Angel Fire (58 page)

My eyes flew open. Panic was crashing through me; I stared blindly at the crowded Metro train; the
mariachi
singer who was still strolling through. Seb sat half-twisted in his seat, his hands gripping mine. I didn’t know how long he’d been holding them, but from the expression on his face, long enough. He looked just as sick and pale as I felt.

I could hardly get the words out. “Seb – did you see—”

“Yes, I saw,” he said grimly, just as the car reached our station. He snatched up his knapsack from the floor by his feet. “
El DF
for certain, and maybe even more.”

“We’ve got to get to the house in time! We’ve got to stop them—” I jumped from my seat and pushed through the crowded car, with Seb right behind me; we hit the platform running and pounded up the concrete stairs onto the street. Everything we passed, every car, every person, suddenly seemed as vulnerable as an eggshell. My lungs were burning as we raced towards the house, and in a weird way it was almost like that first day, when we’d run after the angels through the park.

Except that if we didn’t manage to stop the attack now, then Alex and the others were all going to die...and so might millions more.

“Okay, I think that’s everything,” said Alex.

He’d just finished putting Kara’s bag in the back of Juan’s white van along with the rest of their luggage. As he emerged, he glanced up at the house, trying to think if they’d forgotten anything. That morning, it had suddenly occurred to him that after the attack there’d be no reason for them to remain in Mexico City. Either they’d have succeeded, in which case they could all head home to the US, or else they’d be on the run for their lives, and need to get the hell out of the city anyway.

There was a third option, of course. He set his jaw and ignored it.

“Good. We’re almost ready, then,” said Kara. Her nails were red again today, with little flecks like diamonds; they matched her bright red top. Thankfully, things hadn’t been too awkward between them since the other night, though Alex had the impression Kara thought he was kind of an idiot not to take what she’d been offering and just enjoy it. He couldn’t really argue.

Sam appeared, carrying a cardboard box on his shoulder. “Have we got room for this?”

“What is it?” asked Alex.

“Just some of the food supplies. Munchies for the road.”

The decision that they should pack up had been met with obvious relief by the rest of the team. Though Alex hadn’t expected it to act as a morale boost, it obviously had – it gave the attack this afternoon a sense of
when
we succeed, instead of
if
.

“Yeah, I think there’s room.” Kara moved past him to delve into the van, shifting Alex’s tent and sleeping bags to one side. Alex looked away, remembering lying in that tent with Willow. If he was still alive after the job today, he’d soon be putting hundreds of miles between them, with no idea where she even was any more. Frankly, it was part of the appeal of taking off. He wanted to get as far away from memories of Willow as possible.

“I still think we should just steal the 4 x 4,” said Sam, passing the box to Kara. “Man, I have
travelled
in this van. It’s like rolling around in a box of marbles.”

“We’ll be all right,” said Alex. He had the 4 x 4’s keys in his pocket; he was going to follow the others over to the Torre Mayor to return it to Sophie.

The others had drifted out and were standing in the drive. Now that the time was almost here, the mood was a pulsing mix of anticipation, fear, excitement. Everyone looked unusually polished, like a group about to go on job interviews. The girls all had on trousers this time instead of dresses; the need to draw their weapons with a complete lack of fumbling had trumped fashion. Alex himself was wearing grey trousers and a dark blue shirt. He’d considered a tie but decided against it – he’d never worn one in his life and wasn’t going to start now, on what might be his last day ever.

Wesley was flexing his arm. “Are you sure you’re okay?” asked Alex in an undertone. Though Wesley claimed his injury was healed now, Alex wasn’t convinced.

“I’m fine,” said Wesley. He glanced sideways at Alex; raised an arched eyebrow with a slight smile. “So don’t go hassling me ’bout it, all right?”

Alex was painfully aware that Wesley was one of the best shots he had – but if he wasn’t fully functioning yet, no way did he want to send him in there. “Wes, if you’re not sure, you’ve got to tell me now.”

Wesley’s brown eyes flashed. “Listen to me.
I am
sure
. Don’t do this to me, man. You know why I’ve got to be there today.
You
understand better than anyone.”

