Quick by Viola Grace Page A

stood beside her. He was going to be the direct line of defense while she tried the evacuation.
    She hung onto the handle as the reel slowly spun out, and she descended to the ground at a speed that wouldn’t break her legs. She used her scanner to do a quick recon while Mordem landed, and when he gave her the nod, he broke in the door and she went to work.
    Everyone around her moved in slow motion. The men who had been watching out the window started to turn; Mordem silvered up and began barrelling in.
    Cam took the weapons and put them outside then ran back in and collected as many children per visit as she could.
    Nine children took two heartbeats to evacuate, but after that, Cam continued with the women and men, bracing their heads with her hand as she moved them faster than they could see.
    When all of the other men, women and children were out, she spoke to Mordem. “All clear, weapons extracted.”
    “Thanks, Camile. I would recommend you don’t listen to this.”
    The regular law enforcement came forward and ushered the hostages to safety.
    A crowd had gathered, and Camile was in full view of them for the first time since her speech. Daymoth had kept her apprised of the thoughts of the majority and the minority.
    When she heard “alien bitch” and “stolen Gift,” she got an idea of what the locals thought of her.
    “Do you need a hand in there, Mordem?”
    There was nothing like the urge to escape to make her feel like she didn’t belong.
    “Come on in, but don’t rush. We just need to walk them to the holding vehicle.”
    She was relieved for something to do. She returned to the building and looked at the groaning men, covered with blood. Mordem was standing over them, a silver statue of vengeance. It was a memory she was going to pull out the next time he was inside her.
    Cam grabbed one of the men and hauled him to his feet, propelling him to the police vehicle.
    They were ten feet from the barricade when her suspect’s head exploded.
    She acted with speed, dropping the dead body and looking for the killer in the crowd. The young girl was standing with one of the weapons in her hands; the expression of fear and hate on her face was unmistakable. Her relative was not going to be able to hurt her again.
    Cam removed the gun from her hand and picked her up, sweeping her away from the crowd.
    When they were a few kilometres away, Cam put her down and asked, “Why did you do that?”
    “He was my dad. He was supposed to love and protect me. He told me he would shoot me first because I was a useless girl, so I shot him.”
    Cam nodded. “I understand. When we get back, say that you thought he had a weapon under his clothing. All right?”
    “Why?”
    “Because I have been studying the law here, and that means that you will get to see your little sister grow up and your mom will be able to start over.” Camile didn’t say that shooting in cold blood was an offense that could gain the death penalty, even for a child. It didn’t need to be said.
    The little girl nodded. “Right. Can I have the gun back? My uncle is coming out next.”
    Cam blinked and sighed. “Probably not a good idea. I will take you back and explain things to the police. Please don’t kill anyone else.”
    “Yes, Guardian. You are very pretty but very pale. Are you sick?”
    Cam paused. “No. I am not from this world. Namkor Gifted me with speed, so I am trying to be smart with it.”
    “I want to be Gifted when I grow up. Then, no one can threaten me again.”
    “Oh, honey, they will say what they like, but as long as you know what you are and what you can do, you can always recover from anything.” She smiled. “I get threatened all the time.”
    “But... you are a Guardian, you help people.”
    “I am an alien, and some folks think that I stole the Gift of Namkor.”
    “That is stupid; you can’t steal a Gift.”
    Cam lifted her in her arms. “Adults forget that sometimes. Come on, back to your mom.”
    “Thank you