Six months later
Sara had recovered from her injuries only days after her run-in with M-17 and Jose, but was
seized by occasional bouts of weakness at least once a week. With Dr. Zack's help, Sara soon found
out that her nanomachines had suffered from the equivalent of an EMP, which had destroyed many
of them, and temporarily disabled the rest. Sara still went out hunting, usually using her armour, and
had racked up a kill tally of almost a hundred greenskins before M-17 returned to pound Sara into
paste.
The two women, with their renewed grudge match, proceeded to get into massive fights
which ended only when both people were too tired to fight anymore, or when CyberSix dropped in
unexpectedly. Both women had learned much about the other's fighting styles, but M-17 was usually
the one getting injured by the end of each brawl. In the most recent fight, Sara led 17 on a not-so
merry chase through a smelting refinery a few miles south of the city, which ended when Sara got
lucky and broke 17's right arm above and below the elbow.
Being very pissed off at the time, Sara left 17 there to die, bleeding out from the compound
fractures, but somehow the psychotic teen survived and is almost ready for more. Sara herself has
gone to the hospital for blood transfusions, but more often than could be considered normal due to
the wounds she also occasionally suffered from. Oddly enough, the principal at the school was fairly
understanding about Sara's debility, and she was allowed more sick leave than the average teacher.
Lori had become a minor asset in Sara's mundane life, as the prank-loving teen took a shine
to Sara's eternally disgusting jokes and myriad pranks, and soon learned how to torment Lucas in
almost every way that wouldn't get her arrested. Erin also remained friends with Sara, and
occasionally teamed up with Sara's hunting persona when bored. Hazel Smith, Sara's problem
student, remained as an unapproachable bastion most of the time, but always showed respect to Sara
for some reason.
Lucas and Adrian stuck on as Sara's friends, despite the visual knowledge that Sara was
steadily losing ground with her illness. Lucas constantly made references to toothpicks, but Sara often
didn't care about his ribbing to respond. Adrian also tried to keep Sara smiling, but often the jokes
fell flat. Dr. Zack was concerned about Sara's condition, and nagged at Reba to put Sara through a
battery of tests the next time she went into the hospital. He then found out something that put a third
side into the mix.
Saturday, April 20. North US.
"Sir?"
"Where is she? You said you'd contact me when you have her."
"Sorry sir, but the team is only moving out now. We have a seven-hour flight ahead of us."
"Hmm. Did the researchers find out what went wrong with the Gauss rifle capacitors?"
"Yes, they did. Apparently, the magnetic field firing the slug was too strong, and the EM
feedback sent a surge through the capacitor. That ruptured the coils, which destroyed the weapon
in question, not to mention killing the user."
"Dammit. Issue the Gauss pistols instead of the rifles. We at least cleared out the problems
with that one. Also, use AP ammo in all your guns. If she won't come with us peacefully, make sure
that her body is totally unrecognisable."
"Yes sir. We're going now, so I'll sign off now."
Dr. Zack's house, 7:00 PM
"So, as we can see, the nanomachines are rebuilding themselves, but at the expense of letting
the disease in your body run rampant. That's part of the reason why you're feeling so weak, Sara."
"Thanks for the info Tony. Well, there probably won't be anything we can do now." Sara
looked like she was surrounded by a death-like pallor, with her pale skin looking like it was covered
in ash. Dr. Zack was concerned as Sara became even more withdrawn, her characteristic good
humour having been repeatedly worn at by the waves of bad news that had assaulted her for the last
few weeks. "Sara, why do you say that? I've never seen anyone like this, and there seems to be
nothing wrong with your life right now."
Sara looked at the person who spoke, and smiled slightly. "Thanks for trying Six. Actually,
I should tell you why I came here in the first place." Sara looked up, and her eyes changed from a dull
murkiness into the clear hues that Six remembered from when she first met Sara.
"Well, I said that my grandparents were killed a while ago, and that's true, but there's one
other reason. I'm running."
"Okay, if that's not a mysterious statement then I don't know what is."
"Let me finish Six. I'm actually in hiding from a very amoral mega-corporation called Gen-
Core. They were the ones that financed my operations, and they also trained me in firearms and
martial arts. After being indentured to them for almost two years, I broke away from them after a
nasty little bit in Africa where I had been ordered to help safeguard a camp of slavers." Sara noticed
that both Dr. Zack and Six had looks of intense disgust on their faces at the mention of slavers, but
she forged on.
