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〃Highways turned out to be the headquarters of the Red Snakes。 It was on the roof of a skeletal fifteen…story building； reached by a series of jerry…rigged ramps that connected it with an adjacent （and equally devastated） ten…story parking garage。 Romy and I arrived a few moments after Rook； who was braving it out on her own against more than a dozen outlaw bikers。 At the center of the group stood the Snakes' main man； a mean…looking hulk named Atilla。 He must have stood six six and weighed in at two eighty； most of which was pure muscle。 He had a pot； like most of these rogue leaders do； and affected a getup that was part street； part costume； including armless goggles no larger than bottlecaps he had had stitched to his eye sockets； black leather wristbands； shin guards and knee pads fashioned to resemble poised cobras； and a kind of pointed； twin…horned Vikinglike helmet and cowl bination。 There was a large S emblazoned on the front of his sleeveless T…shirt； and he had a face not even a mother could love； with a nose that was wide and flattened from countless breaks。〃
〃‘I've gotta admit it； Rook；' he was saying as we pulled up。 ‘You got a lotta guts。 It's just too bad you ain't got the brains that go along with it。'〃
〃At that； Atilla gestured to his assembled pack； and they responded with the appropriate litany of hoots and hollers。 The implication was clear enough： Rook was about to receive a stomping that would make the first seem like a love fest。〃
〃'I didn't think you had it in you； Rook；' Atilla added。〃
〃But if Rook was at all worried at that moment； she had me fooled。 Somewhere along the way she had suited herself up in Cyclone battle armor。 But even so； she looked vulnerable； straddling her bike； glaring right back at them； her blond hair mussed by the wind。〃
〃'I'd say you're the one who's the coward。 Snake Eyes；' she fired back。 ‘You're nothing without this army of slugs you call a tribe。'〃
〃During this little exchange we were parked on the remains of a roof balcony； above and behind Rook。 Romy was eager to go down to her； but I told him to hang back a moment more； at least until the rules were laid down。〃
〃‘You're Mr。 Mean；' Rook was saying； 'only because you've got the odds on your side； and not one of these rogues has the balls to challenge your position。 But I think you're hollow to the core； and I came back here to tell you that。'〃
〃This was the same Rook I had fallen in love with that day in Pops's biker bar。。。And unless Atilla was a lot quicker than the scuz she had seen to there； he was soon to be one sorry rogue； and I knew it。〃
〃To Rook's taunts； Atilla returned something befitting his intellect…something like： 'Oh yeah？ Prove it！'…before she got down to the challenge。〃
〃‘Just you and me；' she told him。 ‘One on one； right here in front of all your boys。 And I'll even make it easy for you。 We won't even fight； we'll just have a chicken race。'〃
〃‘A race？' Atilla roared laughingly。 ‘I thought we were gonna have some fun。'〃
〃Rook grinned and said； ‘The beam；' pointing to something off to her left。〃
〃This brought a real chorus of cheers from the spectators。 I didn't understand what she was talking about until Romy showed me what the beam was。 It was either the remains of a bridge that had once linked Highways with the building across the street or a collapsed structural member from one of the two buildings。 In any case； it was no more than foot wide and now ran roof to roof more than one hundred and fifty feet above the city's main street。 But that wasn't all： The beam was not entirely straight。 Midway along was a bend and a slight dip…from who knew what…to test the mettle of any rider。 Reaching the beam first was only part of the game； reaching the other roof was something else again。 It was obvious from everyone's reactions that the beam was one of Trenchtown's rites of passage； an initiation that had certainly ended in more than one death。〃
〃While I was taking all of this in； Romy was dismounting from the Cyclone。 ' We can't let her go through with this；' he told me； showing an intense anger that almost led me to reevaluate my initial impression of him。〃
〃Atilla； meanwhile； was doing his best to back away from the challenge without losing face。 He pointed out to his assembled buddies that what he had envisioned was a genuine physical mix…up with Rook…winner taking all； so to speak…and they were buying it。〃
〃‘Let's pluck this chicken now！' he shouted； leering at Rook。〃
〃I could understand his misgivings； but if I were him I would have been pointing out the fact that Rook's Cyclone was not only faster than his old Kamikaze but capable of reconfiguring and actually flying across to the opposite roof should Rook misjudge the beam itself。 Well； perhaps he had never seen a Cyclone before； I thought。〃
〃Romy and I were standing side by side on the roof balcony now。 Below； Atilla and his Huns were beginning to take a fancy to the idea of jumping Rook's bones； so I decided it was time for us to show our colors； pulled out the hand H…90； and fired off a quick vertical burst for the boys that stopped them dead in their tracks。
〃‘Stay where you are！' I warned them； feeling a little like Atilla with the blaster backing up my threats。 ‘The two of them fight it out alone； just like the lady says。' Rook was more surprised by my sudden appearance than any of them。 I figured that by backing her I was doing a little better than Romy； who was now urging her to give up the idea。 His presence elicited as many ments from the Snakes as Rook's idea of riding the beam had。 It seemed that the former leader of the Blue Angels was not very well thought of in the Snakes' side of town。〃
〃‘Don't worry； Romy； I won't blow it；' Rook was saying； not entirely successful at hiding her concern。 ‘Let's just say my riding skills have improved a lot。' She looked hard at Romy and thanked him for standing by her。 ‘ing back here was a good thing；' she said； smiling。 ‘I think it cleared my head of a； lot of bad memories。 More than you'll ever know。。。'〃
〃‘Rook；' Romy started to say。〃
〃‘I'm counting on you to take care of Lilly；' Rook added； activating the Cyc。〃
〃I walked down the sta