Big Sheep 02 The Last Iota by Robert Kroese

Author:Robert Kroese [Kroese, Robert]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: St. Martin's Press
Published: 0101-01-01T00:00:00+00:00

FIFTEEN

I wended my way through the urban maze that was the Disincorporated Zone. I had only two goals in mind: (1) get to Gwen’s apartment as quickly as possible; and (2) don’t get killed. As I was largely unfamiliar with this part of the DZ and didn’t know where the lines were drawn in the current gang war, the best I could do in service of goal number two was to actively avoid the sound of gunfire. This rule of thumb served me well; by keeping to the alleys and side streets, I made it to the address Gwen had specified in less than forty minutes. Despite it being the middle of the afternoon, the streets were nearly deserted—a fact that was more disturbing than reassuring. Although I saw no active fighting, clearly the residents of this area were staying indoors as much as possible.

I made it to the gate without incident, and had no trouble getting through the padlock and the lock on the building’s outer door. I moved quietly up the stairs, finding the hallway deserted. Breathing a sigh of relief, I continued down the hall to Gwen’s apartment, picked the lock, and slipped inside.

I spent the next hour going through every cabinet, drawer, and cupboard in Gwen’s apartment looking for the coin. I had almost given up when I finally glimpsed a silver disk at the bottom of a shoebox full of random junk that had been stuffed in the back of her bedroom closet. So Keane’s suspicion was right: Gwen had gone back to the DZ for the coin, but had been intercepted by Mag-Lev’s thugs before she had a chance to get it.

Holding it in my hand, I had to laugh. It felt cheap. Titanium is a lightweight metal; that’s why they use it on things like airplane frames. It’s incredibly strong, but it feels like tin. The iota coin was like a prize you’d get out of a cereal box. I’d have put it in a shoebox in my closet, too.

I held it between my fingers and studied it for a moment. It was identical to the one in Mr. Kim’s book. On the front was the backward J symbol, which I took to be the Greek letter iota, under which appeared the inscription “Not One Iota.” On the back was Leptophlebia nebulosa, the mayfly. The only difference between Gwen’s coin and the picture was that this one bore the serial number 7. I stuffed the coin in my pocket.

By this time I was starving, and the granola bars in my backpack didn’t sound very tempting. I took the backpack off and made myself two ham and cheese sandwiches, which I washed down with a Diet Coke. Once I had eaten, I became aware of how sticky and exhausted I was. I was tempted to take a nap at Gwen’s place and sneak out of the DZ later on in the night, but it probably wasn’t a good idea to stay in one place too long.

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