Goosebumps covered Elizabeth’s arms as she felt the temperature drop around them, a clear sign that Sam was engaging his own extra-sensory gifts. Well, at least between the three of them nothing should be catching them by surprise. “Tsk tsk, just make sure you learn a few reliable spots quick. Don’t you and Cora have an anniversary or something coming up?” Liz said, her breath forming a little cloud the only external sign of her reacting to the chill. She rather liked the cold, actually, and Simon’s fur coat kept him complaint-free as well.

But since he didn’t know where the shop was, and she didn’t know, Liz just shrugged and did the only sensible thing. She asked for directions.

“Hi, excuse me, ma’am?” Liz said, hailing the closest person to them, who hadn’t scurried away from the sudden chill spot Sam had made. It was an elderly lady with a half-dozen shopping bags. “Hello, can you help--”

“No money, no money!” the woman said without even blinking or stopping.

“Oh I don’t need money,” Liz said quickly. “I’m just looking for Wong’s Florals. I know it’s around here somewhere - could you point me in the direction?”

The woman stopped and peered up at her. “Why you want there? Xanadu Bouquets way better, way better. My little Jimmy work there. He’s real smart. Gives great discounts.”

Liz smiled shyly. “Oh I’m sure. It’s just, well, it’s for my friend there,” she said, jerking a thumb back at Sam. “His girlfriend loves Wong’s Florals and, well, he messed up a lot lately and is trying to make it up to her.” Liz nodded in the “men are hopeless but what can you do?” way.

The woman nodded along. “Ohhh, I see, I see. Well, Wong’s Florals is down that street, take two lefts, and look beside the fireworks store. Can’t miss it. Big, tacky flowers everywhere.” She indicated a spot down the street.

“Oh thank you! This is really going to help!” Liz said.

“My pleasure. Don’t mess up again, young man!” the lady shouted at Sam before hobbling off to do who knew what.

Liz turned and practically skipped back to Sam. “We’re going thataway,” she said with another jerk of her thumb and she strolled off into the crowd.

”Probably?” Sam said shrugging, ”We don’t really do the normal gifts that couples do for anniversaries. Also would it be the one where she went out with the younger me or the me now?” Sam asked smirking curious himself, ”Last time I got her a gift we flew to Colorado to go climbing.” he said smirking. ”Ice flowers would look better anyways.” he said forming a flower of ice then offering it up to Simon for the dog to chew.

Liz stopped and asked for directions and Sam was kind of blindsided by being the target of the questioning. Did he mess up? No usually Sam knew when he messed up, often it was intentional. He had a problem that way. One Cora seemed to be okay with. Maybe he should start getting her more flowers instead of climbing trips or new climbing harnesses.

”Yeah.... I’m just the worst.” he said scratching the back of his head, trying to act the part of ‘bad boyfriend’. Sam gave a wave to the older lady and the three of them set off to Wong’s flower shop. He also made a mental note to go see Jimmy at the other shop as well. Sam was a sucker for discounts.

”And we have a location.” he said giving Liz a thumbs up, ”Nice, I personally would have just kept walking for a bit till we found it.” he said smirking and heading in the direction of Wongs.

After the two lefts he spotted the fireworks store with a small dragon breathing fire on it. Next store was Wongs. Sam looked over to Liz and Simon closing his range of his thermal sense, a lot of people meant a lot of information and if they were about to charge a place Sam needed to make sure he was mentally prepared. ”That the place Sundance? Simon?” he asked the pair curiously.

Simon chewed merrily on the remnants of his ice flower (the bits that didn’t fall along the sidewalk like a frosty bread trail) and Liz delightfully shared in his simple enjoyment. Perhaps Sam had a point about ice flowers - tons of flowers would’ve been toxic to Simon anyways.

The retriever actually led the way, his excitable nature and thrill of being on a walkie causing him to pull on the leash and strain to take in every sight, sound, and scent. Likewise, Liz stayed out of his head for the time being, to avoid migraines from sensory overload. It wasn’t a problem when she possessed a dog - dog brains could handle it. Her human brain was a whole ‘nother story.

“And we probably would’ve been walking around for a few hours!” she called back over her shoulder. “I saw a map back there, but it’s in Mandarin - or Cantonese - I don’t know about you, but I can’t read that!” But Sam was a guy so Liz suspected he would’ve found an online translator or something just to avoid talking to someone. Oh well, this was the closest to a police case Liz was ever going to be on so she was making the most of it.

