Free Catch the Lightning by Catherine Asaro Page A

sprinting toward the parking lot in back of the library. Jerking up my foot, I stabbed the spike heel of my shoe into Buzzer’s leg. As he yelled, his hold loosened and I twisted out of his arms. I ran for the plaza in front of the library, lurching in my high heels. If only I could get out of the alley. San Carlos was a busy street Once I was in the plaza, someone had to see me. They had to. I could run into the street even, make a car stop.
    Another of Nug’s men stepped into view, blocking the end of the alley.
    With a cry, I skidded to a stop in front of him. Footsteps sounded behind me, and I spun around to see Nug. Buzzer came up on his left and String on his right, chests heaving as they gasped for breath.
    “I’m getting real tired of this,” Nug said.
    “No!” I said. “People will see—”
    “Shut up.” He grabbed my arm and threw me back into Buzzer. I tried to scream, but Buzzer clamped his hand over my mouth. An engine rumbled, and an old car turned into the alley from the back parking lot, with Pits driving. He rolled toward us and stopped a few feet away.
    Nug glanced at me. “We’re going to my place, baby. For a party. All of us.” He looked around, then scowled at the guy who had stepped into the alley. “Go find the others.”
    As the guy took off, Buzzer dragged me to the car and opened the back door. He pushed me down on the seat, on my back, pressing one hand over my mouth and holding my wrists. The other door opened, bringing the greasy auto shop smell Nug carried around with him. Buzzer let go of my mouth, but as soon as I opened it to scream, Nug stuffed in a wad of cloth and covered my mouth with duct tape.
    String opened the front door and tossed Nug a rope. “That’s all we got.”
    Nug caught the rope. “It’ll do.” Leaning over me, he took my wrists from Buzzer and pulled off my bracelet.
    I struggled to yank my hands away from him. My mother had given me that bracelet, and her mother to her, and on back for more generations than anyone in our family knew. It could never be replaced.
    Buzzer motioned at the bracelet. “Think it’s worth anything?”
    Nug watched me struggle. “She thinks it is. Maybe we can hock it.” He laughed. “Hey, it’s a prize. Whoever does her the longest gets it.”
    I yelled No! but all that came out was a muffled grunt. Nug dropped the bracelet on the floor. They flipped me over onto my stomach, and Buzzer held me down while Nug tied my wrists behind my back. When they turned me over again, I clenched my teeth on the cloth in my mouth and jerked up my knees, jamming them into Buzzer’s crotch.
    “Shit!” Buzzef jumped back so fast he hit his head on the door frame. He fell against the door, his fury leaking out of his pores like drops of lava.
    The boot whipped up in such a blur, I didn’t realize it was a person kicking his leg until the heel hit Buzzer’s chest and threw him away from the car. Then Althor hurtled into Buzzer and they spun out of sight. Behind me, Nug swore and opened the car door.
    I scrambled out of the car, nearly losing my balance with my hands tied behind my back, just in time to see Althor and Buzzer hit the wall of the cleaner’s. As String ran up behind them, his switchblade drawn, Althor whirled around, holding Buzzer by his jacket, kicking his leg up in a move of deadly grace. An unnatural speed controlled his body, as if he were a machine directed by someone else. His anger filled the air with spears of ice only I could see. I didn’t know then that it was a programmed emotion, a state-of-the-art defense designed to smother his em-pathic abilities during combat.
    His kick sent String’s knife spinning and his heel slammed into String’s chest. As String flew backward into the car, Althor threw Buzzer after him. Both men crumpled to the ground, broken and unconscious. I later learned that the only reason they still lived was because Althor’s biomech web had calculated that lethal force wasn’t needed.