beneath, and amoxicillin was essential to ward off illness
caused by all the bacteria crawling around down there.
She walked confidently through the streets, aiming for the rendezvous she had arranged with Cadge.
Stevie and Hattie would be long gone now, heading back belowground and through the Tube and tunnels to
their home shelter. Though Jazz still felt exposed out here on the streets, she was enjoying the feeling of
sunshine on her skin.
"Jazz." The voice was low, called from the shadows of an alley, and Jazz froze in her tracks.
Someone walked into her and uttered a curse under his breath, but then the crowd parted around her. She
was as invisible to the crowds as she ever had been, but...
"Jazz, in here."
An Uncle? She should run. She looked to her left and right without turning her head, spotting at least
three escape routes, marking the side road thirty yards along the street as the most likely to lead her
somewhere safe. The road was busy here, and she would dart across without checking for traffic. It moved
slow; if something hit her, she'd just roll and keep running.
And then she realized how much she was fooling herself. This Uncle hidden down an alley wouldn't
be on his own, and soon they'd close in and —
"Fuck's sake, girl, in here!"
Jazz looked into the shadows and saw the unmistakable outline of Stevie Sharpe. As she saw him, he
stepped forward and grabbed her arm, guiding her into the alley and walking quickly away without saying
anything. She assumed she had to follow.
They passed a pile of refuse with split bags spewing rotting food and alive with flies. Jazz held her
breath and waved the flies away, but Stevie seemed unperturbed.
"What's this about?" she asked.
Stevie stopped and turned, looked over Jazz's shoulder, and then stared at her. His expression barely
changed as he gave her a frank, shameless appraisal. He examined her face, her shoulders, arms, chest,
down her body and legs, then back up again very, very slowly. It felt as though it went on forever. Her
tingle of anticipation changed to one of dis-comfort, but then he spoke at last. She even thought she saw the
ghost of a smile.
"Did good today," he said. He looked down at her pock-ets and she tapped them, assuring him she
had what they had come for. "Did good." Then he gave her a casual wave, turned, and ran along the alley.
"Wait! "Jazz called.
"See you back home!" he shouted over his shoulder, and she was sure she heard a laugh as he
disappeared around a corner.
Jazz hurried back onto the street, more ruffled than she had been since first emerging into the
sunlight a couple of hours before. She was sure her expression would give her away — Hi, I'm a thief and
I'm on the run, but not just from peo-ple I've thieved from —and she walked faster, head down as
though to deflect attention.
What had that been about? There'd been no reason for Stevie to hold back and see her. Even the
muttered Did good today was something that could have come much later, deep beneath the city. There
had only been that look, examining her, perusing her, and, much as she liked Stevie, she still felt unsettled.
She turned a corner and a police siren suddenly blasted through the air. She gasped and almost
stumbled back as the white car sped by, curious tourists staring after it, seasoned Londoners using the brief
distraction to move that much faster toward their destination.
I'm getting way too damn twitchy now, she thought. The boxes and bottle in her pockets felt
heavier than ever, beg-ging to attract attention even though they could not be seen. She was at least a mile
from the chemist and there was no chance she'd be caught, but the sky was suddenly way too wide, the
buildings too tall, and the people too likely to stop, turn to her, and say, It's her, there she is, take her!
She did not want to think about who would respond to such a call.
"Jazz?" Cadge said.
She jumped a little, then sighed. Jazz grabbed his shoul-der and pulled him close, enjoying the contact
as they hugged.
"Hey," he said, and she could hear the smile in his voice. "Bit spooked," she said.
"You were late, so I started walking down this way." He pulled away and looked into her eyes, but
he did not spook her like Stevie. She could only find benevolence in Cadge. "I was getting worried."
I should mention Stevie, Jazz thought. There's no reason not to, is there? But she simply
shrugged and looked around, glancing up at the clear blue sky.
"Got you this." He handed
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