Desolate Mantle

by L. K. Hill

  He searched her face, his unreadable. “You think Manny’s in danger of dying?”

  She sighed. She hadn’t meant to tell him that. “Maybe,” she muttered.

  “Did he look that bad when your friend Ted saw him?”

  “No. Ted said he looked fine. Obviously still using, but not particularly close to death.”

  She paused, and he gave her an annoyed look. “You wanna explain?”

  Rebellion flared, but something told her she’d end up telling him one way or another. “It’s just a feeling. Nothing logical. I feel like if I don’t find Manny soon, I never will. The drugs will claim him, or some other danger in this city. I have to find my brother. I have to find him now.” A tear she hadn’t realized was pooling bubbled over her lid and slid down her cheek. She wiped it away quickly. “There’s an urgency I can’t explain.”

  Gabe moved around the couch to stand beside her. He probably wanted her to turn and face him. She didn’t, keeping her hands firmly on the back of his couch so he had to look down from beside her. “Then stop beating yourself up about this,” he said firmly. “The weight you’re trying to shoulder is heavy enough already. Don’t take on this kind of guilt.” He lowered his voice. “It will crush you.”

  She studied her hands. “I do know something about being crushed,” she murmured.

  “I can see that.”

  She raised her eyes to find genuine empathy in his face. She looked away and cleared her throat. “What else do you need to know?” She rubbed her face dry. “That’s all I wanted to tell you, but if you need more detail…”

  “Actually,” Gabe turned to lean back against the couch, though he kept his eyes on her. “My boss has been on me about finding you. You’ve given us such good information in the past, he wants me to take you on as a CI.”

  Kyra immediately balked. She didn’t know much about CI work in real life, but on TV, confidential informants had a way of ending up dead.

  Gabe put his hands up. “Consider it, Tan—Kyra. It would be a good thing. If you see a problem, a crime, anything, you could call and tell me and we’ll take care of it. Besides, given what you’re doing here,” he shook his head disbelievingly and she briefly considered slapping him. She could only take so much of people not believing she could take care of herself. “You need someone to back you up,” he continued. He leaned down so his face was inches from hers and lowered his voice. “I could help you.”

  Uncomfortable with how close he’d gotten, Kyra took a step back, turning to copy his stance, leaning against the back of the couch. His eyes followed her. “It’s not that I don’t appreciate the offer, Detective,” she said, and he immediately straightened, looking annoyed, “but I don’t see how it could work. If every time I get into trouble, a bunch of cops show up to help, that will blow my cover faster than…well, just about anything else.”

  “It doesn’t have to be like that. We know how to be discreet, Kyra. It doesn’t have to be the entire department storming in with sirens blazing.”

  “What then?” she asked.

  He shrugged. “Whatever you need, in exchange for information. If you get into trouble, call me. I can come pick you up in an unmarked car. No one has to know. No one has to see.”

  Kyra shrugged uncomfortably. Though she doubted he meant anything by it, the last sentence had sounded intimate. She studied the dark, shag carpet that covered his living room, thinking. It certainly wasn’t a bad idea. It was exactly what she’d always wanted to avoid: relying on anyone other than herself. “I just…feel like this is something I ought to do on my own,” she murmured, not sure if it was meant for him, or for herself.

  “As penance?” His tone made no secret of how ridiculous he thought the notion was.

  Anger rose in her chest and she glared up at him. “Yes.”

  “Okay,” he stepped in front of her, looking down into her face again. This time, sandwiched between him and the couch, she had nowhere to go. “But have you considered that it might be arrogance on your part? If you want to save your brother, you may need help, Kyra. Do it for him, if not for yourself.”

  She looked away. She wasn’t about to agree with him on this point, but he didn’t leave much room for denial. Or for her to move. Her mind wandered, unbidden, to the night she’d shot Norse, when she’d kissed Gabe in the shadows of the Mire before running away from him.

  Gabe straightened, taking in a deep breath. Glancing down at the non-existent space between them, he took a step back. A small one. “Look, let us start a file on you as a CI. And not just for the department’s benefit. It would protect you as well.”

