“Yeah,” Cat said. “Why don’t you boys just flank me up?”

Paulie laughed. “For free? C’mon, Cat, I like you and all, but you don’t know what you’re messing with here.”

“Yeah,” the other guy said. “This ain’t some small racket. You’re gonna get a world of hurt.”

Cat smiled. “Promise?”

Paulie waved his partner down. “Seriously, Cat, you should take your little friend and get out of here. Pretend you never came. Besides, we ain’t seen no girl tonight.”

“He’ss lying,” Walter said, arriving by her side.

Cat placed a hand on the boy’s chest and pushed him back. “Trust me,” she said. “I know.”

She turned and faced the men and smoothly changed her stance, bringing her fists up and taking her hips off square. Small things, but enough to change the game and quick. It was like waving a red flag in front of a bull. Paulie’s friend came fast. Fast and dumb. She’d never seen him around any of the pubs, so he obviously didn’t know what he was dealing with. Cat watched his feet as he ran, figured out where he’d be planting his foot just before he got to her and made sure her own foot was driving to where his knee would be.

It sounded like a thick branch snapping in two. The knee bent back the wrong way, and she barely moved in time to keep from getting wrapped up in his flying bulk. He landed with a thud and went to screaming holy hell, writhing on the ground, fumbling for his foot, but it was trapped beneath him, out of reach.

Cat watched the Palan kid go from silver to white, his eyes bulging at the sight of the man.

“Can you shut him?” Cat asked.

The boy nodded and ran back to the screaming figure, pulling some-thing out of one of the pockets on his flightsuit. Cat turned back to face Paulie.

“Now you see why I never bring him out,” he told her, smiling ner-vously and gesturing to the gurgling man behind her.

Cat took a few steps forward.

“Damn, Cat, fine. The girl is right there. Barely gotten started on her. Take her and go.”

Cat shook her head slowly. “I don’t think so, Paulie ol’ buddy. I ain’t had such a great night. Or not bad enough, anyway.” She called back over her shoulder: “Hey little man, see to your friend over there.”

The boy padded by, wiping something off on a bloody rag. He hopped up and down, looking on top of the tables for his friend.

Cat pointed, showing him which one, and then stepped closer to Paulie.

Close enough that he could hit her.

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