had paid more attention in Emergency First Aid. This was one thing she couldn't solve by herself.
Fortunately, there were paramedics close at hand. She heard them arr
ive overhead and wished she could know for sure whether the arsonist had really fled this time.
Or whether he was lurking in the shadows, waiting for a chance to finish Montgomery off. The netherzones were dark but not quiet, and once again Lilia had the sense that she was being watched. She shivered as that silvery fog began to roll toward her again. She certainly wouldn't have wanted to be abandoned in this place.
She couldn't just leave Montgomery unguarded while she got help. Leaving him vulnerable would be a lousy reward for his taking a hit for her.
Bad karma too.
Could she drag him up those metal stairs?
There was only one way to find out. Lilia bent and grabbed Montgomery's elbows. If she could get him into the light, she could still keep an eye on him as she ran upstairs for help.
The man was like a dead weight, even without a pseu-doskin. Lilia managed to pull him a short distance with a large effort, then paused to catch her breath.
She realized she might not be helping him by revealing his presence to the paramedics. He was off-duty and had entered a crime scene, without a warrant. He was already in trouble about his ear stud. She wondered whether he could lose his job over this.
But his life was more important than his job. She'd fix him up with Joachim, if necessary, get him a job as a security guy at the circus.
Lilia liked the sound of that. She bent and hauled Montgomery toward the bottom of the stairs. She gave him one last tug into the pool of light, then shoved her hand through her hair.
The light played over his head and shoulders, painting his fallen figure in shades of yellow. She could see the damage from the laze on his back more clearly and the raw flesh made her wince in sympathy.
She could also see his scars.
Lilia blinked and looked again.
They were precisely the same as those of the shade receptionist. Lilia stood and gaped, knowing that she was wasting precious time and unable to move just the same.
It was all making sense.
The angels knew Montgomery because he had once been one of them. He knew about the warehouse and the ritual there because he had participated in it. He knew how Raphael would adapt because he had done it himself.
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