As they neared the end of the woman’s directions, Liz finally tapped into Simon’s mind again, projecting her own visions of Wong’s Florals’s logo into the dog’s mind. It immediately called up memories of the van. “Yep, this is the place,” she confirmed to Sam. “How do you want to handle this?” After all, he was the professional here. All they knew was the van belonged to this place but that alone was a lead, not an end to a case.

The icemancer looked forward and smirked to her as she passed him. ”It was Mandarin.” he clarified. Sam didn’t know how to read all of it but he could tell from two of the letters. He’d seen them before when he was younger. Thankfully they had the location, time was still of the essence. It was a kidnapping after all.

When they walked into the shop he redirected his thermal sense to the store front. ”How I normally handle things.” he said as he waved her on to follow him as he opened the door and entered. The bell rang alerting the workers a new customer entered the shop. The needed to get inside to see what they were dealing with. Hopefully it be apparent that Tiffany was somewhere nearby either he’d find her or Simon and Liz would. Either way they’d have their next step.

The icemancer put on his best game face and put his hands in his pockets. ”Well honey, I did tell you I’d get you flowers. Never said from where. Heard this place was better than Xanadu Bouquets anyways.” he said loudly making sure someone heard him and even more appreciative of Liz asking for directions.

Sam’s eye shifted from Liz and Simon to the walls of flowers and refrigeration units keeping the more delicate flowers alive longer. His eye spotted two cameras, one above the door looking over the register and one above the register looking at the door. His thermal sense masked by the refrigerators told other things, like the floor above them had an old lady cooking and the below them was an open area with three people sitting around what he’d guess was a table. All of them male. “Can I help you?” asked a smaller elderly woman.

Of course Sam knew Mandarin. Why was Liz surprised at that? She smiled and shook her head. He probably would have tried using the map instead. Liz just filed that bit of information away with the rest of the things she knew about Sam. It was a broad and disparate file, for sure.

She paused to let him tell her how he normally handled things and then realized such explanations were not forthcoming. They were moving now! “Alrighty then, we’re just going to wing it,” she said to her canine comrade as they followed the cryomancer into the store. It was too late to even consider if the place was pet-friendly.

The psychic was just taking her first glimpse of the store when Sam began talking. She shot a glance at him for just a moment before figuring out what he was doing. He was getting back at her for her story to the woman who gave them directions. <<Game on, Sam!>> Liz thought to Simon, because she needed to talk to someone but she was suddenly undercover. <<Two can play at this!>>

“Yes, and you were supposed to have given them to me already, not make me leave work to pick them up myself!” Liz said exasperatedly, even as she connected to Simon’s nose again. She shook her head, mostly to deal with the influx of floral smells and approached the elderly lady. “Yes, we could use some help. You see, today’s our three-year anniversary and my boyfriend over there completely forgot about it.” She put her non-leashed hand up to her face for a brief moment before taking it away.

An outsider would probably see it as a typical gesture of a woman who was angry at her boyfriend for being careless and absentminded. It also served to allow Liz a moment to concentrate fully on what Simon was smelling. It was a match to what he’d smelled when his owner had been taken. She forced a smile. “But he’s right, I love flowers, almost as much as diamonds. This is definitely the right place. He knows me so well, the lug,” Liz said, shifting into sickening adorable puppy love.

Hopefully the lug caught what she was actually saying. “Here darling, take Scout here and try not to break anything, okay?” she said with a pretend look of warning as she offered him Simon’s leash. She could keep track of Simon easily even as she distracted the woman. Turning back to the woman, she started asking about the type of bouquet offerings they had and which ones were more expensive. “After all, he’s paying for it.”

Usually when he winged there was a second delay between his interaction and his companion. Even Gawain/Maya still was thrown off by his decisions from time to time but Liz must have taken improv classes because she was already playing her part.

Sam walked over to one of the flowers and took a sniff, making it look like he was interested in one of the arrangements. His thermal sense however followed Liz and Simon. The dog sniffed the air and Liz was holding hers. Meaning they were working for a scent. Meanwhile Sam was more focused on the three below them around a table. They were playing cards.

The cryomancer turned back to Liz at the mention of diamonds, and how it was the right place. The air temperature lowered as he opened up one of the fridges. ”Well like you said. Three years, and you said we aren’t supposed to support the use of diamonds anymore.” he smirked taking the leash from her.

