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.Again, the opposition had moved quickly: a fresh crop of Security menwere already on duty, though the bodies of the previous guardians still lay where they had fallen.Oneof the new men, a laser rifle clutched across his chest, signaled for Lathe to stop."What the hell happened here?" the blackcollar demanded as the other stepped to the side of thecar.The other straightened minutely as he caught sight of the uniform's insignia."Gate crasher, sir.May I see your ID, please?""Someone unauthorized got in?" Lathe asked sharply, handing over the card.The patrol carparked nearby might have the equipment for a full fingerprint and retina scan, and a properly done airof urgency should help discourage its use."When was this?""Half an hour ago, sir," the other replied."They got out, too.Haven't you been in the comm net?""I've been on an assignment outside the city that I couldn't take communications gear on.Damn!I've got to check in right away.""Yes, sir." Hesitating only an instant, he handed back the ID and waved the blackcollar on.There were several tall buildings within two blocks of Henslowe Prison, but only one had boththe necessary height and a clear view of the prison yard.Leaving the car out in front, Lathe lugged hissuitcase into the lobby and rode the elevator all the way to the twenty-second floor.The servicestairway was locked, but not seriously, and within another minute he was on the roof.Stepping to theedge nearest Henslowe, he opened the suitcase and got to work.His first task was to set up the rocket launcher, carefully positioning it for the necessary azimuthrange.When it was finally ready, he pulled a large capsule from the suitcase and slammed it downhard near the launcher's base.It split open, releasing a bubbling, foul-smelling brown fluid whichpooled around it.Stepping back quickly, Lathe stripped off his borrowed Security uniform and beganarming himself with nunchaku, shuriken, and throwing knives.The pool stopped bubbling before hefinished, and when he checked it a minute later it had hardened into a shiny mass, solidly gluing thelauncher to the roof.From the suitcase he pulled a coil of silvery line, tying one end of it to thelauncher's take-up reel and the other to a blue-and-white-striped rocket.Adding gloves, battle-hood,goggles, and a radio headset to his flexarmor outfit completed his preparations; and, with one last lookat Henslowe, he fitted a rocket into the launcher and sent it on its way.It hit just in front of the prison's main entrance, and suddenly there was a cloud of thick whitesmoke expanding in all directions.Lathe reset the launcher's aim as the dull phuff of the impactreached him and picked up his second missile."Spotter one: direct hit," Skyler's voice crackled in hisear."Correct four degrees for second shot."aaTTnnssFFffooDDrrPPmmYYeeYYrrBB22.BBAAClick here to buyClick here to buywwmmwwoowwcc.AAYYBBYYBBr r"Acknowledged," Vale's voice came back."Second shot away." Obeying the cue, Lathe firedagain, and a second cloud erupted directly between the sentry boxes flanking the gate."Leader two: preparing Ram," Kwon's voice said.Lathe touched his mike control."Leader one: squad ready.""Acknowledged."Smiling tightly, Lathe loaded the blue-and-white missile and carefully adjusted the aim.Kwonand Vale weren't anywhere within ten klicks of Henslowe at the moment, but with a simple diskrecording plus Skyler's skillful hand on the playback selector any eavesdropping collies should beconvinced a major attack was in progress.The missile arched from its tube, trailing silver line behind it, and Lathe watched its path withsome anxiety.The concern was wasted; the missile smacked cleanly onto the prison roof and he couldclearly see the brown fluid leaking from the nosecone.Checking his watch, Lathe loaded his lastmissile and again adjusted aim."Leader one: starting our run.""Acknowledged," said Kwon's voice."Ram away."Lathe fired the missile, and was fitting a forearm band with attached pulley onto his left wristwhen the roar of the explosion reached him.The blast punched a temporary hole in the white cloudsurrounding the fence, and through it Lathe could see that the gate had been apparently undamaged bythe high-explosive."Leader one," he said."Ram ineffective.""Spotter one: confirmed," Skyler said.There was a brief pause, and Lathe wondered if the otherhad prepared for this contingency.He had."Leader two: we'll just have to go over, then," Kwon said."Acknowledged," Lathe said."Go when ready." Checking his watch, he touched a switch on thelauncher and started reeling in the slack in the line.He had to get over to the prison roof while theywere busy watching for a ground-level attack.Chances were good they wouldn't see him come insmoke screens had been militarily obsolete for centuries, but prison guards usually didn't carry fancyscanners.The line tightened; shutting the reel off, Lathe locked it in place and made sure the flaps ofhis battle-hood were fastened snugly to the edges of his gas filter, leaving no opening for the paral-darts he would probably be facing.Snapping his forearm pulley over the line, he took a deep breathand rolled over the edge of the roof.The trip down the line took nearly a minute, and in that time Lathe glimpsed three Security carsracing for the prison from different directions.More evidence of Security's quick reflexes, he thought,hoping he hadn't jumped the gun with this operation.If Security reacted too quickly.but it was toolate to worry about that now.He hit the roof running, releasing the pulley before the downward angle of the line could pull himoff balance.Pausing only long enough to hinge the pulley back out of his way, he headed at a fast jogfor the equipment shed in the center of the roof.He was barely ten steps away when the shed doorswung open and three laser-armed guards charged out.They weren't expecting to find anyone that much was instantly clear from their startledexpressions and the mad scramble to bring their rifles to bear.Lathe's shuriken took the lead man inthe forehead, knocking him down for his comrades to stumble over.Half a second later Lathe wasamong them, and two seconds after that it was all over.Scooping up one of the rifles, he stepped overthe bodies and headed down the shed steps
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