No Name Trilogy, Book I: No Name

Chapter 21 - Old Lisa

"Now are you ready?"

"What?"

"Are you ready to go? We have to go through that last office, and then we'll head toward--"

"No, I mean what did you say, about being my partner?" I was astonished. "So--so I really was part of the Circuit? What do you know about me? What happened that night?"

"We don't have time--"

"Tell me or I'm not going anywhere."

Slim was freaking out. He was beginning to shake with nerves. But I was adamant, even as I feared he might just walk away from me. "Fine!" he blurted. "I can't say much. I never saw you before that night. You showed up at my bank job, saying that you were my partner for the night--that was my first Circuit: Eden. We argued about it, because you kept acting like you wanted to be somewhere else, and I just wanted to get it done. But you got us in anyway, and we were supposed to get the cash together, but when I got out of there, you were gone. Nowhere on the street or in the bank. Nowhere around. I didn't know where you went. I had to get back, though, so I left. Next thing I know, Henry goes missing, and my Circuit gets switched out."

My head hurt. There was pain in my temple where the needle had been. I put my fingers to it. I didn't remember any of what Slim was talking about, but I had no reason to doubt him.

"Now please, can we go?"

I nodded, beginning to feel too dizzy to argue.

Slim realized I was somewhat unsteady and took hold of my arm, dragging me through the last shifting screen and into a white room. We crossed it to its door, where I impressed him by reading the code on the lock and opening it. He peered out into the brightly lit corridor. "One more door," he turned and whispered to me. I leaned out and saw that he was pointing down the remainder of the hall toward the outline of a sliding door, the one that led to the tunnel Henry and I had arrived through. He glanced side to side, took a deep breath, then started us the fifty feet or so we needed to go to make it.

We were almost to the door when, at the last second, a small voice chirped from behind, "Hey! Where are you going?"

We both spun around, and my head swam but focused enough to see Mac. "Get lost," Slim snarled. He looked back to the door and put his free hand against it, starting to slide it open.

My eyes were still on Mac, who met my gaze. His expression was difficult to read, a mix of enthusiasm and confusion. "Can I come?" he managed to ask me.

"No way!" cried Slim as he began to pull me through the door.

But something like guilt formed in me--Mac was here because Henry and I had left him in the worst part of the city. So without overthinking, I held out my free hand to the kid, who took hold of it just as the door was beginning to slide shut again. He was small, so he shimmied right through. We were now in the front entrance, where the attendant had been, except that he wasn't there anymore; no one was.

When Slim saw Mac, he scowled, but there was nothing he could do about it now. He let go of my hand and hurriedly instructed me again: "You go up and out; it'll be dawn soon. And then you go to 25th and Bent, like I said. Ask for Old Lisa. Say Henry's in trouble. All right?"

"25th and Bent," I repeated.

"Yeah. Old Lisa. All right?"

It wasn't really all right, but at least I had a goal to find this Old Lisa person, whoever she was. "But what if they come after me?"

"They will," Slim said un-reassuringly. He checked a watch on his wrist. "Look, Mr. Clean's back in about thirty seconds. Get out of here, now." He shoved me toward the alcove—the long, runged tunnel leading upward into the warehouse. Slim guessed what I was thinking and said, "They aren't going to see you. They use different entrances and exits that we know nothing about, just like we have our own. This one's only for bringing in new recruits. Now get out of here, already, or you'll miss the door!"