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| Story: A New Life - Chapter 15 Saturday, 29-Apr-2000 00:41:00
The two mystery women draw their net a little tighter around Denver's heroine. Also, a little fun trip to the mall turns horribly wrong for Sarah in this chapter. Thanks for reading! Sarah unlocked the door to her apartment and flopped onto the comfortable couch. “Uggh, what a day….”, she muttered out loud, brushing a few stray hairs from her eyes. After the conference, she had returned to The Post and buried herself in paperwork. It had grown while she had been gone, threatening to overflow her “In” box. She had flipped through that mass of papers, taking out and working on the ones that needed immediate attention, and placing the rest back in the box. Almost before she had known it, it was time to call it a day. On the way out, she stopped by Andrew’s desk to see if he would be available and willing to have dinner with her. But he wasn’t there; a note stuck to his computer’s monitor said that he was off covering an anti-abortionist protest at a clinic. Disappointed, she had descended into the parking garage and her car. But the fun hadn’t stopped there. On the way home, Sarah had come upon the scene of an accident. The victims were already on their way to an area hospital, but the wreckage of their vehicles remained, the police diverting traffic around the scene. These diversions were forcing people as much as a mile out of their way home. She had decided that it was time for another appearance for her super-self. Sarah had parked in an vacant restaurant’s parking lot, a few thick shrubs hiding her car from the road. She then removed her clothing (and it hadn’t been a very easy task, sitting in the driver’s seat) and focused on transforming. Exiting her small Toyota had been another challenge – she didn’t want to crush her seat, wheel, or any other part just by trying to extricate her green body from it. Sarah had easily cleaned up the smashed truck and car from the road, hoisting them one at a time over her thick, curved shoulder, and setting them where they wouldn’t interfere with traffic. The police and nearby drivers had profusely thanked her, and she returned, unseen, to her car. She got back into her car – again with difficulty – and had changed herself back to her human form. But as she was struggling to put her skirt back on, it had snagged on something around her seat, leaving an ugly slit over her right thigh. Grumbling, Sarah had driven the rest of the way home. Now she was there, lying back on her couch, wondering what else could go wrong. ‘First of all, I accused Mr. Harris of hiring those two men to threaten me. There was something a bit strange about him during that conversation, besides me making a fool of myself. I can’t believe I just stormed in there and charged him! I still feel foolish; me, a usually thoughtful woman journalist, going off half-cocked on the president of a company. And the day had just gotten worse from there. All that paperwork – I barely made a dent in it. Then Andrew wasn’t there, so there went my plans for the evening. At least I did a little bit of good with that accident. But even then I couldn’t get away from bad luck; I’ll be an hour or two repairing that skirt. To top it off, Dana left a note, saying she was “out on the town” and wouldn’t be back until late. She’s out shopping, no doubt. I wanted to talk to her this evening, but I guess that’s out, too.’ “Xris, can today get any worse?” “I’m sorry, Sarah. What do you mean by that?” She gave him a quick rundown on how her day had transpired. “I’m sorry that today didn’t go very well for you. Is there anything I might do to assist you?” She smiled. Xris was always trying to be helpful. “You’re already doing what I need most, Xris. Someone that I can talk frankly to, with no secrets withheld. It’s tougher than I thought it would be, this dual life I’m trying to lead. I want to help as many people as I can, but so far I haven’t accomplished that much. There’s too much happening, and I can’t be everywhere at once. Besides, I still have my job to do for The Post – I don’t want to let Andrew, Lana, or any of my other co-workers down.” Xris was silent for a moment. Then his deep, modulated voice (it didn’t even sound like a computer, Sarah thought) spoke. “True, there is much to be done on this planet – far too much for you to be capable of handling. But please do not dwell on that – it can only do you harm, Sarah. Just do as much as you can. That’s all that should be expected of you. Even though I am not flesh-and-bone any longer, you are still my sister. Sarah – Khara, I dislike seeing you put yourself through this. I have an idea: have fun. Go out this weekend with someone – Dana, or Andrew, perhaps. Get away from both your work at the newspaper and your alter identity. This may give you a more clear perspective on your life.” Sarah nodded to herself. “It has been a while since I’ve done anything ‘fun’. The last time was with Anthony – and that didn’t go over to well, did it? I’m still a little bothered over that attack. If Mr. Harris didn’t hire those men, who did? While I was talking with him, I somehow could sense that he was telling the truth, that he didn’t have anything to do with it. Still, why would those men lie to me – the other me? I could see the fear in their eyes as I held them up; I could tell that they, too, were telling the truth. But those two truths contradict themselves, Xris.” “They could be telling the truth, Sarah – the truth as they each see it. They have their own points-of-view here, with their own ideas of truth. Of course, the simplest explanation is that one party – or possibly both – are very good liars.” “That’s also true. I’m not an expert at detecting things like that. Still, they both seemed sincere, in their own ways. But you’re right, Xris. I need to get away from this for a bit and relax.” Sarah stood up and stretched. “I’ll fix myself a little dinner and then get to work on repairing this skirt. Thanks again, Xris. I don’t know what I’d do without you.” She smiled at the small unassuming black box and walked into the kitchen. It was Saturday afternoon, and Andrew was wondering if he was ever going to get out of his cubicle. Saturdays were usually fairly slow for the newspapers, and today was no exception. However, he had a deadline for an article to meet, and he hadn’t managed to find the time during the course of the week to work on it much, so he was down to the wire. Thankfully it hadn’t been very difficult to write out, and now he was spending his time doing his final edit before sending it off to the primary editors. In fact, he was so busy making sure that he his article had the desired effect that he did not notice the two figures approaching his cubicle. During the course of their interrogation of Michael Harris, the two mysterious women had found that he knew next-to-nothing about the target of their search. They had decided to continue with their