Page 56 of Defying the Relic Hunter

“Dunno, but I’m sensing multiple hostiles in the area.”

“Me too.”

Ethan suddenly linked with me,“What’s going on?”

“Nothing. Why?”I cringed as another volley of bullets slammed into the dumpster.

“Who’s shooting at you?”

“What makes you think someone is shooting at us?”

“Kizzy,”he growled in warning.

“Shouldn’t you be concentrating on your mission?”

Ethan countered,“Why aren’t you wearing your armor?”

Crap! I engaged it and noticed Xenia was wearing hers. I was a piss poor warrior.“Everything’s good. We’ve got it handled.”

“Do you?”Skepticism laced Ethan’s voice.

A stern voice commanded, “Police! Drop your guns.”

“Yeah, the police are here.”

“The police!”

“The Best Whore House in Vegas is on skid row. Lots of bad guys. Lots of cops.”

Ethan inquired testily,“Why hasn’t Granny Annabel turned them into popsicles?”

“She’s kinda busy right now.”

“Doing what?”

“Enough of the third degree. “We’re fine. End of story.”I broke our link.

“Drop the shotgun! Now!” a cop yelled.

“I want my kiss,” the old guy screamed, and his shotgunboomedagain.

A wild barrage of gunfire erupted in the alley.

That alien asshole seemed really determined to kill his host.

A tomb-like silence fell.

Xenia checked her scanner.“Three hostiles remain.”

In the distance sirens began to wail.

I risked a peek around the dumpster.

The old guy lay unmoving in a pool of blood. The hunters had taken refuge behind the burnt out remains of a Plymouth. Surrender wasn’t in their vocabulary. Our simple little mission had turned into a major cluster fuck.

“Toss your weapons out and put your hands over your head,” a cop barked.

Testosterone raised its ugly head and the hunters responded with a hail of lead.

---