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Authors: A.J. Maguire
Tags: Science-Fiction
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this.
The startled man in front of her lowered the weapon a fraction more and her body reacted, sliding in close enough to take control of his wrist. Redirecting the gun upward, she slammed her heel down onto his instep, felt a reassuring crunch under her soft-soled shoe, and followed the attack with a knee to his groin. Two shots fired as he doubled over, hitting somewhere high on the wall. Kate slid her hand down his arm, grabbed the gun and started to wrench it away.
Strong arms grabbed her from behind, bear-hug fashion, and pulled her back.
"Mesa, please, calm yourself," the man holding her had a thick voice. It rumbled next to her left ear, his breath disturbing the hair intimately close to her face, and she registered that his arms loosened a bit. "There now, it's all right. We've come to take you home."
"Home?" Kate suddenly wished she'd paid more attention to the novels. It was obvious that these fans had mistaken her for the main female protagonist in Reesa's books, but her friend had been writing for too many years now and there were so many plot lines and details involved that Kate was lost.
What she could remember was that Mesa Prosser was dead. That much of the storyline hadn't been lost on her.
"Boss," the assailant with the gun straightened. "If this is Mesa, where's the Zimmerman woman?"
The words were directed at the man holding her and she suddenly knew who he was pretending to be; Hedric Prosser, Reesa's jaded and happily flawed main character. For reasons she couldn't understand, that realization pounded the danger of her predicament into her awareness. Kate took a deep breath and threw her head back; connecting against Hedric's face with enough force that she saw sparks of light behind her eyelids.
His arms dropped away from her and she shoved her elbow into his solar plexus. She half turned, keeping Hedric in view as she ducked the swing of the second assailant. He had heft to him, so she was mildly alarmed at the speed in which he moved. No sooner had he missed her head than he was swinging again, this time low. Swiveling to avoid the jab at her kidney, Kate spotted Hedric's move for her left side and leapt away.
Only her move crashed her into the door, which bashed against her luggage and sent her springing back into the fight. Hedric was closest, his face smeared with blood from his freshly broken nose, and he seemed intent on grabbing her rather than hitting her. Kate noticed this because he reached out to her, somewhat mimicking the grab she was conducting herself. One hand on the collar of his lapel, the other on his wrist, Kate used her momentum to turn, her body performing the hip throw before she'd even decided to do it.
Hedric flew over the right side of her body, toppling into the second assailant and falling headlong into Reesa's couch. The old, flowery bit of furniture screeched across the hardwood floor and struck the wall with enough force to knock a painting down. It was such a clamor that she hoped someone downstairs might hear and investigate.
Something sharp pierced her left arm and she grabbed at it. The room swam in her vision before she'd plucked the dart out of her skin. Kate cursed - something she hadn't done since Quinn was born - and remembered the third intruder. New arms took her, kept her upright as the Hedric wanna-be and second assailant began to get to their feet. Her legs quit working and she slumped against the man holding her.
*
"In the seven years since the original outbreak of the Mavirus, a massive influx of converts have pledged to the stringent Makeem regimen. If the steady increase of members continues, it is estimated that Makeem Loyalists will outnumber Christians three to one within the next five years." - A.P. November 12, 2201
Chapter Six
Reesa heard a massive amount of movement in her apartment and froze. There'd been grunting, banging, all the usual sounds of assault, and she'd lost coherent thought. It was over quickly but Reesa couldn't
The startled man in front of her lowered the weapon a fraction more and her body reacted, sliding in close enough to take control of his wrist. Redirecting the gun upward, she slammed her heel down onto his instep, felt a reassuring crunch under her soft-soled shoe, and followed the attack with a knee to his groin. Two shots fired as he doubled over, hitting somewhere high on the wall. Kate slid her hand down his arm, grabbed the gun and started to wrench it away.
Strong arms grabbed her from behind, bear-hug fashion, and pulled her back.
"Mesa, please, calm yourself," the man holding her had a thick voice. It rumbled next to her left ear, his breath disturbing the hair intimately close to her face, and she registered that his arms loosened a bit. "There now, it's all right. We've come to take you home."
"Home?" Kate suddenly wished she'd paid more attention to the novels. It was obvious that these fans had mistaken her for the main female protagonist in Reesa's books, but her friend had been writing for too many years now and there were so many plot lines and details involved that Kate was lost.
What she could remember was that Mesa Prosser was dead. That much of the storyline hadn't been lost on her.
"Boss," the assailant with the gun straightened. "If this is Mesa, where's the Zimmerman woman?"
The words were directed at the man holding her and she suddenly knew who he was pretending to be; Hedric Prosser, Reesa's jaded and happily flawed main character. For reasons she couldn't understand, that realization pounded the danger of her predicament into her awareness. Kate took a deep breath and threw her head back; connecting against Hedric's face with enough force that she saw sparks of light behind her eyelids.
His arms dropped away from her and she shoved her elbow into his solar plexus. She half turned, keeping Hedric in view as she ducked the swing of the second assailant. He had heft to him, so she was mildly alarmed at the speed in which he moved. No sooner had he missed her head than he was swinging again, this time low. Swiveling to avoid the jab at her kidney, Kate spotted Hedric's move for her left side and leapt away.
Only her move crashed her into the door, which bashed against her luggage and sent her springing back into the fight. Hedric was closest, his face smeared with blood from his freshly broken nose, and he seemed intent on grabbing her rather than hitting her. Kate noticed this because he reached out to her, somewhat mimicking the grab she was conducting herself. One hand on the collar of his lapel, the other on his wrist, Kate used her momentum to turn, her body performing the hip throw before she'd even decided to do it.
Hedric flew over the right side of her body, toppling into the second assailant and falling headlong into Reesa's couch. The old, flowery bit of furniture screeched across the hardwood floor and struck the wall with enough force to knock a painting down. It was such a clamor that she hoped someone downstairs might hear and investigate.
Something sharp pierced her left arm and she grabbed at it. The room swam in her vision before she'd plucked the dart out of her skin. Kate cursed - something she hadn't done since Quinn was born - and remembered the third intruder. New arms took her, kept her upright as the Hedric wanna-be and second assailant began to get to their feet. Her legs quit working and she slumped against the man holding her.
*
"In the seven years since the original outbreak of the Mavirus, a massive influx of converts have pledged to the stringent Makeem regimen. If the steady increase of members continues, it is estimated that Makeem Loyalists will outnumber Christians three to one within the next five years." - A.P. November 12, 2201
Chapter Six
Reesa heard a massive amount of movement in her apartment and froze. There'd been grunting, banging, all the usual sounds of assault, and she'd lost coherent thought. It was over quickly but Reesa couldn't
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