Deathstalker 06 - Deathstalker Legacy

their powers couldn't protect them from a gas they didn't know they were breathing. Finn cruised slowly over the heads of the sleeping crowd. As Lewis watched, the Paragon used his sled's instruments to detect the ELFs, and pulled them out of the crowd, one by one. He carried them out onto the sands, and dropped them in a pile. Lewis began to get a bad feeling. He used the security comm system to call for medical assistance, left the security man sniffling in a corner, and ran back to his sled.
    He had to get back to the Arena. Finn was planning something.
    By the time he guided his gravity sled back through the maze of corridors and back out onto the Arena sands, the sleepgas was already beginning to wear off. People were beginning to stir on the terraces.
    Most of them were crying. Some were too shocked even to do that. Lewis steered his sled over to where Finn had arranged his ELF prisoners in a single long line. They were all awake now and kneeling on the sands with their hands cuffed behind their backs, a series of esp-blockers laid out on the sands before them so they couldn't use their powers. They were all silent now, though their eyes were alert and watchful. Lewis jumped down from his sled and walked over to Finn, who nodded calmly to him.
    "Good work with the tanglefields, Lewis. And the sleepgas, I assume? Quick thinking. I'll write you a commendation."
    "Just doing my job," said Lewis, keeping his voice carefully calm and neutral. "I count fourteen ELFs here. Pretty good catch, Finn."
    "Three dead, three teleported out," said Finn. "Fourteen left, to make an example of."
    "I've summoned medics for the crowd," said Lewis. "They'll be here soon.
    "Hope they bring a lot of body bags," said Finn. "These bastards did a lot of damage before we shut them down."
    One of the ELFs laughed softly. Finn strode unhurriedly down the line and kicked him in the head. The ELF crashed to the sand, blood spurting from his nose and mouth. Finn hauled him back into a kneeling position again. Lewis hurried over and grabbed Finn by the arm.
    "For God's sake, Finn . . ."
    Finn jerked his arm free. "Don't you ever lay your hands on me, Deathstalker. Not ever; you understand me?"
    "All right, all right! Jesus, Finn; take it easy, you know? We're supposed to be the good guys here."
    "We are," said Finn. "Listen to the crowd."
    Lewis looked around, and realized the watching crowd was cheering Finn for what he'd done. It was a patchy sound at first, but growing stronger as the survivors found their voices. If they hadn't still been held by the tanglefield, they'd probably have applauded. Lewis looked uneasily at Finn. Something was building here. He could feel it coming, and he didn't like the feel of it at all.
    "Don't go soft on me, Lewis," said Finn, smiling slightly. "The ELFs came here to send a message. I say we use the opportunity to send a message to them."
    "What are you talking about, Finn?" Out of the corner of his eye, Lewis noticed the new media cameras arrived to replace the ones he'd put out of action. Whatever Finn was planning, he clearly intended it to be seen by the media audience. Hell, half the Empire was probably watching by now. Finn smiled around him at the watching crowd, and nodded to the cameras. Lewis really didn't like the look on his face.
    "Finn; talk to me. What is this?"
    "Just a little simple justice," said Finn. "Right here, where everyone can see it. An eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth. Terror for the terrorists."
    "Finn," Lewis said carefully. "Listen to me. The ELFs are harmless now. The esp-blockers have them under control. They have to stand trial for what they did here. That's the law."
    "The law did nothing to protect the people here," said Finn, raising his voice so it carried clearly on the quiet. The crowd was watching him avidly now, hanging on his every word. "Sometimes, law isn't enough. Not for what happened in this place. What's needed here is vengeance. We're supposed to be the King's Justice. Your ancestor would have understood, Deathstalker."
    Lewis glanced at the crowd. Some were shouting encouragement. There was a bloodlust building. He could all but taste it.
    "This isn't the time or the place, Finn," he said urgently. "The tanglefield has an automatic shutdown, to prevent power drains. If we don't get the ELFs out of here fast, we could have a riot on our hands."
    "Not if we give them what they want," said Finn. "Not if we do the right thing. The ELFs aren't afraid of