High Flyer - Michelle Diener Page 0,34

a look.

A lander, one that had a separate front cab and a sleek, enclosed rear compartment, was idling outside a side entrance, the door of which suddenly opened. A man ran to the driver's side but the light above the side entrance threw shadows across his face, rather than illuminating him.

Hana managed to tap Iver's shoulder. “I think that's Banyon.”

She tried to keep her eyes open as Banyon gesticulated in a heated conversation with the driver.

“I thought I recognized his voice in the warehouse, but in the gloom, and only in profile, I can't say where I know him from. They don't look happy with each other.” Iver glanced at her, and then his eyes widened. “What's wrong?”

She had slumped a little, she realized.

“Just a scrape,” she managed to get out, waving a hand at her shoulder.

“You were shot.” He pulled at her shirt, and then swore.

She didn't have the energy to answer, and gave in to temptation and let her head rest against his arm.

From somewhere nearby, she heard shouting, and a door being flung open.

Iver swore again, low and vicious. Then nothing.

Iver saw the spark of consciousness wink out of Hana's eyes, and then she went under.

Not for long, if her recovery before on a full dose was any indication, but long enough that she was helpless.

And he wasn't much better.

She was resting on his uninjured side, and he maneuvered her so she was hanging over his shoulder.

He stood slowly, amazed at how light she was. How insubstantial.

She didn't seem that way when she was awake.

Banyon had moved from the driver's side and had walked to the back of the lander, which looked like some kind of supply vehicle. He threw the back doors open, but his back was to Iver now, and Iver still hadn't managed to get a clear view of his face. He was a big man, although he was hunched over in the pounding rain.

He was shouting at the driver, his full attention on what was in the back.

Aware there was still a very real threat behind them, Iver looked back to where the shooter had been only minutes earlier.

Their attacker hadn't expected to be attacked in turn, and he'd run in panic, but it wouldn't take long for him to calm down and realize he was the one with the SAL.

And if he wasn't alone, he'd most likely find his friends and bring them along.

The memory of Hana flicking a SAL dart away like an annoying insect flashed into his head, and he wondered if he had imagined that, or if it had really happened.

Banyon's shouting suddenly cut off, and Iver looked around the corner again.

Banyon had left the back of the lander open, and was back at the driver's door, leaning in and speaking in a low, intense tone.

From behind him, Iver heard a shout and the pounding of feet, and suddenly out of options, exposed to anyone who stepped into the small area at the back of the building, he ducked into the narrow alleyway and headed for the open lander.

His arm was on fire where it had been hit by the laz.

He got a better grip on the back of Hana's legs, and started to move along the wall, keeping out of Banyon's line of sight.

He heard another shout behind him, and the sound of the council building door slamming.

The lander's doors were still open.

It took only a few steps to reach them. Iver hesitated for a moment, but the sound of running from the small parking lot spurred him on. He eased inside, careful to distribute his weight evenly.

He slid forward, each step as light as he could make it, until he reached the far back of the space and was able to squeeze behind a stack of crates.

He felt the lander rock slightly from the front, as if the driver had jumped out.

The rear doors were suddenly closed, plunging them into a thick gloom, and then the front rocked a little again, and the vehicle began to move.

Iver stood, feet braced as the lander rocked him from side to side, wondering if he'd just made a massive mistake.

They were out of the rain and no one knew where they were.

But when those doors opened again, they'd have nowhere to run.

Chapter 14

Hana woke up slowly.

There was no sense of danger, no quick, sudden leap of fear.

Beneath her cheek she felt the rumble of an engine, and she registered that she was cocooned in warmth.

She opened her eyes, found herself