They both withdrew the weapon that they had holstered earlier, and charged into combat.

Eric rolled his tounge "Rrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr, Hi-yai-yai-yai!"

The tounge stoped, spun a quater circle, til it faced them. they both pumped a clip into its front side, leaving not much more than a couple of dents. then the tounge fired an rpg at the ground and they flew apart. Sean landed on a fire escape ladder, and followed it up to a second story window. Eric was thrown on the boardwalk, outside a mechanic's shop, where he scrambled inside.

"What're ya gonna do about that thing?" asked the head mechanic

"You got a spare axle lying around?" Eric replied

"Yeah, but the customers not gonna be happy if you wreck it"

"Tell him it saved the city of Waco from the brotherhood, and he won't"

Reluctantly he gave Eric the axle. Eric hoisted it onto his shoulder, and threw it like a javelin, into the gears of one of the treads of the devils tounge.

"WAAAAAZAAAAAAP!!!!!" Eric yelled

The devil's tounge lurched sideways, then came to a grinding halt, halfway there. Eric ran back into the shop and grabbed a battery operated table saw. He ran back outside, hopped on top of the devil's tounge, and jammed the saw into the top, and reved up the internal motor. The saw roared to life. He cut the better portion of a circle in the top of the devils tounge, and pulled it back with all his might, like a giant tin can. He pulled out his raptor, and shot the copilot so it couldn't turn, then the weapons operater so it couldn't harm anyone else. he aimed at the pilot and *click* he was out of ammo. Coincidentally, he was also screwed. The pilot scrambled for the M16 mk2 in the corner, but Sean threw up a grenade belt to eric. Eric pulled out a few pins, and dropped the rest in, then he did a buttdrop on the flap, closing it up, he leapt off the side and ran, then he turned around to get his raptor from off the ground; he grabbed it, then an explosion took place, sending Eric into Laura's side wall. His head whipped back, and hit on her wall, then he fell unconcious.

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Eric awoke the next morning, with a concussion, on laura's sofa, and he could see laura making breakfast... in her bathrobe.

"Now I'm serious, Laura! Put some clothes on for god sakes!"

"Are you complaining?" she asked, looking back at him

Eric looked her over, from head to toe, he could see the start of the shadow in the bust line, and her bare leg portruding from the gap in the cloth... Which Eric found very enticing

"On second thought," he said "Forget I said anything"

"You Hambone" laughed Laura "All the guys in the GDI and i get stuck with you as a bodygaurd?"

"Better than nothing, wouldn't you agree?" Eric shot back

"Barely" she said

Eric screwed up his face and mocked her

"Breakfast is ready" Laura said "Come and get it"

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After Breakfast Eric went out on the town to do things. He had noiced that marked on her calender, was laura's 23rd birthday, and perhaps she had forgoten it (Completely defeating the purpose of writing it down) And decided to get her a present while in town. He also bought himself a cell phone, called marc, and told him his new number. Marc also told him one of his annecdotes.

"I just heard the wierdest thing!" said Marc "Get this! Seargent Homer goes by S. Christopher, right?"

"Right"

"Guess what the S stands for"

"I heard it stood for Stephen"

"Nope"

"What then?"

"Shannon!!"

"Crap, dude! Seargent Homer's name is Shannon!?" said Eric "Does Barney know?"

"Barney told me!" said Marc "Isn't that a hoot?!?!"

He finally decided what would be perfect. He had to go to a copy shop, a convienience store, and the Omege and Beta squadron bases, but he got the job done, and he was proud of it.

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The next day, after Eric woke up, he found laura on the doorstep, in her bathrobe

"Heidi ho, silks!" chanted Eric

"Hey, Eric" She replied glumly

"What's up?" Eric asked

"Well, it's my birthday, and I'm the only one to celebrate it, all my friends and family are dead, or in Lisbon. And I can't blame you for not knowing, on such short notice, i mean"

"Au` Contraire" Eric said, but Laura just looked at him, puzzled "I have something for you"

"How did you know??" Laura beamed, accepting his gift

"I'm very observant, especially after a full Breakfast, and next to a calander" Eric said, a smug grin spreading over his face. Laura opened the present, there waas one of those cut halmark cards on the front, and then, inside was a certificate, with four lines, One one was written Eric Theodore-Clancy Simmons, on the next was Gene Howard Wesly, on another was Roy Donnavan Masterson III, and the fourth one was blank. after looking it over, she discovered it was a certificate that meant officially that Eric was Laura's bodygaurd.

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Two days later he went to a broadcast, of the forming of the Waco Malitia, working under the GDI, headed by Retired Major Sam Edward Simmons, Eric's dad. And in addition to that, Eric himself began to notice something diffrent in the atmosphere at the end of the 1st week, but I shan't say what. 4 more days went by where eric sat back and enjoyed his remaining vacation; 3 days left.