There was a crashing noise of glass, metal, and whatever else might exist under God's heaven. ''Weapons free,'' Kris shouted.
''Go, go, go,'' she waved at her team as Abby took off sprinting for the door across the way, a Marine right behind her. Penny and Kris on their heels.
Jack and the Sergeant took a second to drop the card players, then a second more to get two sleeping beauties that reached for their guns instead of keeping on sleeping.
Kris wondered, as she sprinted, if she should worry about what was happening above her, but then a body plummeted from up there and she decided maybe the Halsey and all that noise was taking care of that.
Ahead of her, Abby slowed to let the Marine take the door for her, roll through it, and shout ''Hostages, stay down.''
Abby raced through the open door, shot, hopped over the Marine, dropped, rolled, fired again, then repeated the process.
Kris slammed to a halt at the door, her rifle ready. Someone was up, firing at the space above where Abby was rolling.
Kris fired a long burst. The first few rounds to shatter ceramics. The later ones to do their worst. They did. Her target went down.
Penny went through the door without slowing down, headed for the explosive charges along the wall, and started yanking exposed antennas, detonators, whatever looked like it might stop the boom. Since any one of the packets could go boom in her face as she raced by, Kris could only admire the courage of a woman fighting for her bridegroom's life.
Someone across the room raised a rifle, aimed at Penny. Kris fired a long burst. The rifle went one way, the gunner rolled another way and lay still.
''Tom, stay down,'' Kris ordered. ''Where are the terrorists?''
A familiar figure elbowed himself up to look around. ''I think you have most of them. Four bolted for the back exit.'' He nodded to where a door was wide open in the south wall.
''Command center,'' Kris called on net, ''Look for four terrorists attempting to escape from the loading dock.''
''We have their van in our sights. They won't get out of the parking lot.''
Beside Kris, the sapper came through the door, took in what Penny had done, nodded, and headed for the opposite wall and its charged explosives. Kris would be writing a lot of medal recommendations for this night.
''Could we start moving these people out to safety?'' Princess Aholo called from where she lay between Tom and, yep, there was Sam. Kris signaled for Abby and all available Marines to form on her as she trotted to the Island princess.
''At the moment, Aholo, this may be the safest place in town,'' was backed up by a burst of automatic weapons fire from outside. ''We're working on securing the rest of the building, but…'' Kris left the rest unsaid.
''Can I talk to Grandmama?''
KRIS, I HAVE HELD A CIRCUIT OPEN FOR HER, BUT THERE'S A PROBLEM. Kris found herself put through to Dr. Kapa'a‘ola.
QUEEN HA'IKU'LANI TOOK THE NEWS OF THE HOSTAGE SITUATION WELL. SHE SMILED A MOMENT AGO, WHEN WE TOLD HER THE PRINCESS WAS SAFE, THEN GOT A QUEER LOOK ON HER FACE AND TOLD US SHE THOUGHT SHE WAS HAVING ANOTHER STROKE. WE'RE TESTING FOR IT, BUT WE WON'T KNOW FOR A WHILE. COULD YOU GET AHOLO HOME…FAST?
''Better yet,'' Kris told Aholo, ''there's a shuttle at the airport, we'll get you to her within the hour.''
''What's wrong?'' The girl went pale beneath her tattoos.
Kris swallowed several lies … and told Aholo the truth. A murmur ran through the hall. Sam tried to hug Aholo, but the plastic restraints had them cuffed to each other in circles of five or six facing out. No hugging allowed. Abby produced a knife and started cutting them loose. Now Sam was hugging a softly crying Aholo, and Penny was hugging Tom, and Kris didn't care who was crying there. She spotted Sergeant Li.
''Sergeant, secure this area. Don't let anything happen to that princess. Jack, you're with me.'' Abby handed off her knife and fell in step with them as they headed for the common area.
Rifles at the ready, they crossed back into what had been a shooting gallery. It looked quiet for the moment. Kris hunched down, prepared for appearances to be deceiving. ''Captain Santiago, you available on net and have a second to chat?''
There was a series of grenade explosions from the upper level. ''Now I do. What's happening?''
Kris filled her in. There was a pause when she was done. ''Liberty launch 2 could do a suborbital to drop you into Nui Nui in thirty minutes. We'll have to send the gig down to refuel it, but no problem.''
''Captain, I'd like to thank you for the support here, and I'd be honored if you'd accompany us to Nui Nui.''
''Glad to back up a well-ordered plan, Lieutenant Longknife. And I'd be honored to go with you. Ensign Konti, police up this area, cooperate with the local officials to the maximum possible, and see that the Marines don't break anything more.''
''Yes ma'am,'' came over the net.
Kris remembered being the Boot Ensign and getting those orders. She hoped Konti enjoyed them as much she had. Back in the hall, the hostages were milling around. To soft cheers, Kris announced that their building was now safe, and they'd be going in just a moment. But one man righted a table and climbed atop it.
''Hold it, hold it. Queen Ha'iku'lani is dying, murdered as much by these … unspeakables … as any of our colleagues who were gunned down.'' He looked around at the former hostages. ''I don't know about you, but I came here with a pretty good idea of what we really needed to do. No expectation that we could do it. No idea how we'd get the will to do it. You know what I mean?''
A lot of heads nodded.
''Well, I'm mad. I'm mad at having a gun shoved in my face. I'm mad at seeing my friends murdered. I'm even mad at seeing Islanders I've argued with for twenty years gunned down. I say we came here to do a job. I say we do it. I've got proposals, ideas for how to reorganize Hikila over there in my computer.'' He pointed at a collection of personal effects like wallets, purses, and computers dumped in a corner. ''I bet a lot of you do.''
''You bet.'' ''Of course.'' ''Who doesn't,'' answered him.
''Let's give Queen Ha'iku'lani a burial gift the likes our ancestors will be praising long after we're gone.''
''Can we at least go to the bathroom?'' came plaintively.
''And order in some food.''
''Fifteen minutes,'' the guy said. ''A real fifteen-minute break,'' he insisted.
Aholo shook her head. ''That man has no idea what the line will be like at the ladies' room.''
''Who is he?''
''He's the mayor of Brisbane,'' Sam told them. ''But my dad's right there with him, and he was cuffed to two of your chief adviser's, Aholo, and I saw them talking. I think this is real.''
''You are coming with us,'' Aholo said to Sam.
''I'm not leaving your side. Ever.''
And when the kids asked how Mommy and Daddy met, Kris could just imagine the story.
THERE ARE POLICE CARS WAITING TO TAKE US TO THE AIRPORT, Nelly said. Kris formed her Marines to escort the princess one last time.
''Nelly, you remember those tattoos you put me in of Pacific Island warriors?'' Kris said.
''Yes, I do. They were quite fierce.''
''Think you could turn our black camouflage paint to that?'' Kris asked, a grin spreading across her face.
''You bet,'' Nelly said, and a wave passed down the line of Kris's rescue team. As they made their way gingerly around the wreckage the Zodiac lander had made of the west entrance, the media lights came on to show Princess Aholo on the arms of two attractive young men and escorted by the most ferocious bunch of practically naked tattooed Island warriors, rifles at the ready. All except one. Kris's fierceness was somewhat spoiled by her cute bunny white tail.
Liberty launch 2 ran itself right up onto the beach before it popped its hatch. A cart was waiting for them, and in less than an hour from the last shot, Aholo and Kris's team, Santiago included, were in the queen's presence.