Suddenly, Birch slapped his forehead. "I knew he looked familiar!"
"Who the hell is he?" demanded Harriet.
"I've never met him, but there was something about his face." Birch turned to look at her. "He's related to Darting. A nephew, maybe even a son, I don't know which." He swore. "They fooled us good and proper."
"Fooled me, you mean." Harriet's grip tightened on her weapon. "It was that damned business card that swayed me. How the hell did he organise that so quickly?"
"It's probably a legit business. He had to be doing something to earn a living before his aunt showed up."
Harriet swore under her breath. "I gave him a guided tour! He knows the layout, knows how many people we have, knows about our weapons …"
"They've still got to get through that door," said Birch grimly.
"Alice! I've got to warn her." Harriet pulled out her commset. "Alice, get off the roof."
"Why?"
"You've got about three minutes before the shooting starts."
"They can't touch me in the ship."
"Really? What if they've got hold of a missile launcher? Take off, and they'll blast Arnie all over the landscape."
There was a pause. "Okay, heading down."
Harriet put her commset away and glanced along the barricade. "If any of you want to leave, now's the time."
"Forget it," said McCluskey. Captain Timms shook her head and the others made their wishes clear too. The only sour note was Caldavir, who looked uncertain. "You have to admit they've got the advantage," he said at last.
Birch gestured at the door. "Don't let it hit you on the way out."
"I'm not leaving," said Caldavir. "This is my town, too."
"Then get ready to defend it," said Birch.
Crash!
Something hit the glass doors, and Harriet saw a small round object rolling across the pavement outside. "Grenade!" she shouted. "Get down!"
They all ducked, and there was a loud bang as the grenade went off. Harriet risked a glance, and to her relief the doors had withstood the blast. They were scorched and pitted, but still intact. She looked around as Birch got up. "Where are you going?"
"The roof," he said, brandishing his gun. "I might be able to keep them away."
"You'll be exposed up there."
"If they keep throwing grenades it won't matter where I am, will it?" Birch hurried away, and Harriet turned her attention to the doors. She saw a couple of people run into the doorway of the building opposite, saw them take cover, and then one of them threw something towards her. The grenade struck the doors, bounced off and exploded harmlessly in the middle of the road, the bright flash lighting up the reception area like a bolt of lightning. Harriet gripped her gun and wished she could return fire, but opening the doors would be fatal. All they could do was sit and wait.
Then she saw bright flashes as Birch opened fire, bracketing the doorway and driving the enemy deeper into cover. One of them raised her weapon and fired back, and as the bright blaster fire lit up the street, Harriet ran to the door controls. She opened them a few inches, then stuck her gun through the gap and fired into the doorway. She saw her shots hit one of the attackers, and they spun round before falling in a heap. The other stared at her, then vanished into the building, leaving the entrance door swinging to behind themselves. Harriet fired again, and her shots splashed harmlessly on the woodwork.
"You want a real gun," called Duke. "That thing's useless."
"We're not killers," said Harriet mildly.
"They are."
"Yes, but they're criminals and we're upholding the law." Harriet closed the doors, then turned to the barricade. "Same goes for all of you. We're taking them alive."
"That's very noble dear," said Captain Timms, "but I fear they'll have no such qualms."
"Just … do your best."
Bang!
Shrapnel rattled against the glass, and Harriet retreated. Someone had thrown the grenade from the side, out of her field of view, and this time they'd managed to land it much closer. Soon, she expected one of them would walk up and place a grenade right at the base of the door, and there wasn't much she could do about it. She just hoped Birch was tracking them.
Then she heard a roar from the roof, and she frowned as it grew louder, shaking the building. That sounded like … "Alice! What the hell is she doing?"
Chapter 16
Alice was just taking the stairs down to the office, with Ben in tow, when she met Birch heading up to the roof. "Where are you going?" she asked him.
"They're trying to blow the front doors. I've got to stop them."
"Give me the gun. I'll do it!"
Birch shook his head and pushed past. Alice glanced down the stairs towards the office, then changed her mind and turned round.
"I thought we were supposed to be going inside?" asked Ben.
"There's loads of them down there. Birch is alone." They emerged on the roof, and Alice glanced up at the apartment buildings. They were too far away for handguns to be any danger, but if the enemy got their hands on a rifle, the roof of the Peace Force station would become very unhealthy indeed.
She glanced around and saw Birch leaning over the parapet at the front of the building. She heard a bang, saw flashes as he fired, then flinched as several shots bracketed him. The angry blaster fire flashed past in a blur of red and green shots, and Birch was forced back.
Alice, unarmed, felt completely useless. Then she saw the rubble littering the roof. "Come on, give me a hand!" she muttered to Ben, and she set off at a run. They grabbed a couple of broken bricks and ran to the parapet, where Alice raised her head cautiously to get a look at the enemy.
There were half a dozen vehicles parked across the street, about forty metres away. She could
