Standing in its shadow with Sean and Detective Newman, the wall seemed unreal—like something from a nightmare. It didn’t seem to intimidate the crowd of protesters gathered around the main gate. So far they’d been non-violent, but an entire squadron of Metro officers stood ready to intervene if things turned ugly. Sean had been pissed when she told him she’d arranged for Jolaj to take them into The Zone to interview Oz. He’d issued Jolaj a warning about withholding information from Metro in a tirade peppered with more explicit language than she’d ever heard from her easygoing cousin. He hadn’t spoken to her since. Lily pressed a hand to her lower back and stretched the still sore muscles from her encounter with the alley wall the day before. On the other side of the gate, flat-roofed buildings lined the streets. The grass covered, pedestrian-only lane that served as the main thoroughfare into The Zone lay empty. She didn’t know if the decision to clear the street had been made by the Council or if the residents had chosen on their own to stay out of sight of the crowds.