The little old woman shook her head at Sam. “Men. Better than my husband. He asks me to pick them up so he can give them to me. No surprises.” Sam choked on a chuckle and played it off as a sneeze. ”Sorry allergies.” he nodded his head and pointed to the exit, ”I’m just gonna step outside real quick. Before I get too loud and break something.” he lifted the leash and then addressed Simon. ”Come’ on Scout. Let’s go out while mom breaks the bank.” he scoffed again. ”Diamonds.”

The bell rang as he opened the door and stepped out he looked around for any clue that someone was watching the storefront as he looked to some flowers then waved to Liz and the old lady. They must have shared a joke. ”Let’s go get mom.” he said quietly before rounding the alleyway that was attached to the flower shop.

With his thermal sense still active he determined which door lead where and he chose the one that wasn’t the flower shop. Ice covered the wall quickly then the door then inside the hallway. Two camera’s by Sam’s count once he tugged the door free from the hinges. A loud clang echoed and Simon started to whine and pull at his leash. ”I go first bud. Thems the rules.” he stepped out of ice armor turning it into ice clone. Simon pulled again the clone just held on and stood in place as Sam walked down the stairway a sound of a radio playing and some men talking could be heard. One started to complain it was too cold.

”Got to be all the fridges you got upstairs.” Sam said holding his hands up, ice already forming over his body again. ”I’m looking for a Diamond.” he stated as two of the guys sitting around the table pulled guns while a third was smiling at him.

“And you’re lucky we don’t support diamonds, buster! Otherwise you’d be shelling out the cash for them instead of flowers!” Liz smiled sweetly and savagely, like a dandetiger.

She fought an urge to grin as Sam “sneezed”. “I know, right?” Liz commiserated with the lady, rolling her eyes. “There’s hardly any magic anymore,” she said more quietly. Calling back to Sam, she said, “Alright sweetie! Take your time! Just come back with your credit card when I text you!”

As soon as he left. Liz rolled her eyes again. “Men. Can’t live with them,” she paused. She didn’t continue. She and the lady locked eyes and started laughing in unison. “So true, so true,” the lady agreed and just like that, they were bonding.

“Now do you think you could show me what you have in the way of roses? And maybe bird-of-paradise?” she asked sweetly, once she felt Simon leaving the front of the store. He was intent on going along with Sam and Liz reinforced that idea with feelings of loyalty and love. Let him imprint a bit of Sam, that would reduce the amount of effort and management she’d need to do.

As the lady led Liz over to the roses, Liz began asking a few questions about the types and when they were picked and such, and as the lady began talking about their processes, Liz allowed her mind to connect to Simon’s.

She saw Sam tear open a door and felt Simon’s fear and panic, which she quickly buried beneath a wave of serenity. He stilled immediately and his recent thoughts revealed an ice clone. Good. Sam was keeping Simon safe. Liz could do her part by keeping Simon focused on the job and subdued.

Although he was quickly out of sight, he was still well within Simon’s range of hearing and Liz tapped into that, focusing the dog’s attention on Sam, only momentarily having to ask the lady another question or two. So what if the woman thought Liz was an idiot? She also thought Liz’s boyfriend was rich (a concept Liz had brought up a few times) so she’d tell Liz anything she wanted and as many times as needed to get a sale.

Simon was picking up on smells as well. They were even closer to the smells from when his owner was taken. Liz imagined him huffing. Wouldn’t it be a good idea to make a small noise, maybe three times in a row? Yeah, something not too loud so people on the street would inquire, but maybe something that Sam could hear. She pushed the idea upon the dog and watered it down with urgency and conviction. And maybe he should tug on the leash three times as well. Yes, such a great idea.

Simon huffed and tugged three times and then went still and silent. <<Good boy,>> Liz said and the dog’s tale wagged thrice.

The ice clone studied the dog for a moment. It was supposed to keep him safe. So it did and held the leash. Sam on the other hand heard the huffs the stairs and looked back down to the armed card players. ”Thought there was an unspoken rule about guns at a card game?” One of the guns was lowered by the guy sitting in the chair.

Both guns lowered and the one sitting answered, “There is. Also an unspoken rule about interrupting the game.” Sam looked from the game to the big door they were sitting in front of. ”Well I’ll just collect Ms. Diamond and be on our way. You want to finish the game here or in jail for kidnapping a national treasure?” there was a moment of hesitation and then the guns started to go off.

