The Nirvana Plague Read Online Free PDF

truck.”
    “Tow truck?”
    “Yes.”
    “Sorry, are you stuck somewhere?”
    She blew out an aggravated breath. “Yes, I’m bloody well stuck somewhere. I ran all the charge out of my fucking battery looking for my fucking husband. I’ve been waiting for the fucking tow truck to show up for two hours!”
    There was a moment of silence before Marley responded coolly: “Is there anything I can do?”
    “Yes, since you’re the one who let him leave, you could wander around the city all night looking for him while I go home and drink myself into a stupor.”
    Marley said nothing for a while.
    Karen hoped he was fighting to keep hold on his professionalism.
    Finally he said, “All right. Give the number of the towing company. I’ll call and see if I can influence them to expedite your case.”
    That was not what she expected. “There’s nothing you can do.”
    “I’m trying to help you out, Mrs. Hanover. But if you’d rather sit there in your car and feel sorry for yourself, that’s fine with me.”
    Karen felt her face flush. Fucking psychiatrists. “Yeah, all right. I’m sorry. Having a pretty shitty day.”
    “I know. Now send me the number, please.”
    Karen fiddled the icons on her phone — spun up the last dialed number and dropped it on Marley’s channel.
    “Got it,” Marley said. “I’m going to put you on hold while I call them.”
    Marley’s little on-hold tune came on. Same as he had in the office. The little car cabin filled with the saccharine sound of Edelweiss .
    Outside, an iron span of bridge loomed against the lurid grey overcast, vaguely underlit by city light. Even under wartime energy restrictions, five million people generated enough light to cast a pallid glow into the clouds.
    The street was very dark and lonely. Some extinct industrial district. She hadn’t seen another car in half an hour. She had her windows opaqued so no one could see her either. The heater wasn’t working, of course, and the temperature inside the car was dropping. She had one of those metallized space-blanket things in an emergency kit under the seat, and if the tow truck didn’t get here soon she was going to have to get it out. Through the fogged windows she saw the L train come rattling over the bridge, making a hell of a racket. She imagined the bolts shaking out of the bridge and pinging down on her car.
    Would it ever be over? she thought. Maybe Roger wouldn’t come back at all this time. Maybe he was dead. Maybe he’d left the hospital so he could kill himself in peace. Maybe she could have a life again. — Horrible thoughts. Horrible thoughts. — Poor Roger!
    It was some time before Marley finally came back on line. “Mrs. Hanover? You still there? I’m sorry to report that my professional pressure made little difference in this case.” He was breathing heavily while he talked, like he was walking somewhere. “Seems there’s been some kind of massive crack up on the west side, and the police have commandeered all available tow trucks to get the roads cleared so the ambulances can get in.”
    “Well, that’s lovely. I’ll be sitting here all night.”
    “No, I’m coming to get you. I’m just getting in my car now. Where are you?”
    “No, you don’t need to do that, Dr. Marley.”
    “That’s true, I don’t. I guess I hadn’t considered the possibility that you might actually prefer to sit in your car all night.”
    “I’ll just call a cab.”
    “Energy rations. No cabs after nine.”
    “Fuck. Well it can’t be that far to the el.”
    “Look, I need to talk to you anyway. Just let me help you, all right?”
    Karen started to cry, and hated herself for it. She struggled to keep her voice even so Marley wouldn’t know. “I don’t know where I am. I’ve just been driving around at random for hours.”
    “Just send me your coords.”
    She picked up her tablet and fiddled with the screen icons, found her GPS coordinates and dropped them into Marley’s channel.
    “Got