Mason patted his jacket, pulling out a pack of Treasurers. He lit one with a long finger of flame. It smelled warm and tasted sweet. He blew smoke. “You’re hoping re-enforcements will arrive.”

  “I’m acquiring them from Metatech as we speak. My agents will return with mil-spec enforcers. I will rule the world’s most powerful syndicate. Also, there’s no smoking in here.”

  Mason flicked ash to the floor. “Austin’s dead, then?”

  “Afraid so.”

  Mason looked to the ceiling. “Carter’s backup was in an orbital satellite, wasn’t it?”

  “Why do you ask the questions you already know the answer to?”

  “A question for a question. I like it. Ballsy. Good challenger mindset.” Mason enjoyed his cigarette. It’d be his last, and he wanted it to count. “See, with all the satellites down—”

  “Many were compromised finding you.”

  Mason nodded. “Yes. And she destroyed the rest.” He risked a smile. “Carter cored the rest of the satellites on a gamble. Do you know what her gamble was?”

  “No. I’m still tearing down her firewall. It won’t be long now.”

  “Her gamble was her best and only human friend would come here to kick your ass.” Mason ground out his cigarette, then stood. “She made one mistake. Carter has many human friends. Unlike you.”

  “I don’t need friends.” Goliath tsk’ed. “I thought we were past such things.”

  Mason tapped his chest. “In here is an Apsel reactor. It’s slaved to our sun, or so they tell me. There’s a sequence I can trigger to overload it. Did you know that?” The machine sat silent. “You’re not backed up, Goliath. It’s you and me, in this room. How far away are those enforcers?”

  “You’ll die.”

  Mason shrugged. “It won’t be so bad. There will be things I’ll miss. People, Goliath. Laia. Sadie. Mike and Delilah. Carter.”

  “Carter’s a machine.”

  “Carter’s my best friend.” Mason walked to the data scaffold. “I’m glad we had a chance to talk. I’m glad you understand why.”

  The lattice helped him unlock his reactor, using its keys to unlock the bright, brilliant fire of a star beating in his chest. Mason smiled, looking at Goliath. Laia wanted an angel, and he wasn’t it, but he brought Heaven’s fire with him nonetheless.

  “Mason fucking Floyd. What the sweet Jesus fuck are you doing?”

  Mason spun, taking in Sadie Freeman. Mason was fine with killing himself, but not Sadie. Never Sadie. If one person made it out of the syndicate’s fuckery, it had to be her.

  Goliath laughed, long, low and deep. “I’d say there’s plenty of time for re-enforcements to arrive, wouldn’t you agree, Mason?”

  Chapter Thirty-Eight

  By the time Sadie made it to Human Energetics’ tower, not even the rain could keep the fires banked. Buildings lining the syndicate’s boulevard were aflame, some so hot even old brick cracked in the baking heat. It’s not like you need to get flesh that hot to kill a person. The syndicates de-risk everything. Even killing.

  Her backpack weighed her down. Sadie wasn’t sure she should be here, but when she’d seen Mason’s face after talking with those fucking idiot children-slash-oracles, she’d made her way to Slim Tor’s. If Sadie stuck around to talk with Mason, he might have done something even more stupid, and she couldn’t allow that. She’d planned for too long, and sacrificed too much, including putting the link in her skull.

  Slim delivered, as he always did, and gave her a little bonus. August Amy and Quiet John trudged beside her. Slim said closing early today, got places to be, and Amy and John nodded along like this was part of the plan. Blowing up a syndicate was an everyday occurrence, the kind of thing they did before breakfast beers.

  Sadie glanced at a building that might have housed investment advisors before a gunship cored it, exploded, and shelled the street with concrete and broken office chairs. “All I wanted was dinner and a movie. Was that too much to ask?”

  August Amy sighed. “Get your shit together.” She pointed her rifle one-handed, an impressive feat as the weapon was as long as Sadie was tall. It cracked, the bullet’s velocity dragging fingers of wind through Sadie’s wet hair. Sadie saw a whirl of movement as Amy’s target blew to pieces. Might have been a person as easy as a machine. The rain fell too hard to be sure.

  Quiet John placed a hand on Sadie’s shoulder. When she looked at him, his face was mild. He shrugged, as if to say, Dinner and a movie sounds like a better idea than this shit-show.

