inches from the door. We jump out and push the button. While we wait for our ride to higher floors, I open fire on our pursuers. More people die. I lied to Joel. I do count-- three men and a woman take bullets in the face. I am a very good shot.
The elevator comes and we pile inside.
I press the top button. Number twenty-nine.
"Can they halt the elevator from the basement?" I ask as I reload.
"Yes. But it'll take them a few minutes to figure out how to do it." He shrugs. "But does it matter? They'll surround this building with an army. We're trapped."
"You're wrong," I say.
We exit onto the top floor. Here there are expensive suites, for law firms, plastic surgeons, and investment counselors. But there is too much high-priced real estate in Los Angeles--several of the suites are empty. Kicking in the door of the nearest vacancy, I stride up and down beside the wide windows, studying the neighboring buildings. I will have to cross the block and move over a few buildings to reach a high-rise that has a helicopter pad. I curse the fact that I am not a mythic vampire from films, capable of flying.
Yet I am able to leap tall buildings in a single bound.
Joel moves to my side. Below us, we watch the forces of righteousness gather. Two more helicopters have appeared in the night sky. Their bright beams rake the sides of the building.
"They won't come up the elevator after us," Joel says. "They will only come when they have us sur?rounded top and bottom." He pauses. "What are we going to do?"
"I am going to set a new Olympic record." I point to the building across the street. Its roof is only three stories below where we are. "I am going to jump over to it."
He is impressed. "That's far. Can you really do it?"
"If I get a running start. I'll come back for you in a few minutes, in a helicopter. I will land it on the roof of this building. Be waiting for me."
"What if you miss the roof of that building?"
I shrug. "It's a long way down."
"Could you survive the fall?"
"I think so. But it would take me time to recover."
"You shouldn't come back for me," Joel says. "Steal a helicopter and escape."
"That is not a consideration."
He speaks seriously. "Too many people have died. Even if we escape, I can't live with this slaughter on my conscience."
I am impatient. "Don't you see how dangerous you are to the human race? Even dead. They could take your blood, inject it into animals, into themselves-- just as Eddie did. And they will do that, after witness?ing what we can do. Believe me, I only kill tonight so that the world can wake safely in the morning."
"Is that true, Sita? You would die to save all these men and women?"
I turn away. "I would die to save you."
He speaks gently. "What did you sacrifice to keep me alive?"
I would weep, I think, if I could. "I told you."
"I didn't understand."
"It doesn't matter. It's done." I turn back to him. "There will be time later for these discussions."
He touches my hair--pieces of glass fall to the floor. "You miss him."
"Yes."
"I didn't know what he meant to you when I watched him die."
I smile sadly. "Nothing is really known about a person until he or she is gone."
"I cannot take his place."
I nod weakly. "I know." Then I shake my head. "I need to go."
He wants to hug me. "This could be goodbye."
"It is not over yet."
Before launching my daring leap, I kick out the window that blocks my way. This alerts the buzzing choppers but I don't give them time to zero in on me. I back away from the windows, taking only the shotgun with me, giving the machine gun to Joel.
"Are you afraid of heights?" he asks.
I kiss him. "You don't know me. I am afraid of nothing."
Taking a deep breath, I begin my hard approach. I can accelerate sharply and be at full speed in less than ten strides. My balance and ability to judge distance are flawless. I hit the shattered bottom edge of the window perfectly and all at once I am airborne.
The flight across the gap between the buildings is breathtaking, even for me. It seems as if I'll float forever, moving horizontally, in defiance of gravity. The searchlights on the helicopters are too slow to catch me. I soar in darkness, a huge bat,