She started at a shamble, but managed to get up some speed by the time she hit the next corner.
She looked behind her and saw two figures in black chasing her.
“I see them.” Bane's voice was like a balm to her, even though this was the most danger she'd been in since the night she'd escaped.
Just having someone on her side made all the difference.
“Go right,” he told her.
She turned right, down a narrow alley, and slowed because she couldn't see anything.
“Move faster,” Bane ordered.
“I can't see,” she whispered back.
“Oh. Put your hand out, touch the wall, and move as fast as you can until you get to the steps. Then go up them.”
She did as he asked, the wall smooth under her fingers, but the sound of footsteps at the entrance to the alley made her freeze.
“Keep going.”
She started again cautiously, quiet as she could, and then heard the footsteps stop.
She stopped again, straining to hear over the whistle of the wind.
“We see you. We don't mean to hurt you. We just need to get you out of sight for a while.” The officer who called to her from the entrance to the alleyway tried to sound sincere.
If she'd been in less danger, she'd have snorted out a laugh.
And why would they think being put 'out of sight' was in any way okay with her?
She began to move again, slow and smooth.
She hadn't realized the steps Bane told her about were so close, and almost cried out in relief when she bumped into them.
She swallowed the sound and started up them.
“You sure she's down there?” A voice called down the alley from the main street.
“I think so.” The officer who'd tried to reassure her was a lot closer than he had been. He'd been moving forward faster than she had. He was almost at the bottom of the stairs.
“Door's open, push it.” The voice in her ear snapped her out of her panic, and she shoved at the door, but it didn't budge.
She slapped at it, looking for a handle, heard the sound of the officer right behind her, and turned it just as he grabbed her.
She cried out as she fell inside, with him landing on top of her.
Panicked, she kicked back, closing the door, so that she only had one to contend with.
“Lock it,” she shouted at Bane, and then twisted, drawing her legs up to her chest and kicking out.
She caught him by surprise, hitting him in the stomach, and it was enough to shove him off her.
He grunted as he fell back, and she scrambled up on her knees, leaning over him as she tried to snatch his weapon from his hand. When she couldn't, she grabbed his arm and banged it against the floor.
The weapon slid away.
He bucked against her. He was taller than she was, but she had muscle and bone density in her favor.
She swung her elbow at his face and whimpered at the pain when it connected, but it had connected.
She edged back and felt a surge of satisfaction when she realized he was stunned.
“What's happening?” Bane's question was panicked.
“He's down. But he'll be back up soon.”
“Go through that door to your right,” Bane said, his voice more monotone again.
She jogged to it and stepped through into a dark stairwell that lit up as soon as the door closed behind her.
“Take the stairs down. It's a pedestrian passageway to the main street, so the tenants don't have to fight the weather in winter. There're a few exits before the square. I'll try to get my friend in the UC to meet you outside one of them.”
Lucy nodded, then realized he couldn't see her down here. “Okay. Thanks.”
She reached the bottom of the stairs and then leaned against the wall.
“Are you moving?” Bane asked.
“In a minute.” She leaned over, hands on knees, and squeezed her eyes shut.
“You don't have a minute, they're breaking through the alleyway door.”
The sound of his distress forced her upright, forced her to take a deep breath. She started jogging.
“I'm going to need to rest soon,” she whispered. Every muscle in her body hurt, and she could feel a bruise on her hip where the officer had landed on top of her.
“I'll look for somewhere for you,” Bane said.
And although he couldn't see her, she lifted her fingers to her lips and blew him a kiss.
Chapter 15
Dray looked down on the chaos in the square below him, and then glanced at Cossi.
She was leaning against the window, looking down herself.
“They sound as if they're getting louder,” Chep spoke from his place at the desk. He looked up from the screen. “Don't they have crowd control here?”
“You need to want to control the crowd, first,” Dray said, and watched as the security forces withdrew a little more as the crowd surged.
“What are they protesting, exactly?” Cossi asked. “There are so many different slogans and signs down there, I can't work it out.”
“Maybe they don't know themselves. Or they're too divided.” Dray frowned.
The streets leading to the square were choked with people, and the square itself had reached capacity. People were chanting and shouting, and the security officers were simply lending their presence, doing nothing constructive to break things up.
A flash that was unmistakably shockgun fire lit up the corner of the square, and panic set in to the crowd.
“Do you see that hover?” Cossi asked, and there was something urgent in her voice.
Dray squinted, and then saw where she was pointing. A security forces hover seemed to have a hanger-on, as if someone in the crowd had grabbed hold.
“The shot seemed to be aimed at whoever is hanging on, and the pilot doesn't look like he's in control. He's been waving his hands for at least a minute.” Cossi cupped her hands on either side of her face against the window to get a better look. “The hover's gone round the corner.”
“What's this about?” Chep pushed away from the desk and came to stand beside them.
“Not sure, but I think we should go find out.”
“You think that's wise?” Cossi waved at the crowd below. “No one on the UC team is exactly a favorite down there by the looks of things.”
“Who's the head of security for this part of Fa'allen?”
“I just looked them up.” Chep lifted his handheld, and Dray saw he'd created a flowchart of who reported to who.
He gave a nod of appreciation at Chep's efficiency. Tapped his earpiece.
“Captain Subre.” He waited longer than he thought was necessary for the connection. “This is Commander Helvan, from the UC leadership team. We're watching what's happening down in Fa'allen Square.”
“This was a spontaneous event, Commander.” Subre sounded tense and hostile. “This wasn't a planned gathering. From what the first officers on scene could gather, it started after an incident in the square earlier this morning, where some citizens insist they spoke with an Earth woman.”
“An Earth woman.” Dray kept his voice even, and then flicked the conversation onto the handheld, so Chep and Cossi could listen in.