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"Alternative Directions: Options "Written By: Karina Disclaimer: I don't own Gundam Wing or the lovely
boys and their girls in the series. Wish I did. Please don't sue me.
I haven't even got a brass razoo to give you. Rating: Deffinately PG in Australia, at the moment,
but probably safer to say R for later chapters. Not sure about international
ratings Warnings: It will be 6x2, even though it does
not start out that way. After all, Zechs and Duo never met in Gundam
Wing and only spoke briefly over a com line in Endless Waltz. I've
tried to keep them in character as I saw them in the series. A bit
of language creeping in under stressful conditions. Pairings: eventual 6x2, past 2xH, 2+H,6x9, 1+R
Summary: Directions is set post Endless Waltz
and roughly 2 years have passed. Zechs and Noin are on Mars and Duo,
after spending some time with Hilde in a relationship leaves L2 to
join Preventers. Hilde was not happy about his decision. I guess enough
said. Here t'is, and I hope you like it. This is also AU for the standard
setting, as well as the series and Endless Waltz. Spoilers: Gundam Wing Series and Endless Waltz Many thanks to Dulin for volunteering to beta this. //... // thoughts
"Alternative Directions: Options"
Chapter 135 Mars Colony Base Dome 2nd March AC 198 Time: 01: 36 [approx Sanc time 23:26] Barker //What the hell am I supposed to do with these men? They want to help, that is clear enough but I am not certain that they have any real concept as to the seriousness of the situation. They have not actually run up against anyone who threatened them and they have not found any of the dead yet. I hate to say it but they are not likely to understand the exact danger we all are facing until they do. How will they handle death, cold blooded premeditated murder when it comes to the crunch?// He needed to make a decision concerning the Emergency Response Team and the airlock had almost completed its cycle. Time was running out and he had very little time to make up his mind about what was to be done. It would not just be his own hide he was chancing here if he chose to trust them. He had Carter and Polnar to consider and he was only too aware that if these men were innocent of any murders taking place here today that abandoning them might lead to their deaths. Or they might in pursuing their own attempts to learn what was happening bring disaster down on themselves or he and his men. None of them, to his knowledge, had any real experience in such situations and he was a Preventer. It was his duty to ensure that the innocents did not pay for the ambitions of those in powerful places. There was another problem too that he was going to need to consider. Polnar. He could see the man was watching the group with an intensity that rather reminded him of a lion considering taking down a tasty buck for his dinner. That man worried him. There was something there that just was not right but he did not have the time to deal with it and he was aware and ready for trouble if the man put one foot wrong. He could not blame him for being wary of the emergency response team however. Carter too was watching them as though he expected someone to leap on him screaming blue bloody murder. They were emotionally strung out, he no less than his two companions and their emotions were stretched and strained and had been for a long time. How long had it been? They were walking a thin edge emotionally, expecting trouble for so long and not finding it. It was not just Polnar and Carter who could lose that fine edged control and lash out and hit a potentially crippling or even lethal blow. He too felt the rising urge to hit out at something … or someone … and he was concerned that these people might find themselves becoming the target of unthinking reaction. He was a trained professional and while he should have better control than that it was entirely possible that events could all too suddenly get out of hand. Just how well Polnar and Carter were going to be able to handle their sudden company was of concern to him. Neither were Preventer agents with the intensive training designed to ensure that they think of these people as requiring protection. He was the only trained agent here, the only one he could really trust not to lash out … yet he had just been thinking about doing exactly that if he found himself in a sudden change of circumstances. // Damn. No second guessing or trying to psych yourself out you stupid bastard. Hold yourself together and they will be less likely to cross that line if you remain strong. // Neither man was a fool and he had enough faith in their abilities to bring them along on this mission. He had been sounding Carter out on joining Preventers over the last few weeks and he was not now going to second guess that decision. He liked the man and had found him to be both reliable and resourceful, hence his choice of the Taurus pilot for this attempt to enter the base. He was certain that he could rely on the man though he had not the appropriate training. If they survived and Carter agreed to officially join up with Preventers he had no doubts the man would be an exemplary agent. Polnar, of course was the unknown element. The man was no fool and had handled himself well in the situation and he too would make a fine agent should he offer the position and the man accept. It was just that something seemed off about the pilot. He handled himself too well in the mixed circumstances of the day. Was that the problem? He had not expected to find so resourceful a man. Ex military but he handled himself as though he still was undergoing ongoing training to maintain fitness levels and skills. He could not even really say just what it was that disturbed