I awoke at nine in the morning to the sound of the world ending. The apocalypse was finally happening-- humanity had pissed off Gaia for the last time. Earthquakes, rapture--- Damien fucking O'Shalna snoring. I sat up rubbing the sleep out of my eyes and cussing him out under my breath. "This is why we couldn't live together--" I stopped when I noticed the way in which he had fallen asleep. There were two beds in the hotel room. And just like a male, he chose to fall asleep on a couch in front of the television. [i]Eh? The Red Sox won? I'd better turn this off before he wakes up...[/i] I reached over him to motion for television to turn off. His hand snapped out and caught my wrist as the shadow of my arm crossed his face, he squeezed hard. "Ah-ahooww-Da-" I knew he wasn't awake, but it hurt. With my other hand, I pinched the bridge of his nose. The snoring stopped. His hand wasn't letting go. "Cummon... don't make me do it... don't make me..." We played chicken for a few more moments and I wondered bleakly how anyone could sleep though this. I lost, and let go of his nose, "Fuggin'sox" he mumbled, and then his hand went slack with sleep. "I feel ya' buddy... I feel you..." rubbing my wrist I headed straight to the intercom. "I need room service" [i]['Yes, what may we bring to you madam?'][/i] "I need" I held my breath, glanced over at Damien, and then asked in a small voice "I need the Blue Lion" [i]['...It may be a moment, is that okay?'][/i] "How long?" [i]['About an hour'][/i] "Fine." [i]['Anything else we can bring you? Breakfast?'][/i] "None for me. But I will need a board. Bring what ever you have available I'm not picky about the model" [i]['Yes madam right away'][/i] A thought occurred to me. I made a mad dash to the bathroom. Flat lined when I saw that the button that said "Cosmic Sun Bath". A then emerged half an hour later rebirthed into some semblance of my former life. I eyed myself in the mirror and almost laughed: metal soled boarding boots, hair gelled and tousled into perfection, siren led lips, shades. [i]Hello Drizzy baby, it's been a while, no?[/i] There was a polite knock at the door and I snatched the board from the service guy and reached into his left pocket where I knew he kept complimentary chewables. "Do you have the Blue Lion?" He looked confused and I stopped him short, "That's okay. I'm going to go for a little run. I'll be back before it gets here." "Madam, I--" I was sure he was going to say something about me riding on the board inside of the hotel but I really didn't care. It's not like I was hurting anyone-- rules. Pft. Snapping my gum. [i]I'm sick of rules.[/i] A few people gasped on the staircase and hugged the flocked wallpaper the hoverboard slid down with relative smoothness. I tested the throttle. Not bad. I leaned backwards to test the breaks. Mmmhph, maybe a little delay on the breaks... I felt the wind leave my chest. [i][b]Thump.[/b][/i] "No boarding in the Ritz Carlton." The woman at the front desk stared me down. She held up a little tablet to show me that it was she who had cut out the magnetic grid to the lobby. Unclamping the braces from my board, I bent my knees and stood up from where I had fallen. [i]She waited until I was three feet from the exit to cut the power off?[/i] I grinned my best 'fuck you' grin and lugged the board through the revolving doors. Outside, New York felt great. It had been a while since I had hovered along the city's underground grid. [i]Damn it felt good. Maybe I should have ignored mom and gone pro instead of going to college. I'm leagues better than any of the boys not counting... well... Avan's gone... So I suppose he doesn't count anymore...[/i] A sudden fluttering feeling comes to my chest. Not butterflies. Moths. An image of his dead body flashes through my mind and I begin to feel queasy. [b][i][Eeep.][/i][/b] [i]Oh, hell.[/i] I pushed in the 'talk' button on my wrist and a woman's scrambled voice greeted me with: [indent][center][b]The Widow[/b]: Where do you think you're going? [b]H[/b]: You can see me? I'm not surprised. How many fingers am I holding up? [/center][/indent] I hold up both middle fingers, ducking and dodging pedestrians on the sidewalk-- some guy selling doughnuts calls me [i]jank[/i] when I barely miss skiffing the top of his foodcart. Another vendor selling wristbands holds out his hand and I take the free 'Jaka Knee Vibrations' band and slip it on. Cruising a steady five in the walking lanes past a pack of girls with shopping bags. I spot the coffee vendor ahead and swoop in lower to swipe a java from the counter. It's okay. I didn't steal it, it's shitty and past the point of filter change. I was doing him a favor. I put the cup to my lips and cringe. Yeah. Hell, it's civic duty. [indent][center][b]The Widow[/b]: It is not wise to jeopardize the mission. [b]H[/b]: Mission one. Bagel King. [b]The Widow[/b]: It is also not recommended that you get anymore involved with the O'Shalna boy.