"So what will you do, now that you're going to be famous?"
"We're leaving the city tonight," Lai said. The wind was building again, her hair streaming straight up, making her look even more deranged than usual. "We'll change our faces. That's why we gave you this ride, to give ourselves a head start."
Aya found she still couldn't believe it. "But don't you realize how much face you'll get for uncovering this? How many merits?"
"It's going to stir up more than merits." Lai pulled one bracelet free, reached across the sled, and took Aya's hand in a firm grip. "You be careful."
"Don't worry. I'll count to thirty."
"No, I mean be careful after you kick this."
The sled was starting to spin faster as it fell, the sky and earth twisting around her. "Careful with what?"
"With everything and everyone!" Lai shouted over the wind. "Whoever built this monstrosity is dangerous!"
The sled was starting to tip now, rolling onto its side, the spin turning into a wild tumble.
"Speaking of dangerous, shouldn't we get off?" Aya asked, twisting at her crash bracelets.
"Just be careful!" Lai yelled. "And enjoy your fame!"
She planted a boot on Aya's chest, and shoved her away Aya spun head over heels away from the sled, her breath knocked out of her. She was suddenly all alone, falling helplessly through the air. Even if it was just a bunch of useless hoverboards, at least she'd had something to cling to a moment ago.
Now it was just her and the rushing air.
Spreading out her arms, Aya tried to get control of her fall. She was supposed to count to thirty before pulling the cord. But was that from the top of the climb or from when Lai had pushed her off?
And how many seconds had already passed?
Gradually Aya's descent steadied. But her eyes were streaming from the wind, the Earth a dark blur beneath her. If she popped the parachute too soon, she had no idea how far the wind might carry her.
She looked frantically around for the others and saw them ten meters away, clinging to the sled, Eden reaching inside to pull its chute cord. The two kicked away from it, and a rippling stream of fabric burst from the top.
The chute blossomed into shape, and the whole contraption shot upward into the darkness away from Lai and Eden.
The Earth below was growing visiblyAya could see the Sly Girls now, their flashlights a circle around the mass driver's mouth.
Lai and Eden were a dozen meters away, still screaming their heads off, reveling in every second of their final jump. Aya realized that waiting for them to pull their cords might not be the best idea.
She stared down at the spinning Earth. It was growing faster now, trees and rocks and bushes shimmering into focus. She imagined herself hitting at full speed And pulled the cord.
The parachute bloomed over her head, fluttering for a moment, then snapping into shape with an ear-kicking pop.
The straps jerked her upright, like a puppet yanked from the floor by its strings.
A brief moment of violence then suddenly the air was still around her.
The moon glowed hazily through translucent silk, and Aya could see the rectangular outlines of silk sheets and pillowcases that the Girls had sewn together. The mountainous panorama around her steadied.
Lai and Eden had already zoomed past, tendrils of their screams trailing behind. They dropped farther and farther away, arms outstretched as if rushing to embrace the mountain below.
Were they trying to kill themselves?
At the last second, chutes blossomed from their packs, pouring out in long streams, then billowing into shape.
Lai and Eden were still moving fast, though. The wind carried them sideways across the top of the mountain, the other Sly Girls scrambling behind. They coasted for a moment a few meters high, then dropped again, boots scraping through the dust and scrub, skidding to ungainly halts.
The other Girls reached them, swarming to gather the crumpled folds of their parachutes.
But Aya was still more than a hundred meters up. The wind seemed to strengthen, pulling her away from the opening of the mass driver. She passed over Lai and Eden, the parachute carrying her like a silken sail. The mountains edge slipped past to reveal the valley below, and Aya realized she still had a very long way to fall.
This was why they'd picked such a windy night. It would be long minutes before she touched down, maybe hours before she could hike back to the mag-lev tracks. Plenty of time for them to make their own escape before she could even think of kicking the story.
Aya fixed her gaze on the bright silver streak of the mag-lev line. She swung her feet and pulled on the straps, trying to guide herself toward the tracks. But the parachute puffed up overhead, caught by another updraft.
It was going to be a long hike. For the moment, though, there was nothing to do but let her spy-cams take in the scenery andslowly, slowlyfall.
Lai's final warning echoed in her ears, but Aya wasn't afraid. Once the story went to feed, none of this was her problem. Since the Diego War, the world had very strict rules about stockpiled weapons.
The Global Concord Committee would swoop down within hours, pulling the mountain apart.
Someone was in big trouble.
But not Aya Fuse. Her biggest problem now was what to wear to Nana Love's Thousand Faces Party. Because with an ending like this, the City Killer story was going to make her that famous.
Maybe for the rest of her life.
"You are not wearing that!"
"Why not?" Aya twisted the ringlets in her hair, which was puffed up like a manga-head's and dyed bright purple. Her dress was spattered with sparkle lights, and her shoes were variable-friction platformsshe'd skidded into Hire's apartment like the floor was made of ice. She took two handfuls of the dress and spread it out, looking down at herself. "This outfit is totally kick!"
"Maybe if you're fifteen," Hire muttered.
Aya rolled her eyes. "Well, I happen to be fifteen. And you can't tell me how to dress for this party. My story's the whole reason we're going!"
"Yeah, but I'm the one with the invitation, remember? You're just tagging along."
"For now," Aya said softly.
Tonight wasn't the partythe Thousand Faces was still a week awaythis was just a monthly tech-head bash. But Ren had said Aya should be there tonight when her City Killer story kicked. Full of physics-heads and mag-lev spotters, the bash would spawn the interviews, feed wars, and rampant rekicking that every big story demanded.
"Whatever, Aya-chan. Just please don't visit Mom and Dad till those flash tattoos fade."
Aya stuck her tongue out at him, which made the spirals on her cheeks spin. The temporary tattoos still tickled when they moved, and she let out a giggle.
"Ren Machino," Hiro told the room, then asked, "Where are you?"