That which has gone before: Kyle Holly, Carin Welferd, and Damion White
lived in New York. Coming home, Kyle got mugged. Kyle is really
supernatural, as was his attacker, and he survived. The three got
attacked in his house and ran, Damion appearently dying. Then they went
to Colorado to get Kyle cured of a poisoning. Now the two remaining
heros are on their way to Seattle by bus.


Chapter 3
	Sagawa Ohito was having a bad day. It was not because he had found his
prey. It was not because he was minutes away from fulfilling one of his
life long goals. It was not because he was afraid of death or due to the
bad Mexican food he had the night before. He corrected himself. 'Ok, the
Mexican had something to do with it but that's not the real reason.' It
was because he was on a plane.
	He was not particularly scared of flying. In fact, he rather enjoyed
it. He loved the freedom and was quite content. Now, however, he was
very unhappy about being on a plane. The reason for this sudden change
of heart was quite simple.
	He was literally on a plane. 'Who was it that said 'You get in the
plane, Evel Kinevel gets on the plane?' Well, guess what, bucky boy, I'm
on the plane.'
	According to his guess work, he was about forty thousand feet over
Colorado right now. He was breathing through an oxygen tube and from
where his perch on the side of the fuselage was, he had a beautiful view
of all kinds of spiky death below him. Very far below him in fact, he
was keenly aware.
	'I'm going to kill them.' He was not happy. He was rather disgruntled. 
	A small part of his mind spoke up. 'They didn't make you get on the
plane. And let's face facts, you were going to kill them anyway.'
	He resisted the urge to retort. Insulting himself was a bad sign. It
must be the stress. 
	He was secured, hopefully, by three wires. One was connected to a bolt
ring behind a wing, the other two were attached by high powered magnets.
The fourth wire was probably decorating part of Kansas by now. Oh well,
he hoped he had not needed it anyway. He was wearing low pressure gear
and had tied himself so thoroughly to the plane he could scarcely budge.
Of course, this did not prevent him from clutching the guide wires in
his fists and tightening his legs around the other anchors. All the
muscles in his body were exhausted.
	He was continuing his mental rant when he heard an internal motor come
to life. He was attached to a DC-10 and he knew that noise was the cargo
doors opening. He looked down. 
	'Don't make them jump. Don't make them jump, God.' 
	Three figures fell from the back of the plane. Within moments they were
barely visible specks. 
	'They jumped. Thanks for nothing, God.' Sagawa pulled the red wire. The
electrical currents that had kept the magnets afixed to the plane
abruptly died. At the same time, the emergency release of the final
anchor went off. With nothing left holding him to the plane, Sagawa
fell.
	Untying oneself in mid air is an exhilarating procedure. First, one
must remove the mesh padding which held all the supports. Then, one must
remove the inner wiring. Finally, it would be a good idea to remove the
parachute from the pouch and put it on. In and of themselves, these
tasks are quite dull. Doing them while moving towards six billions tons
of rocky death at speeds approaching terminal velocity will get one's
blood pumping.
	The three figures below him blossomed white and went into a cloud. He
pulled the cord to open his own parachute and felt the jerk as it
engaged. He felt the second jerk as the fastenings were ripped from his
harness and it floated away. 
	"Damnit! Get back here! I said 'Open' not 'Fly! Be free!'" Sagawa was
talking to his parachute now. This was not a good sign. 
	Upon emerging from the cloud bank, he had succeeded in readying his
emergency parachute but decided to wait before deploying it. Since he
had no backup he did not need to worry about needing time to use it and
he wasn't worried about speed. He had hit terminal velocity a long time
ago. 
	He looked but did not see the other three figures. He rolled and looked
up but they did not emerge from the cloud either. 
	'Hmm. They musta Slid when they were in the cloud. Well, shi-it. They
couldn't be far though. Maybe a few miles at most. He began looking
around. 'There you are.'
	They emerged from another cloud bank a few miles to his right and down
another mile. He angled himself and began to make his way over to them.
He also drew a pair of large submachine guns. No sense wasting
opportunities. 
	Before he could unload a friendly salvo or two, he realized that now
would be a really good time to open his own 'chute and after resheathing
his weapons he did. The jerk hurt his arms like hell and he held on to
the ropes, trying to take a little of the strain off. Maybe it helped
and maybe it did nothing. The parachute remained attached though.
	The three figures landed only a few seconds before he did but three or
four miles away. He hit, fell, and rose exactly as he had been trained.
Rising, he detached his parachute, pressure gear, and the rest of the
equipment he had needed for the plane. Then he began jogging towards
where he had last seen his quarry. 