him about Polnar. It was not as though the man had offered himself for the position. It had been he who had asked for the supervisors opinion of the man back in the cave. It had been he himself who had picked him after seeing the way he handled that Leo. No, it was not as though the man had pushed his way onto the team, forcing himself forward to be noticed. Polnar's skills with the Leo had suggested elite pilot training and that generally meant the pilot had undergone a decent level of training in the past. Certainly he had proven himself to be useful since they had started this mission. His versatile skills had proven very useful during this clandestine entry into the base dome. Yes, perhaps that was the problem. Polnar had been too useful. // Shit. I'm jumping at shadows and grasping at straws. Would I have preferred a total klutz, a bone-headed idiot on the team instead of someone who knew how to handle himself in any situation? I really need to get my head together but what am I to do with these men? I know that I can rely on both Carter and Polnar in a bad situation. They both have had military experience and can handle themselves in a fight and neither of them are likely to freeze at the wrong time or lose their cool and panic … but these others? I just don't know how reliable they are going to be if we have confrontation with those agents. Computer analysts and computer technicians or mechanics are not what I need following me around at this point in time. I need them, yes, no doubt about that but not now. Not actually with me. I need them to be getting on with the task of trying to regain some measure of control of the base computer systems before we find ourselves in deep shit with the survival systems. I need the computer geeks up to their ears in programming and I need the mechanics elbow deep in work repairing the damaged systems.// I need, I need, I need. Write out a wish list and don't forget to include the two hundred specialist troops with a dozen psychiatrists and a cat and bowl of cream to finish off. Oh yes, he had a wish list and it had as much chance of being filled as he had of agreeing to wear a dress at the Preventers Christmas party this year. // No more time to screw around. We get only one chance at this and I need to do it right. We need to get the air in the enviro dome sorted out which means that I need to get the computer nerds to the sub base control rooms. From there they should be able to establish a link up with the main control room and maybe get on top of the computer problem. We need that virus killed and to reestablish computer control. We need radio communications so we can get some accurate information out. I want whatever it is that is jamming my signal to Preventers dealt with. That is where these two men would be most useful and it is a necessary task that will benefit us all in the long term. I'm already late for that meeting with Merquise, which can't be helped and I need to be as quick as possible getting this setup. I need to get to that man and find out what he knows about the goings on here. I shudder to think what would happen if he came face to face with Simpson. // He flicked his gaze to the readouts on the computer board and grunted softly at the indicator light. Cycle almost complete and then those massive doors would be open. He was running out of time and he had no idea if they were going to luck out or if disaster was about to strike and they would find a hostile reception on the outside once the doors opened. Simpson and his cronies from Blue Squad or the Sleepers could be waiting out there with weapons raised and waiting only for the doors to draw back into the wall cavities to spray the air lock and remove, permanently, one more problem from their equation. The vision sent a shudder down his spine. First thing was first and this would be a good test of just how these men would obey a directive designed to see they survived. “Move. Everyone to the sides and as far out of sight of the doors as possible. We will see if we can't get a good look at the hallway before the doors are fully opened.” “You are expecting a hostile reception?” Kurtz queried. Straight enough question. It deserved an equally straight answer. “Yes.” No time for beating about the bush or taking a soft line with them. Delicate sensibilities had no place here at this time. There was no time for pampering and if they were going to object or throw questions at him that would serve only to distract him from the focus he needed to maintain he would need to act fast. It was their first and possibly last test. He could rely on the experience of Carter and Polnar and he was not about to chance the lives of those two men. He did not want these mechanics, engineers and nerds on his team if they could not follow orders and he would have to speedily find some occupation for them away from his working team if they failed the test. “Shit.” The low voiced comment came from one of the newcomers but it was the only verbal reaction out of them. As one they moved to the sides of the airlock and pressed themselves up against the walls. He noted who of the men moved toward the doors that would shortly open and tucked themselves into the corners there and who moved to the rear of the lock the furthest away from the doors shortly to open. Some of them were not thinking but he was pleased with those who were thinking and realized that while those doors opened these corners would actually be the safest. The bulk of the airlock would be visible to someone standing out there with a weapon at the ready. He was surprised but decided he should not be when it was the two computer whizzes who were quick to tuck themselves in the left corner of the airlock and Mighty Joe Lee and Preston