"After I broke away from Gen-Core, I wandered the world for a while, trying to keep under
their radar. I collected some interesting items in my wanderings, including a sword that is currently
collecting dust in my basement. Eventually I made my way here, and decided that the one place where
nobody sane would willingly go would be perfect for keeping me out of the public eye." Sara snorted
derisively, then smiled. "Guess how well that worked."
Six smiled as part of Sara's wit returned, cutting through the cloud of gloom like a knife
through butter. "Okay, so you haven't exactly kept a low profile down here. Now why does this
company have you so worried?"
"They have equipment that's almost out of this world. I saw prototypes of something called
'reactive combat armour' which looked like scale mail bodysuits, and prototype Gauss rifles."
"Wait a minute. You said that the combat armour looked like a bodysuit right? Well, Six saw
something a few months ago that would correspond with your description."
"That's right Sara. About six months ago, I first saw the person who Tony's referring to. She
calls herself the Knife, and may be an assassin sent by this company to capture or kill you."
"That doesn't sound like the Gen-Core that I knew. Their idea of retrieving someone involved
twenty heavily armed men, most of which were told to shoot on sight. Either they've mellowed out,
or there's another escapee out there." *Heh, even my friends don't know that the Knife and I are one
and the same.* "Look, if you have any more information, please tell me. If necessary, I'll try my old
access codes in the company's site to see if I could get any information, but I promise that they'll hunt
me down that much faster."
"Sara, it's your risk, so I'm not condoning anything you do, but I recommend that you don't
do it. Especially with the possibility of an assassin wandering about." Dr. Zack puffed on his pipe, and
looked at Sara again. She still looked like the core of her being had been burned out, but the remnants
alone seemed to shine with pure determination.
Sara nodded and stood up. She flexed her right arm slightly, wincing as her elbow seemed to
shift around. "Well, I have to go. Thanks for the tea Tony. It was good to see both of you again."
With that, she nodded to Dr. Zack, smiled at Six, and walked back to her house. Dr. Zack and Six
both moved to a window that overlooked the sidewalk and watched as Sara paused underneath a
streetlight, apparently looking at the night sky through the glare of the city's lights.
"She seems... lost. Alone. Almost afraid."
"Six, you've just managed to hit the nail on the head. Sara no longer has anything tying her
down in life, with her grandparents dead, and she's had no contact with the rest of her family since
she had been infected with that disease six years ago. I'm not sure, but at the school, when she had
her birthday, she got nothing from any of her living relations. Honestly, I'm not sure that they know
she's alive, and that may be what she wants from them."
"Well, that explains the part of her being alone, but lost? I think that's caused by her not
making many friends here. Her oldest friend here is Lucas, and he admits that he knows almost
nothing about her except for her disgusting sense of humour. But what's bothering me was what is
always in the back of her eyes. Sara's not just hiding from a company. She may also be hiding from
her past, or maybe her future."
"Well, be that as it may, we have a few leads to try and get through, and maybe find out
what's eating her."
"Tony, that was a very morbid joke. We both know full well what's eating her, and I hate it
as much as you do." The two friends watched as Sara finished her contemplation, but they didn't
move as Sara walked slowly to her house, gazing at the ground by her feet. "I just don't like seeing
her like this. She's turned into a shell, just going through the motions of living. Even her students are
beginning to wonder about it. Erin talked to me about it yesterday just after school, and she's
notorious for only looking out for herself."
"Hmm. Well, I'd better try and find out some information about this company. If I'm right,
they could be worse than Reichter."
"Okay. I'm going out to try and keep a lid on the Fixed Ideas, but I will try and keep in touch.
See you soon."
"Goodbye Six. Have a good night."
Jose's Mansion 8:30PM
"Jose!!!" M-17's shout rattled the windows in the dining hall, where the stunted clone was
busy tucking into a snack before his bedtime. "What?" Jose spat out pieces of the meat and cheese
sandwich, but was occupied by M-17's left arm snaking out and grappling him around the throat,
choking him.
"Why the hell did you put me on such a pathetic duty? Even Jess didn't deserve the latrines,
and now you're telling me that I'm on kitchen patrol? You really wanna cut down on your snacks,
is that it?" Jose was turning a pale shade of purple as he tried to get some air into his system, so M-17
loosened her choke-hold for a few seconds.
