At 12:31 PM 28/05/96 EDT, you wrote:

Whoops of laughter and the soft sound of music drifted into the silent
cabana where its sole occupant was busy at the computer.
"Am I glad finals are over!  I thought I was gonna go insane for a while," she
muttered as she checked her mailbox for the fifteenth time that day.
"Dammit!  He said that he'd have some 'fics ready for my perusal!  Where
are they?  Here's two, where are the rest?  Oh!  The new remailer list is
here. Might as well look for the new arrivals..."
She scrolled through the list.  She then choked on her drink.
"Nani?  'Sour Times' is finished and he didn't tell me?" she sputtered as she
moved to clean up  the mess.  She scrolled through the rest of the list
rapidly. " 'A Hair-Raising Matter!'  'The Nameless Saga!'  'A Day in the LIfe!'

'BGCross 11!'  His own 'fic gets another part out and he doesn't even

send me a copy?!?"
"Panda, Panda, Panda" she sighed while typing furiously at her computer.
"When are you gonna learn that you *don't* make promises to the 'Mistress
and don't follow up on them?"  Her cellular phone rang.
"Yes, what is it?"
"I'm sorry to report that that pre-alpha part of your story hasn't come back
yet."
She choked again.  "Don't tell me; it's Panda, right?"
The voice on the other end was silent.
"This crystalizes it.  Thank you."  She pushed the 'End' button and stared at
the computer screen.  "I can't be lenient with everyone, my friend.  If I did,
it would be nothing but work, work, work, all day long!  That's why it

pains >me to do this."

She pushed send on the notice.  
	ATTENTION ALL BOUNTY HUNTERS AND UNEMPLOYED
.SIG WARRIORS!  THE 'MISTRESS NEEDS YOUR HELP!
	A certain MLer by the name of Panda has reneged on an important
promise.  He's holding some important documents that I need very badly.
Bring the Panda to me, and I will see you handsomely rewarded.

			Signed,
			The Taskmistress

She went back to the party with a heavy heart.  

     Panda quickly scanned the streets of Beijing from his vantage point
under a shop awning that bulged downward, heavily laden with rainwater. The
gentle hiss of the downpour on the pavement lulled the bear into a false
sense of calm, as he made his way towards... where? He had nowhere to run.
Daunted at every corner by the wanted posters with his name on it, and
forced to wear a disguise (a lesser panda...how humiliating), he wandered
aimlessly along the crowded sidewalks, wondering if the eyes that
occasionally met his would make the connection.
     Taking refuge in the dark doorway of a closed shop, the now orange and
white furred fugitive crossed his rain-soaked arms and shivered. How could
she do this to him? He had kept his promise to save the fanfics for her. He
just hadn't sent them yet. What with her exams and all, when would she ever
have found time to read them?
     As he pondered his next move, Panda spotted a dark figure moving among
the crowd, noticeably against the flow, and making a beeline for his
location. 'Damn! I paid dearly for this disguise too!'
     Panda turned to the locked door of the shop, and after removing a set of
strange key-like objects from the thick fur on his left arm, picked the lock
and proceeded inside, shutting and locking the door behind him.
     Row upon row of tinned food on shelves met his squinting eyes.
Stumbling and sliding on the slick, tiled floor, he made his way to the back
of the store.
As he reached the back door, he heard a loud crashing sound behind him, like
the splintering of wood. So, she had sent the Prodinator after him. This was
not going to be fun. He had to make his way back to his apartment somehow,
to send the files she had requested. Perhaps then she would call off the
cyborg. Perhaps...
     Using the lock picks as he had on the front door, Panda slipped through
the back door, and vaulted over a low fence. Another leap placed him in a
narrow alley devoid of life. Breaking into a run, the bamboo-eater noted the
swiftness that his lesser panda disguise lent him. Rounding the corner where
the alley spilled into another empty street, Panda stopped and turned back,
sliding along the wall until he could peek into the empty alley he had just
vacated.
     Empty a moment ago maybe. Now, a tall, intimidating figure was making
its way through the alley, stopping occasionally to check under piles of
garbage and cardboard for something. Suddenly it froze, standing absolutely
still for a long moment. A moment that made the sound of Panda's gradually
fill his ears. The Prodinator turned its head slowly until it was looking
directly at Panda's vantage point. Panda looked away and stood with his back
to the wall, 
wondering how to get to his apartment from here.
     There was no time to waste. The orange and white furred fugitive bolted
for a passing motorcyclist, knocking the rider off the vehicle and sending the
motorcycle to the ground, its engine still idling. Panda frantically picked
up the sputtering bike amid the rider's protests, and swung his leg over the
seat.
As he applied the throttle and rode away, a tall, dark figure emerged from
the alley into the street, where the fallen motorcyclist was cursing.
Ignoring the
slightly injured man, the Prodinator walked quickly to a nearby phone-booth
and began to scan the phonebook for an address. A leather-gloved finger
moved down the index page for the Beijing Zoo until the tip rested
underneath  the listing for "Panda Pen". Staring at the page for a moment,
the cyborg bounty-hunter exited the phone-booth, and disappeared down a
dark alleyway...

Panda (On the lam...)

-----------------------------------
"Bubblegum Cross"
"The Dark Traveler"
"The Dragon's Tower"
askuse@execulink.com
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