One of the pistol men fired wildly, the stuttering report assaulting Alex’s ears. He rushed forward shouting and barreled into the man in the suit. Together, they staggered back. The other man’s knee rammed into Alex’s groin, and the world dissolved into blinding pain. Alex slid to his knees, trying to hold the man by his suit jacket. The guns continued their barrage and the stink of spent powder filled the air.

The man in the suit dug for a shoulder holster, and Alex grabbed his arm. The man’s wrist was like holding concrete. There was a gun in his fist. Someone shouted, and the roar of gunfire became the roar of something else, deeper and more animal. Alex pulled himself forward, the pain in his testicles fading to merely excruciating. He bit the solid wrist, sinking teeth into the raw silk sleeve and digging until his incisors met. The man in the suit didn’t even cry out, just brought his other hand down hard on Alex’s temple.

Everything got a little quieter, a little more distant. Alex felt his grip slip off the man’s arm, felt himself falling back, landing hard on his tailbone. The pain was there, but foggy. The man in the suit lifted his pistol to point at Alex. The barrel looked wide as a cave.

Oh, Alex thought, I die like this.

The man’s head twitched forward in a curt nod and he crumpled. Then it was Bobbie standing before him, a six-kilo free weight curled in one hand. The chrome had blood on it and what looked like hair. No one was shooting guns anymore.

“Hey,” Alex said.

“You all right?” Bobbie asked, sitting next to him. One of the gunmen staggered past her, cradling his forearm, and bolted out the door. She didn’t go after him.

“Little achy,” Alex said, then rolled to his side and retched.

“It’s okay,” Bobbie said. “You did really well.”

“Been a long time since hand-to-hand. I probably could have done better if I’d had some practice.”

“Yeah, well. There were four of them with guns and two of us without. All things considered, we did okay.”

She blew out a long breath, her head sinking low. Alex tried to sit up.

“You all right?”

“Got shot a couple times,” she said. “Smarts.”

“Shit. You’re hurt?”

“Yeah. I’m going to get over to the console there in a minute. Call emergency services before blood loss makes me woozy.”

“I already did that,” Alex said. “Before I came in.”

“Good planning.”

“Not sure planning had much to do with it,” Alex said. And then, “Bobbie? Stay with me here.”

“I’m here,” she said, her voice sleepy. “I’m all right.”