Aztlan: The Courts of Heaven by Michael Jan Friedman Page B

“Who’s this?”
    “Me, “I said, “Colhua.”
    “Everything all right?”
    I guess I didn’t sound so good. “I need somebody to check out the rail line between Nanahuatl Street and Coatepec Street in District Two. A pair of guys wearing dark clothing. I got in a few good shots, so they’ll be a little beat up. And listen—they may have knives in their pouches.”
    “Hang on,” said Necalli.
    I could hear him giving orders. He got back on the link a few moments later.
    “You know,” he said, “if they decided to escape on foot, we’ll never catch them.”
    “I know,” I said.
    There wasn’t much of a police presence in that part of Aztlan. But then, police only showed up when the neighborhood clamored for them, and it had been a long time since anyone did any clamoring in District Two.
    “Need someone to come get you?” asked Necalli.
    I knew my two sparring partners might still be out there, and I didn’t want Calli to get hurt. But it would be more dangerous waiting there for help than trying to make our way back to the rail station.
    “We’ll be all right,” I said.
    But we would be careful as we approached the station. After all, we might find our pals waiting on the platform.
    “It’s your funeral rite,” said Necalli.
    “Stay with the link, though,” I told him. I was a fool, but I wasn’t that big a fool.
    I handed Calli back her phone and said, “Let’s go.”
    “You can walk?”
    I nodded. “Sure.” Not that I was looking forward to it.
    Calli started to pull my hand over her neck so I could lean on her, but she stopped when she saw the look on my face. “That would hurt,” she said, “wouldn’t it?”
    “It would,” I confirmed.
    Frowning, she wrapped her arms around one of mine instead, and we started to make our way through the ruins. “Gods,” she said, “I’m so sorry, Maxtla. I never should have brought you here.”
    I couldn’t argue with that.
    Suddenly she stopped and, ever so gently, turned my face toward hers. Then she kissed me.
    I couldn’t argue with that either.

 

Chapter Five
    A s it turned out, Calli and I didn’t see our assailants again—either on the way to the rail station or after we got there. In fact, we didn’t see anybody until we got off at the medical center in District Eleven.
    While Calli and I were waiting for the physician, I had time to think. And the more I thought, the more certain I was that my assailants weren’t Knife Eyes.
    The way they had run away, their choice of weapon, their style of masks . . . none of it jibed. The question at that point was: Who else would want to go after me?
    The obvious answer: Coyotl’s abductors.
    Which meant they knew I was on the case. But my assignment hadn’t been made public knowledge. I started making a list in my head of who knew I was looking for Coyotl.
    I was still making it when the physician called me in.
    It turned out that the guy’s knife hadn’t dug too deep. The physician gave me a painkiller, put a bandage around me, and told me to stay out of fights for a while.
    I told him I would do that. It was a promise I hoped to keep.
    This time, Calli took me home. But like me, she couldn’t stay—she had a business meeting later in the day.
    Necalli sent Takun and Izel to the place where I’d been ambushed. They found a knife. Also my radio.
    After they brought it to me, Necalli asked if I wanted someone else to take over the case. “No way,” I told him. “I do my best work after I’ve been beaten up a little.”
    He knew it wasn’t a joke.
     
    On the other hand, the painkiller had made me sleepy. With Necalli’s permission, I decided to work from home the rest of the day. I was sitting on my couch in a new set of clothes, trying to stay awake, when my radio buzzed.
    Figuring it was Necalli, I took it out of my pouch, put it up to my ear, and said, “Colhua.”
    “It’s Nagual,” came the response. So I had figured wrong. “I was thinking about Coyotl and something