Lucas barely noticed the shocked faces of the other team members as they faded back into the crowd. His entire attention was arrested by the firm hands gripping his arms as he was propelled gently but steadily toward the casino entrance.
"But I"m a guest at this hotel!" he managed at last, still trying to make sense of what had happened.
"Not anymore, you aren"t, sir," the sergeant informed him. "You"ll find your luggage waiting for you outside."
"But I didn"t do anything! Honest!"
While he might have accepted the risks of his chosen profession, Lucas shared everyman"s disbelief and indignation at being found guilty of a crime when he was, in fact, innocent.
"I know that, sir." The sergeant winked. "We just got tired of waiting for you is all. Now, if you"ll step this way?"
Things suddenly snapped into focus in Lucas"s mind.
"Wait a minute," he said. "If my luggage is waiting, then somebody had to have packed it before you ..."
Wrenching his arms free from his captors, he stopped dead in his tracks and pointed an accusing finger at the sergeant.
"You set me up!" he proclaimed. "There wasn"t anything wrong with the dice I was holding! And he ... he planted that extra pair in my pocket!"
"Quite right, sir," Moustache said smoothly. "The dice were yours, though. We just took the liberty of moving them from your room into your pocket is all."
"My room?"
"Yes, sir. If I might suggest, sir, it"s unwise to keep an extra couple dozen pairs of dice in your luggage when staying at a casino. It tends to make nasty blokes like us suspicious, and not everybody"s as nice and understanding as we are."
"What ... you searched my luggage? Before I did anything?"
"Just looking out for the owner"s interests, sir," the sergeant said.
"But that"s ... that"s ..."
"Illegal? Quite right, sir. It would seem that you"re not the only crook on Lorelei, but, of course, you already knew that. The real trick, sir, is not getting caught. Now, if you"ll step this way?"
Sprawled at a table near the open front of one of the casino"s c.o.c.ktail lounges, Doc and Tiffany watched the procession march past.
"You know," Doc said, "that actually looks like it would be fun. Maybe I should put in a request to stand regular duty once in a while. If nothing else, it would justify wearing these uniforms all the time."
The actress made a face as she sipped her drink.
"It"s got to be more fun than troweling makeup onto Dee Dee the Dip five times a day," she said. "Wouldn"t you know that, after making that big fuss about not wanting a live stage crew, now the computer"s been dry-cleaned, she"s insisting we keep working the shows?"
"All I have to do is work the curtains," Doc said, "but I know what you mean. Still, I suppose it"s closer to show business than standing around watching drunks lose money day in and day out."
"Maybe for you, Doc, but you"re used to working behind the scenes. For someone like me who"s used to being in view in some capacity or other, working support is a real comedown. At least standing guard would be role-playing of sorts."
The stuntman c.o.c.ked an eyebrow at her. "You sound kinda down, Tiff. Anything bothering you?"
"This just isn"t what I expected when I signed on is all," she said with a grimace. "Or after our surprise briefing, either."
"I see," Doc said, then shifted in his seat to stare pointedly at the ceiling. "This wouldn"t have anything to do with your efforts to charm our captain, would it?"
Tiffany glared at him for a moment, then broke into a rueful smile.
"Bingo." She laughed. "You know, when we were on the ship on the way here, I thought that he was just busy planning this operation, and that I"d see more of him once we got settled in. The way it"s worked out, though, what with us working the showroom, I see even less of him than I did on shipboard."
Smiling, Doc signaled the bartender for another round.
"To be honest with you, Tiffany," he said, "I don"t think it would make much difference. From all I can tell, our Fearless Leader is pretty much married to his work. Everyone I"ve talked to says pretty much the same thing-that they don"t get as much time with the captain as they would like, while at the same time muttering that they"re afraid he"s pushing himself too hard. All in all, I don"t figure him as being much for play, no matter how tempting the bait is or how often you wave it at him."
The actress smiled and laid a hand on his arm.
"Thanks, Doc," she said. "That helps a little. Maybe it"s because I"m spending so much time in front of a makeup table these days, but more and more I catch myself staring in the mirror and wondering, "Have you lost it? Has time finally run out?" I guess a bit of insecurity goes with the job ... or with being a woman, for that matter."
