Full Circle
Tony
Disclaimer: I don't own F/X or it's characters and am not making any profit from this story.
Part 1:
Rollie walked up to the entrance to Hunter Studios. He sighed, and pushed open the door. He had spent a week not answering any phone calls, not responding, not taking any job offers. He mulled over in his mind over and over again what Angie had told him, how he could never change, how she couldn't face him. He mulled over how she had walked right out the door and he hadn't said a thing. He had sat around the loft and realized how empty it was, how alone he truly was. His only close friend, Francis, was spending time with his wife, of course. Mira was busy with police work, and she wasn't exactly a come over and hang out friend, anyway. Without Angie, Rollie didn't have anyone.
Then the bills started coming in and he realized that he'd have to keep working, working without Angie. He had neglected work for quite some time through the whole ordeal, and now he was feeling the monetary stress. When Jay Hunter called for the ninth time, he'd answered. He'd explained that Angie was away, didn't explain why, so he was short handed. Jay was actually happy, he had said he had the perfect assistant for him, at least for this job.
Jay had offered an exorbitant amount of money for this movie, titled "Takeover," where a group of terrorists stage a takeover of the White House. It promised to be a huge action picture with an all star cast. Rollie couldn't afford to turn it down. Still, he knew his heart wouldn't be in it without Angie. She had promised to write, to let him know how she was, and where she was, but that didn't change Rollie's loneliness. He wished now he hadn't taken her so for granted.
Rollie walked up to the receptionist, who verified his appointment for 10 am. He then walked through the large wooden doors into a spacious twentieth story office with a huge view of New York. Jay Hunter spun around in his a chair. He was a large man, an inch taller than Rollie and far broader. He smiled a huge smile, his white teeth dazzling. He stood, his dark brown hair just turning grey at the edges. His voice boomed, even though he wasn't trying to yell.
"Rollie Tyler!" he said, laughing, "At long last!"
He got up out of his large leather seat and reached over, clasping Rollie hard with his meaty hands on the shoulders. Rollie winced slightly and smiled back.
"Good to see you too, Jay," he said weakly.
"Hey, sit down," Jay said, "want a cold one? I've got a bunch in the fridge."
"Nah," Rollie said, "I'm here to talk business."
"Right," Jay said with another smile, "and that's just what we're doing. I'm producing and directing the biggest blockbuster to hit the screens this year, at least it will be, after you give me the biggest, and the best F/X you can! I mean explosions, car crashes, people falling off buildings, helicopters crashing, the works! You know, bigger than real life!"
Rollie smiled a sideways smile. Real life for normal people maybe, but for him, that had been daily life for the past month.
"Who's this assistant, Jay?" Rollie asked.
"Ah," Jay said, looking down, "well, Rollie. I wouldn't give you someone I didn't trust implicitly. Someone I didn't think could do the best job possible. Someone who could maybe top that lovely assistant you had. In fact he should be here-"
The secretary buzzed.
"You're son is here, Mr. Hunter," she said.
"Send him in, Gladys," Jay said.
Rollie turned and the door flew open. A young man stood in the door way.
"Yo Pop!" he yelled, arms outstretched, "I'm here!"
Jay grinned and belly laughed. Rollie raised his eyebrow.
"Rollie, meet Jay Jr.," Jay said, gesturing at his son.
Jay Jr. was not nearly as large as his father. He stood a head shorter than Rollie, and was no more than twenty one. He was blond, and good looking in a college frat-boy sort of way. He had crew cut blond hair, and a small gold earring. He wore a thin gold chain around his neck, and a single silver college ring. He was clothed in beige slacks and a striped shirt, which half hung out of his pants. He swaggered up to Rollie.
"Yo," he said, slapping Rollie's hand, "good to meet you, bro."
"Nice to meet you," Rollie said.
"Jay Jr just got his bachelor's in computer science," Jay Sr. said proudly, "fresh out of college and ready to work!"
"Yeah," Jay Jr. said, plopping down on a seat and putting his feet up on his father's desk, "long as I don't have to work too hard."
Jay Jr. titled his head an eyed Rollie.
"Yeah, I remember you," he said, "I saw you on the set a few years ago. You and that babe, yeah. Do I get to work with her? What was her name, Abbey, Alley?"
"Angie," Rollie said dryly, "and no, she's on sabbatical."
"Too bad," he said with a grin,"I wouldn't mind going on sabbatical with her."
