Page 69 of Circle of Death
“Hold on,” says Margo. “If you know where the build site is, why don’t you just blow it up?”
“Not that easy,” says Diaz. “My people say it’s powered by a nuclear plant. A missile strike would send a radiation cloud halfway across the continent. We need to be surgical on this. Cranston, I was told that this is what you do—get into places nobody else can without being seen. Am I wrong?”
“No, sir. You’re not wrong. Not being seen is my specialty.”
“Good. So when can you leave?”
I look at Margo, then at Maddy. “Tomorrow morning.”
“Tomorrow?”asks Diaz, clearly irritated. “Why not now? I can have transport at your location in fifteen minutes.”
“Sorry, Mr. President. I have a little problem at home I need to deal with first.”
“What kind of problem? What could be bigger than this?”
“It’s local, sir. But trust me, it needs to be handled. We’ll be in touch.”
I reach over and cut the feed. The screen goes dark. Burbank looks shocked.
“Did you just blow off the most powerful man in the western hemisphere?”
Maddy looks at me. “We’re going back to the fair, right?”
“Correct,” I say. “One killer at a time.”
CHAPTER 82
I’M REALLY HOPING this is our last visit.
It’s just after dark. I’m walking through the World’s Fair entry gate again with Margo and Maddy. This time the buzzing crowd and bright lights are just background. I barely notice the magical Ferris wheel. All I know is that somewhere behind all these twinkling lights, a monster is lurking—a monster who killed Maddy’s friend, then tried to kill her. This isn’t just about protecting the city. It’s about protecting my family.
“Tonight, we stay together, clear?” Margo slips her arm through mine. Maddy just nods. If I could get away with putting her on one of Bando’s leashes, I would.
“I’ll show you where it happened,” she says, leading the way down the main concourse. We look like just another happy family in the crowd. On our way, we pass the hydroponics pavilion, the transplanted rain forest, and the dome where I took my asteroid ride—the exact spot where I first felt the killer’s presence. As we walk, I hear the pounding of drums, getting louder with every step.
Maddy stops in front of a huge pavilion. The drum sounds are coming from inside. “Right here,” she says. “I chased him through this stadium. I thought it was Deva.” She steps back and points to a dark passageway alongside the pavilion. “The fight happened back there.”
From inside, the sound of the drumming intensifies. Margo makes a sour face and covers her ears. “Lamont, I can’t stand thatdin!”
I glance up and down the concourse. “Let’s keep moving. From the crime photos, it looks like the bastard never strikes twice in the same place. If Maddy saw him here, odds are he’s hiding somewhere else.”
“If he’s a shape-shifter,” says Margo, “he could be anywhere. Or anything.”
She’s right. Suddenly a pet dog licking spilled ice cream looks suspicious. So does a pigeon perched on a light pole. The monster we’re looking for could be disguised as any person, any animal, any object.
Maddy heads across the concourse toward a structure that’s designed to look like a giant high-tech cave. The surface seems to absorb light, creating a huge dark void in the middle of the fairgrounds. I hadn’t noticed it before. Maddy stops at the entrance and waves us over.
“He likes the dark,” she says. “This looks promising.”
Margo and I follow her through the entryway into some kind of vacuum chamber. No light. No sound. After a few seconds, a door glides open to reveal a vast interior.
The walls and ceiling are flat black—and the space is filled with living, walking skeletons.
As soon as we step onto the floor, it happens to us, too. Some kind of wide-angle X-ray beam causes our clothing and flesh to disappear, leaving only our bones showing. Maddy does a slow spin, admiring her inner framework—arms, legs, hands, feet—all shining with some kind of phosphorescent glow.
Margo looks down and sees her pelvic bones and lower extremities. She gasps. “For God’s sake, Lamont! This isinvasive!”
Personally, I think it’s fascinating. I’ve seen plenty of skeletons before, but mostly in bits and pieces. Watching the whole human architecture alive and in motion is something else. We’re surrounded by pulsing rib cages, strutting femurs, and craniums of every shape and size.
