Absolute Power 7: Incognito By Joan Banks
"Mr. Collins, Colorado Child Welfare is on the phone again." The secretary announced through the speaker. The little girl rushed over to the desk and hit the button that activated both the microphone and the voice changing circuit.
"Tell them I'm unavailable!" she squawked.
"Sir, they claim that you have custody of Sarah Jean illegally. She is officially a ward of the state and should be in an approved foster home."
"Are they claiming I provide an unfit home?" The little girl was furious.
"No sir, they just want to talk with you."
"Not now." She severed the connection. The child sat back in the oversized chair and peaked her fingers to her lips. This could get messy, she thought, and inconvenient. She keyed the microphone again.
"Mr. Simmons. How many teams do we have deployed?"
"Seventeen. Two more by next week."
"That is not acceptable. Deploy ten more teams by Monday morning."
"That is stupid, Casper! They require training and..."
"Simmons, do not question me. I know what they have to deal with. I don't care how, just make it happen." She muted the circuit, which left an audible shut off to the connection.
"Crazy old coot." She heard the man say. She smiled and severed the connection completely.
Excellent, she thought, he is even fearless of me! Father was much too nice in his approach. This is a war, and I need warriors.
The relaxed atmosphere of Miami was a relief. Sarah and Debby wandered the streets to the campus, where they hoped to find Professor Al-him. A noted expert on Middle Eastern legend, he might just hold the key to finding the Djinn.
Debby acknowledged the need for disguise. Both of them now appeared to be in their early twenties and their features had been altered slightly to take on a more Cuban look. Each of them had long black hair and did not feel out of place in the community at all. Except for the fact the neither of them spoke Spanish they blended quite well.
Debby was still nervous about submitting to transformations. Larry had been stuck as Sarah for seven months now, and Debby was nervous about a similar occurrence happening to her. This time it was vanity that won her over. She was tired of being the thirty-something. Sarah tightened up her body and slimmed her down in such a sexy way that she thought she must have been crazy before.
"Which building?" Debby asked her friend.
"How should I know? Let's just find the history department, okay?" Sarah replied, "Just relax. No dramatic rescues or adventures, just a simple talk with a knowledgeable man."
Sarah was reveling in this body. She had been in the body of an eleven year old for the last month and any kind of adulthood was a relief.
Shortly, they reached the campus. It was definitely home of the beautiful people, that was for sure. Young, healthy students were everywhere but few of them seemed interested in classes. They lounged about the campus, talking, flirting and generally goofing off. Sarah went right up to one group of young men.
"Hi guys." She said, smiling "Where's the history department?"
"You're kidding, right?" one of them, a tall blond man said, "I'm Carl. A hot babe like you shouldn't be spending a day like this in a class. Party with us!" The entire group agreed. "And bring your cute friend, too."
"Maybe later." She dropped the smile "History building?"
"Over there." He pointed across the quad. One of them stuck a flier into Debby's hand.
"Thanks." Sarah's smile lit up again as they walked away.
"...it is vitally important these women be captured." The videophone announced. Instead of a moving picture, there was just a photo of Casper Collins to go with the old mans' voice. "Do not kill them. You will find that very hard to do. Be wary, they are strong, and slippery. Do not be fooled by their appearance. They must be captured at all costs. " The old mans' monologue stopped abruptly. The group stared at each other. It wasn't a very polished group that was for sure. Two of the four had been released from prison due to a certain amount of political pressure. The other two didn't appear to be happy with what they had for teammates.
"What is it?" Robert fairly shouted at the speaker. His secretary had paged him with the 'urgent' signal.
"Colorado Child Welfare..." she started to say.
"I don't have time for them! Put them off!" There was a moment of silence.
"I was trying to tell you, sir." She said slowly "Is that they are here, right now. They have a warrant for Sarah and to arrest you or anyone who gets in their way."
"Just a moment!" If he could just finish this call, he could get out the back. He keyed the videophone again. "Good hunting. Mr. Simmons will give you any further details."
He dropped off the chair and started for the back door. The door opened before he got there, simultaneously with the front office door. Huge, burly policemen barged into the room. One of them dived for her and scooped her up in his arms. The police officer didn't use a restraining grip on the child, at first. But he soon found that the girl to be a fighting, squirming little demon. He handed the child to a female social worker that deftly controlled the child with a firm hug that precluded any movement at all.