Rollie's fists clenched and he forced a smile.
"Well, it's just me," Rollie said.
"Oh well," Jay Jr. said, shrugging, "I'm sure there'll be plenty of babes on the set, eh Pop?"
Jay Sr. nodded, chuckling.
"My son is quite the ladies man," he said, smiling.
"So I gather," Rollie said, "listen, Jay, why don't you send me the script, I'll look it over, see what we can do, all right?"
"That's fine," Jay Sr. said, standing up, "I've got some downstairs, Jay Jr. will take you up."
Rollie tightly smiled again.
"Ok," he said, "lead on."
Jay Jr. sighed and slid out of his chair. They walked out of the office. A pretty young woman walked by and Jay Jr. pinched her in the butt as she did so. She gasped and spun around, when she caught sight of Jay Jr. her face flushed.
"I told you about that, Jay," she said angrily, "do that again and I'll kick you so hard somewhere every male in your family will feel it. Boss's son or not."
Jay shrugged, and then grinned as she walked away.
"Oh yeah," he said to Rollie, "that girl is crazy about me. But then, they all are."
He swaggered out the door, and into the elevator. Rollie sighed, then followed.
* * *
Angie braced herself as the plane landed in Hopkins Airport with a soft jolt. Ever since she'd fallen out of one without a parachute, she'd felt a bit skittish, but she had made it all right. She had spent a long time figuring out where to go, what to do. First, she'd said goodbye to some friends, Mira was the most upset, then started looking up some old ones. She'd found one, Mary Hostetler, her old college roommate. They'd been best of friends, could talk about anything, and Mary could help with any problem. But Angie had lost touch with her after college.
She had found her again though, and Mary was anxious to see her again. Mary was back living in her hometown, Cleveland, Ohio. Angie had decided to go visit her, first off, for a change of pace and some reminiscing. She filed off the plane with the rest of the passengers, a back pack slung over her shoulders. She walked into the airport terminal, and glanced around. Finally she saw a young blonde woman holding up a sign that said, 'Angie'. Angie smiled and ran over toward her.
Mary ran towards her as well and they met in the middle in a hug.
"Mary," Angie said, "oh it's good to see you."
"Not as good as it is to see you," Mary said smiling broadly, "Ms. Bigtime special effects, stunt coordinator, doer of all that is Hollywood."
Angie blushed.
"Well," she said, "I wouldn't say that."
"We have got a lot of catching up to do," Mary said, "I've got a room all set up for you at my house, don't even think about going to a hotel."
Mary had always been forceful, and Angie could never say no to her, besides she didn't want to.
"Ok," she said with a grin, "I'll stay with you, like old times, let me get my luggage."
They walked through the busy airport to the luggage carousel.
"How's life in Cleveland?" Angie asked.
"Oh, great," Mary said, "I've got a great job, and living single in the big city is fun."
"Any boyfriends?" Angie said with a mischievious grin, remembering Mary's college days.
It was Mary's turn to blush.
"Well, there was this one guy," she said softly, "but that's important. What I want to know about it you. Up there in New York, with all the glamour, and that cutey you work with, what's his name?"
"Rollie Tyler," Angie said softly, "but we'll have time for that."
Angie picked up her luggage, and Mary helped her with it.
"Let's grab something to eat," Angie said, "I'm starved."
Mary nodded, then suddenly paled as she stared across the busy terminal.
"Mary?" Angie said, "What's wrong?"
Angie turned in the direction Mary was looking, but she didn't pick out anything. Then Mary grabbed her arm.
"Come on," Mary said with a tight smile, "let's go."
"Is something wrong?" Angie asked.
"Oh no," Mary said, "nothing. Just anxious to hear all about you."
Mary glanced over her shoulder a couple of times though as they walked.
"Are you sure nothing's wrong?" Angie asked.
"Sure I'm sure," Mary said, "come on, I know a great restaurant near here."
* * *
Rollie followed Jay Jr. through the maze of cubicals. Hunter Studios had an entire floor of offices, for writers, and other odd workers. They had stacks of scripts for various projects in one section. Jay picked up one.
"Here you go, R-man," he said, tossing it to Rollie.
The large script flew through the air and hit Rollie in the stomach. Rollie grunted and caught the thing. He rifled through it a bit, and nodded.
"All right," he said, "that's all I'll need. I'll get back to your Dad real soon."
"Hold on, RT," Jay Jr. said, "I'm coming with you."
