Chapter 22
--Knew we'd get dragged into this somewhere,-- said Ferdie.
--Not exactly a fair bargain, is it?-- Maggie speculated. --It's not like Visser Five will get anything in return for given her the equipment, except saving his own butt.--
--Since when where the Yeerks fair?-- I asked. --Dirty politics, blackmailing - if that sort of thing can go on in Washington, here on Earth, no doubt the Yeerks could do it better.--
--He's not actually given in, has he?-- Maggie asked. --He's a Yeerk Visser - when have Vissers ever taken it lying down?--
--Visser Five's a coward,-- I said. --He'd do anything to save his own backside. I guess he cares about that more than some promotion.--
Visser Five was standing just a foot away from the Assassin, breathing deeply, never taking his eyes off the small red button.
"Alright," he said. "I'll destroy that technology. Just…don't destroy this ship, or that animal."
"Fair enough," said the Assassin. "You bring that technology up here to the surface, and destroy it using your Dracons. I'll know if it's adequately destroyed or not. When I am satisfied, I shall leave, you should never have to meet me again." She lowered her hands.
The Visser nodded sombrely. He turned round slowly, facing his crew. I saw him meet the eye contact of one of his bodyguards.
--Something's wrong,-- I heard Sam say.
--How do you mean?-- Maggie asked.
--He's not going to go along with the Assassin's requests. I can tell. He's gearing up to do something.-- There was a note of urgency in her voice now. --Philip - get everyone in a position ready to fight! I have a feeling this is going to heat up!--
The three of us slunk out of our hiding spots, padding silently in the dark across the deck. I motioned to the other two where to hide. My eyes swept across the vast number of Controllers. Many were armed with either Dracon beams or regular guns, but some were not. But any firing would be strictly limited, I could see that. There were far too few of them, and too few of us, to get an accurate shot. My heart was thumping in my chest, but the wolverine's mind inside me help me to keep my cool. It knew what lay ahead. It was fully prepared. It knew what it could deal with. As I took up my position, crouching low, I could make out a small smile spread over the Visser's face. Sam was right. He wasn't going to give in.
It all seemed to happen at once. One second, stillness. The next, chaos.
"The other Fugitives!" yelled a Controller in the crowd. We had been spotted. Simultaneously, the Visser yelled his orders. Lort-Strelitz fired at me, missing completely and leaving a blackened burn mark beside me on the wooden deck. The Visser's bodyguards fired at the Assassin. One missed, but the other met it's mark. The Assassin fell to the floor, crying out in agony. She had not been killed, but the Dracon beam had done some serious damage. Some very specific damage. Part of the Assassin's left arm lay severed from her body, a couple of feet from her shoulder. Around the wrist, intact, was the detonator.
The Visser noticed at once. He bounded across the deck, ready to grab the detonator, to keep the assassin from getting it again. But Sam was there before him. She leapt up, her leopard body flying gracefully though the air in a flawless golden brown arc. She landed silently and grabbed the arm between her teeth. The Visser yelled out in frustration and turned back to his guards.
"Shoot it, damn fools! I don't care if you kill it!" he yelled. "That's the Fugitive! That's the Fugitive and it's got the damn detonator!" He was leaping up and down like a crazed manic, the sound of the thumping from his huge Hork-Bajir feet echoed about the ship.
Sam spun round and leapt into the crowd, where the crew where reluctant to shoot for fear of hitting each other. Some made a half-hearted attempt to block her way, but she knocked them out of the way as if they were pins in a bowling alley.
--Some help would be useful!-- she cried.
Ferdie was the first to get involved. He leapt into the crowd, clearing a way for Sam. He pounced at the crew members, forcing them back, forcing the unarmed to take cover below deck. I followed suite, unsure of what we were meant to be doing, but feeling so much pent-up adrenaline that I couldn't keep still any longer. I went for the Visser. If he was the coward I was sure he was, he wouldn't get very far with me. Plus, if I was near to him, other Controllers would refrain from shooting at him in case they hit their Visser. I lunged for the Visser, claws outstretched, mouth open and ready to clamp down. He tried to shoot me, but his aim was poor, and he ended up hitting of few of his unfortunate underlings instead. I grabbed his arm between my teeth, my jaw clamped down like a vice. His skin was thick and leathery, but wolverine, despite their small size, have powerful jaws. He dropped the Dracon beam, but I was then forced to let go, for he attempted to slash me with his numerous blades.
Maggie was next - going straight for the bodyguards. Growling, baring her teeth, yapping, biting, scratching, relentless, - her black wolf body almost invisible in the darkness.
All around me, the battle raged on. Teeth biting, claws slashing, Dracons firing, guns blasting. The wolverine was fearless. Maggie's wolf was tireless. Sam and Ferdie's cats were gracefully taking down anyone and anything that came in their way. The crew were in shambles. Those who were unarmed were running all over the place, panicking like children. The armed crew were shooting at anything and everything - generally at their own. The Assassin was on her feet - despite her injuries - Dracon in hand, shooting aimlessly towards Sam, her cat suit drenched in her own blood. Lort-Strelitz was swearing and cursing like a madman - betrayed by his Visser who had bought about the destruction of his ship, his crew, and of course, his finding of the artefact.
"You idiot!" she raged, addressing the Visser. "You fool! I'll get you for this! I'll blow your whole damn ship to hell! I don't care if I live or if I die! I'll make sure you burn for this!"
"You ever thought you could take me on?" cried the Visser in response. "How dare you even think you can take on a Visser!" He was leaping away from me now, making his way to the safety of his silver chopper. Quitting the battle while he could, like the coward he was.