Janice stood there blinking, looking in turns at John, Rick, Michael... She couldn't bear to look at her children, couldn't bear the shocked look in Adam's eyes she knew would be there.
Inside her, it was like something had melted. Something that she didn't even know was solid had given way. Her insides felt as though she were filled with some kind of gelatin, and everything on which she'd based her whole existence was thrown out of focus. Shaky and unsure and tenuous. She felt herself falling, falling...
She almost envied the dead man at her feet.
She turned to Rick, her father, the man she'd grown up - not really loving, but surely learning from. She said, "We need to get out of here. This whole operation has been compromised."
Rick said, "Where should we go? There are a number of safe houses..."
Janice said, "Which one is closest?"
"There's an apartment just outside of Mesquite."
"Perfect. How do we get out of here?" Janice asked.
"There's a hidden exit. It's just over there," John said, pointing to a nearby section of wall.
The group started moving that direction, John in the lead. He pressed an obscure button on the side of a light switch, causing it to flip open and reveal a hidden key pad. He dialed in the appropriate number which caused the wall to swing open. The entrance was only wide enough for one person at a time. Inside it was as dark as the underside of hell.
Which is about right, Janice thought, peering into the darkness.
"The lights come on as soon as we're inside and close the door," John explained. "We'd better get a move on, before anyone notices that we're gone."
Janice didn't hesitate. She knew she'd only have one shot at this, and she had to make it count. She wished that there was time to signal Michael her intentions, or possibly enlist his help. But she knew that if she even looked in his direction, it might tip off John and Rick. So, with incredible lightning speed, born of years of training and with the adrenaline kick that comes in crisis situations, she launched into a kick that would kill her brother John.
Incredibly, impossibly, and with the slow motion that happens in hyper-aware situations like this, John raised his forearm and deflected the kick up. His ulna snapped with an audible crack, but the kick that should have been deadly didn't even elicit a grunt as John stepped into it. He aimed a kick of his own, this time at Janice's knee - he knew better than to try to kill her. Janice's hair flew up around her face as she crumpled to the ground.
No one could have ever said where the bullet came from. Was it a stray round? It was obviously aimed low if it was. Was it an errant ricochet? Was it fate? These things do happen - who can say.
Michael watched with horror as Janice's front blossomed into a crimson rose, her white robes quickly absorbing the life that was pouring out of her.
Rick, seeing the blood, grabbed Ellen by the arm and dragged her into the escape tunnel. As if in another world, Michael saw John slip inside the door just as it swung shut. The light switch with the hidden keypad dissolved into a fountain of sparks.
Michael fell to his knees beside Janice, her robes disheveled, her hair still covering her face. He gently pushed it out of her eyes, slowly uncovering her sweet mouth, her perfect nose, her lightly dusted with freckles cheeks - which were already starting to turn pale. But when he looked into her eyes, he saw that they still danced and sparkled with light and a hidden smile, as if with a joke that only the two of them could know.
"Michael, she's in danger," she whispered.
"I know." Michael said, trying to placate her and have her be quiet.
"No, I don't think you do. She's been taken by Rick and John into a world that she cannot possibly understand. She will be brainwashed. She will be adored. And she will be manipulated by forces that she will never fully comprehend. Michael, you MUST get her away from Rick and John."
The last sentence carried all the force left in her body. With a slight tremor, and a bit of a sigh that was at once a surrender and a relief, Janice died.
Michael remained there, kneeling by his wife's beautiful body. At some point, he felt Adam's arm around his shoulder. But it felt like someone else's shoulder. He looked down at Janice with what looked like someone else's eyes, seen on TV from many miles away. He could hear things behind him, movements, lights coming on, soldiers shouting orders and responses, and even the sound of foreign languages being spoken as terrorist leaders were being rounded up. But Michael stayed there, unable to move, unwilling to care.
This was the second time in his life that he'd had to see his wife die.
After what seemed like an eternity, he heard the captain from before calling his name. The sound was hollow, far away.
"Michael, we need to get you out of here. This place is not secure, and we don't know what kind of booby traps they have in waiting for us. It's going to take a team of specialists months to go over this place. We need to go now."
"I'll not leave her," Michael whispered.
"You won't have to. We will bring her with us."