"What?" Rollie asked.
"Yeah, since I'm gonna be working with all your stuff," Jay Jr. said, "Pops thought it would be a good idea if I started, you know, messin' with it now."
"Oh," Rollie said, then shrugged and sighed, "well, I suppose that's true."
Jay Jr. nodded.
"Yeah," he said, "that and I could use a few nights away."
"Excuse me?" Rollie asked.
"Well, rather than goin' back and forth," Jay Jr. said, "I'll just crash with you for a few days."
Jay walked up close to Rollie and put his arm around him.
"To tell you the truth," he said softly, "my old man has been gettin' on my case about my, social habits. He's got a lot of work to do at home anyway, I kind of, you know, get in the way. It'd probably be best if I wasn't around for a while. Anyway Dad thought it'd be nice if we got to know eachother. I mean if this works out, we could work together, like, all the time!"
Rollie smiled weakly again.
"Imagine that," he said.
"Anyway," Jay Jr. said, reaching behind the papers, "I'm all ready."
He pulled out a small brown suitcase, out of which a pair of underwear and a shirt stuck out. Jay Jr. held out his arms and grinned widely.
"Let's go," he said gleefully, "roomy!"
* * *
Angie and Mary sat in a small cafe in downtown Cleveland. Sitting in front of the large picture window, Angie bit into her corned beef sandwich.
"So," Angie said between bites, "how's life in Cleveland?"
"Oh great," Mary said, "plenty to see and do. I'll have to take you to all the sites! I've got a full day for us planned tomorrow. We can go to the rock and roll hall of fame, a couple museums, go shopping at Tower City, and there's this night club down at the flats you have-"
Mary trailed off, stopping in mid bite as she stared out of the window. Angie glanced outside, where crowds of people were walking.
"What is it?" Angie asked.
Mary shook her head.
"Nothing," she said, resuming eating, "I just thought I saw something, that's all."
"What?" Angie asked, "Come on, Mary, you never could hide anything from me. You've been jumpy since I arrived."
Mary sighed.
"I've got reason to be," she said sadly, "it's my boyfriend."
Angie raised her eyebrows, and sat back in her chair.
"Tell me," she said.
Mary looked at the ceiling.
"Oh my," she said, "where to begin. Well, his name is Ricardo Montagna, the most gorgeous guy I've ever seen in my life. Anyway we met at this nightclub, went out on a few dates, and I just fell in love with him. He was suave, and sophisticated, so completely different from all the guys I dated in college."
"But," Angie prodded.
"But," Mary continued with a sigh, "he turned out to be a big mistake. He was involved in some sort of gang. They robbed some banks, and some jewelry stores. No one got hurt, but still that's what they did. I didn't find out about till, like, after three months of dating. I was really upset, but Ricardo promised me he was quitting, that he just needed the money to pay for his Mom's hospital bills, and to bring the rest of his family from Cuba. I believed him, then-"
"Then what?" Angie said, concerned.
"Then his boss came around," Mary said, "once he tried to quit. They wouldn't let him, said he owed them, that we was too important, knew too much. Oh, his boss was a creep, this real tall thin guy they called 'The Snake.' He gave me the creeps, gave Ricardo the creeps even more. He told me that he was sorry, that he couldn't leave, and that if I left him he'd understand. So I told him I'd have to, I couldn't be with him while he was a criminal. That was our last date, then-"
Mary sniffed and looked down.
"Then as we were walking out of the restaurant," Mary said, "a car drove buy. There were some guys in it and one had a gun. They shot him, Angie, they shot him right there next to me. He dropped to the ground, I was screaming, they were hooting-"
Mary was trembling and a few tears escaped from her eyes.
"I knelt over him," she said, "tried to do something, got blood all over me, his blood, but it was too late. He was already dead. I don't know why they killed him."
"Oh, Mary," Angie said, putting her hand on Mary's, "that's awful. What did you do?"
"What could I do?" Mary said, "I cried. I talked to the police more than I cared to. In the end there was nothing I could do, he was in a gang and that's the price you pay sometimes. That all happened two months ago."
Mary wiped her eyes.
"I thought I'd put it behind me," she said, "but then weird stuff started happening. I kept getting this weird phone calls, some guy disguising his voice telling me 'turn it over or die.' I mean, I had no idea what the guy was talking about, and it was probably just some idiot kids or something, but it still gave me the creeps. I keep thinking I see that snake guy behind me, watching me."
