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"Passing Lane On the Highway To Hell"
"Passing Lane On the Highway To Hell"
3/28/2003
I.
"What is your knight even doing way over there? He's useless, absolutely useless. He can't even feed himself or wipe his own butt. I'd trade him for a used beat-up old pawn, if you asked me. Wait. When did you take my queen? I didn't even see it."
When the flow of chatter from Unicorn paused for a second, Megan Salenger looked up from the war helmet she was adding new circuits to. "Two moves ago. You were concentrating on trying to attack my rook on E4."
Ashley threw back her long platinum blonde hair and huffed."Are you sure you didn't zap me with your raygun and erase my memory for a few seconds?"
The Trom Girl replied calmly, "No. You are still reacting to moves as they happen. You need to look ahead four or five moves and position your pieces accordingly."
Studying her small magnetic chess set, Unicorn launched into another tirade. "I don't like the way your bishops work together. They're creepy. The two of them have got all the good openings blocked off, As soon as I learn some more strategy, I'll take out both bishops at the start of the game."
"You are both intelligent and adaptable, Ashley, but you lack patience. Your game will improve if you slow down and consider what your opponent is planning."
The little blonde pouted in a way that had melted many hearts. Ashley Whitaker had always been pretty and at twenty-two, she was gorgeous enough that people often forgot what they were doing as she passed by. She raised a piece, changed her mind and moved a pawn forward to block an advance.
"See, I know you're smarter than me," she said. "The Trom raised you to be a super-genius who could win a different Nobel Prize every year. But what I have is creativity! There's no way to predict what I'm going to next."
"You do have a strong random factor in your psychological makeup," the Trom Girl agreed. She clicked the chin bar on her helmet closed and painstakingly replaced the wire-thin tools to their case. Megan Salenger was a few years older than Ashley, a little heavier in build and a few inches taller. Her untidy short hair was black and she had dark inquisitive eyes to complete the contrast between the two of them.
Leaning over, Megan didn't even glance at the board before moving her queen down to B3. "That's mate. Your defenses are getting stronger."
Unicorn reacted as if she had been punched hard in the chest. "I am stricken, absolutely stricken. My life is ruined. I will have to wear a bag over my head so other players don't laugh at me."
Before Megan could reply, their captain appeared in the doorway of the office. "Glad to see you two are still here. I know this is your free day, Megan."
"Oh, no! She's got a clipboard..." said Unicorn. "It's not my turn to scrub out the refrigerator AGAIN?"
"Relax," Sable said as she crossed over behind her desk and settled into her swivel chair. "I've got a report from one of our observers of possible Midnight War activity. It might turn out to be nothing, most of our investigations do. But it might also turn out to be anything from Karl Eldritch to Red Sect to a pack of Skinwalkers."
"Better than putting on those yellow rubber gloves and kneeling in front of the refrigerator all day," Ashley grumbled. "Let me run up to my room and get my gear."
With the effortless agility of youth and regular exercise, she leaped up and dove out of the room. A second later, they heard her light footfalls racing up the stairs.
Sable tapped the small chess set and smiled. "She's been on this kick for a month now."
"Ashley tends to move from one hobby to another as soon as she feels a minimal competency."
"OH, yes. I remember her harmonica phase. Are you ready to go?"
Megan stood up, tucking her helmet under one arm. She was wearing her version of the KDF field suit, all black... boots, snug pants and a waist-length jacket. "My gravity shield is stowed in my Jeep, but my superiors have mentioned I should be more discreet about its use when I might be seen."
The Unicorn galloped back into the office and almost skidded to a stop. Instead of her usual all white outfit, she seemed to be going through a baby blue phase.. sneakers, jeans, T-shirt and denim jacket all that color with darker blue trim on collars and cuffs.
In her hands was a cylindrical white leather sheath three feet long, tapering to a point at one end. "Armor under my clothes, dart gun in the small of my back, emergency Kitkat bars in my jacket pocket. I'm bringing my Unicorn horn. If we meet any critters with gralic powers, I can shut them down. How about our briefing, captain?"
"Not much to go on, to be honest. One of our oldest observers reports a sighting in Jamaica.."
"Jamaica! We're going to Jamaica!"
"Jamaica, Queens. Calm down, Ashley. It's Bennett Ferguson, he was one of Jeremy's first observers and over the years he's been reliable. This time he says he saw a man standing by the rear wall of a pharmacy. As he watched, the man apparently melted through the wall and was gone from sight. A few minutes later, the man appeared again and ran off with a plastic shopping bag in one hand."
