Beside me, the thin guard choked; snatched for the paragun he carried in a hip holster.
He died before he could even get it clear.
The other guard, the heavy-set one, backed up against Controller Kruze's door, hands already raised. His breath rasped in his throat. His face was dough-grey.
For my part, I couldn't even speak.
And now, within the shaft-lift's cage, more movement ... another figure darting forward. A woman's figure.
I choked "Celeste—!"
"Oh, Mark, Mark...." She ran to me; flung her arms about me. "I was so afraid!"
My throat drew tight. I held her close, smoothing the soft golden halo that was her hair.
Only something was wrong. The hair—it didn't feel right....
I straightened, stiffened; stared down at the woman in my arms more intently.