"Fine, I'll tell you. First, you're unfit for duty, unless you want to try and beat that bounty
hunter with one arm. Second, you've failed in your three missions."
"What three missions?"
"One: Kill CyberSix. Two: Kill that hunter. Three: give me a show for the hidden camera in
the women's shower room."
"You Little BASTARD!!!" M-17's face turned beet red as Jose cackled, but he was cut short
as she swivelled around and walked into the kitchen, carrying him underneath her good arm.
"W-what are you going to do to me now? Put me in the oven? Bake me?"
"No. That would be an insult to the oven. I'm gonna chuck you in the freezer for a few hours.
Better make sure you're bundled up..." M-17 opened the heavy doors to the meat locker, tossed Jose
in, and closed the door before he could recover from his impact against a slab of beef. She then leaned
against the frame, and heard Jose try and batter his way out of the freezing room.
"Hey, little boy."
"What?"
"You want me to turn it down a bit? I can always do that..."
"NO! Please. I'm sorry about the shower room joke."
"Bullshit. If I let you out of there, will you tell me where the cameras are?"
"Yes! Yes, yes, yes, yes, yes!!! Now will you let me out?"
"In an hour. Better keep moving around in there. The thermostat says that it's almost ten
below in there."
"Gee thanks. Can you turn it up?"
"Probably. Will you take me off KP and the unfit roster?"
"Fine! You're off KP, but the doctor has to pull you off the unfit roster. You know the rules."
"Well, I can try. I'll see you around." M-17 moved a few feet away from the freezer, and
instead of leaving, she waited for Jose to do the predictable thing, and heard him bounce off the steel
door before she flipped open a cell phone and hit one of the speed-dial buttons.
"Hey, Jess? You wanna see something really funny? Come down to the kitchen and look in
the freezer. I'll see you there." Soon, Jess walked into the kitchen, and went over to where M-17 was
leaning against a wall, eating a sandwich.
"So, who'd you toss into the freezer? Jose?"
"Yep. Let's check on the popsicle. He's been pretty quiet for the last five minutes." The two
women walked to the freezer, and M-17 opened the door, allowing the misty air to boil out into the
warmer room. They waited for the fog to settle around the level of their knees, then walked into the
locker. "Jose, where are you? Did you get stuck to one of the legs of lamb someone had smuggled
in here a few days ago?"
"F-f-f-f-fuck you too 17."
"Cute. We're letting you out now. When you get into the kitchen, I'm just gonna toss you into
your bed, but you'd better keep your end of the bargain by tomorrow."
"A-a-a-all right. Y-y-you win." Jose climbed out of the split carcass he had been hiding in, and
fell to the floor because he had lost most of the feeling in his hands and feet. M-17 and Jess, barely
keeping from breaking out in laughter, got Jose into his room, where he warmed up, then the two left
to plot their revenge on the larger thorn in their side.
Sara's house, 9:00 PM
Sara had just finished marking the labs she had gotten from her students on Friday, and slowly
sat up, allowing the kinks in her muscles to loosen up as she then walked upstairs to the bathroom.
*Ow. I'm not getting any worse, but it's really taking a lot out of me just to keep the pain I'm in from
showing up. Everyone that I consider a friend is worried about me, with Six being the forerunner in
the concern department. Hell, even Hazel is beginning to ask questions about my well-being, and
she's notorious for being unapproachable at any time.* Sara winced as a familiar jolt of pain sent its
way through her right side, then walked into the bathroom, stripping off her shirt at the same time.
