Part 19 (1/2)

Captain DeVar raised an eyebrow at Doc.

”Okay, I do have a lady friend, but no, no way am I getting her involved with a Longknife. You hear me?”

They listened to the silence of that for a long moment.

Abby sat bolt upright. ”Kris, I've got to take a call.”

The maid listened to her earbud for a second, then tapped it. ”Please repeat that?”

Now the sound came loud and clear to the group. The voice was young and high-pitched and clearly frightened.

”Auntie, Bronc's vanished. A gang has kidnapped him.”

25.

”Are you sure?” Abby asked.

”Auntie, Bronc's not like other men. When he says he'll do something, he does it. He said he was going by the shop today to show off his new gear. He spent yesterday playing with it, getting it tuned in. Figuring out what it would do. He was like a baby with a new rattle, I told him. He was fun.

”But he didn't make it to the shop. Mick didn't see him. And the Bones, they aren't on the street today. At least none of the ones I spotted would talk to me. They're avoiding me. The Bone Man has to have taken him. Abby, I don't dare go to the Crypt to see the head Bone Man. Not by myself.”

”No. Don't. Can you make it to the tram station?”

”Yes.”

”I'll meet you there as quickly as I can. It may take a bit. I need to get some things.”

Kris could only guess what those things were. But she knew for sure what one of them was.

A princess.

Abby offered further hope and advice to take care before cutting the line. ”You'll excuse me, I seem to have pressing business elsewhere,” the maid said, getting up from the table.

”I'm going with you,” Kris said.

”Did you hear Cara? Don't you know why her Bronc is up to his ears in trouble, Kris? He got too close to you! He doesn't need more proof of that.”

”No, the guys giving him grief need reminding that you don't mess with a Longknife. Or someone close to a Longknife. I'm with you, Abby,” Kris said...and managed to stand without too much of a groan.

”Need I remind you that you're in no shape for a fight,” Abby snapped.

”So I guess someone else will have to do her fighting for her,” Captain DeVar said with a hungry grin. He tapped his wrist comm. ”Gunny, I want three squads, in civvies, armed for a street fight of escalating violence, ready to depart in fifteen minutes. Include general tech support and two teams of snipers.”

An ”Aye aye” answered him.

”Your Highness, I would recommend that you not be in uniform, either. If we're about to give a hard lesson to street punks, no need to show the flag.”

”Can your Marines take these punks?”

”Oh, yes, ma'am,” Captain DeVar said with an evil chuckle. ”Quite a few of my Marines started on the streets, ma'am. They know how those punks fight. And it took about fifteen minutes at boot camp for some drill instructor to knock the s.h.i.+ny off them. I know what those gangers are good for. And you know what Marines can do. This will be quite a lesson. And who knows. Some of the survivors just might show up tomorrow to sign themselves in. It's been known to happen.”

Fifteen minutes later, the Marines began deploying...according to their captain's battle plan.

26.

Abby hurried off the tram, trying not to look frantic as she searched the station for Cara. Behind her, she could hear the Marines moving more slowly, more carefully. She'd let them take the safe route. For Cara, Abby hurried in where any smart operator would fear to tread.

No surprise, Cara wasn't in the station. To hang here for too long would only invite trouble. So Abby beat feet for the street, getting way ahead of her Marine squad. She liked Sergeant Bruce and his squad of King Ray's Misguided Children.

He'd protect her back...if she didn't outrun him too much.

The captain's orders to his troops were quite clear. ”I want you all back. I don't want to break more heads than we have to. If it's a street fight, use bra.s.s knuckles. If it's a knife fight, pull your automatics. If they shoot, Sergeant, go to fully automatic and snipers, take down the ones with guns. Hard. I repeat, I want all of you back for chow.”

”Ooo-Rah” had answered that.

The street in front of the tram station was hot, dusty...and deserted. It was the middle of the day and those that had jobs were working them. Those without work were staying in what cool they could find. Cara was nowhere in sight.

Abby tapped her commlink. ”Cara, you anywhere around.”

”I can see you, Auntie. But there is a batch of hardcases behind you. I'll come out when they go away.”

”Those folks are no problem to you and me, Cara. They're just a few of my friends. A few of my best friends.”

A head ducked out from the shadows of an alley. The look on Cara's face was dubious to the extreme, but there was also trust for her auntie, even if Auntie had taken to keeping the company of hard men.

The girl half ran, half skipped to Abby, flooding the maid with memories of when she'd been at that wonderful b.u.t.terfly stage of not quite woman, no longer child. For a moment, Abby felt young again.

But Abby was back in the old neighborhood for ancient reasons. Ancient distrust. Ancient hatred. Ancient died blood.

A moment after Cara gave her a hug and quick peck on the cheek, Sergeant Bruce joined them.

”Do you have any idea where your young man is being held?” he asked, the words clipped, demanding. His eyes did not lock on either Abby or Cara, but roved the street, measuring it, looking for any movement. Behind him, other men and women in casual slacks and s.h.i.+rts did the same from the limited safety of the tram station's small shadow.

Cara glanced up at Abby. At her nod, she spoke quickly to the man. ”The Bones hang at the Burrito Palace. They're the ones that made a grab for you when you were here, Auntie. The streets emptied of Bones awhile ago. I think they got Bronc and maybe don't know what to do about that.” The words trailed off, Cara running low on hope.

”Where's this Palace?” Sergeant Bruce asked, his computer projecting a photo map into the s.p.a.ce between them. Cara pointed to a large roof several blocks away.

There were lots of abandoned houses between here and there. Lots of places to set up an ambush.

”Do you want to wait for second squad?” Abby said, offering him an option she hoped he would not take.

”Ma'am, I don't really like the idea of taking my Marines into this...with or without a second squad. However, gangers are not the kind of people who spend a whole lot of time thinking about what's the up and down side of the stupid stuff they do. So let's not give them a lot of time to think about us showing up on their turf. Corporal Nugent, take A team down the right side of the street. Corporal Ding, your team has the left. Oh, and you get this young lady. Take good care of her,” the sergeant said, pointing Cara to a group of four marines led by a woman.”