Section 1: Undercover

Part 1

             The restaurant was well lit by chandeliers hanging from the roof; each suspended from the floor the large, mosaic patterned, twenty-foot high roofing. The light clatter of cutlery whispered through the large room with the only other noise louder that of the various chatter going around. The Chanūte Dé Mon was one of the fanciest places this side of New Gettingsburg.

Lia O’Donnell, a beautiful dark haired woman, only twenty-five sat at her table in an elegant pink dress with scarlet trimmings and a large matching bow to tie her hair up with. She stared into the now empty wine glass while she tapped the table lightly with one hand and rested her chin with the other. She was beginning to consider leaving rather than wait another minute for her date to arrive. She pondered the thought for a little longer, let out a sigh, and was about to get up just as a hand brushed lightly onto her shoulder.

“Sorry I’m late. I had a brush in at work and got held up.”

A hansom looking man in a fine tweed suit, age twenty-six, sat down at the opposite table, straightened his tie then readjusted his glasses before giving a curt smile, then gesturing a waiter over to the table.

“Your lucky. Another minute late and I would have gone home.” Remarked Lia.

“My apologies. I really did try to get here on time.”

“It’s alright.” She stared at Damien, before speaking again. “There’s some blood just under your hairline. Are you alright?”

Damien looked at Lia before placing a fingertip to where a small cut lay. He smiled, cleaned it off with a paper towel, and then smiled again.

“May I ask what happened?”

“Oh. I just bumped my head at work today.”

Lia gave a quizzical look, “Your telling me that you managed to put a cut on your head working at a desk?”

Damien’s smile faded. “Okay, so I dropped a pencil, went down to pick it up, and came back up rather clumsily.”

Lia was about to make another remark about how it couldn’t be true when the waiter offered them menus and then offered some of the wine he carried.

“Mm. Look here on page two, just under Shrimp Alamode. Looks pretty good.”

“You want just a roast steak, garnished in lemon herbs with a side of spinach ricotta?”

Damien smiled.

“Well, sounds good. We’ll make it two.”

The waiter smiled as he jotted down the order, then proceeded to pour them both some of the red wine he carried.

“I’m going to just go duck off to the lavatory. Won’t be long.”

Lia nodded, then began to gaze around the room again. After around two minutes, she looked over at a table in the corner that was once unoccupied, and now had a large man in an expensive suit with two rather attractive women sitting next to him, laughing and stroking the mans hair.

Lia fiddled through her hand bag, brought up a mirror, and pretended to be checking her makeup. Instead, she began to take photos of the man and those with him.

Just as she took her eighth photo, Damien walked by and sat down.

“Sorry for the wait. I really am all over the place tonight.”

Lia put down the mirror back in her purse. “Yes, you are.” She said as she reached over and straightened his tie for him. “The cuts bleeding a bit again. You really should cover it up with something.” She stood up. “I’m going to find you a band-aid.”

Before Damien could speak, she had walked off to the main desk, whipping out her mirror again and bringing it around to take a few more snapshots of the man in the suit.

Behind the desk stood a blonde haired man who couldn’t be any much older than twenty-one. He looked at Lia, then asked, “Is the night satisfactory?”

Lia smiled, then asked for a band-aid. The man bent down, then came back up a few seconds later, and, as he handed her the band-aid, she slipped him the mirror.

“Thankyou.”

“No problem, ma’am. Enjoy your night.”

Lia pivoted and made her way back to the table, just as the meals began to arrive at the table.

“Here.” She said, handing Damien the band-aid. She noticed that he wasn’t smiling anymore. “I’m truly sorry. I just got a call from my nana. It seems my grandfather has just had a heart attack, and she now has no ride home from the hospital. I’m really sorry Lia, but…”

She placed a fingertip to his lips. “It’s alright. You should go help her out.”

Damien looked rather upset. Though the sudden issue had denied her of having an enjoyable night, there wasn‘t much she could really do.