She paused as she looked in the mirror at her reflection, and grimaced as she traced the scars
on her chest and arms. *I've had at least four major surgeries, and as a result, I've been shot, stabbed,
bludgeoned, tossed out of moving cars, and been used as target practice over the last four years. I
hate my life. Hell, why don't I end it?* Sara started to turn on the water in the bathtub, planning on
a long soak to remove the last vestiges of tension in her muscles, and a small voice in her head
allowed her to have an internal dialogue
*'Simple. If you ended it, you'd never get into heaven, and hell would kick you out for
unnecessary roughness.' 'Gee, thanks for that unflattering comment. Why don't you go back into
hiding again? After all, my memories are probably getting lonely.' 'Yeah, you'd like me to shut up
wouldn't you? Not gonna happen. You know that when Gen-Core comes for us he'll be there as
well.' 'Thanks for that reminder. As if I wanted to think of that wrinkle. After all, they'll definitely
be using the armour, and probably have weapons that can punch through it to boot.' 'Fine, I'll shut
up now. It's your life after all. After all, who'd wanna listen to the person who got us out of the
company's clutches in the first place?'*
Sara frowned, and turned off the taps after noticing that the water was nice and steaming. She
then pulled off her pants, removed her skivvies, and slowly climbed into the large tub, letting the
warm water work its magic, easing her cramped muscles and roiling mind. However, she didn't have
long to enjoy the bath, because the doorbell rang ten minutes later. *Ah FUCK! If that's a door-to-
door salesman, I won't care if I get slapped with a murder charge.* Sara got out of the tub slowly,
swearing silently at Murphy's Law as she wrapped a huge towel around herself.
She then walked down to the front door and growled slightly as the person leaned on the
doorbell. Sara opened the door, and was suddenly grateful that the towel was long enough to go past
her knees. "Well, how are you doing today, Reba?"
"Pretty good. You however, seem to be falling apart at an exponential rate. I have some
results here that are almost nauseating."
"Umm Reba, this is actually a bit of a bad time. I was actually trying to relax for a while, and
well, as you can see..."
"Yeah, I noticed. Must be a bit drafty. I'll just give you a copy of the printout instead of
boring you to tears. By the way, thanks for catching that new flu virus that's making the rounds. Now
we can inoculate all the people at risk before they catch it."
"Well, I owed you, and besides, it got me away from the classroom for a good week. Thanks
Reba. I'll try to get some details from you tomorrow, okay?"
"Sure. Take it easy, get some rest, and take two Asprin." Reba gave Sara a folder of loose
papers from her small briefcase, which was instantly placed on a small table nearby.
"Thanks for the advice. I'll see you tomorrow." Sara smiled slightly, saluted Reba by patting
the diminutive doctor on the top of her head, and closed the door. *Now, back to the bath...*
Outside, as Sara was walking upstairs, she heard Reba's response to her salute. "If you weren't my
patient, I'd ..."
Sara had recovered from her injuries only days after her run-in with M-17 and Jose, but was
seized by occasional bouts of weakness at least once a week. With Dr. Zack's help, Sara soon found
out that her nanomachines had suffered from the equivalent of an EMP, which had destroyed many
of them, and temporarily disabled the rest. Sara still went out hunting, usually using her armour, and
had racked up a kill tally of almost a hundred greenskins before M-17 returned to pound Sara into
paste.
The two women, with their renewed grudge match, proceeded to get into massive fights
which ended only when both people were too tired to fight anymore, or when CyberSix dropped in
unexpectedly. Both women had learned much about the other's fighting styles, but M-17 was usually
the one getting injured by the end of each brawl. In the most recent fight, Sara led 17 on a not-so
merry chase through a smelting refinery a few miles south of the city, which ended when Sara got
lucky and broke 17's right arm above and below the elbow.
Being very pissed off at the time, Sara left 17 there to die, bleeding out from the compound
fractures, but somehow the psychotic teen survived and is almost ready for more. Sara herself has
gone to the hospital for blood transfusions, but more often than could be considered normal due to
the wounds she also occasionally suffered from. Oddly enough, the principal at the school was fairly
understanding about Sara's debility, and she was allowed more sick leave than the average teacher.
Lori had become a minor asset in Sara's mundane life, as the prank-loving teen took a shine
to Sara's eternally disgusting jokes and myriad pranks, and soon learned how to torment Lucas in
almost every way that wouldn't get her arrested. Erin also remained friends with Sara, and
occasionally teamed up with Sara's hunting persona when bored. Hazel Smith, Sara's problem
student, remained as an unapproachable bastion most of the time, but always showed respect to Sara
for some reason.
Lucas and Adrian stuck on as Sara's friends, despite the visual knowledge that Sara was
steadily losing ground with her illness. Lucas constantly made references to toothpicks, but Sara often
didn't care about his ribbing to respond. Adrian also tried to keep Sara smiling, but often the jokes
fell flat. Dr. Zack was concerned about Sara's condition, and nagged at Reba to put Sara through a
battery of tests the next time she went into the hospital. He then found out something that put a third
side into the mix.