[/center][/indent] Hot coffee splashes the back of my throat and I begin to cough. [i]Holy shit, was she serious?[/i] I almost run into a pole but I reach out and swing my legs out in front to make a full circle heading right back to the hotel. Jamming my heel into the throttle I zip into the fast lane. [i]Bagel King another time.[/i] [indent][center] [b]H[/b]: So, you were watching us then, too? [b]The Widow[/b]: It couldn't be helped. [b]H[/b]: That's messed up...can I have a copy? [b]The Widow[/b]: Miss Fenten, I would advise you to hurry back to the Ritz. It seems like there are some unexpected diversions occurring. Ask for Live Hardware at the front desk and open it somewhere unseen. Proceed with caution. [b]H[/b]: A gun? [b]The Widow[/b]: Precisely. [b]H[/b]: What the fuck am I going to do with a toy? [b]The Widow[/b]: Miss Fenten, Live Hardware I will be providing you is unlocked and able to be used by civilians-- [b]H[/b]: That's impossible. Nobody can hack a gun to work unless they're in the gover-- Oh. I see. [b]The Widow[/b]: No more questions. Just Hurry. I believe the case may not be isolated for very long. We cannot afford to rouse the staff's attention. [/center][/indent] ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- I burst through the entrance only to fall flat on my face. "No boarding in the Ritz Carlton, [i]Madam[/i]." the same lady who waved the tablet at me earlier clicked her tongue. I looked up but couldn't see my room from this vantage point. Still, I kept my eyes trained upwards for anything suspicious-- two staff. Big men far too large to just be bellboys walking fast towards the room, each of them appearing to cradle something under their blazers. [i]Fuck. They've got guns too? What the hell is going on?[/i]. I get up. Fall. And then twist so that I'm turtle-up in the middle of the lobby. "Madam. There is [i]no[/i] boarding in the Ri--" "I know!" my fingers fumble unclamping my boots. "Just give me Live Hardware. It's listed under Fenten" She watches me with a flummoxed expression, probably wondering if I was under the influence. Nevertheless, she vanished a moment only to reappear with a black case. "Here you go...Live Hardware. You going to the arcade with it?" Eyeing me with a funny look she waited with it behind the counter until-- [i]My god did she actually expect a tip?[/i]. I lunged across the granite top and snatched the case. Looked up. The two men had disappeared. "Not the elevator..." There was already a line waiting for it and the few carts with luggage that looked like it could require multiple trips. I reckoned if I could board my way up it would take me three seconds flat. "Hey." I said, "There's a kid over there pissing in the fountain." Success. "Nooooooooooo pissing-- I mean-- urinating in the lobby!" As soon as she left I lifted my hips over the counter and switched the magnetic grid power button to 'on'. Gunned it to the board and hopped on without bothering to strap in. My fingers felt cold. Steady. Something within me-- I dunno, grim determination-- whatever it was, I felt like a tigress before the kill. I sped down the hallway and unbuckled the case. It looked just like an arcade gun. My god. My stomach churned, erasing all previous feelings of confidence. It really just looks like a toy. The only difference, was that the black metal part did not light up or have a score screen with my name on it. "Just a little longer..." I jump off the board and go tumbling with momentum while it speeds off to it's own accord and crashes into a door. Soundproof. Fuck. My first visit I had been grateful for it, (Damien's roar. A fetish? Sue me.) but now it killed me. Had they caught him while he was still sleeping? Selene, had she noticed? [i]I'm about to double-tap someone in the head. Why am I okay with this?[/i] When I opened the door, I raised the weapon with practiced aim. [i]This isn't some arcade Helen... this is real.[/i] The room was silent. Blood streaked across the floor. "Damien...?" I whispered. Though I couldn't manage much more. My ability to form words had stopped. I might have been the only woman in western hemisphere relieved to see a 900 pound tiger step from the around the corner "Jeeze... I wasn't sure... Are you bleeding?". The jungle cat growled a low, dangerous growl. It advanced on me and raised one paw to the front of my torso. Hardly flexing, it collapsed me and I watched nervously as the feline's claws slowly extended... In the next moment it became a hand, gripping my shirt. "You're here," his face was carved out stone, "they didn't take you." A statement of the obvious. His face hovered over mine with a look of eerie calmness. Damien motioned to something by the wall. A silver sphere. "The Blue Lion...?" "Now how do we open it?" "Good question." I gave him another moment until he moved away and I sat up and felt privileged that he had allowed me to live. Where are the bodies? Who were the guys posing as hotel staff? And...Why is the window open?