Entering the destination into the console, Rentap engaged the automatic drive then settled back into his seat. Turning around with a smile he addressed the rest of his family, “Just under a period to go and we will be at the festival.” Joining the traffic smoothly, the Dressiler’s chatted in their anonymity paying no attention to the crowds walking.

“What can we do first when we arrive?” Cami asked. “Go to the shower display? The river splash? The water wash?” Excited about going to a festival for the first time, she had searched her comm for some of the attractions.

“Then you will get really wet.” Dinis showed his lofty knowledge. “Do you want to be wet all day?”

“Oh, a little water won’t hurt a big boy like you.” Cami showed her mostly hidden spirit. “At home, before I got a contract, I had to walk home in the rain many times.”

Kapat laughed. “Yes Dinis, you don’t want to think that girls are tougher then you!”

“Now girls, don’t tease,” Cheaine spoke with a warning note.

“Cami, why don’t you and I walk together for a while? I have been at the festival before and there are a few things that I can show you,” Lorena intervened.

“I think that is an excellent idea.” Cheaine agreed

Kapat began to ask if she could come along. Cheaine frowned slightly and was about to speak but Lorena spoke first, “I think that it would be best if it was just Cami, you can join us later, Kapat.”

Disgruntled, but the years of training overrode her inclination to protest, so Kapat sat back in her chair. Up front Dinis gave a small smile. The spotlight had shifted off him for now.

Rentap sat quietly in his seat, giving only a small bit of his attention to the chatter behind him. He had been covertly surveying the crowds walking, but with no experience or knowledge of what to look for, he did not see anything suspicious. It would not have mattered anyway, what he was looking for lay ahead.

*********

Nikie di Frim was almost at the gates. Looking around, she saw that all the transporters came in from her right, passing her before stopping at a prop point to discharge before continuing out on the left. If she stood where she was, across the street from the arrivals, she would be too far away and unable to clearly identify the targets she needed to. She would have to cross the street to get closer.

With a quick glance around, she moved to the pedestrian crossing area. Keeping a careful watch for the target vehicle, she crossed only when she and the waiting crowd received the proper signal and the crossing security gates lifted. She did not follow the crowd into the fairgrounds, but moved towards the vehicle arrival area. Casting another swift glance around, she saw that there were already spectators there, people everywhere always wanted to see the arrival of the high status. Fools, Nikie thought cynically, you will get a good show today.

*********

As their conveyance drew closer to their destination, Rentap looked around, “Looks like the festival is going to be even more crowded than usual today. The nice weather has drawn everyone out.”

“Well, father, it is a holiday.” Dinis put in.

Their conveyance was slowing as the crowds caused the automatic safety features in their and other vehicles to engage.

*********

The nine men were still slowly easing into groups of three, a process complicated by the crowds as they were careful not to draw attention to themselves. It was preferable, at this stage, for them to get as close as possible to their selected position without annoying anyone rather than being in the perfect position that they could strike from. If they had to, they knew what to do. Anyone who got in the way when it was time was to be eliminated.

*********

The conveyance in front of the Dressiler’s was stopped as the road closed to allow pedestrians to cross in a flood. At the all clear signal the front vehicle started then stopped again. The passengers exited quickly, seeming to be in a hurry to enter the gates, the Dressiler’s watching with amusement. The empty conveyance pulled away, its automatic system directing it to the nearest empty parking spot or sending it onto whoever may have ordered it.

This left the Dressiler’s vehicle free to move to the front of the queue.

*********

With a sharp intake of breath, Nikie di Frim saw the approaching conveyance and recognised who was in it. Pulling out her comm unit, she entered the code phrase, an old saying of their people: “Ti Lepus lives.” Hidden in the crowd as Nikie was, Cheaine never saw her.

Next, was a swift description of as much as she could see of Rentap who would most likely be the first to exit the conveyance. As it slowed, another passed it and stopped in front. The doors opened on both at the same time and two men, dressed virtually identically to Rentap, got out of the one in front.

In a heart stopping fraction, Nikie knew that things were going to go wrong, she just didn’t realise by how much.

*********

Weapons still concealed, five of the men were now in position, each ready to kill. Four further back, jostling other people aside, were trying to join them. None had energy weapons. They were obtainable, but projectile weapons were easier to get. Nikie also careered forward, pushing people out of the way ignoring cries of protest, hoping everything was going to go to plan, but knowing inside herself that things were going to go wrong.

*********

Rentap was surprised when they were passed. Dinis was as well. “Someone is in a hurry,” he commented.

“Or more important. Well, here we are, let’s go,” Rentap said, as he exited, Dinis following.

