I barely even noticed the tall, rickety tripod standing in the middle of the alley.I barely even noticed the tall, rickety tripod standing in the middle of the alley. Then the sun went off in my face. Actually, the blast of illumination seemed even brighter than sunlight, and it blinded me instantly. I threw both arms over my face just as a hand grabbed my shoulder and shoved me into the wall. There was a loud crack that probably would have sounded like a soft phuit to a human, then the clack of wood bouncing off brick. It took me a second to realize that Decker had shot his damn spike gun at us, but had fortunately missed. Beau--it was Beau that had me, I could tell by his scent --jerked me, stumbling, back in the direction we came. "Let's get the hell out of here before he reloads!" As he was dragging me around the corner, I heard a sharp sputtering roar as a motorcycle started up back in the alley. A moment later, the bike screamed by. Decker, apparently, was making good his getaway before our eyes recovered. "What the hell was that?" I cried, rubbing at my eyelids and trying to blink away the purple explosions that blocked my vision. |