She glanced at Coup hesitantly, who seemed to acquiesce, grudgingly, then back to Halverson. Then she nodded once and proceeded toward the rood access.
“Everybody take cover,” said Rory, taking cover himself behind a rack of sunglasses. “And try not to move.”
At which everybody took cover and tried not to move, including Ricky-Tik himself, who rolled into a tight little ball as if he too had heeded the big, black man’s directive, causing those close enough to see to laugh nervously.
A moment later an enormous head swung out of the gloom, like a great, dark dagger, and paused parallel to the glass, its white-on-white pupil constricting, seeming to focus, it’s cobra-like hood inflating. It was quickly nudged aside by another, this one even bigger, which floated over Ricky-Tik’s box like a
