Deathstalker 06 - Deathstalker Legacy

only way that really matters; by walking right over everyone else."
    "Why settle for Champion," said Anne, "when you can be King?"
    "My thoughts exactly," said Finn, smiling. "You don't feel any guilt, do you? Over what we've done, and what we're going to do?"
    "No," said Anne. "I spent all my life working for other people, and all for nothing. I want something for myself now. I want... to be happy, for once. And I don't care what it takes, or what it costs."
    "Well, well," said Finn. "Where have you been all my life? Work with me, Anne, and I promise you'll get everything you ever wanted, everything you ever needed. Not because I'm your friend, but because it's in my interest to do so. You can live your dreams, Anne; even the ones you never dared speak aloud. And I'll never judge you, because I don't care. And after a while . . . you won't miss your friends at all."
    "Friends . . . are overrated," said Anne. "You should know that. I did some checking on you, Finn. Your life is almost as empty as mine. Haven't you ever had any friends? Lovers? Loves? Anyone you ever cared for?"
    "No," said Finn. "I don't seem to have the knack. I know the words; love, compassion, caring . . . but they mean nothing to me. I don't think I'm capable of them. For a long time I thought everyone else was the same, that they were just pretending to feel these things, like me. But they do; and that's what makes it so easy for people like me to manipulate them. That's why we're going to tear everything down, Anne; because if we can't be happy, why should they?"
    "You have a way with words," "said Anne.
    "I've had a lot of time to think about these things," said Finn.
    "They hurt me," said Anne. "By not caring about me, by not noticing me. We'll make them all pay, won't we, Finn?"
    "Whatever it takes?"
    "Whatever it takes."
    "Oh, we're going to have such fun," said Finn Durandal.
    Lewis had never stolen a starship before, but in his experience it wasn't that difficult. It happened all the time, when he was a Paragon. Which was how he came to know all the tricks, all the ways of walking past a ship's security systems like they weren't even there. (There were all kinds of precautions ship owners could take to prevent this, but mostly they never bothered; because it was expensive. Better to let the ship and cargo be stolen, and then pad your insurance claim.) So Lewis wasn't expecting any trouble when he and Jes strode confidently into the starport terminal.
    Sneaking past the security men was the easiest part. Lewis knew all the blind spots, all the weaknesses in the system; he'd been trying to get them fixed for years. He suspected they were left open deliberately, so certain criminal elements could use them for smuggling and other scams, but he'd never been able to prove it ... because he never had the time. As he'd told Emma Steel on her arrival; you couldn't sweat the small stuff or you'd never get anything done. And now here he was, taking advantage of the very loopholes he'd tried to shut down, and proving he was right all along. Sometimes the air m his life was so thick with irony he could almost chew on it.
    He and Jes were doing really well, right up until they had to pass the very last security check, at the edge of the landing pads. Lewis could see the ships from where he was, standing unsuspecting under the bright lights on the pads like so many tourists waiting to be pickpocketed. Lewis wasn't expecting any trouble.
    It was just one bored security guard, sitting behind a desk with a vid soap running on his security monitor.
    Lewis and Jesamine's holo faces matched the fake IDs he'd brought with him from his lockup, and he'd
    already removed the security seals from his energy weapon, so it wouldn't set off any alarms. (An old prerogative allowed to all Paragons, for when they had to work undercover.) But when he and Jesamine passed entirely casually through the metal detector arch, their holo disguises sparked and shimmered and shorted out, and it seemed like every damned alarm and siren in the starport all went off at once. Lewis swore fiercely. He'd been so concerned over his various hidden weapons and tech that he'd forgotten all about the metal holoface collars he and Jesamine both wore. The guard behind the desk took one look at Lewis's familiar ugly face, and all but had a coronary as he scrambled up off his chair. He didn't even consider trying to stop the famed Deathstalker. He just ran for his life, heading for the center of