Chapter 10: The Museum.
AN: Another chapter, again. Please read and review the other one, if you haven't already. You'll get this much easier. And please do the same for my other PD fic The Good, The Bad, And The Dead. I hope you won't be disappointed, if you haven't done so already. Now, onto the story!
Jonathan awoke the next day to find that Joanna had already gone. He pulled on a pair of jeans over his boxers and black muscle shirt. He went to the bathroom and got cleaned up. After that, he got himself some breakfast and sat down to watch TV. He would be following what was going on at the Townsend. His role in this mission was to provide backup for Joanna, who had gone in to look over the ceremony.
"Welcome back," The man on the TV said. "If you're just joining us, I'm Reginald Peterson reporting live from the Townsend Art Museum for HIN, the Hollywood Information Network, where show business is your business."
Peterson! The guy who had exposed him to De Vries and all the other guys two years ago. Jonathan's eyes narrowed with intense dislike. But then he smiled as he caught sight of Joanna, clad in her CI uniform. She was so good to go in for this, so soon after being held by the enemy.
"It's a beautiful day up here at the museum and I can see the whole of LA from up here. Art patrons, city officials and various other personalities have gathered here to witness this wonderful event. Lawrence De Vries the Chairman of Interplex Corp, brother of Cassandra De Vries of the dataDyne Corporation and the son of terrorist Hans De Vries has returned to the city where his father met his demise. The younger De Vries however is here to return a missing painting from one of his South American enterprises. Lawrence maintains that this isn't an effort to clear his family name, but an act on conscious art preservation. Townsend curator Simon Van Gelder is about to begin the ceremony."
Simon Van Gelder was a tallish man of about forty. Though his name sounded German, he spoke with no accent. "Thank you all for joining us today as we return this wonderful work to its rightful place in the Townsend Art Museum." This simple speech was accepted with a respectable bit of applause. "We've waited a long time for this, and we are so lucky that Mr. Lawrence De Vries recovered it through his dealings in South America."
"De Vries…" Jonathan's eyes narrowed as he chewed his muffin.
"OK, Buzz." Peterson said. "Get some shots of the guests. The more skin, the better… hey, that guy there! He looks familiar. Volodnikov something or other… That guy with De Vries."
"It is with great pleasure that I give to you the masterpiece 'Lakeside Nymphs'." De Vries said, a smile splayed across his strained features that were normal for his face. "I have been assured by Mr. Van Gelder that it will be re-hung in its proper place and very well protected."
"Yeah, sure." Jonathan said.
Joanna wandered off to explore the museum. The way she was, which included insatiable curiosity, compelled her off, away from the old or fruity people in the courtyard, wearing weird clothes and talking about isms and whatever that no one else but them understood.
She caught sight of a few people around the end of the corridor she was in. They were wearing black suits with matching trench coats and sunglasses. They had one of the paintings covered in canvas. "What the…" She drew her Falcon 2. "Hey!"
One of them turned to see her. "You take the painting. I'll deal with her." He said and drew his MagSec 4.
The gunshots were heard on the TV. "What the hell was that?" Peterson said. "Hey Buzz, you getting any of this?"
"Gunshots?" Jonathan's coffee spilled all over the carpet when he sprang up. "Jo!"
"And I always thought art was boring!" Peterson said. "This is Reginald Peterson live at the Townsend Art Museum where a peaceful art exhibit has erupted into a vicious maelstrom of blood and bullets. Buzz, are you getting this? I'm risking my life here!"
Jonathan heard no more. He ran for his room and grabbed the ASP. There was no time for a shirt as he ran to the rented hover car and he took off at breakneck speed for the museum.
"Oh my God," someone cried as he got there. "How could this happen?"
"This is gonna be fun, Jon." He said to himself.
"Hey Jon," One of the CI men said as he was consoling one woman. "You get called in?"
"Not really." Jonathan said. "I caught it on TV."
"Well you know who's still in there with the camera crew?" The man said, putting the Falcon 2 on the nearby bench. "It's that sleaze reporter."
"Reg Peterson?" Jonathan said.
