Something was wrong. Jason ran his mind around the room, trying to Sense what was bothering him. The café had about a dozen other occupants, all eating quietly. Most of them were in workers’ clothing—flannels and denim that pulsed an irregular symphony in Jason’s mind. He studied their faces, and recognized none of them. What was bothering him?

A line of bullets blasted through the window just beside Jason. They came far too fast for his body to react or dodge, moving with the incredible speed of modern weaponry.

As fast as the bullets were, however, Jason’s mind was faster. He whipped out a dozen invisible mindblades that slashed through the air. The force of his attack slapped the bullets backward as well as sliced each one in two. There was a series of audible clicks as the pieces bounced back off the window, then fell to the café floor. All was silent.

The UIB kid plopped into his seat, his face horrified as he stared at the window and its holes.

"Jason?" Lanna said urgently. "Jason, what happened?"

Jason Sensed out the window, but the sniper was already gone. "I don’t know."

"Someone shot at you?" Lanna asked with concern.

Jason regarded the bullet holes—they ran in a small circle in the window just beside the UIB kid’s head. "No," he said. "They tried to kill the kid."

The café’s patrons were running about in fear, some calling out, others hiding beneath benches. The UIB kid was looking down at himself with surprise, as if he couldn’t believe that he was still alive. "They all missed," the boy whispered with amazement.

Jason frowned. Why would someone try to kill a UIB agent? Why not focus on Jason? The PC was a far more dangerous threat.

"How did you let him sneak up on you like that?" Lanna asked.

"I wasn’t expecting to be shot at. This was supposed to be a simple assignment." Then, turning to the kid, he nodded. "Let’s go."

The kid looked up with surprise. "Someone tried to kill me! Why?"