[ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]
same look in his eyes. I'll bet she could take out two or three of us
without half trying."
His men had agreed with him until he got to his final conclusion, but
he obviously knew more about Special Agents than they did. One of
them snorted in disbelief over the contention that a girl could take
two or three men their size, and the sergeant turned to regard the
man thoughtfully.
file:///C|/Downloads/Diana-Santee/Tanderon/Tanderon05.html (7 of 25)18/09/2005 14:59:18
Tanderon by Sharon Green - Chapter 5
"Mr. Ringer," he said, not taking his eyes from the doubting Thomas.
"I wonder if you would tell us the young lady's rating in unarmed
combat."
Ringer had been leaning against the doorjamb with folded arms,
watching the proceedings, and he smiled faintly.
"Her rating is nine, Sergeant," he supplied in the mildest of tones.
The sergeant nodded his thanks, all the while studying his man and
seeing the surprise appear when my rating was mentioned.
"How about you, Gedner?" he pursued, rubbing at his chin with one
hand. "What was the rating you just qualified for?"
The man named Gedner hesitated, moved his eyes to me, then shook his
head.
"I just got my three, Sergeant," he admitted, a faint worry showing
in his eyes. "You think we ought to go back for disruptor rifles?"
Ringer and Val laughed out loud at that, the sergeant grinned and
shook his head, and I turned away in disgust while muttering nasty
things under my breath. The sergeant's three men were now looking at
me the way they'd looked at Val earlier, and the change in attitude
wasn't even good for the ego.
"Now that that's settled, I think we can get back on schedule,"
Ringer drawled in satisfaction. "Let's go, Diana."
I looked at the doorway again to see Ringer and Val already out in
the corridor. My escort was waiting warily for me to join the group,
and playing stubborn wouldn't have been worth the trouble it would
bring. The Council wanted me on Tanderon and Ringer wanted me on
Tanderon, and neither of them would have minded if I arrived there
unconscious from a stunner dose.
Stunners are considered humane weapons when compared to disruptors,
but that opinion was not shared by anyone who had ever been stunned.
At least with a disruptor you didn't wake up with frazzled nerve
endings that took a while to quiet down. I shrugged to myself in
temporary resignation, walked to the door and through it, and took my
place in the parade.
file:///C|/Downloads/Diana-Santee/Tanderon/Tanderon05.html (8 of 25)18/09/2005 14:59:18
Tanderon by Sharon Green - Chapter 5
The hall corridor was deserted, and we headed for the elevator with
Ringer and Val leading the way, two of the guards following them,
then me, then the last two guards. After a very short wait the
elevator doors opened and we all moved into the car.
The elevator doors opened again up on the Station's main level and
Ringer led the way again, this time to the left, away from the
docking area and toward the dining room and amusement areas. There
were a lot of people around, some moving through the area, some going
in and out of shops. Some were using the various gambling and skill
machines lining the entire right wall of the corridor, and most of
all those people either stopped or turned around to stare at our
parade. It wasn't hard to see who the guards were for, and it isn't
every day you see someone being escorted around a station - most
especially not a harmless-looking girl. The security men were very
aware of the stares, something that wouldn't have bothered them with
another prisoner, and that helped me decide to see how my luck was
running.
We moved down the center of the corridor, other pedestrians shifting
to left or right to get out of our way. Just ahead and to the left,
between two richly decorated shop windows, was a modestly plain door
with a sign that read "Private. Please do not enter." The sign was
specifically worded so as not to be a challenge to anyone looking for
an argument, but I happened to know what the door was for. It led to
the restricted area beneath the station's main level, and even had a
branching that exited in the docking area.
I waited until we were a few steps past my target door, then
pretended to stumble slightly. The natural reaction of a person
stumbling over something unseen is to look back and down at whatever
caused the misstep. When I did just that, I found the two security
men behind me looking in the same place.
I hadn't hoped they'd be inexperienced enough to follow the pointing
finger, so to speak, but you learn to take whatever residual luck you
happen to run into. Without the least hesitation I kicked the one on
the left in the stomach, then immediately gave the one on the right a
fist in his solar plexus. They both folded up with groans and I was
off and running toward that door we'd passed, people jumping in all
directions to get out of my way amid gasps and screams of shock.
file:///C|/Downloads/Diana-Santee/Tanderon/Tanderon05.html (9 of 25)18/09/2005 14:59:18
Tanderon by Sharon Green - Chapter 5
I was across the corridor in five strides, almost to the door, when I
heard a shout of "Halt!" behind me. That meant I had a good three to
five seconds before any shots were fired, so I put them to use. I
made it to the door, grabbed the knob, then twisted it right-left as
I threw a shoulder into it. The damned door took no notice of any of
it, showing that it was locked tight, and there was nothing left to
do but spin away from the door and try for the docking area by way of
the corridor.
I turned fast, took one step, then froze in place when I found myself
looking down the barrel of a stunner. The sergeant had put himself
between me and the docking area, three paces out of reach, his body
braced, his arm and weapon pointed straight at me. His face held no [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]
zanotowane.pl doc.pisz.pl pdf.pisz.pl wyciskamy.pev.pl
same look in his eyes. I'll bet she could take out two or three of us
without half trying."