"He should be in here." His secretary (read as ex-secretary) said. "He wouldn't leave her alone, I'm sure."
"These people can get a little crazy, Ma'am." One of the officers was saying "He obviously thought more about his own welfare than for this child."
The social worker started to leave, flanked by officers. She held the little girl tight. She must be so scared, the social worker thought, he must have really traumatized her.
"There there, baby." She pat the tiny Robert on the back "Everything is going to be all right now." Robert wanted to kick and scream but he could barely move in the woman's grip. He satisfied his fury by screaming, hoping he could at least rupture her eardrums.
"In national news, outbreaks of the Whisperer Flu have been taking place all over the country. Doctors have been trying to find a cause but apparently even the trace elements found in the Denver outbreak are no longer present. The manhunt continues for the known whisperers Larry Jacobs and this unknown woman." The picture changed to a split screen of Larry and Sarah. "Any news as to where their whereabouts should be reported to authorities immediately."
The Professor's Office was on the top floor of a three-story building with no elevator. There was no air conditioning and the temperature was stifling.
The professor seemed surprised to see anyone at his office. He opened the door wearing a sport coat and tie. Debby and Sarah were sweating. The professor appeared very comfortable.
"Oh yes, as to your question 'Where does a Djinn go after the last wish'? The lamp is transported out of the immediate area. Presumably this is to avoid re-use by the same master. Possibly it would avoid a new master giving conflicting wishes. Contrary to popular belief, he does not live in the lamp; he is merely summoned to it. A Djinn cannot remain voluntarily with a previous master. By the rules, he must hide from a prior owner. But Omar probably isn't hiding very hard, it sounds like he bends the rules quite a bit. But there is a simple answer to your question."
He held the door for them as they walked out.
"A Djinn goes anywhere he wants."
"Dammit, if you re going to smoke the roll down a damn window!" Pete Carlisle yelled to the back of the van. The fumes were everywhere. Apparently smoking was encouraged in prison and these two were bucking for the title of ' top consumer '. Tom wasn't any help at all, he was afraid to even talk to them. Tom was a doctor, almost. In the last year of med school he had taken to prescribing his own uppers. GeronTech hired him anyway, promised him an exorbitant salary, and then went back on the deal. Tom spent all of his earnings before he ever saw them. The company was only too happy to cover his debts, at a price. He was the company's' bitch now, a whore for a paycheck.
The two in the back looked like a bad characterization of bounty hunters.
'Bud' wore torn jeans, T-shirt and a leather jacket. He looked so out of place riding in this van that Pete was tempted to buy him a bike with his own money, just to keep him away a bit. Tony (spelled with a ' y') was the weird one. She was a tiny woman, weak looking, really. She dressed like a man and cut her hair down to a short buzz cut. She sat in the back splay legged as if trying to take up more space. She claimed she used to be a man until mysteriously changing into this dyke- looking chick. She said it all happened after being arrested for a bogus rape/assault (so what if there were 5 eye-witnesses and DNA evidence). The two in the back were the chimney twins, and Pete was getting sick of it.
"Hey Petey?" Bud called from the back. " I know you have this great 'plan' and all. Wanna let us in on it?"
"All you need to know right now is we are heading east." Pete coughed "I'll fill you in as you need to know."
Tim Simmons stood in the status room. There had been no word from Casper so he continued with his own plan. The map of the US was dotted with blue circles, the location of every operative team he had. If there was a hint anywhere then he could have someone there almost instantly.
"Get me a Dr. Pepper." He told the aide at his side. It wasn't her job, but she wasn't about to piss off the new boss. She left.
"What's the status?"
"No hot spots that we can confirm." The tech in the left seat said.
"What does that mean?" Tim snapped at him. "We can confirm? What's really happening? What can or can't you confirm?" He looked around and yelled "And where the hell is my Dr. Pepper?"
"We show 15 cities with supposed cases of the 'Whisperer Flu'" the tech told him "The strange thing is that we have not distributed the serum to those cities and we don t have operatives there."
The Whisperer Flu was a bogus illness that GeronTech had engineered and subsequently blamed on the Whisperer threat. It couldn't be carried by anything other than the serum, which they distributed as inoculations to schoolchildren. There was no reason for these outbreaks.
"Better check them out." He said, taking the soda from the aide without even a word of acknowledgement. "Send in the teams."
Robert was not pleased.
