Read Online A Covenant of Justice by David Gerrold - Free Book Online Page B

hurried past.
    â€œWhy didn’t you kill them?” asked Three-Dollar.
    â€œWhy kill slaves? They haven’t hurt us.”
    Three-Dollar grunted.
    â€œWhat does that mean?” Sawyer called back over his shoulder.
    â€œYou begin to show signs of a conscience, Sawyer. That does not bode well for your peace of mind.”
    Sawyer shook his head in annoyance. “Thanks for sharing that.”
    â€œTo the right, now!” directed Three-Dollar. “This passage should lead directly to the shuttles.” They ducked into a corridor that curved sharply around to the right, bending with the shape of the vessel’s hull. “I don’t like this,” muttered Sawyer.
    â€œThey’ll have no more visibility than us,” said Tuan.
    â€œI didn’t mean the corridor,” Sawyer replied. “This whole thing seems too easy. Why haven’t they pursued us? No, this escape has too much convenience. It smells bad.”
    But even as he spoke, a squad of Vampires—more of the Elite Guard—came hurtling around the curve of the corridor ahead.
    â€œYou spoke too soon,” called Lee.
    Sawyer didn’t waste time answering; he flattened himself against the wall and started firing immediately. So did Tuan. Bright blue fire punched through the Vampires’ fragile bodies; it splattered off the walls. Screams and smoke and ricocheting pieces of metal and flesh filled the corridor. “Shit!” said Sawyer, and kept on firing. Wherever something moved, they blasted. Behind them, Lee-1169 began firing steadily at attackers from the rear—Vampires or Dragons, Sawyer couldn’t tell.
    William Three-Dollar grabbed the Lady Zillabar’s authority bracelet, yanking it off her arm. He began shouting quickly into it in the Vampires’ own language: “Don’t fire! Don’t fire! They have the Lady Zillabar! They’ll kill the Lady Zillabar! Don’t fire! Stop all firing! Evacuate the shuttle-bay or they’ll kill her! Do it now!”
    Abruptly, the firing from behind them stopped; either Lee-1169 had successfully beaten back their attackers or they had heard Three-Dollar’s frantic message. Sawyer would have bet on the latter.
    Unfortunately, whoever still blocked the passage ahead had not yet gotten the word. Intermittent fire still came splattering off the walls ahead of them. Sawyer ducked a ricochet. His skin stung sharply with the effects of the electric spray.
    Three-Dollar punched up another channel and began grunting commands in the Dragons’ own guttural language. “Don’t fire! Don’t fire! No dishonor. The Dragon Lord allows it. No dishonor! Let them pass! Save the Lady’s life! Let them pass!”
    A moment later, the corridor fell silent.
    â€œCome on,” said Three-Dollar, pointing ahead. “Let’s get into a boat before one of those damn reptiles starts thinking for itself.”

The Shuttle
    Halfway down the corridor, another alarm went off. This one rasped with the sawtooth-edged note of ship security. Behind them, they could hear the security doors slamming solidly shut, one after the other.
    â€œSomeone finally got smart,” said Lee. The men ran as fast as they could toward the last door, the one leading into the shuttle bay. Sawyer fired ahead, hoping to disable the mechanism. The door hesitated—
    Sawyer leapt through, then Tuan. The door hesitated again—Three-Dollar pushed the wheelchair into the bay and jumped through after it, with Lee close behind. The door slammed shut behind them.
    Sawyer and Tuan moved into the long corridor cautiously, wondering how many Dragons and Vampires lay hiding in the passages that branched off to each side. Each tube led down to a different shuttleboat.
    â€œWhich one?” asked Sawyer.
    â€œAny one,” guessed Tuan. He pointed. “This first one?”
    â€œNo,” said Three-Dollar. “If they’ve booby-trapped any of