on the ground next to one of the beast’s enormous pillarlike feet. It was clear to everyone present that the angen was supposed to raise its foot and bring it down on the object, thereby demonstrating its strength, but nothing happened. The beast master reacted to what he saw as a betrayal by prodding the L-phant with a six-inch-long steel needle. The poor beast produced what sounded like a human scream, and Norr came to her feet. “Stop that!”
But either the beast master didn’t hear the sensitive, or didn’t care, because, when the L-phant failed to lift his foot for a second time, the goad went in again. Rebo had already started to stand, and was in the process of reaching for Norr’s arm, when the sensitive stepped up onto the knee-high wall and jumped down into the arena. Puffs of dust exploded away from the variant’s feet as she landed. Logos yelled, “Stop!” from the vicinity of her neckline, and the audience produced a reedy cheer. Some of the onlookers felt sorry for the L-phant, while others were simply bored and eager for some sort of confl?ict. None had any reason to support the beast master.
But the members of the troupe did, and they came out to defend one of their own, as the angry young woman crossed the arena. Some were armed with cudgels, others carried wooden staffs, and some wore ancient brass knuckles. A sure sign that they were not only ready for a dustup—but had been in plenty of them before.
The Crosser hung butt down under Rebo’s left arm as he followed Norr into the ring, but the runner didn’t plan to use it unless forced to do so since it would be best to resolve the dispute without bloodshed if that was possible. And, since war hammers weren’t welcome at public events, Hoggles was unarmed. That didn’t stop the heavy from uttering his characteristic war cry, however, as he landed in the arena and hurried to catch up.
Meanwhile, Norr felt a wave of resentment and anger roll over her as the distance between her and the self- styled beast master began to close. But, while she could block some of the incoming thought forms, there was no way to make Logos shut up. “This is insane!” the AI declared angrily. “What if that brute attacks you? I could be injured! I insist that you return to your seat at once!”
But Logos could have been talking to a brick wall for all the good that his imprecations did him—and was still in midrant when Norr came face-to-face with the enraged beast master. “Leave the L-phant alone!” the sensitive demanded. “You’re hurting him!”
“So?” the circus performer replied insolently. “The animal belongs to me. . . . That means I can discipline it in any way that I choose.”
Rebo arrived just as the rest of the circus troupe began to gather behind the beast master. “He has a point,” the runner said hopefully. “The L-phant is his after all.”
“No,” Norr replied through gritted teeth, “no one has a right to hurt angens. Give me the goad,” she demanded, and extended her hand.
“Or?” the beast master wanted to know.
“Or I will take it from you,” Hoggles replied grimly, as he took up a position at Norr’s side.
“Can’t we discuss this?” Rebo inquired reasonably.
“Surely there must be some way to . . .”
But the runner never got the opportunity to fi?nish his sentence as the beast master launched a sucker punch at Norr, was surprised to discover that the sensitive had already stepped back out of the way, and was therefore perfectly positioned to kick him in the balls. The man in the hood uttered a grunt of pain as the variant’s foot came into contact with his private parts and made a grab for the much-abused organs as he fell to his knees. That left his leather-encased skull vulnerable to attack, which Hoggles took immediate advantage of as he locked his fi?sts together and brought them down on top of the performer’s skull. That put the beast master out of his pain and the fi?ght. But rather than terminate the confl?ict as the heavy hoped that it would, the massive blow had the opposite effect. Angered by what they had seen and determined to have their revenge, a mixed force of clowns, acrobats, and musicians rushed to attack the threesome. Rebo positioned himself to Norr’s left. “Now look at what you’ve done,” the runner said, as he intercepted a blow, and returned it with interest.
“I can’t take you anywhere.”
“I didn’t have a choice,” the variant replied defensively, as she eyed the oncoming strongman. “What was I supposed to do? Let him hurt the L-phant?”
“Yes,” Logos put in. “You were.” And the AI might have said more, but Rebo had come under attack by a pair of mimes, while Hoggles was staggering about with three acrobats on his back. That left Norr to deal with the strongman alone, or try to, since the matchup was anything but fair. She attempted to backpedal, but wasn’t able to do so quickly enough, and soon found herself wrapped within the embrace of the weightlifter’s huge arms. Muscles writhed, all the air was forced out of the variant’s lungs, and she was just about to lose consciousness when Logos came to her defense. Or his defense, since that was the AI’s actual priority, consistent with his programming.
Suddenly, just as the heavily muscled norm felt the woman in his arms go limp, the surface of her dress delivered 775,000 volts of electricity directly into the strongman’s body! He let go of his victim, fell over backward, and hit the ground hard. Norr collapsed a few feet away. Having dispatched both mimes and a clown, Rebo was there to scoop Norr up and throw the sensitive over his shoulder. Then, as Hoggles threw an acrobat at a group of bellicose musicians, the off-worlders started to back away. And because the crowd was pelting the circus performers with food, none of the troupe was able to follow. Norr, who had recovered her senses by then, made use of both fi?sts to pound on Rebo’s back. “Put me down, damn you!”
The runner made sure he was well up into the seats before acceding to the sensitive’s demand. “There,” Rebo said, as he placed the young woman on her feet. “You’re welcome.”
“No you’re not,” Logos put in resentfully. “Don’t ever do that again!”
Norr wanted to sound angry, if only to maintain an appearance of independence, but the fact that her dress was talking back to her made that hard to do. She laughed, Rebo joined in, and Hoggles rumbled loudly. Then, having passed an interesting if not especially relaxing evening, the threesome hired one of the many torchbearers who were waiting outside and followed the boy home. Having sent Dyson into the runner’s guild to investigate, and having confi?rmed that a sensitive and two male companions had checked in, Shaz knew that the troublesome trio were right where he expected them to be. However, because the runner’s guild had excellent security, it soon became obvious that there was only one member of the team who was likely to get inside the facility, and that was the combat variant himself. So Shaz sent the rest of the team away, chose a vantage point in the shadows opposite the guildhall, and waited for his chance. Despite the fact that his built-in camoufl?age was good, it wasn’t perfect, which meant the guards would spot the operative if he were to walk in through the door. But if there was a distraction, something to claim at least some of their attention, then the variant stood an excellent chance of slipping past them. Once inside, Shaz felt confi?dent of his ability to locate and enter the correct room. And, if the subjects of his investigation were present? Then he would wait, and wait some more if that was necessary, because he was nothing if not patient. Which was fortunate, because the better part of an hour was to pass before