Mary shook her head.
"I mean," Mary said, "you can't imagine what it's like to be shot at! To fear for your life! Here are these people, with these weapons, and all it takes is a pull of a trigger-"
"I know," Angie said, "I really do know."
Mary's eyes met with Angie's.
"Something happened to you?" Mary asked.
Angie nodded solemnly.
"Yes," Angie said, "more than you can imagine."
"Oh no," Mary said, wiping her eyes, "and here I am ranting on. What happened?"
Angie took a deep breath. She decided to tell Mary everything, she always had when they were in college. Then something caught Angie's attention at the corner of her vision. A red sports car had pulled up and stopped in the middle of the street in front of the cafe. Two men were in the car, both wearing dark sunglasses. The passenger pulled out a gun.
"Get down!" Angie yelled, grabbing Mary and pulling the both of them to the ground under the table.
People in the restaurant screamed as automatic gun fire erupted shattering the glass which tinkled to the floor around Angie and Mary, and sending tufts of smoke all along the walls as bullets hit. Glasses, plates, cups, and all assortments of objects shattered and broke as bullets hit them and people dove out of the line of fire.
Then the gunfire stopped. Angie had covered Mary and she slowly raised herself off the floor, taking her arms off her head. Mary was shaking. The car had driven away and people were running up to the cafe off the street. The people next to them were murmering, checking themselves and their companions. One woman was crying. Angie took a deep breath and looked at Mary who's face was paler than the white plates they'd been eating on.
"I think," Angie said, "you're going have to talk to the police a little more."
* * *
Jay Jr. followed Rollie up to the van, now just out of the shop where the bullet holes had been repaired. Jay Jr. stepped inside.
"Whoa!" he cried, "Totally Star Trek, dude!"
He began running his hands over various instruments, and pressing a few buttons.
"And you, like, use all this stuff?" Jay Jr. asked.
"Uh, yeah," Rollie said, "you know at least something about most of this, right?"
"Oh, yeah, no problem dude," Jay Jr. said, "I can handle anything you can throw at me."
"Good," Rollie said, "we use the equipment in here for multiple purposes. The main computer system is tied in with the one at my loft, and into the P.D.A's we carry around. Using a remote satellite hook up they've got a range all through out the city."
Rollie picked up a P.D.A., Angie's old one, and handed it to him.
"It's multi-platform," Rollie said, "and can handle an assortment of executable programs and other formats. It's touch sensitive and will reply to most standard programming languages, as well as a specialized one."
"Yeah, sure," Jay Jr. said nodding furiously.
Rollie looked at him, and sighed, Jay Jr. was holding it upside down. He grabbed the P.D.A. and turned it around.
"Can I drive, bro?" Jay Jr. asked, "I'd love to see what this set of wheels could do."
"I don't think so," Rollie said, and drove off.
Jay Jr. scooted up to the passenger seat and rolled down the window.
"You got a radio in here?" Jay Jr. asked.
"Yeah," Rollie said, pointing.
Jay Jr. flipped on the radio and turned it to a hard rock station. He cranked up the volume and began bobbing his head furiously, playing air guitar. Rollie reached over and turned it off.
"Maybe we'll listen later," Rollie said.
Jay Jr. shrugged, then his head snapped around as a pretty jogger came down the street next to him.
"Hey, baby, want a ride?" Jay Jr. asked with a grin.
The woman turned, and with a look of disgust turned forward again. Jay Jr. leaned far out of the window and began barking and howling at her. She shouted an obsenity back at her. Rollie grabbed him by the back of his shirt and hauled him back inside.
"Do you mind?" Rollie asked.
"Aw, lighten up, dude," Jay Jr. said, "I'm just havin' a little fun."
"Right," Rollie said, "fun."
Jay Jr. leaned back in the chair and put his feet up on the dashboard. He let his arms drop to the sides and accidentally hit the chair reclining button. The chair titled back suddenly and wildly, and Jay Jr.'s legs flipped up and hit the ceiling as he tumbled backwards in the chair.
"Whoa!" he yelled, "Dude!"
Rollie didn't even look at him. It was going to be a long movie.
* * *
People crowded on the streets as the police blocked off the area around the cafe, and put yellow tape around the window. They would board it up soon. A few waiters were cleaning up the shattered glass off the floor. One, red haired, spoke to another dark, curly haired young man.
"Not exactly in the job description, eh Tony?" the red haired one asked.
