Seventh Avenue, headed toward St. Vincentâs hospital. After the emotional roller coaster that had been her day at school, sheneeded some downtime, and she couldnât think of anyone more qualified to help her achieve a state of semi-Zen than Ed. She was crawling out of her skin, second guessing her every thought process, and if there was one person in her life who could calm her down, it was Ed. Ed would never mince words or play games, and she might even be able to confide in him about her newly reconfigured genetic makeup. If she didnât tell someone soon, she was going to burst.
Bursting was bad.
She paused outside Two Boots, contemplating a thick slice of Earth Mother Sicilian. She could get one for herself and something disgustingly meaty and greasy for Ed, something no doubt banned by his health care professionals. After all, sheâd practically been the one to put him in the hospitalâit was the least she could do. Though their friendship seemed shakier than it had once been, their mutual interest in junk food had lasting power.
The ties that bind
, Gaia thought, only semi-cynically.
As she dug into her bag to check out the money situation, though, she saw something suspicious. Nothing obvious, just a slight movement from out of the corner of her eye. Someone with less finely honed peripheral vision, someone less inclined to go about her daily business on high alert might not have noticed a thing. Gaia, however, was too well trained to play dumb. Sheâd had too many close encounters ofher own not to know that something that
looked
fishy probably
was
fishy. She whirled around and backed up slowly, her well-worn Chucks moving soundlessly across concrete.
There. In the alley.
A young girl, probably about Gaiaâs age but more firmly built and solid, leaned against the brick wall of an abandoned building. The structure had probably at one point served as a corner deli, but it was obvious that the store had been vacant for a while. The pavement of the alley was littered with broken glass, cigarette butts, shredded paper, and stamped-out wads of gum. Lovely. Gaiaâs new friend was hunched over, her stout frame bent in such a way that her long, dark hair hung in straggly clumps over her shoulder. She was shrouded by a thick cloud of menace that was only enhanced by dark, droopy clothing and a chain connected from a loop on her belt to the sagging pocket of her torn cords. It didnât take x-ray vision to make out that the girl was leaning over someone else. Someone smaller. Someone pressed nervously against the side of the building. Someone afraid.
Gaiaâs throat caught. This was it. This was the type of moment that she lived for. Someone gross and greasy was threatening someone weaker. It could be a standard mugging; it could be some kind of small-potatoes drug deal. It didnât look like there was a weapon involved: the would-be assailant was clearlyrelying on her size advantage to overpower her opponent. But one couldnât be sure.
The blood rushed to Gaiaâs ears and her heart began to pound. Her fists suddenly felt clammy. Was she going to go all Pink Ranger, or was she going to freak out? Each second that passed felt like a tortured eternity.
I have to do this. I can do this
, she reminded herself.
I am trained for this. This is my job. God only knows whatâs going to happen to the smaller girl if I donât step in. This reaction Iâm having, itâs normal. Itâs just jitters. I can control it
. She tried to reason with her psyche, to call upon all of her training to reinforce confidence in herself that she was more than prepared for this moment.
Iâm not scared. Iâm not scared. Iâm not scared
, she repeated, mantralike, in a hoarse whisper. She had to talk the fear down if she wanted to get through this and do what had to be done.
Screw that. I âm
terrified.
She heard a muffled yelp from the alley and saw the larger girl bend
Bursting was bad.
She paused outside Two Boots, contemplating a thick slice of Earth Mother Sicilian. She could get one for herself and something disgustingly meaty and greasy for Ed, something no doubt banned by his health care professionals. After all, sheâd practically been the one to put him in the hospitalâit was the least she could do. Though their friendship seemed shakier than it had once been, their mutual interest in junk food had lasting power.
The ties that bind
, Gaia thought, only semi-cynically.
As she dug into her bag to check out the money situation, though, she saw something suspicious. Nothing obvious, just a slight movement from out of the corner of her eye. Someone with less finely honed peripheral vision, someone less inclined to go about her daily business on high alert might not have noticed a thing. Gaia, however, was too well trained to play dumb. Sheâd had too many close encounters ofher own not to know that something that
looked
fishy probably
was
fishy. She whirled around and backed up slowly, her well-worn Chucks moving soundlessly across concrete.
There. In the alley.
A young girl, probably about Gaiaâs age but more firmly built and solid, leaned against the brick wall of an abandoned building. The structure had probably at one point served as a corner deli, but it was obvious that the store had been vacant for a while. The pavement of the alley was littered with broken glass, cigarette butts, shredded paper, and stamped-out wads of gum. Lovely. Gaiaâs new friend was hunched over, her stout frame bent in such a way that her long, dark hair hung in straggly clumps over her shoulder. She was shrouded by a thick cloud of menace that was only enhanced by dark, droopy clothing and a chain connected from a loop on her belt to the sagging pocket of her torn cords. It didnât take x-ray vision to make out that the girl was leaning over someone else. Someone smaller. Someone pressed nervously against the side of the building. Someone afraid.
Gaiaâs throat caught. This was it. This was the type of moment that she lived for. Someone gross and greasy was threatening someone weaker. It could be a standard mugging; it could be some kind of small-potatoes drug deal. It didnât look like there was a weapon involved: the would-be assailant was clearlyrelying on her size advantage to overpower her opponent. But one couldnât be sure.
The blood rushed to Gaiaâs ears and her heart began to pound. Her fists suddenly felt clammy. Was she going to go all Pink Ranger, or was she going to freak out? Each second that passed felt like a tortured eternity.
I have to do this. I can do this
, she reminded herself.
I am trained for this. This is my job. God only knows whatâs going to happen to the smaller girl if I donât step in. This reaction Iâm having, itâs normal. Itâs just jitters. I can control it
. She tried to reason with her psyche, to call upon all of her training to reinforce confidence in herself that she was more than prepared for this moment.
Iâm not scared. Iâm not scared. Iâm not scared
, she repeated, mantralike, in a hoarse whisper. She had to talk the fear down if she wanted to get through this and do what had to be done.
Screw that. I âm
terrified.
She heard a muffled yelp from the alley and saw the larger girl bend
Similar Books
