Sucker Punch by Pauline Baird Jones

Author:Pauline Baird Jones
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781942583042
Publisher: Pauline Baird Jones

* * *

Jack paused by them long enough to stare down the hole. His eyes widened a bit, then he moved over to help Benson into a sitting position.

“I’m okay,” she said, though she didn’t look it.

Vi looked more than unusually unhappy, even when he factored in the situation. “We should move.”

Joe didn’t argue, but… “It will take them time to shift position—”

“I’m not so sure. The first shots were probably shoulder mounted, but that last one? That was a heat seeker, or I’m my mother’s aunt. It would have to have been fired from some kind of fixed setup, at least fixed as in something bigger than a skimmer. Which means it could have been set up and then fired by remote.” She looked around like she expected trouble to burst from the too sparse bushes.

“They could not know I would be able to land it.”

“It didn’t hit until we were on the ground,” Vi pointed out. “Someone wants us isolated and without transport.”

Joe could see no flaw in her reasoning. “I fear you are correct.” He glanced toward Benson. “How is she?”

“She’ll be fine,” Jack said, pulling her upright and giving her a “get fine” look.

“Can she keep up?” Vi asked.

Joe considered their location, based on a map Lurch provided. The realities of their situation were not…encouraging. There was little cover, since most of the park was, of necessity, holographic. “There are not enough structures to provide cover.”

“If I’m remembering right, the lake and bayous were built as channels so that pleasure craft could use them without straying off course.” She looked around. “I think Little Lake is behind us. It connects to Big Lake, if we need to keep moving, and I think it also connects to the bayou if help is slow arriving.”

“Do you think our distress signal got through?” He had not seen signs of signal blocking, but that was because the skimmer lacked the technology to know if its signal was being blocked. “We must assume we are on our own, until assistance does arrive.”

Vi made a grimace he assumed was agreement. She glanced at Benson, then lowered her voice to say, “If this a move by you know who, at least it has reduced the collateral damage to our two uniforms.”

Joe was not so sure. “It seems unlike it to be so altruistic.” But who else would attack them so brazenly? Afoniki? The MITSC? “Whoever it is, they will not wish to leave behind witnesses.”

“But they don’t seem to be concerned about questions,” Vi pointed out, looking at the smoking hole that had been the skimmer.

“No.” Joe scanned the seemingly empty landscape. If their attackers went airborne—which he had to assume they would—Vi was right. They needed to move. “In any case, this location is what you would call hot. Let us move to this little lake and reassess.”

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