plan and seek out the next name on their list – Andrew Peters. They knew of him from their observations of his aborted interview with their quarry, and of the meeting with two more people who also were inscribed upon their list – Sarah and Dana Carter. However, they had also decided to question this journalist first, since he had been the one in contact with her last. As they approached his cubicle, then looked around to see if anyone had noticed their arrival. Getting into the offices had been very easy; no one had challenged them. Probably because of their outfits – they were again wearing dark-colored business suits and skirts, looking very polished. Andrew saw the reflections of movement on his computer screen, and he turned around to see two very attractive women standing at the entrance of his cubicle. “Mr. Andrew Peters?”, one asked. He nodded. “Yeah, that’s me. I – is there a problem, ma’am?” “We just wish to ask you a few questions, Mr. Peters. May we sit down?” He nodded and gestured to a couple of nearby chairs. Once seated, the lady on the left continued. “We are interested in all you know about the green superwoman who has been spotted here recently. I understand that you, in fact, have held an interview with her. Could you enlighten us on the nature of your questioning and her answers?” He frowned, thinking. “Hey, hold on a second. I can’t yet reveal what I’ve found out from our interview – she hasn’t finished it. Who are you, anyway? Do you work for the government?” No response was forthcoming; the two well-dressed women just looked at him. They had an air of authority about them that told Andrew that they were, indeed, people of some importance. He had better tell them something before he got in trouble with some agency or other. “Oh, I - - I see, ma’am. Well, yes, I guess I can help you with whatever you need.” He spent the next fifteen minutes telling the mysterious women all he had found out from his guest, plus all he knew from the coverage she had received from her good deeds. “And that’s all I know, ma’am. I wasn’t able to ask her much about her past, where she came from, or what she really wants to accomplish here. She told me that she wants to provide help where she could not before.” The woman on the right said, “Yes, you told us that. Do you know where she lives or how she can be contacted?” He shook his head. “No. She seemed to be a little hesitant to tell me much personal information, and she said that she would contact me. What’s all this about, if I might ask?” “Thank you for your time, Mr. Peters.” The two women stood up and walked from his cubicle. They had found out all they were going to from their present source. It was time to move onto the next. He also stood and watched them walk off towards the office’s exit. ‘What was that all about?’, he asked himself. That whole episode had seemed very strange. There was something about those women that seemed – familiar somehow. As if he had met them before. But he was certain he would have recognized those two very pretty ladies if he had seen them somewhere else. He shrugged his shoulders. ‘It seems as if our super heroine is gaining even more recognition. I wonder what they want her for? Oh well, I doubt if I’ll find out anything about this, and it’s probably none of my business. It’s time to call it quits, anyway.’ Andrew saved his article to a floppy disk and shut his system down. After placing the disk in his editor’s box he left The Post for home. The mall was a very busy place to be on a Saturday. It was filled with shoppers who were all busy buying things that they would need for the next week or for entertainment purposes. The huge network of buildings were filled with a chorus of mixed sounds – laughter, shouting, footwear on tiled floor, and various other sounds associated with large numbers of people congregating together. In the middle of it were Sarah Carter and her sister, Dana. That morning the journalist had asked if Dana would be willing to spend the day with her, relaxing and having a good time. Her sister had responded that she was always up for a good time, and that this was the last day she would be spending with her, as she needed to get back to her own family. So they had driven around to various places around Denver, and had ended up here at its largest mall for lunch. They had spent the following hours just perusing the multiple stores, enjoying each other’s company, and – miraculously – spending very little money. “Hey Dana, I’m beat. Let’s sit down over there for a little while.” Sarah gestured to an arrangement of white plastic benches, situated around a grove of small trees. They sat down and watched people walk by. Sarah looked across the wide avenue, spotting something that sounded refreshing. “Dana, do you want something to drink? I’m parched.” She nodded in agreement and started reaching into her purse for money. “No, you treated me to lunch, sis. This one’s on me.” Smiling, Sarah slipped the strap of her purse over her shoulder and began weaving through the mass of shoppers towards the fruit drink vendor. She had almost made it when she felt a very violent jerk around her shoulder. Her purse’s thin strap broke as it was roughly removed from her person. She twisted slightly with the action and spotted the thief. “Hey!” Her purse in hand, he was quickly making his way towards a set of doors set between two stores. Trying her best to get through the crowd, Sarah followed him as quickly as she could, calling out to him. She was disgusted to see no one helping her to regain her property. She had to get her purse back – she had credit cards, her car and house keys, and other things situated within its various pockets. She saw him push through the doors, disappearing from sight when they swung back closed. Sarah dodged the final line of people and all-but-ran through those same doors. She came to a very rapid halt at the sight that greeted her. The thief was standing there, still carrying her purse - - along with three other young men, all looking right at her. They wore loose-fitting jeans and T-shirts – one of them had a red bandana wrapped around his head. ‘Bad move, Sarah. These guys don’t look to happy that you’re here.’ Her sentiment was echoed immediately by the largest of the four guys. “Hey, what’re you doin’ in here?” She nodded at the one holding her purse. “He stole something that belongs to me, and I followed him to get it back.” She was getting nervous as she watched them slowly getting closer. She began backing up towards the doors again. “Please, let me have it back. I can give you all the money out of it, if you want.” But the leader smiled – an evil, twisted smile that sent chills down Sarah’s spine. “Uh-uh, lady. That ain’t gonna cut it. You violated Red Dragons’ territory, and you must pay a price. And it’s going to be more than money.” To be continued Terry |
| Story: A New Life - Chapter 15 (Terry) (29-Apr-2000 00:41:00) |
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