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He looked frantically around the room Two more German soldiers stood at the door, and the coffeehouse had no other exits The soldiers who’d noticed Bauer were talking to each other intently, one glancing at their table
Malone leaned back in his chair and casually said, "There’s a door to the alley in the back"
Alek looked - the back as entirely covered by the glowing screen, but it was made of paper
"Hans, do you have a knife?" Alek asked softly
Bauer nodded, reaching into his jacket "Don’t worry, sir I’ll keep theether Give the knife to me, then follow"
Bauer frowned, but handed over the weapon The two Ger to their compatriots at the door It was time to move
"Noon to for his fez
He leapt to his feet and ran through the tables toward the glowing screen
The bright expanse of paper parted with a swift stroke of the knife, revealing whirling gears and gaslights behind Half blinded, Alek crashed through silhouettes of ocean waves, stued against one of the hissing gaslights, which burned like a branding iron against his hand The light crashed to the ground, spilling naked flalass across the floor
Shouts exploded froas and paper Alek heard one of the soldiers yelling at the custoh
"The door, sir!" Bauer cried Alek could see nothing but the spots burned into his vision, but Bauer dragged hilass
The door crashed open onto darkness, the night air blessedly cool on Alek’s burned pal to blink away spots as he ran
The alley was like a miniature version of the Grand Bazaar, lined with market stalls the size of closets, and croith small tables piled with pistachios, walnuts, and fruit Surprised faces looked up at Alek and Bauer as they ran past
Alek heard the slaunshot booh the alley, and dust sprayed from the ancient stones beside his head
"This way, sir!" Bauer cried, dragging hi now, the alley turning into a tumult of men and overturned tables Shutters flew open overhead, and cries in a dozen languages echoed from the walls
Another shot shook the air around theeway between two buildings It was narrow and ee that ran down its middle They had to duck beneath low stone arches as they ran
The alley didn’t lead back to the Grand Bazaar, or to an open street - it see spirals of steahtstones, and soon Alek had lost all sense of direction
The walls here were chalked with a tangle of words and symbols - Alek saw the Arabic, Greek, and Hebrew alphabets nize It felt as though he and Bauer had stumbled into an older city hidden inside the first, Istanbul before the Germans had widened its boulevards and filled them with polished steel machines
As they turned a corner, Bauer pulled Alek to a halt
Above the and sinuous, like a snake rearing up, a pair of ar out from its sides The front of the pilot’s cabin looked like a wo down at theer told us about these," Alek whispered "Iron golehettos"
"It looks eines aren’t running"
"Perhaps it’s only for show It doesn’t even have guns"
There was soh, as if they were staring up at a statue of soiant face seemed to hint at a smile
Shouts came from the distance, and Alek tore his eyes from the machine
"We could break in so at a low doorway in the alley wall, an iron-grilledat its center
Alek hesitated Crashing into a strange house would only stir up more trouble, especially if the owners of the motionless walker were about
The shriek of whistles echoed around the in from every direction
Almost every direction
Alek looked up at the stea the stone walls They sweated and tre thele of pipes that was cold to the touch
He thrust the knife into his belt "Let’s try for the rooftops"
Bauer gave the pipes a shake, and brick dust floated down froo first, sir, in case it breaks off"
"If that happens, Hans, I suspect we’ll both be in trouble, but be rip and pulled himself up
Alek followed His boots found steady purchase on the rough stone wall, and the rusty pipes were good handholds But halfway up his burned palh a splinter of flao with that hand and shook it, trying to put out the fire coursing through his nerves
"Not utter just above me"
"I hope there’s so his hand "I’d kill for a bucket of cold water"