Bones of Empire by William C. Dietz Page B

of the onlookers were simply curious, but others reacted to the uniforms with resentment verging on hate.
    But Cato had no time in which to analyze the emotional environment as he accidentally sent a stall owner sprawling, jumped a Cloque baby basket, and ran pell-mell toward the sound of gunfire even as battle-related transmissions continued to pour in. Radio discipline had deteriorated by that time as nine-four and his street cops fought what sounded like a one-sided battle. Cato heard the sound of an explosion followed by swearing. “God damn it to hell! The bastards have grenades. Put some fire on that upstairs window. . . . No, the one to the right. Got him! Nice work.”
    Then a second voice chimed in, and the situation took a turn for the worse. “Kevo is down. . . . There are only three of us now. We’re trapped on the second floor and running short of ammo.”
    Suddenly, Cato was on the scene, as both he and Shani exploded out of a pedestrian pass-through, to find themselves in what looked like a war zone. Half a dozen airborne drones were on-scene, feeding live video to the news nets, as people all over Imperialus tuned in to watch.
    Three police cars were parked in the middle of the street. One of them was on fire, and the others had been riddled with bullets, although the vehicles’ armored skins had been sufficient to stop most of the projectiles. That was why Section Leader (SL) nine-four was crouched behind one of the cars, directing the battle from there. Sirens could be heard in the distance, but traffic was thick, and Cato knew that five or ten minutes could pass before additional units arrived.
    A fully automatic assault weapon began to fire short three-round bursts from the tenement on the opposite side of the street, and bullets pinged off the cop car as Cato and Shani took cover behind it. A single touch was sufficient to dismiss the HUD. The SL turned to look at them, and Cato saw relief in the other man’s eyes and “felt” a sudden surge of hope as the noncom spoke. “It’s good to see you, sir. . . . Some Trelid merchants were running a hawala in the building across from us, an Ur gang decided to rob it, and ran into armed resistance. By the time we arrived on the scene, a full-scale battle was under way!
    â€œCorporal Isser took a team in to put a stop to it, but some Ur reinforcements came out of the woodwork, and my people were trapped. I have seven effectives here on the street, and I could send a second team inside, but there are a whole lot of civilians in there, and it’s damned hard to tell the good guys from the bad. So if we go in, there’s bound to be a lot of collateral damage. I sent two drones in, but both are MIA.”
    Cato nodded. He knew that a hawala was an underground bank set up to evade Imperial taxes, fund criminal enterprises, and make the sort of high-interest loans that many residents of the quarter had no choice but to accept. “Understood. Use your people to seal off the area, keep the suppressive fire going, and give me your sidearm.”
    Nine-four looked surprised. “My sidearm? What for?”
    â€œBecause Officer Shani and I are going in there,” Cato replied matter-of-factly, “and we’re going to need some additional firepower.”
    Shani grinned wolfishly as she pulled the car’s door open in order to access a riot gun—and having accepted the additional pistol, Cato stuck it down into the small of his back. Two extra clips went into his belt pouch as his partner checked her newly acquired weapon to make sure it was fully loaded.
    When Cato’s eyes met Shani’s, it was like looking into a mirror. He smiled. “Ready?”
    Shani answered by pumping a shell into the chamber of her shotgun. Cato grinned. “Okay. . . . Follow me!”
    The police officers ran a zigzag pattern across the body-littered street as bullets flattened themselves against the grimy pavement