  “That will not protect me.” It came out more harshly than she’d meant it to and he arched an eyebrow. She moderated her tone and, she hoped, her look. “It’s quite the opposite, Detective. If anyone in the gang finds out I’m informing for you, I’d disappear. You’d just never hear from me again. No one would.”

  The lines of Gabe’s face tightened when she said it, but he didn’t contradict her. Then something else occurred to her.

  “Did you ever figure out why the message about the Carlotta’s daughter didn’t make it to Shaun before?”

  Gabe frowned. “Shaun thinks it just got lost in the shuffle. It’s unfortunate, but it happens sometimes. And things on that crime scene were chaotic. As far from ideal as you can get.”

  Kyra shook her head. “I mean no disrespect to Abstreuse’s finest, Gabe. I have a high respect for them. Truly I do. But I’m not convinced of that. I think there’s a leak in your department somewhere. Someone should have known about that little girl, miscommunication or no.” He opened his mouth angrily, but she hurried on before he could yell at her. “And speaking of the department, I think I should reiterate that I’m trying to get a job working for the Sons of Ares. Not all of my activities will be, strictly speaking, legal. Isn’t that a problem?”

  “Do you really think all the activities of our undercovers are legal?” Gabe asked, then folded his arms, obviously thinking. At least they’d moved away from the idea of dirty cops in his department. “Let’s say that, in the course of searching for your brother, you are picked up for running drugs. Knowing who you are doesn’t allow us to negate the legal consequences of being charged with possession. On the other hand, if we have a file on you saying you are, in some capacity or another, working for us, we can extend you legal protection. Being arrested could take you off the street and away from your search, right?”

  Kyra reluctantly considered. It was the first truly valid point he’d given her. In coming to Abstreuse, arrest was something she knew she might have to deal with eventually. She couldn’t really take precautions for it. She just told herself she couldn’t get caught. Ever. But inevitably she would. She’d be doing illegal things, after all. Help in that arena would be worth having. So she didn’t get sidetracked. “Even if that happened, you couldn’t act like you know me in front of anyone who’s brought in with me. It would blow my cover.”

  “We’ll be circumspect,” Gabe said quietly. “You would be treated like a suspect until we could separate you from your comrades. Now, I can’t promise I’ll never tell others in my department who you are. My boss will definitely have to be in the loop, as he’ll be signing off on you as my CI and keeping the file. For everyone else, it’ll be strictly need to know.”

  Kyra sighed, rubbing her forehead with her fingers, undecided. Should she take their offer? Of course she should. Did she want to? Yes. The idea of having someone to call for help was definitely comforting. Even after so short an acquaintance, she already trusted Gabe.

  “Kyra,” Gabe said her name softly and put a hand on her shoulder. As a cop, Gabe was trained to get people to talk to him. Kyra knew all about such antics. They were how she got the people of Slip Mire to talk to her. It was hard to lie to someone who was touching you. Understanding such manipulations didn’t nullify their effect on her, though. As soon as Gabe touched her, she raised her eyes to his and turned her body more fully toward
him. “What can I do to convince you?” Gabe asked. “Under what circumstances would you feel comfortable doing this?”

  She took a deep breath, truly considering it for the first time. “I have two cell phones. One is Supra’s. It has all her contacts and information in it. I take that one into the Mire with me. The other is mine. My contacts, including my family, are in it, and it stays in my hotel room. I’ll give you that number, but I won’t give you Supra’s.” Gabe opened his mouth to protest and she held her hands up. “You asked for my conditions, Detective. There’s too much risk of you calling me on that phone, and the gang would kill me if any call traced back to the desk of a cop. They do check the cells phones of their employees.”

  Gabe’s mouth settled into a stony line. He gave a nod. “So how will it work?”

  “You can call my other cell phone. It may take me anywhere from an hour to a day to get back to you. Even if I can’t get back to my hotel for a few days, I can dial in and get my messages. Otherwise, my family gets worried.”

  “Won’t that show up on Supra’s phone as well?” Gabe asked.