”Figured as much...” he said feeling a bullet get redirected by his ice armor as he hopped over the ledge and landed with a small grunt. A box of pamphlets was shot sending bits of paper everywhere. “Get the girl!” ”Yeah, bring her out to me and I won’t beat you as bad!” there was no way someone wasn’t getting their *** kicked for all of this.

Another round of gunshots and Sam silently wondered what Liz and Simon thought of all the noise. Sam’s ears started to ring as another box he was hiding behind was blown apart. Sam ignored the ‘Sale’ they were apparently having.

The large metallic door slid open and he felt her first then heard her. Her scream was muffled. ”Tiffany! It’s Sam! I totally saved you before!” he sighed, she had him reverting to a kid. Cora wouldn’t believe him.

Okay, so Sam wasn’t getting the message at all. Granted, the whole reason Liz was even there was because Sam couldn’t understand animals, so Liz guessed she should have expected him to ignore her actions.

She hadn’t expected Sam to ignore the fundamental point of this little trip. Recon only, right? Which part of that required gunfire?

Liz didn’t need the sensitive ears of a dog standing only yards away from the weapons fire to clearly hear the bangs and sounds of combat.

Panic spiked in both her and the dog and it started twisting together, as the sounds almost physically hurt Simon but dredged up so many memories for Liz. Liz screamed and ducked down, one hand flying to her ears and the other hand practically dragging the lady down with her.

“What is that?” she cried, keeping the woman down behind a counter. Gunfire kept pouring out, unceasing. Liz knew what it was, but she also had a cover to maintain.

The woman shook her head dismissively. “It’s just fireworks,” she said as she struggled to pull herself up, but Liz had a deathgrip on her arm. “Fireworks store next door. Just testing them. Happens all the time.”

And maybe if Liz hadn’t been eavesdropping on the events leading to the gunfire, she would’ve believed the woman. Maybe if Liz hadn’t gone through enough open-fire situations in her life to know the difference between guns and fireworks, she would’ve believed the woman. Maybe if Liz hadn’t seen the way the woman had quickly glanced toward the backroom with a look not of fear but of concern, Liz would’ve believed her. Maybe if the woman had been a better actress, Liz would’ve believed her.

Maybe if Liz’s hand wasn’t currently pinning down a knife hidden in the woman’s sleeve, she would’ve believed her.

And Liz made a mistake. Her eyes had widened in recognition of what was under her hand. The lady had noticed it too.

The lady attacked.

”Be there-” a box next to him filled with holes sending more flyers everywhere. ”-In a second!” he counted enough shots, there was only two of them right? They had to reload sometime right? Sam hopped the boxes full of paper he was using cover then caught a shot to the chest, thankfully his ice protected him from the brunt of it.

Landing with a ‘thud’ on the boxes he rolled getting out of sight best he could as he tried to catch his breath. Exhaling he wondered if his desk job was going to be the death of him. He was getting rusty. ”****” he coughed further expelling his lungs then inhaled quickly.

“Get her out of here!” The icemancer frowned and heard the pump of a shotgun. “We’ll hold him take the stairs!” Sam wondered if Simon was still at the entrance. His ice clone was under instruction to keep the boy safe meaning even if they made it past him they’d be greeted with an ice clone and Simon.

”That’s a good idea!” Sam called out willing the air to fill with a dense mist rising from the ground which quickly crept upwards. ”You guys stay put and I’ll help her up the stairs.” he didn’t mention Liz or Simon, hoping the kidnappers wouldn’t get more dangerous if they knew they didn’t have many options.

Sam crouched low to the ground and started moving throwing the nearest item in the opposite direction. It was a picture in a frame which clattered to a wall giving away a distraction while the gunman shot where the frame fell. Hopefully it wasn’t too important of a photo.

His thermal vision in full effect he started to see them back up to the door trying to escape the mist, it was his so there was no escape at this point. Unless they had a flamethrower not a lot of kidnappers had those on hand. The shooting stopped and he launched himself forward towards the two the pillar of ice from under his feet collapsing once he was airborne.

”Hey!” he shouted as he flew over them directing his powers downward blasting them with ice trapping them in place. ”About the sale? Still going on?” he smirked stepping on the ice and raising his hands willing the ice to mimic and creep upwards over the gunman.

It was only then he realized there was another set of stairs because now the other two thermal images disappeared. ”****” he moaned and ran to where they were holding Tiffany hoping there was a flight of stairs.

Crap. Crap. Crap crap crapcrapcrapcrapcrap!

