Biowar

13

Lia jumped from the train, striding quickly to the left up a short flight of stairs that led to the escalators. They were out of order, and the only way to the surface from here was the stairs or the elevators at the far end, which already had a thick queue from an earlier train. She pushed through the doors to the stairway, ordinarily used only in emergencies. Even Lia, who was in exceptional shape, started to lose her breath about midway up the seemingly endless spiral of metal stairs. Her legs started to stiffen, but she pushed on, angry not so much at choosing the steps or even at losing Dean but at being so out of whack about it. If she were just following someone else, even Tommy Karr, she’d be her normal calm, disgusted self. But Dean — she liked the son of a bitch and was truly worried about him.

Loved, maybe.

Lia emerged from an emergency access closet into the station vestibule, striding across the pedestrian tunnel just ahead of a surge from the nearby elevator.

“Well?” she asked Rockman. “Which way?”

“Get on the light-rail. You have to hurry. It’s coming.”

“Which direction?”

“Take a left.”

“I mean, the train.”

“East.”

“How far? Moscow?”

“If I tell you to,” snapped the runner uncharacteristically. Telach or Rubens must be on his back because they’d lost track of Dean.

A bobby eyed Lia as she went to one of the kiosks to buy her ticket. Lia forced herself to smile for the clerk at the window, then sauntered toward the train. The policeman’s interest seemed to wane; obviously his interest had been purely prurient.

“Shuttle bus — he’s going to London City Airport,” said Rockman in her ear.

“Mmmm,” said Lia, silently cursing. The city airport had connections with much of Europe.

“All right, go along. We’ll work up the flight — there’s something up with his com system. We think one of the thugs hit him with a shot of something, because he’s not talking, just breathing.”

“Mmmm,” said Lia again.

Charlie should have gotten the stinking implant.

Sissy. This would show him.

As she turned toward the track area, two women in rather dowdy polyester pants cut her off.

“Excuse us,” said one of the women, pulling out an ID card. “We’d like to speak with you a minute.”

“Oh?” said Lia.

“What?” asked Rockman.

“Who exactly are you?” Lia asked.

“We’ll discuss that with you,” said the other woman.

“I think you ought to do that right now,” said Lia.

“Scotland Yard,” said the woman.

“Oh, bull,” said Lia.

“MI-5,” said Rockman.

The woman on the right took hold of Lia’s purse.

“You’re going to let go of that right now,” said Lia.

“You’re going to come with us,” said the woman.

As they’d been speaking, Lia had shifted her right arm up against her shoulder, which allowed a small canister of pepper spray to slide down her sleeve. She moved her other hand on the bag as a distraction, and when the second woman came close to her, she pulled her right hand up and palmed the dispenser,

Then she raised her arm and nailed the evil sisters in the eyes.

With two strides, Lia reached a small group of tourists. By the time the two British agents reacted to the pepper spray — one screamed; the other cursed and grabbed for the radio in her purse — Lia was almost to the station doorway.

“You hit them with the pepper spray?” asked Rockman.

“Ground decision,” said Lia. “Which way is the taxi stand?”

“Left,” said Rockman.

Lia saw a policeman starting for her as she reached the door. She turned right on the street, took three steps, then broke into a run. Another entrance to the Tube was just ahead, but as she reached it a double-decker bus loomed on the left. Lia leaped onto it.

“Where am I?” she asked the Art Room.

“In the wrong place at the wrong time,” answered Rubens. “Why did you gas the MI-5 people?”

“Because they were there?”

“I don’t appreciate inappropriate sarcasm.”

“I’m here to display initiative, right? Besides, why did they stop me?”

“It appears you were acting eccentrically and caught their attention,” said Rubens. “In any event, they’re our allies.”

“Then you can apologize,” said Lia. “In the meantime, get someone to tell me the best way to the airport.”