Mayday: A Kaiju Thriller

Chapter Fourteen

It had taken Volkov and his investors three years to get this city up and running. Tempest destroyed it in under an hour.

I watched him trudge through the centre of the city as I made my way across the bridge. He was proud of himself; I could tell by the way he thrust his chest out, challenging anyone to come take his kills away from him. The bridge trembled beneath me with every step Tempest took, even as far away as he was. He still circled Volkov building. Every now and then I’d see him thrust his claws down, probably crushing anyone trying to flee the building. He was big, but he was quick, and it seemed his eyesight was keen.

A little red light flashed in the sky, just above Volkov building. A helicopter’s running light. As Tempest turned his back on his circuit around the building, the chopper began to rise.

Tempest’s head snapped around and his massive arm shot out. The chopper swerved, evasive manoeuvers, but Tempest’s claws closed on it, catching it like Mr Miyagi catches flies. Tempest roared, then brought the chopper up to his face, examining it.

He’s looking for Volkov, I realised. Tempest turned the helicopter back and forth in his claws. Then, growing suddenly uninterested, he tossed it casually into the city ruins. The chopper spun end over end and disappeared out of my sight behind a half-demolished apartment building.

My head was finally clearing. I’d used the supplies in my meagre first aid kit to bandage my bitten hand. Now I was halfway across the bridge, staying in the shadow of the pylons. With every step, Tempest appeared to grow bigger, and the destruction ahead of me seemed worse. I could hear the crackle of the fires spreading through the ruins of the city, out to the suburbs that hadn’t been as badly damaged.

I brought the walkie up. “You still there, Lindsey?”

“Yeah. But I’m starting to wonder why. We’ve taken shelter in Jiger Street Station. Chiaki’s passed out. We got her patched up a bit, but she’s not looking great.”

“I know this is hard,” I said. “It’s not exactly a bag of laughs over here either. But I need you on your game. Su-jin, too.”

Lindsey was silent for a minute. When she came back through the static, I thought I heard a faint sobbing somewhere in the background. “What do you need?”

“Before Tempest broke impulse control, a witness placed Priya Dasari at the scene the night Yllia died.”

“You think Yllia’s own handler killed her?”

“Maybe.”

“Where is she now?” Lindsey said.

“That’s the thing. She was with Healy when Tempest broke free. When I found him, she was gone. I saw footsteps leading away. So my guess is she’s alive. And you’re going to find her.”

“Great. Searching an entire destroyed city for one little Indian girl. What was that you were saying about a bucket of laughs?”

I approached a company sedan sitting abandoned on the bridge, its driver’s door wide open. I peeked inside. Keys in the ignition. I got in and closed the door.

“There’s a chance she went back to Psi Division,” I said. “But I doubt it. She knows she can’t hide there. She must know I’m after her. And if we don’t find her, Tempest will come and take out Psi Division sooner or later. I think she’s going to try to make a run for it. You hear if the airstrip’s still running?”

“Word is Tempest flattened it on his way to the city.”

That was about what I’d figured. “Then my guess is Dasari will head to the port. We’ll have to stop her before she gets on a boat.”