As Lafiel resumed shooting, Jinto tried to reposition himself. As he did so, a Klanraj grazed his arm, tearing his uniform, making a nasty red welt on his arm.
“Gah!” Jinto gritted his teeth.
“On our tail!”
When Jinto managed to turn around, he saw three enemy soldiers on horseback.
“I’ll let you take care of them,” said Lafiel, still trading fire with the bogeys on the roof. “I’m otherwise occupied.”
“Gee, thanks.”
Although the slipshod cavalry was gaining ground on Jinto and Lafiel, they were not skilled enough at riding horses to shoot their guns with any accuracy. As they bounced in their saddles, bullets and laser beams flew all over the place.
Of course, Jinto was in a similar boat, having never ridden a horse before. To boot, he was in an extremely unnatural posture. Tucking the gun under his arm, Jinto pulled out a Yapeil.
“Close your eyes, Lafiel,” advised Jinto as he lobbed the light source magazine. It definitely wasn’t going to reach the enemy.
A flash of light!
Jinto heard the extremely gratifying sound of two soldiers crashing to the ground in agony. He turned around to see the third man pulling up to help them.
“What did I tell you about littering?”
“Sorry. I’m a very naughty boy.”
“Here we are,” the horse said, stopping in front of a line of glass doors. “The end of the line.”
“Thanks!” Jinto leapt off the horse’s back.
“Run, Jinto!” Lafiel sprinted for the exit.
“Thank you for coming to Guzornyu Amusement — “
An explosive round ripped through the horse’s stomach, leaving a gaping hole that bled sparks. “I feel pretty bad,” said the horse before it collapsed and died.
“They’ve crossed the line.” Jinto smoldered. He stopped near the exit, where there was a small hall with gift shops, information booths, and about ten sets of stairs.
“What are you doing?” demanded Lafiel, who was already climbing up the stairs.
“Just give me five seconds.”
Ah ha! He found what he was looking for — three square Borsh beneath the words “Emergency Interruption Door.” Jinto pushed the buttons according to the pictorial instructions. They lit up and began blinking.
“Warning! Anyone who opens the interruption door in a non-emergency situation will be subject to civil and criminal repercussions.” Ignoring the voice, Jinto mashed the three buttons.
“Danger! Interruption door is closing. Please step away from the door.”
The glass doors all swung shut at the same time. Simultaneously, a steel door lowered from above, like a giant metal curtain.
“Now we can go.”
The escalators were incredibly long; if they were inside a building, they would have risen at least five stories. After running all the way up, their chests heaved for air.
“You okay?” inquired Jinto.
“Yeah.” Lafiel, more pallid than ever, managed to smile.
“Good. Let’s get back to the city and hide until the Frybar reclaims this planet.”
It was dark out, and the road shimmered in the moonlight. They had barely begun to run when police cars came at them from both sides and approximately twenty cops jumped out with guns drawn.
Lafiel’s gun hand twitched.
“Don’t.” Jinto said firmly, grabbing her wrist.
The police had them completely surrounded and also had the added cover of their cars. Their odds of winning were essentially nil.
“Are you giving up?” she whispered.
“Yes. It’s better to be caught by the Sos police than the enemy,” reasoned Jinto.
“What if they hand us over?”
“We’ll cross that bridge when we come to it. But if we fight now, we’re toast.”
Biting her lip, Lafiel reluctantly lowered her gun.
A man got out of one of the Uusia, chomping on a cigarette. “I’m Inspector Entoryua,” he declared. “I have good reason to believe you’re behind an Uusia theft that occurred five days ago.”
“Are we under arrest?” asked Jinto, staring down the Inspector.
“Hey, you speak Clasbul language?” Entoryua smiled. “Excellent. My Abh is not so great. You’re not under arrest, per se, but I’d greatly appreciate your cooperation with our investigation. I don’t really know who you are, but I could arrest you in flagrante delicto for property destruction and possession of illegal firearms.”
“Everything we did was in self-defense.”
“You’ll notice I didn’t add murder to list. It would still be easiest for everyone involved if you cooperate.”
“We’re not under arrest?” Jinto clarified.
“Not yet, at least.”
“What about the property damage and the weapons?”
“Honestly, in agreement with the Frybar, we let these matters be decided in the courtroom. We understand you may have special circumstances.”
Jinto nodded slowly.
“Good. Please throw down your guns.”
Jinto’s Klanyu fell to the ground, followed by his last Yapeil. Lafiel kept a death grip on her laser pistol.
“The Abh girl, too.”
“Do as he says, Lafiel,” urged Jinto.
“I’ll do it because you asked,” Lafiel said to Jinto.
Relieved, Entoryua sent some of his men over to retrieve the weapons. “Good. Now, please put your hands in the air and walk slowly toward us.”
They did as they were told.
“You’re making a mistake!” said a man in a United Mankind uniform, hopping out of one of the cars.
“You tricked us!” Jinto pounced on the policeman who held his gun.
“Wait, this is a misunderstanding!” pled Entoryua. “Just calm down, and I’ll explain.” Jinto froze.
“This is Military Police Captain Kite, who’s cooperating with us,” clarified Entoryua. “Don’t worry — I’m still in charge here.”
“Absurd!” Kite proclaimed. “You can’t trust them. They might have more weapons.”
“Inspector and Captain,” Lafiel implored, “this may not carry any weight here, but I swear on Bar Lepenu: we don’t have any more weapons.”
“You can’t trust her! She killed at least fifty men! We’ve got to conduct a more thorough search,” Kite said.
Jinto stepped in front of Lafiel. “If you lay one finger on her — “
“Out of the way, slave!” Kite yelled, shooting at Jinto.
“Gah!” A laser beam scorched Jinto’s shoulder, causing him to stumble backward into Lafiel, who caught him.
Since it was a laser pistol, there was no blood loss, just an intense burn. Jinto began to sweat from the pain. He felt faint.
“That was unforgivable.” Lafiel roiled beneath the surface, and gave Kite his first terrifying look at the infamous “Abh Smile.”