Part 21 (1/2)
From somewhere, Fran produced a d.i.n.ky little pistol. Though small, held at the nape of Bronc's neck, it looked ready to do lethal business.
”Now we do some real talking,” Fran snarled.
”Wrong,” Kris snapped. ”Longknifes never negotiate with hostage takers.”
The look the woman gave Kris actually seemed like surprise.
But the other woman was out of her chair, and moving to take station beside the two, now a pistol in her hand.
”Lars, you get the Longknife broad here, and you p.i.s.s it all away. I always knew you were stupid, but, I thought here was something even you couldn't foul up. But you did!”
”Trixie, you're not supposed to talk like that in front of the gang,” the red and yellow man pleaded, showing which color was really his.
Kris shook her head. She had walked into an intravarsity dustup! It was bad enough to have all these guns out, but to have the lines of command among those she was bargaining with go all poof! Bad day.
Enough of this.
”Snipers, do you have a shot?” she barked.
”I have the white one” and ”I have the colored one” shot back. The snipers didn't have their long guns out, but looked over the sights of automatics with extended barrels and laser sights.
Kris blinked, and Nelly showed Kris what she wanted to see. Both lasers were solid on the foreheads of the two women.
”Put your guns down and step away from the boy or both of you will be dead before Fran can pull the trigger,” Kris said. ”Do this very calmly and very smoothly, because if the sniper that has Fran in his sights even thinks she might be starting to think of pulling the trigger, he will scramble her brain before she can form the thought.”
”Yes, Your Highness” came from one sniper.
Fran took her eyes off Bronc for a second to look at Trixie. For a second longer, the two of them seemed undecided.
Then their gun trained from Bronc to the table where ”their” men sat.
The boss men had been eyeing ”their” ladies and seemed ready for this. It must have been clear to all that, having started something, there was no way to finish it with all four of them alive.
The boss men went for their guns as the women rounded on them. It looked like it would be a close run thing.
But two pistols fired from among those against the wall.
The women didn't go down easy. Six rounds as fast as a revolver could fire spun them around in a horrid dance.
Fran got off one round. Trixie two. The shots only tore up the floor.
Which left four men with guns out. And Jack and a Marine sergeant staring at them over sights. Maybe two snipers as well.
”Check fire, Marines,” Kris ordered in a soft, but no less commanding voice.
”Holding fire” came from several points behind Kris.
”We came here for our man,” Kris said. ”He should not have been taken. We will leave now.”
”He wouldn't have been taken,” the Bone Man said. ”But he was bugging us.”
”Bugging both of us for you,” Rocket put in.
”I have ordered no bugging of any establishments on Eden,” Kris began slowly. ”Young man, have you talked with me before?”
”No, ma'am, ah, Hiner.”
Kris let the young man's problems of what to say to a princess go by. ”Abby is my personal maid. She has visited this neighborhood. Abby, did you ask anyone to bug anything?”
”No, Your Highness. I specifically told Bronc and Cara to stay clear of you and anything involving you. You have always been adamant that we do not involve children, and I know better than to cross you on that.”
”We're not children” came from two directions. Kris ignored that, but made a mental note to explore later just what areas Abby did feel fine crossing her on.
”Jack, Abby, are there any bugs operating in this room?”
”Captain, would you cover my quarter for a moment?” Jack said.
”My pleasure,” the captain said, and metal sliding on leather told Kris what was going on behind her.
Abby and Jack both produced debugging gear and began to roam the room. Both of them soon reported negative findings, then Abby frowned and stooped to run her bug finder over the bodies of the two former gang-boss mistresses. ”The only thing live here are two bugs, one on each of them, high-end, very expensive, and still transmitting. Do I burn them?”
Kris shook her head. ”Capture them. Let's see if they tell us anything. Bronc, do you have your bug cleaner?”
The boy nodded.
”Take it over to Abby and see if your gizmo can find what she found.”
He did, with no results.
”I'd say that your girls have been messing with you,” Kris said to the two fellows across the table from her. They did not look happy at that.
”I wonder who they were pa.s.sing that info to? Who gave them bugs so good, so expensive? Interested in finding out?”
The two guys looked like they'd rather be stripped and whipped before their gang members than say yes, but they did.
”Abby, you able to corral those bugs?”
”Contained, Your Bossiness.”
The gangs seemed to enjoy the irreverence. Kris shrugged it off. ”Bronc, would you mind taking a contract to work with one of my techs, a chief by the name of Beni? He likes strange things that eat electricity.”
”But Abby told me to stay clear of you,” the kid said. But he was grinning.