The following takes place between 1:00A.M. and 2:00A.M. Standard Stone Age Time(SST)
1:00 A.M. Standard Stone Age Time
Bedrock Rock Shining Facility
Time runs slower in the stone age, in the time of sundials and cave houses each second runs longer. But in times of crisis time speeds up, the pace of each minute quickens to a rate incomprehensible to ordinary cavemen. But Fred Flintstone is no ordinary caveman.
Fred Flintstone, secret agent. Barney Rubble chuckled at the notion, Fred a government agent. Barney knew that as far as qualifications go, he and bosom buddy and life-time pal were out of their depth. But seeing as how Fred Flintstone had had the idea for and founded the Counter Terrorist Syndicate (CTS), they were each political shoe-ins. Why allow them to be field agents? The answer was quite simple. Terrorism did not exist. When Fred had first broached the subject it seemed the most outlandish proposition ever. No one could know that poor old Fred Flintstone had just envisioned the most devious and debilitating mode of combat ever. In effect Fred Flintstone by no intent of his own had become the first crusader in long line of crusaders to combat terrorism.
But all this was of Mr. Rubble's, or Agent Rubble's, head. All Barney knew was that he was watching a building that had been empty for years. Surely it was a way to get him out the way. Fred would have been indignant at this waste of his time, but Barney had no great ambitions he was happy to play secret agent without any of the risks.
All that would soon change.
1:07 A.M. Standard Stone Age Time
Bedrock Mall
When asked how he earned assignment to the first high profile mission in the history of CTS, Fred Flintstone would brag that he used the most highly advanced trickerations in his disposal.
"Trickerations, of course is word I personally created and loaned the great boxing promote Don Kingstone." he'd continue. "Of course besides my great command of the English language, I'm also a very savvy tactician so I personally chose the team so that I would be surrounded by best of best. Nothing gets past this mind." That was his way of explaining the presence of Wiley Granite, the crackerjack agent that had been lauded as agent of the year three years in a row. With the success of this mission she was on the fast track to an unprecedented 4th consecutive year.
Wiley Granite, Fred watched her intently not because of her striking figure or the delicate face the belied her rock hard cunning, but because there was something about her that caught his attention. On the surface she was strange enough, She wore a waist length man's red military coat that on a girl her size reached the knees, it was worn open with its arms cut off over an advanced bronze plate armor that looked like a bustier because it left the area between her neck and her chest visible, not to mention the lower half of her taut stomach. Were it not for the coat her shoulders would be exposed which was against the dress code of CTS. Her midriff was showing between the bronze armor and her brown slacks. Fred also to noticed of the machete that hung from her belt. The Military Coat, she said, came from her grandfather who was a General in the Stone Revolutionary War, that checked out. It didn't explain why she had opted to vandalize a family heirloom or why she wore a piece of armor that was so advanced that the President had not yet been outfitted with it. All in all, this mode of dress pointed to a maverick. A rule breaker. But she was the best of them.
The best save one, me, Fred mused.
1:12 A.M. Standard Stone Age Time
CTS Command Headquarters
CTS Director Joe Rockhead monitored feeds coming in from the Bedrock Mall, all agents were in position save for Fred Flintstone. But that was okay he'd accounted for any missteps Fred might make, in fact he counted on them. He waited for the call, staring at his name plaque he couldn't help but laugh.
Joe Rockhead, Director of Bedrock Branch Counter Terrorist Syndicate, Of all the words Fatso Freddy had to use it was Syndicate.
"Phase one complete." Wiley Granite's melodic voice crackled over the comm. unit, sultry as ever, Rockhead thought, though he knew better than to make anything of it. Lest he suffer the wrath or two women, Ms. Granite and Mrs. Rockhead of course.
1:13 A.M. Standard Stone Age Time
A building adjacent to Bedrock Mall
Wiley Granite had taken her place on a ledge of a building overlooking the courtyard area outside the mall, she watched the scene through her binoculars, one of the many marvels of stone age tech. She lay prone on the ledge waiting for action. It was going to be about forty-five minutes before anything went down so she surveyed the terrain. She looked for the most likely escape route the suspect would take when it all hit the fan. She determined that she would cut across the parking lot and over the fence separating it from abandoned rock shining facility and then head straight down the alley between them. She then looked for the best way to counter that course and catch them as quickly as possible. She saw no path that was any better or worse than any other path. She settled and looked for a pathway that would satisfy her secondary concern, she wanted to find a way to run after the suspects without cutting her feet up on the gravel. It boggled her mind that with all the modern inventions popping up no one had found away to protect one's feet from damage.
1:37 A.M. Standard Stone Age Time
Bedrock Rock Shining Facility
Barney Rubble was posing as a homeless man, the director had asked "With thousands of caves ripe for the picking who in the world is going to be homeless?"
"It's going to be a big problem someday, Joe, You'll see." Barney had responded. But he did feel conspicuous as he sat at the corner of the building all alone doing nothing. He shrugged the thought away, after all no one would be there to see him. He closed his eyes and thought about the dinner that would be waiting for him at home. Drooling at the thought of a juicy steak he began to drift of to sleep. Then he heard the sound of feet slapping against gravel.
Someone was coming.
1:42 A.M. Standard Stone Age Time
Bedrock Mall
Fred Flintstone had written protocol, he knew the rulebook cover to cover. Forwards and Backwards. Still he chose to break ranks, just for a few minutes. The big fight of the Century was later this evening and he was about to miss it.
"Hey, uh, buddy." he started towards the man in the dark coat, a ticket scalper if he ever saw one.
"Yeah, buddy?" there was a trace of irony in the man's voice but it didn't get to Fred.
"You got tickets to the Sugar Rock Robinson - Sugar Rock Leonard fight tonight."
"Who's askin'?"
"I'm asking that's who."
"So long as it's you." the man said, "I've got tickets. How many you need?"
"Give me five."
"Only got two."
"Gimme two then." Fred took the tickets and handed over a wad of bills. "Sugar Rock vs. Sugar Rock! S'gonna be sweet!"
"Say, you wouldn't happen to be cop now wouldya?"
"Don't worry about it pal. I'll mind my business you mind yours."
"So long as it stays that way buddy." he snatched the money from Fred's hand.
"Gotcha."
1:49 A.M. Standard Stone Age Time
Bedrock Rock Shining Facility
There was no way out of it, Barney Rubble was now in the middle of it all. He was at the center of the action, if he'd had proper training he'd fall back on it but instead he'd have to rely on his own fine-tuned instincts.
Great! he thought, now what?
He shut his eyes and pretended to sleep.
1:51 A.M. Standard Stone Age Time
Bedrock Rock Shining Facility
Slab Slate brushed past the man sleeping by the door and kicked at his foot for sitting in his way. The sleeping man didn't stir. The CTS thought the had him fooled, but they were the fools waiting in the mall while he conducted his business right next door.
1:54 A.M. Standard Stone Age Time
A building adjacent to Bedrock Mall
Wiley Granite cursed her damned gullibility. How could she possibly have fallen for such a blatant trick. She had waited at the mall like a chump while Barney Rubble, a low-tier agent had been placed smack-dab in the middle of the action. How could he possibly know what to do now. For God's sake, she thought, the man's playing dead. She had thought she'd been building her card pyramid on steady ground but now felt as though it was uneasily balanced on Barney Rubble's head.
1:59 A.M. …