79.
Jamie
The spin of the helicopter was nauseating, made Jamie want to hurl the entire contents of her stomach toward the rapidly approaching ground as she spun in. Dimly, she raged at the injustice of it all as the world around her spun.
All I’ve tried to do is help people. Save people. Save lives.
And this is what I get for my trouble?
I should just throw up my hands and leave, let this thing go—
No.
She threw down a channel and reversed it, cushioning the fall of the helicopter as it dropped, heading right for a house. That wouldn’t do at all; she threw down another stabilizing channel and used it to stop the spin, as the rotor blade up top railed and tried to pitch the helicopter around. Now she had it, though, slowly descending toward the ground, the rear anchored so it would no longer spin. She heard grinding, the sound of an engine giving up, and the chopper eased toward empty pavement, a parking lot where she could guide them to a safe landing.
Jamie sprung off the bottom a couple hundred feet from landing, still feeling nausea from the spin—and something else. I almost gave up, she thought, feeling sick to her stomach more at the thought that she had come so close to despair and let it ruin her.
I’m innocent.
My daughter is missing.
I will fight this until I’m vindicated.
She set down upon the ground easily, like stepping onto a cushioned carpet. She brought the helicopter down gently, and the police officers within came stumbling out, retching, their guns put aside as they heaved, the smell wafting over to her telling her that they mostly hadn’t waited until they were out of the helicopter.
“You’re not going to get away with this!” Frost screamed as he came streaking out of the sky.
“Away with what?” Jamie asked crossly, looking up at him as he skated down on his ramp of ice that sparkled in the sun. “With downing the chopper? Because that was you.”
“I—I didn’t do that,” Frost stumbled over his words. “I—I had nothing to do with that.” He was looking around furtively, but there was no one to validate him.
“What are you talking ab—you did that!” She pointed at the crashed chopper. “I had to save them because you—you—you jackwagon—you shot their tail rotor with ice!” She pointed accusingly at the rear rotor, still encrusted with glassy ice. “You did that! Stop trying to dodge responsibility, you—you—liar!” She flushed beet red as she said it. “I have half a mind to pin you to the pavement and let the police deal with your sabotage in their own way.”
Frost’s eyes flashed with hatred. “You’re the wanted woman here, not me!” And he raised his hands at her. Jamie readied herself, prepared to—
Something thumped into her, and suddenly Jamie was rising into the air, leaving the ground and Frost behind. She could see Frost’s face as he stared after her, jaw wide, and she glanced upward to see Sienna Nealon holding her under the armpits.
“You’re under arrest or something,” Nealon said, “in case they ask.” She had a strained look. “I found Kyra.”
“I’m—what?” Jamie stared up at her. “What are you talking about, you found Kyra?”
“She’s at Sea View Hospital,” Nealon said tightly. “You know where that is?”
Jamie blinked. “Yes. It’s an old disused sanitorium. When I was a kid we used to sneak in through the fence on Brielle Avenue. It’s in terrible disrepair—wait, you’re saying Kyra is in that old wreck?”
“She’s being held hostage there, yeah,” Nealon said, halting. “Where is this hospital?”
“Over there,” Jamie pointed to the thick woods around the old place, visible from miles away. Fortunately, that made Sea View easy to find. “It’s a complex, though, more than one building—”
“I don’t know which one she’s in,” Sienna said, altering course, dragging her along for the ride. This was so much faster than gravity channels. “But the guys who got her—and I’m pretty sure they’re working for Nadine Griffin—they’re demanding you show up, alone.”
Jamie felt stunned, as though she’d taken a semi-trailer to the chest. “Then I have to go alone.”
“Or,” Nealon said, as if she were talking to a child, “we could just ignore that blatant trap and confound these assholes by crashing in like a couple superheroes together.”
“This isn’t your fight,” Jamie said, a wave of fear washing over her. “But … I would welcome any help I could get to save Kyra.”
“Okay, then,” Sienna said as they crossed over the woodsy boughs that marked the beginning of the Sea View property. “We do this carefully. This is, without doubt, a trap, and I’m pretty sure they don’t care if they kill your daughter, so long as they bury you and your reputation at the same time.”
Jamie felt a spike of chill. “That’s … what this is about? Killing me? While I’m down?”
“It has a certain element of pathos to it, doesn’t it?” Sienna asked, voice cracking slightly. “You’re going to die hated, blamed for something you didn’t do.” Her voice got stronger as the main building came into view, a multi-story monstrosity that looked as though time had left it the worse for the wear. “But we’re not going to let that happen,” she went on. “We know it’s a trap, so we’ve got one play and one only—get Kyra, get out before they can spring it. It’s a good bet they’ve underestimated us.”
“I think they’ve underestimated you,” Jamie said numbly. The whole world was against her—her and Kyra, and Kyra probably wasn’t even on her side at this point. Who would be, given what she’d been accused of? Attacking New York? That was beyond the pale. “Odds are good they’ve got the measure of me.” She stared down at the hospital as they came streaking in overhead. “This old building … anything I try and anchor to it with a gravity channel runs the risk of damaging the supports … or collapsing it totally. I’ll be at a disadvantage in here.”
“I’m pretty sure you disassembled a burning building like a kid licking the top off an ice cream cone the other night,” Sienna said, lifting Jamie up like a child and holding her in front of her face. “I didn’t know you were capable of that, and I’ve studied you some. You are more powerful than you know, so how can they know it?”
Jamie swallowed. “The FBI are going to come, aren’t they?”
“One problem at a time.”
“And Frost?”
“One jagoff at a time, then.”
Jamie stared down at the roof of the hospital. It looked unsteady, at best. “She’s down there? You’re sure?”
“Unless the criminal kidnappers lied,” Nealon said, with a waver of uncertainty. “But they probably didn’t lie, because they want you to come.” She grimaced. “I’ve been through this a few times before.”
“I feel sad that someone of your age has had this much experience in the dark things of the world.” Jamie put down a channel to the ground and then another, taking up her own weight. “I haven’t always agreed with your methods, but … you are a heroine. And … thank you for this.”
Nealon stared at her, then swallowed almost imperceptibly. “Let’s go save your daughter.” And she dove for the rooftop.