Michael nodded and tried to stand, when his legs gave out and the world faded to blackness.
Inside her, it was like something had melted. Something that she didn't even know was solid had given way. Her insides felt as though she were filled with some kind of gelatin, and everything on which she'd based her whole existence was thrown out of focus. Shaky and unsure and tenuous. She felt herself falling, falling...
She almost envied the dead man at her feet.
She turned to Rick, her father, the man she'd grown up - not really loving, but surely learning from. She said, "We need to get out of here. This whole operation has been compromised."
Rick said, "Where should we go? There are a number of safe houses..."
Janice said, "Which one is closest?"
"There's an apartment just outside of Mesquite."
"Perfect. How do we get out of here?" Janice asked.
"There's a hidden exit. It's just over there," John said, pointing to a nearby section of wall.
The group started moving that direction, John in the lead. He pressed an obscure button on the side of a light switch, causing it to flip open and reveal a hidden key pad. He dialed in the appropriate number which caused the wall to swing open. The entrance was only wide enough for one person at a time. Inside it was as dark as the underside of hell.
Which is about right, Janice thought, peering into the darkness.
"The lights come on as soon as we're inside and close the door," John explained. "We'd better get a move on, before anyone notices that we're gone."
Janice didn't hesitate. She knew she'd only have one shot at this, and she had to make it count. She wished that there was time to signal Michael her intentions, or possibly enlist his help. But she knew that if she even looked in his direction, it might tip off John and Rick. So, with incredible lightning speed, born of years of training and with the adrenaline kick that comes in crisis situations, she launched into a kick that would kill her brother John.
Incredibly, impossibly, and with the slow motion that happens in hyper-aware situations like this, John raised his forearm and deflected the kick up. His ulna snapped with an audible crack, but the kick that should have been deadly didn't even elicit a grunt as John stepped into it. He aimed a kick of his own, this time at Janice's knee - he knew better than to try to kill her. Janice's hair flew up around her face as she crumpled to the ground.
No one could have ever said where the bullet came from. Was it a stray round? It was obviously aimed low if it was. Was it an errant ricochet? Was it fate? These things do happen - who can say.
Michael watched with horror as Janice's front blossomed into a crimson rose, her white robes quickly absorbing the life that was pouring out of her.
Rick, seeing the blood, grabbed Ellen by the arm and dragged her into the escape tunnel. As if in another world, Michael saw John slip inside the door just as it swung shut. The light switch with the hidden keypad dissolved into a fountain of sparks.
Michael fell to his knees beside Janice, her robes disheveled, her hair still covering her face. He gently pushed it out of her eyes, slowly uncovering her sweet mouth, her perfect nose, her lightly dusted with freckles cheeks - which were already starting to turn pale. But when he looked into her eyes, he saw that they still danced and sparkled with light and a hidden smile, as if with a joke that only the two of them could know.
"Michael, she's in danger," she whispered.
"I know." Michael said, trying to placate her and have her be quiet.
"No, I don't think you do. She's been taken by Rick and John into a world that she cannot possibly understand. She will be brainwashed. She will be adored. And she will be manipulated by forces that she will never fully comprehend. Michael, you MUST get her away from Rick and John."
The last sentence carried all the force left in her body. With a slight tremor, and a bit of a sigh that was at once a surrender and a relief, Janice died.
Michael remained there, kneeling by his wife's beautiful body. At some point, he felt Adam's arm around his shoulder. But it felt like someone else's shoulder. He looked down at Janice with what looked like someone else's eyes, seen on TV from many miles away. He could hear things behind him, movements, lights coming on, soldiers shouting orders and responses, and even the sound of foreign languages being spoken as terrorist leaders were being rounded up. But Michael stayed there, unable to move, unwilling to care.
This was the second time in his life that he'd had to see his wife die.
After what seemed like an eternity, he heard the captain from before calling his name. The sound was hollow, far away.
"Michael, we need to get you out of here. This place is not secure, and we don't know what kind of booby traps they have in waiting for us. It's going to take a team of specialists months to go over this place. We need to go now."
"I'll not leave her," Michael whispered.
"You won't have to. We will bring her with us."
Michael nodded and tried to stand, when his legs gave out and the world faded to blackness.
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