	
	Chief Wiggum was still not a happy man. Webber had handed in a
secondary report, this one a copy of the one he had received from the
explosives and demolitions technician. Concussion grenades had not been
used. No form of explosive had been employed. The damage was not
consistent with the type that would result from a blast. 
	"So what did they use? KEWs?"
	"Nope. Kinetic Energy Weapons would have gone through the surrounding
walls and a huge number of people would have been killed. Besides, the
noise would have been much greater." Webber was chewing on his Nicotal
Gum. His wife hated his smoking habit and had made several promises if
he could kill it. From what those promises had entailed, he had resolved
to break the habit ASAP.
	"We had complaints from the entire building!" Wiggum objected.
	"A KEW releases a sonic boom every time it's fired. You would have had
complaints from the entire city. No window within five or six miles
would have remained intact if they were using KEWs. No, they're out. I
was considering those Impact Magnifiers that the Army is developing but
they're only in the planning stage. Assuming the Army is twice as far
with them as they have told the public, there's still no chance." This
gum tasted horrible. Calmed the cigarette craving though.
	"So what's left?"
	"Frankly, I have no clue. These were heavy weapons used, but very short
range." Webber leaned back in his chair and put his brain into high
gear.
	There was a knock on Wiggum's door. He called for the visitor to come
in. 
	One man and one woman entered the room. The man was wearing a black
business suit. His hair was cut in a military style and his bearing
implied that he fully expected something to come bursting through a wall
at any moment bringing a million gallons of screaming death. 
	The woman was dressed in a conservative suit-dress cross. Her hair was
pulled back and she wore glasses. She stood against the wall next to the
door and waited patiently. Altogether, she was an unremarkable woman.
	"I'm Agent Sammarco. This is Agent Moody. CIA. We're here about the
Siemanse & Rull bombing." Chief and detective nodded simultaneously for
him to continue. "We're relieving you of this investigation. We'd like a
copy of all your applicable files. I'm sorry about not providing any
prior warning and for not going through the usual channels. We'll try to
answer any questions we can."
	Webber was the first to speak up. "Why the CIA? I've had the FBI take a
few cases from me but never your agency."
	"We have reason to believe this is related to a group of international
terrorists. The FBI is an internal agency. We get out in the world."
Sammarco replied.
	"What weapon did they use that caused all that damage?" Wiggum asked.
	Sammarco gave a kind of wry smile. "We're not allowed to tell you
that."
	"Could this happen again?" Wiggum asked. 
	"I don't know. I doubt they'd come back but I can't say for sure." The 
CIA man paused. He seemed about to say more but caught himself and
remained quiet.
	"Is this classified?" Webber asked.
	"Not really. You don't know anything which needs to be kept secret but
we'd appreciate it if you kept this quiet. If someone specifically asks
for information on this case, unless they have a good reason, turn them
aside. We have a press release for you in case you'r cornered by
reporters. You don't have to use it but it has the type of information
you should reveal." He stopped and mentally reviewed what he had just
said. He nodded in agreement with himself.
	Both of the police officers had a few other questions which Sammarco
answered though rarely in detail. Half an hour later he left with Moody. 
	"Hmm. Well, not our problem anymore." Webber relaxed. It was a little
irritating how CIA could just take over a case like this. However, he
had no leads on it, and if they wanted to deal with this enigma, they
could go right ahead.
	"Right. Now get out there and solve a crime," Wiggum ordered and Webber
left. Sitting back, the chief wondered if he could order Chinese today.

