Free Tracer by Rob Boffard

syringes.
    He stills himself for a moment, letting his eyes get used to the darkness again. He quickly spots the door, recessedslightly into the wall of the tunnel. He walks over to it, activates the entry keypad, sending a dull white glow into the tunnel. Gray didn’t want to give Darnell the code to what he calls his work room. Darnell made him change his mind.
    He punches it in, and the door locks disengage, the sound echoing around the cramped tunnel. The passage beyond the door is dimly lit, the metal walls pittedand scarred. Hefting his loads, Darnell heads down the passage. After he dumps the idiot tech, he can head back to the Air Lab, and await the return of Riley Hale. He won’t even have to dose her. She’ll come with him willingly, if she knows what’s good for her. He can give her to Arthur Gray as a …
    Darnell stops, listening closely.
    The door hasn’t clicked shut behind him.
    He looks over hisshoulder. The door is slightly ajar. His eyes move to the bottom, where the toe of a shoe is positioned in the space between the frame and the door.
    Darnell charges. He uses the tech’s body as a battering ram, slamming into the door. It flies open, sending the owner of the shoe stumbling backwards. Darnell lets go of Prakesh, hurling him outwards, and his pursuer crumples under the dead-weight,crashing onto the track.
    Movement. To his right. A figure leaps at him, barrelling out of the darkness. Darnell back-hands the attacker. She cries out, and blood spatters across his hand. He can’t see it in the darkness, but he can feel it, hot and sticky, and it brings a smile to his face.
    The first one is up. Darnell can’t see his features in the darkness, but he’s enormous, with arms liketree trunks. For a split second, Darnell hesitates. But as the man gets to his feet, he makes the mistake of glancing down in horror at the tech’s body.
    Darnell lifts two syringes out of his pocket, flips the caps off. They bounce away across the floor. The first needle only scratches the giant, but it’s enough to get some quicksleep into his blood, and in seconds he’s stumbling, throwing uncoordinatedpunches. Darnell dodges, dodges again, then plants the needles right in the giant’s chest.
    The man collapses almost instantly, dropping first to his knees, and then flat onto his face. There’s an incoherent yell of fury, and then the little one is back.
    She rushes towards Darnell, her shoulder low, aiming for his legs. He snags her by the neck before she can get close, lifting her up. She kicksout at him, tries to scratch the exposed skin on his arm, but it’s no use. His hand goes all the way around her neck, locking her in a vice.
    There’s some light coming from Gray’s passage. Darnell can just make out his attacker. She’s a tiny woman, her skin spangled with colourful tattoos. High up on her neck, curving around to her throat, are two words in a delicate, curlicued font.
Devil Dancers
.
    Riley Hale’s crew. So.
    Her struggles are getting more urgent. Darnell’s fingers clench. A little more pressure, and her fragile spine will snap. And there’s his blade, tucked in his belt. A single short cut will open her throat.
    No. Better to keep his options open – for now. Darnell pulls out another syringe. He takes the cap in his mouth, grips it in his teeth, pulls and spits. The girl’seyes go wide, and then he jabs the needle into her neck and they defocus, the irises rolling back.
    He drops her, and the tunnel is silent again.

15
Riley
    I read the note again. And the horrible sick feeling in my chest begins to grow. Anger blooms like a poisonous flower.
    Trembling, I pass the paper to Amira, and she and Carver scan it. When she looks up, her face is grim. “We should stick to the plan,” she says quietly.
    I stare at her. “Stick to the … no. I have to fix this. I’m going back to the Air Lab.”
    “He’ll kill you if you do.”

    “He’ll kill Prakesh if I don’t.”
    “Slow up, Riley,” says