“Hey,” he said, puffing. “Things are looking up, eh?”
“We should still pull out,” Marasi said. “This isn’t what we’re trained for.”
“Shame to leave when we’re winning though,” Wayne said. He nodded behind him. The Sequence was pointing toward the way out—mid-order—and the cheater was on her feet, running in that direction.
“Are we?” Marasi said. She looked down at Mathingdaw—the wounded constable—who had her eyes shut tight, grimacing from the pain of a bullet hole in her leg.
“If Wax deals with that Coinshot we are,” Wayne said. The enemy ranks were in chaos as their men tried to hide.
“They have at least a few aluminum bullets,” Marasi said, pointing to the side. Indeed some bullets—moving ever so slowly through the air—were ignoring Wax’s Pushes.
“Why so few though?” Wayne said. “Miles Hundredlives had tons of aluminum equipment.”
“This group planned to be caught today,” she said. “I’m convinced of it. They were going to let Blantach’s constables take them, rather than raise suspicion by stopping the investigation.”
“That’s a leap in logic,” Wayne said. “But you’re often right about this sorta thing. They wouldn’t want much aluminum to be taken. Departments have a habit of meltin’ it down for the money.”
Wayne glanced toward Wax, who stood out in front. Frozen as he pointed with three fingers at a passing bullet. He seemed to be… guiding it to the side.
Nah. That was a bit much, even for Wax.
“My gut says,” Wayne replied, “that if we hold out this lot will scatter. See, they already got a newsworthy incident by fightin’ us, and there’s not much more to gain. But we have wounded, and it’dbe tough to pull out.”
Marasi nodded. “All right then. We hold position. So long as Wax chases off that Coinshot.”
“Dropping the bubble.”
“Go.”
He dropped it. Wax continued his spin, and rusts… the bullet he’dbeen pointing atseemedto go straight for one of the gangsters trying to sneak up on the constables’ position.
“Wax!” Marasi shouted. “We can handle these. But I need that Coinshot dealt with!”
Wax glanced at her, then nodded and fired at the Coinshot, who dodged into the air. The man launched straight up and smashed through the ceiling out into the city.
Wax followed, soaring through a broken skylight.
As the two vanished, the cheater ran out the front doors. The smarter gangsters realized what was up and ducked out any way they could. Wayne leaped out in front to draw fire, and Marasi scrambled to the side of the room. He wondered why until her grenade froze a small group of enemies.
The rest of this was cleanup; the real fight had moved to the sky.Wait,Wayne thought. He put up a speed bubble so two nearby wounded could crawl into the back of a truck for shelter.Did anyone warn Wax that the Coinshot can do those crazy super-Pushes?
Hmm. Well, Wayne supposed his friend would figure it out soon enough.
25
Wax darted into the air and felt a sudden moment of disconnect. He’dflown through Elendel so often that he expected to see its sights. This city—with its round layout, elevated train, and huge warships in the port—was disorienting. He had been here before, and knew about the strange design of the buildings, no two the same. But from up here, he could see they were arranged in an artistic pattern. Too orderly, too perfect, too balanced. Like a child’s model of a city.
The enemy Coinshot bounded away toward the perimeter of the city, and Wax gave chase with a few Steelpushes. His opponent was talented, maybe even a true Coinshot, augmented by Hemalurgy. He expertly Pushed off the buildings they passed, when newer Coinshots always looked for anchors—like cars—directly beneath them, and forgot about those behind.
Still, Wax managed to gain on the man by anticipating where he would Push. Wax raised Vindication. He didn’t want to kill the Coinshot—they needed answers—but perhaps a hit in the leg or arm would—
The man suddenlyblastedinto the air. The car belowcrumpledas if it had been stomped flat, and Wax winced for the poor people inside. The Coinshot launched high into the sky, swift as a bullet, difficult to track against the blinding sun.
Wax landed in a scramble on a nearby rooftop. Rustinghell.That had been…
Duralumin.Damn. It had only been a matter of time before he faced an enemy with this strength, but he’dmerely read of those powers. Never faced them. This threw out Wax’s every understanding of how to duel with another Coinshot. How did you fight someone who could launch himself a mile into the air with a single Push?
Same way you fight anyone,Wax thought.With skill and wit.