The social worker locked him into a child seat in the back of her car. The belt buckle was just out of his tiny reach. He kicked and struggled to get out. He screamed at the top of his lungs. His guards ignored him but at least he had bruised this horrible woman and at least one cop.
"She's out of control." The cop said, outside her car window. "Looks like some kind of seizure."
"It's fairly common." The woman explained, "She wants to go back to what she knows. Horrible as it must have been in there. She KNOWS it." She looked into the car at the hyper child; the little girl was struggling to release her bonds as if her life depended on it "Calm down Sarah!" The woman tried to say in a soothing tone. Robert quieted enough to listen. "All Mr. Collins has to do is come down to the office and sign a few papers. If he can show you have a good life with him, you can go back." She turned back on the child to speak with the officer.
"I swear if he sends another lawyer down, he will never see this little girl again." She said quietly, Robert stayed very silent to hear "All we have to do is see him in the office for a short interview and it would have been done. She would have been his. Now, who knows?"
Robert began his screams anew, this time in true panic.
"A party?" Sarah was incredulous "You actually want to go to a party?"
"Yes, Sarah, a party." Debby was explaining, "After everything we've been through we need to let our hair down a bit." She set the flier on the table. "At least I do."
The party was at a local amusement park. The fraternity arranged to have a portion of the admission fee of everyone with a flier to be donated to charity. They passed out a lot of fliers.
Bull and Mr. Z had provided them with numerous fake ID's. Most of them would pass inspection without any problem. They picked out two of them that looked enough like their current form and they were allowed in.
"Dude!" Carl came up to them using a California surfer accent. "Didn't think you'd come. Welcome babes." He put his arm around Sarah. She firmly took his arm off her shoulder. He went over to Debby and tried the same move. Debby let his arm stay, and they walked over to the keg. each of them got a large plastic cup of beer and they continued on.
"No metabolizing!" was Debby's admonition to her. Debby wanted Sarah to get the full effect of the drink. Sarah nodded as Carl led her Debby away.
Debby got into the dancing almost immediately. Apparently this is how she forgets her troubles, thought Sarah.
She made her way to a semi-quiet corner and sat down.
The crowd was going wild. The music was loud and fast and everyone seemed to be having a great time. Nothing altruistic about this bunch, Sarah thought, just out for themselves. She sat back and drank her beer.
"Wanna dance?" a young looking guy asked. He looked so nervous that he just might be about to cry.
"I don't dance." She said.
"That's okay. Sorry to bug you." He started to walk away, heartbroken. Off in the distance Sarah noticed a group of guys pointing and laughing at him. She put her beer down.
"Wait." She said. He stopped. "You didn't tell me your name."
"Marcus." He said. He started to walk away again. The guys were snickering.
"Marcus," she said, "Want to sit down for a minute?" In the distance the party was getting wilder. Young women were flashing their breasts at the men and the noise was getting deafening. Sarah picked up her beer again and motioned for him to sit next to her.
"Uh...sure." Marcus made his way back and sat where she motioned. He maintained a decent distance from her.
"Not your kind of party, is it?" she asked.
"Not really," he replied "They let me in the frat 'cause my Dad used to be. Now he's rich. He kept telling me that it would make a man out of me." He looked back at the crowd. The men were groping the women, stealing some of their bikini tops. Many of the girls didn't think it was very funny and it looked like things would get out of hand quickly. The park security was eyeing the crowd and talking into their radios. Something was going to happen soon.
"Looks like the party's gonna end soon anyway." Marcus told her. "Wanna check out the rest of the park before everyone gets busted?"
"Sure, that sounds lik..."
"Sarah!" Debby was winded, "We need you." She put her hands on her knees and panted. She had run here very fast. She couldn't speak for a moment.
"Rested." Sarah said. Debby stood up.
"Carl passed out back there." She said, "Alcohol poisoning, I think."
"Fine," she stood to take care of him, "Marcus..." Marcus was gone. Debby was dragging Sarah quickly back towards the crowd.
"Conscious, Vomit." Sarah said. Carl moaned, turned to the side and heaved his guts out. She turned to her friend "I'm leaving him drunk and with a hangover." She said, "I don't want him getting any ideas that alcohol doesn't affect him. Blood alcohol, headache."
"I reduced his blood alcohol to a reasonably safe level and given him a mother of a headache." Sarah told her friend. Both of them stood away from Carl and they were speaking quietly. "I won't be here to save him next time." Sarah left, annoyed. She had better things to do than sober up a bunch of partying college kids. "I'll catch you later."
