and set low to the ground, these weren't machines meant for touring or taking in the countryside. They were built to be hunched over, body forward, head into the wind. They both had matching helmets and complimentary leather jackets and chaps. I wondered how much I'd paid for them that the dealership was giving me all these extras. The rain beaded on the fiberglass.
"Well, they're sexy," Midian said, looking over my shoulder. "I'll give 'em that."
"Think you can handle it?" I asked.
Midian made a rough sound that might have been a cough or laughter.
"Biggest problem I'll have is keeping the girls off me," the vampire said. "Or, if not the girls, the teenage zit-faced boys who think motorcycles impress girls. One or the other."
"I don't know. I'm fairly impressed," Kim said. I raised my hand. We ate lunch, breakfast for me, making jokes about crotch rockets and wheeled vibrators. Midian and Chogyi Jake both tried on the protective gear-black leather and helmets. It was a nervous kind of hilarity, but it helped cover the fear.
Zero hour was eight o'clock, and it was a little after noon now. My stomach was starting to get knotted. The distant throb of a headache was climbing up the back of my skull. Kim played solitaire on the kitchen table with the cards from Midian's poker game. Chogyi Jake was meditating, gathering his remaining strength for the night's pursuit. I paced, drummed my fingers on the door frames, went to the front door every few minutes to make sure the motorcycles were still there and that the Invisible College wasn't. I felt stretched tight as a drum.
Aaron and Candace arrived at noon in Candace's car. While Kim and Candace prepared the backseat for the ceremonial Calling Malkuth, I showed Aaron the ammunition. Two bullets I'd recovered from our last failure. I hated handling them, but Aaron didn't seem more than amused by the engraved figures. He knew exactly how to clean my rifle and showed me in detail. The living room smelled of mineral oil and rain by the time we were done and he took both weapons out to the stolen Hummer. We all went over the plan again. The clock seemed to go slower just to spite me.
There were still holes. There was still chance and contingency and a hundred ways it could go wrong. What if Chogyi Jake and Midian's flight didn't draw Coin out of his meeting? What if he was in a different car from the ones my lawyer's report had identified? What if there were more people with him than Aaron, Candace, Kim, and I could manage?
What if some poor bastard who didn't know anything about all this got in the way and got hurt or killed or taken over by riders? It would be my fault. I distracted myself as best I could, but every minute that passed was a weight on my shoulders. I told myself that everything would be all right. That this time it would be different. I almost believed it.
I told myself that Aaron knew the traffic patterns of Denver, where and when something could be done with as little attention as possible. And Kim and Chogyi Jake both thought that damping out Coin's powers could give us the edge we needed. I hoped that the confidence they felt came from the strength of the plan itself, and not because they had faith in me.
At about four o'clock the rain started coming down harder, with flashes of lightning and rolls of thunder. I stood in the open doorway, watching it and willing the clouds to separate. It was such a stupid, petty thing to have overlooked. Chogyi Jake's and Midian's escapes could be thrown off by something as stupid and simple as summer rain.
"Don't sweat," Midian said. "It'll be gone in time."
"Your special vampire senses tell you that?" I asked.
"Yeah," he said. "That and I've been watching the local news. Doppler radar, all that. Streets are going to be wet tonight. The driving'll be tricky, especially with the new tires. But it's not the biggest problem you're looking at."
"I know," I said.
We were silent for a few seconds, looking out into the gray. I could smell Midian's weird, cold nonscent. He shifted, crossing his ruined arms.
"You did a hell of a job, kid," Midian said. "I mean I wouldn't make a habit of this, but for improv, you're doing great. And...hell. I know I came down on you pretty hard after the whole thing