Jack Frost
Another Story of Bubblegum Crisis

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(c) Michael White, June 1996
Author's Note: Anything that isn't original in here belongs to someone else.
If you're that someone else, don't sue me please! This thing is intended for
FREE distribution! Oh, if you're looking for the usual author ramblings,
they're at the bottom.
Oh, btw, there are no KS in this episode, possibly none in the entire 'fic,
and there's some less-than-appropriate language. If either of those things
offend you, well, don't read on.
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Episode 5: Ignorance and Condemnation

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(<August 3, 2031, 4:14 AM. Eastbound on NS Highway 114>)
	"His name's Kirin. Kirin Gindal," Jon was saying. "We grew up together in
Malaysia."
	Sarah's visage appeared in the lower left-hand corner the Ice Suit's video
display inside its faceshield, overlaying the image of onrushing traffic.
"How do you know it's him?" she asked.
	"I know how he fights, his style. And I knew he was in the city."
	Sarah frowned. "But what's he doing in Sable City? And why's he after you?"
	Jon sped down highway 114 in the ISAMU - Ice Suit Assault Mobile Unit -
looking for any trace of where Kirin took off to. Damage to the Ice Suit
from an encounter earlier that same night prevented Jon from following Kirin
by air, so he had had Sarah drive the ISAMU by remote to his location,
costing him precious time.
	"Well, he's been in Sable for a while, although *what* he's been doing and
where he's been doing it are a complete mystery to me," Jon answered. "I
have no idea why he dropped in like he did, when he did. Whether it was for
old times sake or what, I don't know. He sure didn't stick around for me to
ask."
	"You've got a tail, Jon," Sarah warned. "Three SCPD cruisers shadowing you
about twelve carlengths back."
	Of course, the primary problem with driving a heavily-armed 2-lane-wide
assault vehicle down a public highway was that sooner or later somebody was
going to take notice. So Jon decided he had had enough action for one night,
ditched the cops, and drove to a secluded lift that would take him to his
and Sarah's hidden stronghold, far below Sable City...

----

(<October 21, 2031>)
	The days, weeks, and months came and went, largely uneventful. The drama of
the first month of Jon's little campaign had vanished, replaced with the
tedium of time and again suiting up and blowing boomers to their composite
materials, or trying to prevent assorted other violent crimes commited by
their fellow man. Sarah estimated his boomer kills in the range of 320,
roughly 1/25th of Sable City's boomer population, but he wasn't keeping
track. On more than one occasion Jon had nearly gotten himself killed when
drastically outnumbered, but somehow he always managed to pull through. Of
his blue-and-silver saviour there was no further sign.
	The team assigned to capture Jonathan Meyer wasn't having much luck either.
Lieutenants Maria Perez and Bill Davis had poured over every detail, every
fact to no avail. They went along on almost all the tailings of Meyer,
watching him in action but not daring to interfere. As for the CAF unit that
was supposed to deal with him, it never seemed to show up in time...
	No-one, however, can escape forever...

----

(<October 23, 2031. Near the Northern Wind/Weather Wall>)
	"Attention all units, rampaging boomer reported atop the north city wall
near Dunbrack street. All nearby units please respond, possible hostage
situation. Exercise extreme caution and care."
	"Dispatch, this is Lieutenant Davis," the man spoke into the handset.
"We're approx two minutes from the scene, heading there now."
	"Roger, be careful Lieutenant."
	"Will do."
	Maria Perez grinned as she floored the pedal on her sportscar, racing
around the treacherous roads, siren wailing from the emergency unit Davis
had placed on the roof. People scurried to get out of the way as the sleek
red vehicle barrelled down the back streets, most of which were coated in a
very thin layer of ice. She brought the vehicle to a screeching halt just
meters from the emergency stairwell leading up to the top of the 25-meter
transparent wall that surrounded Sable City. Being situated roughly one
kilometer above the frigid North Atlantic, Sable City was very vulnerable to
high winds and sub-zero tempurates. The city walls not only shielded the
city from the worst of the winds, they also prevented any fool from
accidentaly stepping off the edge and plummeting to their doom. Conversely,
they made the world's greatest bungee platform and suicide location.
	As soon as Maria and Davis got out of the small vehicle, they noticed two
things. First was the biting winds, and the second was a bulky figure
violently tearing into one of the many weather stations mounted on the wall.
As soon as she spotted it, Maria unholstered her gun and began edging up the
stairs.
	"Maria!" whispered Davis. "Wait for the assault unit! Maria!"
	She ignored him as she crept closer to the top, gun trained on the boomer's
back, scanning the area for any sign of hostages... or victims. She didn't
know that it was fully aware of her presence until it was too late...
	The boomer spun and lunged at her, catching her off guard and delivering a
vicious backhand to her face which sent her soaring through the air, over
the saftey rail, and off the edge of the platform...

