Station, стр. 60
Ego mulled this over for several seconds beforespeaking. "Honestly, I think Albany Rott tires of this balancedimbalance. Maybe he grows bored. But he wants to see chess piecesmoved, and I think you are his pawn to e4, a chaotic elementintroduced to a stagnant layout. A drop of blood in a pool ofpiranhas. Something to stir the pot, mix the elements, forcehands."
Now it was Hadder's turn to think for a moment. "Doyou think The Krown sent Skeelis over the Skirt to kill myfriend?"
Ego gave the question real consideration. "Maybe.Maybe not. Perhaps he sent Skeelis to test the Caesars' defenses.Perhaps he sent Skeelis to create fear and foster anger. Remember,if the Setting gets to the point where they want to attack theRising, The Krown still gets his way, achieves his objectives. Butmost likely, Skeelis got high on some brain-melting gas andwandered over with bad intentions, found doors ajar, discovered ayoung girl in the shadows."
Hadder remembered the smile on Skeelis's face whenthe fiend saw Hadder in The Soiree Noire, like he knew thepain he was about to inflict was going to cut deep. But Skeelisfailed to see that he had cut too deep, that he had unearthedsomething Hadder had worked hard to bury. He decided not to sharethis with Ego Rounds.
"Penny for your thoughts, Hadder. You look likeyou're stewing over something there." Hadder's eyes rose and Ego'shead snapped back a bit from what he saw in them, something he wassure Rott had seen long ago.
"I was wondering if I should just kill both Skeelisand The Krown while I'm in the North. Put an end to all thisbullshit."
Silence. And then deep laughter that sent wavesacross Ego Round's shirtless body. Other Risers who had beenholding guard and listening in also began to laugh. Even Cal andOtho shared a small chuckle between sips of drink. Ego grabbedanother leg from the cooked carcass. "You would be doing me a greatservice, Hadder. But you should know, The Krown would quicklyimpale you on those spikes of his and walk around with you for aweek, allowing your body to decompose in front of everyone. Stickwith Skeelis for now; you'll have your hands full with him. Infact, I give you a one in three chance of making it back alive."Ego could see Hadder's eyes flare, so he added, "Oh, I don'tquestion your heart, Hadder. And Lord knows I don't doubt yourRage. But you're going against a man every bit as crazy asyourself, but with years of combat Elevations. I'm sorry, myfriend, but it doesn't look good."
"I'm counting on that. And I hope Skeelis's face isfrozen in a disdainful laugh when I bring his head back across theSkirt."
Ego's meaty hand hit the table again, almostsplintering the weathered wood. "Oh, but Hadder, you would make anexcellent Riser! When your business is done in the North, and whenyou realize that the Rage is not quieted, join me here and we'llconquer the Rising together."
"Something tells me it wouldn't end there."
"Well, of course not. Then we would have a fallingout, split the Bars amongst ourselves, watch as loyalties aredivided, and wage a proper, respectable war against each other.What do you think?"
"I think your utopia is my nightmare."
"No, Hadder, you'll be walking into your nightmareshortly."
CHAPTER 19
Viktor Krill Lives!
There it was again, spray-painted on the lone wallwhere a Bar once stood. This was the third time Hadder had seen themessage since the trio crossed over into North Rising, also knownas the dominion of The Krown.
After his conversation with Ego Rounds, Hadder wasonce again invited to join the party of violence that definedStation's eastern third, but not before Ego provided Hadder withthe general location of The Krown's encampment. Like Ego's, it wasfar from the Lethe, which separated their two controlledterritories, and could be found in the northeast corner of thecity.
Not wanting to run the entire Rising gauntlet,Hadder, Cal, and Otho simply went west from Thug's Passion,hitting the Skirt and following it north, back across the CaesarBridge, where Hadder left his now-stifling jacket, and high intothe city. When the northern Station Wall was in view, they cuteast, entering the post-apocalyptic Mad Max world of The Krown.
This far from the Lethe, Hadder expected thelandscape to mirror that of The Krown's nemesis to the south -defensive fortifications, military precision, and controlled chaos.Other than chaos, the uncontrolled kind, Hadder saw none of thesethings. North Rising was a complete wasteland, complete with razedbuildings, half-eaten carcasses, and scorched earth where wildfireswere employed as weapons.
Ten minutes into The Krown's territory, Hadder hadseen very few Risers, and those he did seemed little more thanscavengers, carrying trash they found back into sad, flapping tentsthat served as home. With very little else to note, the repeatedgraffiti messages were even more glaring. Hadder was unable towrangle his curiosity.
"Who the hell is Viktor Krill?"
Cal and Otho shared a strange look, one Hadder hadgrown accustomed to in his short time with the behemoths. The looksaid that they knew something, didn't like what they knew, andweren't about to share what they knew with Marlin Hadder. Hadderkicked a loose stone in frustration, hurting the top of his foot,and made a mental note to ask others about this man who seemed sopopular in the Rising.
On they walked, seeing more of the same, namelydestruction of the highest order. With almost no organizedprotection to be seen, Hadder wondered why Ego couldn't easily takethis turf with his sophisticated military tactics. Just ahead, aprevious Cluster of Bars must have been the scene of a viciousfight. The bones of the Bars remained intact, decorated with burnmarks, deep divots, and more of the same message.
Viktor Krill Lives!
The spaces between the ghosts of Bars had beenfilled in with large debris, probably taken from demolishedbuildings farther south and closer to the Skirt. The large piles ofwreckage effectively cut off many of the options the trio had,forcing them to pass between two large buildings that faced andmirrored each other, most likely co-themed Bars from another, lessviolent time in Station's history.
As it was fast becoming late in the Solay, with theIdol Moon quickly retreating into itself, thicker darkness