Robert Charrette - Arthur 03 - A Knight Among Knaves by Robert N. Charrette Page B

physical proximity. Thugs were one thing, specialists something else. He had no desire to achieve close physical proximity to any specialists who might be working with this new opposition.
    Magic, thank God, was rare. He wished it were rarer.
    The possibility of specialists continued to bother him. Such people preferred to hide in the shadows; they didn't like anyone knowing of their unnatural abilities. Such a predilection could be turned to Holger's aid. If he could assure the presence of witnesses, the new opposition might hesitate to use anything unusual against him. If they tried anyway, he could try to make enough fuss to expose them. The emptiness of the streets no longer seemed fortunate. If he needed attention, he would have to draw. Gunfights made a lot of noise, attracted a lot of attention. But the Viper was rigged for quiet operation. He could fix that easily with a little time and attention, but he doubted that he had that time.
    Besides, he had his own constraints. The Department wouldn't like him exposing magical things, even those arranged by enemies. Did that matter? Not just now. Holger's survival was somewhat more important to him than the Department's preferences. Alive, he could help them pick up the pieces, even help them focus any adverse publicity on the shadowy opposition. But only if he was alive.
    At least his armor was real and reliable.
    It stood him in good stead when he moved to take out the lurker watching the Red Lion from the alley across the street. Holger was easier on him than he had been on the thugs with the Equalizers. Fast and quiet. He looked down at the sprawled body, satisfied that the man was still breathing. This was Linkwater, an agent of the Department. Part of the test and not some unknown hostile agent. That comforted Holger, suggesting that the whole operation had not been compromised.
    Time to finish the test.
    He crossed the street and entered the Red Lion. He could hear someone in the back, in the kitchen, rattling dishes.
    there were a few people in the front room. A couple at a table, huddled in a private world. A handful of working men at the bar. They ignored him. He recognized one despite his
    seedier-than-normal appearance: Pankhurst, another Departmental agent. Like the other patrons and the bartender, Pankhurst ignored Holger's entrance. That meant that Holger could expect trouble upstairs. The last part of the test would be there.
    Warned, Holger started up the ancient, uneven stairs.
    The floorboards above creaked under a heavy load, masking any sound that Holger made. Unwise of them not to be ready and waiting quietly. He could hear something being dragged across the floor. Holger's first glimpse of the upper story showed a pair of feet. They were quickly dragged out of his line of vision.
    He freed the Viper and continued up.
    A shadow fell over him as he made the landing. Something hard hit his arm, jarring him. Involuntarily, his hand opened. A hairy paw smacked against his fingers and the Viper went flying away.
    Hairy paw?
    Holger sprang ahead and to his left, away from his attacker at the head of the stairs. Holger caromed off the wall in his haste to get away. Not much space on the landing. He had lost his weapon. It would be hand-to-hand. He needed a chance to ready his defense. The old flooring moaned as he turned to face his opponent. Holger's eyes went wide as he saw what had attacked him.
    The monster was a foot taller than Holger and stood hunched in the low-ceilinged room. It was massive, at least half again Holger's weight, and strange lumps distorted its outline. Dark, shadowed, piggy eyes glared from under shaggy brows; shaggier hair stuck out from beneath the red leather cap that it wore. A lopsided, snag-toothed grin distended its face.
    Holger could hear himself panting.
    A troll.
    No tools.
    Only himself.
    "Come on, little man-thing," the troll said in a bass rumble. "Give me the chip and maybe I won't grind your bones."
    There was a body on