Megan had been listening intently and now she interrupted. "This would be the All-Stop Pharmacy at 446 Lincoln Avenue, wouldn't it? The staff is being questioned by the police because a large quantity of restricted painkillers is missing with no sign of a break-in. Fentanyl and Percocet were mentioned."
"Hey, wait," said Unicorn, "I didn't hear about this on the news."
"I skim a daily summary of police reports in the metropolitan area."
Unicorn pointed an accusatory finger. "Science Nerd, some day you are going to get in big trouble hacking into Pentagon and FBI and NYPD files the way you do."
Disregarding Ashley for the moment, Sable continued, "That's really all we have right now, I'm afraid.I want you two to go see Ferguson and get more details, look around the scene, ask some questions, the usual procedure."
Already moving for the door, Ashley was dangling her Unicorn horn by one strap. "On the job, captain! This guy will find me and Megan are a wall he can't walk through.
II.
Using the Grand Central Parkway, they should have reached Jamaica from 38th Street within a hour. IF Ashley had been driving, at least ten minutes would have been shaved off that, but Megan Salenger normally obeyed traffic lights and stop signs.
Sitting in the front passenger seat of Megan's red Jeep Cherokee, Unicorn had pulled out her chess set again. The two teammates had proven to their satisfaction that the Trom Girl was fully capable of carrying out three demanding tasks at the same time. Even while negotiating typical Manhattan traffic, she easily played a game without having to glance over at the board.
"I don't get it, I just don't get it," whined Unicorn. "How come your pieces don't have any openings but you can just plow through my lineup as if you're bribing them? I'm mortified. My self-esteem will never recover. Did I ever tell you about my Uncle Bernard? After his divorce, he got a therapy dog and the dog ran away, that's how I feel."
For some inexplicable reason, this hit Megan just right and she burst into full out laughter. "I'm sorry, I'm sorry," she said.
Ashley could not have grinned more widely without hurting herself. "I am such a good influence on you."
"I agree, you show me my Human nature. But we must concentrate on our assignment now. There is a good parking spot. I estimate we are two blocks from the address we were given."
"Mmm, yeah," Unicorn mused. "This is a part of town without much personality. It looks like a million other commercial districts across the country."
By sheer chance, they spotted an open parking spot two blocks from the address they had been given. Megan parallel parked in with fraction of an inch precision and shut the motor off.
"Whoa, how do you DO that?" demanded Ashley. "I swear the other cars move around when I try to park like that. Here, I've got a couple quarters for the meter, you never bring change so it's a good thing Sable assigns us together, you'd be lost without me. Hey, Megan, what do you think is better to have, two knights or a knight and either a bishop or a rook? I'd say a knight and a rook because they're so different and the rook is more versatile than a bishop but I'd go with your opinion either..."
With the barest touch of sternness in her voice, the Trom Girl said, "I suggest we concentrate on our assignment for the moment. Chess will still be there when we're off duty."
"Right, right, let me strap the horn on right. Look at our Links, there's the photo of this Ferguson guy that Sable sent us. Oh my God, he looks just like my old primary care doctor! There's the joint, 446 Lincoln Avenue. Let's scan the area first."
"Always a good procedure," agreed Megan. They walked casually past the ancient building at 446, a six-story structure with a used furniture outlet on the ground floor and, judging by the air conditioners in many windows, apartments above. Next door was a one story red brick building with its own parking lot "for customers only." This was the pharmacy where reportedly someone had drifted through a wall like a ghost. Megan insisted on taking readings with her Link, studying the results so long that Ashley began shifting her weight impatiently.
"No residue of any unusual chemicals in the area, no visible damage even at a microscopic level. But," Megan concluded as she pointed at a specific spot, "There are still very faint traces of gralic energy right..here."
Unicorn folded her arms and tapped one sneaker. "Hmm. Teacher Jathis told me that phasing through matter is a pretty rare ability. No one of the Races or sects can do it as a rule. The Dragon of Midnight's pendant lets him do it for as long as he can hold his breath, which reminds me.. how come Tang Ming never gave that pendant to us so we can have a new hero use it? She's just been keeping it in Chujir and I guess never using it because it has sentimental value..."
