wondered if these chumps would ever
stop coming out of whatever hole was spawning them.
Movement caught his attention over the heads of his
attackers and he saw a small, thin bodied aircraft descending. He didn’t know
what it was exactly, but when the front opened and gun muzzles emerged, he
didn’t need to know anything more.
Quickly assessing the situation, he ran parallel to the
building and jumped, putting his foot on a window sill and using it to push
himself higher. He landed on an old fire escape, and continued his run at the
aircraft. When he reached the end of the fire escape he jumped again, hoping he
could make the distance. While he was in the air, gas spewed out of the muzzles
and dropped quickly toward the ground. Holding his breath, Damon reached out
with both hands, dropping one of his batons.
He landed squarely on the back of the craft, and was able to
hold on despite the jarring impact. The vehicle dropped altitude quickly under
his weight before stabilizing and leveling out. He smashed at the nozzles until
the gas stopped flowing. The craft dropped again, and Damon realized it
intended to fly him into the cloud. He took a deep breath and jumped down.
The gas was nearby, settling and flowing outward quickly, so
he ran from it. As far as he could tell, all of the gang members were now down
and out. He had not caught another glimpse of Melanie, which he regretted. He
really wanted to introduce his fist to her teeth. Ah well, maybe another
day!
**** ****
“What the . . . !” the controller was fighting
violently with the controls, and the captain had to come over to see what she
was doing.
“What’s wrong?” he asked, unable to tell for himself what
was giving her so much trouble. Her screen looked devoid of targets, but it
convulsed drunkenly.
“He jumped on me—it. He jumped on it!”
“Why did you get so close? It’s not necess—”
“ I didn’t ,” she snapped, “uh, sorry, sir,” she
finished contritely. “He practically flew to get there, I’ve never seen
anything like it.”
“What’s the ETA on those units?” he yelled to any other
controller that would answer.
“Gear-down right now, sir,” one of the others answered.
“Good,” and the captain turned his attention back to the
screen, which now showed Damon running away from the cloud. “Don’t lose him,
he’s our big, fat BONUS!”
**** ****
Damon stopped short as two large
aircraft settled at the end of alleyway, completely blocking his path. The only
other way out was back through the cloud. He looked at the building to either
side but found no help there.
“HOLD IT RIGHT THERE,” a strangely electronic-sounding voice
said.
At least six armed and armored figures exited from each craft.
He recognized them as SecForce, the paramilitary policemen from the City. His
mind raced and he tried to figure out his next move. The sleek, black armored
figures formed into a loose semi-circle blocking his escape. Their faces were
completely covered by visored helmets, and no skin at all showed from
underneath their uniforms.
Feeling cornered and still on an adrenaline rush from the
intense combat, he made a snap decision. As Andrea had told him many times
before, snap decisions are almost always bad!
“We’re not going to . . .”
Damon didn’t wait for him to finish, but charged as fast as
he could. One of the men leveled a small but nasty looking weapon and Damon
prepared for the worst. Two small projectiles came out and cut into Damon’s
skin through the plastic armor. Wires trailed back to the gun and suddenly
Damon was overwhelmed with electrical shock.
His muscles were convulsing and did not want to respond to
his demands but he strained against the pain and forced his hands to move. With
one hand he grabbed the projectiles and pulled them out. Now free from the
electric shock he quickly wound his hands in the wires and yanked the gun from
the man’s hand. Swinging it over his head in
stop coming out of whatever hole was spawning them.
Movement caught his attention over the heads of his
attackers and he saw a small, thin bodied aircraft descending. He didn’t know
what it was exactly, but when the front opened and gun muzzles emerged, he
didn’t need to know anything more.
Quickly assessing the situation, he ran parallel to the
building and jumped, putting his foot on a window sill and using it to push
himself higher. He landed on an old fire escape, and continued his run at the
aircraft. When he reached the end of the fire escape he jumped again, hoping he
could make the distance. While he was in the air, gas spewed out of the muzzles
and dropped quickly toward the ground. Holding his breath, Damon reached out
with both hands, dropping one of his batons.
He landed squarely on the back of the craft, and was able to
hold on despite the jarring impact. The vehicle dropped altitude quickly under
his weight before stabilizing and leveling out. He smashed at the nozzles until
the gas stopped flowing. The craft dropped again, and Damon realized it
intended to fly him into the cloud. He took a deep breath and jumped down.
The gas was nearby, settling and flowing outward quickly, so
he ran from it. As far as he could tell, all of the gang members were now down
and out. He had not caught another glimpse of Melanie, which he regretted. He
really wanted to introduce his fist to her teeth. Ah well, maybe another
day!
**** ****
“What the . . . !” the controller was fighting
violently with the controls, and the captain had to come over to see what she
was doing.
“What’s wrong?” he asked, unable to tell for himself what
was giving her so much trouble. Her screen looked devoid of targets, but it
convulsed drunkenly.
“He jumped on me—it. He jumped on it!”
“Why did you get so close? It’s not necess—”
“ I didn’t ,” she snapped, “uh, sorry, sir,” she
finished contritely. “He practically flew to get there, I’ve never seen
anything like it.”
“What’s the ETA on those units?” he yelled to any other
controller that would answer.
“Gear-down right now, sir,” one of the others answered.
“Good,” and the captain turned his attention back to the
screen, which now showed Damon running away from the cloud. “Don’t lose him,
he’s our big, fat BONUS!”
**** ****
Damon stopped short as two large
aircraft settled at the end of alleyway, completely blocking his path. The only
other way out was back through the cloud. He looked at the building to either
side but found no help there.
“HOLD IT RIGHT THERE,” a strangely electronic-sounding voice
said.
At least six armed and armored figures exited from each craft.
He recognized them as SecForce, the paramilitary policemen from the City. His
mind raced and he tried to figure out his next move. The sleek, black armored
figures formed into a loose semi-circle blocking his escape. Their faces were
completely covered by visored helmets, and no skin at all showed from
underneath their uniforms.
Feeling cornered and still on an adrenaline rush from the
intense combat, he made a snap decision. As Andrea had told him many times
before, snap decisions are almost always bad!
“We’re not going to . . .”
Damon didn’t wait for him to finish, but charged as fast as
he could. One of the men leveled a small but nasty looking weapon and Damon
prepared for the worst. Two small projectiles came out and cut into Damon’s
skin through the plastic armor. Wires trailed back to the gun and suddenly
Damon was overwhelmed with electrical shock.
His muscles were convulsing and did not want to respond to
his demands but he strained against the pain and forced his hands to move. With
one hand he grabbed the projectiles and pulled them out. Now free from the
electric shock he quickly wound his hands in the wires and yanked the gun from
the man’s hand. Swinging it over his head in
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