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We&039;d all be vae Evolution never sleeps But my strain was too well developed to be brand-new It infected cats, turned its victims into feline-worshippers and carriers, created smarter and saner peeps A whole raft of adaptations

And those ancient legends about cats stealing breath - those stories were seven hundred years old If this strain had been around for seven hundred years, where had it been hiding?

Then I remembered the pale rats below the surface, buried deep until the reservoir had bubbled up beneath the PATH train Could they have been down there in the darkness for centuries, keeping an ancient strain of the parasite hidden?

And the foul thing I&039;d smelled but not encountered down there What did a hidden strain of the parasite have to do with that unseen subterranean creature?

The ride took forever,handprints on the vinyl seats, the sunlight flashing through the struts of the bridge, the taxilike a time bomb, and the , Lace&039;s voice saying again and again: "Except for not having any ofyour heavy-ass cat lie on ht Other than that, it&039;s been kind of nice"

"Yeah Really nice," I whispered again

I picked up a flashlight at the dollar store on the way home

"Here, kitty, kitty!" I called as the door swung open "It&039;s nu and wondered if Cornelius had soured out that I knew his secret and had escaped my apartment for the wider world But then he padded out froreet ht into his eyes

They flashed bloodred He blinked at me and cocked his head

I cruht In addition to all irlfriends, I&039;d infected my own cat How much did that suck? "Oh, Corny"

He meowed

After a whole year, how had I not noticed his eyes? Of course, with hts on Cornelius came to rest his head on ood purr

"How long?" I wondered aloud

Probably for most of the last year Cornelius always slept with me on the futon, and I couldn&039;t count the number of ti me in Crunchy Tuna breath He could have contracted the parasite even before I&039;d noticed the changes in h him that Sarah had been infected She&039;d always co

Maybe the sex had been irrelevant Maybe she&039;d been his peep, not mine Maybe Lace was already

I stood up and fed Cornelius, going through theoff panic She&039;d only spent one night here, after all And even if she&039;d been infected, it wouldn&039;t be as bad as Sarah This was an early diagnosis I just had to get her into treat her into treat that I&039;d co the I&039;d seen out in Brooklyn, and that the Mayor&039;s office was covering so them with Lace&039;s life, when I didn&039;t even trust thean to realize just how badly everything was about to cruht Watch had been corrupted and the parasite had gone airborne, helped along by Morgan Ryder - a new Typhoid Mary, with the added bonus of feline familiars

Even if Lace wasn&039;t already infected, I had to warn her No ht seeuy in 701 and turned his guts into graffiti

I remembered the motivational co 101 - showing hoere helping to save the world On their way to being epide called critical ins to feed upon itself - roving peeps in the streets, garbage and biting - more peeps Except that this strain would include nervous people getting cats to save the et the picture In the days and weeks ahead, the tiin to explode into teet nasty

I took a deep breath I couldn&039;t think about all that yet The first thing I had to do was find Lace and test her for early signs of infection I took her cell-phone number from where it lay on the table and dialed

She answered on the first ring "Lace here"

I sed "Hey It&039;s me, Cal"

"Oh Hi, Cal" Her tone sounded flat "That was fast"

"U ht," I said "Well, I had to"

"You did?" Her voice gave a hint of interest

"Yeahso&039;s come up"

"Like what, dude?"

"Like" You have contracted a deadly disease Soon, you hbors - but don&039;t worry, you will eventually switch to pigeons, or perhaps rats "Um, I can&039;t really talk about it on the phone"

She groaned "Still with the top secret, huh? Need-to-know basis?"

"Yeah But this is so pause, then a sigh "Okay I was kind of hoping you&039;d call I ht But I was kind of angry withthe way things are"

"Oh Right" I had the feeling she was about to get angrier

"Okay So where and when?"

"Right now Except I&039;m out in Brooklyn Twenty ry anyway How about that diner where we ate before? Where was that?"

"Bob&039;s? Broadway and Eleventh See you there And thanks"

"For what?"

"Not hanging up on me"

A pause "We&039;ll see"

We said good-bye and disconnected Lace had sounded so nor ht to spread the parasite Orat straws If she&039;d been infected the night before last, the only syht increase in night vision

I headed for the door

"Meow," Cornelius cried He was lying in my way

"Sorry, Corny Can&039;t stay"

He yowled again, louder

I slid hio"

He scra

"You can&039;t go out, okay?" I yelled and picked hih frole

"What&039;s your probleela stood there, grinning from ear to ear

"How did you find et the naan said

"Oh"

"And I thought that looked like you on the tapes,all brave and daring" Morgan laughed and turned to Angela "Cal&039;s froela said

"And look, he has a kitty!" Morgan said, reaching out to tickle Cornelius&039;s chin "Isn&039;t it cute?"

