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purple, contorting with a pain too great for a scream. In the same motion
Raeder leaned over, got the sole of his boot in the armpit of the wounded
attacker, and heaved releasing the wrist at the same time.
The ex-club wielder catapulted through the air. The man with the chain saw him
coming, tried to dodge . . . and they crashed together, ending up in a
writhing heap around which the chain clattered and whipped, driven by its own
momentum.
Raeder stepped up to the chain-wrapped bundle, grabbed both by the hair, and
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bashed their heads together as hard as he could.
It always works on vid, he thought, curious to see what effect it would have
in real life.
Just as advertised, he thought happily as the two men hit the floor and stayed
down.
He turned to see how Sarah was doing just in time to watch her toe daintily
connect with a kneeling man s chin. The man s eyes glazed and he fell over
backward in impressively slow motion.
Well done, ma am, Raeder said, meaning it.
Thank you, kind sir, she replied.
Sarah glanced at the man before her, then moved to the other one she d taken
out. She leaned over him, then snapped upright with a gasp.
My God! He s dead
! she said in horror.
Raeder kneeled down and checked the man s pulse at his throat.
Yes, he said, standing. And we will be, too, if we don t get out of here.
Their attackers were beginning to stir.
She took a deep breath and tore her eyes away from the man she d killed.
Yeah, she said grimly.
He took her arm and urged her to come with him. Frowning, Sarah took one last
look around, shook her head, and allowed him to lead her away.
She was quiet for a time, then she said, I ve been mugged a couple of times.
Sorry to hear it, Raeder said, looking at her thoughtful face.
This was different. Usually there s a lot of Hey, girlie, and stuff like
that. Like they re trying to buck each other up. You hurt them a little, and
they go away. She shook her head. But they didn t do that. It was like a
job! Just like they d been assigned a task and were out to perform it. Sarah
looked up at Raeder to see what he thought.
T h a t w a s m y i m p r e s s i o n , t o o , h e a g r e e d .
E x c e p t I can t think of anybody who would do such a thing.
Well, they were after you, she said, giving him a poke. You re the bad boy
of the hour.
My call sign, Raeder said, sounding pleased. How did you know?
You re a pilot? She looked surprised.
Obviously the lieutenant commander was as aware of me as I was of her until
tonight.
He d have to see what could be done to rectify that.
Yeah, he said. I flew a Speed till about a year ago. Then I got injured.
He held up his artificial hand. And had to re-educate myself.
Her face took on the expression of a polite person who s just been introduced
to someone s pet slug.
What? Raeder asked, feeling defensive.
Oh, nothing, Sarah said quickly. I just . . . usually don t get along with
Speed pilots.
Oh, really? he said quickly.
Well, she said, still struggling to be polite, they re different from us
WACCIs. A breed apart, she offered.
The whole time she d been speaking, Peter had felt her withdrawing and he was
embarrassed and annoyed. But Lieutenant Commander, he said carefully, I ve
been thoroughly humbled. I m physically incapable of flying a Speed. What more
could you possibly want?
Hey! she snapped. Don t put words in my mouth or attribute thoughts to me
that I m not having. If you want to feel sorry for yourself, you re on your
own.
Congratulations, Raeder, he thought, watching her departing back.
That boyish charm works another miracle
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.
He started after her and in a few moments caught up. But Sarah was looking
straight ahead, anger sparking in her eyes and he was suddenly too tired to
speak.
It s been a long, emotional day, he warned himself.
You d probably only say the wrong thing.
Although
, a deep instinct informed him, silence can be misinterpreted, too.
Oh, God, Raeder thought, this is too complicated. I just want to go to bed.
And let the world and all its troubles roll on without him.
Raeder dropped his other boot and sat on the edge of his bunk for a moment,
too weary to even pull off his socks. They d reported the attack to the
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