Page 126 of Throwing Fire

Erin saw Payton hand Acker the eskey, so that’s no secret. When I ping it, it bounces back. Offline. That starts a second gnawing hole in my chest. Myhre’s offline, too, which confirms Payton’s accusation. Gig doesn’t pick up either, not on any of the channels we’ve established. But a few minutes after I start pinging him, his girlfriend Sylvie suddenly plexes me via theInfinity.

House taken, her message reads.

I show it to Payton. “Erin wasn’t kidding.”

“I’ve never known her to bluff,” Payton says.

Fuck.

I turn to Exeter, who’s sitting on my other side. “Can you reach Mike?”

Exeter shakes his head. “Michael took a five-man team and left atmidnight last night on an assignment he classified as code red, highest security. He’s offline until the assignment is finished.”

“That assignment might be killin’ Chiara Tyng and the rest of Kez’s family.”

“I have no doubt he’d kill the family if that was the order.” Exeter chews at his lips. “But not Chiara Tyng. He failed to protect her father and that failure eats at him every day. I’m his commanding officer. I know. I don’t know what he’s doing, but Miz Tyng’s safe, I swear to you.”

I nod tightly. Try to focus. Try not to let my fear for Kez and Acker gnaw its way through my heart and into my brain. Try not to think about Ape, Gig, Nev, Nev’s baby and the bunnies burning alive. Try not to see this as Mike’s opportunity to get revenge on me and Kez. He’s a pro. He’s Exeter’s man, and Exeter’s a pro. The Warren’s well-protected. Highly defensible. If Mike knew there was a traitor inside Tyng, if he wanted to lock down Chi somewhere safe, the Warren’s not the worst choice.

“Can you get a message to him?” I ask Exeter.

“Possibly. If he picks it up.”

“Tell him Halemano Hauser’s compromised.”

“Anything else?”

“Nope. You know your man. If you’re right, that’s all he’ll need.”

Exeter nods and works on his palmtop. “I expected you to be more of an ass about this.”

“Not going to help Kez,” I respond tightly. I want to be much, much more of an ass. But I’ve got to keep focused on doing whatever it takes to get Kez back. “Payton, anything?”

She and Mech Tyng have been multi-tasking. Coordinating with Mother Jo, Civil Patrol, and the Cloud authorities. One of the three is being helpful.

Payton shakes her head. “Civil Patrol is arguing with the Clouds about jurisdiction.”

“Mother Jo has the ship, but she won’t be able to track it beyond the Cloudline,” Mech Tyng adds.

“Anyone been able to get through to the rats?” They could be our eyes on the Clouds, but I’ve also got to tell Tiancha that Acker’s in the hands of the enemy.

“I have a line, sir,” Mech Tyng says. “It’s via Mother Jo. Seventy-five percent confidence.”

I’m liking her more and more. “Ask for Acker’s Wisdom.”

Mech Tyng’s eyes unfocus, and Tiancha’s voice comes out of her mouth. “Tiancha here.”

“Snow. This line may not be secure.”

“Understood,” she says. “No one’s listening on this end, but I can’t guarantee anything outside the Clouds.”

“Got you. There’s a Tyng ship on the way to you. Official destination’s Tiv, but we’re not sure where it will dock. Acker and Kez are on it. Same fuckers who attacked the Deeps have them. You understand me?”

There’s a moment of silence when all I can hear, all I can feel, are those twin holes gnawing, gnawing through my heart. I brought Acker into this. If Erin or B or any of their bigoted buddies kill him, it’s on me.

“Yes,” Tee says finally. “What do you want us to do?”

“You got any way of tracking Acker?”

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