Susan fought the faintness down. She had no time for it now. She had to locate Hyatt. And instantly the intricate snowflake pattern grew in her thoughts, and the monosyllabic chant came to her lips.
Where is he? she wondered, scanning the crowd. Where in this mass of humanity could he be hiding? He had been smart. He had known she would track him, no matter where he went. His only hope had been in finding a place where he could still remain hidden. This was just such a place.
She stood on her toes and strained to see over the heads of those around her, trying to pick Hyatt out of the crowd. She was taller than most of those around her, but it would still be an impossible task. There were simply too many people-a million, maybe more-and he was incredibly short. She could not possibly hope to locate him in this mass of humanity.
But perhaps her newly attained ability could. She had tracked him through time and space. Now that she was here, she might just be able to fine tune the location procedure, pinpointing him exactly.
Clearing her mind, she thought of nothing but Hyatt. She formed a detailed image of him, careful that she did not visualize the Hyatt from her own time. There were no physical differences of which she was aware, so she concentrated on the small differences in personality and character.
Just in time, she brought herself out of it. Her mind had been concentrated entirely on the task, and she had been oblivious to the crowd around her. She was swooning. She had nearly fallen.
With an effort she regained control. She would have to pay closer attention to her surroundings. Although the crowd was in gay spirits-happy and eager to ring in the new year-they were a hazard.
Again she concentrated on locating Hyatt. But this time she kept just enough attention on her surroundings to maintain her balance and stay upright.
She became barely aware that those around her were staring as she cast her thoughts out over the crowd, searching for the small man in the sea of humanity filling Times Square. Her consciousness swept out in ever increasing circles, like the wave effect of a pebble dropped into a still pond.
And suddenly, she had him, off to her left and perhaps five hundred feet distant. But there were hundreds of people between them-hundreds of bodies made of hard, unrelenting flesh. How would she possibly get to him through this crowd?
The answer was simple: The pendant. She would jump to his location, the same way she had jumped to this time and place.
Then it struck her. That very action was what had set off the New Years Eve riot of 2141-the riot that had killed both her mother and her father. Even now, those around her were watching intently.
And why shouldn't they watch? she thought. Here was a tall woman in Fleet red, standing in their midst, mumbling strange syllables and weaving as if in a trance. If she suddenly vanished, they would panic. They would try to scatter in mad fear. Within seconds that fear would spread through the entire crowd, and thousands would be killed.
Among those thousands would be Susan's own parents.
Yet, it was the only way she could get to Hyatt. He had to be stopped, no matter what the cost.
Besides, she had done it. The New Years Riot was part of history. Her mother and father had died in it.
But until now she had not realized exactly what had caused that riot. No one had.
She took a deep breath and, without another thought, jumped.
Chapter Thirty
The pattern, followed by the mantra. But still the headache intensified.
Only three people stood between Hyatt and Susan when she appeared. He was not yet aware of her presence.
His gaze raked the crowd, searching for her. He knew she would follow, but he didn't know when she would appear, or where. He was too short to see much, and suddenly Susan realized he was depending on her height to give her away.
She slouched as best she could in the press of the crowd. If she could blend in for just a few seconds more, until the commotion she heard beginning five hundred feet behind her had reached her new location-a commotion she herself had started when she vanished-and distracted him, she might stand a chance.
But she had to get near enough to reach out and jerk the pendant from around his neck, snapping him back to his own time before he could make another jump.
No, that's not right, Susan thought. He would not be snapped back to his own time. He would cease to exist, because his past self had been killed.
The noise behind her suddenly intensified, spreading out from the spot where she had disappeared. In only a few seconds that panic would be on her, and Hyatt would be too busy to notice that she was standing right beside him.
If she could only keep him from seeing her for a few seconds longer…
She slouched a bit more.
The roar of panic became louder, and yet louder. Someone pushed her from behind, toward Hyatt. She resisted, using her strength to stand her ground as best she could. She couldn't make her move yet. It would only fail now. He would only jump, and she would have to track him again. But if she could hold out for only a few seconds more, he would be so fully engulfed in the riot that he would not see her even if he looked straight at her. Not until it was too late.
Panic washed through the crowd like a wave through the ocean. Those in whose midst she slouched did not know what the panic was about. They were too far from the incident that had set it off-too far from the spot where Susan had vanished. They knew only that those behind were pushing, elbowing, driving them, and that if they did not do the same to those in front of them, they would be trampled.
Suddenly, Hyatt's eyes became wide with fear as he realized what was happening. He had not yet spotted Susan, but he knew she had caused the panic. And he knew why.
His gaze darted, his head snapping almost convulsively. He opened his mouth in a scream that was swallowed up in the crowd's growing roar.
Now! Susan thought.
She straightened, just as Hyatt's head snapped around. He saw her, and his eyes grew wider still, his mouth twisting in a silent cry of fear and rage.
Susan pushed past the three people between Hyatt and herself, somehow finding enough strength to throw them aside. She reached out, and the tips of her prosthetic fingers touched the pendant hanging from its chain around his neck.
Again he cried out, and this time Susan was near enough to hear him. But now it was not a cry of rage, nor of fear. This time the sound she heard was one of infinite despair.
He started to go down and her fingers wrapped around the pendant. The crowd pressed in around him, and Susan lost sight of him. Somehow, miraculously, she kept her own feet.
And pulled the pendant free.
Chapter Thirty-one
Susan stood unmoving for several seconds, her mind numbed. Those around her stared at the spot where Hyatt had lain only an instant before, panic evident in their faces. A few of those near her were turning, attempting to get away from her as best they could in the press of the crowd.
In eliminating Hyatt, Susan had started another center of panic. Where an instant before the riot might have worked itself out, gradually becoming dampened by the shear mass of the crowd, now it was started anew.
And she knew that when she disappeared again, returning to her own time and to Luna, the panic would intensify still more.
But where should she go? What should she do now?
Back to Luna City, of course. Back to the Survey Service compound and the ship, Photon. Once aboard the ship and out into deep space, she would be safe. That was all she wanted now.