He smiled sincerely, then handed over some cash for the meal, then quickly headed off.

Lia sat down, asked for more wine, and then peered off to the same table again. The man had left, leaving no trace of his whereabouts.

“Well, at least I got the photo’s before he left.”

She picked up her glass and began to drink.

* * *

 

A loud beeping sound aroused Lia from her deep sleep, and the pleasant dreams she’d been having. Still tired, she fumbled over, hit the alarm clock once then hit it again, finally shutting it off. She groaned once in complaint before stretching out and letting free a yawn. She looked over at the clock and then suddenly snapped from her daze.

“Eight o-clock!”

She began to scramble out of bed, almost tripping over the sheets as she hurtled over to the dresser and began to change into her best casual-wear. She was one hour away from being late for a job meeting at the function building across from the national museum. If she was late, she’d lose her chance of getting the job, and hopefully the extra cash she needed. She ran through her bedroom door, looked at the fridge, then shook her head and left the room, snatching up and placing a jacket as she did.

Marcus, the landlord, yelled a good morning as she slid down the stair rails and almost leaped forward and nudged her way through the door.

“Morning Marcus, can’t chat, got to go!”

She ran then, skidded to a halt, ran back in the building, up to the main desk, leaned over, grabbed up her skates, and began to hastily place them on.

“What’s going on? Why the rush?”

“Late! I’m going to be late!”

Marcus shook his head. “Should’ve have known. Next time you may want to consider scheduling your…”

“Bye Marcus!” yelled Lia as she ran back through the front door, not wasting a second to hear what he was going to say.

She leaped from the steps, landed gracefully, then jetted off.

“I am so screwed!” She made her way down the street, scanned ahead and spotted a bunch of road workers. She looked at the large clock suspended outside a bank. “Oh no. I’m never going to make it at this rate!”

She skidded to a halt before reaching the construction zone. It was already eight thirty. She had another half hour to get down two more blocks, then throw a right down Smith Street and make another six. There was no way she’d do that if there was traffic, pedestrians, and now construction workers to contest with.

With a sudden idea, she doubled back a few meters the way she came and then hoisted herself up over a chain-link fence and into an ally-way. She started to make her way through the ally-way, manoeuvring past garbage cans and boxes, picked up more speed and made a daring run up to leap over a three meter high hurdle. She placed one hand on a pipe hanging over head, swung herself forward, grabbed a hold of another pip, span around that once, and tucked her legs in just in time to avoid colliding with the fence, she landed with a sudden halt from the impact on her skates.

Rubbing her ankles, she looked back at the fete she’d pulled off and smiled triumphantly.

“That was some pretty trick you pulled off there” Came a voice.

She turned and stood up to see a tall man, his hair slicked back and large black aviators on. He, and three others with him all wore matching leather jackets and dark navy jeans.

“I don’t think you realise this, but you’re right now on our turf. And those that pass through here have to pay the fee.” Grinned the man at the lead.

Lia shifted back slightly her dark green eyes not shifting gaze from the man at the front. She was in trouble.

The men at the rear each reached behind their backs and pulled out metal batons as the lead man began to slowly make his way forward, a maniacal grin on his face. “Listen, girl. Just hand over your things and we may just let you go right away.”

Lia continued to move back, but suddenly arms grabbed her firmly from behind. Another man came to her right and placed a blade near her throat.

“Do we have to let her go right away, boss? I like the smell of this one.” Said the man holding her from behind.

Finally, Lia spoke. “I’m sorry, but I hope you weren’t planning on having children.” The lead man almost chuckled, but then became angry look of pain as a skate was flung off Lia’s foot and collided right into his groin. She then leaned back abruptly, twisted herself around, kneed the man holding her from behind, and bent down just in time to avoid the other mans blade. She then used the remaining skate to roll backwards, gripping the man with the blade with a painful grip around the wrist. She pulled forward, kneed him in the gut, brought his head down upon her other knee, then used the downed mans metal rod to club him backwards into a bin.