Kurtz were just as quickly out of harm's way and into the right corner of what would be the front of the lock. The other men pressed to the sides and he was not displeased with that. At least none of them had made of himself an obvious target. Without any direction from him Polnar and Carter were taking up positions at either side of the great doors, watching for that first hint of movement. He knew they would be moving as the door moved, pacing back all of maybe three steps. Both ready and willing to give him a few precious seconds to glimpse any possible reception committee before they rolled through the door. He braced himself, knowing that he was the most visible and that he had to take the risk, but he trusted the two men to act quickly. //They claim not to have seen where the agents went after they passed the bay and the hallway is not that long. That far corner could have placed the men only a couple of feet from them and they would never have known but it is possible they might have been heard and the agents doubled back. // The computer chimed the alert and the all clear sounded and he tensed, ready to spring to one side should there be any indication of company waiting, but as the doors began to lumber to either side he saw only a clear corridor ahead of him. He stared hard as the doors parted and puffed a held breath, hoping that the agents were not crouched to either side of the slowly opening doors and dropped his hand, a clear 'go' signal. Polnar and then Carter were through the narrow gap and in a rolling tumble. He held his breath but there was no bark of a gun or shout or moan. The airlock was silent, the silence one found when everyone was expecting disaster. “Clear.” Carter called back. “Stay.” he hissed at the men who looked to him for instruction, pleased that they did not instantly place themselves before that widening gap. He did not wait for the doors to fully open, stepping out and into the hallway with confidence, eyes sweeping the very normal looking floor and walls and watching as Polnar eased up to the turn in the hallway. The man was quick at the best of times he had noticed and must not have been holding anything back in his effort to reach that corner so quickly. Carter was well on his way to the corner too but he was not as fast as Polnar and when his partner was in position he dropped immediately to kneel, weapon raised and waiting. Barker hissed softly as he heard movement behind him and absently held out a hand to stay anyone from exiting the airlock but offered no comment. He would have a lot to say if they caused discovery of the infiltration team but thankfully they all seemed to get the idea that they were to remain silent. Polnar flattened himself to the floor in a controlled dive and glanced back over his shoulder toward the airlock, checking on the location of everyone visible before he met Carter's gaze. A brief nod and he eased his head carefully around the corner trusting Carter to watch his back. Carter stood a little more than a meter from him, all attention focused on the man who was scoping out their next objective and waiting for any signal that might be forthcoming. Polnar eased a little further around the corner and offered a thumbs up behind his back to Carter who half turned and looked back at Barker. “Clear.” //Right then, no more time to think about it. I have to make a decision about these men. All of them are on the emergency response team but that does not automatically make them suited to this kind of operation. I need to get them settled somewhere safe so that I can find Merquise. // “We need to check in with the medical centre.” Kurtz moved to join him at the lock doors and had no idea what it took for him not to slap a potentially killing blow at his throat.. // Fool, you had better think twice before you do that without at least clearing your throat. // He took a moment to draw a deep breath and flicked his gaze at the man who suddenly seemed to realize he had been in danger. “Are the med computers linked to the main computer banks? If they are would there be any chance that they might be of use in regaining control of the master systems?” Kurtz considered him for a moment and then half turned to the two computer specialists in their number. Both men eyed each other for a long few seconds and it was Palmer who shook his head in the negative. “The med computers are an independent system. A small self contained unit isolated from the base database. There are no direct links to the main computers that run the environment controls.” // Not so good then. Do I have to find a bloody main terminal for anything to be done?// “Would it be possible for you to jury rig a link? It does not have to be anything flash, just functional. We need access to the main computers but it has to be a secure access.” Barker pressed. Curran and Palmer stared at each other for a prolonged moment clearly doing some heavy thinking before the self proclaimed Historian shrugged. He looked thoughtful, lips pursed and a finger tapping absently at his chin while Palmer was suddenly busy digging into his pockets and after a moment he produced a pencil and notebook in which he began to sketch. “It may be possible to do that but it will take time to accomplish and it will not be easy.” Curran offered, looking over Palmer's shoulder as the man worked. “We may need to break into the main computer stores to get some components to build a system up that would allow us to tap into the main programming.” He leaned forward to study what ever it was that Palmer was drawing and he nodded, murmuring something that set Palmer furiously drawing. “If you can link to the main computers would it be possible to get in there and avoid getting infected by this damnable