through Eden Prairie as the clock on the dashboard flashed 4:30 A.M. Traffic was almost nil, a few cars as we got on the interstate. Kat was a silent hole in the backseat, and I cast frequent looks back to make sure she was still there. Scott gripped the wheel, white-knuckling it, the tension evident on his face as he steered us onto another major freeway. As he angled the vehicle onto it, I could see the lights of downtown Minneapolis in the distance.
The outline of the skyscrapers was pressed against the horizon, lighted shapes that gave form and substance to my thoughts of a city and what it should look like. A thousand windows gleamed and shone out at me, and some sort of lighted display shimmered in a rainbow of colors atop one of the buildings. They grew closer slowly as the distance between us and the city faded. We passed a few cars here and there, and soon enough the skyscrapers towered above us. “Which one is the IDS building?” I asked.
Scott craned his neck to look up and he pointed at the tallest one, made all of glass and jutting up into the sky. “That one.”
I studied it. “He picked the biggest. I bet he didn’t want a sniper shooting down at him.”
Scott cast me a glance. “Really?”
I shrugged. “If you think about it, it’s probably the only way he’s vulnerable. I’d bet most low caliber rounds would melt before they hit him. Anyone attacks him physically, he can keep them at bay long enough to explode. But it’s hard to concentrate enough to blow up when your brains got sent out the other side of your head.”
“Good point. Wonder why they didn’t do that to him in Glencoe?”
I kept my eyes on the building that dominated the skyline above us. “I think they were going to try, but they didn’t get a chance to set it up. Which reminds me, M-Squad will be here in an hour or less. Best we’re done by the time they show.”
Scott eased the car onto a side street and found a parking garage. I heard the noise of another vehicle somewhere below us as we stepped onto the street. I watched another telecommunications truck pass us and I felt a tingle of nerves. It was the cable company for the entire Twin Cities, after all. Not unusual to see a couple of their trucks out, even at this time of morning. “Let’s go,” I said as we entered the glass lobby.
All around us was a dramatic promenade with trees, restaurants and shops. I was a little surprised, but I kept my focus as Scott led us up escalators to a bank of elevators. I stood looking at him and Kat, watched him take her hand and squeeze it with encouragement. I felt a pang of jealousy that turned to sadness by the time the elevator dinged and the doors opened. I shuffled in after them and watched them hold hands. I tried to feel good for them, really I did. Kat needed comfort right now. So did Scott, surely. So did I, when it all came down to it. But as per usual, there was no one there to hold me.
We reached the top floor and stepped off the elevator. I saw a sign for the stairs and headed toward them, Scott and Kat trailing behind. I looked up, and sure enough, there were steps leading up to a locked door. I broke it with ease and we stepped out onto the roof, the winter air chilling me as I led them out under the open night sky.
Snow was piled in drifts around edges and corners, but it looked as though someone had shoveled the roof to keep it mostly clear of snow. A few shacks and some ducts and machinery sat atop the flat surface, but most of it was empty space. I walked across to the far side, wondering if Aleksandr was here yet.
I heard Kat and Scott’s footsteps behind me, soft and even as we padded our way across the roof. “Aleksandr,” I said. The wind carried my words away. I had not bothered to shout it.
“Here.” A small voice reached me and I saw him step out of the shadow of one of the boxy structures. He wasn’t in flames and he wore different clothes since the last time I’d seen him. “You brought her...” He said with something approaching joy, then his eyes alighted