“You stupid bitch! Get her, damn it!”

Lia picked up the man that once gripped her, flung him around into the fence, clubbed him over the head, then flung him back into the other group. One of them avoid the pile-up, then lunged at her. But, to his failure, Lia shifted out of the way, grabbed his arm, span him and flung him into a brick wall violently. Two of the men got up, and ran to either side of her. One had removed a chain and started to spin it around. Lia, balancing on her one skate, waited for one to make a move before continuing her attack.

After a short stare down, the man on her left with the baton, swung downward at her. But his aim was shocking and he missed with out Lia having to make much a move. However, it wouldn’t have mattered had the other man whipped her with the chain. But, with a baton still in her own grip, she lifted it up and had the chain wrap around it. She pulled the man forward, span him into the other, then forced them both down as she rocketed her knee into their faces, breaking both their noses.

The last man left, the “boss”, removed a 9mm from his under his jacket and aimed it at Lia. Now things had just become past dangerous. Without hesitating, he opened fire. With gracefulness, Lia sped around, kick off a wall and used her weight to force him against a wall. It became a struggle for the weapon as the man shot wildly, leaving her with no choice but to restrain him and hope that the clip would run out before she was shot. Instead, the man shot his own foot, twice. He cringed, and fell, whining and swearing at Lia.

“You fucking bitch! You got me shot in the fucking foot!”

She bent down, took the gun off him, and threw it into the garbage. She then calmly walked over, picked up her other skate and began to place it on as the man continued to swear at her.

“Come on! Get up you pussies! Don’t let that bitch get away!”

His orders were useless. All the others were either knocked out or had the brains to give up on the fight. The man whined again, then his eyes flared up as sirens rang out. Lia smiled evilly at him, and then sped off again, leaving the group behind to be discovered by the police.

She then realised what time it could be.

“Oh no” She whined.

After weaving through the ally-ways, she finally emerged outside the building. The large clock up overhead read nine fifteen. It was far too late already. She hung her head low, and plumped herself down on a bench outside. She inhaled a deep breath and let it out as she massaged her temples with her hands.

“You alright, Lia?” Spoke a man, sitting down net to her.

She looked up, then across at Damien, a worried look on his face.

She sighed. “No. I just missed my chance of getting a job here because of,” she considered her words, “delays.”

Damien gave a considerate look before he offered her his coffee. “You better head off home. You look really stressed out.”

Lia didn’t say anything; instead she sipped at the coffee and gave a slight nod.

“Hey. I was feeling a bit bad about having to run out on you last night. So, I figured if you weren’t busy, we could try that first date again. There’s a good Romantic Comedy down at the cinema just two blocks down from here.”

She looked at him and smiled warmly. “Yeah. I’m not doing anything tonight.”

Part 2

Later that day, while Lia sat down in her lounge relaxing with a cup of tea, the familiar polyphonic ring tone of her pager went off. She reached into her pockets, wondered where she’d put it, then remembered. She put the cup down, leaned up and over the coach, and pulled it out of a red handbag discarded on the nearby table.

She flipped it open and read the message before closing it and sighing. She put it down and stared into her tea for a while before lifting the cup and draining the remaining liquid.

It didn’t take her long to slip into a sleek, yet elegant skin-tight costume and cover it up with an old blue dress before heading off. But instead of going downstairs, she popped open the window at the end of the hallway, slipped on some nylon gloves, then grabbed a hold of a telephone cable and used it to slide down onto the rooftop opposite. Then she began to run across the rooftops, jumping from one to another as a superhero does in movies. She got the edge of the block, chucked a left and run across there, leaping over each gap as she did. One building was a little too short to simply jump to, so instead she grabbed around the pipe, and slid down, her dress flailing almost as a parachute. She pushed off and tumbled back onto the roof before getting up and making her way over to the next buildings door. She opened it, went inside, then flicked open a small panel and entered a few digits. A small optical lens came out, and she placed her eye onto it.