Sarah wandered into the park. After a few minutes of searching she found Marcus in line for a roller coaster.
"I can't believe you ditched me." She said to him, arms across her chest "You just disappeared."
"Sorry," he actually looked contrite "I thought your friend was trying to rescue you from the dweeb."
"Real nice." She said, "You really don't think much of yourself, do you?"
"I do okay." He told her. Even he didn't seem convinced. "It's just not my element."
"Right." She took a place next to him in line. They stood quietly as the line slowly moved forward. The line was moving incredibly slow. When they were in sight of the end of the line, they saw why.
There was a line that ran parallel to the main line. People in wheelchairs were being taken to the front of the line and put on the coaster. A small, frail child was being loaded onto the coaster. Sarah was within speaking distance of the girls' escort.
"It's the 'Miracle Events' program." The woman said, before Sarah had a chance to speak. "Terminally ill children are given a free pass to the park." She had obviously said this line hundreds of times before.
"What's wrong with her?" Marcus asked.
"Leukemia." The woman said, "If you'll excuse me." She handed the wheelchair over to a park employee who moved it to the exit area of the coaster.
"Leukemia." Sarah said, the child still barely in sight. She smiled; maybe the day wasn't a total waste after all.
"Now Sarah, Doctor Mary is going to talk to you for a while, okay?" Without waiting for acknowledgement, the social worker let a heavyset woman into the room. She sat on the floor next to the girl and grabbed the blocks the child had been ignoring.
"So, what are you doing, Sarah?" The woman asked.
"Waiting to go home." The little girl said calmly, "You people kidnapped me."
Both the venom in the child's tone and how coherent she sounded took Mary aback.
"No dear, we didn't kidnap you. We just thought you would be better off in a more nurturing environment." She tried to build something with the blocks, trying to interest the child.
"Is that what you call this?" Robert gestured to the room in a very adult way "A nurturing environment? More like a looney bin, if you ask me."
"You sure talk grown up." Mary said in a condescending way.
"You don't." The child quipped, "Maybe you should be the one trapped here?"
The conversation degraded from there.
Dr. Mary, disheveled and humiliated by the child, wrote her report.
'The child, Sarah Jean Doe, is severely disturbed. She exhibits paranoid behavior and is firmly dedicated to returning to Mr. Collins. She is precocious, demanding, and thoroughly uncontrollable. Her IQ is extremely high, even off the chart leading me to believe she is some kind of Savant. She should remain under close examination and the board should seriously consider some of the more powerful Psychoactive Depressants.'
Sarah decided that she didn't need drinking to let her hair down. She and Marcus went to every roller coaster they could find. There was no one chasing her right now, and she was getting to do a little good here and there.
Apparently there were four 'Miracle Events' kids in the park that day. Sarah cured them all. She said nothing to the escorts and families after finding out the infirmities. They would discover the truth later.
A group of bullies tried to push their way to the front of the line at one coaster. It was a large group and they looked like they would rather fight than ride anyway.
Sarah fixed them with a simple phrase 'motion sick'. They puked dramatically after the coaster and they all looked miserable for the next hour. An hour after whispering at them, Sarah didn't see them again. Debby found them eating at one of the overpriced hamburger places in the park.
"I've been looking everywhere for you." Debby said. Sarah and Marcus were smiling and joking.
"Why?" Sarah definitely looked more relaxed now.
"We've got to go." Debby said, "Or we'll be late."
"What now? Another keg?"
"No," she said with a sly grin, "it's a surprise."
Sarah and Marcus said their goodbyes and the two women left the park.
"So what's this surprise?" Sarah was asking, sounding like a ten year old before her birthday.
"Bull!" Sarah squealed happily. She rushed up and hugged the man ferociously. Bull was sitting on the hood of a car. Despite himself Bull smiled.
"When you act like that," he said, hugging her back "I forget that you're really a guy."
Sarah broke the hug and cooled off considerably.
"What brings you here?" she asked in a level tone.
"Christmas," he said, knowing he had put a damper on the reunion "Mr. Z and I whipped up a couple things for you. You guys being sisters now?" He looked at the two women. They really did look alike, dark hair tan skin and only the most obscure of features hinted as to who they really were.
"How'd you know it was me?" Sarah asked.
"Come on." Bull replied "I had that face for a while, remember?"
"Oh yeah." She said. Then her face lit up like a little girl again. "What did you bring?"
