Disconcerted, she began searching for a place of concealment which could be defended. Just because she didn’t know exactly what she felt didn’t mean she shouldn’t take that feeling seriously.
She found another thick patch of thorns and wormed her way into it, settling herself in for the long wait. Tanya could lie immobile for days if it became necessary. She had learned her patience well in the ghetto, and now she knew where she had learned it. It was easy when it was her life on the line.
This was no such situation now so she took time to eat and defecate, in that order , burying the remains in a little hole she dug with a small trenching spade. Then she took out the field-nullifier and realized what her uneasy feeling had been about. The field-nullifier wasn't green-go. It wasn't even on. Nor would it turn on.
Never had one of Handler's devices failed her before, because they didn’t fail. They didn’t fail because they were military grade and designed with too many fail-safes, and because they simply never failed. Yet hers had. Tanya quickly gathered her things and made her way out into the darkness of the new fallen night. Back the way she had come, and she wasn't taking her time. She ran.
Chapter 14
Tanya knew she looked foolish with the huge laser-pistol in its holster belted around her waist, but there was no one to judge her anyway. She hadn't quite acquired the courage to walk the streets in plain sight, despite her vow to stop being a rabbit, but she supposed she was on the path. Even at that point in her life she was planning everything as accurately as she could before she acted. She tried to think things through thoroughly, and she knew she wasn't proficient with this weapon. Being able to aim it and hit what she was pointing it at did not mean that she would be able to hit someone who was aiming back at her, or moving, or had gotten their weapon out first.
She bega n frequenting places where violence could be counted on to occur, hidden in the derelict buildings and studying the tactics of the combatants. Usually it was random drug-induced violence, but upon occasion she saw a real fight between two very determined opponents, and it always came down to two things; he who got his weapon out first killed his opponent, if he didn't miss. So number one, get the weapon out first. Number two, don't miss. She was already practicing to perfect both.
She had traveled for days to get to where she was now, sleeping in crevices when she grew tired, traveling the black darkness of the old sewers with only a small crank-light to guide her path in the unfamiliar places too dark to see at all. They were watching for her near to her home and she was sure they were watching for her here, though she had detected nothing overtly. It was just a feeling. She wondered if it was possible that they were watching for her everywhere, and what it would mean if they were. She knew nothing of the latest news, and she had no friends to ask anywhere here besides the children. But she knew there was gossip throughout the ghetto and it was probable that everyone was aware of her and her activities throughout the entire tax-free zone .
She was at the rotted sill of a window looking at another building four lots down the street. This was by far the boldest enterprise she had yet contemplated. This wasn't the ordinary drug and prostitution den. This was an upper class joint. The building was even remodeled. Security was tight and there was an unending stream of people coming and going, their luxury and sports cars parked all the way up and down the street.
There were no open windows in th is building, and no obvious means of entering or leaving other than the front door. Tanya couldn't even explain to herself what she thought she was doing here except that there was so much wealth that she simply couldn’t stop herself from coming. She had no idea yet how she might acquire what she was seeing, but she saw much that she
She found another thick patch of thorns and wormed her way into it, settling herself in for the long wait. Tanya could lie immobile for days if it became necessary. She had learned her patience well in the ghetto, and now she knew where she had learned it. It was easy when it was her life on the line.
This was no such situation now so she took time to eat and defecate, in that order , burying the remains in a little hole she dug with a small trenching spade. Then she took out the field-nullifier and realized what her uneasy feeling had been about. The field-nullifier wasn't green-go. It wasn't even on. Nor would it turn on.
Never had one of Handler's devices failed her before, because they didn’t fail. They didn’t fail because they were military grade and designed with too many fail-safes, and because they simply never failed. Yet hers had. Tanya quickly gathered her things and made her way out into the darkness of the new fallen night. Back the way she had come, and she wasn't taking her time. She ran.
Chapter 14
Tanya knew she looked foolish with the huge laser-pistol in its holster belted around her waist, but there was no one to judge her anyway. She hadn't quite acquired the courage to walk the streets in plain sight, despite her vow to stop being a rabbit, but she supposed she was on the path. Even at that point in her life she was planning everything as accurately as she could before she acted. She tried to think things through thoroughly, and she knew she wasn't proficient with this weapon. Being able to aim it and hit what she was pointing it at did not mean that she would be able to hit someone who was aiming back at her, or moving, or had gotten their weapon out first.
She bega n frequenting places where violence could be counted on to occur, hidden in the derelict buildings and studying the tactics of the combatants. Usually it was random drug-induced violence, but upon occasion she saw a real fight between two very determined opponents, and it always came down to two things; he who got his weapon out first killed his opponent, if he didn't miss. So number one, get the weapon out first. Number two, don't miss. She was already practicing to perfect both.
She had traveled for days to get to where she was now, sleeping in crevices when she grew tired, traveling the black darkness of the old sewers with only a small crank-light to guide her path in the unfamiliar places too dark to see at all. They were watching for her near to her home and she was sure they were watching for her here, though she had detected nothing overtly. It was just a feeling. She wondered if it was possible that they were watching for her everywhere, and what it would mean if they were. She knew nothing of the latest news, and she had no friends to ask anywhere here besides the children. But she knew there was gossip throughout the ghetto and it was probable that everyone was aware of her and her activities throughout the entire tax-free zone .
She was at the rotted sill of a window looking at another building four lots down the street. This was by far the boldest enterprise she had yet contemplated. This wasn't the ordinary drug and prostitution den. This was an upper class joint. The building was even remodeled. Security was tight and there was an unending stream of people coming and going, their luxury and sports cars parked all the way up and down the street.
There were no open windows in th is building, and no obvious means of entering or leaving other than the front door. Tanya couldn't even explain to herself what she thought she was doing here except that there was so much wealth that she simply couldn’t stop herself from coming. She had no idea yet how she might acquire what she was seeing, but she saw much that she
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