​     Four security guards still surrounded Alacran. ​They hid behind posts and statues and tables and the fountain, and they aimed their assault rifles at Alacran, and they fired. The air filled with the roar of firing weapons. Ricocheting bullets ping, ping, pinged everywhere. Two bullets even reached the robot acrobats who still did their aerial act so very far above everyone's heads. One bullet caught an aerialist in the elbow, causing it to malfunction, throwing the intricate timing of the whole act off. The aerialists slammed into each other, then went crashing to the floor. One of Livia's security guards had to sidestep quickly to keep from getting hit by one. The singer continued her act, even though now her jaw hung in shattered fragments from her chin.  

     So many bullets hitting Alacran all at once started to have their effect. Little dents started to appear all over his armor.   

     And that really pissed the Silver Scorpion off. 

     "WHY ARE YOU ALL EVEN HERE?" he bellowed. He waved his tail frantically at any security officer he felt he could possibly strike. They were too far away, though, too well concealed by what they hid behind. He spotted one guard who stood behind a tall, very thin bronze statue of a nude woman. Alacran tipped the statue so that it crashed to the floor. Now he could get at the security guard. 

CONTINUE