Promise batted another hovercam out of her way. “No comment.” The newsies were everywhere. Warm bodies and mechs, pressing in from all directions. “A statement. Just a word, ma’am, please.” I’ll give you a word. Promise wanted to shoot the hovercams out of the Senate rafters, and if she’d had her pulse rifle with her the temptation might have been overwhelming. She was barely halfway down the main aisle of the Senate floor and far short of the brick-red carpet the newsies had to stay off of. Red like a sea of blood. Sharks patrolled the waters and she didn’t dare show fear or they’d smell it and eat her alive. Overhead a swarm of hovercams clicked and jockeyed for the best aerial position as flashes of light burst from the sky. Logos for TransWorld News and Universal News Corp. and the Hawk. The noise and the barrage of light were stretching her thin. One of the hovercams got too close. Boom. The flash temporarily blinded her, and triggered a memory she’d worked hard to lock down.