"Let's go speak with Bennett Ferguson about what he saw," interrupted Megan. She had become used to cutting Ashley off rather than waiting for a convenient pause and she turned on one heel to head back toward the building where the KDF observer lived. A side door was unlocked, and they found themselves at the foot of a narrow staircase. To one side was a closet whose open door showed a mop in a yellow bucket of dingy water and some empty cardboard boxes.
"We want the second floor apartment 2B," Megan said and began ascending the creaking stairs. She paused and glanced back to see Ashley was remaining where she was.
The little blonde had swung the sheath on her back around so she could unsnap the lid and draw her talisman free. The Unicorn horn was a three foot ivory spiral, capped at the flat end with a disc of ensalir. The other end was pointed sharp enough to have served as a needle. Ashley hefted the ancient sigil in both hands and sounded defensive. "I feel creeped out. I know it's not rational and scientific and you can laugh at me if you want, but something is wrong!"
III.
In response, the Trom Girl dropped her hand to a flat rectangular device fixed on her belt. "I have the neural shock cartridge set higher than usual. You are right to be cautious, Ashley. I do not discount your hunches."
"Okay. Okay, let's go see this guy." Unicorn tapped the butt of her horn against an open palm. The blithe banter had vanished as if she had always been deadly serious.
At the second floor landing, two sets of doors faced each across a short hallway covered with a thin rug so faded its color was a mystery. Megan took out her Link in front of the door marked 2B and held the screen so Ashley could peer over at it. "See?" Megan asked in a low voice. "Heat signature and carbon dioxide exhalation consistent with one living Human. Male, only fair health, size and weight matching the description of Bennett Ferguson. No other occupants in there."
"I don't CARE," retorted Ashley, gripping her horn and obviously ready to use it as a weapon. "Please, please, be on your toes. Take me seriously."
The Trom Girl caught her partner's eye and nodded. "I always take you seriously, you should already know that." She rapped on the door with the knuckles of her left fist, keeping her right hand on the beam projector clipped at her hip. When a voice from within asked who was there, she replied clearly, "Mr Ferguson, we're from the Kenneth Dred Foundation. You called our captain early this morning."
The door creaked open enough to reveal a bleary blue eye. "Yes. Yes, of course. Just a second, let me unfasten this chain..."
They were admitted into a three room apartment which was roomy and well-lit by two windows but which had seen better days. From the sagging swaybacked couch to the discolored sink in the small kitchenette to the forlorn bedroom with enough clothes left around to have garbed all three of them, it was not an inviting sight. One encouraging sight was a head-high bookcase not only crammed full on each shelf but was further piles of books on its top. The air was weighed down with the stale reminders of cigarette smoke and unwashed laundry.
Nor was Bennett Ferguson himself any more imposing. Nature had not started him with many advantages for life. Short, dumpy, heavy-featured with wiry brown hair and a red bulbous nose, he was wrapped in a stretched-out golden yellow bathrobe over flannel pajamas. "Please forgive me," he began but then snorted in derision, "Oh why make excuses. This hellhole always looks like this. And so do I."
Noticing how Unicorn was glaring all around her as if expecting a full ambush at any second, the Trom Girl took the initiative. "My name is Megan Salenger and this is my partner Ashley Whitaker.We're here to listen to your report."
"Yes, of course, please be seated. I'll make some fresh coffee..."
"None for us, please," said Megan. Part of her Kumundu training was reading body language, seeing microexpressions that only flashed for a fraction of a second, listening for subvocal tremors. This was meant by Teacher Chael for use in hand to hand fights, but it also made her very difficult to deceive. Ferguson was agitated to the point of nearing a breakdown. His hands were visibly trembling.
"Oh. All right. Last night I got up to use the bathroom. It was right after three. As I was washing my hands, I looked out the window. My view faces the wall of the pharmacy next door, and I saw a man standing there."
Unicorn stopped examining the room for a suspected attack and exchanged glances with Megan. They both were becoming increasingly wary.
"Big fellow," said Ferguson, not looking directly at either of them. "Like a pro linebacker. Six and a half feet tall, I'd say, shoulders a yard wide. He turned around but my window was dark and I don't think he saw me. Guy had dark skin, but he wasn't African-American, just dark. And he had short white hair which made quite a contrast. You'd recognize him anywhere."
"Avathor..." breathed Unicorn.
"Oh, you know him?"
"After what he tried to do to me? You're goddam right I know him!"
In less than a full second, three things took place simultaneously.
