Boneshaker (The Clockwork Century 1)

“Because if you’d ever been inside, you’d know better than to think some kid’s in there alive. ”

She met his glare blink for blink and said, “My son might be. He’s smart, and he’s prepared. ”

“He’s an idiot,” Andan corrected her. “If he went inside. ”

“He’s not an idiot, he’s only… uninformed. ” She settled on the truest word, even though it hurt her to say it out loud. “Please, listen. Help me. I’ve got a mask, and if I can get inside I can find my way around all right. Crog said he’d pick me up on Tuesday—”

“You think you’ll live till Tuesday?”

“Yes. I do. ”

“Then you’re an idiot too. No offense. ”

“You can offend me all you like if you’ll take me over the wall. ”

He made half a smile as if he meant to laugh at her, but the upward swing of his lip lost its momentum. “You’re serious. And stubborn. But you’ll need more than that”—he pointed at the rifle—“and Maynard’s mark if you want to stay in one piece down there. ”

“But if I respect the peace—”

He cut her off. “Then some of the other people you meet inside will respect the peace, too. But not all of them will. There’s a madman named Minnericht who runs part of the city, and big quarters of Chinese folks who might or might not be friendly to a strange white woman. And your friends the crooks will be the least of your problems. Have you ever seen a rotter? A real hungry one?”

“Yes. I saw them during the evacuation. ”

“Aw. ” He shook his head. While his head moved his eyes stayed casually locked on her belt buckle. “Those things? They weren’t hungry. Not yet. The ones who’ve been starving inside for fifteen years, they’re the problem. And they move in packs. ”

“I’ve got plenty of ammunition. ” She patted the satchel.

“And an old repeater too, I see. That’ll be useful. But eventually you’ll run out of shot, and if the rotters don’t get you, Minnericht’s men will. Or the crows might. There’s no telling with those damn birds. But let me ask you a question. ”

“Another one?”

“Yes, another one,” he said crossly. He aimed one long finger at her midsection and said, “Where did you get that?”

“This?” From reflex, she grasped the buckle and looked down at it. “It… why?”

“Because I’ve seen it before. And I want to know where you got it. ”

“That’s no business of yours,” she argued.

“I guess it isn’t. And it’s no problem of mine if you don’t get over the wall to look for your kid, Mrs. Blue. ”

For a moment, she couldn’t breathe—she could only swallow. The fear clutched her throat and she couldn’t speak, either. Then she said, “That’s not my name. ”

He said back, “Well, that’s who you are, aren’t you?”

She shook her head a little too hard and said, “No. Not since the wall went up. It’s Wilkes. And my boy, he’s a Wilkes too, if you’ve got to assign a name to him. ” The rest came spilling out too fast, but she couldn’t stop it. “He thinks his father was innocent because you’re right, he’s a little bit of an idiot, but he’s gone in because he wants to prove it. ”

“Can he prove it?”

“No,” she said. “Because it isn’t true. But Zeke, you’ve got to understand, he’s just a boy. He don’t know any better, and I couldn’t sell him on it. He had to go see for himself. ”

“All right. ” He nodded. “And he knows about Maynard’s mark, and he found a way inside. He went under, I guess?”

“He went under. But the earthquake we had last night—it flattened the old runoff tunnel. He can’t get out that way, and I can’t get in. Now will you take me over the wall, or won’t you? If you won’t, then say so, because I’ve got to go ask someone else. ”

He took his time answering her. While he decided, he looked her up and down in a way that wasn’t altogether offensive, but wasn’t too flattering, either. He was thinking about something, and thinking about it hard; and Briar didn’t know what it was, or how he’d guessed so easily, or if Maynard could help her now.