Deathstalker 06 - Deathstalker Legacy

the terminal building and screaming at the top of his lungs all the way. Lewis grabbed Jesamine by the arm and urged her on through the last of the terminal towards the landing pads.
    "What is it?" said Jesamine. "What just happened?"
    "I screwed up," snapped Lewis. "Now run! We can still make it to the ships!"
    They sprinted through the last part of the terminal, and people scattered to get out of their way. Lewis had his gun openly in his hand now, and did his best to look like he was ready to use it. People recognized his face and Jesamine's, and called out their names, but no one tried to stop them. Lewis burst out onto the landing pads with Jesamine at his side, and then cursed loudly and skidded to a halt.
    Forming up between him and Jesamine and the rows of waiting starships were hundreds of armed men, hurrying in from all directions. A great cry went up from them as they spotted the two fugitives, and Lewis dragged Jesamine back into the terminal doorway, where the steelglass windows would at least give them some protection. Jesamine jerked her arm free.
    "Stop yanking me about! I'm not a child; talk to me!"
    Lewis activated the force shield on his wrist, and the glowing force shield sprang into being on his left arm. "Sorry. Bit preoccupied at the moment."
    "Who the hell are those men?" said Jesamine. "They've all got guns, but none of them are wearing uniforms. Damn it, I knew I should have insisted we stop off long enough to get me a gun. Or two."
    "They're not peacekeepers," said Lewis grimly. "Or port security. And they look far too professional for local bounty hunters, so ... Best guess, they're Pure Humanity fanatics, same bastards who hunted down the Ecstatics. They've already demonstrated they have no problem killing Paragons at the Neuman riot ...
    so an ex-Champion shouldn't bother them at all. I suppose I should be flattered they sent so many men after me . . .
    "This is really bad, Jes. Not just the odds, though they're pretty bad too. Peacekeepers or security men might have been willing to take us alive; these creeps won't do that. Someone really wants us dead." He looked at her sadly. "You should run, Jes. I'll hold them back. Give you time to get away. It's stupid for both of us to die here."
    "Don't talk like that!" Jesamine said firmly. "We'll get out of this. You're the Deathstalker, remember?
    And ... I'd rather die with you, than live without you. Never thought of myself as the sentimental kind, but I suppose you learn something new every day. Now stop being chivalrous, and work out a way to kill those bastards!"
    Lewis grinned, drew two of his throwing knives from their hiding places, and offered them to Jesamine.
    "Can you fight, Jes?"
    She snorted loudly, snatched the knives from his hand and flourished them expertly. "You bet your arse, Deathstalker. Some of the pigsties I played when I was starting out, you didn't dare leave your dressing room to go to the toilet unless you were armed to the teeth and willing to fight dirty. I've always been able to look out for myself."
    "Well, that's good to know," said Lewis. "Guard my back, Jes, and don't show them any mercy, because they sure as hell won't be showing us any. I can see half a dozen ships my skeleton key should be able to get us into, but we're going to have to fight our way through those bastards to get to them. The odds are bad, but they won't be expecting a frontal attack, so surprise will be on our side. But Jes; once we start, we can't stop. We run for the ships and whatever happens, we keep going. Because either we fight our way through, or we die out there, on the pads."
    "God, you're a cheerful bastard to be around," said Jesamine. "You'd better not be this moody at breakfast." She looked at the small army of assassins heading their way, and hefted her knives uncertainly. "We're really going to meet them head on? Just the two of us?"
    "Of course," said Lewis, smiling at her reassuringly. "It's the Deathstalker way."
    "Then it's a wonder you're not all extinct," Jesamine growled. "All right, let's do it. Before I get a rush of sanity to the head."
    They both took a deep breath and then charged out of the terminal and onto the pads, screaming at the top of their lungs. The assassins heard the magnificent old Deathstalker battle cry of Shandrakor!
    Shandrakor! and many of them stumbled to a halt, their hearts missing a beat. Several turned and ran. It was one thing to agree to kill a traitor on the run, and quite another to