Megan Salenger realized that she had scanned this apartment to be sure Fergson was the only person present but she had neglected to do a basic scan of the other apartments on this floor for anything unusual. She whipped up her beam projector with her thumb on the trigger patch.
Emerging through the far wall behind them as easily as sunlight through a window came the massive form of the Melgar exile named Avathor. A wicked grin on his face showed his intent as he lunged straight at the Trom Girl.
And Ashley cried out, "With this horn I remove thy power!" The ancient talisman flared up as it dissipated the gralic force within the Melgar's body. That horn had made everything from sorcerers to Kulan demons powerless in a flash; it had never failed.
In mid-stride, Avathor faltered in confusion as he felt his stolen abilities fade. In that instant of hesitation, he was left wide open. Ashley sprang across the room and drove a straight side kick directly into his lower abdomen. As he bent forward from the impact, she whirled and blasted out a right hook-right backhand-left cross combination that came so closely together they sounded like one blow. Ashley was highly skilled, quick as a bobcat and ferocious in her rage. She would have killed any normal Human she struck that way.
But a hard fist as big as her head smashed directly into her face and threw her back to slam against the wall so hard a framed picture dislodged and fell to the floor beside her. Avathor was a Melgar, and even their children are stronger than the strongest Human adult. He had been hurt by her attack but hardly enough to keep him from striking her down.
With no sound or visible beam, the Trom neural shock disrupted his nervous system and Avathor sagged down to the threadbare carpet without trying to catch himself. Megan Salenger immediately swung her device to cover the dumbstruck Ferguson. "Down on your knees, hands clasped behind your head. Now. Stay that way."
As the man complied, Megan knelt over her teammate. Blood was trickling from one nostril but Ashley's nose did not seem broken. Her eyes were out of focus for a second but then she stared up at Megan and recognized her.
"I didn't know he had a sledge hammer," she mumbled.
"Follow my finger without moving your head," said Megan, moving her hand from side to side with the index finger raised. "Good. Where are you right now?"
"Jamaica, Queens. Lincoln Avenue. Wait, where's Avathor?! Did that bastard get away?" She started to rise but was firmly held down by a hand to her upper chest. "Don't let him get away."
"He will be unconscious for at least the next forty-five to fifty minutes. Getting him to my Jeep without drawing attention will require some ingenuity."
Ashley gingerly touched her face. "Drat. Is my nose flat?"
"No. It will swell and you will have two black eyes, in my opinion. But with our healing factor, you should be presentable by tonight."
"Ugh. Megan, I wanted to beat the snot of him so bad! You saw what he was about to do to me when we were in Evaho on that Sceptre mission. I'm not gonna kill him, that's just not who I am, but I sure wanted to punish him. But he's too strong, even without his Gralic Leech powers."
The Trom Girl rose to her feet but gestured for Ashley to remain on the floor. "Please hold still a few more minutes. Now I must dea with Mr Ferguson."
The miserable man had not dared move except to turn his head. "I'm sorry, I feel so awful but I was afraid for my life."
From where she lay propped up on one elbow, Unicorn said, "Oh I get it. Avathor saw you watching him last night, didn't he? He came up here and threatened you until you called Sable."
"Yes, yes, I'm so ashamed but I was never so terrified in my life. He picked me up with one hand and shook me until I couldn't think straight. I... well, I told myself my only hope was that you Tel Shai knights could defeat him if you showed up. I fooled myself into thinking that."
Mumbling that she felt fine, Ashley got to her feet and checked to see how steady she was. "Wow. Even with our healing, getting punched like that is no fun. So, Megan, what are we going to do with this guy for ratting us out?"
"Certainly we are not going to press any charges for what could be presented as a felony. Avathor is from Androval, there is no way to identify him to a court. No, I believe all we can do is leave the matter as it stands."
"I guess it did work out all right," Unicorn reluctantly agreed. "It's all relative. This dude is on the highway to hell but Avathor was in the passing lane, ha ha. We should call Sheng to come here and help us smuggle Avathor out, wrapped him in blankets or something."
"Agreed. I have some heavy-duty restraints in my Jeep. And if necessary, I can sedate him again."
Ashley went over to an uninviting easy chair older than she was. "Let's get Sheng on his way, then. Ow, my poir head. We'll have to wait a half hour at least." She touched something in her jacket packet and unexpectedly grinned. "Say, Mr Ferguson, do you play chess?"
