Re: Last Night at the Ball
Hans Gruber had, as could be expected, done the right thing by Rashid and now had the injured and semiconscious Sultan draped over his lanky shoulders. He followed Marianne as she headed for Steve Cable, who also had a hanger-on, a silver-haired old lady in a nice gown, and some kind of dust devil whirling in front of them. A small fall of glass shards made him jump aside; there was a deep rasping sound from the broken skylights. Something large and dark was up there, with expansive leathery wings. As they moved along, a plump cello player disentangled himself from the shards of his broken instrument and trailed after, as did a waiter - who looked familiar. It was Peterson, the government agent - limping slightly as one leg had a flesh wound.
"Mr. Cable," Hans Gruber said, the German accent harsh as ever, "I still have a contract with you, and an obligation to protect you. We are in a place that is not your world. I can follow the ley lines and get you out, but we will have a fight on our hands."
"I am a government agent," Peterson announced, to the amusement of the little old lady.
"I must ask my husband to vote for a raise for you, young man, if you have to take a second job as a waiter," she said, with a cheerful chuckle.
"Your master holds your ring." Hans spoke to Ali, "He will need the Scintillation of a Thousand Suns when we leave the building. All mortals, I advise you to shut your eyes as you cross the threshold. We will have to run, very fast, along a path."
"Running is not a plan, running's what you do when a plan fails," the Cello player said, sourly.