Should have set it on high, like Vinnie the Broker said.
But she had wanted to avoid murdering someone, and at close range a flamer on full burn could kill.
“Well, shit.” The man in the doorway produced a mag-rez. “Nobody said you would be carrying, but it doesn’t matter. Ditch the flamer. Now.”
“I’m not going back to Serenity Gardens,” she said. “Ever.”
“Got news for you, bitch.”
The first intruder yelled again and dropped the mag-rez so that he could use both hands to fight his small attacker. He finally managed to flip Sebastian off his chest.
Sebastian sailed through the air, landed on the bed, and prepared to launch himself at his target again. The intruder shuffled backward, bent down, and tried to grab the pistol. Sebastian changed course and leaped onto his target’s arm. He drew blood from a hand before bouncing adroitly out of range.
Distracted, the second intruder turned to see what was happening to his partner.
Alice seized the opportunity to shift the flamer setting to medium. She rezzed another little lightning bolt. The shot struck the wall behind the second intruder.
“That does it,” he snarled. “You’re fucking lucky the boss said you were only good to the client if you were alive. But you’re not going to enjoy waking up after getting hit by a mag-rez stun shot. This is no wimpy flamer.”
Alice fumbled with the buttons on her weapon, desperately trying to shift to the highest setting. This was the result of ignoring Core Principle Number Three:Expertise in any endeavor comes with practice.
A bolt of miniature lightning flashed from the doorway. It struck the second intruder in the upper shoulder and spun him around. A second shot took him down.
Startled, Alice reflexively rezzed her flamer. The shot went wild. Before she could figure out what was happening, two more shots from the other weapon sent the first assailant to the floor.
Sebastian leaped aside to avoid getting trapped under the weight of the falling body.
Neither of the downed intruders moved.
Alice turned back to the doorway. It was empty.
A man spoke quietly from the hall. “Please don’t rez the flamer, Ms. Radstone. I’m not wearing a vest like those two.”
He knew her real name.Another wave of near panic slammed through her.
“Who are you?” she managed.
“My name is Owen March. I swear I’m on your side. I owe you an apology. I’m afraid this disaster is my fault.”
Chapter Two
Sebastian responded to the voiceby fluffing up, chortling, and dashing out into the hall. Alice heard him greet this unknown Owen March as if the stranger was a long-lost pal.
He popped back into the doorway, chortled again, and then returned to March.
And that, she thought, was as good a character reference as she was going to get.
But still.
“Why are you responsible for what just happened in here?” she said.
“Explaining my role in this mess is going to take some time, and we don’t have a lot to waste.”
“What do you mean?” she demanded, desperately trying to buy a little of that commodity to figure out what to do next.
“Consider the facts. There has been a lot of commotion coming from your room in the past few minutes—in fact, I think I smell smoke—butI’m the only person who seems to have paid any attention. No other doors have opened out here in the hall. No one has sounded an alarm. Doesn’t that strike you as strange?”
“Unfortunately, no, not in this hotel.”