2/19/2023
3/28/2003
I.
"What is your knight even doing way over there? He's useless, absolutely useless. He can't even feed himself or wipe his own butt. I'd trade him for a used beat-up old pawn, if you asked me. Wait. When did you take my queen? I didn't even see it."
When the flow of chatter from Unicorn paused for a second, Megan Salenger looked up from the war helmet she was adding new circuits to. "Two moves ago. You were concentrating on trying to attack my rook on E4."
Ashley threw back her long platinum blonde hair and huffed."Are you sure you didn't zap me with your raygun and erase my memory for a few seconds?"
The Trom Girl replied calmly, "No. You are still reacting to moves as they happen. You need to look ahead four or five moves and position your pieces accordingly."
Studying her small magnetic chess set, Unicorn launched into another tirade. "I don't like the way your bishops work together. They're creepy. The two of them have got all the good openings blocked off, As soon as I learn some more strategy, I'll take out both bishops at the start of the game."
"You are both intelligent and adaptable, Ashley, but you lack patience. Your game will improve if you slow down and consider what your opponent is planning."
The little blonde pouted in a way that had melted many hearts. Ashley Whitaker had always been pretty and at twenty-two, she was gorgeous enough that people often forgot what they were doing as she passed by. She raised a piece, changed her mind and moved a pawn forward to block an advance.
"See, I know you're smarter than me," she said. "The Trom raised you to be a super-genius who could win a different Nobel Prize every year. But what I have is creativity! There's no way to predict what I'm going to next."
"You do have a strong random factor in your psychological makeup," the Trom Girl agreed. She clicked the chin bar on her helmet closed and painstakingly replaced the wire-thin tools to their case. Megan Salenger was a few years older than Ashley, a little heavier in build and a few inches taller. Her untidy short hair was black and she had dark inquisitive eyes to complete the contrast between the two of them.
Leaning over, Megan didn't even glance at the board before moving her queen down to B3. "That's mate. Your defenses are getting stronger."
Unicorn reacted as if she had been punched hard in the chest. "I am stricken, absolutely stricken. My life is ruined. I will have to wear a bag over my head so other players don't laugh at me."
Before Megan could reply, their captain appeared in the doorway of the office. "Glad to see you two are still here. I know this is your free day, Megan."
"Oh, no! She's got a clipboard..." said Unicorn. "It's not my turn to scrub out the refrigerator AGAIN?"
"Relax," Sable said as she crossed over behind her desk and settled into her swivel chair. "I've got a report from one of our observers of possible Midnight War activity. It might turn out to be nothing, most of our investigations do. But it might also turn out to be anything from Karl Eldritch to Red Sect to a pack of Skinwalkers."
"Better than putting on those yellow rubber gloves and kneeling in front of the refrigerator all day," Ashley grumbled. "Let me run up to my room and get my gear."
With the effortless agility of youth and regular exercise, she leaped up and dove out of the room. A second later, they heard her light footfalls racing up the stairs.
Sable tapped the small chess set and smiled. "She's been on this kick for a month now."
"Ashley tends to move from one hobby to another as soon as she feels a minimal competency."
"OH, yes. I remember her harmonica phase. Are you ready to go?"
Megan stood up, tucking her helmet under one arm. She was wearing her version of the KDF field suit, all black... boots, snug pants and a waist-length jacket. "My gravity shield is stowed in my Jeep, but my superiors have mentioned I should be more discreet about its use when I might be seen."
The Unicorn galloped back into the office and almost skidded to a stop. Instead of her usual all white outfit, she seemed to be going through a baby blue phase.. sneakers, jeans, T-shirt and denim jacket all that color with darker blue trim on collars and cuffs.
In her hands was a cylindrical white leather sheath three feet long, tapering to a point at one end. "Armor under my clothes, dart gun in the small of my back, emergency Kitkat bars in my jacket pocket. I'm bringing my Unicorn horn. If we meet any critters with gralic powers, I can shut them down. How about our briefing, captain?"
"Not much to go on, to be honest. One of our oldest observers reports a sighting in Jamaica.."
"Jamaica! We're going to Jamaica!"
"Jamaica, Queens. Calm down, Ashley. It's Bennett Ferguson, he was one of Jeremy's first observers and over the years he's been reliable. This time he says he saw a man standing by the rear wall of a pharmacy. As he watched, the man apparently melted through the wall and was gone from sight. A few minutes later, the man appeared again and ran off with a plastic shopping bag in one hand."