Tony grinned.
"You're not kidding," he said, "I think I'm putting in for safer work, like a crash test dummy."
Angie and Mary were standing talking to a police officer.
"I didn't get a real good look at the men," Angie was saying, "they were wearing dark glasses and I was more worried about getting out of their way."
The officer nodded.
"The cafe owner doesn't know why they'd shoot up his restaurant," the officer said, "anyone of you have any reasons?"
Angie glanced at Mary who furiously shook her head no. The officer finished writing on his notepad.
"Thanks you ladies," he said, "if you think of anything just give us a call."
He walked off to someone else.
"Mary-" Angie started.
"I don't know that it was aimed at me," Mary said, "it's been two months! If they wanted to kill me, they'd have done it a long time ago."
"Did you recognize those men?" she asked.
"No," Mary said, "they were probably just some gang going through initiation or something."
Angie was unconvinced, but she respected her friend's decision.
"Ok," Angie said, "so now what do you want to do?"
"Make up for your first Cleveland experience," Mary said, brightening up again, "trust me, that kind of stuff doesn't usually happen. I'm sure the cops will catch them anyway."
Angie and Mary walked out of the cafe, after the owner apologized to them, and got in her car. They drove off in silence.
"Well," Angie said half smiling, "that wasn't the first time, for me. I've had lots of excitement since I left college."
"Really?" Mary said, "Tell me about it."
Angie leaned back and recalled the first bit of excitement she and Rollie had had, with Leo, when Rollie had been framed. She began to tell a few stories, Rollie and Luther Cale, herself being blown up, kidnapped, and frozen. Mary gasped at all of them.
"I can't believe it!" she said, "And you just do all this stuff, willingly?"
Angie smiled.
"It's not quite as simple as that," Angie said.
They pulled up to Mary's apartment building, and got out. They went into the building, and up to Mary's apartment on the third floor. Mary put the key in the lock.
"Don't mind the mess, please," she said sheepishly, "you know me. But still, mi casa es su casa."
They walked in the door and someone slammed it shut behind them. Mary gasped and Angie spun around to face a huge thug behind her. Two other men were standing in Mary's hallway, and a fourth got up off the couch in her living room.
"Ms. Hostetler," the tall thin man said in a Cuban accent, "so good to see you again, especially after Ricardo's, um, tragedy."
Angie was ready to hit the guy behind her when he pulled out a gun and aimed it at them.
"Come, sit down," the thin man said, gesturing to a seat, "we have to talk."
* * *
Rollie pulled up to the loft and he and Jay Jr. hopped out. They entered and Jay Jr.'s eyes popped open. He spun around in a circle, trying to take everything in.
"Whoa!" he cried again, "Dude! Is this all yours?"
"Yeah," Rollie said, tossing his jacket on the couch, "it's mine."
"Awesome!" Jay Jr. cried, picking up a monster mask "And you like can make all this stuff?"
"Yeah," Rollie said, "I can make it."
Jay Jr. ran over to another mask.
"Dude!" he cried again, "This is, like, the monster from 'Mutant Sand Creatures part 3'! I loved that movie!"
Jay Jr. put the mask up to his face and began stalking around the loft, arm outstretched, roaring.
"Would you mind putting that down?" Rollie asked.
Jay Jr. tossed it back and began rummaging through more things. He picked up a fake laser pistol and began making shooting noises, firing at imaginary enemies. Rollie walked over to him, plucked it out of his hands, and put it down.
"In fact," Rollie said, "why don't you not touch anything."
Jay Jr. shrugged, and followed Rollie to the computer system.
"This is what you'll be working on," Rollie said, "dual sets of ultra-fast microprocessors, complete with multiple interfaces, cross platform acceptance, programmable VLSI chips, and a host of other stuff."
Jay Jr. sat in front of the computer, nodding.
"I'll bet you can play some steller games with this baby," he said.
"Probably," Rollie said, "but I don't have any one there. At least none for you to play with."
"No problem," Jay Jr. said, "I've got plenty."
Jay Jr. began flipping through the computer's file directory system, and the multiple numbers of programs they had installed on the system. Rollie's eyebrows raised at the speed at which Jay Jr. moved through, and seemed to assimilate the information.
"You getting all this?" Rollie asked.
"Oh, well, I got like this photographic memory," Jay Jr. said, tapping his head, "comes in handy now and then."