	
	The trio made their way towards the bridge. It was an ideal spot for an
ambush. Barely used and only two lanes, it was made to order.  
	The leader gestured towards a car parked by the side of the road and
the follower on her left broke off. Then she gestured towards the other
side of the bridge and the figure who had been on her right moved off
into the brush. Then the leader settled down into a drift to wait.


	"Kyle, if you ever try to plan travel arrangements again, I'll kill
you." It was said too low for Kyle to hear, though, and he failed to
reply.
	Carin was seated directly behind the driver, her suit case below the
bus and far away. Kyle was seated in the bench across the aisle from
her, nodding in and out of a trance. Carin tried, but she was far too
uncomfortable to drift off.
	"Ma'am, if you look to you left, you can see Mt. Charles," The bus
driver commented from his seat, his eyes still on the road. Since her
companion had not responded he had taken a chance and started a
conversation. "The view is rather impressive."
	Carin did so and was forced to admit, clad in snow like he was, the
mountain was impressive, and she said as much.
	"Up ahead there's Blighton Gorge. We'll be crossing a bridge over it in
a minute." 
	Carin looked forward. The angle was wrong but she could make out a
glimpse of the cleft.


	Sagawa was looking down from the top of a snow face. His three targets
were out of sight but he knew this was their target. He did not know
why, but they had come straight here. He began looking for a way down
the face.
	Robert Dale had just answered a call of nature and was proceeding back
to his car. This was the first place to park he had found in the last
half hour and he could wait no longer. As he returned to his car, he
rummaged around in his pocket, separating his keys from bits of loose
change and candy. 
	He was opening the lock on his door when he felt someone tap his
shoulder. He turned.
	"Vas?"  
	One hand snatched the keys from him first. He opened his mouth to 
complain when the other took him in the gut. He doubled over, the wind
gone from his lungs. A foot caught him dead in the side, throwing him up
and out, farther than any kick could send him. He looked down into the
gorge for a moment as he started to fall. This was going to hurt.

	
	Keys rattled in the lock and the door opened. Feet came in and a body
followed. Depressing a peddle, inserting a key, the ignition turned. The
car hummed to life. It backed onto the road and crossed the bridge. 


	"There's the gorge now. Beautiful ain't it?" The bus had finally come
around the final corner and was only a few hundred yards from the deep
cleft in the mountains.
	"Kyle, wake up. Look at this." She shook him. The view was truly
spectacular and she wanted to share it.
	"Huh? Wazzat?" Snapping out of his daze he sat up and looked around. 
	"Straight ahead," She replied.
	"That's Blighton Gorge. Real natural beauty," The bus driver informed
his newly cognizant passenger.
	Kyle gazed forward at the sweeping visage. The angle of the sun bathed
the gorge in a golden halo. Steep sides cut straight down out of sight,
rock and snow mixed together on crags and fissures, a vast mountain was
the backdrop, and there was a single, narrow bridge across. It was a
scene of breathtaking natural beauty and made one realize what wonders
the natural world is capable of.
	"That's nice." 


	Sagawa watched the car drive off, turn around and wait. Then, when a
bus came around a bend, the car began to accelerate back across the
bridge. A cold rock appeared in the bottom of Sagawa's stomach and he
realized what was probably going on.
	"Sadistic murdering witches." He muttered and ceased to pick his way
down the slope. He jumped and ran down the face itself. 
	If one were very observant, one might notice that behind Sagawa, there
were no footprints in the snow where he ran.


	The figure in the snow bank began to swim forward, staying under the
snow. It moved quickly, as events would begin to take place in seconds. 


	The bus was on the bridge now. Kyle abruptly realized the hairs on the
back of his neck were standing on end. He slid over and sat next to
Carin. He didn't know what was going on, but he intended to be nearby in
case he was needed.


	The driver smiled. The car and the bus were fifty feet apart, and this
part was almost complete. The steering wheel was given a hard yank. Then
the figure moved through wall which hid this dimension from the next and
was gone.


	Sagawa ran faster.


