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Last post by RIgirl 12 Oct 2015 16:29
[unrecoverable text]
I just love a good cliffhanger, don't you? And now, for this week's exciting episode ... 
***
She slowed to a walk, forcing Red Impulse to slow to a near stop as well.
"I think I know how they're following us," she said between breaths.
"How?"
Jun reached into her pocket and withdrew the cowboy figure. Red Impulse scowled at it, then her.
"Where did that come from?"
With a minimum of words, Jun explained when and where she found it.
"Are you crazy?" Red Impulse snarled. "First rule of spying - take nothing."
"You took a key," Jun argued.
"That was different."
"Why? Because you did it?"
"No, because there were ten other keys and the likelihood of someone realizing one was missing was low. But to take something that someone would notice just tips them off to the fact that they're being spied on." His frown deepened. "Let me see that."
He held out his hand. Jun hesitated a moment, then surrendered it to him. He pulled it apart and handed her back the all-important USB part. With both hands, he examined the casing of it, then dropped it to the ground and crushed it beneath his heel, twisting it as he did so.
Jun did not think the plastic would yield so easily -- she had stepped on enough of Jinpei's plastic toys in her life to know -- but when he lifted his foot, they could see that the plastic was now cracked. He picked it back up and wedged his fingers in, then broke the rubbery plastic apart. Sure enough, embedded deep within, there was a tiny chip that was no doubt some sort of tracking device.
"That answers that," Red Impulse said as he turned and pitched the figure and the transmitter back into the woods of the park as hard and as far as he could. He cut a look to her. "Anything else I should know about?"
"I did manage to print out some things back at the office," Jun said, pulling the folded papers out of her other pocket. She handed them to Red Impulse and he squinted at them in the low light as he read.
"This is what I found too," he said as he refolded the pages. "I think we need to find our way to Reeding Industries."
Before Jun could say a word, they both turned their heads to the sounds of men's voices and could see the sweep of at least three flashlights approaching.
They ran again, but this time, Jun took the lead, running for all she was worth towards the Embassy building, and not caring if Red Impulse kept up with her or not.
* * *
In truth, she was impressed that he had managed to only fall half a block away from her. Jun sprinted into the parking garage and headed towards the place where she left her bike. She gave a quick prayer that it was still there -- and it was, just as she had left it, tucked between a concrete pillar and permanent barrier. It was a space that was too small for any car but perfect for her motorcycle.
She had just seated herself when Red Impulse huffed up to her, the briefcase bumping unevenly against his leg. Jun slid off again.
"We can put that in the storage compartment," she said, unlocking the lid underneath her seat. Red Impulse only nodded and handed it to her. Jun rearranged a few things and slipped it in, then shut the lid and threw her leg over the seat.
"I think I should drive," Red Impulse said, eyeing the back of the bike.
Jun looked over her shoulder at him and gave him a tiny smile. "My bike, I drive. Sit on the back or walk, your choice."
For a moment, he looked as though he was going to argue, then changed his mind and climbed on behind her.
Jun thrilled to the feel of her bike beneath her again, the heady feel of literally being in the driver's seat once more. She rolled out of the garage and had just made the turn onto the street when there was the roar of an engine and the squeal of tires.
"We didn't shake them fast enough," Red Impulse said. Jun's reply was to hit the accelerator, causing him to tighten his grip around her waist. She raced through the streets, the car following behind.
Although Jun did not know the exact address of Reeding Industries, she knew the general direction where it was and headed for it. As long as the car maintained enough distance behind them, she was not going to worry about it.
However, once they were outside of the city limits, Jun could see the car gaining on them in her rearview mirrors.
That was when they opened fire. Jun weaved the bike, trying to give the gunman in the passenger seat less of a steady target.
She felt Red Impulse twist in his seat, the one arm around her waist tightening. Jun felt the bike wobble under this sudden weight shift and she quickly corrected them. It was not as though she had never ridden with anyone on her bike before -- Jinpei often sat behind her and even Ken had on occasion -- but neither of them had been as tall, or as solid, as Red Impulse and it took her a moment to gauge just how much she needed to compensate for someone his size.
She was not sure what he was doing until she heard the small pops over the wind. She heard a small metal ping and saw a bloom of cracked glass appear in the car's windshield in her mirror. His arm was now like a steel band and Jun could barely breathe for the pressure of it. She heard a few more pops, followed by screech of rubber and metal as one bullet found its target and took out a tire.
He righted himself, easing up his grip on her, and she concentrated on making sure that they did not pitch over with the weight change once more.
They rode on towards the countryside, neither of them making any attempt at conversation. After several minutes, and quite a few more miles, Jun slowed down enough so that they could talk.
"Should we turn and go back to the city?" she asked.
"No, keep going to Reeding," he said. "We need to keep some distance between us and the city for awhile. Now that they know, they'll be looking for us."
At this time of night, the road was quiet. The only other vehicles they had seen was a box truck and a car, both of which were heading in the opposite direction as they and neither took any notice of the motorcycle or its riders.
At the end of the highway that Jun knew, she pulled off to the side of the road and rolled to a stop.
