Free The Crown Jewels by Walter Jon Williams Page B

her mental control of its devices. She triggered the hologram and, a miniature black cloud, floated away from the mayhem on the roof and dived over the edge of the building. She reached for a microcutter on her belt and began slicing at the first window she came to. As she popped the window out and began to drift through it, she realized she was entering Amalia Jensen’s bedroom.
    Darksuits are useless camouflage during the day. The black holographic cloud obscures the figure, of course, but it may be argued that a black cloud floating through someone’s window may call more attention to itself than a person doing the same thing. And of course if you happen to be halfway through a window, your darksuit could be projecting the chorus from Aida and you’d still be an easy target.
    The first glimpse Tvi caught of Amalia Jensen was as the human female popped out from behind her waterbed and lobbed overarm a heavy vase that caught Tvi squarely between the ears. Stars exploded in Tvi’s vision. She decided to get out of the window as fast as possible, and accelerated straight across the room.
    Unfortunately her depth perception was still numb and she smashed headfirst into a closet door.
    Jensen, seen by Tvi through her rear projectors, continued to hurl weighty household objects into the darksuit screen. A heavy ashtray caught Tvi between her shoulders. A vase detonated over her head.
    Enough was enough. This was Khotvinn’s department. Tvi flew down the hallway to the living room and unlocked the roof entrance. The amplified scent of flowers warred with pain in her skull— the place was full of plants. Khotvinn came slowly down the a-grav elevator, a robot arm in one hand.
    “What took you so long?” he snarled.
    Tvi willed her hologram projectors off and pointed numbly toward Jensen’s bedroom. “That way,” she said. Khotvinn flung the robot arm into a corner— there was a crash that echoed endlessly in Tvi’s skull as the arm destroyed a porcelain planter— and then the giant began to lope at a ground-shattering trot toward the bedroom.
    Unfortunately Jensen had changed position. She came flying out of a connecting bathroom, a green-and-white striped towel blossoming from one hand. The towel draped nearly over Khotvinn’s head just as Jensen’s foot planted itself in his midsection. The air went out of Khotvinn in a rush.
    There followed a good deal of confused thumping and thrashing. Jensen was aided by another small household robot that clung to Khotvinn’s knees and tried in a fairly incompetent way to harm him. Tvi wasn’t certain what she was watching, not being an aficionado of the martial arts— a proper burglar disdained violence— but it seemed as if honors were about even. Both fighters were breathless and bloody before Jensen broke off the combat and retreated back into the bathroom. Khotvinn, ignoring the clawing robot and a bottle of shampoo that bounced off his chest, marched in pursuit.
    Tvi leaned against an overstuffed chair, holding her head. “Hey,” she said as the thrashing started again, “use your stunner, why don’t you?”
    The household robot came flying out of the bedroom door and smashed into bits on the opposite wall. Amalia Jensen, crouched low, followed the robot out of the door— apparently she’d just ducked from the bathroom into the bedroom— and began backing toward Tvi. Tvi reached for her stunner.
    Then Khotvinn appeared, brandishing a towel rack. Jensen reached for a flowerpot and let fly. Tvi lowered her weapon. The wide-beam stunner would get them both if she fired it.
    The combat demolished most of the living room. Tvi floated up near the roof in her a-grav harness, trying to get in a clear shot, but Khotvinn kept blocking the way.
    “ Earth slime !” Khotvinn bellowed.
    “ Inhuman scum !” Amalia Jensen retorted through bloody lips.
    Fate of the Empire, Tvi thought resignedly, and wondered how well her black boxes were doing without supervision.
    Do