Sheldon replied, “I did an acoustical inventory. All are accounted for. However, Nat’s tactic of sweeping with the disruptor may result in some zaps being less than full strength. You should depart while the departing is optimal.”

An excellent policy for any time, as far as I was concerned. Nat became visible, flipped open a folding knife, and quickly cut our zip-ties. We stood, ready to run. Then I turned and looked at Arley.

“No,” Nat said. “Come on, you’ve got to be kidding. We don’t need another—”

“Maybe we do. Sheldon, please start on a second detention berth, preferably right across from Karen. And close her door so she doesn’t know anything until we’re ready to tell her.”

“It will take a while,” Sheldon replied. “You will have to re-stun your subject, and you should have some of those plastic restraints in reserve, just for safety.”

“And guns,” Patrick said, gathering several of the weapons.

“Do you even know how to use those?” Nat asked.

“No friggin’ clue. But I’m a quick study.”

“Patrick, give the guns to Nat. Help me with Arley.”

It turned out we really had been in a warehouse, in the low-rent end of the industrial district. Because why not? I wondered if anyone had ever heard of playing against type.

It took several minutes to get Arley outside and up the stairs into the awaiting Halo. He was surprisingly heavy, easily well over two-fifty, and consequently very hard to maneuver.

During one of the drop-and-shuffle breaks, I said to Nat, “I thought they captured you. Luthor got a text to that effect.”

“Text courtesy of Sheldon,” she replied with a wide smile. “After he scanned the phones of the two guys who came for me.”

Patrick stopped massaging his forearms and frowned. “How did you manage to get their phones?”

“I’d have been in trouble if they’d coordinated the grabs, but you guys gave us enough warning to set up a trap. Did you know that the cloaking fields can make an empty driver’s seat look not empty? While Tweedledee and Tweedledummy were trying to sneak up on the car and grab me, I came out from behind a bush and zapped them.”

I snorted, then gestured to the body. Patrick groaned in reply and reached down to grab the legs.

My back itched until the airlock was safely closed. It would only take one mercenary to wake up and come out shooting to ruin our day. But the operation was completed without incident and soon we were in the air. Patrick re-zapped Arley, then zip-tied him for good measure.

He needn’t have bothered. Arley was just beginning to make snorting noises and twitch when we finally dumped him into his new prison cell and cut the straps.