The Descent

'Give me some credit, man. You're  mortal. There  are some things  even  you  can't  do. Besides, why  sneak when you can make a grand entrance?'

'You want me to just walk in and ask for your  property?'

'Better  you than me.'

'Even if Ali has it, then what?'

'I'm  a  businessman,  Ike.  I  live  and  die  by  negotiation.  Let's  see  where  we  can  get

with them. A little bit of old-fashioned bartering.'

'With them?  Down there?'

'You'll be my  proxy.  My  private  ambassador.'

'They'll never  let Ali go.'

'All I want is my  box.'

Ike  was truly  mystified. 'Why would they  give it to you?'

'That's  what  I  want  to  talk  to  them  about.'  Shoat  reached  over  to  his  rucksack  and pulled  out  a  thin,  battered  laptop  computer  embossed  with  the  Helios  logo.  'Our walkie-talkies  are  all  gone.  But  I've  got  a  two-way  comm  device  set  up  with  my laptop. We're going to have  a video conference.'

Shoat  opened  the  lid  and  turned  the  machine  on.  He  stepped  back,  plugging  a portable  earphone  into  one  ear,  and  held  a  small  camera/speaker  ball  in  front  of  his face.  On  screen,  his  face  rotated  and  mugged.  'Testing,  testing,'  his  voice  spoke  over the computer speaker.

Against  the  wall,  the  feral  girl  grunted,  eyes  wide  with  fear,  a  stranger  to  such magic.

'Here's  what  you're  going  to  do,  Ike.  Take  the  laptop  down  into  night-town  there. Once  you  reach  Ali,  open  the  laptop  up.  Make  sure  the  computer's  in  line  of  sight,  a straight  shot  from  you  to  me.  I  don't  want  to  lose  transmission.  Then   get   their presidente  on  the  horn  for  me.  While  you're  at  it,  give  this  whelp  back  to  them.  A good-faith gesture.  I'll take  it from there.'

'What's in it for me?'

Shoat grinned. 'That's my  man. What would you like? Your  life? Or Ali's?  Wanna  bet

I know the answer?'

It  was  exactly  the  chance  Ike  had  wanted  for  her.  'All  right,'  he  said.  'You're  the boss.'

'Good to have  you on board, Ike.'

'Cut my  ropes.'

'Of course.' Shoat  wagged  the  knife  as  if  Ike  were  a  naughty  child,  then  tossed  it  on the ground. 'But first we need to understand each  other.  It's  going  to  take  you  a  while to crawl over  here and cut yourself loose. And by  that time I'll be  locked  and  loaded  in a  cozy  sniper's  nest  not  too  far  away.  You're  going  to  escort  this  cannibal  down through  that  rabble  and  back  to  her  people.  And  set  up  my  link  with  their  CEO, whoever  that guy  is.'

Shoat set  the computer on the floor and backed toward a tall, jagged hole in  the  wall. Ike  had his eyes  on the knife.

'No tricks, no detours, no deceit. The  laptop's switched on. Don't turn it off. I  want  to be able to hear everything  you say,' Shoat  said.  'And  don't  come  looking  for  me.  From my  cubbyhole,  I've  got  a  clear  shot  all  the  way  down  the  trail.  Screw  up,  and  the fireworks begin. But I won't shoot you,  Ike.  It's  Ali  that  pays  for  your  sins.  I'll  kill  her first. And next,  just  to  piss  them  off,  their  leader.  After  that  I'll  work  through  targets of  opportunity.  But  there's  not  going  to  be  a  bullet  for  you.  I  promise.  You  can  live with yourself. You can live with them. Hell can have  you back. Are  we clear?'

Ike  started  crawling.

And in the lowest deep, a lower deep

Still threat'ning to devour me opens wide, To which the Hell I suffer seems a Heav'n.

– JOHN MILTON, Paradise Lost

27

SHANGRI-LA

Beneath the intersection of

the Philippine, Java, and Palu Trenches

Ike  descended into the ancient city, leading his daughter by  a rope. The  city  loomed  in the organic twilight, a puzzle of remnants, fused architecture, and eyeless  windows.

On the floor of the vast  canyon, at the ruins' edge, Ike  slung Shoat's laptop computer on  one  shoulder  and  bent  the  plastic  candle  he  had  been  given,  breaking  the  vial inside.  The  wand  came  alive  with  green  light.  Even  without  his  sniperscope,  Shoat would be able to track  his progress through the city.