With unnatural speed, Buddy's right hand lashed out, clutching a scalpel with a blade that glowed the red of a C02 laser. Even though the blade was no more than two centimeters long, it severed the staffer's head as smoothly as a katana. The staffer's body slumped back in his chair, while his head bounced off the surface of the desk. Then both body and head dissolved. As calmly as if she'd just swatted a bug, Buddy strode down the hallway the dead staffer had indicated.