Page 33 of New World

Sliding off her stool in a single fluid motion, she hooked it with her foot, caught the top, and shoved the four legs into Cee’s arm with enough force to jolt the assassin’s aim off-course. Dorane twisted to the side, his reflexes matching the disruption.

The blast of laser fire shot wildly across the room, ricocheting off the metal walls and shattering a pitcher of dark liquor behind Deek’s head. The thick scent of alcohol filled the air as the shattered glass rained down onto the bar top. A chorus of curses and chaos erupted as the patrons dove for cover.

Cee’s metal fingers clenched around the stool leg as her head snapped toward Mei. Her cybernetic eye flickered, locking onto the unexpected fighter on Dorane’s side. With a furious growl, Cee swung the stool like a hammer, launching it straight at Dorane who had already started moving—after Mei.

“Son of a—” Asta’s voice cut off as she rolled onto the bar, dodging the flying stool as Dorane caught it in midair and redirected it out of his way.

Jammer moved to intercept Cee when she launched herself after Dorane. His massive frame blocked Cee’s path for only a fraction of a second—she was faster than she looked. With one hand, Cee grabbed Jammer by the front of his coat and hurled him into a nearby table. The furniture collapsed under his weight, sending chairs skidding across the floor.

While Deek pulled out a double-barrel laser rifle and shot in the wake of the moving cyborg, shattering the sign above the door, Mei exited the bar, trying to lose herself in the swarm of patrons scrambling to get away. She ducked under the falling pieces and slipped outside with Dorane in hot pursuit.

Damn it!

Mei silently cursed as she darted away from the bar. She hadn’t planned on interfering, but the moment she had seen Cee pull her weapon, she knew Dorane would die. She had learned enough about the Turbinta assassins over the last few days from Tiv and Yi to know they didn’t play around.

If she had been the one sitting across from him, she wouldn’t have waited for the banter—she would have killed him instantly. Her breath came fast as she slipped into a thick crowd of pedestrians, her pace slowing.

She wove in and out between bodies, keeping her head down, her movements controlled, scanning for an exit. She knew Dorane was following her. Their eyes had briefly met before she’d turned and bolted. She hoped his backup could handle the cyborg.

Her gaze swept through the crowd. She had seconds to find a place to vanish if she didn’t want to come face-to-face with Dorane LeGaugh in a crowded market. She could just see the headlines flashing over the monitors in the bar tomorrow if that happened: Last Ancient Knight discovered in seedy bar on Cryon II. Come and get her!

There!

Mei sighed with relief when she found what she was looking for. To her right was a merchant’s stall covered in a thick, dark cloth. The perfect place to disappear.

Without hesitation, Mei stooped low and rolled under the table, pressing her back against the cool metal floor, her breathing even despite the rush of adrenaline. The sound of running footsteps grew louder, then slowed.

From her hiding spot, Mei watched Dorane skid to a stop just beyond the table, his chest rising and falling as he scanned the streets. His jaw tightened, a curse slipping from his lips, before he turned and took off down a long, narrow alleyway.

Mei was about to roll out and move in the opposite direction when a glint of metal and the faint whir of cybernetic servos warned her to stay where she was. She stared up through a rip in the fabric at the cyborg assassin. Cee paused, still as death before she released a malicious chuckle.

Cee’s cybernetic fingers flexed before she muttered, “A rare, fatal mistake, Dorane. One that I will use to my advantage.”

Mei twisted onto her stomach and watched as the Turbinta assassin strode toward the entrance of the alley where Dorane had disappeared. Bitterness rose in her throat. How many times had she heard her father speak in that same tone before he did something unimaginably cruel? It was the certainty of a hunter who knew their prey had just walked into a trap.

Shit.

Driven by her desire to stop what she knew would happen, she rolled out the opposite side, startling the merchant.

“Apologies,” she whispered, brushing past before the man could react.

Her eyes flicked toward the bar just in time to see Asta and Jammer emerge—going in the opposite direction. They hadn’t seen which direction Dorane had gone. They didn’t realize he had just trapped himself.

Walking away wasn’t an option. She couldn’t leave Dorane defenseless. Never again would she look the opposite way when she had the power and skills to stop someone who enjoyed inflicting pain. While she didn’t know Dorane LeGaugh personally, he had stopped the two men from harming Yi. If nothing else, he deserved to have someone cover his back.

Damn it, Dorane, Mei thought as she took off after him.

She moved fast, because if she was right about Cee, Dorane wouldn’t be walking out of that alley alive unless he had a little help.

Dorane groaned, dragging a hand down his face as he slowed to a stop and glanced around the alley. He had made a mistake. A rare, stupid, potentially fatal mistake.

The cold metal walls loomed on either side before ending in a solid wall. The only exit was the way he came. He stood at the midpoint, which meant—yep.

A dead end. I just hope it will be a figurative one.

He exhaled slowly, shaking his head. “Damn it.”

It wasn’t even the trap that pissed him off. No, what really bothered him was that he had walked into it. On his own. Willingly.

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