GEN13 - Version 2.0 Read Online Free PDF Page B

bruise was already forming on the side of the victim’s face.
    Kat dropped her coat to the ground, so it wouldn’t restrict her movement, and struck a pose. Even in civilian clothes, she cut an imposing figure. “Hold it right there!” she commanded.
    The punks spun at the sound of her voice, simultaneously reaching under their coats for the weapons that were hidden there. They froze at the sight of her, with looks of disbelief on their faces.
    “What the hell... ?”
    “Oh, mama ...”
    The four punks stopped reaching for the weapons. Slowly, each of them smiled. One even licked his lips.
    I can’t believe you just did that, Kat thought.
    The nearest punk strutted over toward her in a way that he probably thought was seductive. He gave a low whistle as he eyed her from top to bottom. “Sweet thing,” he said, “you just chill a minute. Soon as we’re done with that loser over there, then you and us, we’ll have us a real par—”
    The rest of the sentence died in a strangled “urk” as Kat grabbed the front of his coat and lifted him up, effortlessly, above her head. With one hand, Kat hurled him through the air to smash into the wall.
    The far wall.
    At the end of the alley.
    A good fifty feet away.
    All of a sudden, the other punks weren’t smiling anymore. “Bust a cap in her!” one of them yelled.
    In a flash, the three produced handguns as if from nowhere. They held the guns out at arm’s length, turned sideways, and opened fire on Kat.
    Kat shook her head. It wasn’t so much at the futility of the hail of bullets, which hurt as they bounced off her but posed about as much of a threat as the flakes of snow that continued to fall from the sky. The thing Kat was reacting to was the amateurish way they handled their weapons. They’re not even using the sights , she thought. Either they were going for image over accuracy, or they’d seen too many movies. If Mister Lynch had been their instructor, he would have had their heads.
    The carnage that followed was mercifully brief. In a matter of minutes, the punks lay broken and bleeding on the ground. The sound of distant sirens reached Kat’s ears, signalling her that it was time to go.
    But before she could leave, she had to check on the victim.
    She bent down over the young man in the suit. “Are you okay?” she asked.
    “Oh, yeah. Absolutely,” he said. A dreamy smile crossed his swollen face as she helped him to his feet. “You—you were amazing! The way you took those guys out....”
    “It was nothing.”
    “Well, it was something to me! You’ve got to let me
    repay you somehow. I know—dinner! Let me take you to dinner tonight.”
    “That’s really not necessary.”
    “What do you mean, not necessary? I insist! It’s the least I can do. For my female knight in shining armor.”
    Kat could feel the blush spreading in her cheeks.
    “A little lobster,” he coaxed. “Or maybe a filet mig-non.”
    Kat’s resolve was starting to crack.
    “A little dancing, a nice bottle of wine ...”
    It did sound tempting.
    “And then, afterwards, a romantic evening at my place. A little candlelight, some baby oil...”
    “What?!”    '
    A moment later, Kat picked up her coat and left the alley.
    From his position upside down in the trash can, the guy in the suit called after her. “I’m in the book!” he yelled. “Call me!”
    There has got to be more to life than this .. ., Kat thought.
    CHAPTER 3
    The Congressional aide knocked softly on the door before entering. “Representative Sturmer?” she whispered. Tentatively, the aide held up five fingers and said, half in a whisper and half in mime, “Five minutes until the committee meeting.”
    Sturmer nodded and raised a hand to signal the aide to wait. The telephone receiver never left her ear. . . Okay. What did she say then?” Sturmer said into the phone. There was a pause as she listened to the person on the other end of the line. “Uh-huh. Well, Taleisha, she is your mother...”
    A