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Episode 098
“It’s just an exception to the rule. A safety rule,
Inside the sparks and the rushing air of the fabrication room deep
inside the Solaritec corporate fortress, the reactor slowly came towards
completion. The giant frame was now nearly done, while the inner workings
of the giant beast were growing like a fetus towards completion.
By the base, a
small collection of men worked hard and whispered fast, their tools moving
like sound to try and complete the giant machine. Away from them, more men
worked to help them, helped to aid them as they rushed desperately towards
their goal.
There was a change
in the air. All spare eyes shifted over towards the single door into the
room.
Organ rushed to
the door as it opened, bombarding Phillip with his presence before the
head of the Hand of the Brotherhood could even get a foot in the door.
"Phillip, this is, uh, this is madness." He begged, sweat
pooring from his face. "We can't have the reactor completed by this
time you've set."
"Shhh."
Phillip said calmly, taking the jacket off his shoulders. "You're
going to disrupt those men who are working so hard and diligently while
you're here trying to tell me what they can't do."
"Sir."
The rabbit-like man said, fighting to control his fear and his studdering.
"Our best-case scenario was for this to be done by May." Organ
pleaded. "We simply can NOT get the reactor completed in two
weeks."
"I see."
Phillip nodded. He looked at Organ and smiled. "Don't worry about it,
Organ. I'll just go the Triumvirate and tell them that you don't think
their expectations are reasonable."
"Sir, there's
nothing I can do." Organ nearly begged as he began to cry in fear and
tension. "I've got all of my men working around the clock constantly.
These men haven't been home in days. Some of them, in weeks. They sleep
here."
"Organ."
Phillip said, turning to the man. "You get this job done and you get
it done on schedule. Or I will find someone else who can do it. Get
it?" He pressed. "Someone else who can follow orders and deliver
results."
When the farthest sniper stopped shooting, Ledger simply assumed he
had run out of ammo. The black knight stood up just a few inches over the
rock, firing his scattering shot from his shotgun. The shots dispersed and
sparked against the rock that protected the Hand agent he had aimed for.
Ledger didn't have time to appraise his shot. A pistol round sparked
against the rock where he had been a second ago. Ducking down behind his
own rock, he fished through his pockets for his few remaining rounds. He
glanced around the rock to see who remained.
"It's still unclear to me what you're planning on doing."
Organ said, as he sat down in front of his own desk, as Phillip sat behind
the desk, his feet up on the papers. "I mean, you're going to move
the completed reactor almost two thousand miles . . ." Organ said
desperately. "Phillip, this is utter madness."
"Madness is
what can't be done." Phillip said with an understanding
unyieldingness. "This WILL be done."
"How can you
expect us to do this?" Organ begged, looking into Phillip's beady,
steroid-filled eyes. "This is simply impossible. Reactors are built
in months, not days."
"I simply
have a timetable to keep." The Hand leader said, checking his watch.
"And in order for me to keep it, you need to get your lazy ass in
gear."
When the second farthest sniper stopped shooting, Ledger assumed
that he had moved to get a better shooting position. The black knight
rushed out from behind his rock, holding his shotgun perpendicular to the
angel of his run.
Shot.
Pump.
Shot.
Pump.
Shot.
Jump.
Ledger propelled
himself over the rock of one of the shooters, landing on his shoulder.
Rather than roll away, however, the knight dug his hands into the ground
against his own momentum and pushed back with all his might. The result
was throwing his feet back at his foe, kicking backwards with his whole
body and slamming the man against the rock.
Ledger landed hard
on his stomach, the unconscious man at his feet. But the knight rolled
immediately, sliding away from the shots that hit the ground where he had
landed.
Phillip rolled his shoulders back, smiling as he faced away from
Organ. He swung his jacket wide, sliding it back onto his shoulders. He
turned back to Organ, his smile staying, but fading with annoyance.
"Let me give you some advice, Organ. If I were you, and thank god I'm
not, I would move my men as hard as I could. If they aren't getting enough
work in during their waking hours, cut their sleep time. If they aren't
working hard enough, try flogging them. But whatever it takes, you WILL
have this reactor completed in two weeks. You WILL have this reactor ready
for transport in three weeks. And you WILL make certain that it works
flawlessly. Or you WILL NOT live long enough to regret it."
Phillip turned
from Organ and headed out, leaving the man standing in the middle of the
fabrication bay.
When the third sniper disappeared, Ledger knew something was up. He
listened to the shots, counting the time. Two shooters remained.
There was a loud
scream.
One shooter
remained.
"Roland?"
Ledger yelled over the anticipatory silence. "That you?"
"Of
course." Came the answer he wanted to hear.
"What the
hell took you so long?" Ledger yelled back.
"Well, you
weren't too clear where in the park you were?"
"You couldn't
follow the gunshots?"
"I wasn't
sure if this was the party I wanted."
"Are you sure
now?" Ledger screamed.
There was another
scream.
Silence.
"Yeah."
Roland said, standing up from behind a tree, his bloody katana held over
his shoulder like a caveman holding a club. Ledger stood up also, leaning
over the rock he had called safe. He sighed, slumping his shoulders.
"Did you see
a littel guy running by here?" Ledger asked after a moment.
"Yeah."
Roland nodded, rolling his head around in a wide circle. "I knocked
his ass out and tied him up. He's over by that . . ." Roland looked
down. "You're not dead." He said reassuringly to the man at his
feet. "I just cut your hamstrings. You'll probably never walk right
again, but hey." Roland kicked down ont the ground suddenly, a loud
crack echoing off the trees. "Now you'll never get a date again,
either."
Ledger walked
around the rock and checked his shotgun. "I've got three shots
left."
"Are they
registered?" Roland asked, coming to join the other knight in the
middle of the bloody clearing.
"The rounds?
No."
"Good."
Roland said. He looked around, then checked the horizon of the park.
"No cops, yet. But they'll get here soon."
"These are
Hand agents." Ledger said. "The cops ain't coming."
"They have to
come eventually." Roland lamented. He kept looking for a moment, then
turned to Ledger. "Gather up their weapons, get their IDs and all
that stuff. Anything that identifies them and meet me at the north end of
the park. I'll go get our stool pigeon."
Roland moved to
rush off, but Ledger caught him at the arm. "What about the
bodies?"
"Screw 'em,
man." Roland shrugged. "We don't have time and they're not going
to say anything anyway."
"What if they
do?" Ledger pressed. "We can't just leave six mangled bodies in
the park for anyone to find."
"What do you
suggest?" Roland asked back. "We don't have a car to move them
in. We can't really even move them. Someone would notice then. Ledger,
count your blessings no one's come to investigate the shooting as it is.
But we need to go now. Get their stuff, don't leave any finger prints, and
let's get the hell out of here. We've got your runner, whoever the hell he
is . . ."
"He tried to
plant a car bomb in Marilyn's car."
"Marilyn's at
the hospital." Roland said. "She's visiting one of her Alliance
buddies."
"Fine."
Ledger said. "But this guy tried to plant a car bomb on her
car."
"Okay."
Roland rushed. "Fine. Whatever. Get the stuff. North end of the park.
Got it?"
"Got
it." Ledger gave in. |