The blow crashed William directly into the conduit and spun him onto the roof deck. The polymer blade skittered away. “You’re fucked now!” Berry yelled. His lower lip was caked in wet blood while his right arm was a sticky mess of bloodstained coverall. Wherever Avi was, he had shot well enough to seriously wound the deserter. William smiled and slid his hand into his grimy coat. He realized his pistol had dropped out when Berry tackled him. He took his eyes off Berry and scanned for it, but it was gone. Berry lunged forward and knocked William backwards. The Midshipman fell in a heap with the well fed Southerner perched on top. A fist smacked William’s forehead with a crunch. Stars danced in his eyes but William landed a roundhouse punch that was forceful enough to stun Berry just for a second, but it was all William needed to wriggle away. “I had rather hoped you’d drowned,” William said, as he gave himself some distance.
