Monty joined his captain as Burke opened the trunk of his own vehicle, tossed the pipe inside, and took the sports jacket out.

“You have a blanket in there?” Monty asked.

Burke pulled one out and handed it to him. Monty hurried back to Nadine and tucked the blanket around her before rejoining Burke. “Captain...”

“Lots of debris falling,” Burke said idly, putting on the jacket. “A couple assailants tripped on some debris during a criminal act.”

“Gods, Captain. What if they accuse you?”

The smile Burke gave him was beyond his usual fierce-friendly smile; it was terrifying. “You think any of those men are going to want the terra indigene to know who set fire to Ms. Fallacaro’s business and tried to kill her? I hurt a couple of them, but I wasn’t trying to inflict real damage, so I doubt the blows were serious enough that those men will see a doctor, let alone end up in the emergency room. But if they want to come forward so that a whole lot of beings can recognize their faces, I’ll take whatever penalties come from it.”

“What happened to those men?”

“Went over the fence into the next property. Or so I’m assuming.”

He hadn’t heard gunshots. At least Burke hadn’t shot any of them.

Monty’s mobile phone rang. “Montgomery.”

“Lieutenant, it’s Kowalski. We found Chris Fallacaro. He was at the university precinct, brought in with a handful of other young men who were fighting. I talked to Captain Wheatley. He’s of the opinion that Fallacaro was the victim of an attack and wasn’t doing much fighting to defend himself after someone broke his left hand with a hammer.”

“What stopped the fight?”

“The kid with the hammer raised it above his head for another swing... and was struck by lightning. He’s heading for the morgue.”

Gods above and below, Monty thought.

“Fallacaro has made a statement and is on his way to Lakeside Hospital. Do you want me and Debany to meet him there and stay with him?”

“Wait a moment.” Monty relayed the information to Burke.

“That’s a plan,” Burke said. “They can head out now. Shady will keep an eye on things. I’ll call Captain Wheatley with an update as soon as we get back to the Courtyard.”

They heard the explosion and watched a fireball rise from a building two blocks away.

“Let’s go,” Burke said quietly as a second building exploded. Then a third. And a fourth.

Lightning struck nearby, and the boom of thunder, sounding more like giant hooves striking the ground, made Monty’s skin crawl.

“Let’s go,” Burke said again.

Monty returned to Nadine’s car and followed Burke’s flashing blue light back to the Courtyard as a punishing rain struck the northern part of the city, putting out the fires and flooding the streets.

•••

“What do you think?” Eve Denby asked.