ishly. It struggled, slowly. Then it throbbed to the beat of her
hands and the blackening waves went away. My frozen body relaxed and I
came down to rest on the floor like a melting lump of sugar.

Martha dropped on top of my body and pressed me down. Her arms were around
my chest as she forced air into my lungs. She beat my ribs sore when my
heart faltered, and squeezed me when my breathing slowed. I felt the life
coming back into me; it came in like the tide, with a fringe of
needles-and-pins that flowed inward from fingers and toes and scalp.

Martha pressed me down on the carpet and kissed me, full, open mouthed,
passionate. It stirred my blood and my mind and I took a deep, shuddering
breath.

I looked up into her soft blue eyes and said, "Thanks--slut!"

She kissed me again, pressing me down and writhing against me and
obviously getting a kick out of my reaction.

Then I came alive and threw her off with no warning. I sat up, and swung a
roundhouse right that clipped her on the jaw and sent her rolling over and
over. Her eyes glazed for a moment but she came out of it and looked
pained and miserable.

"You promised," she said huskily.

"Promised?"

"To kill Scarmann."

"Yeah?"

"You thought how you'd kill Scarmann for me, Steve."

"Someday," I said flatly, "I may kill Scarmann, but it won't be for you!"

She tried to claw me but I clipped her again and this time I made it
stick. She went out cold and she was still out like a frozen herring by
the time Lieutenant Williamson arrived with his jetcopter squad to take
her away.

The last time I saw Martha Franklin, she was still trying to convince
twelve Rhine Scholars and True that any woman with a body as beautiful as
hers couldn't possibly have committed any crime. She was good at it, but
not that good.

Funny. Mental sensitives always think they're so damn superior to anyone
else.

***END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK STOP LOOK AND DIG***

CREDITS

November 29, 2006

Project Gutenberg Edition
Greg Weeks
Joshua Hutchinson
Online Distributed Proofreading Team

A WORD FROM PROJECT GUTENBERG

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