Bull was amused by the change in attitude. It really was hard to tell that this bubbly girl was ever a guy.
"This car for one." He tapped on the hood. He handed a thick envelope to Debby "These are for you." He said. Debby took the envelope from him and greeted him with a kiss and a hug.
"Thank you." She said, "More ID?"
"You got it." He said, "Maybe we better talk inside."
They went into the hotel room that had become their local base of operations. Bull hauled two suitcases up the stairs, not letting either woman help.
He set the suitcases on the floor and sat in the chair while he opened one. He had a smile on his face that was a mile wide. Inside was a black mass of cloth and low-cut boots.
"Your weakness, the way we see it," Bull said, "is that you can't use your power quick enough. If a bullet breaks your spine or scrambles your brain, you're done." He started taking the cloth out of the case and laid it flat on the bed. It was a long sleeve unitard; similar to the one she wore when she rescued Debby from Casper.
"I've tried this before." Sarah said "I ended up naked in the face of the enemy, remember?" Bull blushed furiously and tried to concentrate on the suit. Debby giggled at his distraction.
"This isn't the same," he said, "Take a look." She picked it up as he explained. "Feel those small lumps on the spine? Those are armor, light and nonmetallic. They are in these pockets so you still have full mobility. The entire suit is made of a lycra-polymer blend that is a non-ripping material. It will get a hole in it but it shouldn't shred like before." He turned red again. Sarah was impressed. She looked into the suitcase.
"What's the rest?" she asked. She picked a rigid hood up.
"It's a little like Batman." He said, "Sorry, it was the only solution we could come up with."
She slipped the cowl over her head. It was a good fit. Her hair came out in a ponytail hole in the back.
"Crash helmet." He said, "The front part comes off, if you want." He grabbed at her face and snapped the eye and nose cover off "But it looked kind of funny. The whole thing is made of a Kevlar-like material and it has padding to try to help you if you fall on your head. The eye piece helps you keep a secret identity, if you want."
"Very thoughtful." Sarah said. The protection would be helpful but she would feel like an idiot running around in this getup. Bull grabbed the next thing out of the case.
"These boots," he continued, "Have improved traction and durability. They won't fall apart on you."
Debby grabbed the next item. It was belt with a metal device on it, about the size of a lipstick that extended on a small cord. When she hit the switch, it buzzed like a tiny vibrator. Bull and Sarah instantly turned red and Debby dropped the device, it retracted into the belt and shut off.
"Don't ask," Bull said, "Z can be a pretty sick guy. I didn't even ask him about it."
"Where did you get the money for all this?" Sarah asked.
"Z," said bull, "When you fixed his eyes and hands, he became a hot commodity. Everyone is coming to him for gadgets and gizmos. He's rolling in it." Bull kicked the suitcase closed.
"Wait a minute." Sarah said, "There's something else." She opened the case and took out the remaining item. It looked like a strapless swimsuit, but it was definitely armor. It looked like some kind of dominatrix costume.
"I told you he was a sick guy. I think he watched too much Wonder Woman or Xena." Bull said, blushing more than anyone thought possible "That is your breastplate." He didn't say more. It's purpose was obvious, an armored undergarment.
"I don't know how to thank you." Sarah said, "You've done so much." Inwardly she wondered if she could ever wear this getup, or even part of it. The boots were okay, she thought.
"What's in the other suitcase?" Debby asked, hoping to find more treasured gadgets.
"My underwear and stuff." He smiled "You didn't want me to go around naked, right?"
"So you say that your daughter has the Whisperer Flu?" Pete asked the woman. She was 35 (going on 45) and carefully kept a look of concern on her face.
"I don't say anything of the kind." She told him, indignant that her diagnosis would be challenged. "She has all the symptoms."
This Tallahassee hospital felt hot and sticky. The air conditioning helped but it just didn't do a complete job. Pete just wanted to get back into the known air conditioning of the car, smoke and all.
"Would you mind if we spoke to the doctor?" Tom asked. "There is some information we have that might help."
She had to think for a minute. Clearly there was a decision to be made.
"Of course," she said with a shaky smile, "I would like to be present as well."
"Of course."
"Fine," Pete said abruptly "We can talk to him in half an hour. Thank you ma'am."
"Just make my poor little girl well." She said melodramatically, "This is taking such a toll on all of us."
Pete and Tom stepped outside the small hospital.