"What's wrong?" Red Impulse asked, immediately bracing his feet on the ground.
"Nothing," Jun said with a little shake of her head, "except that I don't know exactly where Reeding is from here. I know it's somewhere around here, but I can't see any of the landmarks or signs in the dark."
"Mmmm, that is a problem," Red Impulse said, taking out his cell phone. His face was lit for a moment in the light of its screen, then he turned it off and slipped it back into his pocket. "Well, if we can't move forward and we can't go back, then we may as well find a spot to camp out for the night."
"Here?"
"You have any better ideas?" he asked. "I don't know about you, but I certainly don't recall passing any sort of hotels or inns on this road."
She didn't either, but Jun did not relish the idea of sleeping on the ground. Fortunately, though, she was prepared for just such emergencies. They got her motorcycle off of the road and into a small glen, where it was well concealed and hidden from view by a thick ring of shrubs and waist-high weeds.
Rummaging through the storage compartment, Jun took out the briefcase and was startled when Red Impulse took it from her. With both hands now free, she found what she had been looking for -- a small plastic tarp and a blanket. Flattening down a small area on the side of the bike that did not face the road, Jun spread the tarp down, then shook out the blanket and draped it over herself.
Red Impulse sat down next to her on an empty space of tarp. With his back against the truck of a tree, he put the briefcase on his lap, opened it up, removed the laptop and put it on top, using the briefcase like a lap desk. She watched as he booted up the computer, looked at her, then held out his hand, palm up. She stared blankly from his open hand to his face.
"What?"
"The USB key. And please tell me that you still have it and that this was not just a futile waste of time."
"Futile waste of time," Jun repeated as she moved herself up enough to reach into her pocket. "You certainly have a way with words."
"Among other things," he replied coolly as she dropped the key into his hand. He plugged it into the computer and they both watched the screen, waiting for the icon to show when the computer had read it.
***
She slowed to a walk, forcing Red Impulse to slow to a near stop as well.
"I think I know how they're following us," she said between breaths.
"How?"
Jun reached into her pocket and withdrew the cowboy figure. Red Impulse scowled at it, then her.
"Where did that come from?"
With a minimum of words, Jun explained when and where she found it.
"Are you crazy?" Red Impulse snarled. "First rule of spying - take nothing."
"You took a key," Jun argued.
"That was different."
"Why? Because you did it?"
"No, because there were ten other keys and the likelihood of someone realizing one was missing was low. But to take something that someone would notice just tips them off to the fact that they're being spied on." His frown deepened. "Let me see that."
He held out his hand. Jun hesitated a moment, then surrendered it to him. He pulled it apart and handed her back the all-important USB part. With both hands, he examined the casing of it, then dropped it to the ground and crushed it beneath his heel, twisting it as he did so.
Jun did not think the plastic would yield so easily -- she had stepped on enough of Jinpei's plastic toys in her life to know -- but when he lifted his foot, they could see that the plastic was now cracked. He picked it back up and wedged his fingers in, then broke the rubbery plastic apart. Sure enough, embedded deep within, there was a tiny chip that was no doubt some sort of tracking device.
"That answers that," Red Impulse said as he turned and pitched the figure and the transmitter back into the woods of the park as hard and as far as he could. He cut a look to her. "Anything else I should know about?"
"I did manage to print out some things back at the office," Jun said, pulling the folded papers out of her other pocket. She handed them to Red Impulse and he squinted at them in the low light as he read.
"This is what I found too," he said as he refolded the pages. "I think we need to find our way to Reeding Industries."
Before Jun could say a word, they both turned their heads to the sounds of men's voices and could see the sweep of at least three flashlights approaching.
They ran again, but this time, Jun took the lead, running for all she was worth towards the Embassy building, and not caring if Red Impulse kept up with her or not.
* * *
In truth, she was impressed that he had managed to only fall half a block away from her. Jun sprinted into the parking garage and headed towards the place where she left her bike. She gave a quick prayer that it was still there -- and it was, just as she had left it, tucked between a concrete pillar and permanent barrier. It was a space that was too small for any car but perfect for her motorcycle.
She had just seated herself when Red Impulse huffed up to her, the briefcase bumping unevenly against his leg. Jun slid off again.
"We can put that in the storage compartment," she said, unlocking the lid underneath her seat. Red Impulse only nodded and handed it to her. Jun rearranged a few things and slipped it in, then shut the lid and threw her leg over the seat.
"I think I should drive," Red Impulse said, eyeing the back of the bike.
Jun looked over her shoulder at him and gave him a tiny smile. "My bike, I drive. Sit on the back or walk, your choice."
For a moment, he looked as though he was going to argue, then changed his mind and climbed on behind her.
Jun thrilled to the feel of her bike beneath her again, the heady feel of literally being in the driver's seat once more. She rolled out of the garage and had just made the turn onto the street when there was the roar of an engine and the squeal of tires.
"We didn't shake them fast enough," Red Impulse said. Jun's reply was to hit the accelerator, causing him to tighten his grip around her waist. She raced through the streets, the car following behind.