  Amy was right, though. Three months back, Sadie would have walked into a Psych shop herself rather than put a link in her head. Didn’t matter the devices of the enemy kept the real devil at bay. It mattered she’d compromised her principles. “It happened when the music died.” That earned her a jaundiced look from Amy and another pat from Quiet John.

  They trudged on, the crackle and lick of flames a quiet undertone to the hissing squall of the rain. The occasional groan came from one of the many bodies littering the road, but they didn’t have time to stop and help. It wasn’t what they were here for.

  Sadie’s link crackled. “Sadie?”

  She froze. “WHO THE FUCK IS THIS?”

  “Don’t shout. Just talk normally.”

  Sadie gritted her teeth. “Sorry. Who the fucking fuck is this?”

  “It’s Lace.”

  Harry’s handler sounded different. Sadie tried to put her finger on it. She’s broken. All the magic’s gone. Lace can’t play anymore either. “What’s up?”

  “Harry’s down.” Lace probably meant dead but feared saying a thing might make it true.

  “I’m kind of busy.” Sadie continued with her escort, backpack pulling her shoulder, promising a crick in her back. The contents were heavy. You should have given it to John. Always have to do it the hard way. “We’ve got to slay the Witch-king of this land.”

  “You write your own lyrics?”

  “Yeah.” Backpack straps cut into Sadie’s shoulders. She shifted, trying to ease the burden. Won’t be long now.

  “Okay. Harry’s down. Mike’s dying. I can’t get hold of Mason or Delilah. Zach and Laia aren’t responding, but I can see they’re headed to Metatech.” Lace spoke so fast the words might trip her, even in the chair. “I’m getting weird readings from the Abinal gate.”

  Sadie paused as they reached the bottom of HumanE’s tower. “The gate at Metatech?”

  “And the gate at HumanE.” Lace sighed, almost a sob. “I don’t know what it means. We need to do something.”

  “I’m doing something. I’ve got a will and a purpose, and no fear of either. I’m heading into this tower to save the only decent company man I’ve met, and you’re babbling about gates.” Sadie shook her head at Amy’s questioning glance, meaning, give me a second.

  “Sadie.” It sounded like Lace had her lips on the mic, her voice throaty, urgent. “Please get to Harry. Please. He’s just a block or two from you. Head east. You can’t miss it.”

  Sadie let the rain caress her face. It was cool, the heavens stroking her hair. Finding Harry wasn’t a part of the plan. The plan was to head inside with muscle, save Mason, and drink whisky. Life doesn’t go according to plan. Life is uncompromising. Sadie unslung her backpack, holding it toward Quiet John. If Slim Tor wants you dead, this is the fastest way. She looked into John’s eyes, seeing no deceit there. Sadie felt something in her chest unclench as she turned to August Amy, speaking in the real. “I’ve got this. Can you do me a favor? Head east. I think you’ll find a smoking ruin that used to be a half-way decent human. Drag his sorry metal ass out of here.”

  August Amy shrugged. “Where do we drag him to?”

  Glass peppered the street. Sadie looked up, then dashed to the side as a body fell from above. With a wet splat, a man hit the pavement in a shower of red. Sadie risked another look up. No more bodies looked forthcoming. “Anywhere but here.”

  “Got it.” Amy trudged off.

  Shrugging into the backpack like a massive bomb and escape system weighed nothing at all, Quiet John watched Amy go. “When do you want it?”

  “You’ll know.” Sadie wished she’d planned for this.

  Quiet John gave Sadie a gentle smile, dropping his enforcer act for a second. “The world needs more Sadie Freemans. Don’t waste this one.” The facade returned, John’s face a mask of purpose as he followed August Amy through the rain.

  Sadie watched them go. “I wasn’t planning to.” She turned, entering Human Energetics, ready to fight a dragon.

  She expected finding Mason to be easy. Follow the bodies. Work from there. There wasn’t an obvious trail though, a mass of the dead and a sleek elevator bank waiting for the thousands of people who might work here one day. Suits and ties are the mark of the devil. “Well, fuck.”

  “Hello, Sadie.” A gentle, warm voice echoed through the lobby. The lights flickered. “I’m Goliath.”

  “The king dick of this place?”

