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Episode
104 |
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“Do not let circumstances control you. You change
your circumstances.” Jackie Chan The office was little more than
four walls crowding around a rickety computer desk and an overly modern
computer. The dark green and imitation
steel tower sat on the corner of the desk, holding up the slightly warped,
off-white wall, while a flat screen display was dark in hibernation. Around the desk, discount metal
shelves stood between the walls and imminent collapse. Stacks of records, CDs, tapes, and other
music-playing paraphernalia littered the shelves, threatening to fall
off. The floor was a mess of torn
newspaper and magazine pages, while the room smelled of rotten glue. The Crimson Rose sat down at the
computer and moved the clear mouse.
The screen flashed bright blue and came to life with a password
screen. She stared at the screen for a
moment, noting ‘Vicka’ pre-written in the username space. She opened the two drawers to the
left, wincing at the grating, steel-on-steel sound that rattled out. Inside, she found a row of poorly filed
accordion sleeves, and a mismatch of flash drives of various sizes and
age. She turned to the other side and
pulled out the two draws, finding more files waiting as well as an assortment
of stationary. She turned to the computer,
placing her hands expertly over the keyboard, typing in ‘chivalry’. The password screen shook violently as if
trying to drive the though of the password from its memory. The Rose checked the door and typed
‘knight’, getting the same reaction.
With ‘sword’ as her third attempt, the password screen disappeared;
leaving only the waiting background to let her know the computer was locked. She turned to her left and grabbed
the flash drives. Taking them all in
one hand, she shoved them into a spare pouch on her belt. She stood from the desk and began to search
the desktop itself. She found two more
drives, pocketing them as well before she heard the footsteps. As she looked up, the door to the
office opened. Dante was speaking to
Matt, neither aware of the Rose for a split second. When they both finally looked towards her,
she slapped her chest, causing the chemical sprays in her shoulder pads to
ignite, flashing both of them with a powerful explosion of light. She rushed past them as they
fought to stay standing. Matt reached
out blindly, catching her cape. She
swung around, slapping his hand with the ridge of her own, the tiny blade
running along the edge of her glove doing no damage, but stinging him into
letting go. The Crimson Rose sprinted down the
hall for the window. But as she
approached, she could tell she wasn’t getting out the way she had come
in. She raced for the stairs and leapt
against the wall rather than slow into the turn. She cleared half the stairwell in a single
leap, running the rest of the distance.
At the base of the stairs, she kicked the spray-painted door and
spilled out into the after-hours dance club. Nine knights were staring at her. She set her sights on the front
entrance and started for it. Not even
a few steps into her run and a knight and a dame moved to intercept her. She ran straight for them, throwing both
her hands towards them at the last second.
Two puffs of white powder shot ahead of her, distracting the two long
enough for her to break hard to her left.
She raced for the edge of the club, more knights moving to catch
her. She reached the wall and leapt up
against it, using it to vault over two of the knights. She landed on her feet and was
running. She got halfway to the steps
before she noticed the sword. Barely even able to see it out of the
corner of her eye, the Crimson Rose didn’t notice the katana blade until it
hacked deep into her mask. Cutting
halfway into the metal frame, she screamed as she felt the razor-sharp blade
nick her skin and drive her to the ground. Ryoko worked her katana free and held it
at the vigilante’s neck. “You,” she
started to say as the Rose held up a grenade, her hand ready to draw the
pin. Ryoko paused at the sight. The Rose yanked the pin and tossed the
grenade at the dame. She caught it in
midair, but the Crimson Rose scrambled out from underneath her and started up
the stairs. Two knights descended the stairs for
her. She leapt up onto the railing of
the stairs and jumped over the knights, landing in front of the doors. She threw the left door open as Eliot raced
for it, thinking it was her exit. She
slammed the door on him as he passed through the archway and leapt out
through the right door. As Eliot
stumbled to keep from falling down the steps, the Rose grabbed some line from
her belt and quickly wrapped it around the door handles. She turned as Eliot did, drawing his bowie
knife. “You know,” he said, looking
the Rose up and down, “we considered inviting you to join.” His lecherous smile grew. “Especially considering all the things Alan
knows about you.” The Rose took up a strong defensive
stance. As Eliot readied himself to
strike, she pressed her fingers against the inside of her glove. The soft scent of smoke began to rise from
inside her jacket. The knight swept at
her with his knife, swinging for her left hand. She kept her arm still, letting the blade
strike her padded jacket. As soon as
the edge made contact, sparks shot from her arm. The electrical current running along her
jacket and through the fibers woven into her sleeve shocked Eliot and he
leapt back. With the space she needed,
she leapt down the steps. Clearing the
distance in a single leap, she landed on the sidewalk in a roll and came up
running. Eliot closing fast, the Rose raced down
the street, drawing out her grappling gun.
As the knight neared to striking distance, she fired the gun, the hook
swinging up into the sky. It latched
onto a building and she pulled on the cord.
But rather than leap into the air, she stopped suddenly, butting her
head backwards. The smooth, round back
of her helmet smashed Eliot in the nose.
The collision knocked them both off their feet. Eliot shouted in pain as his own blood
covered his face. The Crimson Rose frantically pulled on the
cord and leapt up from her crouch, letting the automated towline draw her
into the air. She landed against the
building and quickly scampered up to the roof. Disengaging her hook, she looked down at
Eliot as he stood on the sidewalk in the pre-dawn light, glaring at her. The Rose reached into her cape and drew out
a red rose, tossing it to him. He
snatched the rose out of the air, but when he looked back to the building,
the red and black phantom was gone. |
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