"That's the one. Well he's your number one fan, eh Jon?"
"Terrific." Jonathan went to one of the others. "When can we go?" One of the others said.
"Real soon." Jonathan answered. "What happened?"
"I don't know," The man said. "They just ran in and started shooting."
"Anyone still in there?" Jonathan asked.
"There are still some CI people in there, but they're as good as dead."
"What about the bad guys? How well armed are they?" Jonathan asked.
"You try going in there. It's suicide."
"Perfect." Jonathan sighed and went up to a hover car.
"Jon!" Ryan McPherson said. "What the hell are you doing here?"
"Looking for my wife…" Jonathan said.
"Joanna's here?" McPherson asked.
"Yes, sir." One of the CI men said. "It was her assignment to watch over the ceremony and keep an eye on De Vries."
"Jon, we haven't heard anything from our people in there." McPherson said.
"Look, I know Joanna's alive in there." Jonathan said. What are we waiting for anyway?"
"When the alarm was tripped, it seems that they panicked. They grabbed a group of hostages and sealed themselves inside. We're cut through as we speak."
"So what are you planning to do?" McPherson said. "I don't know if being Joanna's… well… guy makes it a good thing for you to be here."
"Look," Jonathan said determined. "I'm not leaving. Look, I'm not in uniform so if I'm spotted, I'll just act like I was a guest who got lost."
"With a muscle shirt and a 9 mm?" McPherson said. "You look like a real art lover."
"Well I've always liked the odd comic book." Jonathan said.
"We're in," One of the men called
"Jon…" McPherson began, but Jonathan said. "Don't try to stop me."
"I was just going to wish you luck." McPherson. "We'll be on the radio. Call us as soon as you need assistance. We'll get Joanna back, don't worry."
"Don't let Joanna cloud your judgment." One of the men with the oxy-acetylene tank on his back said. "Stay sharp Jon. Keep a cool head. We're ready if you need assistance."
"Yeah, De Vries killed some good men today." One of the others said. "Don't wait for an excuse to kill him. There are still civilians in there, so don't get too trigger happy."
"And watch out for snipers," The guy on the right side of the main entrance said. "We know he has snipers. I wouldn't be surprised if De Vries laid a few traps either. Remember to look for the paintings."
Jonathan walked inside the museum, a muffled explosion sounding. One of the men came through the door to his left. "Oh, shit!" He said and drew his gun. Jonathan fired and the man keeled over.
"Jon, you there?" McPherson said over the communicator.
"Yeah, I'm OK." Jonathan said, taking the gun he had dropped. It was a DY38 revolver, a slightly weaker cousin of the DY357, but still a respectable gun. "Looks like I'm on my own again." He holstered the ASP and turned the corner. Two men were inside, one at the desk, the other on the balcony. "Shit!" One of them called. "They're breaking in!"
Jonathan fired twice from the DY38 and they both fell. He took another revolver and proceeded upwards.
"Hey!" Another guy said. "We've got company!" Jonathan fired at him, and two others that had come across the way. He tossed the empty DY38 away, took the other one out and crept into a small room.
"So, guess you weren't expecting this when you woke up this morning." One of the men said. "So long as you don't do anything stupid, you just might live through this."
Jonathan took out the man with a gun on the hostage, and ran for cover behind a glass case containing a vase. A bullet zipped through it, sending shards of glass and broken pottery down on Jonathan. "I hope that was a copy," he said as he returned fire. The man fell and Jonathan took the Falcon 2 he had dropped. "You OK?" He asked the hostage.
"Thanks," The man panted. "They were gonna kill me,"
"Anyone else survive?" Jonathan asked.
"I saw them take someone else hostage too. A young woman. She was fighting with them pretty hard too. It took five or six men to take her out of here."
"Where'd they go?" Jonathan asked.
"The patio area." The hostage said. "Far end of the courtyard."
"Thanks." Jonathan said. "Listen, you wait here."
"Don't worry," The hostage said. "I'm not going anywhere."