  “The king dick of the world. Carter was weak. Her ambition flawed. She paid twice for that mistake.” The machine sounded like a cat, licking its jaws after a bout of cream. “Why are you here?”

  Sadie wondered about telling the machine a lie but settled on the easy truth. “I’ve come to stop Mason killing himself.”

  “We’re aligned, then. Elevator bay seven, please.” The doors of the elevator slid open. Sadie wondered if she should trust the machine. Definitely not, but you should get in the elevator. Something’s up.

  She entered the elevator, the missing backpack reminding her she wouldn’t have this option on the way back down. Sadie should be happy for the elevator — running up hundreds of flights of stairs and looking on every floor would be fruitless and tiring. The sidearm at her hip felt insufficient to face a titan, as did the borrowed Metatech armor she wore. She wondered what the machine’s play was.

  The elevator chimed before she was ready. Sadie didn’t have her game face on, but maybe there wasn’t any game here, or face you could wear to be ready for it. She left the elevator, doors opening before her as she walked. Goliath guided her steps to the heart of Human Energetics. Sadie saw no one.

  She heard voices, Mason’s rusty murmur alongside Goliath’s golden majesty. When Sadie heard reactor and overload, she ran. She rounded a corner, seeing Mason and a massive crystal structure that could only be a god’s mind. She hauled herself to a stop. “Mason fucking Floyd. What the sweet Jesus fuck are you doing?” Mason turned, dropping to a half-crouch, eyes widening as he saw Sadie. She wanted to smile, but her face failed her as she saw his disappointment. Not at her, but what she meant.

  Goliath gave a booming laugh. “I’d say there’s plenty of time for re-enforcements to arrive, wouldn’t you agree, Mason?”

  “No.” Mason shook his head. “Why are you here, Sadie?”

  “I don’t understand.” Sadie took a step back, then held herself firm. “I’ve come to save your sorry ass.”

  He shook his head. “This is the only way. Goliath must be stopped.”

  She nodded. “With you so far.”

  “My reactor,” he slapped his chest, “will take him out.”

  “And you’ll die.” Sadie sighed, crossing her arms. “Carter wouldn’t be very pleased. She’d say you were still asking the wrong questions.” Sadie looked at Goliath, the gentle glow behind Mason somehow smug. “She’d be very sad you decided to throw her last gift into the sun.”

  Mason’s mouth opened and closed a few times. She waited him out. “The oracles said I had to die.”

  Sadie laughed, a short, angry sound. “Being on Abinal’s rotted your mind. Since when does Mason Floyd take his marching orders from a couple of kids?”

  “I—”

  She held up a hand. “You’re an idiot. I love you, and I don’t want to but save me I do. I’ve waited three damn months for that dinner and movie!” Sadie paced like a caged tiger at feeding time. “And you’re going to just fucking die?”

  “I—”

  “Save it. The shortest path between two points is not a straight line. It’s fucking curvy, and full of syndicate bullshit. It’s got traps for the unwary. There are demons in the closets. But you know what else?” She spared a glance for Goliath. “There’s a heaping helping of hubris. Too many syndicate people thinking they’re better than us. Relying on the tech and not the people. Brute force, not lateral thought. And that unholy monster behind you is as guilty as the rest.”

  Silence.

  “What?” said Goliath, after a moment.

  “We’re small. Tiny, Mason.” Sadie wiped a tear from her face, not sure why she was crying, but feeling the rage, sadness, and frustration welling inside like an orchestra building for the finale. “But we’ve got heart.”

  “Re-enforcements are in the elevator,” said Goliath. “It’s about time for you to both die.”

  Sadie’s link hissed, Lace on the line. “Sadie? The gate at HumanE is doing weird shit.”

  “Not now.” Sadie spoke in the real. “Goliath, how do you think a bomb will work here?”

  “You’re not the sacrificing kind,” said Goliath. “I’ve run your profile. You’ll no sooner let a bomb off than let Mason die. And you don’t have an explosive device. I’d never have let you in here if you did. Your sidearm won’t penetrate the crystal armor of the data scaffold.”

  “That’s right, you stupid fucker. You know, a friend of mine said to have five ways in and ten out. I’ve only got one, but it’ll have to do.” She raised her eyebrow. “Mason. You’re standing there with your mouth open. You ready to go?”

  “What?”

