Page 80 of Skinwalker's Bane
Was it that simple? That stupid?
Haydn ducked back quickly and pressed against the wall. He put his finger to his lips.
Adam flattened himself against the wall, too and waited, his heart running hard and not just because Sauber was on the move.
The sound of soft bootsteps came closer, then Sauber himself appeared. He moved through the intersection, not looking around, his attention on where he was going. The coat he wore flapped out behind him as he moved, his long legs giving him speed.
Haydn looked at Adam with a small smile.
“Yeah, you’re right,” Adam admitted, very softly. “He didn’t even glance sideways.”
“Out in the market, though, he would have. Come on.” He eased into the corridor that Sauber had travelled, glanced in Sauber’s direction, then stepped out into the corridor and followed. Adam stayed with him.
There were five or six more intersections on the way to the open area of the Aventine, where all the markets were located. Sauber ignored them all. He didn’t look behind him, either.
Adam could hear the sound of the markets ahead. The murmur of people, the rumble of tables being moved into position, protective cloths being removed…the market was just opening.
At the very last intersection before the neat rows of apartments ended, Sauber turned to the right.
“Huh,” Haydn said. He didn’t sound upset. At the corner where Sauber had turned, he approached slowly and checked around it before stepping into it himself. Sauber was well ahead now and moving fast.
“We’ll lose him,” Adam said.
“We get too close, he’ll notice us. He’s off his usual route,” Haydn said, “which means he’ll be far more cautious now. Where is he going, I wonder?”
Sauber moved straight down the long corridor, with no more deviations. He was moving parallel to the markets, on the other side of the row of apartments. By using this corridor instead of walking through the markets, he would not be noticed.
At the end of the corridor, the dark, hulking shadows of the Sixth Wall reared up. This end of the Aventine, the apartments ran straight into the Capitol demarcation line. Most people moved between the Aventine and the Capitol via the broad, open areas between the market places.
Adam was familiar with the narrow corridor that ran along the back of the Sixth Wall, between the Wall and the hull of the ship. It was barely three meters wide. Only people who were trying to escape detection ever used it. He put his hand on Haydn’s arm. “If he swings right when he leaves the corridor, I know where he’s going.”
“Me, too,” Haydn said grimly. “We won’t be able to follow him in there. It’s too narrow. He’ll hear us.”
“We could run ahead, wait for him to emerge.”
“Ifhe emerges. What if wherever he’s going is that alley?”
“I’ll go to one end. You go to the other.” Adam patted his pocket, tapping the terminal there. “Alert me if he heads back your way. I’ll do the same when he comes out the other end.”
“Deal. Look, he’s going right,” Haydn said.
As soon as Sauber disappeared, they ran to the end of the corridor and looked around.
“Yep,” Haydn said. “I’ll bottle up this end. You head for the other.”
“I have to do all the running?” Adam complained.
“I’m older than you. Move your ass,” Haydn told him. He ran, too, heading for the narrow file behind the Sixth Wall. He moved fast enough for the older man he claimed to be.
Adam was free to move without fear of being noticed. He broke into a fast sprint, enjoying the movement, heading down the road between the Sixth and Fifth walls. He was more than halfway through before he slowed down to a more sustainable pace.
He reached the end of the wall and took up a spot next to the corner of the Wall itself and leaned against it as Haydn had done. No one took any notice of him. It was well into the morning already, so there were few people about. Most everyone in the Capitol worked. Those who chose not to, or couldn’t get work, stayed at home. They didn’t have the credits to spend in the markets, which were about the only other activity happening on the ship at this time on a weekday.
Adam checked along the side of the Wall frequently, watching to see if Sauber emerged. Three minutes later, he did. He was still moving at the same fast pace as before. Either he was supremely confident or completely stupid, for he didn’t look around at all.
Adam pulled out his terminal and sent a swift message to Haydn.
Into the Field back alley.