From her forced prostrate position, the woman twisted her wrist in Elizabeth’s grip and grabbed the blonde’s forearm in turn before yanking on her and pulling the mutant off guard and on top of her.

Liz lost her connection to Simon in a heartbeat and the dog began barking and whining at the excitement around Sam but Liz no longer noticed. SHe had other things to focus on.

She managed to keep her grip and pinning the knife flat against the woman’s wrist but now suddenly laying on top of the woman had Liz a mite discombobulated. The lady’s other hand was free, however, and she used it to punch Liz in the side of the head.

Liz saw black for a moment. Then she saw red. Fury rose inside Liz and she dropped any pretense of holding it back. She didn’t care if Simon suddenly went vicious and bloodthirsty and lunging at his controller’s leash in order to sink his teeth into someone, if some alley cats one street over started attacking everything in sight, if pigeons in the near vicinity started dive bombing people.

“RAAAA!” she bellowed mightily in the woman’s face, spit flying all over her. She snapped her head down and her forehead bashed into the woman’s nose. Then she did it again. And again.

The woman screamed and suddenly Liz was pushed off, rolling twice and smacking her head against a shelf. Liz hissed like a snake and shoved against the shelf with her hands, forcibly rolling herself back in the woman’s direction, using the momentum to turn onto her back and slam her elbow down into the woman’s left breast.

“Umph!” the woman shouted and then a knife slashed Liz’s arm.

The blonde hissed again and rolled away, this time scrambling to her feet. The knife. Right. She saw blood on her arm but she got to her feet a moment before the woman did. She launched a kick at the woman’s face.

The iceclone shifted it’s weight in place as it continued to do as instructed ‘hold the dog’ the leash counted so it didn’t need to scoop the dog however with the dog suddenly turning and chewing his leg the ice clone didn’t know what to make of it.

“Someone help!” ”I told you keep your mouth shut, we get the money and you go home safe. It’s simple.” Tiffany and her captor went up a flight of stairs appearing in one of the coolers of the flower shop. Pushing the heavy mat off the ground he pushed the gun barrel back into Tiffany’s face reminding her not to try anything foolish.

Close behind Sam blasted the storage area below the shop a few more times in the cold making sure if any of the shooters decided to escape it would be well, cold and hard to escape from. ”You guys keep it cool, I’ll send someone for you if I remember!” he rarely forgot. It only happened like once.

Tiffany and her captor pushed open one of the cooler doors and entered the shop to see the boss tumbling with a stranger. ”You too?” Tiffany screamed and found herself being muffled by her captors hand.

”She is a national treasure! Do not touch her!” he shouted as he got the trap door and pushed finding something keeping it closed. It didn’t last long between him and his ice armor pushing he hefted the door with ease sending a chill into the cooler killing all of the flowers quickly coating them in a sheet of ice. ”Liz! You doing alright?” he shouted feeling her struggle with his thermal sense. She was bleeding.

The gun was now pointed at the captive’s head after a shot was fired into the air. Sam froze, literally as the windows of the shop frosted over. ”I think it’s important to know we should all stay cool.” he said raising his hands up trying to make his frozen form less aggressive. Tiffany glared at Sam’s comment. Reminding Sam why it would have never worked between the two.

The kick missed and Liz pivoted to avoid losing her balance, converting her momentum into a decent spin. She landed back in a ready stance and blew some hair out of her face. In a perfect situation her hair would’ve been pulled back and out of her face, not this wild mane she was sprouting.

The old lady regained her balance and honestly, Liz was shocked at how nimble and spry the woman was. It appeared there really was something to cultures that honored their elderly.

The woman slashed out at her and Liz leaped backwards to avoid getting sliced up again. She jumped back again as the knife swung back and then she was pressed up against a table. She grabbed blindly and threw a small potted plant at the woman, who smacked it to the floor, causing it to burst. “Look what you did! You are tearing up my shop!” the woman screeched before gasping in pain.

Liz smiled ferally before dodging to the side to get more distance. Fierce pride over the damage she’d done to the woman’s nose surged through her.

Then so many things happened at once.

The cooler burst open and Liz only had a moment to analyze the new threat. A man holding a hostage--Tiffany Diamond! She matched Simon’s memories perfectly. And there was the gun. And then a wave of frost coated everything, heralding Sam’s return...also from the cooler. No time to question that, just time to move. Sam could handle the guy with the gun and the hostage. Probably the knife lady too. But just in case.