His men had agreed with him until he got to his final conclusion, but
he obviously knew more about Special Agents than they did. One of
them snorted in disbelief over the contention that a girl could take
two or three men their size, and the sergeant turned to regard the
man thoughtfully.
file:///C|/Downloads/Diana-Santee/Tanderon/Tanderon05.html (7 of 25)18/09/2005 14:59:18
Tanderon by Sharon Green - Chapter 5
"Mr. Ringer," he said, not taking his eyes from the doubting Thomas.
"I wonder if you would tell us the young lady's rating in unarmed
combat."
Ringer had been leaning against the doorjamb with folded arms,
watching the proceedings, and he smiled faintly.
"Her rating is nine, Sergeant," he supplied in the mildest of tones.
The sergeant nodded his thanks, all the while studying his man and
seeing the surprise appear when my rating was mentioned.
"How about you, Gedner?" he pursued, rubbing at his chin with one
hand. "What was the rating you just qualified for?"
The man named Gedner hesitated, moved his eyes to me, then shook his
head.
"I just got my three, Sergeant," he admitted, a faint worry showing
in his eyes. "You think we ought to go back for disruptor rifles?"
Ringer and Val laughed out loud at that, the sergeant grinned and
shook his head, and I turned away in disgust while muttering nasty
things under my breath. The sergeant's three men were now looking at
me the way they'd looked at Val earlier, and the change in attitude
wasn't even good for the ego.
"Now that that's settled, I think we can get back on schedule,"
Ringer drawled in satisfaction. "Let's go, Diana."
I looked at the doorway again to see Ringer and Val already out in
the corridor. My escort was waiting warily for me to join the group,
and playing stubborn wouldn't have been worth the trouble it would
bring. The Council wanted me on Tanderon and Ringer wanted me on
Tanderon, and neither of them would have minded if I arrived there
unconscious from a stunner dose.
Stunners are considered humane weapons when compared to disruptors,
but that opinion was not shared by anyone who had ever been stunned.
At least with a disruptor you didn't wake up with frazzled nerve
endings that took a while to quiet down. I shrugged to myself in
temporary resignation, walked to the door and through it, and took my
place in the parade.
file:///C|/Downloads/Diana-Santee/Tanderon/Tanderon05.html (8 of 25)18/09/2005 14:59:18
Tanderon by Sharon Green - Chapter 5
The hall corridor was deserted, and we headed for the elevator with
Ringer and Val leading the way, two of the guards following them,
then me, then the last two guards. After a very short wait the
elevator doors opened and we all moved into the car.
The elevator doors opened again up on the Station's main level and
Ringer led the way again, this time to the left, away from the
docking area and toward the dining room and amusement areas. There
were a lot of people around, some moving through the area, some going
in and out of shops. Some were using the various gambling and skill
machines lining the entire right wall of the corridor, and most of
all those people either stopped or turned around to stare at our
parade. It wasn't hard to see who the guards were for, and it isn't
every day you see someone being escorted around a station - most
especially not a harmless-looking girl. The security men were very
aware of the stares, something that wouldn't have bothered them with
another prisoner, and that helped me decide to see how my luck was
running.
We moved down the center of the corridor, other pedestrians shifting
to left or right to get out of our way. Just ahead and to the left,
between two richly decorated shop windows, was a modestly plain door
with a sign that read "Private. Please do not enter." The sign was
specifically worded so as not to be a challenge to anyone looking for
an argument, but I happened to know what the door was for. It led to
the restricted area beneath the station's main level, and even had a
branching that exited in the docking area.
I waited until we were a few steps past my target door, then
pretended to stumble slightly. The natural reaction of a person
stumbling over something unseen is to look back and down at whatever
caused the misstep. When I did just that, I found the two security
men behind me looking in the same place.
I hadn't hoped they'd be inexperienced enough to follow the pointing
finger, so to speak, but you learn to take whatever residual luck you
happen to run into. Without the least hesitation I kicked the one on
the left in the stomach, then immediately gave the one on the right a
fist in his solar plexus. They both folded up with groans and I was
off and running toward that door we'd passed, people jumping in all
directions to get out of my way amid gasps and screams of shock.
file:///C|/Downloads/Diana-Santee/Tanderon/Tanderon05.html (9 of 25)18/09/2005 14:59:18
Tanderon by Sharon Green - Chapter 5
I was across the corridor in five strides, almost to the door, when I
heard a shout of "Halt!" behind me. That meant I had a good three to
five seconds before any shots were fired, so I put them to use. I
made it to the door, grabbed the knob, then twisted it right-left as
I threw a shoulder into it. The damned door took no notice of any of
it, showing that it was locked tight, and there was nothing left to
do but spin away from the door and try for the docking area by way of
the corridor.
I turned fast, took one step, then froze in place when I found myself
looking down the barrel of a stunner. The sergeant had put himself
between me and the docking area, three paces out of reach, his body
braced, his arm and weapon pointed straight at me. His face held no [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]