“Song Liming’s here,” she said. “Yiran found him.”
“Copy that,” Kodie said. “Do you see any Hybrids?”
“No—we need to get closer.”
“Ash said to wait for him. Wait—I have another line coming in. Be right back.” The comms went silent.
Rui glanced at Zizi. The head of the paper doll was sticking out of the breast pocket of his coat, and the orange glow had disappeared.
“We’re not waiting,” he said, as if she’d asked her question out loud.
Together, they crept forward. The smell of salt water and oil grew stronger as they neared. Rui spotted the sanitation van parked at the lot in front of a row of old warehouses. The driver of the van was sitting by the curb, smoking a cigarette.
Zizi motioned her to follow as he slipped through a gap in the rusted fence, blending into the shadows on the sides. He pressed his back against the wall suddenly, raising a hand. Wait.
Someone had come out to talk to the van driver.
Rui strained to listen to the low murmur of conversation.
“Where are they?”
“Should be here in a minute. They’ve set everything up in the city.”
Are they talking about the explosive devices?
“—bit of a complication. His son’s here too.”
“—just a little twerp. Don’t worry, we have the numbers.”
“Celeste says we should—”
Static buzzed in Rui’s ear, cutting off whatever the Hybrids said.
“Update—threat level in the city center has been upgraded to high,” Kodie reported. “One of the units found a device, and they’re retrievingit now. I need to coordinate an evacuation, so I’ll be off your comms for a while.”
Rui’s earpiece went silent. Zizi nodded at her. He’d been listening in through his too.
“Stay here and watch the two Hybrids,” he whispered. “I’m going in to find Mochi and the talisman.”
“I’m coming too.” She was fully capable of defending herself.
He shook his head, brows knitting. She glared back.
A flash of lights halted their silent bickering.
Several cars had appeared along the road leading to the seaport. Rui and Zizi retreated, using darkness for cover as the cars pulled into the parking lot. She counted over a dozen Hybrids, including the first driver and the one who had come to look for him. Was that too many for the two of them to handle? Maybe it was better to wait for Ash and the reinforcements to arrive.
“What are they doing?” she whispered.
“I think something’s happening among Song Liming’s little army. Maybe things aren’t so rosy in their ranks and something else is going down tonight. It looks like this group is waiting for a signal—crap.” Zizi was still looking at the road. Two more cars, probably filled with Hybrids, had appeared.
But something else caught Rui’s eye. She reached over and pulled the paper doll out from Zizi’s pocket. The edge of the paper was glowing red. Heat grazed her fingertips, and she hissed in surprise, letting go.
The paper doll fell to the ground and burst into flames.
66
Yiran