In the back of the conveyance, Kapat and Cami were busily chatting, planning for their future lives. Kapat to get a good marriage. Cami to maintain her position with the Dressiler’s. Lorena and Cheaine exchanged knowing glances, watching the two girls making plans. Each thought back to their own youth when they had similar hopes even as Cheaine went to open her door.

*********

The five men who had got to the front of the crowd, raised their projectile weapons, fingers pressed triggers and all five fired the first rounds. Rentap never even saw them.

Two at the Dressiler’s, and three at the nameless man and his companions.

Rentap took the first two bullets in his body, the shock driving the breath from his lungs. He slumped against the conveyance and slid to the ground. Dinis took one in his head, knocking his cap off. He fell soundlessly back onto the front seat of the conveyance. The nameless man and his companion were also down and dying. The killers kept shooting.

*********

The screaming started. A few of the crowd began to scatter, others stood still, shocked and uncertain as to what was going on. Even several members of the patrol, stationed at or near the gate, were shocked into temporary immobility. But at more gunfire, training swiftly asserted itself. The patrolmen began to move, calls went out and were responded to. More patrol members, some armed with pulse weapons, others with stun guns, rushed to the scene of carnage.

The gunmen had used the brief space of time ruthlessly. Two had concentrated on the Dressiler’s, three on the vehicle in front, the other four on innocent bystanders who were in the way. Two more people in the front conveyance were shot and killed.

*********

Rentap was down, dying. He gasped, looked once for Cheaine, then closed his eyes. Dinis was already dead, the single bullet had done its job, the rest that struck him, unnecessary.

Cheaine had jumped out of the conveyance, grabbing at her husband, screaming in vain for him to answer her. One of the gunmen, off to the side, took careful aim and emptied his weapon; one with a revolving cylinder, into her back. Cheaine collapsed onto her husband without a sound, dead. Lorena, still in the vehicle, screamed at the sight. Kapat and Cami were also screaming, terrified. Yelling at them to get out on the other side, Lorena stepped out of the conveyance hoping to cover them. Doing so cost her, her life as she was gunned down without mercy and fell across Cheaine, her mouth working in protest.

*********

Meanwhile, some of the nearby onlookers, showing unexpected courage, aided by patrolman rushing to the gate, had diverted several of the gunman from their mission. One of these diversions had been performed unintentionally by Nikie.

Anxious to see her hated rival from years gone by killed, Nikie had made the mistake of running up and grabbing the closest of the gunmen. Without thinking, she yelled at him to stop shooting at the front vehicle. Before she could say anymore, the man turned, pointed his weapon and fired a shot directly into her forehead. She dropped without speaking another word. The gunman turned back to his prey, before he could open fire again, a stun bean hit the back of his head, knocking him unconscious.

*********

The four gunmen in the crowd had, by this time, fought off the attempts by the unarmed crowd to stop them but this left them short of ammunition as they had only one reload each. Most of the weapons took six rounds, Three seven and one eight. Also patrol reinforcements were arriving so two who had reloaded, turned their guns on the patrol, their heavy coats reducing the impact of stun beams where they didn’t strike bare flesh. However, the stun beams did have a momentary paralysing effect, allowing the patrolmen with pulse guns to kill them.

*********

Kapat was scrambling to open the far door while Cami cringed inside the vehicle. Finally getting the door open, Kapat yelled at Cami to follow her. Conditioned to follow orders, and knowing that she had to get out of there if she was to live, Cami slid across the seat only to find Kapat on the road, dead. She had been shot in the back as she had exited the transporter. Cami screamed “NO,” and crawled out of the vehicle. Climbing to her feet she started to run in an unintentional staggering motion. Smiling, three of the remaining gunmen raised their guns and fired, incredibly, all three missed as they had never shot at a moving and weaving target before. One began to run after her, gun raised and spitting bullets, but was killed by an alert patrolman with a pulse weapon. The other two turned to face the patrol, but were killed before they could fire their last rounds.

The last remaining gunman had hidden himself between the two conveyances. Peeking around the vehicles, he saw that he was the last of the nine and was determined to finish what he had been trained to do. When he saw that the others had missed Cami, he knew. Lifting his weapon, he took careful aim and fired, emptying his magazine. She staggered briefly as the bullets tugged at her cloak but continued to run across the road, pulling off her cloak and dropping it as she went. A darkly dressed man and woman standing in front of a building with an open door waved to her and Cami ran towards them. The killer swore as he reloaded, stood up and fired again, missed but wounded a bystander. A pulse beam killed him before he could shoot again.

*********

Reaching the other side of the road, Camis left arm was grabbed by the strange man and he pulled her into the building, shutting the door behind them. “Come with me, we’ve got to get you out of here,” the man yelled. A woman standing there grabbed the other arm and the three of them went deeper into the building, down stairs toward the basement levels.