Megan had been listening intently and now she interrupted. "This would be the All-Stop Pharmacy at 446 Lincoln Avenue, wouldn't it? The staff is being questioned by the police because a large quantity of restricted painkillers is missing with no sign of a break-in. Fentanyl and Percocet were mentioned."
"Hey, wait," said Unicorn, "I didn't hear about this on the news."
"I skim a daily summary of police reports in the metropolitan area."
Unicorn pointed an accusatory finger. "Science Nerd, some day you are going to get in big trouble hacking into Pentagon and FBI and NYPD files the way you do."
Disregarding Ashley for the moment, Sable continued, "That's really all we have right now, I'm afraid.I want you two to go see Ferguson and get more details, look around the scene, ask some questions, the usual procedure."
Already moving for the door, Ashley was dangling her Unicorn horn by one strap. "On the job, captain! This guy will find me and Megan are a wall he can't walk through.
II.
Using the Grand Central Parkway, they should have reached Jamaica from 38th Street within a hour. IF Ashley had been driving, at least ten minutes would have been shaved off that, but Megan Salenger normally obeyed traffic lights and stop signs.
Sitting in the front passenger seat of Megan's red Jeep Cherokee, Unicorn had pulled out her chess set again. The two teammates had proven to their satisfaction that the Trom Girl was fully capable of carrying out three demanding tasks at the same time. Even while negotiating typical Manhattan traffic, she easily played a game without having to glance over at the board.
"I don't get it, I just don't get it," whined Unicorn. "How come your pieces don't have any openings but you can just plow through my lineup as if you're bribing them? I'm mortified. My self-esteem will never recover. Did I ever tell you about my Uncle Bernard? After his divorce, he got a therapy dog and the dog ran away, that's how I feel."
For some inexplicable reason, this hit Megan just right and she burst into full out laughter. "I'm sorry, I'm sorry," she said.
Ashley could not have grinned more widely without hurting herself. "I am such a good influence on you."
"I agree, you show me my Human nature. But we must concentrate on our assignment now. There is a good parking spot. I estimate we are two blocks from the address we were given."
"Mmm, yeah," Unicorn mused. "This is a part of town without much personality. It looks like a million other commercial districts across the country."
By sheer chance, they spotted an open parking spot two blocks from the address they had been given. Megan parallel parked in with fraction of an inch precision and shut the motor off.
"Whoa, how do you DO that?" demanded Ashley. "I swear the other cars move around when I try to park like that. Here, I've got a couple quarters for the meter, you never bring change so it's a good thing Sable assigns us together, you'd be lost without me. Hey, Megan, what do you think is better to have, two knights or a knight and either a bishop or a rook? I'd say a knight and a rook because they're so different and the rook is more versatile than a bishop but I'd go with your opinion either..."
With the barest touch of sternness in her voice, the Trom Girl said, "I suggest we concentrate on our assignment for the moment. Chess will still be there when we're off duty."
"Right, right, let me strap the horn on right. Look at our Links, there's the photo of this Ferguson guy that Sable sent us. Oh my God, he looks just like my old primary care doctor! There's the joint, 446 Lincoln Avenue. Let's scan the area first."
"Always a good procedure," agreed Megan. They walked casually past the ancient building at 446, a six-story structure with a used furniture outlet on the ground floor and, judging by the air conditioners in many windows, apartments above. Next door was a one story red brick building with its own parking lot "for customers only." This was the pharmacy where reportedly someone had drifted through a wall like a ghost. Megan insisted on taking readings with her Link, studying the results so long that Ashley began shifting her weight impatiently.
"No residue of any unusual chemicals in the area, no visible damage even at a microscopic level. But," Megan concluded as she pointed at a specific spot, "There are still very faint traces of gralic energy right..here."
Unicorn folded her arms and tapped one sneaker. "Hmm. Teacher Jathis told me that phasing through matter is a pretty rare ability. No one of the Races or sects can do it as a rule. The Dragon of Midnight's pendant lets him do it for as long as he can hold his breath, which reminds me.. how come Tang Ming never gave that pendant to us so we can have a new hero use it? She's just been keeping it in Chujir and I guess never using it because it has sentimental value..."