In a room far below where she was, some people were sitting in chairs doing the usual procedure of making sure the retinal and now, as Lia placed her hand onto a pen space where the wall had opened up, her fingerprints. They matched a picture of her with her face, and then hit some switches to open up a hidden elevator.

After heading down some odd twenty meters below ground level, the elevator stopped to let Lia off. She walked onto a catwalk suspended another twenty meters from the frantic ground level below her filled with people going about various duties, whether it be simply working behind a computer, testing a new device, or passing across information to each of the seven districts.

This was where Lia’s true work lay. A large agency known as the ‘Falcon Shadow Agency’; an agency that was specially created by the government to proceed with investigations that were far too difficult or dangerous for any other government controlled beau.

The agency was divided into its seven districts, each devoted to its own different level of investigations. The seventh-district was for low-level agents. Those that weren’t yet trained enough to tackle anything dangerous, and the first-district was the highest level. Set up for only a mere few agents that were capable of completing tasks that for most would lead to inevitable death. There were two people in that level, and their identity was kept secret, even from those working at that level. All the way from seven to one were the different levels. Lia, herself, was only able to work at the fourth-district.

She weaved her way through small crowds until she reached the entrance to her meeting room. She imputed a code into the panel near the door and entered an oval room. She sat down in the nearest seat available at the circular table, even though she could have really sat almost anywhere. Of the twelve seats, only four were occupied.

Three seats to her right sat the same blonde-haired man who she’d handed the mirror to at the restaurant. Leon had only worked at the agency for only a few years, but he’d made it to this level rather quickly with his veteran skills at gathering intelligence and covert operations.

Two seats from him was Jason, a rather tall and muscular man with a brutish look. He was as tough as iron and more dangerous than a chunk of it landing on your head. Lia had known him for all their time at the Agency, and even before they were taken in.

Three seats from him, in the larger seat, was the district manager, sometimes referred to as a captain. None of us knew his name. We were only told his code, and we referred to him as that. Number Four wasn’t too tall and lacked muscle. But he was tougher than his looks perceived. Back when the agency was just starting off, each district manager had to run operations on his or her own. To be the manager of the Fourth-District would mean some high level of skill in a few fields. To be the manager meant to be in the highest. If Number Four were a mere agent he’d most likely already be at least at Second-District.

Finally he stopped fiddling through a small file, and then pulled out a remote and activated a hologram in the middle of the table.

“Here he is. The man we’ve been tracking. William Mulheimer. Now, finally, that part of our work is done. He’s running some underground operation in which he smuggles illegal arms to various crime rings, including ones he operates, which we’ve worked out is quite a few, including the Russian Mafia that’s allocated here in New Gettingsburg.”

He flicked the hologram over to a series of photos of the mafia gang and the other two under his command. “As you can tell, he’s more a threat than we would have liked, which is why this operation has fallen onto you and not Fifth-District.”

Without waiting, Leon interrupted. “So what’s the job?” he said eagerly.

Number Four looked at him, then clicked up another image of a hologram that started to run through what was going to happen as Number Four explained.

“Our target will be having a meeting here at his restaurant, Chanūte Dé Mon. It’s a private party for invite only guests. Security will be tight. So, Leon, I need you to hack into security systems. Camera’s, lasers, all of them. You’ll have a short period of time to get it done. Jason, I wont you to be our lookout. If we know Mulheimer as well as we should, he’ll have some of his crooks patrolling a perimeter. So I need you, Jason to eliminate any roof-top security.” The hologram displayed a ventilation shaft. “Lia, you get the fun part. There’s no way we’ll be able to sneak you in through the front door, but, if Leon can deactivate the lasers and hack the camera’s, you can infiltrate through this vent and make it into the a secure room. Your choice, I’m sure your instinct will help you. All you need then is to change into something for the party, and slip our good friend this. “Number Four held up a small item smaller than a pea. “Inside are many nano-bots. They will get into him and cause convulsions. He’ll be desperate to use the toilet. I hope you don’t mind a little game of cat-and-mouse. You find where he goes, sneak in, and kill him off.”

