Fountain of Youth Ch 4
By InuGhost2.0
Disclaimer: 'Congratulations you're the fourth person to ask me if I actually own anything. Seshin tell them what they've won.' "Well InuGhost they've won an all expenses paid trip to Arkham Asylum. Here they'll be placed into a padded cell so they don't hurt themselves or anyone else due to their mental instability in actually thinking we own anything."
A/N: Smoke billows upwards as InuGhost2.0 appears bowing. "Welcome to Fountain of Youth chapter four. A special thank you and a cookie to Pepperdadogfor reminding me to work on the pairing in this story. I'm also working on a mature Fargo/Julia story based on 'Your Face or Mine' that will likely contain a lemon if anyone would be willing to beta it I'd be greatly appreciative. Thank you for your time and please enjoy the story." Bowing low InuGhost2.0 again disappears in a cloud of smoke.
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"So Jack what do you think?"
At the sound of his name Carter immediately stopped his intense scrutiny of the floor at looked over at Jo. For the last half hour he had been stuck waiting in a crappy chair bored out of his mind as Jo tried on a variety of different outfits. Being a guy he would never understand the concept of clothes shopping and why women found it so appealing. Like most guys Carter spent as little time as possible in clothing stores, and the bare minimum in the changing rooms. He had been hopeful that his deputy would detest shopping with as great as passion, but that hope quickly died when she grabbed him by the arm and practically dragged him into what had to be the largest store in the state of Oregon. What Jo was currently wearing made him revoke every nasty thing he'd ever said about the no longer boring activity.
Leaning in the open doorframe Jo grinned at seeing the faraway look in his eyes and the subtle leg shifting the teen was doing. She had chosen the outfit for this specific reason and took pride in having sent the teenage sheriff's blood rushing south like rats abandoning a sinking ship. Walking over to the still grinning stupidly teen Jo waved her hand in front of his face a few times before he snapped out of whatever daydream or fantasy he'd been currently enjoying. "You ready to leave now?"
"Huh um yeah lets!" Carter almost crashed to the floor in his haste to follow. Mentally he chided himself for allowing his mind to run off. Though after staring at Jo's tan short-shorts encased rear he took some solace in how any man would be fantasizing about the deputy.
After paying for the purchases the two teens head out of the store and into the main area of the mall. The Eureka mall spans for miles in every direction and is five stories tall. Every wing of the mall has a different type of roof and the North wing, where Jack and Jo were currently at, seemed as though it was taken right out of Hogwart's Dinning Hall. Even knowing that a roof separated the shoppers from nature Jack would have been hard pressed to prove it. Throughout the mall several play areas existed for kids and teens that consisted of trees, grass, and flowers. Huge pots containing a variety of flowers stood guard by the entrance into every store.
"Amazing isn't it? At the moment Eureka is the only place that has a mall like this, but many of the citizens are hopeful that in the future every mall will be like this. Nora the architect that designed this place believes in harmony between nature and architecture."
"It really is something." Turning to look at his fellow teenager Carter allowed his eyes to linger briefly on her chest. "You said there was a store here that would allow us to test our skills against each other in a combat setting."
Smiling at her friend and boss Jo nodded her head. "Yeah it's just a little ways up there." Leading the way Jo began planning for her upcoming battle with Carter, though her thoughts kept wandering back to the looks they had been giving each other lately.
Elsewhere
A GD security van was speeding down the forested road towards the Eureka mall. The van's four occupants were mostly keeping to themselves. Wrapped up in their thoughts and feelings, or busily gathering information over a cell phone from a fellow scientist.
"I still can't believe Jo would trick me like this. Much less that I actually fell for it." Taggart was covered head to toe in mud a gloomy look on his face as he shifted uncomfortably in his seat.
"Well you weren't the only one they tricked. She just played on your love of cryptology…and your ignorance of Pokemon." Zoe said the last part quietly in an attempt at sparing Taggart's already hurt feelings.
