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Now came the final flight of stairs.
Waev motioned for me to stay where I was. He ascended the steps by himself, his uber-powerful rifle clutched tight to his shoulder.
He took the steps slowly and poked his head above floor level and immediately lowered back down again. He crept back down to me, so swiftly, so silently, he might have been a shadow.
He whispered in my ear.
“They’re here,” he said.
I breathed a sigh of relief at hearing the two most beautiful words I’d ever heard.
They’re. Here.
“The kidnapper?” I whispered back.
He nodded. He was there too.
“How many kidnappers?” I said.
He raised a single finger. One.
“Is he asleep?” I said.
Waev shook his head.
“Drifting off but not asleep,” he said. “He has a blaster. Stay here. I’ll try to take him. If I fail, you come up.”
It would give us two chances, I realized. But it meant putting Waev’s life on the line first. He was far more qualified than I was. Still, I didn’t like the idea of him taking all the risk.
Still nervous and unsure, I nodded.
Waev took one slow step after another until he reached the top.
I clutched the blaster to my chest.
Waev took a deep breath and rounded the corner.
A bolt of plasma slammed into his shoulder and he fell back on the stairs.
No!
Waev struggled to raise his rifle.
“You made so much noise coming up the steps, I could have shot you in the dark,” the kidnapper said as he stepped forward.
He lowered his pistol at Waev.
His eyes flickered up and found me.
He’d heard me coming up the steps but hadn’t expected a second man.
His grin faded.
I trained my blaster pistol on him and squeezed the trigger.
He fell back and his arm flew out. A shot issued from the tip of his blaster.
It could have struck Bianca or Cleb.