	"MARIA!!!" Davis screamed, watching her plummet past him on the opposite
side of the wall to what would be her doom in the ocean far, far below. Torn
between rage and tears, he pulled out his own gun and began firing madly at
the boomer, convulsively pulling the trigger long after his ammunition was
spent...

	Maria plunged downward alongside the massive oil platform that supported
Sable City. She looked down at the ocean, fearsome wind currents threatening
to slam her into the side of the platform or impale her on one of the many
antennae or bits of superstructure jutting out from it. She was, in truth,
terrified as any human being would naturally be in this instance, but she
was also angry at herself for making such a stupid mistake, for dying for
such a stupid reason. As she watched the ocean and floating docks spiral up
at her, she wondered vaguely whether she would hit the water or one of the
wharves. Better the water, less mess that way...
	As she shot past the main body of the platform, she suddenly became aware
that something was falling along with her, something *large*. At first she
thought it was the boomer and was satisfied to know that she wouldn't die
alone, but then she realized with no small amount of shock that it was in
reality the Ice Suit of Jonathan Meyer.
	Jon closed the distance between himself and the falling woman, eyeing the
altimeter displayed in the lower right-hand corner of his video display. 500
meters and falling fast.
	He moved up next to her, scooping her up in his arms and holding her
securely to his chest armor. 400 meters.
	Jon fired his thrusters for all they were worth, flames swept up over the
thruster units by the ferocious winds, charring them. 300 meters. He watched
their rate of fall slow, bottom out at 176 meters, and begin to rise. As
they soared up towards the platform, Jon checked his passenger's condition.
She looked more than a little flushed, but other than that seemed to be OK.
Especially considering what she had just gone through. She was breathing
heavily, but from what Jon had seen of her she should regain her composure
any minute now...
	"You put me down right now! You hear me!" she screamed over the whistling
of the wind. Jon had just cleared the city walls but stayed airborne,
heading for the eastern portion of the city which housed the burnoff towers
for the oil processing plant beneath the city.
	He ignored her demands, ignored her threats, ignored the beating of her
fists on the Ice Suit's missile hatches. It wasn't until Sarah came on and
warned him he was down to 5% fuel capacity that he finally touched down near
the summit of one of the towers which were used for burning off impurities
in the drilled oil. There was a fair-sized ledge there and nearby was a
ladder descending to the surface. Jon released Maria and she stumbled away
from him, falling against the tower and sinking to her knees.
	"How long until full fuel regeneration?" Jon asked Sarah, watching the
female police officer he recognized as the one who had been following him
regain her strength.
	"I'll divert a little power... I'd say... ooh... thirty seconds?"
	"Good," he glanced at the woman's face. "The officer and I have to have a
little chat."
	After a moment of breathing heavily, Maria looked up at the armored
levithan in front of her. It stuck out its hand, offering to help her up.
She glared at the dull green chevron on the faceplate, it being the nearest
thing to eyes she could see, and used a pipe that ran up the tower to pull
herself to her feet. The powered armor paused for a moment and withdrew its
hand. After a moment of staring at each other, Maria spoke.
	"So why'd you help me?" she asked. "You must know I'm a cop."
	"I helped you because you needed help," came a somewhat processed but
definitely male voice from the Ice Suit's external speakers. "No other reason."
	"Right," she replied, not believing that for a second. "So you're saying,
what, you've become a sort of one-man goodwill orginization now?"
	"If that label would help you in any way, then yes, I suppose it would fit.
Although 'one man' isn't entirely accurate."
	"McInnely," Maria said, using the name almost as a swear word. "And you're
Jonathan Meyer. Show your face, Meyer, I know all about you."
	Jon balked for a moment, but then raised the heavy Endurium cowl covering
his face. "Maria... Perez is it?" he asked.
	"*Lieutenant* Maria Perez." she snapped back, somewhat surprised that he
had complied. With the cowl raised, she was confronted with the fact that
there was actually a living, breathing person being inside that monstrosity.
Of course she knew that before, but it had been easy to think of the powered
armor itself as the enemy, not another human being...
	"Sorry, *Lieutenant*. In any event, what exactly do you know about me?"
	"I know about the death of your fiance, Iris McInnely. I know you and Dr.
McInnely were on that experimental ship with her. I know you never accepted
the DTC and NovaRobotics conclusion of pilot error and design flaw, that you
