Deathstalker 06 - Deathstalker Legacy

King and I'm the Champion, that just leaves you to be Logres's Paragon. I hope you know how to hit the ground running."
    "Wonderful," said Emma. She pursed her large mouth and spat on the ground, uncomfortably close to Lewis's boot. She glared at him as though it was all his fault, and then sniffed loudly, and shrugged. "I should have known it was too good to be true. I did wonder why they chose a wild card like me. Still; it's not the first time I've been dropped in the deep end with lead weights on my boots. Don't you worry, Deathstalker; I can hold my end up." She grinned suddenly, and once again looked almost girlish. "I can't wait to get stuck in. This is a major step up on the career ladder for me; defender of Humanity's homeworld. Back on Mistworld, I dreamed of coming here ... A chance to show what I can really do!
    Face some real challenges at last. Screw the Durandal. Give me a year here, and people will have forgotten all about him. I'm going to take Logres by the scruff of the neck and shake it till all the filth
    drops off; you see if I don't."
    Lewis had to smile. She reminded him irresistably of a younger, less cynical Lewis Deathstalker, from when he first came to Logres; so confident, so full of himself and all the great things he was going to do.
    His smile slowly faded as he considered how far he'd come from that naive and optimistic young man.
    He'd achieved a great many things in his time, done a good job . . . but at the end of the day the world still went as the world went. The Shadow Court was still out there somewhere, and the Hellfire Club.
    And the poisonous lies of Pure Humanity seemed to reach more receptive ears all the time .. . Lewis shrugged mentally. Maybe Emma Steel was just what they all needed; someone to shake them out of their complacency.
    And then Lewis all but jumped out of his skin as Emma roared with a parade ground voice, right in his ear; "You! I see you! Stop that right now!"
    She charged right past Lewis, racing across the landing pad, her long legs driving her at incredible speed, her sword and her gun already in her hands. Lewis chased after her, glaring about him for some sign of the enemy, doing his best not to fall too far behind. Surely the ELFs couldn't have struck again already, so soon after their debacle at the Arenas? Or maybe it was another Neuman suicide bomber? Everything seemed quiet and peaceful, as far as he could see, but he trusted Emma's instincts. He drew his sword and gun too, and pounded after her as she headed for the baggage area.
    And that was where she finally skidded to a halt, gun aimed squarely at two terrified luggage handlers, who couldn't get their hands in the air fast enough. Lewis crashed to a halt beside her, and had to stop for a moment to get his breath back before he could speak. Emma wasn't even breathing hard.
    "You're both under arrest!" she said crisply. "Hands on top of your heads, and don't even think about running or I'll blow your kneecaps out. Did you really think you could get away with this, right under my nose?"
    "Get away with what?" said Lewis, just a little plaintively. "What's the problem? I thought we were after terrorists. They're luggage handlers. All right, there have been times when I've felt like shooting them too, when my trunk's ended up on a whole different planet, with all my spare clothes in it, but. . ."
    "They're running a scam," said Emma. "And a pretty obvious one, at that. They run the cases through that portable scanner there, detect the good stuff, and mark the cases with a secret sign that only shows up under ultraviolet. Someone at the other end will intercept the marked cases before they even reach the carousel inside the terminal, and then they'll all split the proceeds later. I told you, I grew up around a starport. There isn't a con or a dodge that I can't spot."
    "And that's it? All this, for a couple of con men?" Lewis shook his head, and put away his gun. "Jesus, I nearly had a coronary. I haven't run that fast since that bomb disposal guy said oh skit and threw himself out the window. And you wouldn't believe where this leather's chafing me. Emma; this is peacekeeper work. Not something a Paragon needs to get involved with. Anything else you see; just contact port security, and let them handle it."
    "Be your age, Deathstalker," said Emma. "Port security are part of the scam. That's how it works."
    She rounded up her quivering charges and marched them at gunpoint to the starport brig,