"Let's go speak with Bennett Ferguson about what he saw," interrupted Megan. She had become used to cutting Ashley off rather than waiting for a convenient pause and she turned on one heel to head back toward the building where the KDF observer lived. A side door was unlocked, and they found themselves at the foot of a narrow staircase. To one side was a closet whose open door showed a mop in a yellow bucket of dingy water and some empty cardboard boxes.
"We want the second floor apartment 2B," Megan said and began ascending the creaking stairs. She paused and glanced back to see Ashley was remaining where she was.
The little blonde had swung the sheath on her back around so she could unsnap the lid and draw her talisman free. The Unicorn horn was a three foot ivory spiral, capped at the flat end with a disc of ensalir. The other end was pointed sharp enough to have served as a needle. Ashley hefted the ancient sigil in both hands and sounded defensive. "I feel creeped out. I know it's not rational and scientific and you can laugh at me if you want, but something is wrong!"
III.
In response, the Trom Girl dropped her hand to a flat rectangular device fixed on her belt. "I have the neural shock cartridge set higher than usual. You are right to be cautious, Ashley. I do not discount your hunches."
"Okay. Okay, let's go see this guy." Unicorn tapped the butt of her horn against an open palm. The blithe banter had vanished as if she had always been deadly serious.
At the second floor landing, two sets of doors faced each across a short hallway covered with a thin rug so faded its color was a mystery. Megan took out her Link in front of the door marked 2B and held the screen so Ashley could peer over at it. "See?" Megan asked in a low voice. "Heat signature and carbon dioxide exhalation consistent with one living Human. Male, only fair health, size and weight matching the description of Bennett Ferguson. No other occupants in there."
"I don't CARE," retorted Ashley, gripping her horn and obviously ready to use it as a weapon. "Please, please, be on your toes. Take me seriously."
The Trom Girl caught her partner's eye and nodded. "I always take you seriously, you should already know that." She rapped on the door with the knuckles of her left fist, keeping her right hand on the beam projector clipped at her hip. When a voice from within asked who was there, she replied clearly, "Mr Ferguson, we're from the Kenneth Dred Foundation. You called our captain early this morning."
The door creaked open enough to reveal a bleary blue eye. "Yes. Yes, of course. Just a second, let me unfasten this chain..."
They were admitted into a three room apartment which was roomy and well-lit by two windows but which had seen better days. From the sagging swaybacked couch to the discolored sink in the small kitchenette to the forlorn bedroom with enough clothes left around to have garbed all three of them, it was not an inviting sight. One encouraging sight was a head-high bookcase not only crammed full on each shelf but was further piles of books on its top. The air was weighed down with the stale reminders of cigarette smoke and unwashed laundry.
Nor was Bennett Ferguson himself any more imposing. Nature had not started him with many advantages for life. Short, dumpy, heavy-featured with wiry brown hair and a red bulbous nose, he was wrapped in a stretched-out golden yellow bathrobe over flannel pajamas. "Please forgive me," he began but then snorted in derision, "Oh why make excuses. This hellhole always looks like this. And so do I."
Noticing how Unicorn was glaring all around her as if expecting a full ambush at any second, the Trom Girl took the initiative. "My name is Megan Salenger and this is my partner Ashley Whitaker.We're here to listen to your report."
"Yes, of course, please be seated. I'll make some fresh coffee..."
"None for us, please," said Megan. Part of her Kumundu training was reading body language, seeing microexpressions that only flashed for a fraction of a second, listening for subvocal tremors. This was meant by Teacher Chael for use in hand to hand fights, but it also made her very difficult to deceive. Ferguson was agitated to the point of nearing a breakdown. His hands were visibly trembling.
"Oh. All right. Last night I got up to use the bathroom. It was right after three. As I was washing my hands, I looked out the window. My view faces the wall of the pharmacy next door, and I saw a man standing there."
Unicorn stopped examining the room for a suspected attack and exchanged glances with Megan. They both were becoming increasingly wary.
"Big fellow," said Ferguson, not looking directly at either of them. "Like a pro linebacker. Six and a half feet tall, I'd say, shoulders a yard wide. He turned around but my window was dark and I don't think he saw me. Guy had dark skin, but he wasn't African-American, just dark. And he had short white hair which made quite a contrast. You'd recognize him anywhere."
"Avathor..." breathed Unicorn.
"Oh, you know him?"
"After what he tried to do to me? You're goddam right I know him!"
In less than a full second, three things took place simultaneously.
