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Episode 099
"What? You think I'd let a creep like him kiss these
"Roland and Ledger got into a gun fight at the park next to
the university." Everett said, as he sat in his chair, staring at the
wall. His newspaper was spread out in his lap in front of him, but it had
long been forgotten.
"Is that who
called?" Armand breathed, fighting to get the bar of weight back up
onto the stand. Behind the couch, there was little room between it and the
half-wall that formed the kitchen. But that simply forced the young knight
to perform the bench press with greater care. "Was it one of . . .
them or was it . . . Edgar?"
"Edgar."
Everett said, rolling thoughts around inside his head. He breathed out,
not saying anything until Armand sat up. Covered in sweat, the shirtless
knight showed no scars on his chest, which made Everett smile. "I
think we may need to meet with Marilyn and the World Alliance."
"Why?"
Armand asked, wiping his face off with his towel. "What've they got
to do with it?"
"The gunfight
was related to the World Alliance, somehow. Edgar wasn't clear on
that." Everett said. "Roland and Ledger are headed over here
now, right?" Everett asked. Armand nodded with a deep breath.
"Good. We'll coordinate with them and then we'll . . ."
There was a knock
at the door.
Everett and Armand
both stood up, their eyes going serious. "That not Roland or
Ledger." Armand observed as Everett headed towards the door. He
glanced back into the room, at the window in front of the living room.
Everett looked
through the peep hole, seeing the three large men waiting on the other
side of the door. He sighed, falling against the wall next to the door. He
looked back at Armand and motioned for him to head back into the bedroom.
"Go get Ulysses. There's about to be a fight."
"A
fight?" Armand exclaimed, his voice nearly turning into a squeak as
his mouth turned into a smile.
"There's
three guys at the door." Everett said, taking his ninjato subtly in
hand. "That means there should be a few more in the area. They'll
probably come in through the window." He said, glancing that way for
Armand to follow.
"Should I
shut the blinds?" Armand whispered.
"The place is
sound-proof, Armand." Everett said in a clear voice as he looked out
the peep hole again. "And no. That'll draw attention."
"Then what
are we going to do?" The younger knight asked.
"You're about
to get your first real test in close-quarters combat, Armand."
Everett said, his eyes till focused out the peep hole. "Just a
minute!" He called through the door. He looked back at Armand.
"Be prepared. Your Tae Kwon Do may not be as useful in here as you
might think. And whatever you do, make sure these guys don't break
anything."
"What are we
going to do?" Armand asked again, looking like a cornered cat.
"I'm going to
let these guys in," Everett explained, his straight sword firmly held
in his hand. "We'll shut the door, take care of them, and then deal
with their girlfriends somewhere outside." There was another knock.
Everett started to
unlock the door. "Just a minute." He called loudly through the
metal door. He opened up the door, just the chain between him and the men.
"Yes?" He asked.
"ALAN!"
Marilyn was jarred
awake by Kim's screaming as the girl ran into the room, tears streaming
down her face. She jumped onto the bed, collapsing around Alan's
unconscious neck. She hugged tightly to him, burying her face in his
shoulder as she balled on.
Marilyn looked up
from the scene, as Victor came into the room. He stopped in the doorway
and looked at Marilyn, a warm smile on his face.
The door stayed closed.
The door stayed
closed.
The door stayed
closed.
The door opened
just a bit, quickly, as if in a hurried desperate act.
The door closed
again.
The door stayed
closed.
"What the
hell's going on?" Said the Hand agent, as he looked through his
binoculars across the street at the single apartment door that was the
sole object of his attention. "They went in two minutes ago. All
three of them. Where the hell are they?"
The man next to
him picked up the walkie-talkie and hit the call button. "Big brother
to little brother. Big brother to little brother. Do you copy?"
There was no
response.
"I guess
they're busy with those two losers." Said the driver, chuckling to
himself.
The door to Alan's hospital room opened and Victor stepped out. He
turned back around as Marilyn shut the door, immediately cutting off the
sound of Kim's wailing. In the relative silence of the hallway, Marilyn
sighed. "Geez." She shook her head and turned to Victor.
"Hey."
He smiled as he stood in the middle of the hall. "You been here all
day?"
"Yeah."
She nodded, scratching behind her left bang. "Malcolm came and got me
just before my second class. He brought me over here."
"Well, given
everything that's happened, I guess it's clear why you broke our
agreement." Victor said, still smiling at Marilyn. But she said
nothing.
The door opened.
The door closed.
"What's going
on?" Said the driver. "They've had five minutes. They should be
. . ."
As he spoke, the
walkie-talkie in the passenger's hand came to life. "Big Brother!
This is Little Brother! We are . . ." Silence. The two in the van
looked at each other, both at a loss.
The walkie-talkie
came back to life, but no voice came over it. For a second, there seemed
to be in the background, a touch of laughter from two different voices.
Then suddenly, a loud voice exploded over the walkie-talkie.
"Imperial
troops have entered the base! Imperial troops have . . ." It died off
with a voice trying to sound like radio static.
The two agents
looked at each other again.
"Marilyn," Victor said, stepping another step closed, his
presnece pushing her up against the wall. "I haven't seen much of you
at all. You've been hold up, trying to get the Alliance into more places
and stuff."
"Someone has
to do it." She retorted, not looking him in the eyes.
"Yeah, but
you've been at it for way too long." Victor said, putting his hand on
the wall, his arm just over her shoulder. "And now you've been couped
up in here all day, waiting for Alan to wake up."
"Someone
needs to be here." She said, finally looking at him.
"Yeah, and
Kim is now." Victor said. "She's going to stay, crying in
all." The joke finally got Marilyn to crack a smile. "You need
to get out some. Get some fresh air and everything." He moved towards
her, his head hovering just a few inches from her face.
"Victor,"
She said, pushing away from him. She slipped out from underneath him and
turned to face him. Unconsciously, her hands raised in front of her, half
in her kung fu stance. "Look, we're in a hospital and Alan's badly
hurt."
"The doctors
said he was going to get better." Victor said. He moved towards
Marilyn, over-taking her before she could back away. "Come on. Let's
get out of here."
"Victor, Alan
needs us." Marilyn protested, trying to keep out of his arms without
overtly resisting him.
"Alan'll be
fine." He said, pulling her towards him now. "You need to get
out. Let's go out."
"No,
Victor." She said, trying to push away.
"Come
on." He said, pulling on her a bit harder.
"No!"
She repeated more forcefully, almost to the verge of shouting. "Let
go of me!"
Victor released
his hands, causing Marilyn to stumble back from him. She fought to keep
her footing, and she just barely avoided falling. She stood up fully, her
breath trembling. She glared at Victor, then walked in a wide path around
him back to Alan's hospital room.
At the door, she
paused. She looked back at Victor, her eyes filled with tears as she
stared at him. Inside her, words welled up, but she fought them back down.
Without saying a thing, she pushed through the door and headed into the
room.
Victor was left
alone in the hall. |