Fallen Nation: Party At The World's End Read Online Free Page A

approached the
door, Loki with a small mirror in hand. He angled to look through
the window in the door, glancing back at Dionysus. He
frowned.
    “ What?” Dionysus asked.
    “ You’re grinning like a mental patient.”
    Dionysus grinned wider,
showing his teeth. “How’s this?”
    Loki sighed. “Okay.
Rent-a-cop, right? In over your head and trying to take charge
of that .” He
waved in the general direction of the alarms. “You want commanding,
confused and a little hostile.”
    Dionysus pursed his lips.
“All at once, huh?”
    “ Yeah.” Loki’s expression and posture shifted, somehow
perfectly nailing his description.
    “ That’s... creepy.”
    Loki shook his head and
swiped the key-card in the door. They entered.
     
    The two of them moved
purposefully down a hallway lined with high-security doors, shining
flashlights through the windows of each door in passing, as though
checking on patients. Two RENT-A-COPS trotted past them, exiting
through the stairwell. Dionysus and Loki dropped the act as soon as
the cops passed.
    Loki opened a door. “She’s
in here, come on.”
     
    Standing in the middle of a
padded cell, arms outstretched, was a tall, broad-shouldered
androgyne with a mane of purple hair.
    “ Jesus! Time to go!”
    Loki tossed the duffel
across the room at her. It hit her chest, bounced off and fell to
the floor.
    “ This bag contains uniforms like those, right?” Jesus spoke
slowly. It had been months since she’d bothered to
speak.
    “ Yeah.”
    “ No.”
    “ The hell do you mean, no?”
    Jesus nudged the bag
dourly. “No. I’m not doing it in drag.”
    Loki rolled his eyes.
“You’re fucking kidding me.”
    “ No.”
    “ You’re going to blow this plan over...” Loki was at a loss
for words.
    “ If we argue much longer, yeah,” Dionysus said.
    “ Look, just...” Loki paused, calculating something in his
head. “Fuck it.”
    He grabbed Jesus from
behind and manhandled him out the door. Dionysus joined in. They
made their way towards a stairwell, which disgorged two
staff.
    Loki shoved her against the
wall. “We got this one. Go to East Second to assist.” Jesus spit at
Loki and faked a struggle.
    The staff looked at each
other blankly.
    “ Go. Now.”
    When they were out of
earshot, Loki looked at Jesus. “Was the spitting really
necessary?”
    “ No, but when will I get to do that again?”
     
    A janitor stood outside the
motor pool parking lot, back to the wall, kicking back and smoking
his second cigarette in a row. The door slammed open. His cigarette
hung precariously on his lip as three crazed faces regarded him
with confusion.
    Then a freak faggot with
purple hair punched the living Christ out of him.
    They jumped into the
nearest van and drove away.
     
    As Loki drove, the other
two shined flashlights out the windows, as though looking for
escapees.
    “ We’ll do a loop, then head for the gate. You two duck and
I’ll–”
    “ Stop!” Dionysus yelled.
    Loki slammed on the brakes.
Standing in the glare of the headlights was Cody, clutching his
guitar.
    “ Friend of yours?”
    “ Roomie, remember?” Dionysus said, nodding.
    “ Destiny,” Jesus said.
    Loki scrutinized their
faces. “No use arguing, is it? Fine.”
    They pulled alongside Cody,
who jumped in.
    “ Stay low, okay?” Loki said.
     
    They halted at the exterior
gate. A security guard nervously squinted up at them. Loki opened
the drivers window.
    “ There’s a breach in the East fence, I’m gonna check it out.
You have a radio?”
    The security guard patted
the walkie-talkie on his belt. “Just this one.”
    “ Mine’s dead. Shit. Call it in and have someone follow me
out.”
    “ Got it,” the security guard said, waving them out.
    They drove off into the
darkness of night. The moon hung in the sky, nearly invisible. She
sent her borrowed sunlight off into space instead, perhaps jealous
of her big blue brother.
     

Chapter Two
     
     
    A white Crown Victoria,
unmarked, pulled up in