pulled along . She batted at Old Man ’ s fist with her own , but she might as well have been a fly slapping a hurricane .
Grey and the others kept shouting , their voices hoarse by now . They were interrupted by a clang from the far end of the lockup . “ I said let her go , you bastard !” Annie shouted . Grey watched in awe as Annie sprinted down the line of cells towards Princess and Old Man , center of gravity low like football player . Old Man threw Princess against the wall , spread his legs and bent . Grey knew what would happen before it happened and cried out to Annie , trying to warn her . “ Look out ! He ’ s going to get you !”
Annie ’ s eyes widened and she tried to slow down . It was too late , though : Old Man caught her by the shoulders , swung her around and threw her against the wall with the force of a supervillain in a movie . There was a sickening crack , and Annie slid down to the floor in a heap , her eyes glassy and lifeless . Lita screamed .
“ You bastard ,” Grey whispered , horrified , as he glanced back and forth between Annie and Old Man . “ You killed her .”
“ It ’ s not my fault !” Old Man had tears in his eyes again , though those eyes had anger in them as well . “ It was self-defense . If she ’ d just behaved , she wouldn ’ t have had to die like that !”
Still crying , Old Man strode to where Princess lay dazed , lifted her off her feet and held her against his girth with one arm . Coming to , Princess shrieked and struggled to break free , only for Old Man to deliver a karate chop to her neck . She groaned and went limp . With his original
84