“The army!” Caroline had dropped her glass, which shattered on the tile floor.
“No.” De la Vega had moved instinctively to take her arm and was pulling her back toward the den. “Inside, quickly!”
Neither of them needed any further urging. As soon as the glass doors slammed shut behind them, a trio of impact cracks appeared in their wake.
“Bulletproof,” their host disclosed, “but not bomb-proof. I do not understand. I have never been attacked here.”
The invaders who swarmed over the back wail were clad entirely in black bodysuits camouflaged with swatches of light and dark green, save for narrow openings that revealed their eyes. In addition to guns they wielded swords, knives, and a wide assortment of rococo shuruken.
One of the guards went down with several protruding from his torso while the other began a slow retreat. Shouts and screams resounded throughout the compound. More of de la Vega’s men were starting to arrive. Despite the increased firepower being brought to bear on the attackers, two of them got within twenty feet of the den before being shot down.
An instant before, a sigh had emerged from the artificial larynx attached to Jed’s now gently glowing suit. “A fine world I chose! Am I never to have proper time for contemplation? I perceive the presence of numerous additional hostile individuals. In the absence of my ability to effectively influence the trajectory of assorted explosive projectiles, I believe we should seek more effective cover.”
“Good idea.” Ross Ed ‹dragged the backpack and its suddenly loquacious contents behind the polished purpleheart bar. Moments later something blew in both glass doors, sending a shower of sharp fragments flying through space only recently occupied.
“This is all very confusing,” the alien remarked. “Don’t you people ever cooperate with one another?”
“Not when there’s big money involved.” Ross kept his head down as an astonishing hodgepodge of shouts in English, Spanish, and Japanese echoed across the compound.
Elegant and composed, de la Vega scrunched back against the wall and managed to open the compact refrigerator beneath the bar without exposing himself to hostile fire. “We may as well make ourselves comfortable until my people have driven these pendejos away. What is your pleasure? Rum, Scotch, gin, RC?”
“I’ll have an RC.” Caroline was unaccountably cheerful. “I’m still thirsty.”
Though backed up in a corner, de la Vega somehow managed a bow. “My pleasure, señorita.” He poured himself a rum and clinked glasses with her.
“You are not thirsty, my friend?”
“Sorry. I can’t drink when I’m worried about dying.” Ross kept sneaking glimpses over the bar, trying to divine which way the battle was going. The den had taken several hits but thus far only the decor had suffered. Most of the fighting remained centered around the pool. A coffee table had been brutally mutilated. Occasionally the sweet, sick sound of a slug smacking into wall or furniture rose above the general cacophony.
“Where do you suppose these people came from?”
“I cannot imagine.” De la Vega eyed him speculatively. “Could it be that others besides the army were following you, hoping to relieve you of your alien friend? If the Japanese are aware, perhaps we may expect representatives of other countries and organizations to make similar attempts. I can see now that my investment may not have been a wise one.” He winced as shells shattered the big mirror behind the bar.
“We can’t stay here.” Slipping on the backpack, Ross poised on hands and knees. “We’re gonna have to make a run for it. Get ready, Caroline.”
“Uh, I don’t think so, Ross Ed.”
Their eyes met. “You don’t think so? What d’you mean, you don’t think so?”
Her expression fell. “You’re a nice guy, Ross Ed Hager, and I’m glad for the time we had together, and I’m glad I was able to help you out, but I don’t see much of a future with you. You’re running from too many people, and some of them aren’t even people. Eventually they’ll catch up with you, and I’m not sure anymore that I want to be part of the package.” She coughed delicately.
“While you were seeing to Jed, Armando here asked me to stay with him. He says I can have anything I want. Trips to Paris and Rome, clothes, jewelry, anything. He’s been very decent about it. Gallant, even. I mean, nothing against you, Ross, but you’re still quite the country boy, if you know what I mean. I always did see myself with someone a little more sophisticated.” Reaching out, she took their host’s hand and squeezed it gently.
“Now don’t be bitter. You can’t help it if you can’t give me the things I’ve always wanted.” Edging forward and carefully keeping her head below the level of frying slugs, she kissed him fondly. “I’ll always treasure our time together.”
All Ross Ed could do was stare. “You haven’t known this guy for a whole day yet and already you’re prepared to stay in the jungle with him?”
“I’m kind of the impulsive type, Ross Ed.” There was a twinkle in her eyes. “You of all people should know that. Besides, you have to confess that your immediate prospects are less than inviting.”
Both statements were true, he had to admit. Hell, he liked de la Vega himself. He suppressed a grin. Somewhere down the line, in Venice or Istanbul or Hong Kong, she might just as readily dump the pot farmer for someone else. Her impulsiveness, her flighty nature, was something he’d been aware of from the beginning. He knew he really shouldn’t be surprised, and it was hardly the first time he’d been dumped. But that didn’t make it feel better.
“Have it your way. I’ll move faster without you anyhow.”
She looked hurt. “Please, Ross Ed. It’s been a lot of fun, but all the variables are starting to catch up with me. First the army, then aliens, then rebel Indians, and now ninjas. Not to mention,” she added with a shudder of remembrance, “Hollywood types. You have to admit it doesn’t portend a very stable future for a simple girl from Nebraska. I’m ready to stop running, Ross Ed.”
That much he could understand. He was ready to stop running himself. Unfortunately, it didn’t seem to be an available option in his immediate future.
“All right, Caroline. If you change your mind—”
“lf I change my mind I’ll look for you around Austin. Or on the evening news.” She kissed him again.
De la Vega looked on benignly. “I am sorry, my friend, but I have never seen one so beautiful as this wondrous Caroline. Or so big.”
“Forget it. I owe her a van. Buy her one.”
“A van? But she can have a Ferrari, or a Rolls.”
Caroline was smiling again. “Take my advice and make it a van,” Ross advised him. “You can give her that. All I have to offer her is a dead alien.”
Their host crawled forward and pointed. “If you go that way you will reach the kitchen. Go through to the back door. There is a gate in the perimeter wall for service deliveries. The fighting seems to be concentrated here. You should have no difficulty reaching the jungle. If you make it out, head downriver and eventually you will strike the ocean. Oh, and help yourself to anything in the cupboards.”
“Thanks. You think you’ll be all right?”
The other man nodded. “I have confidence in my people. I have never understood these Japanese pajama-men who think they can heat machine guns with swords and sharpened Christmas ornaments. It is all very balletic, but I think maybe they watch too many of their own movies. Give me a good Russian rocket launcher any day. If you would like something to take with you…?”
“That’s okay. If I don’t have a gun I’m not a threat, and maybe nobody’ll shoot at me. Also, while it seems I’m generally considered expendable, nobody wants to risk damaging Jed.”
“So valuable.” For a moment the grower gazed longingly at the Texan’s immobile three-armed passenger. “Good luck to you, my friend.”
