Michael

twelve

Narrow streets and heavy pedestrian traffic made standard transport, both ground or aerial, unusable in most parts of the old quarter. The lack of suitable landing points limited options even further. From what she'd overheard, Liz guessed she was being marched towards the closest large site containing an aerial transporter. If she was going to attempt an escape, she'd have to make her bid for freedom before they reached it.

Ashur was a small sector in the old quarter, surrounded, but largely ignored by its neighbours. To the north was Uruk, and to the east was Gilgamesh, leaving Megiddo to the west, and Tarsus to the south. Its proximity to Uruk made the presence of ferals a daily occurrence; everyone walked around armed. The sector was also awash with streetwalkers. Gilgamesh and Tarsus were notorious for their private clubs and brothels; Ashur didn't bother with such formality, leaving the thousands of inns, guesthouses and hotels to rake in the cash from the 'hour-only' trade. Bloodletting was another speciality. Humans desperate for money could travel to Ashur and open a vein for two pieces of silver per unit of measurement. Street-vendors plied the liquid-lunch revenue on every street corner.

One such vendor had his cart set out on the corner ahead of Liz and her trio of captors. There was a queue of customers waiting to be served. A large, hand-written sign advertised the availability of black pudding and pre-soaked oatcakes. When her escort made the mistake of sticking to the walkway, instead of taking a wider berth around the cart, Liz saw her chance. Pretending to lose her balance, she fell heavily into trooper Greer on her left. Greer, in turn, jostled a sizeable vampire, who swung round with a vicious oath when the vial of blood in his hand fell and shattered on the ground.

"You oaf!" roared the vampire.

A meaty fist slammed into the side of Greer's helmet. The trooper staggered, releasing Liz's left arm. The second trooper on Liz's right was forced to release her too in order to swing up his rifle. He didn't get a chance to pull the trigger before the rifle was ripped out of his hands. As the strap was looped around his shoulder, the trooper ended up dangling off the ground too. Two darts sank into the vampire's chest courtesy of the sergeant and the vampire bellowed in rage. Liz, meanwhile, ducked down and grabbed a gas grenade from Greer's armament belt. Despite not having a mask herself, she pulled the trigger and released it. At the same time, she yanked the cord from Greer's emergency beacon, activating the signal to call for help.

They might be bigots, but she didn't want them hurt.

The gas was disabling, but ultimately harmless. Closing her eyes and holding her breath, Liz darted away from the mounting fracas just as gas mushroomed from the tiny grenade and encompassed the cart, the crowd and the troopers. At the last second, she grabbed Greer's pistol and took it with her. Free of captors and still wearing the plastic restraint tying her wrists together, Liz made a bolt for freedom.

She heard a yell from behind and risked a glance back. Four more troopers must have been trailing them very closely. One remained behind to check on Greer and the others, leaving the other three to pursue her.

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During daylight hours, the main thoroughfares were practically empty. The alleyways however were another story. The tall buildings allowed for canvas sheets to be tied from one roof to another in a makeshift sunshade. Liz knew her only chance of escape lay in getting lost in those crowded alleys. She took a left without slowing and rebounded off the rough stone wall. The shouts behind her were getting closer, as was the pounding of military boots. She took another left, plunging into the gloom of an alley, and hit a wall of people. The slower pace forced her to weave and squirm her way through the close-packed crowd. Heart pounding, Liz risked another glance back.

God, help her. There were even more of them now. At least half a dozen troopers were shoving their way through the crowd behind her-far too close. She needed to get some distance. Liz increased her pace, slipping sideways through the tiniest gaps and praying for an opportunity to duck out of sight.