That was all Adam heard before Valtair​ dragged him from the stage by the arm. Six more security people immediately joined him as they quickly moved towards one of the hallways that Adam knew led to security headquarters. Remember, he'd all but memorized the layout of the place before his Stargod even dropped him off. Two more of Goldbody's associates joined them. Then two more. 

​     And Valtair still had a vice-like grip on his arm.

​     Not such a big problem for all that. 

     Once they got to the hallway, they all had to kind of crowd together to fit. Valtair said into his headset, "We're out of the auditorium now. I assume you want us to take him to the deten...what? Wait. Wait." He had all of Goldbody's associates stop at once. "Okay, say it one more time, please. You want me to...what?"

     Goldbody wants me dumped out an airlock, Adam thought. I can't have that. If I go out into space it's because I want to go out.                                                                 It was like standing in a crowded subway at rush hour in that hallway. Supposedly, the security cameras at the front entrance scanned everyone for weapons. Unfortunately for Gideon Goldbody, his scanners weren't quite sophisticated enough to pick up Adam's.

     For instance:

     He pulled out what looked to be two postage stamps out of his utility belt, not an easy thing to do in that crowded hallway.  

     "Stop moving, or I'll break something," Valtair said. 

     "Sorry." Adam slapped one of the stamps on Valtair's massive metallic arm. "Don't mean to be impolite."

​     Another guy grabbed Adam's other arm. "Maybe we'd better handcuff you," he said. "You're getting..."

​     Adam slapped a stamp on the man's chest. "You should ask your boss Valtair about that," he said. 

​     Then, 

​     KA-BOOM!

     The stamp he'd strapped on Valtair blew his arm clean in half so that he finally let go of his grip on Adam. Adam'd assumed the arm was completely mechanical, it looked completely mechanical, but, no, blood went splattering everywhere. Valtair made a noise that sounded like a cross between an injured moose and a squealing vacuum cleaner. 

     Valtair stumbled away. 

​     Then, 

     KA-BOOM!

​     That second postage stamp blew a hole right through the center of that second security guard. 

     His gun went flying. 

​     Adam snatched it out of the air. 

     It was the kind of gun that kicked out dozens of rounds as quick as a sneeze.

​     Adam squeezed the trigger and turned in a circle to fan everyone who surrounded him with bullets. Another gun went flying up in the air, a handgun this time, and Adam snatched that one up as well. Those closest to Adam lunged at him, hoping to wrest Adam's weapons from his grasp. Adam used a handgun to put a hole in each of their foreheads without ever once taking his finger off the trigger of his assault rifle. Associates stumbled away from him, clutching their guts. From beyond the hallway, from back in the auditorium, Adam heard gasps and people going, "What was that? What's going on back there?"

​     One of the associates grabbed a handgun from his holster. Adam smacked him so hard in the face that his skull cracked. He sensed guns being aimed at his head. He ducked, then twisted while emptying the clip inside his assault rifle. Other weapons clattered to the floor as their owners died. Adam dropped the weapons he held, then bent to scoop up two more handguns. As he did, a spray of gunfire filled the air where he'd been only a moment before. Adam weaved. He turned. He twisted. Every time he saw a forehead, he put a bullet in it. Twenty seconds after the melee started, and now only four associates out of a dozen remained. Valtair was nowhere to be seen. One of them had his gun drawn and was in the process of pulling the trigger. Adam shot him in the leg. The man yelped and grabbed at himself. Adam's second shot, of course, right through the forehead. Adam snatched someone to use as a human shield because the last two men now had their guns drawn. Adam shot them both even as they filled their own associate, Adam's shield, with lead. 

     Adam dropped the rifle and the now dead human shield he held to snatch up two more assault rifles, and just in the nick of time because right then another dozen associates emerged from the other side of the hall, guns blazing. Adam fired into them as he returned to the auditorium, where, by now, the guests, the Fortune 500, were in full panic mode, running, screaming. He emptied the two assault rifles he held, then pitched them away from him. He ran for the door that led to the front lobby, but, damn it, it was now packed with fleeing people. All around him, the crowd had suddenly gotten very thick. An associate ran up to him to jam his gun into Adam's gut. He didn't immediately pull the trigger, however, and that was his fatal mistake. Adam twisted the gun out of the man's hand, turned the gun around, then pulled the trigger himself. Adam leaped into the air then, and as he did he fired four shots.    

​     Four holes in four foreheads. 

     That got the people to scramble away from the doors quick enough. 

     Adam put holes in two more associates who were right at the exit, then went through the door himself... 

​     only to run into even more pandemonium. 

     On Goldbody's side of the battle, it all became a bit of a military action. Now there wasn't even a pretense that this was all supposed to be some sort of enjoyable two day vacation. Associates surrounded the guests, then rounded them up, politely but firmly, although some of the guests were having none of it.  

     "Hey, what are you doing? Get your hands off me!"

     These were people, after all, who were used to pushing people around, not getting pushed around themselves. These were people who were just coming to realize that perhaps, just perhaps, they'd made a big mistake coming on this voyage in the first place. 

     "Claudia?" Adam said into his com. "You there?"

     "You know I am."

     "You catch any of this?" 

     "All of it. It's beginning. This has to be the first of the seven talons."

​     "Where are you? Is a Stargod in any position to pick me up at all?"

     "I can't get a Stargod all the way into space, Adam. I am following the orbit of the casino, though. I am exactly one mile below you."

     Okay, now all Adam had to do was figure out a way to get a mile through space to get to the Stargod. He had to find a shuttle somewhere. ​​

     Now where was the shuttle bay again? Oh yeah.  

     As he ran along, Adam asked into his com, "What if I have to jump out of the ship before I can even get a shuttle? How long would I survive?" 

​     "In your human state?"

     "Of course."

     "In your human state, about six minutes thirty-seven seconds," Claudia replied. "I've got you covered though, boss. You hit airless space, your three piece suit will automatically convert into a temporary spacesuit. Your shoes will seal to your pants, which will seal to your jacket at the same time a hood will wrap over your head. The oxygen pump in your utility belt will then engage."

     "Have you been following my progress at all?" 

     "Every step." 

     "Then you know the situation I'm in."

     "You're in desperate trouble, as usual." ​

     Adam reached the hall leading to the shuttle bay. He saw, coming at him from the other side of the hall, a half dozen associates, weapons drawn. "Gotta' go, sweetheart. Keep an eye on me, will you?" 

​     "Always do."

                                                 CONTINUE