“Then you don’t know how much support space a big open-air stadium requires. First of all, it’s friggin’ huge. Used to seat fifty thousand. Sure, a lot of it—the locker rooms, gyms, players’ lounges, all that ground-level sort of thing—will be under water. But there’s practically a whole office building and a couple of malls’ worth of service and public spaces scattered throughout the upper complex: cafés and restaurants and bars, shops and restrooms. Miles of fiberoptic cable, which we could turn into a local com system. All those private boxes with walls of window facing the field . . . that is, the harbor, with at least twenty feet of draft, maybe more. Plus, all that tiered seating and surrounding roof space, open to the sun and air, a perfect place for terrace gardening.” Winded at last, Rubio paused for breath and a lengthy cough.

“Impressive,” said Katja. She seemed on the verge of a giggle.

Rousseau pressed both palms to his temples. “This has to be the most cockamamie idea I’ve ever heard!”

“I know!” Rube agreed giddily. “Thing is, it might actually work.”

“Yankee fucking Stadium?” breathed Will. “Isn’t that one of the old ones?”

“Yeah. 2009. But it’s limestone and granite. Built to last.”

“I was there once.” Katja allowed a tinge of nostalgia to soften her face. “Is it empty?”

“Well, that we don’t know,” admitted Irv. “But the East and Harlem Rivers have flooded deeply into the South Bronx, so the stadium is basically in the middle of a bay . . . another huge advantage. And it’s close to the Mainland, but not too close.”

“An island fortress,” said Will.

“There’s no word of a community up there,” Rube added. “But to know for sure, we need to reconnoiter.”

“This is seriously radical.” R.J. eyed his two denmates like they needed hauling back from the edge. “We’d have to bring the idea to our board.”

“Needs a deep going-over,” agreed Rousseau. “Just among ourselves.”

But Will clapped his hands and let wonder carry him. “Yankee fucking Stadium!”

Prone on my bench, I didn’t care that the phrase ‘Yankee Stadium’ brought nothing to mind. Rube would fill me in. Whatever it was, it sounded perfect. I hoped no one had claimed it already. If it was really what we needed, we’d have to take it by force. What would Rousseau say to that?

Katja yawned hugely, then slapped a hand to her mouth, shamed to be caught at it.

“We need to get home. Make sure it’s still there.” Will reached to shake Rousseau’s hand. “I say the idea’s worth a follow-up. Sooner rather than later, yes?”