believed it was sabotage. And I know that this entire scheme of yours is
geared towards revenge against whoever you believe killed her."
	Jon looked out over the ocean, silent. The tower next to them flared
suddenly, the inferno reflecting off the Ice Suit's glossy armor. "I'm
impressed. You've done a lot of research, Lieutenant. You're right, I never
did accept their findings. But *revenge*? Hardly. Revenge is a sucker's game."
	"So what then? Why are you doing this?" Maria asked, defiant but interested
in his answer. She stood to make more progress in this case in the next few
minutes than she and her partner had over the past month.
	"For my conscience. For my past and future... and for a friend."
	"Your *conscience*?" she spat. "And what the hell do you mean by 'past and
future'? Give me a straight answer, god damn you!"
	"I'm doing this to help others, is that clear enough for you?" Jon shot
back, turning on her.
	"You're not helping others, Meyer, and you're only going wind up hurting
innocent people," Maria said quietly, a tone of conviction in her voice.
"Vigilantes don't obey the laws. That's why I'm going to have to bring you in."
	"Sometimes the laws don't work..."
	"So what?!" Maria retorted furiously. "You just simply cannot start
ignoring laws you feel are restriciting you! Laws are made by politicians we
elect. They may not all have been right or even smart but goddamnit, they
were *chosen by the people*! If we all start ignoring laws, no matter what
our intent, we will have *anarchy*!"
	"You're really that naive?" Jon fired back, raising his voice. Was she
really going to lecture him on *ideals*? "Don't you see the world going to
shit all around you?! *No-one* is following the rules when they don't have
to, including those designated to enforce them!"
	"Just what the hell is that supposed to mean?!"
	"You are blind!" Jon said incredously. "Don't you see? Haven't you noticed
the increased crime rate, the disproportionate number of unsolved cases on
SCPD files?"
	"*What* are you saying?" she asked dangerously.
	"Do I need to spell it out for you? Well over half the SCPD force is
accepting bribes from NovaRobotics, Genom, foreign interests... the list
goes on and on... and not just the SCPD, but federal representitives and CAF
personnel as well!"
	"Bull. A complete pile of bull," Maria said, disgusted at his accusations.
"You're just fabricating conspiracy theories to try and deflect my
attention. I'm not falling for it, Meyer. And even if it were true, it
wouldn't matter. You've broken the law. My job is to bring you in. End of
story."
	"I had hoped you'd see the bigger picture..."
	"And what? Give you my approval?" Maria snorted. "Not likely."
	"Pity," he said, placing his hand on the cowl. "I had hoped that we'd..."
	"HOLD IT!" Maria whipped a second, smaller gun out of her breast pocket and
trained it on Jon's exposed head. He froze, his left arm weapons module
pointed harmlessly at the ground. He stared at her, shocked.
	"Out of the armor... NOW!" she screamed, stepping forward.
	"You don't underst..." he started.
	"Shut up and get out of that armor, or so help me I'll blow your brains
out." she threatened through clenched teeth, taking another step forward.
She saw him shake his head solemnly and start lowering the heavy faceshield.
	She fired.
	The bullet ricocheted off of a second transparent faceshield Maria hadn't
noticed, leaving a small spiderweb of cracks on its surface. She saw the
second shield clearly now as the tower behind her flared, flame reflecting
off of it, obscuring Jon's face behind an orange-yellow inferno. Her heart
seemed to stop as she waited for him to snap up his weapons module and blast
her to pieces, hoping against hope to get a lucky shot in first. Part of
Maria was horrified at what she had just done, but most of her was satisfied
that, in the end, she had done her duty. That she had proven that not only
was she willing to give her life for her job, but also to take one when no
other avenues were open. Meyer might take her life, but he'd never be able
to take the self-satisfaction that knowledge brought.
	Jon, however, had no intentions of killing her. Instead of raising his
weapons module, he dropped his hand away from the cowl and turned away from
her. Realizing it would do her no further good, Maria put her gun away,
bewildered. A long stretch of silence ensued, punctuated only by the wind
and the occasional flaring of one of the burnoff towers.
	"I see," Jon said finally. "So this is how it is to be, is it?"
	"I'm a cop, Meyer," Maria replied. Jon thought her tone sounded...
*apologetic*? "It's my obligation. I can't turn my back on it."
	"Then I guess we have nothing further to discuss..."
	"I guess not," she answered. As she moved to the ladder, however, Jon
called out to her.
	"Can I least offer you a ride down?" he asked, his hand held out to her.
	Maria balked, but then cracked a very slight smile. "Sure," she answered,
stepping into his arms. Jon resealed his face shield and stepped off the
ledge, falling to the ground on gouts of flame.

