"He was supposed to be getting into that armour!" Harriet ducked as a shot skimmed overhead.
"Yeah, well he's almost ready. This should give him a bit more time." Caldavir beckoned to Duke, who set down a small bucket. It was brimming with rusty ball bearings, each the size of a thumbnail. Caldavir took one, placed it in the cup and stood up, firing with one smooth movement. Harriet saw a streak of metal, and her eyebrows shot up as the ball bearing punched a hole right through the van's bodywork. At this range the thing was lethal.
Caldavir fired again, and the others grabbed weapons of their own, Harriet amongst them. It took all her effort to draw the slingshot back, and when she released she saw the ball streak towards her target. The van window exploded, and she heard a shout of surprise.
Soon there was a rapid fusillade of ball bearings, and the van outside began to resemble a colander. One of the attackers took a shot in the arm, the force knocking the gun clean out of his hand. He fell to the ground, yelling, and when someone else went to help McCluskey shot him in the backside. The man yelped in pain, and McCluskey stood up and shouted with pent-up fury.
It seemed the tide was turning in their favour, but then, with a roar, three more vans screeched to a halt outside, their lights blazing in the dusk. More men tumbled out, firing into the Peace Force office, their shots wild but concentrated enough to force the defenders into cover.
Harriet bobbed up to fire, and saw half a dozen weapons pointing at her. She ducked again, just as the shots smashed into the barricade, hurling wooden splinters into the air. There was an acrid smell, and she realised their entire barricade was in danger of catching fire.
Then Harriet heard footsteps, and she turned to see Scrap trotting into the office. The robot was wearing the BNE shell from the garage, but the effect was more comical than scary. "Walk slowly," she hissed. "Take measured footsteps, like you own the whole planet."
Scrap slowed his pace until he was walking more like Bernie. There were small gaps in his armour where it didn't quite fit, but Harriet was hoping the sight of a BNE robot would be enough to drive off the attackers, if only for a while. Once Alice turned up with Bernie, the enemy would surely give up.
Scrap didn't hesitate. He strode around the barricade and walked towards the shattered doors, crunching glass fragments under foot. Harriet heard a cry of alarm, and then Scrap was enveloped in a maelstrom of blaster fire. The shots bounced off the armour and the robot strode on, impervious. "By order of the Peace Force," blasted Scrap, in a massive, amplified voice. "Lay down your weapons and surrender!"
The enemy ignored him and kept firing, and while they were distracted by Scrap, Harriet and the others opened up with the slingshots. It was almost dark now, and all they could do was fire towards the muzzle flashes from the enemy blasters. Now and then one of the guns spun wildly in the darkness as someone was hit mid-shot, and Harriet's face was grim as she drew back for another attack. She hadn't intended for this to become a full scale war, but she wasn't going to roll over and surrender.
Suddenly one of the vans took off with a screech of tyres, leaving three men exposed without cover. One of the men went down clutching his leg, and the other two darted behind another parked van … only for that to leave as well. That left one vehicle, and the windows and lights exploded as the Peace Force veterans concentrated their fire on the van. Then it too left, with several of the enemy running after it.
"Cease fire," called Harriet. "Save your ammo!"
In the street, Scrap turned to face her, and he smiled as he gave Harriet a thumbs up. Then there was a growling roar, and Scrap barely had time to turn towards the noise when a van crashed into the robot at full speed. He went under the wheels, and the vehicle bumped crazily as it ran him over.
Then it was gone, leaving a shocked silence.
— ♦ —
"Get out of there, Alice! He's never going to stop!"
Alice ignored Ben and waved her arms furiously, her gaze fixed on the cruiser hurtling towards her. It was travelling so fast the trees and bushes either side of the road were being blasted sideways by the shockwave, and as it hurtled towards her it grew at a terrifying speed. "Come on, Steve," she muttered. "You must have seen me!"
Just when it seemed the car was going to run her over, there was a violent jerk and the nose dived towards the road. The engine cut out, and before Alice could jump aside, take one last breath or even close her eyes, the cruiser came to a halt right in front of her, bobbing gently on its anti-gravity field.
"Good evening, Alice," said the car, in an even male tone. "Do you realise you're standing in the middle of the road?"
Alice heard footsteps as Ben ran over. She ignored him and spoke to the car. "I had to stop you, Steve. It's an emergency."
"You could have been killed!" shouted Ben. He grabbed Alice by the shoulder and spun her round, his face furious. "Running into the road like that, trying to stop the car … are you completely mad?"
"Stop yammering," said Alice.
"No, you listen—"
Alice knocked Ben's hand away and strode to the side of the car. She cupped her hands to the window and peered inside. "Bernie!" she shouted, tapping on the glass. "Bernie, get out. We need you!"
"I'm sorry, she powered herself down," said Steve. "There'll be no