"Well, for what it"s worth, I don"t think you"ve lost it," the stuntman said with a wink. "That"s not just my opinion, either. In case you haven"t noticed, Junior has a real thing for you."
"I know!" Tiffany exclaimed, rolling her eyes. "I"ll tell you, Doc, I don"t know what to do about him. It seems like every time I turn around he"s there offering to run an errand for me or just staring at me like I just stepped off a half-sh.e.l.l or something. I mean, he"s a nice enough kid and all that, but he"s just that-a kid!"
Doc grinned. "He"s not that young. You should talk to him sometime. He"s really quite mature mentally. And it might help him see you more as a person than as a G.o.ddess."
"I might give that a try. You know, when it comes right down to it, he"s really kind of ..."
"Excuse me?"
The two broke off their conversation as a young woman in a short, tight skirt, possibly one of the show girls, stepped up to their table.
"I thought you should know ... there"s a man hurt outside."
"What?" Doc frowned, momentarily confused by the change in focus.
"In the alley beside the casino," the woman said, "there"s a man lying on the ground."
"What makes you think he"s hurt?"
"I don"t know ... He"s not moving. He may just be drunk. I didn"t get that close. I just thought I should tell someone, and you"re the first people I"ve seen in a uniform."
"Thanks," Doc said. "We"ll look into it."
"We will?" Tiffany said, c.o.c.king her head as the woman marched away.
"Sure. Why not?" the stuntman said, rising to his feet and digging out some money for their bill. "Weren"t we both just complaining about being stuck backstage? Besides, remember that as far as the guests are concerned, we"re as much security guards as anyone else in a black uniform. It would be out of character for us to try to find someone else to send instead of going ourselves."
The actress glanced around the casino, but none of the regular troops were in sight.
"I suppose you"re right," she said, gathering up her purse. "I guess we can handle it."
"Sure we can," Doc a.s.sured her. "There"s two of us and only one of him, and it sounds like he"s drunk, to boot. Besides, if he gives us any trouble, we"re armed, remember?"
He patted the tranquilizer pistol in the holster at his hip.
Tiffany rolled her eyes.
"Please don"t start going macho on me, Doc. One of the things I like about you is that you don"t strut."
"Sorry," the stuntman apologized easily. "Hanging around with both actors and military types seems to bring out the melodramatic in me. Seriously, Tiff, I figure all we have to do is check to see what the problem is, then use our wrist radios to call for the appropriate help-if it"s needed at all, that is. That much we should be able to do."
Even though it was still technically "indoors," the open air along the Strip was a pleasant relief for the mock Legionnaires after days of close confinement in the casino showroom. Because of the size of the Fat Chance, it was a several-minute stroll to reach the alley-a service access for the loading docks, really-and they took advantage of it, moving at an unhurried pace as they drank in the sights and sounds of Lorelei.
"You know, this place is really something," Doc commented as he shifted his gaze from the soaring light shows to watch the stream of people walking along the Strip. "I can"t remember how long it"s been since I"ve been outside. I guess working backstage, it"s easy to forget just where the stage is located."
"Take away all the lights and glitz, and what you have left is more lights and glitz," Tiffany agreed, then frowned. "Say, speaking of being outside, didn"t the captain say something about our jurisdiction only being inside the complex?"
The stuntman thought for a few moments.
"You know, you may be right," he said finally. "It seems to me there was something in one of those briefings. There were so many of them, though, I can"t recall for sure. Oh well, we"ve come this far, we might as well take a look before we head back."
The light dimmed radically a bare dozen steps into the alley. The casino light shows were designed to impress and lure the tourists on the Strip, not the hired help, and there was little point in wasting wattage on areas traveled only by residents and employees. Walking down the alley was like entering another world, a land filled with shadows and blind angles giving it such an air of gloom and menace that it was hard to realize there were lights and teeming humanity a stone"s throw away.
"I don"t see anybody," Tiffany said nervously, peering into the almost impenetrable shadows that lined the access.
"Maybe he woke up and moved on," Doc said. "We"ll just check a little further, then-uh-oh."
"What is it, Doc?"
"Just keep walking, Tiffany. Don"t look back."
Too startled to think clearly, the actress immediately shot a look behind them toward the mouth of the alley.
