I'd found a pair of binoculars in an office near the top floor. Some bygone businessman's preoccupation of snooping into other people's lives no doubt. I was putting them to good use though, as I scanned the city below.
I wanted to get out of the city, but I just hadn't seen an opening yet given the intensive ground search being conducted throughout the city. There was an intersection several blocks away and I watched a group of Code people stop there for a moment. The Code people were made obvious by their finer attire and well fed appearances, even from a distance.
I watched the group. They just stood there, as if waiting on something. A little later several other small groups joined them. That was a curious occurrence. Five minutes later I saw the approach of a big chopper that began to descend between the buildings. All the waiting Code people boarded it when it landed on the street.
The chopper took off and was gone. I caught glimpses of other choppers leaving the city too. The Code people were performing a mass exodus it would seem.
I dropped the binoculars and they shattered off the floor, as the significance of what such an action by our hunters could mean, became all too real to me. I jumped out of the chair and was traveling down stories of the high-rise, as fast as I could go, within a heartbeat. I yelled for Asia.
She looked up at me in alarm, as dread filled her eyes, "They've found us?"
"No, but we've got to go now!"
"Why?"
"Questions later! Grab your pack!"
I grabbed my pack and my sword and with her following I made my way to the lower floor to my rope apparatus. It was broad daylight and the absolute worst time to be doing this, but the situation was unavoidable. I stepped into the loop and pulled Asia to me and she clutched at me desperately as we started down.
I'd taken some weight off of the counterweight and together we fell down the side of the building in a quite rapid descent. I spared Asia from the jarring landing by picking her up some so I alone absorbed the shock of the landing.
Rolling up to my feet I pulled Asia up along with me and shoved her towards the passenger side of a dust covered shortbread Ram diesel pickup. She stared at me as if I was stupid.
"It won't work! The computer chips are all fried!
"Not this one! Get in!"
While I had been hunting for Asia I had made fixing this truck a priority in my spare time. The fuel tank had been empty, but I had managed to find some diesel in an engine in a warehouse down by the pier. There had been enough diesel to fill the tank of the truck and a few spare cans. Chantry had left me several undamaged conversion chips to fix the truck's computer. I'd started the truck up in the rain one night to confirm whether the chips would work or not. The truck had run a little rough at first, but not bad for something that hadn't run for two years and had been left out in the elements.