Page 84 of Enslak

"Don't you dare think of that as goodbye," she whispered against my lips. "That's a 'see you in thirty seconds' kiss. Got it?"

I managed something that might have been a smile. Might have been a grimace. "Thirty seconds."

"Thirty seconds," she repeated. Then she pressed one more quick, hard kiss to my mouth and stepped back. "Now let's go kill some bastards."

We separated. I watched her slip into the underbrush, moving in utter silence. She flowed between the trees like water, finding paths I couldn't see, using shadows I hadn't noticed. Within seconds, she'd vanished completely.

I gave her a count of twenty, letting her get into position. Then I stepped out of the trees.

"Looking for me?" I called in their clicking language, my voice carrying across the clearing.

Seven heads snapped toward me in perfect unison. Seven weapons rose.

"There!" one shouted. "The subject! He's—"

I charged.

Not toward them—that would be suicide, exactly what they expected. Instead, I angled away, drawing them from Niki's position and forcing them to spread out. Blaster fire erupted. Bolts seared past my head close enough that I felt the heat scorch my skin. One caught my shoulder and spun me sideways. The pain was immediate and blinding, but I kept moving. Kept them focused on me.

From my peripheral vision, I saw Niki emerge from cover. She raised her blaster with the fluid precision of someone who'd done this a thousand times and fired.

The first Ulkommenian dropped before he even knew she was there. Center mass. Clean kill. He crumpled without a sound.

The second spun toward the sound of her weapon, but Niki was already tracking him, already adjusting her aim. Her bolt caught him in the throat. He collapsed, gurgling, his hands clawing at the wound.

The third managed to raise his weapon, his finger tightening on the trigger. Niki's shot punched through his chest before he could fire. He went down hard, his weapon clattering across the ground.

The fourth finally got a bead on her position and squeezed his trigger—but Niki was faster. Her bolt took him in the head. He crumpled like a puppet with cut strings.

Four down in less than ten seconds.

Three left.

I watched as she lined up the fifth Ulkommenian, her movements still precise, still controlled, her breathing steady despite the adrenaline that must've been flooding her system—

The bolt that emerged was weak. Flickering. It struck his shoulder instead of his chest, barely staggering him.

Click.

The blaster's power cell was dead.

For just a heartbeat, I froze. She was exposed. Vulnerable. The three remaining Ulkommenians were already moving toward her, weapons raised, sensing an opening. I started forward, desperate to intercept, to put myself between her and them—

Then Niki dropped the useless blaster and moved.

What happened next left me breathless.

She didn't retreat. Didn't hesitate. Didn't call for help. She exploded forward with such ferocity that the nearest Ulkommenian actually flinched, his weapon wavering.

He was bigger than her. Stronger. Armed. None of it mattered.

She closed the distance before he could fire, her small frame covering the ground impossibly fast. She grabbed his extended arm—the one holding the blaster—and twisted her body in a way that defied physics. Using his own weight and momentum against him, she pivoted at the hip and threw him over her shoulder with devastating efficiency.

He crashed into the ground so hard I heard bones break—multiple bones, snapping like dry branches. Before he could even process what happened, she drove her heel into his temple. He went still.

Two left.

The second Ulkommenian tried to back away, desperate to create distance and use his weapon. Niki didn't give him the chance. She moved like water—fluid, unstoppable, finding every opening and exploiting it.