"What do ya think?" Pete asked.
"Munchausen by Proxy." Tom said matter-of-factly "She's making her own child sick. I don't know how but she is obviously trying to get attention for herself through a glamorous disease in her child. Nothing we can do here. Great, here comes 'the beast'.
"Hey Petey!" Bud looked uncomfortable in the sport coat that he was wearing "We got a call from the boss."
"Simmons?" Pete wasn't expecting this kind of attention "What'd he want?"
"Said we should check out a couple of 'spontaneous emissions' in this place."
"Do you mean 'spontaneous RE-missions'?" Pete asked.
"That's what I said."
"So doctor, you say that there is no explanation for this sudden change of events?" Pete and Tom were sitting across the desk from a local physician who dealt with the young girl.
"None, whatsoever. I would have sworn that that child only had months to live. Now she is as healthy as a horse."
"Has anything like this happened before?" Pete asked.
"Spontaneous Remission? Sure, it happens once in a while. Usually not in so advanced a case as this."
"We understand. This is truly a blessing."
"Blessing, sure. Personally I think it was the water."
"Excuse me?" Tom broke in, "The water?"
"Down in Miami." The doctor laughed, "Three of those kids on one of those grant a wish things all had spontaneous remission. Quite a coincidence, eh?"
Pete and Tom looked at each other, stood up without any indication whatsoever, and left. The doctor was still sitting at his desk.
"Thanks for coming by." He said to no one in particular.
Might as well be in prison, Robert thought, at least there they don't humiliate you.
He was wearing a frilly pink shirt and shorts. His hair was tied up with ribbons. The family they stuck him with, the Robinson's, were sickeningly nice. He was well fed, well rested, and totally miserable.
Mrs. Robinson insisted that he spend a good portion of the day playing with dolls and doing 'girlie' things. She even pierced his ears! He was monitored closely, he couldn't move anywhere in the house without someone noticing. Even the dog acted as an alarm if he got within five feet of the front door.
He tried to tell them off. He told them how idiotic they were being. Couldn't they see that he didn't need all this supervision? Mrs. Robinson left the room in tears and he ended up with a mouthful of soap and a timeout.
If he spent his entire life trying to design the perfect hell, hell could never have developed one as evil as this.
"Sarah dear!" Mrs. Robinson called out in a singsong voice, "Your timeout is over. Time for dress up!"
Just kill me now, he thought, put me out of my misery.
Bull was a happy man. Walking through the streets of Miami with two gorgeous women, he was the envy of many.
The streets were full of people. Apparently there were no ugly people in this city. It was either that or they kept them locked in their basements.
Sarah and Debby wore similar short sundresses and sandals. There were only minor differences on how each one was cut but Sarah's looked slightly fuller than Debby's. Debby assumed it was because Sarah had 'enhanced' herself for some reason. Was it to impress Bull? No, it couldn't be.
Suddenly there was a loud CRACK ahead of them. Some woman screamed. CRACK CRACK, there was more screaming and people started running towards them. The three of them pushed through the crowd to where the source was. There was a small park, packed with people. People ran every direction and no one seemed to be getting anywhere. People hid behind cars, trees, and anything they could find. CRACK, there was a flash at the top of an eight story building adjacent to the park. Sarah pulled her companions behind a car.
"You should go get the armor!" Bull was saying. "That'd shake these guys up."
"It looks silly." Sarah said, "I'm not going out there looking like some guys wet dream."
Bull looked crestfallen. He had been pretty excited about the idea of a costume of some kind.
"At least use this." Debby was handing a slightly curved piece of material at her. It was the cowl.
"Fine." She said. "Paralyze." she said up towards the roof of the building. It was nearly five seconds before the next shot.
"Give me the cowl." She said. She slipped it over her head and felt utterly ridiculous. "Stay here."
The police scanner in the van crackled to life.
"All units, attention all units, we have a sniper in Henderson Park, NW 3rd and 9th Ave. Subject is at the roof of the Amsouth bank. All units proceed immediately to assist."
"Break out the map." Pete told Tom, "If nothing else, it sounds interesting." Bud and Tony laughed hungrily as if waiting for some action all day.
"Aim for the Orange Bowl Stadium." Tom said "Off of Highway 836."
The tires screeched as Pete hit the gas.
Sarah ran toward the building at a blinding speed. As a bank, it didn't have very good roof access from the street. A retractable fire escape ladder was almost thirty feet off the ground.