  “Yes, but I have it rigged. It traces back to an anonymous server. They’ll think it’s a website I order from. If anyone asks, I have a story that will pan out. If you want me to do this, this is how it has to be.”

  “What about you contacting us?” Gabe asked. “I’m assuming you won’t want to call me from Supra’s phone any more than you want me to call you on it?”

  “Chances are I won’t.” Kyra said. “I mean, I could, but only in the last extreme to save my own life. If it’s not urgent, I can just go back to my hotel—which is what I’d prefer. That way I can be sure no one will sneak up on me and hear our conversation. Believe it or not, there are actually still several working pay phones in the Slip Mire. I could use one of those if necessary.”

  Gabe folded his thick arms over his chest and stared straight ahead, into his kitchen. Her conditions obviously weren’t optimal for him, but he was considering it.

  “We’ll have to hammer out the details,” he finally said. “Go over some protocols, but it sounds doable to me. I will insist on having the name and room number of your hotel. Are you comfortable with that?”

  Kyra shrugged. “I am. Why do you need it?”

  “As a show of good faith, for one. So we have multiple ways of contacting you, if need be, for another. Things happen to cell phones sometimes. If, God forbid, you ever go missing, we’ll have a place to start. Agreed?”

  She started to nod, then realized this was an answer to the entire proposal. She took a deep breath, hoping this wasn’t a massive mistake. “Okay. Yes, I’ll do it.”

  Gabe let out a relieved breath and gave her a weak smile. “Good. Now, I’m going to call my boss, Shaun. Will you stay and speak with him?”

  Kyra instantly shook her head. “Not tonight.”

  Gabe’s head swung toward her in annoyance, and she couldn’t keep the defensiveness from her voice. “I’m not opposed to meeting him, but I have something else I want to check on before sunrise.”

  “Weren’t you going to stay until sunrise to talk to me anyway?”

  Kyra did her best not to roll her eyes. “Yes, but I don’t want to be seen around here in daylight. I figured we’d talk and then I’d crash on your couch until dark tomorrow night. Now that we’ve already talked, I want to be long gone before it gets light.”

  He paused for several seconds before nodding. “Okay. You need a ride somewhere?”

  She shook her head again. “Better if I just disappear. In fact, do you mind if I use the back door?”

  He gazed at her for so long, she fought not to squirm. Was he going to answer?

  “What?” she blurted before she could stop herself. Yeah, good job being aloof, Kyra.

  He shook his head. “Nothing,” he said quietly.

  Not knowing what else to say, Krya turned to go.

  “Wait.” Gabe grabbed her upper arm to keep her from leaving. He wasn’t at all rough—quite the opposite—but pain lanced up her arm all the way to her jaw. She gasped.

  Gabe, eyes shooting open wide, immediately put his hands up. “What? I’m sorry. What?”

  Nothing she gasped, trying to blink the water out of her eyes. “Just a bruise.”

  “Just a…” he trailed off and looked at her arm, covered by her dark hoodie. “Let me see.”

  She would have protested except that she hadn’t caught her breath yet. He pushed up her sleeve to look at the bruise on her upper arm, which she knew was still looked as bad as it felt.

  She gazed at the bruise a moment before shifting his eyes up to her. She felt…exposed.

  “What happened?” he asked quietly.

  “It’s from the other night. I had an…encounter with a Prowler.”

  Gabe’s eyes widened in alarm. “The Scavengers? They’re dangerous, Kyra.”

  She glared at him. “You don’t say.”

  He let out his breath and hung his head, obviously freaking out on the inside.

  “Hey,” Kyra used a finger to lift his chin so she could look into his face. “I’m fine. I was so desperate to find that girl before anything happened to her, I was distracted. Stupid. Went where I shouldn’t have. It won’t happen again.” She looked at her bruised arm with chagrin. I fell and this spot took the brunt of it.” When he kept his eyes locked on hers from inches away, she shrugged uncomfortably. “It…didn’t tickle.” She wasn’t about to tell him the full extent of the encounter. Or about Nickel.