“Sounds like fun.” Remarked Lia.

“Jason, you’ll need to secure an escape point for her. As I said before, there will be lots of security. And Leon, you’ll need to make sure that you can keep both Jason and Lia up to date on any dangers that you detect with your hacked system.”

“No problem.”

“This operation needs to be executed quickly and without fail. The operation is tonight at seven-thirty. I want you in and out in less than fifteen minutes.”

They all nodded in understanding. They knew this was going to be tough. They had a window of fifteen minutes to get it all done and get out safely. Missions like this were the kind that would get you killed on the spot, and Mulheimer was the kind of powerful man who could do so and still get away with it.

They stood up and made their way through the main door and back into the crowded work area. Outside a man stood in front of a bench covered in different bits of equipment. He scribbled down on a note pad before putting it by his side and readjusting his glasses. He nervously smiled, then cleared his throat before speaking.

“Okay.” He cleared his throat again. “We’ve got your things all ready. Um. Leon, here’s your keys. We’ve supplied you with a van to do your work with. It’s got all the equipment you’ll need to hack into their system.”

Leon smiled eagerly as he took the keys. He’d always enjoyed playing with special equipment and managed to turn his hobby into a profession.

“Okay. Jason, is it? Yes, of course. I have here some night-vision goggles, stealth suit with inbuilt anti-radar. Grapple. A standard issue, Vulcan 2000 Revolver, with stun, tranquilliser, silencer and .355 calibre rounds. And also a spec-ops knife.”

“No thanks. I’ve got my own knife to use.”

Jason, naturally, specialised in hand-to-hand combat. But he was also an ace shot when it came to firearms. He had once been doing a mission on Spain during the running of the bulls and ended up getting caught between a brick wall and a very angry bull. He’d wrestled it to the ground and managed to knock it out for at least an hour.

The man looked at his notepad, flipped a page before he looked at Lia. He stared at her eyes, quickly adjusted his glasses and blushed slightly.

“Um, for you, ma’am. We have grapple, dart gun with tranquilliser rounds.” He lifted up a small case. “And your gown.”

Lia took the case and popped it open to have a look.

“Um, I’m sure you’ll be very pleased with that. It’s been tailored to fit you perfectly.”

Lia gave a quick look and was about to question how they would have managed to get it to fit perfectly without measuring her up beforehand when the man turned around, popped another case and removed a short sword.

“This is the Mark IV Tiger. It’s a sword like the standard one you use, but with a few modifications.” He squeezed a trigger and the blade extended to a full length. “It’s made from a specially fortified steel, so it’ll hold up a long time, even if you were to hack into a concrete wall.” He half looked up at her. “Not that you’d want to do that.” He retracted the blade again. “It’ll serve you well, ma’am.”

Lia took the sword off him. She stared the blade down from handle to tip before taking a step back to swing it. She performed a quick manoeuvre before picking up its sheath from the table and slipping it in.

“Nice balance. You tech-guys just keep making them better and better each time.”

The man blushed again and let out a half smile before clearing his throat again. “Well, that’s all I have for you. Best of luck on your mission tonight.”

The man walked off, wheeling the bench in front of him. Jason gave a curt nod and strolled away. Lia was almost about to go off too before Leon stopped her.

“Hey.” Lia turned to face him, his eyes gleaming as he smiled. “You take it easy okay. It’s better you don’t get too frazzled before the operation. I… We don’t want to see you get seriously hurt.”

Lia smiled, “Don’t worry Leon. I’m not going to get into any trouble I can’t get myself out of.” She said, returning the smile as she pivoted around and started to head off and prep for her work.

As she walked along, she remembered she was supposed to have a date that night.

