Quadrail 03 Odd Girl Out by Timothy Zahn

Author:Timothy Zahn [Zahn, Timothy]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2011-04-01T02:07:00+00:00

TWELVE :

Under normal circumstances I would have approached Veldrick’s house cautiously, parking a couple of blocks away and moving in on foot. But the circumstances here weren’t normal. Veldrick’s life was in danger, with Bayta’s and Rebekah’s about to be. There was no time for skulking around in the shadows.

Besides, since there was probably still a chunk of coral in my borrowed car’s trunk, it wasn’t like the Modhri didn’t already know I was on my way.

I braked to a stop by Veldrick’s yard, to find the front door of his house standing wide open. Leaving the engine running, I popped the door and dived out.

I barely made it. From behind a wide, multitrunked tree at the edge of Veldrick’s lot line came a muted flash and a thudwumper slammed into the door a dozen centimeters from my hip.

My momentum was already taking me toward the rear of the car, so that was where I went, grabbing the end of the bumper as I reached it and pulling myself around behind the trunk. Even as I dropped into a crouch a second shot blew through the driver’s window.

I pressed my back against the rear bumper, looking quickly around the rest of the neighborhood as I drew my Beretta and thumbed off the safety. The logical way for the Modhri to have split up his remaining forces, I knew, would have been to send two of the Fillies to the spaceport to intercept Bayta and Rebekah, and the other two here to ambush me.

Unfortunately, that was my logic, which wasn’t necessarily the Modhri’s. I might be facing a single shooter here, or two, or maybe even three, depending on how much trouble he was expecting from me and how badly he wanted to permanently remove me from the game.

The shooter behind the tree fired again, this shot taking out the front left tire. I rose from behind the car high enough to squeeze off a round at him, stayed there just long enough to persuade any second or third shooters that I was presenting a good target, then ducked down again.

But if there were any others, they didn’t avail themselves of the golden opportunity. The Filly behind the tree was the only one who fired as I dropped back into cover. This time his shot hit the pavement two meters to the left of the car and ricocheted off into the darkness.

I looked around some more, feeling the clock ticking down with each passing second. Sooner or later, no matter how messy the Modhri’s diversion was, the cops were going to free up enough personnel to come find out what all the shooting was about. Even if they didn’t, there might be someone in the neighborhood with a hunting rifle. I needed to get into Veldrick’s house, and fast.

But I didn’t dare try a sprint across that much open ground until I knew how many opponents I was facing and their approximate positions. The shooter fired again, this shot burying itself somewhere in the front of the car.

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