Saturday, April 20. North US.
"Sir?"
"Where is she? You said you'd contact me when you have her."
"Sorry sir, but the team is only moving out now. We have a seven-hour flight ahead of us."
"Hmm. Did the researchers find out what went wrong with the Gauss rifle capacitors?"
"Yes, they did. Apparently, the magnetic field firing the slug was too strong, and the EM
feedback sent a surge through the capacitor. That ruptured the coils, which destroyed the weapon
in question, not to mention killing the user."
"Dammit. Issue the Gauss pistols instead of the rifles. We at least cleared out the problems
with that one. Also, use AP ammo in all your guns. If she won't come with us peacefully, make sure
that her body is totally unrecognisable."
"Yes sir. We're going now, so I'll sign off now."
Dr. Zack's house, 7:00 PM
"So, as we can see, the nanomachines are rebuilding themselves, but at the expense of letting
the disease in your body run rampant. That's part of the reason why you're feeling so weak, Sara."
"Thanks for the info Tony. Well, there probably won't be anything we can do now." Sara
looked like she was surrounded by a death-like pallor, with her pale skin looking like it was covered
in ash. Dr. Zack was concerned as Sara became even more withdrawn, her characteristic good
humour having been repeatedly worn at by the waves of bad news that had assaulted her for the last
few weeks. "Sara, why do you say that? I've never seen anyone like this, and there seems to be
nothing wrong with your life right now."
Sara looked at the person who spoke, and smiled slightly. "Thanks for trying Six. Actually,
I should tell you why I came here in the first place." Sara looked up, and her eyes changed from a dull
murkiness into the clear hues that Six remembered from when she first met Sara.
"Well, I said that my grandparents were killed a while ago, and that's true, but there's one
other reason. I'm running."
"Okay, if that's not a mysterious statement then I don't know what is."
"Let me finish Six. I'm actually in hiding from a very amoral mega-corporation called Gen-
Core. They were the ones that financed my operations, and they also trained me in firearms and
martial arts. After being indentured to them for almost two years, I broke away from them after a
nasty little bit in Africa where I had been ordered to help safeguard a camp of slavers." Sara noticed
that both Dr. Zack and Six had looks of intense disgust on their faces at the mention of slavers, but
she forged on.
"After I broke away from Gen-Core, I wandered the world for a while, trying to keep under
their radar. I collected some interesting items in my wanderings, including a sword that is currently
collecting dust in my basement. Eventually I made my way here, and decided that the one place where
nobody sane would willingly go would be perfect for keeping me out of the public eye." Sara snorted
derisively, then smiled. "Guess how well that worked."
Six smiled as part of Sara's wit returned, cutting through the cloud of gloom like a knife
through butter. "Okay, so you haven't exactly kept a low profile down here. Now why does this
company have you so worried?"
"They have equipment that's almost out of this world. I saw prototypes of something called
'reactive combat armour' which looked like scale mail bodysuits, and prototype Gauss rifles."
"Wait a minute. You said that the combat armour looked like a bodysuit right? Well, Six saw
something a few months ago that would correspond with your description."
"That's right Sara. About six months ago, I first saw the person who Tony's referring to. She
calls herself the Knife, and may be an assassin sent by this company to capture or kill you."
"That doesn't sound like the Gen-Core that I knew. Their idea of retrieving someone involved
twenty heavily armed men, most of which were told to shoot on sight. Either they've mellowed out,
or there's another escapee out there." *Heh, even my friends don't know that the Knife and I are one
and the same.* "Look, if you have any more information, please tell me. If necessary, I'll try my old
access codes in the company's site to see if I could get any information, but I promise that they'll hunt
me down that much faster."
"Sara, it's your risk, so I'm not condoning anything you do, but I recommend that you don't
do it. Especially with the possibility of an assassin wandering about." Dr. Zack puffed on his pipe, and
looked at Sara again. She still looked like the core of her being had been burned out, but the remnants
alone seemed to shine with pure determination.
Sara nodded and stood up. She flexed her right arm slightly, wincing as her elbow seemed to
shift around. "Well, I have to go. Thanks for the tea Tony. It was good to see both of you again."
With that, she nodded to Dr. Zack, smiled at Six, and walked back to her house. Dr. Zack and Six
both moved to a window that overlooked the sidewalk and watched as Sara paused underneath a
streetlight, apparently looking at the night sky through the glare of the city's lights.
