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worship the devil properly without being bothered by sane people. Hu is the very end of the line. If you're in Hu you're either dead, about to be dead, or squatting in a dark abandoned building, chewing on the bodies.
    'What's the interest here, Ji?' I asked, slightly breathless after five minutes' solid striding. 'Hu is no use to you.'
    Ji rolled his head on his shoulders, limbering up. T put the word around last night. No one knew anything about your friend, but I heard a whisper of a new gang holed up in Hu. Maybe they're your people, maybe not. Either way I don't want the fuckers near me.'
    Up ahead of us the armoured cars were slowing down. We were nearing the edge of Ji's territory. The transition zones in Red are the worst. Everybody hates everybody there. Suddenly a shot rang out from a third-floor window on the right and one of the bodyguards twitched, a small red circle appearing on the spotless white of his dress shirt.
    'Good work, Fyd said Ji, clapping him on the shoulder. 'You okay?'
    'Feeling good, Ji,' the guard grunted, using a biro to dig the bullet out. He was pretty tough, I decided. One of the armoured cars swivelled and fired: the third floor of the building in question disappeared. We trotted forward to the other car, the guards maintaining a perfect shield around us. The door opened and Ji and I ducked in, followed; by three of the guards.
    'Lone sniper, sir,' said the driver, 'but there's more activity up ahead.'
    'Okay,' said Ji, settling comfortably into the gunner's seat. 'Here's the plan. We go in there and kill everybody.'
    'Works for me' the driver grinned, and floored the accelerator.
    Basically it took ten minutes. The four cars screamed into Hu, machine guns sending out a 360° spray of energy bullets and gunners pumping shells into anything that moved, or looked like it might. Shots and shells poured back down at the cars from windows and shop fronts, but you can't argue with a man like Ji. Shooting at him just makes him more angry.
    As whole floors of buildings exploded around us the hostile fire began to thin out, and the cars concentrated on wasting the men who began appearing in the streets, running like hell away from us. One lunatic jumped onto our car from a second-floor window and tried to fire his rocket launcher through the window. Fyd, who'd finished calmly digging the bullet out of his chest, punched his fist through the one inch glass and the man's body flew gracefully into the wall of the building we were screeching past. Most, but not all, of it then fell to the ground.
    'Okay,' said Ji calmly, 'tell car four to turn around and head back out, in case anyone's running that direction. Tell one and three to drop back in formation to flank us.'
    The three cars pelted down the street into the heart of Hu, mowing down anything in their way. I would have hated to have been on the other side. To be running through hell on earth, half deafened by the sound of three pursuing armoured cars owned by the most dangerous man in Red, that can't be much fun. That must be a dismal feeling. Luckily, the feeling would have been of short duration as they were all put out of their misery very quickly.
    'Stop,' said Ji quietly, and the cars halted instantaneously. There was a moment of quiet as Ji cocked his head and listened to whatever jungle instinct it is that men like him have. Around us the streets were empty but for pieces of dead people and blazing rubble, the stonework red with blood and the flickering of burning debris. 'Okay' he said finally, satisfied, 'let's go.'
    Fyd dealt out the weapons. He offered me a Crunt Launcher but I patted my holster, and he shrugged. When everyone was armament positive another guard opened the door and we got out. The other three guards were already waiting for us, and Ji and I stepped into their shadow. Ji took a quick look around, then nodded at a building to our left.
    There,' he said.
    We walked slowly towards the building, the guards behind us facing