"Who the heck is that?" Debby heard someone else in hiding ask. She couldn't see them but she guessed they were behind a large stand of bushes at the edge of the park "Some girl in a ski mask?"
Sarah stood below the ladder. If she jumped too fast she would knock herself out on the cage that surrounded the ladder to the top of the building.
"Strong, Fast." She said. She leaped. A face peered over the edge of the roof as she rocketed upward. Just as she grabbed the ladder she saw the gun. It went off before she could even think about reacting.
She felt a slap on her head and she started falling downward. The falling was the strange part as she still had a powerful grip on the ladder.
The latch on the fire escape ladder released and it extended towards the ground. Sarah looked surprised as she started a quick retreat to the ground. Before she remembered the snipers (she was now sure there was more than one) another shot hit her in the shoulder and she fell to the ground.
After she hit, three more shots tore into her side.
She wasn't moving.
Traffic was stopped. Looking next to the freeway, dozens of police cars were streaming towards the park.
"Come on, man." Bud whined, "We're missing it!"
"Shut up." Pete pulled the van onto the shoulder and started taking it through the shrubs and bushes next to the road. People were honking their horns and yelling obscenities at them.
When they reached the off-ramp, even his cross-country approach wouldn't help them. Stopping the van in the middle of the street, they all piled out and ran towards the park.
"She's dead." Debby was screaming. Bull comforted her the best he could while hiding behind the car.
"If anyone else," a bullhorn sounded from the roof "has any big ideas of being a hero, then they will join this little chick. No more police!"
"Bring a helicopter to the roof, right now!" Debby and Bull looked at each other. Who was he talking to?
"Look!" Bull said, pointing to where Sarah had fallen. She wasn't there.
Sarah was standing next to the building, but nowhere near the fire escape.
"She looks pissed." Debby said, noting her friends' stance. "God help them now."
The sirens were getting louder but no one had arrived yet. The wounded were being cared for in various pockets around the park. Thankfully the snipers were leaving the people that were helping alone.
Sarah's arms and legs started moving at a rate so fast they could barely be seen. There was a vague blur as she pushed up against the wall.
The white stucco of the building turned a hazy pink as slowly Sarah started to inch upward. There was a sickly sweet smell of burning meat in the air. Using the friction of her hands and feet, she climbed inch by inch up the side of the building. Before she had a chance to fall, she gained a quick purchase for the next incremental climb. Within thirty seconds, she was grabbing the edge of the roof.
"Flesh, skin and bone." She said quietly, "Burns."
Bare feet hanging down (her sandals had only lasted a few seconds of climbing), she readied for the next assault. She pulled with her arms and threw herself into the air. She somersaulted forward and landed on her feet. She felt a chill. The remains of her dress were hanging from the side of the building.
As they watched the shreds of cloth waft down to the street Bull turned to Debby.
"I sure hope she's wearing underwear." He said.
Pete and Tony were the first at the scene. It was eerily quiet. People were hunched down in groups, hiding. The four GeronTech employees walked around the crowd as if the rest were crazy.
Fanning out, they looked for some kind of 'whisperer' evidence. None of them knew exactly what they were looking for, just something weird.
"Check that out." Tony said to him, pointing at the building. The pink smear on the side of the building stood out like a sore thumb.
"Worth checking out." Pete said. He walked toward the building.
"Hold it right there!" A shout came from beside them. "Police!"
Bud was standing closer to the building. Pete gave him a nod and turned to talk to the officer.
One of the snipers was visible. He was leaning over the edge of the roof and was lining up another shot.
"Hey!" Sarah called. Shocked, the man turned. He started to laugh.
"What the hell are you supposed to be?" he snickered. He regarded the woman in a black mask and strapless swimsuit with derision.
"A distraction." The man raised the gun to point at her. She wasn't there. Within a matter of seconds the man was disarmed and tied up with his own shirt. She heard a clank from the other side of the roof.
There was a rope tied to a metal clamp. The rope was jiggling slightly. She knew where the second gunman was.
She peered over the edge. The man was only down about two floors down. She smiled.
She untied the rope and held the end with one hand. She held that hand over the edge and showed it to the man.
"Don't..." he said, panicked.
"Would you like to come back up here?" she asked. The man nodded frantically. A helicopter was approaching from the north.
"Okay then..." she started running towards the opposite side of the roof. The man flew up the edge of the building and bumped his head badly on the edge. He skid to a halt at her feet.
