The Big Splash (27 page)

He reaches down and pats me on the shoulder. “Good soldier. One hour,” he says, then takes off. I stay
behind for a moment, trying to think of a good time to tell him what the lead story is going to be on the evening news. Perfect. Spectacular.

I rub my eyes with the heels of my hands and take a deep breath. After what just happened, the last thing I want to do is go back out there … into the city … where people might see me …

But, an order is an order.

I take another deep breath, let it out, then leap off the fire escape. The quicker I get this over with, the quicker I can get out of this stupid costume.