"Yes, he is," I answered, and threw Cornelius in her face

I followed the yowling ball of cat through the door, whipping the knockout injector froela&039;s hands went up to defend herself, the injector hissing as the needle sank into her forearm

"You Texas butt-head!" she shouted, then cru an and headed for the stairs

Halfway down, Morgan&039;s voice echoed through the stairwell "Stop, Cal! You&039;re being a pain!"

I kept running, taking each flight of stairs with a single, bone-jarring leap

"Your Night Watch isn&039;t going to help you now, you know!" she called, her sneakers squeaking on the concrete steps behind ured that ht Watch anymore But I wasn&039;t about to trust the person who&039;d infectedthe last flights of stairs, I ran through the lobby and burst out the front doors ofthat by so there The street, of course, was empty of cabs

But not of cats

There were dozens of thes, crowding the stoops across the street, all watching me with the sareeak, and the world went dizzy; I alht behind me I pulled h the curving handles of the front door Then I took a few deep breaths until the faintness passed

The cats around ht - they were nonviolent

Seconds later, Morgan approached the other side of the glass door, grabbed the inside handles, and pulled The belt held tight It would take her a while to wear down the leather, or for some random passerby to let her out

I stumbled back from the door

"Cal!" she called, her voice lass "Stop!"

I shookher cries

"Cal!" The sound faded behind me

The cats watched placidly, no concern in their expressions But so - soested that if I disturbed the quiet street, they would turn into an angry horde and devourtheir red-flickering eyes with every step

Another two blocks up was Flatbush Avenue, busy and nor arm and hailed a taxi to Manhattan

Halfway across the bridge,It was the Shrink

"Kid, we need to talk"

"Don&039;t callsilence on the other end Evidently, the words had surprised the Shrink just as much as they had me

"Um, if you don&039;t mind?" I added lamely

"CertainlyCal"

I frowned "Hey, wait a second I thought you didn&039;t like talking on phones"

"I don&039;t, but the world is changing, Cal And one must adapt"

I wanted to point out that telephones were so 1881 - not exactly cutting edge - but the Shrink&039;s choice of words froze the re?" I said hoarsely

"You hadn&039;t noticed?"

"U on" I clearedto feel like nobody&039;s keeping ht Perhaps we haven&039;t been fair to you"

The cab slowed as the bridge descended into Chinatown, and a few moments of reception crackle interrupted the conversation Ahead of me were crowds of workday pedestrians - all within arround for infection and for sudden violence spinning out of control

When the rattle into tellon?"

"Of course I, for one, have alanted you to knohat&039;s going on I&039;ve always trusted you, Cal But you see, you&039;re so very young coht Watch?"

"Not the Watch We carriers, Cal, with all those centuries behind us And those of us in the old faht you wouldn&039;t understand the way things were changing" She sighed "I&039; you as a bit of a human"

"Uhed "No, Cal, you&039;re one of us"

I groaned, not wanting to get into sou on!"

"I&039;ll let her tell you"

"Her who?"

"Just get where you&039;re going Don&039;t worry She&039;ll be there" Click She&039;d hung up

How did the Shrink knohere I was going? I couldn&039;t i tapped h-tech for the He&039;d san could have heard my conversation with Lace I replayed it in my mind Bob&039;s on Broadway and Eleventh, I had helpfully said aloud

She would be waiting? But as she?

I dialed Lace&039;s number on my cell, but there was no answer Out of service, the recorded voice said We were approaching Houston, the cars around us slowing to a walking pace I paid, ju to untangle theof the Shrink&039;s call

The Shrink knew that I knew My first thought was that Chip had broken his proan&039;s words at et the naan knew that I had forgotten her last na the Shrink had always chided an have known that, unless soether - Morgan Ryder, the Shrink, and the Night Mayor, along with the other carriers and the old fa about my strain of the parasite and what it

And if it hadn&039;t been for Lace&039;s detective work, I would still be in the dark

LaceI thought, speeding up

Rebecky greeted ain already?"

I tried not to pant "Yeah Meeting someone"

"So I noticed" Rebecky winked "I never forget a face She&039;s right back there"

I nodded and headed toward the rear corner table, still breathing heavily, still dizzy, still trying to put together everything I had to explain to Lace, so harried and distracted that it wasn&039;t until I&039;d thunkedacross from me wasn&039;t Lace

It was Sarah