Well, JoeMerl has decided to take a break from his even stupider ideas to work on this story, and so, you all get a new chapter. And this one even has plot development. Oh my. It's like bloody Christmas all over again.
His Technical Writing homework, you'll note, remains woefully undone.
Chapter Eleven
Project D
AUGUST 26, PRESENT, 16:00:00
"Ma'am?"
She snapped out of her reverie. "What?!" she demanded, turning around.
"I said we need to go the long way. The radio just said there was a GFiB downtown."
"Ugh. Whatever," the girl grumbled, throwing herself back against her seat.
The limo turned, and the girl went back to glaring out the window. GFiBS. How annoying they were. Possibly the most irritating thing about moving here. Bad enough all the untouched nature that this stupid place possessed, what did it say that these people couldn't even keep wildlife out of their cities?
The city flew by her, and the girl returned to her thoughts. She smiled. Two weeks. Only two weeks she'd been here, and already she'd accomplished so much. The seeds had been planted. But, she reminded herself, it would be long while before they bore fruit…how long she wasn't sure, but it could be months or more. No matter. She had waited decades already...
She sighed. How horrible this city was. Look at all the people, the cars, all the stupid signs advertising stupid things to stupid people too stupid to realize how stupid they were. But still, that could work for her advantage…already, she had the germs of a plan in her mind.
"Driver?"
"Yes, ma'am?"
"Take me to Daddy's office instead. I wish to see him."
"Yes, ma'am."
She smirked. Ask and ye shall receive. So wonderfully simple, and such a nice change of pace.
The car slowed to a stop at a red light. Her hand moved silently out to pet the creature beside her on the seat, which moved closer to her, blinking its large eyes. It scratched lightly against her clothes. She turned. "What?"
The pet turned its head around, motioning towards the back window. The girl sat up straighter in her seat and looked around.
There was a boy on the sidewalk, sitting on the seat of an immobile bicycle, staring at her car. His helmet was jammed atop a copious amount of blond hair, standing up like one of those horrible little troll dolls she had seen at the stores. Hunched over in his seat, a beige trench coat thrown over his shoulders, he stared at them with narrowed blue eyes, looking sharp and determined.
She gasped. "Him."
Just then the car moved again; and, a mere moment later, so did the boy's bicycle.
The girl's head snapped around. "Driver! Go faster!"
"I'm going as fast as I can, ma'am. Don't worry, we'll be at your father's office in---"
"I don't care about that, you idiot! Just---turn this way instead!" she demanded, pointing down a different road.
The driver obeyed. The girl looked back. The boy on the bicycle was still following.
"Well, it certainly looks like we're being followed," she muttered to her pet. "Driver! Go---er, down Crestwall Street!"
"Crestwall? Ma'am, if you want to see your father, you---"
"Floyd can get bent for all I care, just take me down Crestwall!"
"Er, yes ma'am."
For the next twenty minutes the girl barked orders at her idiotic driver, exhausting her limited knowledge of this new environment, taking every twist and turn through the city that she could think of, all the while glancing back to see if her follower was still in pursuit.
"Oh, dear," the driver muttered, pulling to a stop. "Traffic's backed up for the next mile, ma'am. Look like there's been an accident of a GFiB up ahead…we may be stuck here for a while."
The girl sighed, flopping down in her seat. She glanced behind her again; the sidewalks were empty of anything but pedestrians. "That's…alright, driver," she said with exaggerated kindness, settling herself back down. "We're in no rush."
She smiled sweetly. He smiled back at her, until he turned and she drew back into her seat with a sullen expression. Her pet crawled across the seat toward her, arching her back and laying down. The girl reached out to stroke her again.
"Well, my dear, not exactly the ideal position, is this?" the girl muttered, as the creature gazed up at her blankly. "But no matter. The point is, we managed to evade the…the…"
Her mouth fell open. The stroking stopped.
There, a few cars ahead of them, the boy on the bicycle emerged out of an alley.
Oh, bollocks. The little bugger knew a short cut.
The girl's pet had risen to its feet, gazing out the window with her mistress. Cursing, the girl scooped her into her arms. "I have an idea," she muttered, and quickly typed something out on the little keypad built into the car's armrest.
Meanwhile, the driver, oblivious to this, was peering out the front windshield, frowning at the traffic. He didn't think it was a GFiB after all---there were no Anti-GFiBS patrols, soldiers or scientists around---but still, it looked like they would be there for at least a half-hour. He was glad his charge was taking it so well; she had seemed to be in such a hurry for something---
He heard the sound of a car door slam. He jumped and spun around. "Miss---"
She was sitting there in the backseat, the car door closed, leaning her elbow against the armrest and looking thoroughly bored. "Ma'am? Did you just open the car door?"
She didn't answer. He frowned; he reached out to get her attention. "Ma'am, did---"
He jumped back; his hand had passed right through her shoulder, and she wavered slightly in the air, her form becoming somewhat distorting before resuming its normal shape.
The driver frowned, reaching his hand back. "O-kay…"
------------------------------------------------------
A gasping sound filled the empty alley, along with the sounds of footsteps pounding on the pavement. A moment later, the air seemed to shimmer, and the girl was standing there, pet in her arms.
"There," she muttered, letting the creature down; it slid easily out of her grasp and onto the sidewalk, cocking its head. "We should be safe from him here."
The creature considered her with its large, red eyes. The girl, meanwhile, had turned away, making a face while her finger thoughtfully stroked her chin.
This wasn't part of the plan at all. She'd known about this boy from her survaillance of Zim, but she hadn't suspected…how had he found her? This could ruin everything, if he knew about her, if he uncovered her plans before she even had a chance to begin to construct the---but what to do now, then?
A sudden footstep behind her. "Hello."
"Agh!"
She spun around; there he was, that boy, suddenly standing behind her in the alley! How had he---?! He had abandoned the bike and helmet somewhere, and now stood before her in his usual clothes, trench coat wafting slightly behind him in the breeze, arms crossed over his chest, a clever little smile playing on his face. Probably just the dramatic effect he was looking for, she thought sarcastically.
The girl took a deep breath, drew herself up to her full height and stared at him. "Hello."
The boy stared back at her, eye-to-eye, as she glared at him from ten feet away. She was, he thought, somehow ferocious-looking. For a moment she tilted her head back, and her violet eyes seemed to flash in the light of the sun, almost blinding him; but winced slightly and steadied himself, staring right back at her.
The girl's gaze faltered. Oh bloody hell. This wasn't working right at all.
Time to try a different tack.
The girl raised her head again, pulling it back haughtily to glare down her nose at the boy, violet hair falling gracefully around her face. "And who, may I ask, are you, chasing me across town and down the street?! I should call the police on you this very moment, you---stalker! I don't think you realize who you're dealing with! I am---"
"Tak Deelishus, daughter of Floyd Deelishus and heir to the Deelishus Weenie Corporation." He walked around the alley toward her, and then, when he was only a few feet away, suddenly bent down, almost bowing, holding out a hand to shake hers, that infuriating little smile still on his face. "The name's Louie Membrane. Happy to make your acquaintance."
In your reviews, please be sure to tell me at exactly what point you realized it was her. Seriously, I'm curious to know.
The next Zim story I'm likely to update will be "Endorsements of the Doomed"...last chapter up on Inauguration Day. Until then!