virus?” Barker wanted more details before he committed to any action and where was the sense in expending time and effort if they were once again going to be blocked by that virus loose in the computer systems. Curran ran a nervous hand through his hair but his eyes never moved from the paper and the sketch being made. “Well, with care to keep the link protected, yes, it is possible. We have some decent virus programs on the base, some private ones not generally know to be here. Keeps us on our toes designing things, you understand.” He shrugged at Barkers arched eyebrow. “It's a hobby of sorts. We would need to exercise every care and we could not afford to rush the work, either building up the system or protecting the system. If we can not protect the link system and the main medical computers from the virus then it would all be wasted effort.” //That we can not afford. No time and no unlimited resources to play with. Okay, with these men hanging around our necks we are at risk so I think we should visit the medical center and get these boys settled in to begin work. We need the main computers back on line as quickly as possible. I can put the rest of the emergency team to work helping them get together everything they might need and protecting them from danger while they work and that will leave us free to keep the meeting with Merquise. // He flicked a glance back down the hallway at Polnar who still lay stretched out on the floor and watching the adjacent hallway. As he watched the man glanced back over his shoulder and caught his eye. He inclined his head toward the hallway with an arched eyebrow by way of questioning him if the way was clear and the man understood, ducking his head back around the wall to check the hallway and glancing back with an all clear signal. “Right. Listen up. We all make our way to the Medical Center and check it is clear of threat. When we clear the area I want you two,” he indicated the computer specialists, “to investigate the medical computers and make a list of all components that you will require to make up this link. We need to get on top of the breakdown in the environmental controls and clear the air in the dome as quickly as possible. That is a priority task that you gentlemen are uniquely suited to. The rest of you will have to protect them and help them as best you can to acquire what they need while I go hunting with my team. It is as important for us to find the bastards doing this to us and take them down as it is for you to get us access to the base computers.” Palmer and Curran signaled their understanding though neither lifted their heads from the sketch being worked on, Curran occasionally murmuring and pointing to the sketch as he asked questions or made a point which would provoke either a thoughtful silence from Palmer or abject agreement or denial. Watching them Barker had to shake his head. Provided they did not give away their location to their enemies he was content to have them work quietly at the rear of the group and with a nod at Kurtz to follow he strode forward to join his team. “You checked each of these rooms on your way through?” he queried Kurtz as the man hustled to keep pace with him. “On the way in, yes. No sign of anyone in any of them and no sign of anything being wrong either.” A low grunt was all the comment he was willing to make on that observation. He knew full well that something was very wrong indeed and he had already started a body count he was afraid was going to lead at least into double figures. He could only hope that the final count would be in the low denomination double figures. Already they had lost twenty odd outside of the dome and he knew that there were fatalities in hydroponics dome three. He had done everything possible to save the exterior workers and for now they were safe but he only had until the Martian midday to get the doors to the air locks open or effect another means of entry into the base. If he could not arrange something those people outside might still be in danger. Even stating midday as his deadline placed those people with a critically short air supply. He could not rely on Mako having the shuttles operative in time to transport the workers to Alpha. To do that he had to stay alive and there were more than one or two door leading to rooms where it was relatively easy to find hiding places if the need demanded it. He flicked a finger at the first of the doors as he strode past. “Check in each room as we go down.” He expected an argument from one or more of the ER team and was both surprised and pleased when Mighty Joe Lee immediately made for the door to the power generator room and checked that it was still under safety lock down. At the same time Marcus Risch made for the first of the Mobile Suit hangers with Paul Markos shadowing him. Surprised that he had not receive an argument from any of the men on the rooms only having been checked a few minutes before he continued striding down the hallway toward Polnar and considered the next order of business. Carter had moved to check the laboratory, entering the room in a roll that would have given any lurker a hard time to track him with a gun and Kurtz and Curran were already at the door to the first of the engineering bays. He glanced back to find that Palmer still had his head buried in his pieces of paper and Mighty Joe Lee skipped nimbly around the computer tech on his way to the larger engineering section. //Not bad. Not half as bad as I thought they would be. Surprising.