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“Oh, I’d say that I really want to fight you,” she said as she rounded on him “And don’t think that just because I’uys you just killed Unlike the” Her eyes scanned his body, assessing her opponent, looking for weaknesses There was no fear, no wariness She was used to combat

“Lady,” Mace said, backing away from her “I’m sure you have skills” Hell, he could see it fro on the balls of her feet, holding her fists up in front of her “But I don’t want to hurt you”

There was no warning—she just flew through the air at hie of fists and feet Unlike Keiko, this wo fu, plus several other h Mace didn’t have those sorts of skills, he kne to fight, and he had abnormally fast speed while he did it The problem wasn’t that they weren’t wellopponent

He wiped the blood from his mouth with the back of his hand “Look, I don’t have any issues with Freedoht not to have shit installed in your brains,alive And, to tell the truth…” He paused, feeling like a fool, but carried on anyway “I don’t hit women” There He said it Surely she’d cut him some slack for his stance

Instead, she sh, and hit him on the side of his head

Clearly, this was not going well

…

Keiko was sitting on the steps, staring a hole through the door andat Mace to hurry up, when she heard the first gunshot She froze in place, her ears straining for a clue as to wh

ether it was Mace or Freedom Unfortunately, she didn’t have his freaky auditory implants, and all she could hear was silence

Until the next shot, then a third and a fourth

It had to be Mace Four caot to her feet and padded over to the door There was a thud against it, one thatheart

“Mace?” She called his nae half-voice people use when they do and don’t want people to hear at the same time

There was a grunt on the other side of the door, then some murmured words she couldn’t make out What if he was out there and he was hurt? What if it wasn’t him at all? Quietly, she pressed her ear to the thick steel door and listened Nope, that didn’t help It sounded like there was a scuffle going on in the corridor, but other than that, she was still in the dark

Should she open the door a crack and see what’s happening? What if it was the terrorists? Then she’d be letting the stomach as another thud made the door shudder

A voice called out It was muffled, but it was clearly Mace He was out there, and he was in trouble A rush of adrenaline made her hands tremble as she unlocked the door She felt like every cell in her body was standing to attention, battle ready and waiting for the signal to pounce It was a heady feeling One that could easily become addictive