“Screw that!” Stardust yelled before he rushed in. He sprinted toward the attacker. When he was right next to him, he jumped up, tucked his knees into his chest, then kicked outhardwith both feet, striking the mugger on the side and knocking him away from the woman. Stardust landed on his back but instantly flipped upright in time to catch the woman as she slid down the wall.
A warning shout came from behind him.
“Look out!”
There was a loud buzz and a flash of light. Acting on instinct, Stardust held on to the woman as he dove to the side, protectively cradling her head when they fell to the ground. A red ray shot across the space, hitting the spot where he’d been standing. He looked in the direction the ray had come from. There was a second assailant. A woman dressed in all white, holding what resembled a big Super Soaker water gun, except it was gray metal instead of colorful plastic. He hadn’t noticed her in his rush to rescue the mugging victim.
Another ray shot down the alley, this one a deep emerald green. It knocked the woman to the ground and the gun went flying from her hands. Stardust snarled, ready to go after her and retrieve the weapon. But the first attacker leaped forward to grab the strange looking gun and brought it up to aim it at Zielinski. Thinking fast, Stardust pulled one of his sai from its thigh holster and threw it with practiced aim. It twirled end over end, striking the man’s hand in the split second before he fired. He yelled, recoiling in pain, causing the shot to go high and wide, and thankfully not striking Zielinski or anyone else.
“Let’s get out of here!” the man’s partner shouted.
The two took off running. Stardust growled in frustration as he watched them escape. He hated to let them get away, but they had an injured victim who needed their help.
“We need to get her medical attention,” he said when Zielinski rushed over to them.
Zielinski pulled a phone from one of the pockets in his tactical pants and kneeled down next to the victim. “Calling 9-1-1 right now.”
Stardust nodded while watching the woman. He listened with half an ear as Zielinski talked to the operator, in case he needed to supply any information. At the sound of sirens wailing in the distance, the woman opened her eyes. She moved to sit up, but Zielinski stopped her with a light hand on her shoulder.
“Stay still,” he said in a firm but soothing voice. “You took a hit on the head and it knocked you out. EMTs are on their way to look you over.”
“My bag!” she said in a panicked whisper.
Stardust grabbed the dropped bag and held it up for her to see it. “Everything is right here. Relax.”
“Okay.”
She went still, her eyes sliding closed again.
“Keep her awake,” Zielinski directed in that same calm voice.
“Hey.” Stardust lightly squeezed her hand. “Keep your eyes open, just in case, okay?”
“Okay.”
The woman agreed but her eyelids were still drooping. Stardust knew he’d have to get her talking to keep her awake. “Tell me about your night. Are you a dancer?”
“Yeah. At the Barbed Wire.”
“What’d you dance to?”
“I went old school. Teased the hell out of my hair and stripped to Warrant’sCherry Pie.”
“Classic.” Stardust grinned down at her even as Zielinski shone his phone’s flashlight in her eyes.
“Both pupils are responsive,” he said to the 9-1-1 operator.
He kept talking and a minute later, the blue lights of an ambulance washed over the alley. Zielinski told the EMTs what happened, then stepped back to let them take over.
They quickly got the victim on a backboard, then up onto a gurney, and into the back of the ambulance.
“Thank you, guys!” she called out before the EMTs closed the doors.
Right before they drove off, Stardust thought to check in with his partner for the night. “Are you hurt? Do the EMTs need to look you over?”
“No, I didn’t take any damage.”
“Yeah, not with the way you blasted that woman from the other end of the alley.” He went to retrieve the sai he’d thrown. “How did you do that?” he asked as he slid the weapon back into its holster. “All I saw was the green light just like the other night. You got your own laser gun hidden under that vest?”
