“I’ll call for a pickup,” she says, and jumps.
My despair is quickly replaced by shock as Endo leaps from his seat in the cockpit and charges into the cargo hold. He stops by Alessi for a moment, whispering in her ear. When he steps away, she reaches out for him, but he jumps out after Maigo.
My Devine phone rings, the tone telling me it’s Cooper, who is coordinating the evacuation and the military response, which, thus far, has been none. At my request. Missiles and bullets only cause more damage and put my people in danger. But if Nemesis falls...we’re going to throw absolutely everything at the Tsuchi while it’s injured. Since Salt Lake City is pretty much a wasteland already, we won’t have to hold back.
I answer the phone, and Cooper doesn’t wait for me to speak.
“Things aren’t going well,” she says, her voice calm and measured.
“Considering Salt Lake City is in ruins and my daughter and pilot just jumped ship, no, things are definitely not going well.”
“The military is...eager to get involved,” she says.
“What good have they ever done against a Kaiju?” I ask.
“Do you want me to relay that message?” Her calm demeanor irks me.
“Why are you so calm?” I grumble. “People are dying!”
She clears her throat, and equally calm, says, “Spunky is feeding.”
I can’t stop the laugh that comes. Cooper is breast feeding her son—whose actual name is Ted Watson-Cooper, but who was nicknamed ‘Spunky’ because of how much he kicked in utero—while she’s coordinating the U.S. military in response to a Kaiju attack. We are, without a doubt, the strangest government organization on the planet.
“Just keep them back,” I say. “But...if Nemesis falls, I want them to hit the Tsuchi with everything we have.”
“Everything?”
“Let’s hit it with multiple MOABs first. If that doesn’t work, then yes, everything.” Everything meaning nukes, and the idea makes me want to puke, because I’ll be responsible for dropping nukes on a U.S. city. Granted, the city is screwed already, but nukes will make the region off limits for hundreds of years and will likely increase the civilian casualty numbers by thousands. “Just get as many people out of the area as possible.”
“Will do,” she says. “What’s your plan, now?”
“Now?” I say, looking at the open cargo door my daughter leapt from. “I was thinking about praying, but not to Mormon Jesus. I’m pretty sure that guy hates us now.”
“Good luck,” she says.
“Thanks, Coop, and...if things go sideways for us—”
“You’ll be fine,” she says, and hangs up. It’s abrupt, but Cooper doesn’t do well with the mushy stuff from anyone other than Watson. Strong emotions make her uncomfortable, so I take her sudden departure as a compliment. Means she cares.
Alessi hits the button to retract the cargo bay hatch and then crouches beside me, unlocking my cuffs, and then Collins’s. “What now?”
I turn to the cockpit. “Woodstock?”
“I got this!” he says, hands on the controls. Future Betty rocks to the side, forcing us to hang on, but then levels out. “I got this,” he says again, less sure, but more focused.
“Jon,” Alessi says, her use of my first name grabbing my attention. “What are we going to do?” She’s worried about Endo, just as much as I’m worried about Maigo.
I look her in the eyes and deliver the news she doesn’t want to hear. “We’re going to wait.”
42
A shifting breeze lifted more dust and smoke into the air, obscuring the ruined city below Maigo, and hiding her target. The plan was basic, but not simple: land on Nemesis the way Jon and Lilly had done on the Tsuchi in Los Angeles, and then...she wasn’t exactly sure. If Lilly’s report, and her intuition, were right, Nemesis would take care of the rest, pulling her in, rejoining her to the monster.
Making her a monster.
Again.
Where are you? she thought, her arms and legs splayed wide, stretching the wingsuit fabric taut. She glided in circles, looking for some hint of the Kaiju before she was forced to land on the ground.
But maybe the ground was where she should be. Nemesis had fallen, and was clearly still down. But not dead. Maigo could still feel her connection to the creature, though it felt hazy now. Had the blast knocked Nemesis unconscious? Was that even possible?
Maigo yelped in surprise when something struck her hand. She was a thousand feet above Salt Lake City, so what could have touched her? She looked left and found Endo gliding expertly beside her, matching her speed and altitude with the ease of a bird. She thought she’d been doing okay. Her strength made operating the suit easy, but she now saw how a graceful and experienced user looked.
“What are you doing?” she shouted over the rushing wind that smelled of a dead city, an odor she’d become familiar with over the years. Once upon a time, she had relished the scent.