The Rush Read Free Page B

But
apparently, so was he. He caught her leg, forcing Mia to flip herself over to
escape the inevitable next move that would shatter her ulna.
    She faced the man once more, respect for his speed and skill
coloring her every movement. Her lip throbbed where it had been split. She
wiped her hand against her mouth, seeing the streak of blood stark against her
skin. The man’s smile became downright lecherous.
    “The pain. You like? I give more.”
    “Thanks, but not without dinner first.” The Belgian charged,
but Mia was ready. She leapt upward, latching onto a hanging light fixture
dangling from the ceiling. Her skin sizzled where it touched the hot metal of
the lamp, but she kept her arms wrapped tightly around it.
    The Belgian’s charge forward took him right into the cradle
made by Mia’s legs. She encircled his neck with her thighs and squeezed,
bearing down as hard as she could, cutting off his airflow. The assailant's
face turned red, then purple, then black, as he clawed at her legs before he
collapsed like a puppet whose strings had been cut. Second assailant down.
    Mia dropped to the ground, feeling some of her skin peel off
as she let go of the lamp. As she landed, she heard a soft pop and felt a lance
of fire across her left obliques. She clamped a hand to her side and whirled
around in time to see the blonde woman toss aside her weapon. Apparently, the
forced air pistols they carried were one-shot wonders…and not terribly
accurate. Mia’s hand came away dripping red, but she wasn’t dead, and the wound
felt superficial. Didn’t mean it didn’t hurt like a mother, though.
    The woman circled to her right, toward Mia’s injury, and Mia
felt her last hope fade. The woman’s movements, stance, and fluidity bespoke
decades of martial arts training. At her best, Mia might be able to take her.
But Mia was far from at her best right now. And the woman knew it.
    There was no idle chit-chat. No knowing smile. These were
two worthy opponents using every ounce of their concentration on taking down
the other. Each knew the age-old saying that a white belt who focused would
defeat the black belt who did not.
    The Swede made a lightning strike with her fist toward Mia’s
face, which Mia managed to block, only to find that the attack was not the
primary one. The woman brought her right knee up and connected with Mia’s side,
right where she had been struck by the bullet. The pain flamed up and out from
her wound, hunching her over in agony. The woman then took a vicious sideways
swipe across Mia’s face, knocking her to the side.
    Mia fell against one of the walls, bracing herself to kick
back with her foot at the blonde’s face as she advanced. The blow connected,
snapping the woman’s head back. Mia followed up with a slicing thrust of her
fist to the woman’s solar plexus. Impossibly, the blonde countered, knocking
away Mia’s hand and slashing out once more at Mia’s left side. Pain blossomed
anew, giving Mia’s sight a red haze that was difficult to focus through.
    The blonde pressed her advantage, blow after ringing blow
landing on Mia’s face and neck, alternated with savage thrusts to the bullet
wound. Mia retreated back out of the maze toward the star diamond display,
blocking every blow she could, but she was losing. Badly. This would not end well,
unless she could hold out for a little while longer…
    There. A beeping sounded from up above, where Mia had
planted the scanner, set to go off in two minutes. The noise was enough
distraction to cause the blonde to glance up.
    A moment was all Mia needed. She thrust her stiff fingers
straight forward, catching the Swede right in the larynx. The woman stumbled
back, clutching at her throat, trying to pull air in where air was no longer
welcome. Mia followed the blonde one step forward, two…then spun around in a
full circle, her heel slamming into the Swede’s temple.
    And then there was nothing in front of Mia but a smallish
woman doing her best