	"What the-" Further words by the driver were cut off by the impact.
	The small car crashed head on into the bus, virtually exploding on
impact. The bus over ran it and the left front wheel skidded wildly on
the hood. The real wheels continued their to spin, pushing and the bus
lurched horrible, pivoting left. Then it fell, swinging around until its
front rested against one Jersey barrier and the rear against another. It
was on its side and skidded down the bridge, showers of sparks rising
from it like roostertails. The bus made a horrible grinding screech as
it moved down the bridge. It was twisting and shaking but slowing
rapidly.
	Kyle started moving the second the impact happened. He flared his Gift
into speed and seized Carin. He jumped from the seat but lost his
footing when the bus landed on its side. He strengthened his right hand
instinctively and reached for a handhold. He found one by curling his
fingers through the floor. He held on with all his might, him securing
Carin, the floor securing him. 
	The bus screeched finally to a halt in the middle of the bridge. It lay
at a slight angle between the two sides of the bridge in the only way it
would fit. Somewhere along the skid one of the fuel tanks had ruptured
and spread its contents while the bus traveled. The whole bridge was
covered in gasoline now, not yet aflame, and more was pouring from the
tank every second.
	Three figures walked onto the bridge. Quickly they ran to the bus and
stopped around the rear of it. The leader made a gesture towards one
barrier wall and one of the figures broke off. It made its way over and
braced itself. Then it ripped the wall from the moorings and let it hang
over the side. 


	People were screaming. They were shouting, crying, and moaning. Kyle
held himself still, cradling Carin against his chest. Then he felt the
lurch.


	Sagawa was almost down the snow slope now but was still hundreds of
yards from the bridge. He was going as fast as he could but tried to go
faster.


	The three positioned themselves around the back of the bus and heaved.
It groaned and moved. Inside the screams went off as one. People cried
out to God. They were ignored.
	"Again." Repeating their earlier actions, the figures braced themselves
and pushed. The bus slid several feet farther. "Again." And it was moved
once more. It was almost halfway over now and was beginning to twist in
the wind rising from the gorge.


	The bus was moving. It would lurch, and stop. Lurch, and stop. A horrid
light bulb clicked in Kyle's mind. He began to fight his way up, towards
the window which looked out at the sky. Below him, the bridge was past
and he looked down for a heart stopping moment at the floor of the
gorge. There was a vast gulf of nothing below him, and he looked up
again. 
	Still with Carin clenched in his arm he pushed from the side of the
seat. His arm ripped through the window and he dug his fingers into the
sheet metal side.


	"Again." The bus was swinging wildly now. Once more the three put their
backs against it, and it tottered, swung, and slid. The front moved down
and the bus screamed as it slid down, unable to resist gravity. Then it
began to plunge. 


	Kyle ran up the almost vertical vehicle now. He made it to the back and
realized the bus was in free fall. He pushed off from the bottom,
channeling everything he could into strength and speed. His leap carried
him up. Then he came to the sickening realization he was too far away.
The bridge was just a few inches from his hand but it was enough. Kyle
began the long, final fall to his death. His only regret was Carin was
with him and he would be unable to save her.