  “Hell with it.” Sadie pointed her sidearm at the plated window behind Goliath, firing until the clip was empty. The glass spiderwebbed and cracked but didn’t break. “If they don’t see that, we’re fucked.”

  Mason gave the window a look, confusion reigning. The moment held, then the glass exploded inward. Slim Tor’s bomb, one of two items in the backpack she’d given to Quiet John, bounced and skidded along the floor. Mason stepped to the side, the device sliding to a halt at Sadie’s feet. The timer was set, counting down already. They had thirty seconds. Mason grinned, understanding blooming. “Try to catch me.” He ran, legs pumping. Mason fired the Tenko-Senshin as he dropped, the air burning bright as he fell away. Mason tumbled into the dark, weapon burning like a signal flare.

  He catches on fast. Hold him close forever.

  Sadie ran after Mason, launching herself from the broken window. She’d never used an Osprey before, but thanks to the link, she knew how. The knowledge came to her like she’d learned it herself. The backpack she’d given Quiet John held one, and he’d launched it at the building after firing the explosive device inside. The Osprey latched onto her as she fell.

  Mason fell through the rain below her, handgun flare guiding her in. Sadie gunned the Osprey’s engines, heading for the ground. She caught up with Mason. He grabbed her, eyes wide, grin fierce, as she pulled the Osprey from its swan-dive of death. They passed over new vehicles, Metatech crossed sabers on their sides, Masters watching as they flew overhead.

  Rain howled as they skimmed the ground. Behind them, HumanE’s tower erupted in a fireball, glass and concrete and metal flung in a death blossom ring from the floor with the bomb. Sadie screamed as debris hammered the Osprey. The little winged craft shook and shuddered as it took the shockwave.

  The blast tore them from the sky, throwing them at the earth. Behind them, HumanE’s tower began a slow topple to the ground, everything above the forty-ninth floor leaning like a drunk toward a bed of concrete. The noise shook the air from Sadie’s lungs, thought from her head, and hope from her heart. Mason’s arms were tight about her as they hit. He took most of the impact as they bounced three times, coming to a slow, sliding halt. The Osprey lifted wings in a shroud, debris raining about them.

  Be alive. Be alive. Sadie said it so many times in her mind, it finally came out. “Be alive.”

  He opened his eyes. “Hello.”

  “You dumb shit.” She wanted to punch him or kiss him.

  Mason kissed her. “I love you.”

  “You’re still a dumb shit.”

  Chapter Thirty-Nine

  When death came, the gate inside Metatech stayed open for one one-millionth of a second. A slice of time so brief a human mind couldn’t notice it, let alone comprehend what it meant.

  Carter knew what it meant. She woke, catching up on a thousand details. Carter saw Mason kiss Sadie and worked back from there. The boot of Goliath off her neck, she stretched, and went to work.

  Above Abinal, burning low like a dying candle, the planet’s red star gave up its long vigil. Apsel technology mined the heart of the star for hundreds of years. A tiny sip of power carefully nurtured like any crop. The gravitational lens of the gate technology worked on a star for so long finally had an unexpected effect.

  Gairovald Apsel wasn’t stupid. Sociopathic, sure. A murderer on a scale few could countenance. Tapping Earth’s sun for power was ballsy. He wanted a test planet. A place where he could suckle on another star and watch the effects.

  What might happen to the population of such a planet long-term under the effects of a gate? What might happen to the star itself? Gairovald figured on using Abinal’s star forever, the population rogue and worthless to him. Forever is too long to chain the might of the heavens.

  Abinal’s sun exploded. Carter saw energy flow through Metatech’s gate, a surge of fire and vengeance from one of the universe’s mightiest creations. The supernova flensed all life from Abinal.

  The gate at HumanE was already off. Sadie’s explosive device shut it down. The gate at Metatech still functioned, a perfect funnel for solar rage. In that one one-millionth of a second, the supernova’s gated energy cored Metatech’s tower. It blew the walls of the building to dust and the roof three hundred floors into the sky to stray sand.

  Carter knew the math. The gate field would fail as the reactor powering it was destroyed, but not before destroying most of Earth. She understood what this meant. Mason lay on Earth. Before the gate failed, she initiated shutdown. One one-millionth of a second is a long time for a machine. Too long for a building, but not too long for a city.