The South Street Seaport was a graveyard at night.
“This sounds like a bad idea,” Sabine said in my comms. “The Seaport is deserted at this hour.”
“Which means it’s perfect for those who serve the Daystrider,” I said, turning off the wraith engine of the Scythe, my impressive, albeit suicidal, method of transport. As far as motorcycles went, Cecil had created the quintessential merging of art and death in the Scythe.
“It’s also perfect to meet an untimely demise,” she said. “Why not call the Director’s second to assist? At the very least, let me set up a firing solution to provide backup.”
“Byako would be a loud hindrance to what I am going to do tonight,” I said, scanning the streets around the Seaport. “She is adept at being the opposite of subtle, despite her apparent skill in subterfuge. You don’t need a firing solution; I don’t intend to be outside for this. You won’t have line of sight—which means a direct confrontation on your part. Before you ask, the answer is no.”
“Are you certain this is the best course of action?” she asked, her voice laced with concern. “Why not call in the detective agency? They, at least, possess an ample amount of firepower.”
“Because I’m not trying to obliterate the Seaport,” I said. “As for the best course of action, that would depend on the end goal. Can you be more specific?”
“Let’s start with the end goal of surviving the night,” Sabine said. “You’re going in blind, without any recon. That’s dangerous and foolish.”
“I realize the risks, but I can’t wait for Nakatomi to provide me with a location,” I said, crossing one of the wide streets and heading down to the buildings on Peck Slip, careful to remain in the shadows. “Besides, we both know her involvement in this phase will be through Byako. I doubt she will get personally involved, it presents too high a risk for her and her position with the Dark Council.”
“You mean she doesn’t want to be seen cleaning house as you eliminate the Daystrider,” Sabine said. “Having you do it gives her plausible deniability.”
“I think the Dark Council is aware she is—as you say—‘cleaning house’,” I said. “Several more clan heads have taken leaves of absence since our run-in with Solis.”
“Permanent leaves of absence,” Sabine answered. “According to my network, no one knows who’s behind the disappearances. All of the clan heads are opting to stay indoors, canceling all meetings and trips.”
“That will only provide them with a false sense of security,” I said. “We both know anyone can be reached, given enough time.”
“Or ability,” Sabine said. “The Director seems to be as resourceful as you when it comes to taking out targets.”
“She is the leader of the Dark Council,” I said. “More importantly, she trained and led the Nightwalkers—even vampires fear the Nightwalkers.”
“With good reason, they have people like you in the group.”
“No one is like me,” I answered. “That being said, I understand her position in refraining from directly taking down the Daystrider. If she gets involved directly, it would be the right move, but executed in the wrong method.”
“I’m not even going to pretend to understand what you mean,” Sabine answered. “What I do know is that she’s letting you face the Daystrider alone. Can you take her?”
“Take her where?” I said, being deliberately obtuse. “I have no intention of taking her anywhere.”
“Take her down,” Sabine said, adding a few curses in French for clarification. “You know what I mean. Can you kill the Daystrider?”
“I don’t see the choice here,” I said, peering across the street and making sure I didn’t alert sentries. “By now she knows of Solis’ death. She knows I’m involved, along with Nakatomi. She won’t move against the Director—at least not yet.”
“Which moves you up to target number one. Congratulations. Now you have to kill her, or be eliminated.”
“Any attempt at removing the Daystrider would have to be attempted during the day,” I said, realizing the irony. “She is stronger than me in the daylight, but she would be unstoppable at night. It would be certain death to attempt to dispatch her during the night.”
“You can’t attack her during the day,” she said. “There’s that small matter about the sun being lethal to you.”
“And yet, I must—if Roze is to be stopped from plunging the Dark Council Vampires into a civil war.”
“It will kill you, or she will kill you,” Sabine said, her voice low. “This is suicide. The Director is trying to eliminate both you and the Daystrider with one blow.”
“The thought has crossed my mind. Again, a smart play. Nakatomi and I aren’t exactly on friendly terms; we’re barely allies. I would eliminate me if I were her. As for my imminent death, I’m already dead.”
“You know what I mean. We need help,” she said. “Help that isn’t tied to the Director. I don’t trust her.”
“A wise policy,” I said. “She didn’t become and remain Director of the Dark Council out of the goodness of her heart. As for the help, I doubt we’ll find any readily available. My reputation precedes me, and as you said, this is a suicide mission. Few would volunteer for something like this alongside a known assassin, knowing the odds of survival are slim to none.”
“Turn me fully,” she said, taking me off guard. “I can help if I’m stronger.”
“We haven’t come to that point, not yet, Sabine,” I said, keeping all emotion from my voice. “Let’s exhaust the resources we have before crossing that threshold.”
“I’ll make some calls,” she said. I heard the tapping of keys, and I knew she was triangulating on my position. “Are you going into that building?”
I had walked down Peck Slip and turned at the corner of Front Street. I currently stood in front of a historic doorway at 225 Front Street. A stone plaque above a doorway advised me to circumambulate the city.
The doorway led to an interior garden. According to my source in the Nightwalkers, the dwellers of this building served the Daystrider.
“Yes,” I said. “I may lose you inside. These older buildings are more steel than concrete, and it will interfere with our comms. Can you switch to a satellite feed?”
“One second,” she said, and I heard more tapping. “There are a few birds in geosynchronous orbit. I can piggyback off one of those and get a fairly decent feed going.”
“Without being noticed?” I asked. “The last thing I need is a group of rankled three letter agencies arriving here, upset that someone has hijacked their spy gear.”
“I’m not an amateur,” Sabine answered. “I’m one of the best, if not the best.”
“Byako would disagree,” I said. “But that’s just her opinion.”
A louder string of curses filled my ears, followed by some deep breathing.
“I surpass her ability and you know it.”
“I do,” I said even though I knew Byako had some impressive skills. However, Byako was not my second, and it was unwise to upset the person tasked with watching your back in life-or-death moments. “I expect you to demonstrate that superior skill tonight. I’m going in.”
“Switching to radar imaging,” she said. “I’ve got you.”
“Can you see how many inside?”
“One moment. I have it slaved to your location,” she said. “Let me see if I can enlarge the image. I’ll have you for about three more minutes before I lose this bird. I’ll see if I can grab another.”
“How many inside?”
“I count five,” she said. “But there can be more. This image isn’t precise—I’m getting plenty of interference.”
“You have provided exceptional intelligence,” I said, moving forward into the doorway. “Stay with me as long as possible and monitor the NYTF frequencies. They would be the first responders.”
“What if Roze is in there?” she asked, concerned. “You can’t face her at night.”
“You just told me I couldn’t face her during the day,” I said, leaning on my cane which held my blade, Slake. My leg ached, but I drew a small comfort in the Daystrider armor I wore. “If she’s there, I’ll make sure to have an exit strategy in place.”
“If she’s there, do not engage her,” Sabine warned. “Get out and notify me.”
“Will do,” I said, glancing upward for a second. “Stay as close as you can.”
“I have my eye on you. Do not get dead.”
I tipped my hat at her and went inside.