“Oh… damn it. I’m going to have to try and get this done quickly! I almost forgot I was supposed to meet Damien down at the cinema at eight!” She let out a sigh while she hurried up the steps to the elevator carrying her things with her.

Part 3

The clock hit seven twenty-seven. In three minutes the operation would commence. Lia and Jason sat back at a safe distance from the building as Leon waited in his tech-van to hack security. Already they had prepared for their mission. Leon had hacked most the laser systems already and was slowly taking command over all cameras and starting a video loop so Lia could get through without detecting, and without security realising that something was wrong.

Jason has smeared a black paint across the exposed flesh of his body to hide his presence further. He had his knife slipped into a chest holster for it and the .355 calibre revolver slung on his right thigh. He rolled back his sleeve and checked the clock.

“One minute till we commence. I’m going to head off now. You better start too.”

Lia acknowledged with a nod and started to make her way to her entrance. She’d suited up in the same skin-tight costume she’d placed on earlier. He sword was strapped conveniently from her back. She doubted the need to use it at ay point during the mission, but it was in easy access in case things took a turn for the worst. She took the grapple a latched it onto a rooftop. She checked her watch, and executed a delicate black-flip from the roof as soon as it hit seven-thirty. The grapple’s cable lengthened with only a whisper as she glided down, landed feet first on the wall and began to scale down to cable. She unhooked one grapple and grabbed a hold, then began to slide downwards.

“Two guards on your roof Lia right near your vent. Lightly armed with nothing but a baton and pistol.” Spoke Leon over the intercom.

            She landed on the roof, took cover, and placed a fingertip to the communicator under her ear. “Can you distract them?”

“Negative.”

            “I can” Said Jason.

Lia poked her head around the corner to spy on the guards. Without warning, one dropped. The other looked at what had happened to his company in shock just before he fell to the ground as well. Lia scrambled over and noticed some darts protruding from their necks. She had no idea where Jason was to pull of the shot, but wherever he was, he’d done it efficiently.

“Thanks Jason.”

“My pleasure.”

“Okay Lia, the lasers are off. Make your way through. I did a check and your best spot to get out is straight forward from where you land. When you get to your second turn off, head right and you’ll be above the lady’s toilets.”

            “Confirmed that. I’m entering the vent now. Beginning radio silence.”

She lifted off the grate and slipped inside. She made little noise as she landed with gracefulness and began to sliver her way through the vent. She checked her watch. So far five minutes had gone by. That left ten. She made it to the turn off, slid through and made it to the toilets. She slowly lifted off the grate and poked her head just enough to get an idea of her surroundings. The room was empty all for one cubicle. She grabbed her case, hooked another grapple to the inside of the vent, partially changed from her costume to the dress and dropped down. Just as she landed she unhooked the grapple, letting it slide back upwards into the vent, and let the dress slip fully over. She adjusted in the mirror and headed for the door.

The restaurant was alive with excitement as people went back and forth socialising, eating and drinking. A harmonious tune emitted from a hired orchestra in on side of the room, leaving a sophisticated appeal to the function.

Lia slowly made her way through the room, casually looking around for Mulheimer. She made sure to not seem lost as she scanned the room until finally she spotted him sitting at his usual table surrounded by the usual group. Lia made her way closer and pretended to mingle. She was just enough in ears reach to hear him order a special drink from a waiter. That was her chance.

She followed the waiter away, picked up a drink from another, and waited. After a minute of disappearing behind a door, the waiter re-emerged with the special drink. Carefully, Lia made her way across, pretended to stumble, spilt some drink on the waiters face forcing him to stop.

“Oh my, I’m terribly sorry. I really can be so clumsy at times.” She wiped out a small cloth, wiped the spec of wine on the waiters cheek, and secretly dropped the nano-bot into the drink.

“It is no trouble, madam. We all make a mistake. Now, please move aside so I may deliver this drink.”

Lia faked embarrassment.

“Oh yes, my apologies.”

