Heroic Measures (continued)

He shook the water from it, immediately wishing he had not, fearing that some might leak inside and short out it components. Its lights continued to glow and he breathed a soft sigh of relief. Lifting one of the earpieces to his ear, he thought he could hear something beyond the signal hiss, but it was too faint to be intelligible.

Starting to swear under his breath, he noticed that the volume had been turned almost completely down. Awkward in his wet gloves, he managed to adjust it. Raising the headset again, he winced, nearly dropping it, as a blast of sound assaulted him. More carefully this time, he lowered the volume and placed the headset against his ear again.

“. . . regroup . . . Grid . . . nine . . .”

“. . . surrounded . . . cut off . . . air support . . .”

Walter glanced toward the sky at this. Nearly all of the bat-like aircraft had disappeared from overhead. The few he could still see all seemed to be heading in the same direction: toward the area of the city’s administrative center.

“. . . damn it, we need . . . get back . . . cover . . .”

“. . . medical . . . needed . . . Alpha Eight . . .”

Walter tried to remember if anyone he knew had been assigned to Grid Alpha Eight. No names or faces immediately came to mind and he tried to determine where it might be in relation to his current position. He considered pulling out his GPS, but felt he was already moving in generally the right direction. Unless his memory was failing him, turning right on the next cross street would send him almost directly to the city center. To get there, he would need to cross through a park and small historical cemetery. He normally skirted the latter, particularly at night.

I’ll just try not to think about it . . .

Walter felt the knot form in his stomach anyway.

He snapped the headset into place over his hood, making a slight adjustment to the fit.

Wow, he had a small head.

Walter felt a small twinge of guilt at speaking—well, thinking—ill of the dead. He also tried not to think about the fact that it had been fastened around a dead man’s head just a short time ago.

“. . . Grid Gamma . . . cover . . . pinned down by . . .”

“. . . Two . . . down . . . where the hell is . . .”

Walter broke into a run. The voices coming over the headset were sounding, even through the interference, more and more desperate. He had already found three dead heroes; he had no intention of joining their ranks alone.

#

Walter traveled three more blocks, beginning to feel significantly winded, when he heard muffled sounds past his headset. The voices coming over it were also sounding clearer, with more complete sentences being audible past the lessening interference.

“Grids Alpha Nine through Twelve regroup . . . Grid Alpha Four”

“Grid Beta Four, medical assistance on its way, but delayed.

The instructions being issued from Westin’s team at the institute sounded firm and in control. Walter felt somewhat reassured, but still wanted to know what was happening across the rest of the city. He tapped the transmitter control, sending the recognition signal.

“Fever,” a voice sounded in his ear. “We’d lost contact with you. Do you have a report?”

Walter breathed a silent sigh. Fever . . . that was Ignacio Florenza’s alternate identity. Walter remembered his passionate celebration of his cultural roots, right down to the energetic dances of his ancestral country. Rumor had it that he had never actually set foot there, but that did little to temper his enthusiasm.

“This is . . . Sapphire Knight,” Walter reported. “Fever is . . .” it took effort for Walter to finish past the solid lump in his throat, “. . . dead.”

There was a brief pause before the voice returned.

“Acknowledged,” it said. “What is your position?”

“Seventh and Juno,” Walter replied. “I . . . don’t know what Grid that is.”

There was a long delay before the voice spoke directly to him again. Walter could hear distant conversations in the background, but caught no more than a dozen disconnected words.

“Proceed along Seventh until you reach McGrath. That will bring you to Grid Beta Eight. Join the team assembling there and await instructions.”

Walter stared down the indicated street. All he saw was more darkness and rain.

“Understood.”

“Be safe, Sapphire Knight.”

“I’ll do my best,” Walter murmured, and broke once more into a trot through the puddles.