The little boy came back in. His eyes were wide with excitement. “Al’s comin’! He’s comin’ up here right now!”
Then he raced out of the room again.
“Al knows what t’do,” Sylvia said again.
For some reason that he didn’t fully understand himself, Ron wanted to be on his feet when Al came in. He started to struggle up. Sylvia helped him.
The boy popped in again, his face red and sweaty. “He’s here! Al’s right here!”
Ron expected to see a tall, broad-shouldered, steel-eyed leader of men. Instead, the guy who stepped into the room was about his own age, short and wiry. He was much smaller and skinnier than Dino. There was a scar running across his chin and odd-looking wrinkles around his eyes.
“This is th’ dude, huh?” Al’s voice was soft, quiet.
Sylvia answered, “He’s gotta be out before midnight or—”
“I know,” Al said. “You an’ th’ kid split.”
“But—”
“Split.”
Sylvia gave Ron a worried glance. Then she tried to smile and said, “Good-bye, Ron.”
“I’ll see you later,” Ron said as she went to the door.
Al looked Ron up and down. “Can you walk?”
“I think so.”
“Okay. I’ll give you directions t’ th’ nearest gate in th’ Dome. It’s about thirty blocks from here.”
“Wait a minute,” Ron said. “Before I go anywhere, I want my money back. And my ID and credit cards.”
Al just stared at him.
“Well—you’re supposed to know how to do things. How do I get this Dino guy? Do I have to call the police, or what?”
“The hardtops?” Al broke into a laugh. “The hardtops? Last time they was down here half of ’em never got out. They ain’t been around here fer years.”
“But Dino—”
“Forget it! Just be happy you’re gettin’ out. And alive.”
“Now wait,” Ron snapped, his temper rising. “Dino took more than a thousand dollars from me.”
Al’s face settled into a hard scowl. “Listen, punk. First off, nobody’s gotta help you get out. I don’t give a shit if you live or die, and nobody else does either, except that whacky Sylvia.”
“What—”
“Second, whatever Dino took off ya is his. You want it back, you go find him and fight him for it. Only, this time he might not leave you breathin’. Catch?”
Ron felt his teeth clenching.
“An’ third, Dino took yer cards and keys all right. But he didn’t get any cash. Sylvia took that while you was sleepin’.”
“What?”
“In th’ hotel room,” Al said.
“That’s a damned lie!” Ron was suddenly shaking with fury.
“I got th’ money off her,” Al said, very calmly. “It belongs to us—”
“It’s mine!”
“Not no more. It belongs to my gang. I’ll help you get out—but only b’cause we got your money. Catch? Like you’re buyin’ your way outta th’ Dome. You don’t get nothin’ fer free.”
Ron limped down an empty Manhattan street in the hot haze of late afternoon. He passed row after row of crumbling old buildings and empty store fronts. Windows blankly staring at him. No drapes or curtains or blinds. No glass left. No people. For all he could see, he was the only human being in Manhattan. The last man on Earth.
But inside those buildings there was life, Ron knew now. Rats scuttled in the darkness of the basements, and two-legged animals huddled in the rooms upstairs.
She took my money. Ron knew it was true. He didn’t want to believe it, but he knew it was true. She seemed so scared and alone, so soft and pretty . . . And it was all a trick. A lousy trick.
Ron’s feet hurt. Walking barefoot down streets covered with broken glass, old food cans, cigarette butts, torn paper, cracked cement that was steaming hot—he had cut one foot on something, and they were both coming up with blisters. His back and ribs still ached from the beating Dino and his friends had given him. His eyes were okay now, though the bruises still felt tender to the touch. His hand was still swollen painfully.
He couldn’t get the thought of Sylvia out of his head. She tricked me. She and Dino must have been working together. But he kept remembering how it felt to hold her, the sweaty odor of her body, the words she whispered to him.
There were other people on the streets now. Visitors, all of them. Mostly middle-aged men. There were a few couples. Nobody Ron’s age. They all were dressed well, but their clothes now looked rumpled, dirty. They were all heading in the same direction, toward the gate. They all looked tired.