The waiter sifted himself past Lia almost angrily and delivered the drink to Mulehimer, who, upon reaching it, laughed and drunk sipped the drink to taste it, then finished it off in one gulp before ordering the waiter to fetch another. While he did so, she opened up a quick link.

“The treat is in the prey.”

“Roger that. On standby”

Lia checked her watch. There wasn’t much time left on the mission clock. There were only a couple minutes left before the mission began to run overtime. But, just as the nano-bots should, Mulheimer seemed to convulse forward, grabbed his gut, and stood up.

“My pardons, it seems I have to take a quick leave. Excuse me.”

Lia smiled. A couple minutes were all she needed. But suddenly the fire alarm went off and the fire sprinklers began to activate as a alarm activated. Without warning, the room started to fill with a thick smog that filled the area Mulheimer was at in only a few seconds. Lia hesitated as people began to flee out of the room. But, she regained herself and ran into the smog.

“Lia! What the hell just happened?”

“No idea! I’m going to find Mulheimer. Jason, get your arse into gear, I’m going to need a way out quickly!”

She fled through the smog as she tried her best to make out the silhouettes. Finally, she managed to make out the form of Mulheimer, struggling against the grip of another. Suddenly, a long object plunged silently through him and he fell forward onto the other forms chest. The object was retracted and Mulheimer fell to the floor. Lia came closer to make out who the other was. But, when the smog had cleared enough, all she could spot was a man wearing a complete ninja costume. The man noticed Lia and looked at her. His eyes seemed to widen in awe.

“Over here! Quickly!”

Both Lia and the Ninja looked over at the direction from where voices came. Guards were on their way to find Mulheimer. Suddenly, the Ninja threw a ball of gas at the ground and caused another puff of smoke to emit violently. Before Lia could see again, the Ninja had disappeared. She stood there for a few seconds before realising that she had to get out.

“Lia, get the hell to the back room. Jason’s cleared you a path. Make your way to the kitchen, and there’ll be a way through there.”

Lia ran, jumped through an opening to the kitchen, and tumbled towards the door. As she continued to run she kept thinking of the Ninja. She was completely dazed by what had occurred. They’d planned this operation for ages, and suddenly someone else had come out of nowhere and done all their hard work instantly. Finally she made it through the door and outside where Jason stood, gun in hand, ready to fire upon a threat.

“Come on.”

They both ran through the ally way and through an open factory and to safety far from where all the commotion was happening.

Jason panted. “What the hell happened in there?”

Lia focused herself. “I… there was…”

Jason shook his head. “Don’t worry about it, we better split up. We can find out what happened tomorrow, I’m sure.”

Jason patted Lia on the back and sprinted off, leaving her with her thoughts. Finally, she checked her watch. It was about five to eight. There was no way she’d make it to the cinema in time, but even if she could she didn’t think there’d be much point. After what had just occurred she ha become too restless. She pulled out her phone and dial in Damien’s number.

“Hello?”

“Oh, Damien, it’s Lia.”

“Oh, hi Lia. Ah, hey, do you mind cancelling the date?”

            Lia seemed shocked. “What? How come?”

“Troubles with work. I need to head out of town for a short while on a business call. I wont be back for a while. I meant to tell you earlier, but got caught up at work.”

            “Oh. Okay.” She sighed a relief. “It’s alright, I was going to tell you that I wasn’t up to going out tonight anyway.”

“Oh… Are you alright?”

“Yeah, I’m fine… I’m just not feeling too crash hot. Figured it’d be best if I stayed home and slept.”

There was a short pause. “Well, that means we’re both occupied then. Well, you take it easy. I’m sure you’ve had a really tough day.”

“Yeah… I have.”

There was another shirt pause. “Well, I better be off. Seeya’, Lia.”

“Yep… Seeya’.”

She hung up the mobile then plopped herself on the side of the street and moaned to herself. After another minute of re-cooperating, she finally got up and began to trudge home.