Eighth Circle

'There's enough in it to dazzle, Commander.'

'Good. Keep a watch on those rocks to the right. That's where their backup will be. If it's a routine patrol, there will be two of the nasty sods warming themselves by that fire up there.'

'I can see the glow, Commander.'

Liala felt the bulge of her ray gun inside her jacket pocket. She knew what to expect from the trolls. They were part of her life and she was accustomed to them. The guardians bred the hideous creatures and used them for patrols. That's how they got their name.

Trolls were part human and part other things that had been spliced into the human genome. Dog breeders did something similar through selective breeding and could produce animals as different as lapdogs and hunting hounds.

The guardians used genetic engineering to achieve the combination of subservience and viciousness they required in law enforcement officers. Trolls came in different sizes and shapes. Most looked obscene and none had any redeeming features.

A barrier came into view. Two trolls stood beside it. Liala glanced towards the outcrop of rocks and saw the outline of another troll beside a small fire. He and his companion were her responsibility. If it came to a fight she would blind them with her ray gun and let the men finish them off with bullets.

Allain slowed the truck and stopped in front of the trolls. Liala recognised them as the outdoor variety. They had skin like leather, pug noses like pigs and small mean eyes. One of them reached out a claw-like hand.

Allain produced his pass. The troll snatched it away and waved it in front of a tablet attached to his belt. So far everything was proceeding normally. The trolls were repulsive but not threatening. Liala had been through the process hundreds of times. The information on Allain's pass would be sent to a central computer and checked against the information stored there. The process was usually over in an instant.

This time it wasn't.

The lights on the tablet remained set on red. When they changed to blue you knew you had been given permission to proceed. If they changed to orange that meant something was wrong and the computer had alerted a human operator. If orange changed to pink then something was badly wrong.

The commander didn't wait for that to happen. At the first hint of orange his gun exploded into action. The two trolls were hurled backwards by the force of the bullets. Liala glimpsed them as she levelled her gun. Its beam picked out the troll warming himself by the fire.