Chapter Five
Heat slows our journey to the secret woman.
We walk one block in air-conditioned comfort before having to take to the outside and the crippling humidity. It is so hot that we don’t speak and after a short while I take out my coolant spray and apply it to my white sari to dampen it.
In this part of the city, there is still evidence of the Deadly War. It raged over a century ago and was responsible for sending humans scuttling underground, seeking cover from drone-raids, smart bombs, and biological weapons. The war had taken so long that the underground settlements had become permanent.
I can’t imagine living any other way, though I envy the images of the old cities.
Halfway down a dingy lane, strewn with industrial rubbish, Cal halts before a plain wooden door with no sign
