A despicable, gutless swine though he may be, a trained Kolari soldier he was still. Vanessa glared at Dave with sickness and regret in her eyes. She had seen Lina break from her defensive formation, and strike with the silent precision of a trainer hunter. There was no hesitation, no flaw in her attack.
But Dave, whose innate ability itself was to sense danger, could not be taken by surprise. He had responded perfectly, letting go of Vanessa and pushing himself to a safe distance while turning to see his attacker. For a brief moment, a fear gripped his heart that Nero had returned - that the freak had somehow figured everything out and had returned.
But when he turned, and saw that it was merely Lina who had struck, relief suddenly flooded his chest - followed by embarrassment, and anger.
"What the hell are you retards doing?" Dave roared. "Stand down and return to your position!"
