Too late

"Don't move a muscle, you spying perve." The voice sounded young probably a teen, and close. He must have either walked right by him or he had spent longer than he realized lost in thought as he watched Red on the beach. Either way it was uncharacteristic of him and he wondered how much of the carelessness was the result of lack of sleep and how much could be attributed to his stupidity that always seemed to surface when Red was around.

Brenan considered how long it would take him to get a weapon in his hand. His sword hung at his hip: it would take precious time to draw and was not the ideal choice for fighting in this heavy foliage. The heavy blade he preferred for knife fights was on the other side of his belt, and his gun was hopelessly covered by his buttoned jacket. Probably his best bet was the thin stiletto that was strapped to his left wrist. Instead of making a move he waited patiently expecting at any minute to feel an arrow slam into his exposed back.

"Keep your hands nice and high mister, and step out onto the sand." Brenan stepped obediently onto the loose sand, raising his hands and bringing them a little closer together to speed up the time needed to draw the thin blade. "Claire! I need help here." Brenan had just enough time to wonder where 'Claire' was hiding, and if there were any other people sneaking up on Red's cottage before Red turned to see what the shouting was about. Red no sooner saw him standing on the sand then a blade appeared from somewhere under her white dress. She sprinted up the sand, and as irritated as he was about his current predicament, Brenan did not fail to notice that Red was in as good shape as ever. Her long legs carried her easily over the loose sand as she ran, in fact she looked a bit like one of the fantasies he had had of her running towards him when they both found themselves washed up on the shores of the same deserted island.

"Turn around slowly you creep and let me see who you are." The words brought Brenan sharply back to reality; the voice had a sweet musicality to it despite the actual words, and Brenan was not all that surprised to see that it was a young woman who stood about five meters away holding a small hunting crossbow leveled steadily at his chest. The bolt probably wouldn't kill him he decided as he tried to gauge the tension in the bent bow, it would hurt like hell though, and if he were unlucky enough to have the bolt slip between two ribs it could puncture a lung or even cut into his heart.

Brenan's gaze moved from the weapon to the woman holding it. The girl was pretty, Brenan would have had to be blind not to notice her good looks. Blond hair pulled back in a loose ponytail over her shoulder, smooth skin that was evenly tanned from the sun and a firm body with curves in all the right places. She wore a loose blouse that covered most of her torso, but several of the buttons both at her neckline and her waist were left undone exposing the round tops of her breasts and much of her belly. Slung low around her hips was a loose skirt made of a colorful print that hung roughly to her knees but through a slit to allow easy movement Brenan could see much of her right thigh.

Her eyes were a blue grey shade that reminded Brenan a little of Red's and her lips although currently drawn into a determined scowl looked both soft and full. She didn't look like a cold blooded killer, but Brenan had learnt long ago that even bright eyed smiling children could kill just as easily as scarred veterans if you let them.

If she and her friend were waiting to ambush Red, then he was drawing her right into their trap. His hand was now just inches from the stiletto and as he looked over the young woman's aim he calculated that he had a decent chance to dive under the crossbow's trajectory and draw his knife. Really if the bolt missed him, he would have time to draw any of his weapons, even the defender tucked under the jacket. The hunting bow, like most crossbows was a one shot weapon and would take a while to reload.

He was also pretty confident that he could close the gap between him and the pretty blonde before she could escape into the thick green foliage. Brenan's main concern was where Claire was hidden and what kind of ordinance she might have pointed at him. He’d have to act soon, at the pace Red had been closing the distance, she’d be in their range just like him in just seconds.