Mercury Rises by Robert Kroese Page A

do it: the narrow corridor would even the odds between a small attacking force and the sizeable planeport security forces. All the attacker would have to do would be to seal off the opening of the corridor that led back to the main part of the planeport. The entourage would be completely isolated.
    As these thoughts went through his mind, he noticed that the two planeport guards up front had abruptly stopped and turned to face the black-garbed henchmen flanking the hooded angel. They unsheathed their swords.
    At that moment, the two guards flanking Mercury ran forward, drawing their swords as well. All four guards fell upon the four henchmen, decapitating two of them before they could react. The remaining two henchmen drew their swords simultaneously, and one of them managed to stab a guard before they, too, were cut down. Just then, the tall figure drew his sword, taking a step back to get all four attackers in front of him.
    The servants fled past Mercury down the corridor, except for the slight figure Mercury had observed earlier. She drew a fiery blade as well and advanced toward the melee.
    "Oh, no you don't," whispered Mercury, grabbing the back of her cloak. She whirled to face him. Beneath the hood, a stern young female face was visible.
    "Get your hands off me," she growled, in a tone that made Mercury want to run and hide. He released her cloak.
    "Ma'am," Mercury said, with a slight bow. "No disrespect, but you're going to lose this battle. You need to get the hell out of here."
    The girl turned back toward the fray. The tall man was swinging his sword wildly, valiantly beating back the four attackers. The aggressors seemed to be trying to encircle the hooded man and disarm him in an attempt to subdue him without serious injury. Meanwhile, Perp buzzed frantically back and forth across the hall, shouting, "Security! Security!"
    "Please," whispered Mercury urgently to the girl. "If you're who I think you are, you need to get out of here before these guys realize they've been had."
    As he spoke, the blade of one of the attackers sliced through the hooded man's arm at the elbow, cutting his forearm clean off. He fell to his knees, clutching the stump. The head guard leaped on top of him, pinning him to the floor and pushing the hood back to reveal a head of thick, curly blond hair. "Quickly! The disc!" he barked.
    Another guard handed him a silvery disc about the size of a half-dollar, which he pressed against the blond angel's forehead.
    Suddenly Mercury stepped in front of the girl. "Hey, guys!" he yelled. "Wanna see a magic trick?"
    "Decapitate the idiot," said the head guard.
    "You should be more specific," Mercury said. "How am I supposed to know which one you're talking about?"
    Two guards moved toward Mercury, brandishing their swords.
    "Blast!" yelled the head guard, studying the silver disc. "It's not him! The identity disc says it's Malchediel."
    "Michael's personal bodyguard," said another guard. "A clever ruse. But our intelligence is good, I'm sure of it. So where is he?"
    "Or she ," said the head guard, peering down the hallway past Mercury. "Stop her!"
    A guard moved to run past Mercury after the girl, but Mercury stuck his foot out, tripping the guard and sending him sprawling down the hallway. As another tried to run past him on the other side, Mercury gave him a shove between shoulder blades, and he, too, lost his footing and fell facedown on the floor.
    "Ten-yard penalty for clipping," Mercury said. "Unsportsmanlike, I know, but you guys have me outnumbered."
    The third guard took a step toward Mercury, drawing his sword back over his shoulder as he did so.
    "I hope you've got better offense than your teammates," Mercury said, "because they weren't much of a challenge."
    "In the name of Lucifer," growled the head guard, "seize her!"
    The guards scrambled to their feet and ran down the hall. The head guard smiled, drew back his blade, and sliced Mercury's head off. The last thing Mercury saw before