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dragged her back to the plane crash, to the pain and horror she
hoped she d never be subjected to again. She shook her head,
trying to clear it, still the plane tumbled, the pain searing, the--.
 Stix! Jane commanded,  Now! The phone. Damn you, listen
to me.
Stix looked at Jane and nodded,  I m all right. I m back. She
picked up the phone and clicked it on. She listened a minute then
said,  It s for you. She held the phone out to Jane.
 Ask them what the code is.
Stix again spoke into the phone, then looked up,  Someone
named Albert says the code is the square root of seventeen, but
that he can t remember what the hell that is.
Jane smiled, some of the tension leaving her body,  Tell him
it s 4.12 and for him to get his butt up here.
 He says he s right outside the door with a few friends.
Jane worked her way along the wall to where she could reach
the chair with her right foot. She kicked it across the room,
flattening herself against the wall as she did. She waited there for
something to happen.
 Albert says that you don t have to rearrange the furniture just
for him.
Jane leaned sideways and unlocked the door, then moved back
to the safety of the kitchen.  Tell the old goat he can open the
door now. But it better be him that comes through.
Stix assumed that it was Albert, as Jane lowered her pistol and
began to cry, the tears running unchecked down her face.
 You guys just stop by for coffee?
The one Stix thought was Albert shoved his faceplate up, put
his arm around Jane, and pulled her against him.
 Sorry about the tears, she said.
He patted her back,  She was your partner, Jane. That s okay.
You ve held it together long enough.
146 DAVE MEAD
Stix felt awkward, holding a gun on seven heavily armed and
armored men who crowded into the condo s living room and
spilled first into the bedroom to view the corpse and then into the
kitchen to see firsthand the cripple who damn near brought their
agency to its knees. They looked at her quizzically, but without
malice.
 You can sheath your cannon, little lady, one of them said
from behind his bulletproof faceplate. As an offer of camaraderie
he shoved his faceplate up, but he didn t lay down the matte
twelve-gauge shotgun with its thirty-round rotary clip. Still Stix
held her gun, not because she was scared, but because she was
scared to try and lay it on the table. She had momentarily
forgotten how to let the hammer down.
 Ah, problem here, the one with the lifted faceplate said
quietly.
Instantly the room went silent. Slowly all of them turned to
look at Stix.
 I can t let go of it, she said, her voice beginning to quiver.
 Okay. Okay. Faceplate said.  Just kinda point it over that
way. No! No! The other way. That s right. Now just hold it
there and I ll help you with it.
She could smell sweat and aftershave as he came toward her.
 I m sorry. I m just---.
 It s okay. It s okay. Slowly he reached out and gently took
her hands in his right hand, steadying her gun.  Now I m going to
just real easy like put my thumb in front of the hammer. Slowly
he reached across her arms and pushed his left thumb between
the hammer and the firing pin, and audible sigh went through the
group.  Okay now, just relax, he said.
 I can t, my hands are cramped. They feel like claws.
 It doesn t matter if you pull the trigger or not. We re cool
now.
One of the other men, the one named Albert, stepped forward
and said,  Can I help? then, without waiting for an answer, he
stepped around behind Stix and leaned over her to massage her
forearms.  You re really knotted up. Jane tells me you ve pulled
your own weight all night. No wonder your hands and arms are
STIX 147
cramped up. Slowly she felt her hands began to obey her brain
and let go.
 Got it, Faceplate said. He skillfully unloaded the nine
millimeter and was starting to put it into a plastic bag he d taken
out of a pocket of his coveralls, when Jane said,  That is her
piece. It goes in her backpack.
Faceplate stopped, gave Jane a  you ve got to be kidding -look.
Got a `you heard me -look in return and, picking Stix s backpack
up off the floor, unzipped a side pocket and began to shove the
gun down into it.
 Reload it. Jane s voice was a command that no one would
disregard.
Faceplate nodded and loaded Stix s automatic.  This where
you want it? he asked her.
 Yes.
The big agent behind her had worked the main kinks out of her
arms and shoulders. As he moved away, she looked at Jane, their
eyes locking as if there were no one else in the room, or maybe
even on the Earth. Jane winked at her. And then someone
moved between them and when Stix again looked up Jane was
gone, swallowed up by the Bureau s bureaucracy.
 How  bout if I give you a lift? one of the group said.
Stix had been steeling herself for the command to get up and
get moving. She nodded,  Thanks.
Ironically the one who effortlessly picked her up and carried
her down the three flights of stairs and into a waiting van was the
smallest one of the group. She knew the feeling, when you are
perceived to be handicapped, by whatever criteria your peers
impose, you must out-perform them at every level, just to be
considered worthy of their company.
Faceplate set her backpack in the van beside her.  Godspeed,
he said, and closed the door, leaving her in a red-lit steel-lined
box.
As she turned in the seat, trying to find a seat belt or harness,
another black jumpsuited figure appeared coming from behind a
partition in the front of the van.
148 DAVE MEAD
 I m Alice. She stuck out her hand,  and I hear you ve just
been through hell. When Stix didn t respond, Alice said,  Let me
help you get belted in, then how about I get you something to eat
or drink, or both?
 Juice? Stix asked, so near exhaustion that she could barely
concentrate on what the lady crouching in front of her was saying.
 Coming up, Alice said, trying to sound cheerful.  Just let me
get this harness adjusted to you first. It s designed to fit one of
those Borgs that brought you down.
 Borg?
 Yeah. She nodded toward the condo complex,  Named after
sci-fi storm troopers when they re outfitted like that.
Stix nodded,  I was happy to see them.
 I ll bet. She came back with a large glass of orange juice and
a bottle of ibuprofen.  Drugs? she asked,  the choice of the
Borgs.
Stix was just able to give her a smile.
After she finished all of the juice she could and had swallowed
four ibuprofen, she asked,  Why can t I go back to my condo?
 Jane was right. If she hadn t gotten you out of there, she
paused,  God only knows. She shuddered, and went on,  The
Rogues popped a gas pill through the window, and it would have
rendered you both unconscious within two breaths, three at the
most.
 Oh.
 It will take a week or so to air it out. Plus we are in the
process of evacuating the entire building. There are a lot of very
unhappy people out there tonight.
 Was anyone else affected?
 Six so far. The news media is having a field day with it. She
looked down at Stix,  As you can imagine.
Chapter Fifteen
It took Stix four days of hot baths, food, and massages before [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]