AN; im back! Once again sorry for the time it took me to update. I've been sick and life has been bad lately.... BUT IM BACK WITH A NEW CHAPPIE! Thanks to LInnafan especially for kicking me into gear...... SORRY!
The writer of these scrolls made only one other copy of the information in them, and that he gave to one of his two daughters. The scrolls contain information about a being created by man in man's image but who has a controlling power over all machines....
In mans image... a power over all machines...
Linna frowned. That sounded liked Galatea... but that was impossible, as far as she knew Doctor Stingray never went to Egypt, so how could the scrolls end up there. Besides, two daughters? Sylia would know if she had a sister... unless the sister was illegitimate and Sylia's mother wasn't the mother....
"Oh shut up!" Linna snarled at her herself, slapping her own check. Conspiracy theories, when was she going to learn??
Eleni looked up from her play dough with a worried look on her face.
"It's alright sweetheart, I'm just talking to myself!" Linna assured her.
Eleni nodded sagely and went back to the play dough.
They were in Linna's apartment. Eleni was on the floor, kneeling at the coffee table and mashing play dough with her small fingers. Linna was sitting on her couch and wishing she had a different job.
She ran her fingers through her rapidly-becoming-shoulder-length hair and sighed. She couldn't get the pearls out of her mind. Or the fact that she was 21 and was looking after a kid on Friday night. Or the fact that she had not been included in the meeting that she knew was taking place over at Nigel's place about team work. She yawned and looked at the clock.
"whoah! Its six oclock! Are you hungry Eleni?"
The little girl looked up and nodded vigorously.
"You have to tell me about these things!" Linna admonished her mildly, "I need to be looked after too, and you're the only person to do that, so you have to tell me when my stomach's grumbling, ok?"
Eleni nodded and put down the play dough she had been molding. Linna felt chilled, "you just made that?"
The girl nodded, looking proudly at her creation. Her little hands had molded a perfect figure out of the play dough. It was Linna's hard suit, walking.
"Where did you get the idea?" Linna asked quietly, "Aunt Sylia's?"
The girl nodded almost fearfully. Linna smiled to reassure and took a closure look at the figurine, "you have a talent, Eleni. Do you like doing this sort of thing?"
The little girl thought about it shyly and then nodded vigorously. Linna smiled, "well, tomorrow I'll buy you some real clay, ok? It won't melt like play dough!"
Eleni offered her a bright smile, and took her hand and together they left the apartment and headed towards the local MacDonald's.
Nene yawned and ate a few more Nachos with one hand while she typed with the other. These late night shifts are really a drag. She thought with another yawn.
"Open that mouth any wider and you'll find you can catch flies." Commented Daley from beside her, at the edge of her workstation.
"Shut up." Grumbled Nene, but offered him the bag of Nachos anyway, "what's up?"
"I thought you would like to know, there's a rogue boomer tearing the mall apart."
"And why aren't you there?"
"I was," Daley showed her his bandaged arm under his jacket, "it didn't take kindly to my presence."
"I see."
"You do? You're pager's flashing."
"Crap."
Nene dug it out of under the wrappings of lollies and winced, "I suppose I could leave."
"You've only got three minutes left of you're shift." Commented Daley, pointing at a nearby clock.
"WOW! That went quickly! I'll see you later Daley!"
"Kick some arse for me Nene!" he called after the swiftly retreating teen.
Priss threw herself onto the bed with a sigh. She had been distracted during practice. Again. It wasn't her fault she loved Leon and was looking forwards to the date tonight. It really wasn't her fault that she kept dreaming of him holding out a ring for her finger. She had never worried about getting married before, why now?
'You know why.' She growled to herself.
"Hey muffin!" called Leon from the door as he hung his jacket and keys.
Priss rolled her eyes, she hated being called that.
"Hey."
"Tired?"
"Yes."
"Hungry?"
"Hell yeah."
"Macca's?"
"Hell yeah."
"I'll grab my coat."
They walked to the restaurant and were waiting in line when a gherkin hit Leon's shoulder with a splat. Before either could turn another hit Priss.
Eleni hid behind Linna with a giggle, and Linna watched her two friends look around. They were sitting in a booth, not far away, and Linna had run out of things to throw so she waved.
Priss glared at her and wiped Leon's jacket for him before coming over.
"I'll get you for that!" she swore.
"I know you will." Agreed Linna mildly.
Eleni giggled, drawing Priss' attention to her, "well hello little one," said Priss, and Linna suddenly saw in her minds eye the lady that had almost hit her on the bike and winced. Priss had changed an awful lot.
She waited while Leon and Priss made a fuss of Eleni, tapping her newly manicured nails beating a rhythm that she didn't realize she knew until Priss began to hum a few bars 'of high above the clouds of heaven'. Linna stopped, nonplussed and then chuckled.
"Sorry."
"It nice that someone knows it. One of my less popular songs."
"All your songs are popular."
"Except that one. I had just got home from practice when Leon got home. Man, it was bad. The manager of hot legs is short staffed and he's trying to train his daughter. It's comical to watch. The girl is absolutely hopeless. She dropped about a dozen glasses while I was there."
"Poor thing." Said Linna sympathetically.
"Poor me!" Priss grumbled. "I couldn't concentrate!"
"Well, I'm looking for a new job. How well does it pay?" asked Linna with a yawn.
Priss named the price and Linna stopped yawning abruptly. She smiled, "I'll take it!"
Priss backed up; "Whoa, have you ever table waited before?"
"I'm a country chick. Of course I have."
"You know what hot les is like Linna, its pretty full on."
"Better than being an office lady."
"But what about Eleni?"
"She'll go to aunt Sylia's." said Linna with a grin.
BANG.
The glass caved in. Linna threw her arms around Eleni and hit the floor, Leon doing the same opposite with Priss. She hit the floor and looked up and out the window and saw a man wearing a black balaclava standing, watching the building. Behind him a car was burning. Linna realized with a blink that the force of the explosion had caved in the window. People all around her were running and screaming.
Eleni let out a whimper and Linna glanced down at her, so much trouble for one kid??
She scampered away from the window, pulling Eleni with her, ignoring the pain as glass dug into her knees. She could hear Leon yelling a little way away, but ignored him and surged to her feet as soon as she could, and sprinted for the back of the building, griping the small girl under an arm.
She threw open the back door to the restaurant and...
BANG!
She slammed straight into a very male chest. She staggered, but Scott gripped her arm and helped her keep her balance.
"This way." He told her tightly, and began to sprint, still gripping her arm.
After a few staggering steps Linna's gym work cut in and she matched him pace for pace, even with Eleni under her arm. Scott led her to a parked car next to the dumpster in the shadows at the back of the building. Linna threw open a door, bundled Eleni in and followed her in. Scott threw himself into the driver's seat.
"What the f is going on?" she demanded, pushing Eleni onto the floor.
"My job just got interesting." Scott told her and pressed the accelerator.
As they sped out of the drive Linna caught a glimpse of figures wearing some sort of camouflage running around the front of the big M. they saw the car as they sped away.
AN; next chapter, things begin to heat up... in more ways than one! Thanks to Linnafan for getting me moving... I probably wouldn't have updated if it wasn't for you! Yay Linnafan!