CHAPTER 195

SPARTA

 The front of the café was no longer visible, buried as it was beneath the five stories above it that had come smashing down from the force of the explosion. Half of the building was laid open for all to see, pieces of jagged concrete and steel dangling above the hundreds of rescue workers and men and women who were scrambling over the huge piles beneath their feet looking for any signs of survivors. Glass windows and storefronts had been shattered for twelve blocks in every direction, the buildings to the sides and behind the café severely damaged by the concussive force of the blast. Sparta's response and rescue teams were the finest in any remaining city on the planet, and the few small fires that had started because of the blast were quickly extinguished when the first crews arrived.