Although Jun did not know the exact address of Reeding Industries, she knew the general direction where it was and headed for it. As long as the car maintained enough distance behind them, she was not going to worry about it.
However, once they were outside of the city limits, Jun could see the car gaining on them in her rearview mirrors.
That was when they opened fire. Jun weaved the bike, trying to give the gunman in the passenger seat less of a steady target.
She felt Red Impulse twist in his seat, the one arm around her waist tightening. Jun felt the bike wobble under this sudden weight shift and she quickly corrected them. It was not as though she had never ridden with anyone on her bike before -- Jinpei often sat behind her and even Ken had on occasion -- but neither of them had been as tall, or as solid, as Red Impulse and it took her a moment to gauge just how much she needed to compensate for someone his size.
She was not sure what he was doing until she heard the small pops over the wind. She heard a small metal ping and saw a bloom of cracked glass appear in the car's windshield in her mirror. His arm was now like a steel band and Jun could barely breathe for the pressure of it. She heard a few more pops, followed by screech of rubber and metal as one bullet found its target and took out a tire.
He righted himself, easing up his grip on her, and she concentrated on making sure that they did not pitch over with the weight change once more.
They rode on towards the countryside, neither of them making any attempt at conversation. After several minutes, and quite a few more miles, Jun slowed down enough so that they could talk.
"Should we turn and go back to the city?" she asked.
"No, keep going to Reeding," he said. "We need to keep some distance between us and the city for awhile. Now that they know, they'll be looking for us."
At this time of night, the road was quiet. The only other vehicles they had seen was a box truck and a car, both of which were heading in the opposite direction as they and neither took any notice of the motorcycle or its riders.
At the end of the highway that Jun knew, she pulled off to the side of the road and rolled to a stop.
"What's wrong?" Red Impulse asked, immediately bracing his feet on the ground.
"Nothing," Jun said with a little shake of her head, "except that I don't know exactly where Reeding is from here. I know it's somewhere around here, but I can't see any of the landmarks or signs in the dark."
"Mmmm, that is a problem," Red Impulse said, taking out his cell phone. His face was lit for a moment in the light of its screen, then he turned it off and slipped it back into his pocket. "Well, if we can't move forward and we can't go back, then we may as well find a spot to camp out for the night."
"Here?"
"You have any better ideas?" he asked. "I don't know about you, but I certainly don't recall passing any sort of hotels or inns on this road."
She didn't either, but Jun did not relish the idea of sleeping on the ground. Fortunately, though, she was prepared for just such emergencies. They got her motorcycle off of the road and into a small glen, where it was well concealed and hidden from view by a thick ring of shrubs and waist-high weeds.
Rummaging through the storage compartment, Jun took out the briefcase and was startled when Red Impulse took it from her. With both hands now free, she found what she had been looking for -- a small plastic tarp and a blanket. Flattening down a small area on the side of the bike that did not face the road, Jun spread the tarp down, then shook out the blanket and draped it over herself.
Red Impulse sat down next to her on an empty space of tarp. With his back against the truck of a tree, he put the briefcase on his lap, opened it up, removed the laptop and put it on top, using the briefcase like a lap desk. She watched as he booted up the computer, looked at her, then held out his hand, palm up. She stared blankly from his open hand to his face.
"What?"
"The USB key. And please tell me that you still have it and that this was not just a futile waste of time."
"Futile waste of time," Jun repeated as she moved herself up enough to reach into her pocket. "You certainly have a way with words."
"Among other things," he replied coolly as she dropped the key into his hand. He plugged it into the computer and they both watched the screen, waiting for the icon to show when the computer had read it.
RIgirl: Uh oh, RI's got that "sigh, children" opinion of her again. 
RIgirl - I'm surprised it hadn't occurred to Jun that the stick may have had a tracking device in it before.
I agree with Chris too, she's hardly earnt any respect from RI for such a fundamental mistake.
Wow, KT ... I agree with Chris -- everyone seems to have something going on!
Hmm .. a diamond that was his mom's, huh? The only thing I could think when I read it was that I'm glad to hear that at least RI wasn't cheap if the ring was nice enough for Ken to want to give it to Jun! 
Daniella T
GatchaFreak
posted 11 Oct 2015 11:25
RI girl -- If it's not Ken, then it's other "children" making RI's life difficult, no? By the way, I liked your comment on KT's story -- RI must've done something right, if Ken kept the ring and gave it to Jun!
KT --things are moving very fast for everyone involved, no?
ElectricWhite
Gatchamaniac
posted 11 Oct 2015 15:07
[unrecoverable text]
EW: LOL Greg's List, and I like how you use some of the the Keyop backstories. Can't wait to see how this plays out! The team won't want to just obliterate the false Phoenix since Jinpei's probably the false Swallow!
Can't wait to see how this plays out! The team won't want to just obliterate the false Phoenix since Jinpei's probably the false Swallow!
Transmute Jun
Queen of the Bird Missiles
posted 12 Oct 2015 13:48
EW, I'm really enjoying this! Looking forward to seeing what happens next and how Jinpei (and the others) will; extract himself out of there without getting himself killed!
KT, what a lovely scene between Ken and Jun! 
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