Rollie nodded, surprised, and left Jay Jr. to his work.
"Dude you got any bruskies?" Jay Jr. asked.
Rollie walked over to the fridge and pulled out two beers, he tossed one to Jay Jr. He grinned and began to shake up the can. Then he popped it open, the contents flying all across the room while Jay Jr. cackled in a high pitched tone. Rollie looked down at his shirt, now spotted with beer.
"Oh sorry, dude," Jay Jr. said, "it's my way of, you know, marking my new territory."
Rollie looked back up at him, rage in his eyes, to which Jay Jr. was oblivious.
"So," Jay Jr. asked, "like, where do I sleep?"
* * *
Angie and Mary slowly sat down on the couch across from the thin man, who sat in an easy chair across from them.
"Who are you?" Angie asked, "And what do you want?"
"I am 'el serpiente'," the man said.
"The Snake," Mary said, angrily, "I recognized you."
"I thought you would," the man said.
The Snake looked just like his name. He was very tall, and very thin. He had jet black hair which was slicked down and pulled back on his head. He wore dark glasses which came down over his beak of a nose. His movements were long, and lithe. Angie could have sworn she heard a hiss in his voice.
"What do you want?" Mary asked, echoing Angie's question.
The Snake titled back in the chair and put his black wing tips on the coffee table. His long black overcoat slid open, revealing his black sweatshirt and jeans. He twisted a simple gold ring on his finger.
"You were Ricardo Montagna's girlfriend, no?" he asked, "That is before his untimely demise."
"You know that," Mary said, her eyes cold as steel.
The Snake nodded.
"He cared very much for you, you know," he said, "he was ready to leave us because you wanted him to."
"Except you wouldn't let him," Mary snapped back.
The Snake shrugged.
"He was one of us," he said, "he had taken an oath, he had been trusted. He was our brother."
"He knew too much," Angie said.
The Snake turned to her, he dropped his glasses slightly revealing beedy black eyes and looked her greedily up and down.
"Yes," he said with a sly grin, lisping the 's' slightly, "that's true as well. And what is your name, my sweet?"
"Angie Ramirez," Angie said tightly.
"A beautiful name," the Snake said, "for a beautiful lady."
He turned back to Mary.
"Ricardo cared so much for you I believe he would have trusted you with anything," the Snake continued, "even the most valued of possesions."
"So?" Mary asked, not seeing where he was going.
"So," the Snake continued, "shortly before his tragic death, we, obtained a small item of great value. Well, great value to the right buyer, anyway. However, somewhere in shipment, it was lost. I believe Ricardo stole it. We could not find his hiding place though. Then I thought, perhaps he told you where he hid it, or perhaps-"
The Snake leaned forward.
"Gave it to you," he said.
Mary shook her head.
"I don't know what you're talking about," she said, "Ricardo never told me about some 'thing of value' or gave me anything you might want."
The Snake leaned back again.
"I thought you might say that," he said, "still, you wouldn't mind a small search of your apartment, would you?"
The Snake snapped his fingers and two of the men began rummaging through Mary's drawers, pulling out things and tossing them to the floor. A glass vase shattered as one man picked it up and dropped it. Mary and Angie jumped at the crash.
"I don't have anything," Mary said, through gritted teeth.
"Maybe not," the Snake said, "but if we do find it, we know you were lying and we kill you."
The Snake eyed Angie again.
"If not," he said, "we'll just have to find some, other, ways to have some fun."
He grinned and the large man who held the gun on them grinned as well, chuckling softly. Angie took the opportunity while the large man was laughing to lash out with a kick. Her foot struck him square in the groin and with a moan he leaned over. Angie wrenched the gun out of his hand and stood up, covering the men.
"Get back!" she yelled, "Hands up!"
She saw two of the men start to reach for their pockets. She fired a shot above them, and they stopped immediately.
"I said hands up!" she yelled.
Mary stood up beside her. The large man and the snake began to fan out slightly around her, making her unable to cover all of them at once. Angie reached behind her, opened the door, grabbed Mary's hand, and dashed out. They ran swiftly and bounded down the stairs.
"After them!" she heard the Snake cry.
Angie began to scream fire, and people began to peak out of their apartment doors. But no one assisted their cries of help. Angie reached the door, hearing the pounding as the men followed her down. The ran out into the street, and Angie looked left and right. There were no police in sight, only a few pedestrians. Not much against a gang with guns. Mary and Angie dashed down the sidewalk, people skeetering out of the way of them, and then the gang of men after them.