"She seems... lost. Alone. Almost afraid."
"Six, you've just managed to hit the nail on the head. Sara no longer has anything tying her
down in life, with her grandparents dead, and she's had no contact with the rest of her family since
she had been infected with that disease six years ago. I'm not sure, but at the school, when she had
her birthday, she got nothing from any of her living relations. Honestly, I'm not sure that they know
she's alive, and that may be what she wants from them."
"Well, that explains the part of her being alone, but lost? I think that's caused by her not
making many friends here. Her oldest friend here is Lucas, and he admits that he knows almost
nothing about her except for her disgusting sense of humour. But what's bothering me was what is
always in the back of her eyes. Sara's not just hiding from a company. She may also be hiding from
her past, or maybe her future."
"Well, be that as it may, we have a few leads to try and get through, and maybe find out
what's eating her."
"Tony, that was a very morbid joke. We both know full well what's eating her, and I hate it
as much as you do." The two friends watched as Sara finished her contemplation, but they didn't
move as Sara walked slowly to her house, gazing at the ground by her feet. "I just don't like seeing
her like this. She's turned into a shell, just going through the motions of living. Even her students are
beginning to wonder about it. Erin talked to me about it yesterday just after school, and she's
notorious for only looking out for herself."
"Hmm. Well, I'd better try and find out some information about this company. If I'm right,
they could be worse than Reichter."
"Okay. I'm going out to try and keep a lid on the Fixed Ideas, but I will try and keep in touch.
See you soon."
"Goodbye Six. Have a good night."
Jose's Mansion 8:30PM
"Jose!!!" M-17's shout rattled the windows in the dining hall, where the stunted clone was
busy tucking into a snack before his bedtime. "What?" Jose spat out pieces of the meat and cheese
sandwich, but was occupied by M-17's left arm snaking out and grappling him around the throat,
choking him.
"Why the hell did you put me on such a pathetic duty? Even Jess didn't deserve the latrines,
and now you're telling me that I'm on kitchen patrol? You really wanna cut down on your snacks,
is that it?" Jose was turning a pale shade of purple as he tried to get some air into his system, so M-17
loosened her choke-hold for a few seconds.
"Fine, I'll tell you. First, you're unfit for duty, unless you want to try and beat that bounty
hunter with one arm. Second, you've failed in your three missions."
"What three missions?"
"One: Kill CyberSix. Two: Kill that hunter. Three: give me a show for the hidden camera in
the women's shower room."
"You Little BASTARD!!!" M-17's face turned beet red as Jose cackled, but he was cut short
as she swivelled around and walked into the kitchen, carrying him underneath her good arm.
"W-what are you going to do to me now? Put me in the oven? Bake me?"
"No. That would be an insult to the oven. I'm gonna chuck you in the freezer for a few hours.
Better make sure you're bundled up..." M-17 opened the heavy doors to the meat locker, tossed Jose
in, and closed the door before he could recover from his impact against a slab of beef. She then leaned
against the frame, and heard Jose try and batter his way out of the freezing room.
"Hey, little boy."
"What?"
"You want me to turn it down a bit? I can always do that..."
"NO! Please. I'm sorry about the shower room joke."
"Bullshit. If I let you out of there, will you tell me where the cameras are?"
"Yes! Yes, yes, yes, yes, yes!!! Now will you let me out?"
"In an hour. Better keep moving around in there. The thermostat says that it's almost ten
below in there."
"Gee thanks. Can you turn it up?"
"Probably. Will you take me off KP and the unfit roster?"
"Fine! You're off KP, but the doctor has to pull you off the unfit roster. You know the rules."
"Well, I can try. I'll see you around." M-17 moved a few feet away from the freezer, and
instead of leaving, she waited for Jose to do the predictable thing, and heard him bounce off the steel
door before she flipped open a cell phone and hit one of the speed-dial buttons.
"Hey, Jess? You wanna see something really funny? Come down to the kitchen and look in
the freezer. I'll see you there." Soon, Jess walked into the kitchen, and went over to where M-17 was
leaning against a wall, eating a sandwich.
"So, who'd you toss into the freezer? Jose?"
