When Shed stopped shaking, he started moving again, trying to recall the layout of the neighborhood. He wanted to get down and head home. Raven could finish this insanity.

Shed ran into Krage on the next roof. "Krage!" he whined. "God! Let me out of here! He'll kill us all!"

"I'll kill you, Shed. It was a trap, wasn't it?"

"Krage, no!" What could he do? He didn't have the butcher knife now. Fake. Whine and fake. "Krage, you got to get out of here. He already got Luke and Milt and somebody else. He would've gotten me when he got Luke, except he fell down and I got away-only he caught up again when I was talking to one of your guys right over there. They got fighting, and one of them went off the edge; I don't know which, but I bet it wasn't Raven. We got to get down from here, on account of we can't tell who we're running into so we got to be careful. I could have had him this last time, only I didn't have a weapon and we didn't know it wasn't one of our own guys coming. Raven don't have that problem. Anybody he sees he knows is an enemy, so he don't have to be so careful. ..."

"Shut up, Shed."

Krage was buying it. Shed talked a little louder, hoping Raven would hear, come, and finish it.

There was a cry across the rooftops. "That's Teskus," Krage growled. "That's four. Right?"

Shed bobbed his head. "That we know about. Maybe there's only you and me now. Krage, we should get out of here before he finds us."

"Might be something to what you say, Shed. Might be. We shouldn't have come up here. Come on."

Shed followed, keeping up the chatter. "It was Luke's idea. He thought he'd make points with you. See, we saw him at the top of this drain-spout and he didn't see us, so Luke said why don't we go after him and get him, and old Krage will. . . ."

"Shut up, Shed. For God's sake, shut up. Your voice sickens me."

"Yes, sir, Mr. Krage. Only I can't. I'm so scared. . . ."

"If you don't, I'll shut you up permanent. You won't have to worry about Raven."

Shed stopped talking. He had pushed as far as he dared.

Krage halted a short time later. "We'll set an ambush near his wagon. He'll come back for it, won't he?"

"I expect so, Mr. Krage. But what good will I be? I mean, I don't have a weapon, and wouldn't know how to use one if I did."

"Shut up. You're right. You're not much good, Shed. But I think you'll do fine as a distraction. You get his attention. Talk to him. I'll hit him from behind."

"Krage. . . ."

"Shut up." Krage rolled over the side of the building, clung to the parapet while getting a solid foothold. Shed leaned forward. Three storeys to the ground.