The Age Atomic

FIFTY

The inside of the Chrysler Building looked perfectly intact to Rad, though the lighting was low and yellowish, some kind of emergency back-up after the main power was knocked out by the airship crash. The interior was similar to that of the Empire State Building, but if anything even more ornate — all marble and glass, Art Deco motifs decorating the walls. Looking up, Rad stared at an image of the silver-crowned building itself that took up nearly the entire ceiling, and wondered why there was no equivalent structure in the Empire State. Not everything was reflected, it seemed.

“It’s quiet,” said Jennifer, wandering the lobby, looking up at the magnificently decorated ceiling.

Rad nodded. “Quiet as a grave.”

He turned his eyes to the floor. The marble was lighter than the walls, the blocks streaked with darker veins and laid out to make geometric patterns. In the dim light it was difficult to see if any of the markings were robot blood or not.

Byron stepped forward slowly, turning his head from side to side.

“What you got? You hear something?” asked Rad.

“There is an energy signature,” said Byron.

Jennifer stepped forward. “Energy?”

Byron gave a slow half-bow, reminding Rad of late-night conversations in an old house in another universe.

“The signature is unmistakable,” said Byron. “Unique.” He paused, then took a step forward. “There. The trail continues.”

Byron walked to the corner of the lobby, which lay in opaque shadow. “This way,” he said, and he vanished into the dark.

They’d been walking for what felt like hours. It was the unfamiliarity of the surroundings, the total lack of knowledge of where the corridors went, when they turned, what lurked behind each door. In Rad’s line of work it wasn’t an uncommon sensation.

Except now they were in the dark, traveling by the beam of a flashlight Grieves had found in the security guard’s desk in the lobby, being led by the ghost of Byron piloting Kane’s body in the Skyguard’s old suit.

It made Rad’s head spin, so he tried not to think about it. He also tried not to think about what they were going to do to stop the agents from Atoms for Peace, down here in the dark. They were just four people with a flashlight and a couple of guns, walking into the lion’s den.

“So,” he said, like he was trying to break the ice at a party. In front of him was Byron’s back; behind him Grieves and the others were so close he could feel Jennifer’s coat lapping at the backs of his legs. Underneath their feet the trail was unmistakable, now that he could see it gleam in the light. There was a surprising amount of oil. Too much.

Jennifer’s voice echoed in the corridor as they walked. “I’m fine,” she said. “Keep walking.”

“What are we going to do when we find him?”

“He needs help,” said Jennifer.

Grieves stopped and turned around, spotlighting her face with his light. The beam was split into a dozen more by the contours of her mask, golden light thrown around the corridor.

“He needs to be arrested, is what,” said Grieves. “From what you’ve said, he’s involved with all this.”

Jennifer stepped forward, bringing her golden face an inch from Mr Grieves.

“He’s injured, agent. And he was protecting the Empire State from an attack from this place. If anyone needs to be arrested, it’s your people.”

“Oh yeah?” said Grieves, rolling his shoulders. “For what, exactly?”

“For doing nothing! For letting this Atoms for Peace walk all over you. For letting them plan a war right under your nose.”

Rad sighed and pushed between the pair.

“Quit it,” he said. “We don’t know what we’re going to find down here.” He looked Grieves in the eye. “Carson sent me and Jennifer to New York to stop whatever it is that’s going on from destroying the universe. Universes.” He turned to Jennifer. “And that might just mean your brother does have something to do with it. He wasn’t exactly altogether there in the Empire State, right?” Rad tapped his temple. “He was building his own army and keeping them doped up to keep them under control. That doesn’t sound too savory.”

Jennifer sighed behind her mask. “Let’s just find him,” she said quietly.