The Windup Girl

She bursts through the far side of the Ministry and into a firestorm. Trees burning. Some sort of napalm strike. Smoke roils around her. Another tank smashes a distant gate, coming faster than any megodont. It is difficult for her mind to process how quickly they move. They are like tigers, streaking across the grounds. Men fire their spring guns, but they are nothing against the iron shells of the tanks; they are not built for warfare. The chatter of weapons fire rattles along with bright flashes of light. Silvery disks chatter all around, bouncing and slashing. White shirts run for cover, but they have no place to go. Red blossoms on white. Men are disassembled by explosions. More tanks pour through.

"Who are they?" Pai screams.

Kanya shakes her head dumbly. The armored division ravages through the burning trees of the Environment Ministry's grounds. More troops are pouring in. "They have to be from the northeast. Akkarat is making his move. Pracha has been betrayed."

She yanks at Pai, points him toward a slight rise and the shadows of unburned trees, pointing toward where the Phra Seub Temple may still be standing. Perhaps they can escape. Pai stares, but doesn't move. Kanya yanks him again and then they are off and running across the grounds. Palm trees crash down in their path, crackling and flaming. Coconuts rain green around them along with shrapnel bursts. The screams of men and women being torn apart by the well-oiled military machine fill the air.

"Where now?" Pai yells.

Kanya doesn't have an answer. She ducks as wood splinters shower her and dives behind the partial cover of a fallen burning palm.

Jaidee flops down beside her and grins, not even sweating. He peers over the top of the log, then glances back at Kanya.

"So. Who will you fight for now, Captain?"

40

The tank surprises them all. One moment they are riding a pair of cycle rickshaws down a nearly empty street, the next, a roaring fills the air and a tank bursts into the intersection ahead. It has a loudspeaker that squawks something, perhaps a warning, and then its turret spins in their direction.

"Hide!" Hock Seng shouts as they all try to scramble off their bikes. The tank's barrel roars. Hock Seng hits the ground. A building face collapses, showering them with debris. Clouds of gray dust billow over him. Hock Seng coughs and tries to get up and crawl away but a rifle chatters and he throws himself flat again. He can't see anything in the dust. Answering small arms fire crackles from a nearby building and then the tank is firing again. The smoke clears slightly.

From an alley, Laughing Chan waves for Hock Seng. His hair is powdered gray and his face is coated with dust. His mouth moves but no sound comes out. Hock Seng tugs at Pak Eng and they scramble for safety. The hatch of the tank pops open and an armored gunner appears, firing with a spring rifle. Pak Eng goes down, his chest blossoming red. Peter Kuok ducks into an alley and Hock Seng glimpses him running. Hock Seng dives flat again and worms himself into the rubble. The tank fires again, rocking back on its treads. More small arms fire chatters from somewhere down the street. The man in the turret flops forward, dead. His rifle slides down the tank's armor. The tank engages and spins on its treads, clanking. Garbage and leaflets swirl around it. It lurches toward Hock Seng and accelerates. Hock Seng lunges aside as the tank crashes past, showering him with more debris.

Laughing Chan stares after the retreating vehicle. He says something but Hock Seng's ears are still ringing. He waves for Hock Seng to join him again. Hock Seng staggers upright and stumbles into the soi's relative safety. Laughing Chan cups his hands around Hock Seng's ear. His shout is a whisper.

"It's fast! Faster than a megodont!"

Hock Seng nods. He's shaking. It appeared so suddenly. So much faster than anything he has ever seen. Old Expansion technology. And the men driving it seemed mad. Hock Seng looks around at the rubble. "I don't even know what they were doing here. There's nothing to secure," he says.

Laughing Chan suddenly begins to laugh. His distant words tunnel past the ringing in Hock Seng's ears. "Maybe they're lost!"

And then they are both laughing, and Hock Seng is almost hysterical with relief. They sit in the alley, resting and trying to catch their breath and giggling. Slowly, Hock Seng's hearing returns.

"It's worse than the Green Headbands." Laughing Chan says, looking out at the street wreckage. "At least with them, it was personal." He makes a face. "You could fight them. These ones are too fast. And too crazy. Fengle, all of them."

Hock Seng is inclined to agree. "Still, dead is dead. I would rather not face either."

"We'll have to be more careful," Laughing Chan says. He nods at Pak Eng's body. "What should we do about him?"

"Do you want to carry him back to the towers?" Hock Seng asks pointedly.