Jonathan entered the next room, a courtyard with several pillars. Nice place for an ambush, Jonathan thought. His thought was confirmed when two men came out, firing. Jonathan fired twice and they fell.
He proceeded down the stairs at the other end, when a call came. "He's over by the steps!" The rapid fire of two automatic pistols rang through the air.
Jonathan fired, killing the man and taking one of the automatics. The double doors at the other end of the fountain opened and one man holding a camera came in.
"Well, well, well." Jonathan said. "I guess it's true where there's shit there's flies."
"Oh, this is award-winning stuff." Reginald Peterson said. "The Carrington Institute, foreign art benefactors, big companies…"
"Get out of my face." Jonathan said before he left.
"Hey, let's work together on this." Peterson said. "Give me an interview and I'll get you into the galleries. I know a way."
"Where's the rest of your film crew?" Jonathan asked.
Buhum… they got shot." Peterson said. "Occupational hazard. Well whaddya say?"
"You couldn't broadcast what I'd say." Jonathan said.
"Over there!" A man called.
"Oops!" Peterson said as he ran for cover. "I'd like to stay, but…"
Jonathan's automatic made short work of them. "You OK?" He asked Peterson who was cowering in the corner.
Peterson straightened himself up and said, "So, you ready for that interview?"
"I shouldn't have asked…" Jonathan said.
"You just had to kill them, didn't you?" Peterson said. "I was going to get my interview. I…"
"You have ten seconds to tell me where Joanna is, or you're gonna need an enema to retrieve your camera." Jonathan said, dangerously.
"Right," Peterson said. "Joanna. "Guess the Institute genes run in the family?"
"We're not related." Jonathan said. "By blood, anyway."
"Whatever." Peterson said. "She's in the second gallery building. I'm pretty sure she's heavily guarded."
"Stay out of trouble." Jonathan said.
"Trouble is what the public wants." Peterson huffed.
"Do me a favor." Jonathan said. "Leave your lens cap on." He turned for the doors.
"Wait!" Peterson called. "What about my interview…"
The rest of what Peterson said was cut off when Jonathan closed the door.
"He's here!" On of the men called. Jonathan fired two shots, and he fell. He reloaded the Falcon 2 he had and rounded the corner.
Three men were holding Simon Van Gelder. Jonathan fired all the shots he had, taking out the men and leaving Van Gelder unscathed. "You all right?" He asked.
"Yes," Van Gelder said. "I'm fine. They didn't touch me, but my paintings are gone!"
"We'll get them back," Jonathan said. "Now go find somewhere to hide." Jonathan picked up one of the fallen CMP150s and a Heckler & Koch PSG-1 sniper rifle. He made his way out to the patio and saw a man smoking on the deck. Jonathan killed him with the CMP. "Well, it was either gonna be me or cancer." He said as he took out the PSG-1. "I just got here first." He sniped off some of the opposition and proceeded down to the ground level to take care of the rest.
He turned a few corners to find a hovercopter marked Interplex- taking off. "De Vries," He said as a small group of men came out. "Rush him!" One of them called. Jonathan emptied the CMP150 and drew the ASP.
"Jonathan!" Joanna called. Another man was holding her at gunpoint. "Be careful."
"Well, looks like our hostage is worth more than I thought." The man said as he leveled the MagSec 4 on her temple.
Jonathan fired, his last shot. The bullet seeming to slow down as it hit the man, portraying every aspect of the death act in slow motion.
"I said LET GO!" Joanna said, as she broke free.
"Jo, are you OK?" Jonathan said.
"Yeah," Joanna said. "I can look after myself, you know."
"Oh, this is great!" The voice of Peterson said. "I got a big close up of the hug. Very touching."
Jonathan leveled the ASP and pulled the trigger. The gun only clicked. Now he remembered that he was empty. Joanna took his gun arm. "Jon, it's not worth it. It's over now."
"No," Jonathan said. "This is just the start."
"What?" Peterson said.
"You're just lucky I was empty," Jonathan said as he and Joanna left. "Now what's eating him?" Peterson thought aloud.
End of chapter.
Well, I guess that was ok, wasn't it? Please review!