the nano-missiles in reserve for when he really needed them. Adrenaline burn kept him going, kept his Thryn senses sharp and fast and deadly. He seemed to have been running this maze for hours. He thought it might be rebuilding itself behind him, turning him back on himself and sending him through the same loop again and again—the same, but rebuilt into something different every time. He might be on Earth, but this was not human technology. He was sure of that. And then he saw it, a glimmer of neon. The exit gate. He paused to lock his longsight on the glow. Suddenly, a ring of soldiers sprang up around him. Everett M crossed his arms and yelled. Aspread of nano-missiles shredded them. The gate was in sight. He could afford to use missiles now. Everett M willed power into his legs and charged for the circle of white light. Soldiers leaped up in his path. He cut them apart with laser fire even before they had completely deployed and unfolded. He glanced at the moving screen. Charlotte Villiers was three paces behind him. The Thryn technology had turned Everett M's natural body sense—the same body sense that had made him such a good goalkeeper at Bourne Green—into something almost like a super power, but Charlotte Villiers moved like a trained athlete. Senses, thought, action amounted to one thing— instinct. Everything was instinct, every move the minimum effort for the maximum effect. And her little evil gun never missed.
There was nothing between Everett M and the exit gate. A quick dash would win him the race. Then he remembered. Look behind you. He turned just as the soldier bounced out of the floor. A nano-missile blew it to shards of flying plastic and metal. As he turned to the gate, he saw Charlotte Villiers running for her own glowing exit portal. He saw the soldier pop up behind her. He saw it unfold and level its guns. He saw that she did not see it.
Thought and action in unity. Everett M took a visual fix on the soldier in the other maze. He fed targeting commands to his Thryn systems. With a yell, he loosed his final nano-missile. It blazed out through the gate in front of him, then turned. Go go go! Everett M willed at it. The nano-missile entered Charlotte Villiers's maze through the exit gate. On the screen, he saw Charlotte Villiers's eyes go wide in shock as she dived out of the missile's path. You think I'm trying to kill you , Everett thought. You'll find out the truth in three, two, one…He could hear the explosion through the maze wall. Charlotte Villiers looked behind her. In that glance, she made up her mind. She ran for the exit gate. In his own maze, Everett M sprang forward. But he was so cold, so drained. He watched Charlotte Villiers pass through her exit gate two steps ahead of him.
She stood beside her alter, hardly out of breath. Everett M couldread the look on her face. It was not triumph. It was something he had never seen before: hatred. I saved your life , Everett M thought. You owe me, you will always owe me, and you hate that. You hate that and you hate me. With a thought, he powered down his lasers and closed up the weapon ports Madam Moon had put into his body. I have an enemy now.
F rost clung silver to the decking and to the nanocarbon-fibre struts. Everett's breath froze as it left his mouth. He carefully wiped the ice crystals from Dr. Quantum's screen. A careless touch and he could erase a key line of code. Days of work, with the temperature dropping around him as Mchynlyth tried to conserve power, could be undone in an instant. And he couldn't even be sure that there wasn't a mistake in there, some unnoticed slip of fingers so cold they hurt. Everett remembered the sports teacher at Bourne Green School who had arranged to end the Christmas Term one year by holding a football tournament. Sleet had blown horizontally from a weather front straight down from Greenland. Within ten minutes Everett's fingers had been so numb that he couldn't grip the ball. A kick, a punch, a
There was nothing between Everett M and the exit gate. A quick dash would win him the race. Then he remembered. Look behind you. He turned just as the soldier bounced out of the floor. A nano-missile blew it to shards of flying plastic and metal. As he turned to the gate, he saw Charlotte Villiers running for her own glowing exit portal. He saw the soldier pop up behind her. He saw it unfold and level its guns. He saw that she did not see it.
Thought and action in unity. Everett M took a visual fix on the soldier in the other maze. He fed targeting commands to his Thryn systems. With a yell, he loosed his final nano-missile. It blazed out through the gate in front of him, then turned. Go go go! Everett M willed at it. The nano-missile entered Charlotte Villiers's maze through the exit gate. On the screen, he saw Charlotte Villiers's eyes go wide in shock as she dived out of the missile's path. You think I'm trying to kill you , Everett thought. You'll find out the truth in three, two, one…He could hear the explosion through the maze wall. Charlotte Villiers looked behind her. In that glance, she made up her mind. She ran for the exit gate. In his own maze, Everett M sprang forward. But he was so cold, so drained. He watched Charlotte Villiers pass through her exit gate two steps ahead of him.
She stood beside her alter, hardly out of breath. Everett M couldread the look on her face. It was not triumph. It was something he had never seen before: hatred. I saved your life , Everett M thought. You owe me, you will always owe me, and you hate that. You hate that and you hate me. With a thought, he powered down his lasers and closed up the weapon ports Madam Moon had put into his body. I have an enemy now.
F rost clung silver to the decking and to the nanocarbon-fibre struts. Everett's breath froze as it left his mouth. He carefully wiped the ice crystals from Dr. Quantum's screen. A careless touch and he could erase a key line of code. Days of work, with the temperature dropping around him as Mchynlyth tried to conserve power, could be undone in an instant. And he couldn't even be sure that there wasn't a mistake in there, some unnoticed slip of fingers so cold they hurt. Everett remembered the sports teacher at Bourne Green School who had arranged to end the Christmas Term one year by holding a football tournament. Sleet had blown horizontally from a weather front straight down from Greenland. Within ten minutes Everett's fingers had been so numb that he couldn't grip the ball. A kick, a punch, a
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