27
JAO AND TROY RAN out after Paul. There was a shout of a male voice in the corridor and the flashing discharge of a laser. Two thumps hit the metal floor. Then silence.
“What the . . .” Drawing his gun, Elko went to the door as well, where a small figure came running the other way and crashed into him. The force of the collision sent Elko reeling, but he managed to grab the teenager by the arm. The boy wore hypertech black, but not the facemask. He was a barang-barang boy, looking at Melati with eyes so wide that the whites showed on all sides. She thought the teenager was Budiman, and tried to remember what Harto’s youngest son looked like. She hadn’t seen his face since he joined the hypertechs two years ago.
“Please, Melati, help me.”
“Go and sit over there, out of our way,” Elko