// Polnar was still on the floor with his head around the corner to watch for unwanted company. From his position he was able to see anyone entering the hallway from any one of six access points. They would have adequate warning to make themselves scarce if anyone should move around in the main section of the base. Barker was careful to say Polnar's name softly by way of warning him that he was in the immediate vicinity and knelt down beside the man and lightly tapped him on his thigh, informing him by touch that he wanted a report. “Clear.” The low whisper was accompanied by an incline of his head back toward the hallway. “That was a surprise.” Glancing back at where Lee, Kurtz and Curran were now heading toward he and Polnar he grunted softly in agreement. The men seemed capable of working well together and though he did not want them in a high stress situation at least he knew that they were not going to prove a liability. Carter was out of the laboratory now and easing toward the next door, glancing toward him with his head tilted at an angle then looked pointedly at the one remaining doorway they had not as yet checked. The main laboratory's door opened within full view of that main hallway that Polnar was studying and he refused to even consider not checking the room. The door would be directly behind them as they moved down this way and it would be perfect for a concealed Sleeper to have a clear shot at their backs. “Still clear?” he murmured. “Clear.” came the affirmative. Barker glanced at Carter and flicked a hand in a movement that clearly implied a hard and fast entry was called for, hoping that such a manoeuvre could be managed relatively quietly. Hard and fast to give any lurker as little chance as possible of targeting Carter as he went in. Carter inched toward the corner, eyes now on Polnar as he waited for the man to signal him through and when the man glanced his way and that brief nod came he sprinted for the door, fingers flying over the key pad then grasped the knob and pushed, tucking himself into a forward roll and inclining toward the far side of the door way. “Neat.” Polnar commented. “He's rather good at that.” “Mmmm. I'm hoping to recruit him for Preventers eventually. Any movement?” Polnar's head twisted back around and after a moment a negative shake responded and he inched himself up from his belly to rest on his heels. “Clear. We have the large laboratory on the right, next door is the access to the Medical Center on the left about seventy, eighty feet past that. Access into section C living quarters is almost opposite on the right and section B living quarters is about thirty feet from that. Kitchen access about fifteen, twenty feet past that on the left and then the open lounge area. It all looks quiet.” //Too quiet, maybe.// He chose to keep the thought to himself though Polnar undoubtedly thought the same thing as the ER team gathered behind him and thankfully stood silent and waited for him to signal his intentions. Carter was at the door of the laboratory again, peering down the length of the hall and signaling the all clear for the laboratory. Time to move on. “Right, gentlemen. Polnar you and Carter straight down to check the lounge.” He turned to where Carter was watching and signaled the hard and fast run for the far end of the hallway before turning to the waiting men behind him. “Kurtz and Lee, take the large laboratory. Curran and Markos a quick look into the access ways to living quarters C and B and Risch, you check the kitchen. Polnar and Carter will be close enough to you to back you up if there should be a problem there. Leave the medical centre access for now.” He did not wait for agreement or argument from anyone, leaning forward to touch Polnar lightly on the shoulder and the man took off with a quick 'come hither' motion directed at Carter who was quick to shadow him down the hall. Barker held his breath for he knew only too well if anyone was going to appear it would be now with the sound of running feet echoing in the hall but the area remained quiet. He flicked his hand at the men behind him, impatient as they should have passed him already to be about their assignments but they were quickly on their way and he frowned when he noted one man was missing. Glancing around he hissed softly and nudged Palmer to get him moving as the computer specialist was leaning against the wall working on his design. At the not so gentle nudge the man looked up and around him and realized that except for Barker he was on his own and he tucked the papers quickly into a pocket and ran when Barker pointed imperiously to the hallway. “Sorry.” Shaking his head in befuddled amusement he followed the man watching as Polnar not surprisingly outstripped Carter but the Leo pilot stopped short of the lounge area and flattened himself on the floor once again. Carter was with him in seconds and the rest of the ER team was quickly finding their assigned places. By all rights at this time when an emergency had been called there should be no one out of their assigned emergency placements as the alert had not been lifted. At least according to the emergency response team it had not been lifted but after so prolonged an alert he would not have been at all surprised if someone had not come looking for the trouble. The ER team had and they were not likely to be the only ones who were curious. //I suppose it is possible that some of them might be innocent enough to just go to bed and wait it out, expecting everything to be over and sorted out by morning. I wish I could sleep that easily. Still, it is a sleep they might never wake from. // He moved quickly and silently down the hall and set himself to one side of the medical center's doors, noting from the red bar on the lock that the lockdown was in effect and approved. It was promising for there to be no trouble here but he was concerned with where the two ESUN agents had vanished. They could not have been any more than a few minutes ahead of them but as yet they had seen