Unwise Child

ll mechanism that was concealed therein. As he neared the door, the little plate began to vibrate, making a

his brain recorded the whole scene in the fraction of a second before he moved. In that fraction of a se

en he was in the lab. He was hunched over a little, his small, bright eyes peering steadily at Mike

of cold, hard arrogance that barely concealed the uncertainty and fear beneath. One hand was

Mike the Angel something else. There was a vibroblade

ere was another yo

about one quarter of a second

ults, unless they are mentally or emotionally retarded, do not usually react or behave like children. Adolesc

behaved the way he did, he might conceivably have di

aight for the kid in the dead-black suède zipsuit who was holding the vibroblade against Harry MacDo

defended

second, will quickly put the first out of the way in order to leave himself free to deal with

re and then. An adult would simply have slashed his vibroblade th

d, and he knew how to handle a vibroblade. In his own unwise, suicidal way, he was perfectly capable of proving himself.

another punk at his back, Mike might have taken care of the k

on the point of the sc

sand vibrations per second, depending on the size and the use to which it is to be put. Make it eight inches long, add serrated, diamond-pointed teeth, and you have the m

r can be a weakness a

peration of a vibroblade. It was also a defense. The gadget focused a high-density m

though it had been caught in a vise. The blade no longer vibrat

't accept the fact that the blade was immovable. That power unit wa

o smoke and burn under the overload. The plastic shell cracked and hot copper and

's chest and shoved. As the boy toppled b

wasn't

how to handle a vibroblade at least as well as her boy friend had. Just as

d as she lost her bla

eck in a paralyzing, but not deadly, rabbit punch. She dropped, senseless, and a small gun spilled out of the waist pocket of her zip

charge. The kid was sprawled flat on the floor, a

gel took a

are on fire,

the molten metal from the vibroblades had hit his clothing. He wasn't afire; modern c

ke the Angel. "

hinker, laddie,"

asks a man if he's brought some scotch, the man's a fool if he doesn't know there's trouble

!" He gestured at the floor. "I'm nae sure how they did it, but somehow they managed to blank out

m is carrying any equipment in their clothing-at least, not anything that's self-powered.

kely. We

t ping! ping! ping! from

cted with the multitude of eyes that were hidden around the

aid. "Time t