I sprinted down the alley and onto the street.

"Watch it!" a man in a purple striped suit shouted at me when I almost collided with him. Ignoring the irate yell—I mean, I had more important things to worry about at that moment—I ran flat-out down the sidewalk.

I turned into the first alley I saw. I'd already seen that having people around didn't stop these guys, so my best bet was losing them. The street was too much of a straight shot—I'd be in sight the entire time. Man. Even the alleyway in this area was clean. Something wasn't right about that.

I passed a couple of fire escapes in just as pristine shape, but didn't bother trying to them. One, it would take precious time to pull them down and climb up. Two, I didn't know if getting back down would be as easy from the other side of the building, or if there was rooftop access internally, and so on. Better to keep moving, at least for now.

As my heart pounded and sweat trickled down my back, I wondered if I should take up running marathons. If I was going to have to be running for my life constantly, it would probably be a good investment of my time and energy. How depressing.

I glanced behind me just as one of them turned the corner.

Damn!

Not far enough away to lose them with a turn yet. And the guy in front looked like he actually liked running long distances, with that straight-hand sprint run that looked kind of ridiculous but also kind of serious.

As I looked back at him, I saw him reach inside his jacket.

That couldn't be good.

I doubted he was rooting around in there to find a fuzzy stuffed animal for me.

Something shiny and metallic came out in his hand.

Definitely not a teddy bear.

It didn't look like a knife, the shape was all wrong. But I couldn't quite discern what it could be from this distance.

The man pulled his arm back, in preparation for throwing it.

Whatever it was, one thing was clear—I didn't want to be hit by it if I could help it.

Turning back around, I gauged the distance to the end of the alley.

Too far to reach the turn before he let go.

With no other recourse I could think of, I abruptly veered over to the right, hoping to throw off his aim. It was the best I could do.

A split second later, I felt a sharp pain along the outside of my upper left arm. It was there and gone. My eye tracked the object as it flew down the rest of the alley, still going at a speed fast enough to hurt someone.

Was that a . . . shuriken?

Who the hell used throwing stars!?

What were we in, a dated martial-arts movie? What was the guy going to do next? Leap up into the air and do a flying kick that was as impractical as it was pretty?

I watched the thing shoot out of the alley at the other end, hoping nobody got in the way of its trajectory. Luckily, nobody was in front of it to be hit, though a teenage boy with headphones plugged into his ears did jerk back as he saw the flash of something whiz by.

That was really close.

Too close.

I needed to end this.

Digging down deep, I put on another burst of speed and burst out of the alley, turning right. I stumbled a little, hitting the wall, but then bounced back up and kept going.

I was on a slightly busier street, where the stores that sold to the rich were situated. Lining either side of the street, the signs and displays weren't so gauche as to have the usual blinking lights or a salesperson standing outside to draw people in. I passed by a store with clothing in slightly odd shapes with weird mixtures of fabrics. Then another with makeup that promised to eliminate wrinkles.

Another that promised to make you a guaranteed twenty percent more attractive in just thirty minutes. That was a pretty exact number. I had no idea what they were doing in there. Maybe personality transplants?

Then I passed another store with mattresses that also massaged you while you were sleeping so you woke up extra refreshed. Now that one sounded interesting. If only I had way more money to blow.

There!

Another alleyway!

I reached into one of my pockets and pulled out the small canister I'd added to my normal arsenal this morning. After the way things had been going, I'd decided I needed it.

Turning into the alley, I ran a few yards and then turned around, raising my arm up, fully extended, making sure the nozzle was pointed in the right direction. It was supposed to spray a focused three yards. This far in, nobody on the street should become collateral damage.

Less than three seconds later, my fan club turned into the alley after me, the one coming around second looking a little more winded than the first. This should even the playing field. I pressed the button on the spray, aiming for their faces and trying to commit them to memory at the same time.

I didn't know how successful I was with the latter.

The first man came to an abrupt halt, the other stumbling into him as I made sure they each got a good dose of the mace. Wouldn't want to leave them feeling unsatisfied, after all. I turned around and ran again as I heard them start coughing and retching behind me.

I looked over my shoulder as I reached the end of the alley. They were both hunched over, their hands braced on their knees, their faces red, tears streaming down their cheeks. They weren't even trying to run after me now.

One of them glanced up at me, hate in his faded blue eyes. It was the same man who'd followed me before. I gave him the finger and he bared his teeth at me in a snarl. So I gave him a little wave for good measure before I turned out of sight.

Maybe antagonizing the guy wasn't the smartest move. But what else was he going to do? He was already trying his damnedest to hurt me, if not kill me. I'd take the small victory and the fleeting satisfaction of thumbing my nose at them.

At least for now.