Goner felt the bullet
enter his side and he knew that he was going to be in a world of pain.
He fell to the floor like a bricklayer dropping bricks into a barrel.
He crawled the best that he could with the one good arm, behind a short
wall.
"That makes four," he said to himself.
He knew that time
was short; he had been in situations like this many times but this
time it felt different. This time he tasted fear. He couldn't move his
left arm since it was dangling at his side, the bone was broken from a
previous wound. Bullets skittled around him, trying to break away the
barrier that he was trying to hide behind.
Damn, I don't want to die just yet. There's one thing more I would like to do.
He
propped himself up against the wall and reached to see if another clip
had magically appeared in his jacket pocket but he knew it hadn't.
He ejected the clip from the gun and saw only one bullet left. He put the clip back into the gun, using his leg.
The trained pulled into the platform. Max could see this was not going
to be an easy task; he saw several armed men and guard dogs on duty.
For such a secret station it was well protected.
"Trap?" Akimoto
asked. He took out his sword and was waiting for the signal from Max.
The train was coming to a stop, and the men didn't seem to acknowledge
it at all.
"I rightly don't know," said Max; he felt uneasy about
this whole situation. "They seem to be on high alert but not doing
anything."
"Let me take care of them," Suki said as she noticed the LEGACY logo on the security uniforms. She powered up the Godhammer.
"We wait until they move," Max cautioned. He peered out the window onto the platform again and couldn't believe their luck.
The
train came to a complete stop and the doors didn't open; the half dozen men were still standing there nonchalantly as if the car hadn't
approached. The doors didn't open.
They stood by the doors waiting, but nothing occurred.
"Bishop?" Max called forward. "What's going on?"
"Stealth
mode," Bishop replied over the intercom. "You know like a ghost train,
fades in and out, something much akin to that. Just say the word and we
can fade in and your can do you thing."
excerpt from Mingelina's Journal at Ghostbloggers:
You reduce me to cosmic tears.
That
line from Alanis's song So Pure was pretty much on the mark last night.
I went to TimeCrawler's; it's a nightclub suited to the Western crowd,
playing the high techno dance songs and the like. A little piece of
western civilization right here in Kowloon.
While there I bumped
Suki. Who I hadn't seen in a long while and she introduced me to Max
& Maggie. I had asked Suki what was going on, her folks don't
remember her at all, and I thought I was going nuts... In our chat Suki
mentioned something about time shifts, realities and coffee shops and a
subway car and the like... it was maddening to comprehend, but I guess
it was so "Twilight Zone". While Suki was telling me her fantastical
tale, I kept my eyes on Max & Mags on the dance floor last night,
they were on the floor doing their thing, dancing and then this song
comes on and it all fits so perfectly. In the video Alanis and her
partner are dancing through the various styles of dance throughout the
modern ages, and for some reason it seemed like Mags & Max were
doing just that... sure they were in the nightclub dancing amongst the
throngs of bodies on the floor. But, it seemed like they were dancing
through the ages (well Maggie maybe because of her hair which seem
sentient).
(Mingelina Edit Note: I had something here but when I reviewed it was all jumbled text)
Now,
that I have the time to think about it, I must of imagined Suki at the
club last night. I really don't know if she exists at all, or just a
product of my imagination?
"Yello Chump!" Max said as he slid into the passenger seat of the car. "Hardy har har," Trump said from the back seat; he was sitting there licking his paws, "Maybe you should go on the road with that one!" "Now boys," Mags said. "Lets be civil just this once okay?" Mags pulled onto the street, as Max leaned back in the seat. A song was playing on the oldies station, and it was setting the tone for the ride.
"You again?" Danny Leung said as he spotted the spiky-haired avenger. Max turned and saw Danny approach him; he flashed him a toothy smile and stuck out a hand. It had been a few months since he and Danny took in a hostile activity. "Long time no see," Max said as Danny took his arm and gave it a friendly shake, as well as a hug and a slap on the back. "Is there going to be trouble here?" Danny asked, glancing around the race-track. He had come to have a day at the races. "I'm on my own time." "Was in town and thought I'd take in some track activity," Max replied. He was waiting in line for the ticket; he was placing a huge bet on a horse called Dreamer's United. Suki was sipping a cola as she approached Max. She looked up at Danny and nodded at him. "What's the scoop?" Max asked Suki. "I told the horses it was my birthday," she said. "And that I was planning on betting on Dreamer's United." Danny couldn't tell if she was joking or not; ever since the incident in the Golden Taurus he wasn't sure about what reality is or was anymore. But ever since that day he always wore his pieces; just in case trouble was brewing. "Suki!" Max scolded her. "How many times I have I warned you not to be doing things to sway the natural balance of right or wrong?" Suki gave him a wink and slurped the soda.
Max watched as the city changed subtly; the shift was gradual and it didn't really change all that much. He did notice a few more skyscrapers in the distance. He was battered, bruised and was really sore. Wrapped in bandages, the wounds had stopped bleeding as soon as he had boarded the car. The conductor of the car, Bishop, had looked worried until he had seen them coming down the stairs towards the train. The LEGACY building, which should have stood 33 stories tall, wasn't there at all. And that had brought a smile to his face. "How you like me now," Max said towards the space where the building should have been standing. Akimoto was sitting in the back, asleep in an upright position; it was a much deserved rest. While Suki moved around the car trying to keep herself up; she was really tired but she was still full of nervous energy. Now Max sat with his foot up on the seat, a cigarette dangling from his finger tips. Which drew a few looks from other passengers aboard the car. He paid them no mind; he was, after all, their unofficial saviour who had rescued their way of life more than once. This is why I do this, he thought.