"Yep. Let's check on the popsicle. He's been pretty quiet for the last five minutes." The two
women walked to the freezer, and M-17 opened the door, allowing the misty air to boil out into the
warmer room. They waited for the fog to settle around the level of their knees, then walked into the
locker. "Jose, where are you? Did you get stuck to one of the legs of lamb someone had smuggled
in here a few days ago?"
"F-f-f-f-fuck you too 17."
"Cute. We're letting you out now. When you get into the kitchen, I'm just gonna toss you into
your bed, but you'd better keep your end of the bargain by tomorrow."
"A-a-a-all right. Y-y-you win." Jose climbed out of the split carcass he had been hiding in, and
fell to the floor because he had lost most of the feeling in his hands and feet. M-17 and Jess, barely
keeping from breaking out in laughter, got Jose into his room, where he warmed up, then the two left
to plot their revenge on the larger thorn in their side.
Sara's house, 9:00 PM
Sara had just finished marking the labs she had gotten from her students on Friday, and slowly
sat up, allowing the kinks in her muscles to loosen up as she then walked upstairs to the bathroom.
*Ow. I'm not getting any worse, but it's really taking a lot out of me just to keep the pain I'm in from
showing up. Everyone that I consider a friend is worried about me, with Six being the forerunner in
the concern department. Hell, even Hazel is beginning to ask questions about my well-being, and
she's notorious for being unapproachable at any time.* Sara winced as a familiar jolt of pain sent its
way through her right side, then walked into the bathroom, stripping off her shirt at the same time.
She paused as she looked in the mirror at her reflection, and grimaced as she traced the scars
on her chest and arms. *I've had at least four major surgeries, and as a result, I've been shot, stabbed,
bludgeoned, tossed out of moving cars, and been used as target practice over the last four years. I
hate my life. Hell, why don't I end it?* Sara started to turn on the water in the bathtub, planning on
a long soak to remove the last vestiges of tension in her muscles, and a small voice in her head
allowed her to have an internal dialogue
*'Simple. If you ended it, you'd never get into heaven, and hell would kick you out for
unnecessary roughness.' 'Gee, thanks for that unflattering comment. Why don't you go back into
hiding again? After all, my memories are probably getting lonely.' 'Yeah, you'd like me to shut up
wouldn't you? Not gonna happen. You know that when Gen-Core comes for us he'll be there as
well.' 'Thanks for that reminder. As if I wanted to think of that wrinkle. After all, they'll definitely
be using the armour, and probably have weapons that can punch through it to boot.' 'Fine, I'll shut
up now. It's your life after all. After all, who'd wanna listen to the person who got us out of the
company's clutches in the first place?'*
Sara frowned, and turned off the taps after noticing that the water was nice and steaming. She
then pulled off her pants, removed her skivvies, and slowly climbed into the large tub, letting the
warm water work its magic, easing her cramped muscles and roiling mind. However, she didn't have
long to enjoy the bath, because the doorbell rang ten minutes later. *Ah FUCK! If that's a door-to-
door salesman, I won't care if I get slapped with a murder charge.* Sara got out of the tub slowly,
swearing silently at Murphy's Law as she wrapped a huge towel around herself.
She then walked down to the front door and growled slightly as the person leaned on the
doorbell. Sara opened the door, and was suddenly grateful that the towel was long enough to go past
her knees. "Well, how are you doing today, Reba?"
"Pretty good. You however, seem to be falling apart at an exponential rate. I have some
results here that are almost nauseating."
"Umm Reba, this is actually a bit of a bad time. I was actually trying to relax for a while, and
well, as you can see..."
"Yeah, I noticed. Must be a bit drafty. I'll just give you a copy of the printout instead of
boring you to tears. By the way, thanks for catching that new flu virus that's making the rounds. Now
we can inoculate all the people at risk before they catch it."
"Well, I owed you, and besides, it got me away from the classroom for a good week. Thanks
Reba. I'll try to get some details from you tomorrow, okay?"
"Sure. Take it easy, get some rest, and take two Asprin." Reba gave Sara a folder of loose
papers from her small briefcase, which was instantly placed on a small table nearby.
"Thanks for the advice. I'll see you tomorrow." Sara smiled slightly, saluted Reba by patting
the diminutive doctor on the top of her head, and closed the door. *Now, back to the bath...*
Outside, as Sara was walking upstairs, she heard Reba's response to her salute. "If you weren't my
patient, I'd ..."