He
stopped the vehicle and jumped off, plunging into the brush and racing
toward the hollow tree. Just as he reached it, he heard a vehicle
approach and stop, and the door of the police vehicle slam. Hradzka's
fingers found the belt of his blaster; he dragged it out and buckled it
on, tossing away the missile weapon he had been carrying.
Then, crouching behind the tree, he waited. A few moments later, he
caught a movement in the brush toward the road. He brought up the
blaster, aimed and squeezed the trigger. There was a faint bluish glow
at the muzzle, and a blast of energy tore through the brush, smashing
the molecular structure of everything that stood in the way. There was
an involuntary shout of alarm from the direction of the road; at least
one of the policemen had escaped the blast. Hradzka holstered his weapon
and crept away for some distance, keeping under cover, then turned and
waited for some sign of the presence of his enemies. For some time
nothing happened; he decided to turn hunter against the men who were
hunting him. He started back in the direction of the road, making a wide
circle, flitting silently from rock to bush and from bush to tree,
stopping often to look and listen.
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