"…that's good to hear Fargo. Tell them to start synthesizing it and figure out a method of delivery before you meet back up with us." Hanging up Allison turned to Stark. "They've figured out how to reverse Carter and Jo's condition. Fargo is heading to Global to get the antidote as we speak."
"Good. We're going to need every advantage going into this. Jo's got years of military and fighting experience under her belt so she'll be difficult to handle. Not to mention the sheriff's cleverer than I expected so they may already have a trap waiting for us." Stark pressed down a little harder on the accelerator shooting the van over the speed limit as the Eureka mall came into sight.
The Teens
"You have got to be kidding me." Carter exclaimed as he looked around the store in disgust. "The way you kept going on and on about this place I expected something right out of the movies. But this…" Trailing off he took one of the toy guns off the shelf and held it up "is something I'd expect to see at some kid's entertainment center."
"Carter this is Eureka. Nothing is ever as it seems. And that holds especially true for this place."
"Right and I'm supposed to believe that guy's some kind of Eureka genius."
The store employee in question certainly looked nothing like one of the town's geniuses. A geek sure but not a particularly bright one. At the moment he was literally lying down on the job with his feet up in the air resting against the wall. He had been reading a book when they first came in, but had put it down once it became apparent they weren't leaving right away. "While I'll admit that I'm not a genius by this town's standards the people down at Global Dynamics think I have some potential." Picking himself up off the ground he quickly dusted himself off. "So you've found someone else to spar with then Jo? Or has Taggart gotten himself lost in his work again?"
"I'm impressed most of the townspeople wouldn't be able to tell right away. Taggart is doing just fine. But this guy and I ran into a little disagreement over which of us is better with a gun. Think you can help us settle the matter?"
"Jo you can't be seriously thinking of deciding which of us is better through a game of laser tag." Rolling his eyes Carter turned to leave.
"It may be similar to laser tag, but the devices used here are more sophisticated than anywhere else." Reaching underneath the countertop he slammed a small device onto the countertop. "This device monitors a person's entire body. Not only will it register how many times you've been hit, but also where at, and how much damage the shot would have done. So you'll know if it was merely a flesh wound, or if you'd be minus a limb or dead from blood loss in under five minutes."
"Simply put Jack this little device will keep track of the results from every game session and by the end of it all we'll finally know which of us is better." Picking up the device Jo strapped it around her arm. "It's not to late to back out though if your scared."
In response Carter pulled out Stark's wallet and handed it over to the clerk. Looking at the board behind the counter he quickly decided on the format. "We'll take a two hour session divided into three half hour rounds with a fifteen minute break between each while the terrain changes. Now explain what that means, and how these guns work." Carter was determined to once and for all put Jo in her place. No one ever called him scared, and he was certain that even if he couldn't beat the deputy turned teen then he could at least give her a run for her money.
"Each weapon has eight rounds. After they are expended you press this button here above the trigger. After three seconds the gun is reloaded. It's good for five reloads each session. If you need more then press this button here at the bottom of the gun. Jo please explain to him about the terrain while I go ensure the weapons are fully charged."
"Ok Carter changing terrain is exactly what it sounds like. After each round the terrain shifts and moves around. High ground that can be good for snipping someone becomes low ground and vice versa. Settings and obstacles also change. First round we might be in a ruined city, while the second round could be set in a forest. Pathways can lead to different places or even lead to dead ends. Do you understand?"
Carter nodded his head in understanding. "It prevents people from dominating the game simply because they've memorized the layout. Puts everyone on a more equal footing and sounds reasonable enough."
By this point the guy had returned and was handing the weapons over to the teens. "You two have fun now, and Jo please no bloodshed this time."
"Just make sure your computer keeps accurate count of all this." Carter called out as he strapped on his own monitoring device and followed Jo over to the multiple sets of doors leading out onto the battleground.
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Well that's all for now everyone I'll try and update this before next week's Eureka. Let me know what you thought of this chapter and suggestions are always welcome. Oh before I forget I have a poll up on my profile so feel free to vote in it and let me know who your favorite Eureka character is. Now if you'll excuse me I've got to study for tonight's final, oh and remember reviews make authors happy, and happy authors are productive authors.