	Kirin watched his target descend from the tower, a woman, a *cop* no less,
in his arms. He felt an intense wave of anger pass through him as he had
watched Jon converse with that woman, but now was not the time to confront
him. Soon enough, Kirin and his 'old friend' would have their showdown, and
when that day came, he would repay Jon in full for his betrayal...

----

(<February 11, 2032, 1:43 AM. Sable City Docks, Support Leg 3>)
	The anonymous email had read 'Come to the Leg 3 Docks, 1:00 AM. Urgent.
Signed, Kirin.' Sarah didn't want him to go, and truth be known, Jon himself
was a little suspicious. However, Kirin had been his closest friend during
their childhood and early adulthood, and he supposed he must've had a good
reason for his secretiveness. Of course, Jon still donned the Ice Suit. No
need to take foolish risks.
	It was now well past 1:00 AM, and Jon was growing ever more concerned with
each passing minute. Was it a trap? Had something happened to Kirin? He was
totally unaware that the source of these concerns lurked in the shadows
behind him, plotting revenge.
	Kirin had no idea why he had waited so long. Jon was *right there*, a
target no-one could possibly miss, and yet Kirin hesitated. No matter what
Jon had done, he had been a good and loyal friend for many years. Also,
there was the matter of Kirin's orders. Killing Jon was most definitely
*not* part of the mission...
	As Kirin shifted to get a better angle, he accidentally brought his foot
down hard on the metal surface of the dock. He froze, watching Jon, praying
he didn't hear it.