"Brain damage, internal bleeding." The helicopter was nearly overhead. "You won't die, yet." She said. Inside the copter she could see a video camera.
"Get this." The pilot said on the intercom "We're talking Emmy here. You better no miss this shot." The cameraman never lost his focus.
"More like the Twilight Zone." He said. But the shots were perfect.
"Damn." She ran at top speed back across the roof towards the fire escape. Bud was just poking his head over the edge of the roof when he saw this woman running at him at full speed.
Bud lost his grip and started falling towards the ground, screaming. Sarah jumped over the top of the fire escape and landed on the building next door. Not stopping there, she continued to the next building and the next. The helicopter was still behind her, chasing her. But she was losing it.
A small apartment building was her sixth jump. She opened the door and went inside.
The crisis averted, Debby went into nurse mode. Tending to the nearest victim, she sent Bull to find medical supplies.
She started barking orders like an ER doctor. People didn't want to listen to this child giving orders but she sounded like she knew what she was talking about. The first patient was quickly stabilized and she went to the next.
She was elevating the patients' wounded arm when an old woman came up to her.
"Can I help you dear?" she said. There was something oddly familiar about the voice.
"I don't think so Ma'am." Debby said, "She's been shot in the arm and may have internal bleeding. We need the paramedics."
"Gun shot, internal bleeding?" the old woman asked and actually smiled, "He looks fine to me." Debby wanted to start screaming at this idiotic old woman. Obviously there was a...she turned back to the patient. The wounds were gone. The patient was resting comfortably. The old woman was beaming. Debby looked down, the woman was barefoot.
"Nice, real nice." Debby stood and started looking for the next patient. "You were just gonna leave me hanging there."
"Of course not." Sarah said, her smile recognizable even in this aged, wrinkled face. "But you should have seen your face. I've already checked the other victims. They'll all be okay. Let's get out of here."
They walked in the direction of the hotel. It was time to leave. Bull saw Debby from a distance.
"Excuse me Ma'am." He said to Sarah, he turned to Debby "Should we be looking for..." He did a double take and looked into the old woman's eyes. "Sarah?"
"Took you long enough." She smiled "To think you know a person, geez! Oh, Bull, about the costume?"
"Yeah, it looks silly. I know." He relented "But on my behalf, it did save your life."
"Yeah, it's okay. I wouldn't wear it to dinner or the theater but..."
"What?" He was slightly offended. "You want another color?"
"I was just wondering," she said, a little embarrassed, "Could I have some gloves?"
"Hey Bob, get a load of this!" One of the officers interrupted Pete's conversation. The crisis averted, the cop left Pete and went to see what his partner was pointing at.
Bud was clinging to the ladder and the side of the building. His face was cut and bruised, but he looked essentially unharmed. His grip was so tight that his knuckles were bone white.
"That with you?" The cop (Bob) asked Pete.
"Yeah." Pete said dejectedly "It's mine."
"Maybe you can get him down." The other cop suggested, "We've been trying for ten minutes."
Together they worked at bringing the tough-man ex-con down the ladder. It wasn't an easy job.
"A mysterious costumed woman foiled two snipers today at the AmSouth bank adjacent to Henderson Park, near the Orange Bowl Stadium. The woman exhibited extraordinary strength, speed, daring and apparently the ability to climb sheer walls. Thanks to her there were no serious injuries and no casualties."
"In National news the case of People Vs..."
Nothing in the office worked right. Montgomery couldn't even turn the television on without the proper password. Within 24 hours of Robert accessing the system for the last time everything had reset to the off position.
The secretaries barely listened to him and the guards laughed behind his back. What was he gonna do now?
The sun was going down and the room was getting dark. He reached up to turn on the lamp over the couch. Nothing. A grown man, a giant of a man, Montgomery couldn't even turn on a light without permission of the stupid computer. He had to get his brother back, somehow. If he could only think, then it would be okay. He slumped back onto the couch.
The light turned on.
Monty looked up, confused. There was a shuffle at the desk.
"Who?" Monty asked. The shuffling continued. "Wha..."
The desk chair squeaked as it leaned back. There was a flash of fire and Montgomery got the hint of a face, a woman's face lit up as she started a cigar. She turned and entered a password into the computer. It started.
"Who, my dear boy?" the woman laughed scornfully, "Why I'm the friendliest ghost you know."
End Part 7