When Ellie heard the crash and sounds of fighting from the kitchen she tried to pull away from Jayce and go back to help Tila, but Jayce refused to let go.

'She needs help,' Ellie insisted.

'We need to get to the library and find your chip and her staff.

'But Tila needs help now!'

'What can we do? They have guns. How can we help that?'

'But you said no one has guns here.'

'I said no one has blasters. It's only energy weapons that are restricted. Ballistics are allowed because they can be traced.'

'So, they might shoot her?'

'She can take care of herself, right?'

'But they might shoot her!'

'They're using needlers. Even if they do shoot her it's only going to knock her out.'

'And then what?'

'Ellie, we need to go. She can fight them off. We can't.'

Ellie yanked free from Jayce's grasp. 'I'm not leaving her behind. I don't care if you don't like her.'

'I'm sorry, Ellie, but no. The best thing we can do is get to the library and hope she makes it out the kitchen.

Ellie planted her feet. 'But—'

'Please, Ellie. Listen, you can still hear the fighting, right?' Ellie looked down the stairs and nodded. 'I think they would have shot her by now if they could have.'

'She doesn't like people pointing guns at her.'

'Makes sense. Now, come on.'

They set off again along the hallway, the thick carpet muffling their footsteps.

'Ellie, what makes you think I don't like her?'

'Because she's always calling you an idiot.'

'I thought she was joking.'

Tila burst through the kitchen doors, a meat tenderiser in her hand. A knife was a more effective weapon but she couldn't bring herself to use one, not even at a time like this. The agent's guns were both empty and she didn't have time to search for more ammunition and learn how to reload the needlers. Instead she had taken the first thing she could improvise as a weapon. It was a comfort more than it was a weapon. It was something to wrap scared fingers around, and something she could use without fatal intent.

The hallway outside the kitchen was empty. Jayce had mentioned stairs to the floor above, where they had left her staff, to keep it safe.

Tila found the stairs and took them three at a time.

No one needs a weapon like this at a party, he had said.

Idiot.