Author: Chippewa Livingston
Archive: Please ask
Disclaimer: I claim no affiliation or ownership of characters or material related to Dark Angel.
An Unauthorized Genetic Experiment: 22. A childhood lesson
She leaned against the bricks and pressed her hands against her face, then stuffed them back in her coat pockets. "Is this what the real world is supposed to be like?"
"I don't know. Look, it's just one guy. We can handle this." I tried to remember what I'd learned in the classroom. A dozen eight-year olds, listening to a uniformed instructor describe how to identify and neutralize a 'tail'. "If your mission will permit it, you can divide the team. This will require him or her to make a decision. . ."
"Like you handled Lucid?" Her whisper was icy.
"I'm sorry about that. I should have let the little twit get her butt kicked. Daddy could have picked up his little girl at the hospital."
Her lip twitched as if I'd slapped her, and she looked away.
"Did I just say the wrong thing again?" This was almost getting to be a habit with me. I didn't like it.
She faced the wall.
"I want us to split up. The guy can only follow one of us at a time." I watched her relax a little, but she didn't turn around. "You head home. If he follows you, I deal with him." I wasn't quite sure how, but I knew that I'd find an opportunity.
"What if he follows you?"
"I'll loose him." If trickery didn't do the job, there was always ju-jitsu, or maybe running away. "You don't have to do any more acting. Be scared, be mad, it doesn't matter."
"So, I'm bait." She stood up a little straighter. "Here goes little helpless Roxanne." She padded silently out of the alley without looking back at me.
I hid in the darkness of the alley, and watched our (now Roxanne's) 'tail'. Once he was a safe distance away, I became his shadow. His dark knit cap was a bit unusual compared to the small groups of people moving from bar to bar on Friday evening.
He followed the shape of 'Roxanne' and her camouflage coat for another block, then took a left towards the center of town. A few blocks later, he pulled out a cell phone. One of the police hover drones floated over his head for a few seconds. He looked up at it, and I got a quick look at his face in the spotlight before the drone glided away.
A large, dark sedan pulled up next to a "No Parking" sign, and the man got in.
No one followed me home. The hover drones stayed with crowds, like dogs hoping for scraps.
No one saw me go up the fire escape.
She was sitting in the dark. "Report!" came her voice from a shadowed corner of the room.
"You were being followed by a male Caucasian, estimate in his forties." I closed the window behind me, and set the tin can full of pennies on the frame. Cheap burglar alarm. "I'd say he was totally average, except he handled himself like a professional. In fact, I think he figured out that we noticed him. When the crowd thinned out on 4th street, he ended pursuit, made a phone call, and got his pick-up."
"What do you think?" she whispered.
"Worst case?" I sat down in the mangy office chair and started unlacing my boots. "He knows enough about us to know who to call."
"If so, we can expect more of them. Followed by Lydecker and Sandoval, with a complete collection of meatballs in black body armor."
"Do you think we can stay hidden? It's probably easier for them to just check all the busses heading out of town. I wouldn't want to do a house to house search in this neighborhood." I looked down at my feet. This pair of socks had holes in it. I was out in the real world now. I couldn't just go ask for another pair. Things were much more complicated than that now.
"This sucks," she whispered. "I hate Roxanne, I hate her job, but it's a steady paycheck. Best I can hope for, anyway."
I wanted to say her real name. I wanted to tell her that we could be safe. I wished I could believe that myself.
You stupid transgenic, she's already mad at you. Keep quiet.
Archive: Please ask
Disclaimer: I claim no affiliation or ownership of characters or material related to Dark Angel.
An Unauthorized Genetic Experiment: 22. A childhood lesson
She leaned against the bricks and pressed her hands against her face, then stuffed them back in her coat pockets. "Is this what the real world is supposed to be like?"
"I don't know. Look, it's just one guy. We can handle this." I tried to remember what I'd learned in the classroom. A dozen eight-year olds, listening to a uniformed instructor describe how to identify and neutralize a 'tail'. "If your mission will permit it, you can divide the team. This will require him or her to make a decision. . ."
"Like you handled Lucid?" Her whisper was icy.
"I'm sorry about that. I should have let the little twit get her butt kicked. Daddy could have picked up his little girl at the hospital."
Her lip twitched as if I'd slapped her, and she looked away.
"Did I just say the wrong thing again?" This was almost getting to be a habit with me. I didn't like it.
She faced the wall.
"I want us to split up. The guy can only follow one of us at a time." I watched her relax a little, but she didn't turn around. "You head home. If he follows you, I deal with him." I wasn't quite sure how, but I knew that I'd find an opportunity.
"What if he follows you?"
"I'll loose him." If trickery didn't do the job, there was always ju-jitsu, or maybe running away. "You don't have to do any more acting. Be scared, be mad, it doesn't matter."
"So, I'm bait." She stood up a little straighter. "Here goes little helpless Roxanne." She padded silently out of the alley without looking back at me.
I hid in the darkness of the alley, and watched our (now Roxanne's) 'tail'. Once he was a safe distance away, I became his shadow. His dark knit cap was a bit unusual compared to the small groups of people moving from bar to bar on Friday evening.
He followed the shape of 'Roxanne' and her camouflage coat for another block, then took a left towards the center of town. A few blocks later, he pulled out a cell phone. One of the police hover drones floated over his head for a few seconds. He looked up at it, and I got a quick look at his face in the spotlight before the drone glided away.
A large, dark sedan pulled up next to a "No Parking" sign, and the man got in.
No one followed me home. The hover drones stayed with crowds, like dogs hoping for scraps.
No one saw me go up the fire escape.
She was sitting in the dark. "Report!" came her voice from a shadowed corner of the room.
"You were being followed by a male Caucasian, estimate in his forties." I closed the window behind me, and set the tin can full of pennies on the frame. Cheap burglar alarm. "I'd say he was totally average, except he handled himself like a professional. In fact, I think he figured out that we noticed him. When the crowd thinned out on 4th street, he ended pursuit, made a phone call, and got his pick-up."
"What do you think?" she whispered.
"Worst case?" I sat down in the mangy office chair and started unlacing my boots. "He knows enough about us to know who to call."
"If so, we can expect more of them. Followed by Lydecker and Sandoval, with a complete collection of meatballs in black body armor."
"Do you think we can stay hidden? It's probably easier for them to just check all the busses heading out of town. I wouldn't want to do a house to house search in this neighborhood." I looked down at my feet. This pair of socks had holes in it. I was out in the real world now. I couldn't just go ask for another pair. Things were much more complicated than that now.
"This sucks," she whispered. "I hate Roxanne, I hate her job, but it's a steady paycheck. Best I can hope for, anyway."
I wanted to say her real name. I wanted to tell her that we could be safe. I wished I could believe that myself.
You stupid transgenic, she's already mad at you. Keep quiet.