Read Hellflower (v1.1) for Free Online

the ‘flower loose and on his feet. After that, I figured my troubles were over. All we had to do was get us out of here alive, and Tiggy and me could go hide out. He could be grateful, and then I could bugout for Kiffit and write the next chapter of my memoirs.
    He dropped to the floor when I got the last cuff off and stretched all over like a cat. Real pretty. I handed him the liberated blaster. "Can use this-here?" I said in broad patwa.
    He looked at it briefly. "Yes."
    "Reet. Now hear me, che-bai-thing rigged for ‘kill,’ okeydoke? Not to dust organics with it. Fragging people buys bad trouble. Shoot at wartoys. Right?"
    While I was talking, I was looking out into the corridor. The quiet was spooky, and there should of been more guards, but I didn’t see any. I looked back and Tiggy was regarding me with the expression of a hellflower what hadn’t understood one word I’d said.
    "Look, che-bai; shoot tronics, not organics. Zap-zap. Ch’habla. Understand?"
    "Shoot only at security robots. Dzain’domere, " said Tiggy gravely.
    "Je, reet. Just don’t shoot people." I was nervous and didn’t have time to remember my Interphon.
    He glared. I thought he was thinking of shooting me and to hell with freedom, but he nodded. We single-footed it out into the corridor. I wondered what jane-doh-meer meant in helltalk.
    The wartoys on the tier above us started shooting.
    I pulled Tiggy back against the wall and out of their line of fire. I remembered my plasma grenades and wondered if I should use them now. They were small, but still big enough so I didn’t want to risk it unless we were in real trouble.
    Six heavy-duty securitronics came trundling down the corridor toward us. They were about the size of the Imperial Debt and all business. I could see riot-gas launchers extruding from the chest of the leader as it came on.
    We were in real trouble. I rolled a grenade toward them, bodyblocked the ‘flower back into his cell, and prayed.
    The grenade went off.
    There was smoke. Tiggy burned the wartoys on the tier above as I was finishing the six-pack on the floor. Grenade’d gone off right behind the leader, and the blast had splash-backed to destroy the next two. The other three was confused enough with memory-purge and magnetic bubble scramble for Tiggy to totally blow them away as we jogged past. There was probably alarms going off from here to Grand Central, but they was all silent-at least I couldn’t hear them. I overrode the lift’s lock-command from the main board out front. It wasn’t that different than some Pally’d coached me on. Tiggy covered my back while I did it; his eyes was blazing like burning sapphires and he was grinning like he was enjoying himself. We picked up a couple rifles.
    "Ten minutes, ninety seconds. Ten minutes, ninety-five seconds. Eleven minutes." Paladin was counting off, on the chance I’d be back to hear.
    The corridor was still dark when we got back up to Sentencing. Then the lift shut behind us and everything went really dark. I got out my much abused laser. We had to get out now before word of our presence spread.
    "Here we are, boys and girls," I said for Paladin’s benefit.
    "Are you all right? No alarm has been raised: The city is quiet, the Justiciary is not calling up any reserves, there have been no transmissions from Security Detention."
    "C’mon," I said, to my hellflower and my partner. "This way. We’re both fine for now—" that was for Paladin "-shoot any mechs you see, no matter what. And kid—"
    "Do not shoot the people," Tiggy finished. "I know, chaudatu, but I think you are a fool."
    There’s gratitude for you. Not having dusted anyone in our escape probably wouldn’t do us any good if we were caught, but I was feeling superstitious enough to think that virtue might be rewarded.
    We made it out of Sentencing and back into Records. There was more light here. A quick riot-gas grenade would cover us on the way out of Receiving and -
    · I looked around and