Net Force - Tom Clancy [68]
When he looked through the peephole, he saw the old lady who had the poodle. He relaxed as he opened the door.
She looked upset. Im so sorry to bother you, she said, but Scout got off his leash. She waved the little plastic roll-up case with the dangling clip. I think he wiggled through your gate into the back. If you could open it for me? I didnt want to be yelling for him in the middle of the night, waking people up and all.
Sure, Michaels said. Why dont you just come on through the house to the back.
Oh, I dont want to trouble you. I can go around.
No problem. He smiled, had her come inside, then closed the door. Follow me. He led her through the living room.
Behind him, the old lady said, I dont know what got into him. He never does this. I think he heard something in the bushes.
My neighbors all have cats, he said. Though most of them are bigger than your dog. He might get in trouble if he catches one.
They were in the small kitchen, almost to the sliding glass door, when Michaels heard the little dog bark. It sounded like he was out front. Probably had lost the cat and gone back looking for his momma.
Oh, there he is, he said. He turned-
-and saw the old lady with her cane held over one shoulder like a baseball bat.
The expression on her face was cold but determined.
She swung the stick at him as if she were trying to belt one out of the park-
Shit!
Michaels tried to do two things at once. He dug for the taser in his robes pocket and jumped backward. He didnt do either of them well. He hit the edge of the breakfast table, tangled his robe around one of the chairs and pulled it over. The chair fell between him and the old lady-and that was what saved his ass.
The cane whistled as she whipped it back and forth, but as she stepped toward him, she hit the toppled chair with her shins and stopped.
Fuck! she said. The word was not only unladylike, it was in a deeper, smoother, younger voice.
Still stumbling backward, Michaels banged into the sliding door. The crown of his head thumped against it hard-it made an almost metallic gonging sound, but the glass held-
The old lady kicked the fallen chair out of her way, started to take another step, the cane pulled back to brain him, but he had the taser out now and he pointed it at her and pressed the firing stud-
No, not the firing stud, hed accidentally hit the laser sight instead! Damn!
A tiny red dot appeared-but on the wall next to the old lady. He moved the taser, put the gyrating dot on the old ladys chest-
She snarled and threw the cane-
It hit Michaels low, below his outstretched arm, across the belly. He didnt feel any pain, but it was hard enough to jolt his aim. The laser dot jerked to the side, off the old lady-
She spun and ran. By the time he recovered, she was mostly out of his line of sight, almost to the front door. Jesus, she was fast! Taser needles were only good for five or six yards, even if he could hit her this far away-
He started after her. He didnt know who the hell she was or what she was doing here, but this was his goddamn house and now his surprise gave way to rage-
Just who the hell did this woman think she was? How dare she?
He heard her yell something he couldnt make out, but by the time he got to the front door, she was twenty yards away and going strong. In the back of his mind, the sight of a seventy-year-old lady sprinting like an Olympic athlete was pretty amazing, even though he knew she was a younger woman in disguise.
He started after her, but shed had too good a start. And she was fast. No way he was going to catch her wearing a robe and slippers.
The danger was over. Hed chased her off. Now what he needed to do was call the cops. Let them hunt for her.
Michaels started to step back into the house, but stopped when he heard something in the