“Yeah, I understand,” said Alex quietly. He felt the same way; what had happened to his own family was half the reason he was doing this. “But if your aim’s off—”

“Then maybe I die,” broke in Wesley. His voice was low, fierce. “And maybe I don’t care much if I do, and maybe I’d rather be there
trying
than anything else in my whole sorry life – okay?”

Alex let out a breath. The harsh truth was that he wasn’t in a position to say no to someone who was willing; even injured, Wesley could be a tremendous asset. And more than that, he didn’t think he really had the right to tell the guy he couldn’t come, when it meant so much to him and he was aware of the risks.

“Yeah, okay,” he said finally. Relief swept Wesley’s face; he nodded wordlessly.

Trish cleared her throat. She was standing to one side; from her pained expression Alex could tell she’d heard some of their conversation. “So...are we almost ready?”

Alex glanced at his phone, checking the time. “Almost. I’ll just look through the house again, make sure we haven’t forgotten anything.”

“I’m sure we haven’t,” said Kara, clambering out from the van.

He headed back inside anyway. As he wandered through the vacant rooms, the place felt like a ghost of itself; as if everything that had happened here had happened long ago, to other people. The kitchen table, where they’d talked and squabbled and even laughed occasionally. The firing range, where he’d made his first announcements as the lead and then spent hours training the team – saw them slowly come together, learning how to be actual AKs instead of just angel spotters with guns.
I can be proud of that
, he thought, gazing at the targets hanging motionless on their chains.
No matter what
,
I can really be proud of that
.

His bedroom.

Alex stood motionless against the doorway as he took it in. The room was full of Willow. He had a flash of her stealing in one morning: the look in her eyes as she’d slipped into bed with him; the smell of her as he’d brushed his lips against her neck. With a grimace, he shook the memory away. Okay, this had been a bad idea. He pushed himself off the door jamb – and then stopped, looking up at his shelf.

Willow’s necklace was still there, where he’d tossed it after finding it on the kitchen table. He deliberately hadn’t packed it today. Now he realized with grim certainty that this was what he’d come back for. Somehow, he couldn’t just leave it behind. Feeling more idiotic than ever, he shoved it in his pocket, cursing the memories attached to the thing. The way he felt about Willow seemed like a sickness now. He never wanted to be this in love again – it wasn’t worth it. But the necklace remained in his pocket.

He went back outside. “We’re ready,” he said tersely.

Kara nodded and reached for her keys; she was going to drive the van. As everyone started to climb in, Alex cleared his throat. “No, wait a second. Guys, listen...no matter what happens, I’m proud of you, okay? The way you’ve trained these last couple of months has just been amazing. You’re all good AKs now – really good. We can do this thing; every one of you has got what it takes.”

The group had gone very still as he spoke, varying expressions of shy pride on their faces. From the driver’s seat, Kara’s brown eyes met his. He had the sudden feeling she was thinking of his father, and the back of his neck warmed.

“Yeah, yeah, enough of the mushy stuff,” said Sam finally. “We love you too, you jerk. Now come on, let’s get the hell out of here and kill some angels.”

“Kill
all
angels,” corrected Liz firmly.

“Yup – kill ’em all. Yee-haw!” bellowed Sam to the van’s ceiling.

Suddenly the mood was exuberant. Alex knew it wouldn’t last, but it was good for now; exactly what they all needed. With a grin, he started back towards the 4 x 4. “Okay, I’ll see you there,” he said over his shoulder. “You’ve all got your passes, right? Meet me in the lobby if—” He broke off, shock stiffening his muscles.

Willow and Seb were running up the drive.

“Oh, what the hell is this?” muttered Kara, swinging herself quickly out of the van. Sam got out too, scowling. The rest of the team stayed put, watching warily as the two jogged to a stop, both breathing hard. Willow’s eyes went straight to Alex’s as if the others weren’t even present.

“Alex, the attack can’t go ahead,” she gasped. “It’s a trap – a
trap
.”

“
What?
” He stared at her in distrust, hating the way his heart had leaped when he saw her.

“It’s Raziel, he’s using you! He was using all of us – he wants the Council dead, but—” She gulped, struggling to catch her breath.

