Poddar gave me a sidelong glance. "And if he doesn’t feel like giving up the info?"
I grinned around the cigarette. "You think I might go gonzo and beat him senseless like last time? That was Hunter behind the wheel on that ride. I'm in charge now. If Beck's not in the mood for small talk, I'll let you try to convince him with your smoldering charm and polite demeanor. Gotta be worth more than the average beatdown, right?"
He was silent for a moment. "I don't know if that's a compliment or not."
I tried laughing but ended up coughing instead. As I fought to get it under control, I flicked the gasper out the window and tapped a button on the center console, opening up a thin compartment. Grabbing an inhaler, I placed it in my mouth and triggered, sucking in the misty blast.
Poddar gave me a worried glance. "You sure you're okay?"
I grimaced, mouth working as the medicinal taste coated my tongue. "Right as rain, Ace."
"What is that spray?"
"An aerosol form of the stuff that's killing me."
"What?"
"Yeah, the only thing I can control the cough with is more nanoaccelerators. The silver lining is that the gaseous form is a lot less harmful than liquid. But in the end, it's still accelerated healing for damage caused by accelerated healing."
"Won't that just continue to damage you, though?"
"What can I say? I'm a man at war with himself — in more ways than one."
Maxine pulled onto the mostly deserted skyway. The wide, elevated span of the interstate was sealed in circular polycarbonate like a vacuum tube, winding upward between the massive buildings connected by endless bridges and skywalks. News of the explosion flashed on every brightly lit screen, along with Kilgore's impassive face. His dark eyes seemed to follow us as we drove past the blast site, where surveillance orbs and emergency floaters buzzed around the smoldering cavity in the center of Downtown like disturbed hornets.
Leaving that scene, we continued into the Uppers, where you'd never have guessed a terrorist attack and desperate manhunt was underway. The empty streets were smoothly paved, the homes grand and stately, glowing from strategically-placed lights, and the yards pristine with perfectly positioned shrubbery, rock gardens, bubbling fountains, and manicured lawns. Even the rain was different, drizzling just enough to sparkle in the streetlights. There wasn't a soul on the streets to witness Maxine hurtling by at law-breaking speeds.
Not that it mattered, because Mayor Beck's Georgian-styled mansion exploded in a massive cloud of flame and flying debris just as we screeched to a halt in front of the iron-wrought gates. We stared as the smoldering fragments bounced off Maxine's armored hide and across the remains of Beck's once-beautiful lawn. A large chunk of stucco-plastered wall fell into the Olympic-sized pool, splashing chlorinated water high into the air. That was the second time Beck's home blew up while I was on the grounds, although the last time I didn't get to see much of it because I'd been inside the building when it happened.
A figure walked out of the smoke and flames as if the broiling heat was of no account. I recognized Kilgore's silhouette before he cleared the fiery backdrop. He glanced our direction for a second; an animalistic grin spread across his face. But before I could activate Maxine's targeting system, he dropped to one knee, planted a fist against the ground, and vanished in a galvanic flash. The flames roared in the wake of his departure, eating the remains of the mansion and casting thick plumes of dark smoke into the night, where flashing lights in the distance announced the arrival of emergency vehicles on the way.
Poddar glanced at me, face as helpless as I felt. "What do we do now?"
I stared at the destruction, feeling the scalding heat even though the protective windows shielded us from the full brunt of the flames.
"I'm open to ideas, 'cause right now, I ain't got a clue."
Chapter 6: Scent of the Quarry
Flask was on site by the time the hosers doused the place down so we could sift through the remains, although I had no idea what I was looking for. The place buzzed with gleaming android units; metallic skin beaded with rain as they sifted through the rubble. Smoke and steam still wafted from gaping crevices from embers down in the bowels of the mansion where blistering heat smoldered.
I sucked a lungful of smoky air and immediately bent over, hacking until my chest burned. Flask eyed me askance as he approached.
"You okay, Mick?"
"Never been better, champ." I shakily straightened, ignoring his concerned expression. "It was Kilgore. Looked right at him before he pulled a phantom act and disappeared into thin air."
"Disappeared?"
"Teleported. He has abilities I can't even explain, Flask. Something like the Imperials during that crazy era. Don't know how it works, but I've seen it firsthand twice now. This is gonna be bad."
"Tell me about it. You got any connections that might be of some help? Anyone who's dealt with something like this before?"
"I have." Kessler walked toward us, eyes flicking back and forth at the colossal ruins of Beck's formerly extravagant digs.
I gestured. "Flask, this is Agent Kessler, HSSC."
Flask reluctantly shook hands. "HSSC? I thought you were at odds with their organization."
"It's a long story. And it doesn't matter 'cause if this keeps up, the entire city will be just like this mansion."
"Yeah, I guess." He glanced at Kessler. "You say you've dealt with Kilgore before?"
"We tangled not that long ago in Los Nuevos." Kessler massaged his chest, wincing as if at an old injury. "Needless to say, he got the better of me. I’m surprised to see you here instead of Downtown, Captain."
Flask's mouth tightened. "We might not be the HSSC, but that doesn't mean we're sitting around twiddling our thumbs. I'm here because we got a hit on Kilgore's energy signature."
"You're able to track him?"
"Only when he … teleports, I guess. Didn't know what it was until Mick said so just now. I've been coordinating with Central Core, who contacted us reporting periodic anomalies registering in different areas of the Haven over the last three weeks. The latest was a Mob-owned warehouse in the West Docks."
I raised a hand. "Yeah, I was there. Me and Poddar had a little run-in with Kilgore."
His eyebrows rose. "And you survived. I don't know if that's impressive or lucky. Officer Luzzatti filled me in on the details."
"You mean Natasha? You gotta get her off the detail before she gets killed, Flask."
He gave me a heated stare. "Officer Luzzatti will continue with her duties as ordered. This is an all hands on deck situation, and I don't need you telling me how to do my job. You might run half the city, but not my half, Mick. Remember that."
I took a step closer. "You sure about that, Flask? How many of your brass tacks have their palms greased on the regular? I can make a list, but that might take all night and we don't have the time."
His mouth twisted. "Finally showing your true colors, Mick? I figured the Troubleshooter thing was just a mask. You were HSSC the whole time, weren't you? Burrowing in, eating at the core until the whole place is rotten, just like spooks do. Might wanna work on your acting skills, by the way. The whole gumshoe routine is laying it on a bit thick, don't you think?"
Poddar thrust an arm between us before I could throttle Flask. "We'll get nothing done by fighting amongst ourselves. Agreed?"
Flask glared for a moment before looking away. "Yeah, fine."
"Mick?"
I threw up my hands. "Yeah, yeah. We'll play nice, Poddar. Still doesn't bring us any closer to finding out what Kilgore was after here. Pretty sure Beck was out of thermal orbs since last time his place blew up."