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Paula separated
and each went to a corner of the massive bay.
    The runner hovered for awhile, not knowing
what to do, Cindy figured. There was nowhere to go.
    The other four started coming down, as if for
a landing, and then four panels slid open and they all came down to
the level below and landed on platforms.
    Before the others could land, the runner sped
towards one of the openings, but it was too late. The panel closed,
and whoever flew the runner was screwed.
    Frantic and out of options, the ship flew all
around the bay, colliding with the ceiling at one point, causing
some of the observers above to jump back. Cindy had never been
through one of these before, so it was entertaining to watch it all
take place. She tried watching from the cockpit, through the glass
in the roof of their ship, but couldn’t catch everything. Michael
nodded at her and she knew that was his okay for her to go outside
and get a better vantage point. He didn’t follow her, but that was
his way. He would probably square everything away, shut down
procedures, locking couplers, before he would leave. She wanted to
be like him, but sometimes you just need to cut loose and enjoy
what’s in front of you.
    Before Cindy made it out of their ship,
George’s voice rumbled in her ears, but not from her glasses this
time. His voice boomed out in the ship bay. “We are on the ground,
and the doors are sealed. You are good to go.”
    The runner ship continued its barrage on the
walls of its prison. Cindy made it outside just as water started to
pour into the glass bay from every side except the one with the bay
door. Water jetted in from fist-sized holes lined along the walls,
ten feet from the floor.
    When the water level rose to eight feet in
under a minute, the runner settled down, hovering a foot above
water level.
    Lancer was one of the first precinct ships,
and had not yet been retrofitted with an anti-gravity trapper bay,
but she did know it was on the short list. Filling a bay with water
was the old school way of doing things, and since she had never
witnessed it before, it was cool to see before it became a thing of
the past.
    The water stopped and, a second later, the
runner dropped like a stone and splashed into the water, after
someone, somewhere on Lancer pressed a button that sent an
electromagnetic pulse throughout the glass bay. The runner ship
sank, plunking into the bottom of the bay, part of the ship
sticking out of the water. Its landing gear never protracted and
the front end fell a little further. Cindy could see movement
through the cockpit glass but could not make out how many or who
they might be.
    As soon as it hit bottom, the water began to
drain out from holes along the bottom of the three walls.
    Cindy smiled. She doubted she would ever get
the chance to see that again.
     
     

Chapter 15
     
    Regina didn’t run from the sound of footsteps
snapping branches behind her, but she did walk more quickly, her
head down watching every step before she took it, making sure she
didn’t make the same mistake of whoever was behind her. Either they
wanted her to know they were there or they were stupid. Her hunch
suggested the latter.
    The footsteps quickened. She turned to look,
seeing nothing. It was possible somebody else could have been
hiding and ran when they heard Regina, and also happened to go the
same way she did. Her instincts said different. Regina kept her gun
at her side, at the ready. Any quick movement towards her and she
could bring the gun up faster than the blink of an eye. She
quickened her pace.
    Regina looked to her right to see if anyone
followed outside the trees. Nobody.
    The footsteps quickened again.
    Regina ran, whipping around trees, not caring
anymore about stealth. They already knew where she was. As she ran,
branches snapped and cracked under her feet, and she could no
longer hear anyone, but had no doubt that they were there, close
behind.
    As she ran, a light to her left caught
her eye. Regina turned