Megan Salenger realized that she had scanned this apartment to be sure Fergson was the only person present but she had neglected to do a basic scan of the other apartments on this floor for anything unusual. She whipped up her beam projector with her thumb on the trigger patch.
Emerging through the far wall behind them as easily as sunlight through a window came the massive form of the Melgar exile named Avathor. A wicked grin on his face showed his intent as he lunged straight at the Trom Girl.
And Ashley cried out, "With this horn I remove thy power!" The ancient talisman flared up as it dissipated the gralic force within the Melgar's body. That horn had made everything from sorcerers to Kulan demons powerless in a flash; it had never failed.
In mid-stride, Avathor faltered in confusion as he felt his stolen abilities fade. In that instant of hesitation, he was left wide open. Ashley sprang across the room and drove a straight side kick directly into his lower abdomen. As he bent forward from the impact, she whirled and blasted out a right hook-right backhand-left cross combination that came so closely together they sounded like one blow. Ashley was highly skilled, quick as a bobcat and ferocious in her rage. She would have killed any normal Human she struck that way.
But a hard fist as big as her head smashed directly into her face and threw her back to slam against the wall so hard a framed picture dislodged and fell to the floor beside her. Avathor was a Melgar, and even their children are stronger than the strongest Human adult. He had been hurt by her attack but hardly enough to keep him from striking her down.
With no sound or visible beam, the Trom neural shock disrupted his nervous system and Avathor sagged down to the threadbare carpet without trying to catch himself. Megan Salenger immediately swung her device to cover the dumbstruck Ferguson. "Down on your knees, hands clasped behind your head. Now. Stay that way."
As the man complied, Megan knelt over her teammate. Blood was trickling from one nostril but Ashley's nose did not seem broken. Her eyes were out of focus for a second but then she stared up at Megan and recognized her.
"I didn't know he had a sledge hammer," she mumbled.
"Follow my finger without moving your head," said Megan, moving her hand from side to side with the index finger raised. "Good. Where are you right now?"
"Jamaica, Queens. Lincoln Avenue. Wait, where's Avathor?! Did that bastard get away?" She started to rise but was firmly held down by a hand to her upper chest. "Don't let him get away."
"He will be unconscious for at least the next forty-five to fifty minutes. Getting him to my Jeep without drawing attention will require some ingenuity."
Ashley gingerly touched her face. "Drat. Is my nose flat?"
"No. It will swell and you will have two black eyes, in my opinion. But with our healing factor, you should be presentable by tonight."
"Ugh. Megan, I wanted to beat the snot of him so bad! You saw what he was about to do to me when we were in Evaho on that Sceptre mission. I'm not gonna kill him, that's just not who I am, but I sure wanted to punish him. But he's too strong, even without his Gralic Leech powers."
The Trom Girl rose to her feet but gestured for Ashley to remain on the floor. "Please hold still a few more minutes. Now I must dea with Mr Ferguson."
The miserable man had not dared move except to turn his head. "I'm sorry, I feel so awful but I was afraid for my life."
From where she lay propped up on one elbow, Unicorn said, "Oh I get it. Avathor saw you watching him last night, didn't he? He came up here and threatened you until you called Sable."
"Yes, yes, I'm so ashamed but I was never so terrified in my life. He picked me up with one hand and shook me until I couldn't think straight. I... well, I told myself my only hope was that you Tel Shai knights could defeat him if you showed up. I fooled myself into thinking that."
Mumbling that she felt fine, Ashley got to her feet and checked to see how steady she was. "Wow. Even with our healing, getting punched like that is no fun. So, Megan, what are we going to do with this guy for ratting us out?"
"Certainly we are not going to press any charges for what could be presented as a felony. Avathor is from Androval, there is no way to identify him to a court. No, I believe all we can do is leave the matter as it stands."
"I guess it did work out all right," Unicorn reluctantly agreed. "It's all relative. This dude is on the highway to hell but Avathor was in the passing lane, ha ha. We should call Sheng to come here and help us smuggle Avathor out, wrapped him in blankets or something."
"Agreed. I have some heavy-duty restraints in my Jeep. And if necessary, I can sedate him again."
Ashley went over to an uninviting easy chair older than she was. "Let's get Sheng on his way, then. Ow, my poir head. We'll have to wait a half hour at least." She touched something in her jacket packet and unexpectedly grinned. "Say, Mr Ferguson, do you play chess?"
2/19/2023