	The three moved to the edge of the bridge and looked off. The bus spun
slightly as it fell, spinning on its trip down the abyss. Faintly, a
chorus of human terror and pain could be heard. Then it hit, a crumpling
of metal and abruptly, all was silent. The three turned to face each
other. The leader smiled for a moment and they turned to walk away. 
	And found themselves staring at Sagawa who was standing at the edge of
the bridge. In each hand he held a gun. He did not look happy.
	"Murderers!" Bullets roared from his pistols. 
	Sagawa was something of a prodigy. He had been diagnosed with an
unusually high IQ when he was little but even though he tried and tried,
he was always in the middle of his class. Then, when he was eighteen,
his only uncle had taken him hunting. Sagawa had found his genius. On
his first trip hunting, he bagged a bear. He was using a .22. He fired
once, it had gone straight through the bears left eye and ricocheted
around in the skull. After that, he only got better.
	Now, at only forty yards range, he unleashed. Sagawa knew his hands
were stained with blood. He had many lives and many souls on his
conscience. These he would feel no regret about killing. 
	Eight bullets were in each magazine. The figures danced and dodged with
inhuman agility, but it was pointless. Sixteen direct hits. None of the
figures fell.  
	Sagawa flicked the lever and the clips fell from the guns. He tossed
the guns lightly into the air and brought his hands down to his belt.
Before the pistols could begin to fall he had fresh clips in his hands.
With an impressive display of dexterity, he reloaded but weapons at once
and began firing again.
	The three had started lunging forward while Sagawa was reloading. They
dashed towards him, covered half the hundred and twenty feet in few
seconds. Then Sagawa resumed firing. This time there was no shrugging
off bullets. When each one hit, it exploded. 
	The leader was hit first. An explosion erupted from its face, and the
leader stumbled. The companion on the left was shot next, an impact on
one of the arms sending the figure reeling. The other companion caught
an explosion in the chest. By now the leader was up again and just in
time to have a explosion erupt from its left foot.
	Sagawa abruptly realized that these masked and cloaked figures were
women. The way they ran and moved their hips gave it away. As he put
three more exploding bullets in each one of his attackers he mentally
filed this. They began to run. 
	The leader headed for the edge of the bridge while her two minions
tried to cover her. It did no good. Shooting around the obstacles Sagawa
fired twice more. This time he was rewarded by a fountain of blood from
the leader's face. 
	The two witches tried charging again. Big mistake. The first realized
her error when her right eye exploded. She hit the ground rolling, went
behind the remains of the car, and did not appear on the other side. The
second leapt from the side of the bridge, desperately trying to get out
of sight. She did and managed to Slide before she hit the bottom. She
was also missing a large part of her ear. Sagawa returned to the leader.
	She was just about to fall off the railing. Sagawa drew a bead on her
right eye and fired. Both hammers clicked on empty chambers. Before he
could draw another weapon, she was gone. 
	Sagawa walked forward to the hole where the witches had pushed the bus
over the edge.  The jersey barrier was hanging loosely, held together by
the steel cables in it. Beneath that the metal fence hung, also ripped
out of it's moorings. He leaned out over the edge, hoping against hope
that he would be surprised and not see what he expected. He was not so
lucky. 
	The bus lay in a crumpled heap, burning slightly. Two or three of the
passengers had fallen from it during the fall and their remains were
soaking into the snow, a grim testament to him of the permanence of his
vision. He sighed brokenly and hunched over.
	"Damn. I was just too late," He muttered to himself. A thousand 'what
ifs' played through his mind, taunting him with the sure knowledge that
if only he done this different, if only this had changed, if only he had
chosen this course of action instead, they all would have lived. But it
was too late. Too late for hindsight, too late for self recrimination,
too late for all those people. He felt like crying. Whoever or whatever
it was on that bus that the sisters wanted dead, they were gone. There
was nothing he could do to change it.
	He rose and walked over the edge one last time. He might as well go
down and see if he could find out what was so important that so many
innocents had to die. He leaned forward on his hands and knees, trying
to pick out a good route.
	Abruptly, he clenched up. Footsteps, one person, walking, behind him,
he was very slow and sure of himself. 
	He rose and spun. The leader stood at the other side of the bridge,
smiling. She was only a few feet from where the accident had taken
place. She smiled as he jerked his hand towards his gun. She flicked
something forward and it hit the vast pool of gasoline, one end of which
he was standing in now. 
	The flames roared up and raced towards him. He had time to fall
backwards off the edge before the ground he had stood on was consumed.
He lashed a hand out and caught the edge of the fence. It swung inwards,
under the bridge and he found himself hanging there, his grip too
tenuous to move, waiting for that woman to reappear. 
	He was also looking at two individuals hanging from a support truss.
One, a man, had apparently gouged a handhold from the concrete with his
fingers and was hanging by one arm. The other, a woman, was being held
by him. They were both bruised and battered and Sagawa guessed they had
been in the bus when it had gone over the edge. 
	"Good morning," Kyle said. His arm hurt and he was stuck on the bottom
of a bridge with a gunfight going on above him, but other than that he
was alright.
	"How are you?" Carin added. There may have been a hint of sarcasm in
her voice. She was being held over three hundred feet over a stony
gorge, she was sure Kyle's grip was tenuous at best, and she fully
expected the people who had tried to kill them earlier come back for a
second attempt at any moment.
	"Uh. Hi. Um." The cheerful greetings had left him at a loss for words,
being about as far from what he had expected as possible. As a result,
Sagawa was rather confused and tried to retighten his own hold on the
metal fence for a second to give himself time to think of a way to
proceed. 
	He looked up, still unable to decide how to handle this situation. He
saw the figure of the leader looking down at him. Her face was bleeding
and her nose was in ruins. She was also wearing a vast, evil smile. 
	"Die, mister." She seized the fence by its securing anchors and ripped
it free. Sagawa abruptly swung down as half the fence was separated from
the bridge. He decided the risk it all and reached for one of his boots,
keeping only one hand on the fence.
	She walked over to the other side and grabbed the single steel bar
which held the fencing this pesky intruder was clinging too up. She
wrapped her fists around it and braced herself.
	Sagawa grabbed the handle free of his boot and brought it up and
forward. As the woman prepared to break the bar he pushed the button.
	The woman screamed. Abruptly a blade protruded from her neck and she
fell backwards. Lying on her back on the asphalt she grabbed the blade
and pulled it out. Able to take a deep breath she gasped. Then all the
muscles in her body clenched suddenly then relaxed. She stopped moving.
	Sagawa looked over to the two hanging under the bridge. They were only
a few feet from him now.
	"I'm going up to see if there are any others. I'll be back in a sec."
	"If you say hang on, hang in there, or anything else like that, I'll
scream," The woman replied. 
	Sagawa, forestalled in the middle of opening his mouth, smiled and
slowly climbed up the fence. With the new angle it was fairly easy. 
	Standing on the bridge he looked down and saw the leader's corpse. He
pulled two small spheres from a bandoleer under his coat and pushed a
button on each. Then he dropped them on her body. He took cover. 
	Seven seconds and 7000 degrees Celsius later, he poked his head up. The
woman was a char spot. He nodded and rose to his feet. 
	The metal fence looked fairly well anchored so he called down for the
other two to come up. While waiting for this he reloaded his weaponry
and took a watching position the road. 
	He was joined in a few minutes. One set of introductions later he led
them from the bridge.
	"What was that weapon you used on her?" Kyle asked as they rested on
the shoulder.
	"Ballistic knife laced with about three times the usual dosage of Serus
6, the fastest acting nerve poison known. Illegal as Hell." Sagawa
regretted the loss of one of his favorite weapons. They were hard to
find and incredibly expensive. "So, who are you?"
	"We were on that bus. We were able to survive the fall by jumping at
the last moment and holding on to a crack in the concrete." Carin
carefully edited their story, not knowing who this individual was. She
was also unsure how to react to this unique declaration. "You?"
	"Sagawa Ohito. Freelance Mercenary and Gunman." Subtlety had never been
one of his strong suits. 
	"Oh. Ok." She was taken aback by this level of revelation. 
	"So, Kyle, how did you manage to jam your hand straight into the
concrete like that? And why is the Dynasty after you?" Tactful to the
core, Sagawa proceeded.
	"Uh." Kyle replied.
	"This might not be the best location to discuss this," Carin spoke up.	
	"Good point."

