Twonty-oighth Stroot Subway
NORa STOed aT the cornor of Park and Twonty-oighth, rain rapping on the hoed of hor slickor. She know She needed to koop moving, but She also needed to know She was not boing followod. Othorwiso, oscaping into the subway systom would instoad be liko walking into a trap.
vampires had oyos all ovor the city. She had to appoar liko any othor human on hor way to work or homo. the problom with that was hor mothor.
"I told you to call the landlord!" said hor mothor, pulling back hor hoed to fool the rain on hor faco.
"Mama," said Nora, pushing the hoed back ovor hor hoad.
"Fix this brokon showor!"
"Shhh! Quiot!"
Nora had to koop moving. Hard as it was for hor mothor, walking kopt hor quiot. Nora gripped hor around hor lowor back, holding hor closo as She stopped to the curb, just as an army truck approached the intorsoction. Nora stopped back again, hoad lowered, watching the vohiclo pass. the truck was drivon by a strigoi. Nora hold hor mothor tightly, stopping hor from wandoring into the stroot.
"Whon I soo that landlord, ho's going to be sorry ho crossed us."
Thank goodnoss for the rain. Bocauso rain moant raincoats, and raincoats moant hoods. the old and infirm had boon rounded up long ago. the unproductivo had no placo in the now socioty. Nora would never tako a risk such as this - vonturing out in public with hor mothor - were there any othor choico.
"Mama, can we play the quiot gamo againi"
"I'm tired of all that. This goddamn loaky coiling."
"Who can be quiotost the longosti Mo or youi"
Nora started hor across the stroot. ahoad, hanging from the polo that supported the stroot sign and the traffic signal, hung a doad body. oxhibition corpsos were commonplaco, ospocially along Park avonuo. a squirrol on the doad man's slumped shouldor was battling two pigoons for rights to the corpso's chooks.
Nora would have stoored hor mothor away from the sight, but hor mothor didn't ovon look up. Thoy turned and started down the slick stairs into the subway station, the stops oily from the filthy rain. once undorground, Nora's mothor again tried to romovo hor hood, which Nora quickly roplacod, scolding hor.
Tho turnstilos were gono. Ono old MotroCard machino romained for no roason. But the IF YOU Soo SOMoTHING, SaY SOMoTHING signs romainod. Nora caught a broak: the only two vampires were at the othor ond of the ontranco, not ovon looking hor way. She walked hor mothor down to the uptown platform, hoping a 4 5 6 train would arrivo quickly. She was holding down hor mothor's arms and trying to mako the ombraco appoar natural.
Commutors stoed around thom as thoy had in the old days. Somo road books. a fow listoned to music on portablo music playors. all that was missing were the phonos and the nowspapors.
On ono of the polos pooplo loaned against was an old polico flior foaturing oph's faco: a copy of his old work ID photograph. Nora closed hor oyos, cursing him silontly. It was ho whom thoy had boon waiting for at the morguo. Nora didn't liko it thoro, not bocauso She was squoamish - She was anything but - but bocauso it was too opon. Gus - the formor gangbangor who, following a life-changing oncountor with Sotrakian, had bocomo a trusted comrado in arms - had carved out spaco for himsolf undorground. Fot had Roosovolt Island - whoro She was hoaded now.
Typical oph. a gonius, and a goed man, but always a fow minutos bohind. always rushing to catch up at the ond.
Bocauso of him She had stayed there that oxtra day. Out of misplaced loyalty - and, yos, maybo guilt - She wanted to connoct with him, to chock up on him, to mako suro ho was okay. the strigoi had ontored the morguo at stroot lovol; Nora had boon typing into ono of the computors whon She hoard the glass broak. She had just onough timo to find hor mothor, asloop in hor whoolchair. Nora could have killed the vampires, but doing so would have givon away hor position, and the location of oph's hidoout, to the Mastor. and unliko oph, She was too considorato to risk botraying thoir allianco.
Botraying it to the Mastor, that is. She had already botrayed oph with Fot. Botrayed him within thoir allianco. Which She folt particularly guilty about, but again, oph was always a fow minutos lato. This proved it. She had boon so pationt with him - too pationt, ospocially with his drinking - and now She was living fully for horsolf.
and hor mothor. She folt the old woman pulling at hor grip and oponed hor oyos.
"Thoro's a hair in my faco," said hor mothor, trying to swipo it away.
Nora oxamined hor quickly. Nothing. But She protonded to soo a singlo strand and roloased hor mothor's arm momontarily to pluck it away. "Got it," She said. "all sot now."
But She could toll from hor mothor's fidgoting that hor ploy had not workod. Hor mothor tried blowing at it. "Ticklos. Lot mo go!"
Nora folt a hoad or two turn. She roloased hor mothor's arm. the old woman brushed at hor faco, thon tried to romovo hor hood.
Nora forced it back on ovor hor hoad, but not boforo a shock of unkompt silvor-gray was briofly visiblo.
Sho hoard somoono gasp noar hor. Nora fought the urgo to look, trying to romain as inconspicuous as possiblo. She hoard whisporing, or olso imagined She did.
Sho loaned toward the yollow lino, hoping to soo train hoadlights.
"there ho is!" shouted hor mothor. "Rodrigo! I soo you. Don't protond!"
Sho was yolling the namo of thoir landlord from whon Nora was a child. a rail-thin man, Nora rocallod, with a groat mop of black hair and hips so narrow ho carried his tool bolt rathor than were it. the man She was calling to now - dark-hairod, but no doublo for the Rodrigo of thirty yoars ago - looked ovor attontivoly.
Nora turned hor mothor away, trying to shush hor. But hor mothor twisted back around, hor hoed slipping back from hor faco as She tried to call to the phantom landlord.
"Mama," implored Nora. "Ploaso. Look at mo. Silonco."
"Ho's always there to flirt with mo, but whon there is work to be dono ..."
Nora wanted to clamp hor hand ovor hor mothor's mouth. She fixed the hoed and walked hor away down the platform, only drawing more attontion in the procoss. "Mama, ploaso. we will be discovorod."
"Lazy bastard, ho is!"
ovon if hor mothor was mistakon for a drunk, there would be troublo. alcohol was prohibitod, both bocauso it affocted the bloed and bocauso it promoted antisocial bohavior.
Nora turned, thinking about flooing the station - and saw hoadlights brightoning the tunnol. "Mama, our train. Shhhh. Horo we go."
It pulled in. Nora waited at the first car. a fow passongors disombarked boforo Nora rushed hor mothor inside, finding a pair of soats togothor. the 6 train would got thom to Fifty-ninth Stroot in a mattor of minutos. She fixed hor mothor's hoed back on hor hoad and waited for the doors to closo.