no sign of them. // Where would they go? The shuttle bay, perhaps? God, I hope not. Not there at this time. That is the last place I want them to be. I'll have to get these men settled as quickly as possible and head out to locate Merquise. I hope he's had less trouble than we had getting here. // They were heading back to join him by the doors now, each group of men signaling that there had been no sign of the men they really did not wish to meet. All was quiet and he was not happy with that silence but at least he did not find himself in a running shoot out. He would accept small blessings and not push his luck. Satisfied for the moment he motioned to Kurtz to join him by the doors and signaled to Carter and Polnar to back him. “I don't want to alarm anyone who might be wandering the medical center by bursting in with guns drawn. You and your people enter first, we will follow. You will be more accepted there without drawing attention than we will be since I am not even supposed to be on the base at this time. Just enter as normal to lodge your report or what ever it is that you have to do here in an emergency situation and we will tuck in on the end of the line.” He doubted that the ESUN agents would be in the medical center but he was not going to take any chances on surprising the men. While it went against his grain to send these men in first the truth of the matter was that the ER team had a reason to be in the medical center at this time and he was going to make use of that fact as best he could. Why cause a fuss where there might be nothing wrong? If he could keep this low key they would be at an advantage. Carter nodded his understanding and moved to the left of the door, Polnar taking up position on the right and Preston Kurtz glanced between the two before he took a deep breath and strode to the door. His team formed up behind him and Barker tucked into the rear but stood to one side, unwilling to place himself in so vulnerable a position when he did not know what lay beyond. Kurtz looked at his team mates and with a deep breath entered the emergency code into the keypad and frowned before he had even finished keying in the sequence. His hand dropped to his side and he frowned at the lock. “It's unlocked.” A whisper directed at Barker accompanied by a quick glance and request for instructions. The alert was in progress, the lockdown in effect and by rights that door should be locked. The red bar was in place and while such glitches had been known to happen it was disturbing to find it now. The keypad's lighted bar said the door was locked but Kurtz would be able to tell if the door was actually locked. The lock code was different to the unlock sequence and the keypad would respond to the incorrect sequence with a brief flash of light noticeable to the person using it. Computer glitch? Evidence that the virus affecting the base computers was growing? Or something more sinister? Or perhaps more innocent? He could go crazy worrying over that and they simply did not have the time to sit there and play with the key pad to determine what the solution might be. Barker nodded his understanding of the problem, considered alternatives for a moment and motioned again to the door, a clear indication to go on. Time was marching on and anyone might exit one of the living quarters at any time or come around from the lounge access and they really could not afford discovery. One way or the other they needed to access the medical centre and gain access to the computers here and staring at a keypad was not going to accomplish that. Kurtz nodded his understanding but he did not look too happy about being the first body through that door. To give the man credit he did not hesitate in pushing the door open and striding through. The ER team crowded through the doorway behind their leader and Barker found himself counting silently, waiting for the bark of gunfire and doom to fall. He could have sent these men to their deaths by sending them through that door first. His silent count had reached ten when a piercing scream shattered the silence and he threw himself through the door. Mighty Joe Lee moved in a fast and hard shove to block his path and he stifled the curse when he saw why the man had moved. Later, when they had the time he was going to have to thank the smaller man for his quick action that saved them from discovery. He tucked himself down to lower his height as he felt Carter and Polnar pushing at his back, unable for precious seconds to see what was going on. Thankfully the ER team were moving quickly, taking positions that shielded them from the sight of the man clad in combat fatigues who stood further down the hallway. Kurtz was making hushing motions at a woman in the white coveralls of a nurse who cowered back against the wall and had her hands pressed to her mouth to stifle the sobs that now replaced the scream. White coveralls? He glimpsed blood stains on her uniform, in fact quite a lot of blood marred the pristine white of her clothing. //Shit. What the hell … Frazier. I recognize him from Alpha dome. // He hunched lower glaring down the hallway at the man who was watching with a smirk that suggested he was amused by the incident. // How the hell am I going to get to him and silence him? What is he doing here? No, can't back out of the door now, that would be suspicious and only draw attention to us. He's made no move to come any closer and he has no weapon drawn, but his hand is near …// Pounding footsteps snapped his head up and to the side of the tech and he watched as the first of those alerted by the scream came running to see what the commotion was about came into view. // Fuck! Simpson! Just what I need. // t.b.c.
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