The broad-shouldered man went down a moment later, but there was no sound of a shot.

 

I wasn’t even sure how she’d done it, before she turned her attention to us. At that point, she drew a gun.

 

Kanesha ducked under the table. I followed her, but I could hear her walk over. Something strange about her gait.
Almost like a concealed limp, hidden behind the training she demonstrated, hidden within her ability.

 

Sensing that hiding under the table would not do it, I waited until the last possible moment before exploding out from under it.

 

She wasn’t expecting that. The gun went off, the bullet hitting the bench. “Hello,” I said as I reached for her gun hand. “I don’t appreciate being randomly attacked.”

 

She hissed. “I can’t leave witnesses.”

 

“Sorry to disappoint you.” She was fast.

 

I was faster, my hand striking into her jaw and then her solar plexus. She dropped the gun and doubled over. Honestly, I’d probably done some real damage.

 

Yeah.

 

I’d broken her jaw. I didn’t feel bad about it at all. I grabbed her gun and stood up. “Kanesha, check on that guy.”

 

The waitress was coming out of the back room with a gun.

 

“I think this is your trash,” I said, holding the woman’s weapon on her, but she was too busy trying to hold her jaw together.

 

“He’s still alive,” Kanesha said. “But stabbed. The knife’s stuck in him.”

 

Which was why she’d pulled the much more obvious gun. “Don’t pull it out.”

 

The waitress nodded. “I’ll call for an ambulance. Are you hurt?”

 

“No. I guess she thought you guys had a lot of cash.”

 

She looked at me. Looked at Kanesha. Then, she winked at me and went behind the counter to find the phone.

 

She knew I knew it wasn’t that. I knew she knew I knew. We could both pretend we didn’t know and then she wouldn’t have to arrest or silence me.

 

I did have contacts, anyway. I wasn’t asking what this was really about. But this did mean we were stuck here waiting for the cops.

 

Having called them, she found some twist tie handcuffs and secured the woman. “I’ll vouch for the fact that she was trying to kill you.”

 

“Thanks.” And she had been. The fact that she wouldn’t have succeeded was immaterial.

 

My adrenalin levels were still up, though. Also, I was rather annoyed that something that wasn’t even anything to do with me was interrupting our vacation.