Title: Trojan
Genre: Action/Adventure
Spoilers: None really.
AU/Cannon: AU
Author: Seadragon
Dedicated to: The story I wrote, and lost in Europe.
Ship: Not telling!
Slash: None.
Summary: Holly was silent for a moment, thinking. "Oh D'arvit!" She swore, and tapped her mike. "Hello? Hello?! Can anyone hear me?! The team that was sent after the group of goblins, turn back! Turn back! They aren't goblins!" And that was when a second explosion sent flames high into the air all around the city.
Captain Holly Short has had a lot going against her lately. First her entire team is slaughter in front of her. Then everyone back at Headquarters can't stand the sight of her. She's assigned a rookie, and things don't get any better.
But now there is another problem.
Haven is being attacked. By what? They don't know. By who? They don't know. How? They don't know. People are dying every which way she turns, and there is no one who can pull her out of this nightmare.
Or is there?
- - - - -
Chapter 7: Who Knew?
- - - - -
The torturous screams of citizens all over Haven reached Holly's ears only seconds after the explosion had rocked the city to its foundations. Flames were dancing in the sky and streets. Over her ear set she could hear Foaly shouting to Root, and Root shouting to everyone. She could hear the chaos in Police Plaza. In the streets she could hear peoples' lives ending. The entire city was burning, nothing was left untouched. This was their worst nightmare, besides the Mud Men finding them.
The entire city, taken over by one crisis. One uncontrollable devastating force. Who knew what else the goblins, no, that wasn't right, the beings had rigged. Who knew what they wanted. Who knew how many more people were going to die.
People are dying
Children are crying
Concentrate
Concentrate…
Holly's head was spinning. Things were out of control. They were really and truly out of control. She hadn't felt this helpless in a long, long time. Not since they had associated with Artemis Fowl, the boy genius with a strictly criminal intent.
"Holly. Holly!"
Holly shook her head and her eyes slid back into focus. Someone was screaming at her over the headset, and it hurt.
"I'm here." She said quietly, and looked around.
Laton was staring off into the distance at the flames with an unreadable expression on his face. For a minute, he looked like someone she knew, or had known. But the likeness disappeared once he turned around to look at her.
She heard a relieved sigh at the other end of the headset and turned her attention back to Foaly. "What's going on? How did this happen?" She demanded of the centaur. In the background she could hear him typing furiously.
"Just get back here as quickly as you can."
"Alright, we're coming." Holly said wearily and disconnected it so she could concentrate. "We're needed back at Police Plaza." She told Laton and she brushed herself off.
He nodded and followed suit.
As soon as she was clean enough to be seen in public after a crisis, they started their walk. You always had to be careful after a huge disaster, people wanted to be reassured, and there was nothing less reassuring than a figure of authority covered in filth and looking exceptionally dejected.
So, they had to hurry.
- - - - -
The walk was silent as walks go. And when I say silent, I mean they were silent, not the people around them, who getting hysterical. Holly had long ago learned to ignore them, and Laton was more than just decent at it. But they still had to walk through a minefield of cars, fire, and craters. Oh yes, and thousands of terrified people.
The thing was, no one knew if there was going to be another explosion or not, so they couldn't exactly tell people it was all going to be fine. Because, as I said, they didn't know if it was.
Even worse though, was the fact that they weren't dealing with goblins. Goblins could be handled, even if they were under the control of a technological genius gone wrong. They just didn't have the brains for their rebellions to be long lived.
The last time the goblins had done something that had actually scared Holly was a few years ago now. And they had been under the control of two geniuses that had been corrupt.
But these weren't goblins.
And Holly didn't know what was going to happen next.
They didn't even know who, or what, they were dealing with. Just that they had no problem with blowing a city and it's inhabitants to pieces. And, that they had the firepower to do so.
It was getting harder and harder to ignore the desperate people who were flinging themselves at her.
The real problem there was, she wanted to fling herself at someone, who could tell her it was all going to be all right, that everything was going to fine. There was one problem. No one could tell her that.
- - - - -
"Alright, this is what we know so far. Some unknown body of people have managed to blow up two major parts of Haven with no prior warning. They haven't contacted us yet, and we don't know if they ever will.
"And eight more officers are dead." Root said.
"And, there are riots in the street, people are literally going crazy." Foaly added from the doorway. All of the remaining officers, including Holly and Laton, were gathered in one of the common rooms to hear exactly what they knew, which, unfortunately and entirely predictably, wasn't much.
"We are going to send you off in two shifts to make sure everything is alright at home and such. Each shift will get two hours." Root said, glaring at Foaly. This was much too serious to spaz about. "But, if there is another explosion, I don't care what you are doing, get back here immediately. After you get back, you wont be leaving for quite a while, so bring whatever you'll need. I have the sheets, so come and see what shift you are on."
There was a mad rush of officers desperately worried about friends and family. Holly hung back, there was no one left for her to check on. All of her family was right here. And she had no friends left, except for those right in front of her.
And a couple of Mud People who didn't even remember who she was.
Funny how it always came back to that.
- - - - -
Anyone know who Laton is?
No?! Come on people!
Think long and hard. Then think about the title of the story…
Then think some more, and know this: if you guess, I won't tell you. *winks* Aren't I nice? But, I will give you a… cookie! Rejoice people of the world! Alright, you caught me, I've had a little bit of sugar. Okay, a moderate amount. Fine, enough sugar to last the United States for five years, but that's beside the point!
Yes! This cannot be classified as a cliffhanger! Can it? I give up, I'm doomed to write cliffies for the rest of my life I suppose.
I hope you people know how much fun this story is to write. And how annoying it is not to be able to tell anyone who Laton is. *sigh* Ah well, please read and review!
That shall be all,
Seadragon.