	Jon stopped, jarred from his train of thought by a soft metal 'thump.' He
asked Sarah to boost his audio amplifier to maximum and filter out the wind,
waves, and all other natural sounds. Then he listened intently.
	"Whirrrr-rrrrrrr-hhrrrrr-hr-rr..."
	A ventilation fan. A small one, the kind used on computers, electrical
equipment... or in the life support systems of an enviromentally-sealed suit
of powered armor.
	"It's coming from behind you, Jon!" Sarah warned. Jon spun, raising his
MSA-5 weapons module and hitting his spotlight.
	"Alright, pal! Nice and eas..." Jon stopped as he spied a familiar
blue-silver powered armor hunched behind some barrels. Its laser rifle was
pointed straight at him.
	For several long seconds they both stood there, weapons pointed at each
other, like deer caught in car headlights. Then Jon lowered his arm and
spoke. "Kirin! Hey, it's me, Jon.."
	He barely got his name out when Kirin fired, his laser blast impacting on
the Ice Suit's chest armor between its two missile bays. A good deal of the
blast's power was reflected by the glossy armor, but enough remained to slag
the impact area and cause him to stagger back. Jon's instincts took over and
he dove behind a large conatiner.
	"Kirin!" Jon shouted out over his speakers. "What are you doing!" A second
shot whizzed by the conatiner, impacting against a droid mover and blowing
it to smithereens.
	Jon was confused, but he had to defend himself. He armed his
electromagnetic disruptor and launched himself into the sky. Jon spotted
Kirin, aimed his MSA-5 weapons module at him, and fired before Kirin could
get his rifle up. An electromagnetic pulse leapt from the MSA-5's large
central barrel and impacted on Kirin's powered armor, which promptly
collapsed like a puppet with it's strings cut. As he landed next to Kirin he
saw him struggle to get up, his now-powerless armor a hinderance rather than
a help.
	"What the hell do you think you're doing?!" Jon asked angrily. "I'm your
friend, damn you!"
	"Some friend!" came Kirin's reply, muffled by the powered armor's helmet.
Defeated, he pulled the useless helmet off, revealing a scruffy-looking
dark-skinned young man. His eyes burned with hatred, giving Jon pause.
	"I'm glad to see that you've..." Jon started, confused but genuinely glad
to see his old friend.
	"Don't you *dare*!" Kirin seethed. "Don't you *dare* pretend everything's
alright between us!"
	"What's the matter? Kirin, it's me, Jon," he said as he raised his
facesheild. "See?"
	"Yeah, I see. And you know damned well what's the matter."
	"Kirin, no, I don't." Jon said, confusion edging into exasperation.
	"You *betrayed* me! You betrayed all of us!" Kirin said, struggling to his
feet.
	"Wha.. wha.." Jon managed.
	"In the camp! We were attacked, and *you* fled to Japan!" Kirin was
becoming enraged now. "You abandoned us to die, you son of a bitch!"
	"What? Kirin, I was ordered to escort the children and their guardians to
Japa..."
	"I know that! I know you had to get them to the frieghter! But *why did you
go with them*?!?! You knew we needed you! We were outnumbered!" Kirin
pounded his gauntlet against the Ice Suit's left missile hatch.
	"I was ordered to escort them *all the way* Kirin," Jon replied, saddened
to see his best friend hating him like this. "You know that. I couldn't just
abandon them."
	"What threat did they face?! Answer me that!"
	"The government might've planted assassins or boobytraps on the frieghter,
or they could've had agents waiting for us in Japan. Kirin... Kirin, I
didn't want to leave the camp. I didn't want to leave you, my parents,
Fargo, or..."
	"Fargo's *dead*" Kirin spat. "They blew his K2 to bits. He sacrificed
himself so the rest of the camp could escape into the mountains. He wasn't
afraid, he didn't *run*!"
	"I DIDN'T RUN!!!" Jon grabbed Kirin and slammed him up againt the
container. "I had to get them to safety! Kingstone believed the camp would
be *wiped out*, he ordered me to get them out of there, and so help me
that's what I did! Damn you, Kirin, I saved your baby sister!"
	"Yeah? Yeah?!" Kirin shot back, almost losing control. "What about Rema?
Huh?! What about what happ..."
	"YOU SHUT THE FUCK UP!!!" Jon was absolutely incensed now, trying
desperately to keep from attacking his one-time friend. Rema had been the
Fargo's third student and piloted the fourth K2 in the camp. She had been
captured during the attack on the camp, and upon hearing what she had gone
through at the hands of their enemy, Jon wished he had never been born. "It
wasn't my fault, I tell you! You think I wanted this?! Thirty-eight people
are *alive* today because of what I did! Why can't you consider that I
might've done the right thing?!"
	Kirin looked away. "You could've come back... I mean... Fargo... Rema..."
he said in a subdued voice.
	"I loved Fargo like I did my own father, Kirin. He taught us how not only
how to use our K2s, but also restraint, good judgement... I never wanted him
to die... and Rema..." Jon shuddered. "Kirin... I just couldn't abandon the
children... if you had been in the same situation... could you?"
	Kirin looked up, shocked to see tears in Jon's eyes. Bit by bit, his anger
was transformed into forgiveness and sorrow at all the time he had spent
blaming Jon for the events of that horrible day. "No Jon... I don't think I
could've... I'm... sorry..."
	Jon set Kirin down, patting him on the shoulder and nodding solemnly.
"It's... alright." Jon embraced him, having long since accepted what
happened but still saddened by the mention of it. "I'm just glad to see you
again." Jon inhaled deepy, blinking the tears from his eyes. "But... why did
you track me down?"
	"I was ordered to," Kirin answered, hanging onto Jon as much for support as
to express their renewed friendship. "By the Jades. They want to know why
you've taken this course of action without consulting them."
	Jon smiled weakly. "Wasn't like I had much choice... but you can tell them
to relax. I'm still working towards the same goals."
	Kirin returned Jon's weak smile with one of his own. "I'm glad to hear you
say that. Here." he said, pulling a data disk out of his left forearm and
offering it to Jon.
	"What is it?" Jon asked, taking the disk and regarding it.
	"Latest protocols for contacting the Jades, signs-countersigns, things like
that. You should still have the codes to decrypt it. You've been out of
contact for a while now, Jon, some things have changed."
	"Again, I didn't have much choice," Jon said, storing the disk in a small
compartment just below the secondary face sheild. "People tend to notice
when high-profile CEOs start making a lot of covert communications. So is
that the latest JPA?" he asked, gesturing to Kirin's powered armor.
	"Yeah. Horta's own design. JPA-33S."
	"We're up to 33 already?" Jon asked, examining the powered armor. He
watched as the effects of the electromagnetic pulse wore off and the suit
began powering back up. "Sleek. I like it."
	"It has it's advantages. It's nothing compared to that walking tank of
yours, though."
	Jon grinned. "So how long are you in town for?"
	"Well that depended on your membership status with the Jade. If you were
operating against us, I would be leaving tomorrow. But now that you say
you're still one of us..." Kirin paused, grinning. "I'm going to be staying
here as long as you are."
	Jon's eyes went wide. "You've been assigned to... work with me?"
	"More along the lines of *evaluating* you. Making sure you're still really
working for us," He delivered a soft, friendly punch to the Ice Suit's
armor. "But I believe ya. So where do I sleep... partner?"

----
Author's Ramblings: Um, er, well... thanks for reading! Comments can be
directed to mikew@atcon.com prior to Sept. 96 or aj331@ccn.cs.dal.ca after
that. Oh, bonus points to whoever can guess the source of this episode's
title ^_^
									- MW