And trying to a touch more of this. Getting close to ending October:

pipes leading from out of the walls toward a large coffin like
structure on the floor. Similar to the lab, there appeared to be an
abundance of unnecessary machinery

Nah. That only happens in movies. Machinery costs money. If its there, it
has a purpose.

  The coffin was really a granite box, ten feet long by four feet wide
with only a small area of the lid exposed. The rest was covered by
pipe openings, and a solid steel framework which looked old and
worn. I figured that it was there to facilitate the opening of the box
it surrounded. There was a little keypad at the top, but I was
clueless as to the code.

Hmm. High tech vampire feel to things.

  "Any ideas?" I mumbled.

  "Yeah. Six, six, six," she replied from the doorway.
Beep, beep, beep. Nothing. Wells probably wasn't quite so
egocentric.

Or obvious. They need is SS#. People use thaty or birthdays  a lot because
they are easy to remember

  I tried to open it with a kick, but the slabs were far too
strong. Rubber makes a disappointing inaudible clash with rock.
Alethea was standing by a wall screen watching me when I walked
back over to her.

  "I can't get it open. If Wells is in there, we can't get to him
now without blowing the place up.

Alethea: And the problem with that  is...?

  Going back into the stairwell, I stopped at the first landing
to peer out a small window. The back was designed similar to the
front and even larger. I noticed a fourth building, smaller than the
rest behind

rest, behind (I think)

a patch of pines toward the very rear of the grounds.

Alethea and I peered out into the darkness, but did not see any
other signs of life.

  The quiet was suddenly disrupted though, when

I'd drop 'though and the comma.' Feel too unneccsary, even for first person

  "Yes."

  "What if he's armed?!"

  "Then I can plead self defense when I shoot him in the
back."

Heh. With Mr. 'Open Heart Surgery' in one of the rooms, he could probably
get away with it too.

building. It was made of concrete like the others, but lacked
windows and trim. I peeked around the corner, and did not see
anyone on the side wall. I crept up farther, and waited again. More
nothing. There was a brick driveway set into the ground for twenty
feet around the structure which was new. Other than that, it was
just thick trees and bushes in every direction.

Smells like a trap.

  If Wells was here, he would probably not be the one still in
the van.

Nah. He seems the 'hands-on' type

So if I could take care of the driver first and maybe hide in

the back, I could spring on Wells when he got back in. I tip toed

that's one word, I think

  And then the man that had been loading was firing, and it
was all coming at me. I hit the ground hard and rolled under the
van, realizing my mistake too late. He must have caught my back
in the rearview mirror. I saw his feet jump out of the car, and lower
the gun barrel to shoot me where I lay. But I passed my Beretta to
my left hand and shot him in the shin.

Nice move

  When I stopped to hide again, I heard Alethea screaming.
She had come out from hiding behind the trees, and was running
toward me.

And into the line of fire. Brilliant.

  "No! Get Back!" I shouted, and she stopped where she was.

  I saw through the vehicle's windows that Wells was pointing his
gun at her. Quickly I dropped the submachine gun, and fired at him
with my Beretta. It pierced the bulletproof glass and hit him twice
in the side. He did some of his own shouting, but did not drop the
gun.

Hmm. Wonder what kind of armor he's wearing.

  So I turned left and jumped a bush. Here the main garden
of the back lawn reached it's

its

of red weaving through the green grass. I followed it through the
bushes with my gun drawn. Perfectly trimmed. If Wells was smart,
he would hide until I came into view and start firing like mad. His
military issue G79 submachine gun could spit out nine rounds a
second, while I could possibly get out two if I was fast.

It's not so much how many you shoot as where they go that matters.

 I listened

for breathing, but heard none.

Including my own. Evidently I was dead.

 I continued across delicate

flowerbeds concealed in pockets of small trees.

  The taller hedges finally thinned out, and I found myself
facing a huge circular fountain in the center of perfectly groomed
grass. In the center

two 'center's close together. I'd make one 'the middle'

was a marble statue of a nymph, spitting water

out of her mouth and breasts.

And breasts? Don't think I've seen that one before.

  I counted off the shots in my head, and figured that I had
less than twelve rounds left. My arms rested calmly on the fountain
rim while I took aim. I yelled out 'Oh no!' to try and confuse him.

Heh. That might work too

  I stood up, and

don't think you need that comma

  "What the hell are you talking about? What are you doing
here? Do you work for Wells, too?

Evidently

  "It's ok!"

okay

  Chris stared back at her. The glare they exchanged struck
me as peculiarly prolonged as this was only the second time they
had met each other. "It's dark out here," he said. "My eyes hadn't
adjusted from the fluorescents in the garage."

And frankly, he had more things to worry about than IDing the perp.

  Chris scooped up his partner in a fireman's carry and
started to run down the brick road back the way we came. Alethea
and I were still for a moment as we watched, and then found
ourselves following him. We passed the remains of Chris's black
van still burning in the road. I should have noticed it before.

Well, in all defence, he was busy staying alive.

* * * *

  Chris did not stop driving at full speed until we were far
southeast of Capital Plaza, and could see the great inner ring of the
Turbine circling the city. It's

Its

latter, because Chris would still be in crisis mode if we were being
followed. In the mean time I checked my gun. It was completely
empty, and I had no more magazines. I had to frown. It was all to

too

much. Wes was in the front audibly complaining about his leg and
Chris was coldly ignoring him. Alethea was worn out, and falling
asleep next to me, and all I could think about was the fact that it
seemed not a single person in this god forsaken city had any idea
what had just went on.

Or even the reader, for that matter. ^_^

  Made you feel essential, no? Ha.

  The stars could see me through my window, but they
refused to acknowledge my existence. They were just spinning
around losing heat, and I was spinning around just as fast. Chris
was still paying more attention to the road behind us than in front,
and seeming to take turns at random. I knew these roads better than
anyone in that car and it still wasn't making sense. Nothing was
here except empty high rises.

And maybe some not so empty ones.

  "Screw! You got my page, excellent. Listen, you gotta get
me out of here."

  "... How did you know I had Wells' pager?"

Heh

  "He told me you took it."

  That stopped me for the third time. "What?!"

Double heh

  "No, he wasn't there."

  "So you broke in through the gate?"

  "Hey, don't you try to get moral on me. The gate was
already open. And inside, in the basement, was a body."

  "His?" he asked slowly.

Curious question

  "But still, when has he tried to kill *you?* Or was he just trying to
get hold of you again? Believe me, he does not want you dead.
And I don't think you can say he has actually tried to molest you."

  "In my book it's all the same thing.

Pretty much mine too.

  "They probably have more sophisticated means than the
phone book."

  "No shit. I'm being deported to the Lanz Island city
courtroom tomorrow. They're taking me down in the back of a
cargo truck! I need you to show up there to get me. If I am cleared,
then great. If they convict me, well, then you have to pull
something out of your sleeve."

Heh. Just break him out of jail on the spur of the moment. Nice friends with
high expectations there.

  "Damn it, Zig, you better not be fucking around with me
here! I make *no* promises. Falling into the Special Forces hive is
the world's most reliable way to get yourself killed,

Nah. Playing Russain Rullette with an automatic is. :)

  "You can't trust him. He's a bigger part of this than you
think. Talk to you later." His end of the line went to dial-tone.

  Then the Ford Cobra screeched to a halt, and my head
bounced off the front seat.

Hmm. Well, things are moving along quickly, that's for sure. Interesting way
this is heading. Looking forward to getting to more eventually.

D.B. Sommer

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