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.These three assassins were all DesPlainians.Just as people from the d'Alemberts' home world were indemand as bodyguards and spies, so criminals from that heavy-grav planet were wanted by theunderworld to accomplish a variety of nefarious deeds.DesPlainian crooks possessed the same attributesof quickness and strength as their more honest compatriots, and they could name their own price for theirservices. Generated by ABC Amber LIT Converter, http://www.processtext.com/abclit.htmlAs the trio of assassins burst into the room, Jules and Vonnie whirled to face them.Jules leaped to oneside, knocking Duke Hanforth to the ground just as a blaster beam sliced through the air where he'd beenstanding an instant previously.Vonnie, meanwhile, had also jumped to avoid a blaster beam, but she hadgone straight up.Catching hold of the curtain at the peak of her leap, she clung there looking down on theroom as she raised her own weapon into position and fired back.The assassins had been hoping their sheer speed would gain their objective.Having now lost thatelement of surprise, they hastily took cover from Vonnie's counterattack and settled in for what might be,comparatively, a long battle.Vonnie knew she could not stay where she was; her position was too exposed.With a sharp tug, shepulled the curtain from its fastenings, and both she and the drapes fell to the floor.She landed in a crouch,gun in one hand while her other hand still clung to the curtain fabric.Jules had managed, during the brief interlude, to slide both himself and the duke behind a solidsolentawood table.The heavy wood would not be proof against concentrated blaster fire, but Jules wasnot about to allow the three assassins the opportunity to make a concerted attack.Reaching around theside of the table, he fired at their covered positions.The explosion of the copter outside startled everyone The assassins were not sure what to make of itbut, like most criminals, they were cowards at base.Such an explosion was not part of any plans that hadbeen developed for this strike.One side or another must have made a decisive maneuver.If it was theirside, then more of their own men would be coming in here soon and could take over the job; if it was thedefenders, the assassins knew they would soon be greatly outnumbered.In either case, they saw noprofit in sticking around here and fighting against other DesPlainians who seemed more than a match forthem.Their thoughts turned instantly to flight.Before they could act on their impulses, though, Vonnie was doing some pretty fancy tricks of her own.Whipping the curtain fabric around her head like an ancient gladiator would whirl his net, she hurled it inthe direction of the three killers.The heavy material did not behave precisely as Vonnie had hoped, butthe results were satisfactory enough.As it hit its targets, it knocked into them with sufficient impact topush them off their feet and jar the guns loose from their hands.Jules and Vonnie raced over to the fallen men.They still had their own guns, but were reluctant to usethem-not because they felt any sympathy for these hardened crooks, but because they both knew thatthey needed at least one of these assailants left alive if they hoped to gain any further leads to themastermind behind this plot. Generated by ABC Amber LIT Converter, http://www.processtext.com/abclit.htmlSo, instead of simply shooting them while they were down, they launched a personal attack.Vonnieleaped on one thug, raining a sharp series of blows down on him and rendering him almost instantlyunconscious.Jules, with the precision of a skilled aerialist, sprang at a second man in a low dive thatended with Jules's head butting into the would-be assassin's solar plexus.That unfortunate wight was outcold even before the air had finished whooshing out of his lungs.The third man made use of both his own DesPlainian reflexes and the time the SOTE team had devotedto his two friends.By the time Jules and Vonnie had finished with their initial antagonists and whirled tolook for him, he had already gotten back up onto his feet and retrieved his blaster.The first target he sawwas Vonnie, lying on the ground entangled with the assassin she'd just knocked out.Without hesitation,the third killer fired directly at her.Only her equally fast reflexes saved her.Her peripheral vision caught sight of his motion as he raised hisarm to shoot, and she acted instinctively.Rolling over on her back, she raised her unconscious antagoniston top of her to act as a shield.The blaster beam hit the hapless foe squarely in the back.The stench ofburning flesh seared Vonnie's nostrils, but the bulk of her late enemy's body protected her from the blast.Even this minuscule delay had given Jules time enough to act.Though he had dropped his gun when he'dbutted his head into the man on the ground, he still had his body-a formidable weapon indeed.Springingquickly to his feet, he leaped at the killer even as the latter was starting to fire at Vonnie.The man tried toswivel and catch Jules in his beam, too, but he was the merest fraction of a second too late.Jules'shundred-kilo body rammed into him and the two men went sprawling on the floor.Had they been fighting in an open area, the outcome would have been a foregone conclusion.But in thisroom crowded with expensive furniture, Jules happened to come down with his head bumping hardagainst the leg of a chair.The blow only stunned him momentarily, and against a foe from a light-gravworld it would hardly have mattered.But against another DesPlainian it was almost a fatal mishap.His opponent took perfect advantage of the tiny lapse to extricate himself from the tangle and raisehimself up on his knees.He lifted his blaster to fire once more, but before he could do so he was cutdown by a beam from across the room.Vonnie had relocated her own weapon and shot the thug beforehe could fulfill his murderous intent.Then she ran across the room and knelt beside her fianc."Are youall smooth?" she asked.Jules nodded his head and climbed slowly to his feet.He looked over at the unconscious body of theman he'd butted with his head."Well, it looks like we got one alive, at least." Generated by ABC Amber LIT Converter, http://www.processtext.com/abclit.htmlThen the two of them looked over to the duke, who stood behind the overturned table where Jules hadleft him.The old man had a small blaster drawn and had been covering the entire fight scene, just to makesure it didn't get out of hand.Now that the fight was over, he was tucking the gun safely away again."You had that the whole time, didn't you?" Jules exclaimed angrily."You could have helped us againstthose guys, you know.""Nonsense," said the Duke of Melenaria."You were the ones being paid to save my life.I wanted tomake sure I was getting my money's worth, after all."CHAPTER 5 The KrissWith the blade from the thrown knife still quivering in the tabletop just centimeters from her hand, andGitana glaring at her with a look that would have scorched lead, Yvette risked a quick glance back atPias."What's going on?" she whispered."Can she get away with this?"Pias nodded
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