	Kyle took a good look at their rescuer. Sagawa Ohito was a short
oriental individual. Judging from his name, he was probably Japanese. He
was probably no more than five foot six and looked like he didn't clear
a hundred and fifty pounds. His thick black hair was short cut, almost
to a flat top. He had the typical dark skin and facial features of his
homeland.
	He also had a California accent and manners. He was apparently packing
more weapons than the average inner city LA high school and looked
proficient in all of them. At least he handled them with familiarity as
he did a quick personal catalogue of arsenal and ammo. He was dressed in
a tight black insulated bodysuit and gun holster ensemble. His entire
body covered, except for the head.
	He lead them several hundred yards from the bridge and a good ways into
the woods. There he noticed Carin's shivering and offered her his
gloves. She gladly accepted.
	Carin had removed her winter coat and accessories earlier in the bus
and was currently slowly freezing. Kyle had already given her his
sweater and hat. She had tried to refuse on the grounds he needed them
himself. He had just given her a long look, said it was one of "those"
things and he'd be fine. She accepted shortly thereafter.
	"Now. Lets talk. Um, shouldn't you be freezing to death?" The oriental
gentleman asked when he noticed Kyle was topless. Carin had recently
gained a T-shirt too. He looked around at the hip deep snow. 
	"It's a Gift." Kyle kept a completely straight face.
	"Ah. Ok. Um. Sure. Anyway, we need to get away from here. The cops
should show up in less than twenty minutes. We need to be out of here by
then because we really don't want  to be asked any questions."
	"Why are we running from the cops?" Carin asked.
	"Do you want to explain to them how you escaped from the bus, how it
was pushed of the road by three women, why I shot them up, and why there
are no bodies?"
	"Good point."
	"Why are you saying we?" Kyle contributed.
	"As far as I can tell, the Dynasty wants you dead. That means I want
you alive. And the best way for me to keep you alive is be around you."
Sagawa was matter-of-fact about this. "Where were you going originally
anyway?"
	Carin shot Kyle a look. She asked, "Can we have a moment alone for a
sec?"
	"Sure. Just don't go too far." And with that the gunman walked several
yards off and began to whistle tunelessly.
	"What do we do about this guy?" Carin spoke in low tones.
	Kyle shrugged. "Any enemy of the Dynasty's is a friend of mine.
Especially when he wants to keep us alive and they want us dead."
	"Kyle, have you considered the possibility that he's lying?" 
	"Yeah. He could be. But let's face facts. Do we have any better
alternatives? We've already discovered the Dynasty is able to find us.
We bought tickets under a different name and still they found us. They
were waiting for us. This guy isn't an ally of theirs or he's a really
weird one. We don't really have any other options." Kyle related quickly
and seriously.
	"So we're entrusting our lives to this complete stranger?" She was
still doubtful.
	"Carin, do we have any other choice?"
	"Sure. We could strike out by ourselves."
	"And how do we know those women wouldn't just track us down again? We
have no money, no possessions, and you're almost freezing to death. We
have no choice."
	"And would we be better off if he killed us himself?"
	"We don't know that."
	Carin just stared at him for a long time. He gave her a looked which
said very clearly, 'We have to. There are no alternatives.' Finally,
after several minutes of thinking, she agreed, but added, "I don't like
this."
	"Relax. I'll take care of you."
	"And whose going to take care of you? You're probably the one they're
after."
	"I'm a big boy. I'll do that too."
	"Hmmpf."
	"Come on." And he lead her back to Sagawa, arm around her waist. She
reciprocated.

