cover the rear.
“You changed,” Riesman said.
“You noticed. Time for you to lose those shoes. I have no idea how you women wear them.” Lux grabbed Riesman’s feet and, having no energy to fight for her one hundred and eighty-two dollar high heels, she let the woman rip them off. What would the next steps be? she wondered.
Go to the police? The FBI? Who?
“A spear was your weapon of choice?” Perez said weakly to Dee Dee.
“A highly crafted, augmented javelin with reinforced shaft and copper tip, yes, the spear was my first and best option. I regret I will never get it back and that the Earthers will not appreciate its craftsmanship.” Dee Dee opened up a large trapdoor that led to the floor below.
Now that’s really weird … just like everything else.
Dee Dee helped Perez down first, then Vespere spun her around and, using a large knife in one sweeping blow, cut a high slit in her beautiful dress.
“Hey! You could have killed me,” Riesman said, looking at the height of the slit. As expected, it allowed her to move freely, but Riesman discovered that wasn’t the primary reason for the ruined dress.
“Are you going to make me take that tracking device out of you, or are you going to do it?”
“Oh.” Riesman squatted down and searched for the end of the device but felt very awkward and exposed. After turning slightly for more privacy, she produced the little transceiver/transponder and held it in her hand for Vespere to see.
“I don’t want it for a keepsake, Riesman. Throw the thing over there.”
Heat flushed Riesman’s face—of course she didn’t want it! She tossed the device against the wall, then wiped her hands on her ruined dress and was about to ask where they were going when Vespere’s small, strong hands pushed her off balance. She fell, but instead of hitting the floor, she plummeted through the trapdoor, barely clearing its edges, and landed firmly in Lux’s cable-like arms.
“You can afford to miss a meal, Riesman. All that sugar, rice and processed food will do you in,” she said as she pushed Riesman off. Vespere jumped through the trap door and landed solidly on her legs. The heavy door closed above them.
“Thanks for the warning.” No one replied, and Riesman wondered if they understood sarcasm. She followed the others across an empty room and through a door into the public hallway. As soon as they stepped into the common area, Dee Dee, who was helping Perez, pulled a fire alarm. Sirens screamed and red lights flashed.
The hallway began to fill with nervous people evacuating, and the group walked away from the elevators and into another apartment. Once inside, Dee Dee turned to Vespere.
“Blow the apartment.”
She produced a small device that emitted green light, flicked a switch, and pressed a button. The light changed to red and a huge explosion rocked the building above them and to the far right. They moved on before the shaking and sound subsided.
“Okay. So you’re an Epsilon Force from where? UK?” Riesman asked under her breath.
“We are not from around there either,” Vespere said.
“Let me guess … the apartment was set to blow. So you were prepared,” Riesman continued, aware that her familiarity with Seals helped her adapt quickly from Thanksgiving dinner conversation to an elite commando unit on a mission.
“Yes,” Lux replied.
Perez and these women left nothing out, nothing to chance and made no mistakes. And they killed an entire FBI strike team. But they couldn’t be FBI. They‘d planned to kill her, and the three women, just like they had Damon and Hiaki. Riesman wondered what she’d fallen into.
Lux opened a closet door and pushed the back wall. It opened into another part of the building, where they walked through more empty apartments. Once in a different public hallway, Vespere pulled another alarm. People came out in waves, and Riesman and the team flowed onto the street with everyone else.
Outside, large numbers of
“You changed,” Riesman said.
“You noticed. Time for you to lose those shoes. I have no idea how you women wear them.” Lux grabbed Riesman’s feet and, having no energy to fight for her one hundred and eighty-two dollar high heels, she let the woman rip them off. What would the next steps be? she wondered.
Go to the police? The FBI? Who?
“A spear was your weapon of choice?” Perez said weakly to Dee Dee.
“A highly crafted, augmented javelin with reinforced shaft and copper tip, yes, the spear was my first and best option. I regret I will never get it back and that the Earthers will not appreciate its craftsmanship.” Dee Dee opened up a large trapdoor that led to the floor below.
Now that’s really weird … just like everything else.
Dee Dee helped Perez down first, then Vespere spun her around and, using a large knife in one sweeping blow, cut a high slit in her beautiful dress.
“Hey! You could have killed me,” Riesman said, looking at the height of the slit. As expected, it allowed her to move freely, but Riesman discovered that wasn’t the primary reason for the ruined dress.
“Are you going to make me take that tracking device out of you, or are you going to do it?”
“Oh.” Riesman squatted down and searched for the end of the device but felt very awkward and exposed. After turning slightly for more privacy, she produced the little transceiver/transponder and held it in her hand for Vespere to see.
“I don’t want it for a keepsake, Riesman. Throw the thing over there.”
Heat flushed Riesman’s face—of course she didn’t want it! She tossed the device against the wall, then wiped her hands on her ruined dress and was about to ask where they were going when Vespere’s small, strong hands pushed her off balance. She fell, but instead of hitting the floor, she plummeted through the trapdoor, barely clearing its edges, and landed firmly in Lux’s cable-like arms.
“You can afford to miss a meal, Riesman. All that sugar, rice and processed food will do you in,” she said as she pushed Riesman off. Vespere jumped through the trap door and landed solidly on her legs. The heavy door closed above them.
“Thanks for the warning.” No one replied, and Riesman wondered if they understood sarcasm. She followed the others across an empty room and through a door into the public hallway. As soon as they stepped into the common area, Dee Dee, who was helping Perez, pulled a fire alarm. Sirens screamed and red lights flashed.
The hallway began to fill with nervous people evacuating, and the group walked away from the elevators and into another apartment. Once inside, Dee Dee turned to Vespere.
“Blow the apartment.”
She produced a small device that emitted green light, flicked a switch, and pressed a button. The light changed to red and a huge explosion rocked the building above them and to the far right. They moved on before the shaking and sound subsided.
“Okay. So you’re an Epsilon Force from where? UK?” Riesman asked under her breath.
“We are not from around there either,” Vespere said.
“Let me guess … the apartment was set to blow. So you were prepared,” Riesman continued, aware that her familiarity with Seals helped her adapt quickly from Thanksgiving dinner conversation to an elite commando unit on a mission.
“Yes,” Lux replied.
Perez and these women left nothing out, nothing to chance and made no mistakes. And they killed an entire FBI strike team. But they couldn’t be FBI. They‘d planned to kill her, and the three women, just like they had Damon and Hiaki. Riesman wondered what she’d fallen into.
Lux opened a closet door and pushed the back wall. It opened into another part of the building, where they walked through more empty apartments. Once in a different public hallway, Vespere pulled another alarm. People came out in waves, and Riesman and the team flowed onto the street with everyone else.
Outside, large numbers of
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