“It’s true,” put in Seb. He stood near Willow, though not touching her. “You must listen to her.”

“
Raziel?
The angel in charge of the Church in the US?” Kara’s eyes narrowed. “And why would he want the Council dead, pray tell, when that means all angels will die, including him?”

Willow’s bright hair moved as she shook her head impatiently. “Because it
doesn’t
mean that! It might, but it might not! The Council’s going to take his leadership away, and he’s willing to take the chance—”

“How do you know this?” broke in Alex.

“Yeah, I’d sorta like to hear that too,” said Sam in his low drawl. He was leaning against the van, one foot propped up behind him.

“I—” Looking at the other AKs, Willow seemed to really notice them for the first time. She swallowed. “Because I was able to read Raziel’s thoughts,” she said at last. “He’s my father,” she added before Kara could ask.

Seb moved closer, but still didn’t touch her. A stunned silence; every face in the van was gaping at her. “You have got to be kidding me,” breathed Kara. “Alex, did you—” She cut off as she saw his face. “Oh my god, you did! You knew this.”

“It didn’t seem important,” said Alex shortly.

Kara’s voice rose. “Not
important
? Your girlfriend’s father is like, Mr. Head Evil Angel, and that wasn’t
important
enough to ever mention it to us?”

“She’s not my girlfriend any more,” snapped Alex. He turned to Willow. “Look, what do you mean, you were able to read his thoughts? What’s going on?”

Willow glanced at the others again; her face was tense but determined. “Could you and I go inside maybe, and I’ll explain?”

Alex blew out a breath. Part of him wanted to tell her that if she had something to say, she could say it right here – but her eyes were pleading with him. “Fine,” he bit out.

“
Alex
—” protested Kara, straightening in alarm.

“I’ll just be a minute.” He turned and strode back to the house, heading for the front door; Willow and Seb followed. “You and I” had apparently meant “Seb too”.

“This seriously
cannot
take long,” Alex said from between gritted teeth as they went inside. “We’ve got to go.”

“I know, we were coming to help you,” said Willow. They were in the range; she stood against the wall near the basement door. “But then on the Metro...” She hesitated, visibly shaken. Alex ignored the concern he felt; Willow wasn’t any of his business any more.

She collected herself and went on. “On the Metro, I found out that I have a sort of...link with Raziel.”

Just the word made Alex’s hackles rise. “Really? Is this like your link with Seb?”

Seb gave him a narrow look. The tips of Willow’s ears turned red, but her voice was level. “No, not really,” she said. “When Raziel and I fought in Denver, it’s like we exchanged particles of energy, or something. He’s had a spark of his energy in me, and I’ve had one in him. I didn’t know anything about it until now, but he’s been using it to spy on us. Alex, he’s been manipulating everything all along.”

“Manipulating how?” he demanded.

“Everything! It’s why Luis suddenly trusted Kara; it’s why Sophie suddenly appeared to give you security details and VIP passes—”

A chill went over Alex. “How did you know about that?”

“I just told you! I’ve been in Raziel’s head!” Willow’s voice rose in frustration. “Things are different in this world than in the angels’ world. It’s not definite that all angels will die if you take the Council out; that’s only
one
option. What Raziel’s hoping is that only the Twelve will die, and that he’ll still be alive to take everything over, but...but there’s other possibilities too...” She faltered to a stop.

“
El DF
will be destroyed, that’s almost certain,” put in Seb. “The Council have put down roots of energy here – if they die, they take the city with them.”

“But not just Mexico City!” Willow’s tone was anguished. “Alex, they’ve done the same thing all over the world, in every place that they think feels out of control. There are so many major cities that could be affected now,
everywhere
– there could be earthquakes, cities falling – millions dead—”

The hair on the back of Alex’s neck rose as he stared at her. “This doesn’t even make sense,” he said in a low voice. “If the angels destroy so much of humanity, how will
they
live?”

“It’s not the angels, it’s just Raziel!” cried Willow. “He knows the Twelve will kill him anyway, so he’s willing to take the gamble! And if it pays off for him, the AKs will all be executed – the information Sophie gave you is flawed. There’s a...a hallway on the map that’s not right, or something. You can’t get out that way.”