Liz whipped her hand into her purse, which had miraculously stayed with her on her arm throughout the whole exchange, and pulled out pepper spray and took aim at the old woman. Just as a gunshot rang out.

Liz, too, froze, and a wave of tense anticipation rolled out from her, as the fury and shock coldly vanished from her and all the animals in range. Now alertness and fierce intensity emerged, and in a dog that had been biting a snowman’s leg, suddenly grew worried over his human’s voice and began pulling on his leash again.
“I’m fine, Sam. Just a mild laceration,” Liz reported. And then she shut up and let the X-Man take over.

”Well, if it’s only a mild one.” he said smirking in his armor. Liz wasn’t an expert in the field yet. She however seemed to have handled an old woman with a knife. Meaning she was fighting an old woman. ”She’s got like... a hundred years on you...” he pointed out no longer trying to be polite to the old shop owner. She stabbed his friend meaning she didn’t deserve his respect.

”Shut Up! I’ll kill her!” the gunman said pressing the gun to Tiffany’s head. Sam’s expression changed. He’d pull the trigger and get nothing. The whole reason they kidnapped her was for a ransom. Otherwise they would have killed her a long time ago. Sam didn’t make the comment though calling the bluff he already had a plan.

‘Come to us’ he thought to his clone who was now holding an overly anxious and aggressive dog. Simon’s thermal image entered the back of the shop as the door opened for the ice clone. Letting go of the leash Simon charged to the group to find his master. His ice clone knocked over a potted plant as he charge into the room creating a distraction he needed.

The gunman turned quickly pointing the gun behind him and turning whipping Tiffany along for the ride. Sam sprinted forward and grabbed his shooting arm and raised it against his will freezing his hand in the process. ”You have the right to remain silent.” he started disarming the man quickly pulling Tiffany away from the gunman. She was greeted by Simon.

”Anything you say or do can be used against you in a court of law.” the man shouted trying to fight the gold but dropped the gun. Kicking it over to the golem in the back of the shop he stepped onto it freezing it to the floor so no one else could use it.

”You have the right to have an attorney. If you cannot afford a lawyer one will be appointed to you free of charge.” Sam turned and placed a knee in the back of his leg causing him to drop. Sam continued to put pressure on him till he got to his knees. Sam shot a beam of ice at his legs pinning him to the ground. Then released him. Looking to the old lady then to Liz he smirked, ”Care to apprehend her?” he asked eyeing her, ‘mild laceration’.

“Indeed,” Liz nodded in acknowledgment of Sam’s assessment of the woman’s age. “Which means she only has about fifty years on you, Old Man Winter,” she said with a perfectly serious expression as she kept her eyes locked on the lady. The other woman’s eyes were darting around everywhere looking for something to use to her advantage.

But it was useless. Liz was confident the woman would’ve tried something if she’d’ve been forty years younger, since the woman’s level of prowess was very impressive even with her advanced age, the situation had changed quickly with the arrival of Cold Steel. And the woman didn’t seem to want to risk getting a bloody, bashed nose full of pepper spray.

Now that made Liz smile, a very wolfish grin.

The rest was over quickly.

“Why not?” Liz said drolly as she approached the woman carefully. Wasn’t like she was police or anything. “Ma’am, please drop the knife and kick it over this way.” Because Liz was not about to get within range of that again.

“You b--” the woman began but Liz cut her off. “NOW!” she said in the voice she used for delinquent children. Suddenly Simon, who’d been licking his owner’s face, turned away from her and growled in the old woman’s direction. Elizabeth’s smile sharpened and Simon continued to growl and started stalking toward the woman. “Simon! No!” Tiffany said, trying to go for his leash but it slipped out of her fingers, still cold and wet from where the clone had held the leash.

The woman hadn’t gotten so old by being a fool. “Fine,” she said, anger and irritation flashing across her face before being replaced with sullen resignation. “I surrender.” The knife dropped to the floor and then was kicked several yards away.

“Here, Simon,” Liz said, snapping her fingers. She beamed memories and impressions of training into his head, all sourced from Zorro when he learned the “Come” command, overlaying them with Simon’s own training. “Come.” Simon came over and Liz unhooked his leash before returning his attention to the woman.

Circling around behind the woman, Liz put her pepper spray away and then went to work using the leash to tie the woman’s hands behind her in a very intricate and thorough knot, keeping Simon’s senses trained on her, in case she tried anything. But she didn’t. It was over.