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and holding a small gun with the other.
    I circled around the edge of the area until I was behind them. I walked quietly up to the first, the coughing of the two men all the cover I needed. I grabbed his wrist with one hand and the gun with another, and wrested the gun free. He punched at me with the hand he’d been using to rub his eyes, but he was already drugged enough that he might have been moving in slow motion. I avoided the punch, stepped behind him, wove my right arm around his neck, and clinched the choke. He went out fast.
    As I lowered him to the ground, the other guard said, “What’s happening?”
    I coughed.
    I crammed a black pill deep into the mouth of the guard I’d choked. Even if he didn’t swallow it, the dose from it dissolving would be enough to keep him out as long as I needed.
    The other guard waved his gun. “Joachim, where are you?”
    I had no time for this. I circled to his other side and punched him in the kidneys. He dropped the gun and doubled over. I stepped in front of him and wrapped his neck in a choke. He clawed at my arm, but only for a few seconds, and then he was out. I stuck a black pill in his mouth and pushed him onto the floor.
    I stood and looked around.
    No one moved. Most of the people were on the floor, though the six with exoskeletons still stood.
    Time to remove their masks.
    I stepped in front of the host, whose head hung loosely on his chest. His hand still held his cane, as if the two were welded together. I hadn’t noticed his exoskeleton before; his tailoring perfectly covered it. I pulled off his mask. I stepped back a couple of meters to see if the image of his face was clear enough for the cameras to be able to get a good shot of it or if I’d need to stretch him on the ground.
    He lifted his cane.
    I heard the cracking sound at the same time the pain sizzled through my left thigh, and I fell.

CHAPTER 7
    Jon Moore
    I broke my fall with my arms and immediately pushed myself into a seated position. I grabbed my thigh to put pressure on the wound. Pain screamed along my nerves until I focused and instructed the nanomachines to block it. I felt the back of my thigh and found an exit wound; whatever he’d shot at me had gone all the way through my leg.
    “An old trick,” the host said, “but sometimes the old ways are still good. People forget that.” He glanced at the cane. “Too bad it’s only one shot, or I’d finish you now. As it is, I’ll have to get one of my guards’ guns.” With his free hand he tapped the side of his nose. “Sinus filters, partly for safety and partly to remove the garbage in the air on backward planets like this one. Plus, I’ve taken the antidotes to about every attack substance known.” He pointed the cane at me. “You don’t get to be as old or as wealthy as I am without thinking of everything you can control.” He considered my wound for a few seconds. “You’d be wise to keep that in mind.”
    I kept my hand over it because the nanomachines were already patching it. I couldn’t afford for him to see that.
    “Or maybe you’ll just bleed out,” he said. He smiled. “I can live with that.” Moving more quickly than I would have imagined possible—his exoskeleton clearly extended to his whole torso—he bent, grabbed the nearer gun, and righted himself again.
    He blinked a few times. “The machines take care of the moving; the low blood pressure’s the problem.” He smiled again. “Still, it’s the best solution available.” He pointed the gun at me. “How long will they be out?”
    I needed to buy time for the nanomachines but not encourage him to shoot me. I shrugged. “Half an hour, maybe an hour.”
    He nodded. “What exactly did you hope to accomplish, and where’s the rest of your team?”
    “I’m here to return these children to their families. The others are on the way.”
    He shook his head. “The fact that I’m old doesn’t make me stupid. Either you’re a terrible planner, or you would