Riley crumpled up the plastic coffee cup he'd been holding and threw it into the overflowing trash can. He sat down in the old wooden chair and propped up his feet on the scarred front end of Giannini's desk. "I do it 'cause I think I'm reasonably good at it. The places I've been and the things I've done — someone's had to do it. I like to think I do it better than some yo-yo who would get his people wasted."
"You could've been good at something else besides what you do," Giannini said quietly.
"Yeah," Riley admitted. "But the army got me off the streets of the South Bronx. All my buddies from school — and I'm talking grade school, 'cause most didn't make it to high school — they're in jail, dead, or might as well be dead. But I got a ticket out. The army's been good to me. I got a high school diploma and an associate's degree from the army. I've been able to travel all over the world and — "
"Visit exotic places, meet interesting people, and kill them," Giannini cut in.
Riley sat up in his seat, his dark eyes meeting hers. "Yeah, I've heard that crap before. And I've done it. But let me ask you something. Have you ever lived in a foreign country?"
"No," she admitted.
"Well, I have. I've been all over the world. I've seen a lot of countries, and the people in them. And the people — they're not so different. People are the same everywhere. There's good ones and bad ones. Most just want to live their lives without the government fucking with them."
The front legs of Riley's chair hit the floor with a slam. "Yeah, this is total bullshit — tracking down these Synbats. The fact that they were made. The fact that they tore apart a bunch of people, including a young girl. Yeah. All right. I agree. But what do you want me to do? Overthrow the government?
"I'll tell you one thing — one thing I truly do believe," he continued. "We live in the greatest country in the world. Yeah, we got our problems. Who doesn't? The world's a fucked place. You've walked the streets. You know what people are capable of. Doesn't it follow that some of these people end up in the government? But people like me and my team and the thousands like us make up for the occasional sociopath who makes it to the Beltway. I have to believe that. It's all a balance of powers, right? So far, it seems to have worked all right."
Riley stood. "You got to believe in something. Right now we have one goaclass="underline" Kill these things as quickly as possible."
Giannini stood also. "I'll help you find them. You kill them."
Chapter 21
Riley took the portable phone from Lewis's hand. "Yeah?"
"We got something." Giannini's voice was calm.
"What?"
"A cable company crew is missing."
"Missing?"
"They were supposed to be in by six last night. They didn't show up. Two men."
"Where were they?"
"One of our units found the van — no sign of the crew. Indiana and Cullerton. Near where we were yesterday. We'll go there. Be at my office in fifteen minutes."
Riley hung up. Lewis was hovering nearby. "What's going on?"
Riley took a second to collect his thoughts. He remembered the van outside the deli yesterday and the pieces fell into place. "They're underground."
"What?" Lewis asked, confused.
"The Synbats are underground," Riley repeated, slamming the 14-round magazine into his pistol and sliding it into his shoulder holster. "We're going to need night vision goggles. Thermals probably won't be worth much down there. I'm going to check it out. I'll give you a call to bring in the rest of my team if it looks like a good lead." He turned to Merrit. "You ready?"
"Yes."
Riley wasn't too sure of that. Merrit looked exhausted, her face drawn from lack of sleep. He was used to working with people on the edge of physical exhaustion but there was something in Merrit's manner that worried him. Whatever was draining her went beyond the physical.
As they walked out of the building, Riley turned to Merrit. "How good is the Synbats' night vision?"
"Good," Merrit replied.
"Good?" Riley repeated, grabbing her arm. "Ward said they were day creatures. What exactly does good mean?"
"About three times better than human," Merrit answered, looking down at Riley's fingers pressed into her arm.
"Great," Riley said, releasing his grip. "Just great."
Giannini pointed at the open manhole with a portable work railing around it. "The shift chief says they were supposed to be down there laying cable. Should've been back in by six last night. We got the call early this morning." She turned to the vehicle parked nearby. "No sign of foul play. The van was unlocked and their tool belts are missing."
"Anybody been down there yet?" Riley asked.
Giannini shook her head. "No. The shift chief wanted to go look but I sent him home. I figured I'd give you the honors."
Riley got on his knees and stuck his head in. "What's down there?"
Giannini shrugged. "Sewers, I guess."
All Riley could see was a metal ladder descending into a dark shaft. "Let me borrow your flashlight."
Giannini went to her car and returned with a large four D-cell light. Riley turned it on and pointed it into the manhole. The ladder continued for about thirty feet and ended on a dirty concrete floor. There was no sign of the cable crew.
Riley looked at Merrit. "What do you think?"
Her eyes were fixed on the dark hole. "It makes sense. It's a perfect place for them to hide. They can stay down there during the day and come out at night to forage for food. They can also travel underground without being noticed."
Riley swung his legs over the edge and put his feet on the rungs.
"What're you doing?" Giannini asked.
"I'm going to take a look."
"Alone?"
"You can come," Riley replied.
Giannini sighed. "All right. You go first."
"I want to go," Merrit said suddenly.
Riley looked at her briefly. "Not right now. We're just going to check it out. If we spot anything we're going to have to call in some help."
"You need me to deal with the Synbats," Merrit insisted.
Riley tapped the pistol in his shoulder holster. "I can deal with them. You wait here."
Riley clambered down the ladder, the echo of his movements bouncing off the walls. He reached bottom and looked around. A tunnel, about eight feet high by four feet wide, extended off in two directions. The walls were pitted concrete. Giannini came down next to him and peered about. "They could be a long ways from here."
"Yeah." Riley pointed at the bands of cable stretching along one wall. "But the two men must have been working somewhere close by. If the Synbats attacked them, we should see some sort of sign."
Riley's pistol was in his hand and Giannini pulled out her own. He played the light on the floor, which was covered with patches of mud. "There," he said. Two sets of footprints moved off to the left. "Let's go."
Riley led, feet squishing into the black ooze. The glow of the flashlight preceded them by only ten feet, leaving the rest of the tunnel in darkness. Something glinted up ahead, and Riley focused both pistol and light on it.
"What is it?" Giannini hissed.
Riley moved forward, pistol at the ready. A work helmet with the cable company logo lay on the floor along with a wrench. Riley played the light around, checking out the area. He stopped in shock. "Jesus Christ!" he muttered. "You don't want to see this," he said to Giannini as she stepped up next to him.