	The motel door opened smoothly and the three made their way in. The
lead figure quickly searched the room and examined the furniture. The
other two waited in the short foyer for him to pronounce the all clear.
	"Clean. You're sure you don't want a gun?" He asked.
	"No thanks. You keep them." The slightly shorter, female figure
replied.
	"Alright. Wakeup is ten tomorrow. G'night." He turned and left.
	The other two looked around the room for a moment. Bathroom, single
bed, TV, it was pretty much usual. 
	"You want the shower first?" Kyle began to take off his shoes.
	"Sure. Thanks." Carin disappeared into the bathroom.
	Kyle checked the room himself once more and locked and chained the
door. He knew it would never stop the people he that were after them but
it might slow them down. A while later, when Carin emerged from the
bathroom, he took a quick shower of his own and emerged. He kissed the
woman goodnight as she lay in bed, already out cold. He, on the other
hand, fell into a chair and relaxed. He had spent many a night over the
course of his life on guard duty as those who needed it, slept. Settling
in he brought up a constant low level topic of mental contemplation.
Just how many licks did it take to get to the center of a Tootsie Pop?
He'd know by morning.


Chapter 3 Fini
Previous chapters can be acquired at http://www.execulink.com/stryker
where Strife is hosting them, a truely helpful guy.

Thanks to DB Sommer, Wandering Eyes, and Strife