Mildred moaned as she hit the wall…hard. Her spine jarred, her ribs ached and she was unable to breathe. All she knew was that he had pulled her off the man who had tried to chill her, and he couldn’t be allowed to get away. Unable to even try to explain, she knew she had to act. She forced herself forward so that she staggered toward the sec man as he bent to pick up her still-prone assailant.
If she had been thinking clearly, she would have realized what a stupid move it was. If she just left the sec man alone, he would mop up the mess. But she could only focus on the thought of her attacker getting away. She stumbled as she threw herself onto the back of the unsuspecting sec man, hitting him with very little force, her balance taking her to one side. Unfortunately, he hadn’t expected her to move after he had thrown her against the wall, and she caught him by surprise and off balance. With one massive hand still on her attacker, the sec man pitched to the side, catching his temple on the adobe wall.
It was enough for him to break his hold as he fell. And enough, with the sec man out of the frame and Mildred stunned and falling against the far wall, for her attacker to scramble down the alley, covering ground as he regained his senses, exiting into the street beyond.
“You stupid bastard,” Mildred gasped between breaths that ached in her bruised ribs.
The sec man drew his H&K and clicked the safety. “We’ll see about that. I think you owe me an explanation.”
“I think you both owe an explanation—and to me.”
The alley was flooded with light as Markos appeared with a flaming torch that cast shadows over the giant sec man and Mildred, who squinted with the sudden illumination.
“I—” the sec man began, but Mildred cut him short.
“Markos, someone tried to chill me. I fought him off—knife’s down there. He got away because of this guy…” she managed to gasp between labored breaths.
The sec boss’s eyes were drawn to the Tekna. “Which way did he go?” he rapped, a steely edge to his voice. Mildred didn’t try to speak, but indicated the far end of the alley.
Markos gave a curt nod and set off down the alley, his legs covering the ground with ease. He disappeared around the corner at the far end and the alley was plunged into darkness.
“I didn’t know who was protagonist and who—” the giant sec man began, only to be cut off by Mildred for the second time.
“Save it. Not in the mood right now,” she rasped.
She was in even less of a congenial mood when Markos arrived in the alley, his blaster drawn and J.B. preceding him.
“John?” Mildred gasped. The Armorer was limping, as when she had left him earlier. Limping like her attacker. But he was still dressed as he had been, and showed no signs of injury from combat. He didn’t look like a man who had just been in a no-holds-barred fight.
But what the hell was he doing here? He had to have been close, as Markos had only been gone a matter of moments.
“Millie! Dark night, what’s going on?” he said, making to move toward her, but stayed by the jab of Markos’s blaster in his ribs.
“Wait, my friend. I think you owe us an explanation.”
J.B. whirled angrily. “What—”
“Look, John,” Mildred cut in, indicating the Tekna that still lay on the ground.
J.B. followed the line of her arm and started when he saw the knife. “What’s that doing here?”
“A good question,” Markos murmured mildly. “It is yours, is it not?”
J.B.’s eyes narrowed, and his voice became a thin whisper. “It’s been in the armory. Anyone with access could have taken it.”
Ignoring this, Markos directed his next question to Mildred. “Was it this man who attacked you?”
Mildred looked at the Armorer. She hadn’t mentioned her attacker’s limp, as this would lead to an obvious—to Markos—conclusion. But it was in her mind.
“I don’t know…” she began. “I can’t be sure. The man who attacked me was swathed from head to foot, masked.” She shook her head.