"Why the middle tank?"

Hawk was jerked out of his thoughts--the coppery-skinned girl who'd ignored them up until now had gotten to her feet. Her eyes blazed white, and glassy blades of traffic-signal-red light had formed, seemingly from nothing, trailing from her cheeks and nose. She did not look at them, but instead at the fighting below, and asked haughtily, "What good would that do?"

"Uh," Hawk answered in a mumble, suddenly less sure, "I just figure it'd break their line a' defense. The other two tanks are too close together to shoot anythin' between them..."

"Tess," the grey-skinned woman interrupted, warningly. The other girl paused for a moment, and then turned on her heel and stalked away, towards the roof's door.

"Sounds right," she said, bumping Teige's shoulder as she went past. The grey-skinned girl leapt to her feet and hurried after.

"Tess, wait!"

Teige watched them go. "Jesus," he said, "what does she reckon she's going to do about it?"

Hawk didn't answer. He had suddenly noticed, up on the roof next door--several feet higher, in the path of the rising smoke--a small shape that sat perched on its edge.