  “Did you see a doctor?”

  “It’s just a bruise, Gabe.”

  “Just a bruise? This happened when? It’s still black in the center.”

  “If I go to a doctor, do you know what they’ll do? They’ll give me aspirin and tell me to sleep it off. There’s nothing to do but wait for it to heal.” She pulled her arm from his grasp and rolled down the sleeve. “It doesn’t even hurt, so long as no one touches it.” That wasn’t exactly true. It throbbed most of the time, and was swollen enough that the heat coming off it could be felt from inches away. No doubt he’d felt it.

  Gabe’s expression said he didn’t believe her.

  “I have to go, Detective,” she said quietly.

  Heaving a deep sigh, he crossed the room and rummaged in a drawer, finally pulling out a piece of paper. “Write down your contact information. The real stuff this time. I’ll be starting that file first thing tomorrow.”

  She took the pen he offered, pressed the paper against the wall, and wrote down her phone number and hotel information. When she turned, she found him watching her again. She thrust the paper and pen toward him, her hand trembling ever so slightly, though she didn’t think he noticed. He was gazing too steadily into her face.

  When he took the paper from her, his hand brushed hers. “I’ll be in touch.”

  Feeling like running almost as much as the night she’d heard the disembodied male voice, she gathered up her duffel bag.

  As she reached for the back door’s knob, his voice stopped her.

  “Kyra.”

  She turned.

  He stood at the other end of the hallway, looking at her. After a moment, he dropped his head down and to the side, then strode toward her, not stopping until he stood directly in front of her and keeping his eyes on her the entire way.

  “I want you to understand something,” he said quietly. “What you’re doing, it’s heroic. But it also makes you…unique.”

  Kyra frowned. “Okay.”

  “What I mean is,” he ran a hand through his dark hair, studying the wall on her left, as though what he wanted to say was written there. Finally, he looked down at her again. “You’re unique among the Mirelings anyway. Because you aren’t on drugs. Because you have clarity of thought. Because when you look at someone, you have a direct, unflinching gaze.”

  Kyra shrugged, once again uncomfortable with how close he was. “I make a point of not looking most people in the eye out there.”

  He nodded
. “That’s good. Just be aware that your uniqueness will draw people to you like sharks to blood. It’ll draw their eyes. It’ll draw their attention. And the people who live in the Mire, you don’t want their attention. Even the ones who don’t mean you harm could bring it unintentionally.” He sighed again, still looking mildly frustrated. “I…just want you to be safe out there.”

  She gave him a small smile. “I know. And I will be.” She leaned forward and went up on her toes to kiss him on the cheek. She’d meant for it to only be a quick peck. For reasons she couldn’t have explained to herself, she let it linger. When she lowered her heels again, his face was so close, she could feel his breath coming through her eyelashes. “Thank you,” she whispered. Then turned and ducked through the back door.

  Her last thought as he watched her leave was that everything would change, now. But would the change help her find Manny, or hinder her?

  Chapter 10

  “Here we go,” Tyke said from the other side of the van. “I think this is our guy.”

  Gabe sat up straighter, hoping Tyke was right. This little sting operation had already taken far longer than planned. Never a good sign. He hunched in the back of an ancient black van that, from the outside, looked like it would have a hard time running at all. The inside had been gutted. Blanket-draped crates lined one side, upon which Gabe sat. In front of him were several open suitcases holding computers and equipment, and a tech named Jones that Gabe hadn’t met before tonight.

  Tyke crouched in what had once been the front seat. Night vision binoculars pressed to his eyes, he gazed at the rendezvous spot and reported what he saw.

  “He’s approaching her,” Tyke said. “Everyone get ready.”

  Gabe leaned forward, one hand pressing his phone to his ear, the other on the lever that would open the van’s back door. Cora and a handful of unies were concealed in a warehouse several doors down. More than just Gabe and Tyke were needed to make sure they could take down their suspect—a man named Danny Bronco—if he did indeed show up, and not all of them could be concealed in the van. Gabe was on the line with Cora, ready to give her the signal at the right moment.