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inside, then slammed it shut and made sure it latched securely.
    Floyt was surprised the boy hadn't put up more of a struggle until Alacrity said through the locker door's little vent grating, "We should kill you and you know you have it coming. If either of us gets hurt, the other's gonna come back here and shoot a few more holes in this locker door. In the meantime, think about what a screwup you are."
    Back in the passageway, Floyt said, "How did you know? That he was lying, I mean?"
    Alacrity smiled evily. "He's satisfied with just two ovals, especially when he sees you've got more right there in your hand?"
    "Too eager, hm?"
    "Let it be a lesson to 'im, He'll be older and wiser by the time his gangmates locate him. If. Look, how much do you recall about the layout of this dump?"
    "Enough to know we haven't got too many options. How long do we have before those triggermen come after us?"
    "Not long. I think if we can go through that aeroponics shed—remember, the one made out of the file:///C|/Documents%20and%20Settings/harry%20kruis...y%20-%20Fall%20of%20the%20White%20Ship%20Avatar.htm (20 of 242)23-2-2006 17:03:12
    [Fitzhugh 3]-FALL OF THE WHITE SHIP AVATAR
    booster tank? We can outflank them."
    The aeroponics shed had been stripped of all but its bulkiest fixtures. As the two skimmed carefully through the echoing darkness, Floyt found himself whispering, "There's just one thing, Alacrity."
    "What's that?"
    "What if they lied to Quirk, too? What if there're more of them and they aren't all waiting back there where they told him they'd be?"
    The sudden tension of that thought might have been the edge that had Alacrity alert enough to hear movement. Or it may have been that the other ambushers overheard Floyt's remark and opted to move before their prey became spooked, even though the pair was still some distance away. In any case, Alacrity caught the sounds and threw himself and Floyt behind a holding reservoir.
    A second later the shed was lit, its air cooked by sniper volleys. The assassins were using scatterbeams and pulsed lasers; there was little Floyt and Alacrity could do except keep their heads down, sweating from the heat and from fear.
    "All right, Firing Studs!" someone yelled. "Come out now and we take you alive. Elsewise, we do it the hard way!" Floyt made to take a quick peek, but Alacrity pulled him back,
    "Your choice, Fitzhugh; Floyt!" The firing began again. The two ducked molten globs from structural members that had been hit, and intense heatwaves. The massive reservoir provided adequate cover for the moment, but Alacrity feared for bulkhead and seal integrity, especially now that there were no fearless Sockwallets dedicated to protecting their lashup at all costs.
    One shooter's angle of fire changed. "They're trying for position," Alacrity murmured grimly, perspiration beading his face and dripping from his nose.
    Without leaving cover, Floyt angled his gun barrel up and fired away, ricocheting off the heavy-gauge metal ceiling, sending spanging composite fragments whining through the shed. It was a horrible risk, but it worked; the assassins' fire halted and the advance was stopped for the time being.
    Alacrity gathered his nerve and edged his pistol around a corner to let fly, risking having his hand burned off or the Captain's Sidearm blown up. The monster handgun's blast pounded their ears; by design, it gave off light and muzzle blast like a cannon, for shock effect.
    There was a lot of scuffling as somebody hustled for cover. Alacrity fired twice more. Floyt took the insane chance of popping up and squeezing off unaimed shots, the Webley jumping in his hand.
    Whoever the assailants were, they were busy staying low. Floyt emptied the revolver's cylinder, hot file:///C|/Documents%20and%20Settings/harry%20kruis...y%20-%20Fall%20of%20the%20White%20Ship%20Avatar.htm (21 of 242)23-2-2006 17:03:12
    [Fitzhugh 3]-FALL OF THE WHITE SHIP AVATAR
    propellant and bullet shavings spraying from the chambers,