There were three men, faceless in the gloom but unmistakably heavyset, following the mock Legionnaires. When they saw Tiffany had spotted them, they quickened their pace as if to close the gap separating them from the pair.
"Just keep moving, Tiff."
"Shouldn"t we call for help?"
"It may be nothing," the stuntman said, though his tone said he didn"t believe it himself. "If it is, though, I don"t think they"d give us time to use our wrist radios. No, I figure our best bet is to try to make it to the loading dock, then-s.h.i.t!"
A lone figure appeared ahead, blocking their path ... a figure that was noticeably larger than any of the three following them. It was as if the man had materialized out of the shadows, though he stood so motionlessly that he might have been there all along and simply escaped their attention.
"Okay, listen close, Tiff. We don"t have time to argue," Doc murmured. "The odds ahead of us are still better than what"s behind us. I"m going to brace this character, and you"re going to keep going. Got that? Don"t stop, don"t look back until you get to the loading dock. Once you"re inside, get on the radio and tell them where I am and what"s going on-but only after you"re inside."
"But ..."
"Just do it!" the stuntman hissed, then started angling away from her.
"Hold it right there, fellah!" he called to the figure ahead, who was now moving toward them in a curious, floating stride. "I said hold it!"
The figure kept coming, and Doc reached for his tranquilizer pistol ... far, far too late.
The stuntman"s work had given him experience in fight scenes and falls that looked quite impressive in the holos, but in actuality were planned and ch.o.r.eographed to minimize the risk of serious injury. The few real fights he had been in were of the barroom variety, and even those were far behind him, since he had become much more of a homebody after his marriage. Nothing in his past, however, had prepared him to deal with, or even recognize the speed and agility of a professional athlete ... even a retired one.
His hand barely touched the grip of his tranquilizer pistol when the oncoming figure accelerated with bewildering speed. Unable to even sidestep, Doc felt the air rush out of his lungs as the man slammed a ma.s.sive shoulder into his midsection, then he was lifted and carried backward as the monster continued to drive forward, paying no more attention to the stuntman"s weight than a bull would give notice to a towel dropped across its horns. Something smashed into Doc"s back, and he thankfully lost consciousness.
Tiffany watched in horror, her orders to run forgotten, as the attacker stepped back from the wall, still carrying Doc"s now-limp body then flung it to the ground. Breathing heavily in what could only be described as animal growls, the man stared at her fallen companion for a moment, then kicked the still form savagely in the side.
That broke her trance.
s.n.a.t.c.hing her own tranquilizer pistol from its holster, the actress fired at the hulking menace.
There was a soft pfutt of compressed air when she pulled the trigger, but aside from that there was no indication that she had done anything at all.
She fired again ... and again ...
No effect.
In frustration, she hurled the weapon away and launched herself at the man"s back.
He turned at the sound of her approach, then backhanded her lazily out of the air like a troublesome insect.
Tiffany hit the ground in a boneless heap and lay still.
"Big bad soldier boys, huh?" one of the men who had been trailing the twosome said, stepping out of the shadows where he had been waiting. "They aren"t so tough."
Still coming down from the adrenaline high of battle, Stilman only grunted in response.
"Hey! This babe"s a real looker," one of the other men called, turning Tiffany over with his foot. "Guess we"re going to get a little pleasure with our business."
Stilman"s head came up with a snap.
"None of that," he said sharply. "We mess "em up a bit to remind them they"re playing out of their league, but that"s all."
"I thought Max said we could take the gloves off," the man said sullenly.
In reality, Stilman wasn"t even sure that Max would approve of what they were doing. He had put this ambush together on the strength of her not giving him his usual order to "lay off the rough stuff." Taking a couple of the security guards out of action should be okay, but it was certainly a welcome change for the boys not to have to keep their hands in their pockets during a brawl. Still, Max was a woman, and Stilman was almost certain that she"d get upset if the crew got too frisky with the female Legionnaire.
"Never mind what Max says," he snapped. "I"m telling you to keep it impersonal. We"re sending these guys a message to back off, and I don"t want to confuse the issue with anything else. We"re going to mess them up period! Got that?"
"Yeah. Sure."
Turning back to his original victim, Stilman raised his foot and brought his heel down sharply on the fallen man"s leg.
The sound of the bone breaking echoed briefly off the alley walls.