Read Reckoners 01 - Steelheart for Free Online

have—
    Curveball opened fire on me.
    The thing about handguns is that they’re blasted difficult to aim. Even trained, practiced professionals miss more often than they hit. And if you level the gun out in front of you sideways—like you think you’re in some stupid action movie—you’ll hit even
less
often.
    That was exactly what Curveball did, flashes from the front of his gun lighting the darkness. A bullet hit the ground near me, spraying sparks as it ricocheted off the steel pavement. I skiddedinto an alleyway and pressed myself back against the wall, out of Curveball’s direct line of sight.
    Bullets continued to spray against the wall. I didn’t dare look out, but I could hear Curveball cursing and yelling. I was too panicked to count shots. A magazine like his couldn’t hold more than a dozen or so bullets—
    Oh, right
, I thought.
His Epic power
. The man could keep blasting away and never run out of bullets. Eventually he’d round the corner and get a direct shot.
    Only one thing to do. I took a deep breath, letting my rifle slide off my shoulder and catching it with my hand. I dropped to one knee in the mouth of the alleyway, putting myself at risk, and raised the rifle. The burning cigarette gave me a sight on Curveball’s face.
    A bullet hit the wall above me. I prepared to squeeze the trigger.
    “Stop it, you slontze!” a voice called, interrupting Curveball. A figure moved between us in the dim light just as I fired. The shot missed. That was
Fortuity
.
    I lowered my gun as another shot rang out from high above. The sniper. A bullet struck the ground nearby, almost hitting Fortuity—but he jerked sideways at just the right moment. His danger sense.
    Fortuity ran awkwardly, and as he got closer to a lantern, I saw why. He was handcuffed. Still, he was escaping; whatever the Reckoners’ plan was, it looked like it had fallen apart.
    Curveball and I glanced at each other, then he took off following Fortuity, firing a few stray shots in my direction. Having infinite bullets didn’t make him any better a shot, however, and they all went wide.
    I climbed to my feet and looked the other direction, toward where the woman had been. Was she all right?
    A loud
crack
sounded in the air, and Curveball screamed, dropping to the ground. I smiled, right until a second shot fired and a spray of sparks exploded from the wall beside me. I cursed, ducking back into my alleyway. A second later the woman in the sleek reddress spun into the alleyway, holding a tiny derringer pistol and pointing it directly at my face.
    People firing handguns missed, on average, from over ten paces—but I wasn’t sure of the statistics when the pistol was fifteen inches from your face. Probably not so good for the target.
    “Wait!” I said, holding up my hands, letting my rifle fall in its strap on my shoulder. “I’m trying to help! Didn’t you see Curveball firing at me?”
    “Who do you work for?” the woman demanded.
    “Havendark Factory,” I said. “I used to drive a cab, though I—”
    “Slontze,” she said. Gun still trained on me, she raised her hand to her head, touching one finger to her ear. I could see an earring there that was probably tethered to her mobile. “Megan here. Tia. Blow it.”
    An explosion sounded nearby and I jumped. “What was that!”
    “The Reeve Playhouse.”
    “You
blew up
the Reeve?” I said. “I thought the Reckoners didn’t hurt innocents!”
    That froze her, gun still pointed at me. “How do you know who we are?”
    “You’re hunting Epics. Who else would you be?”
    “But—” She cut off, cursing softly, raising her finger again. “No time. Abraham. Where is the mark?”
    I couldn’t hear the reply, but it obviously satisfied her. A few more explosions sounded in the distance.
    She eyed me, but my hands were still raised, and she
must
have seen Curveball firing on me. She apparently decided I wasn’t a threat. She lowered her gun and hurriedly reached down, breaking