Angie dashed into the street, a car screeching to a halt just in front of them, horn blaring. She pulled Mary along behind her, weaving through traffic, but the men still followed. She dared a glance behind her, and the large man was in the lead, no doubt looking for a little revenge. Angie dashed down a street and immediately realized it was a mistake. It was a dead end. She turned, but the men were already there. The large man had his gun out, and was grimly smiling.
The Snake walked up from behind him.
"A nice try," he said with a smile, "too bad it didn't work."
* * *
Rollie walked into the VR chamber, leaving Jay Jr., the boy wonder, to his work. He slumped in the chair and sighed heavily. He rolled his neck around, and heard popping as he loosened, tight from stress. So much had happened in just over a month, really. It was all too much for any person to take in. He understood why Angie had left. He was still clinging, strangely, to the desperate idea that she didn't love him. Why did he want that so much?
Rollie pulled up the remote control and popped on a scene. It was Australia, of course, he always pulled up the awe inspring landscape when he was depressed. Aborigine music played softly in the background.
Why did he want Angie to not love him so much? He looked up. Because if she loved him, they couldn't be together. If she loved him, she would have to go away, like she did. If she didn't, they could be friends, like they always had been, nothing more. Things could go back to normal, Rollie could have his best friend back.
Rollie rubbed his temples slowly, a headache coming on. Instead he had Jay Jr., not quite an even trade. Rollie went over in his mind his history with Angie. All the time they had spent together. The times he had teased and tortured her like a big brother. The time they had bonded when Manny died. She had cried for days after that, and Rollie cried with her. They had forged something, that was for sure, but Rollie never thought of it as anything more than friendship.
Well, Rollie admitted to himself, maybe more than friendship. But nothing romantic. Never. Then again, he had, subconsciously perhaps, realized her hidden jealously when he would date other women. He had seen her glances at him, but he'd always changed their meaning in his own head. Ignored her. How painful all these years must have been. Rollie knew what it was to have an unrequited love. It hurt. It hurt bad.
Rollie sighed heavily again. The last thing in the world he had ever wanted to do was hurt Angie. Yet, as he looked at his actions over the last month, looked at when she had said goodbye, that's exactly what he had done. It was too much for him, that was what he had kept thinking, he had never stopped to think what it was doing to Angie. He knew Loubar had hurt her, but he didn't realize that he had. A terrible thought struck him.
What if Loubar's raping her, was not an seperate act? He had done so as Rollie. Maybe the rape was just an extension, a climax, of the pain Rollie had already been causing her. All the times Angie had left the loft at night, alone, to go home to her apartment, alone. All the while feeling that way.
Rollie felt a lump in his throat. Little Angie. Manny's little Angie. He had promised himself, a last promise to Manny, really, that he would take care of her. Yet another vow he had failed to keep, and at what a price.
Rollie peered at the remote control, and flipped a few buttons pulling up the menu of scenes. He backed up a bit through the file system and found a picture he was looking for. He hit the button and, filling the screen, came a picture of he and Angie at a cast party they had attended a few months ago. He sat next to her, leaning close to her, they were smiling. He had his arm around her. He hadn't had a second thought about that. He smiled at Angie's happy face, then the smile faded. If only she had known what was to come.
He sighed again, his eyes watering. Rollie leaned far back in his chair, and hit the zoom button, filling the screen with Angie's face, blocking out his own.
"You know Ang," he said softly, "you look better that way."
* * *
Angie's teeth clenched and she gripped the barrel of the gun tightly. Her heart was racing and a bolt of adrenaline was running through her, making her feel that she could rip down the wall if she had to. Mary cowered behind her.
"Put the gun down," the Snake said, "or we kill you."
Angie's eyes narrowed. She hated guys like him. She had known plenty, and they always acted the same way. Smug, superior, like she was worth nothing. Like she was just something for them to have fun with, like Loubar had had fun with her. She tossed the gun in the air and their eyes followed it.
Angie took that moment to rush into the Snake head first. He fell backwards with a grunt into the large man, who had had his gun out. They both fell to the ground. Angie grabbed Mary's hand and darted around them. The other two men were there as well though. One got in Angie's way and Angie found her favorite spot to kick. As he began to fall to floor, red in the face, Angie tried to take off again. A hand caught her foot and she stumbled.
The large man had grabbed her. The Snake was up now, gun out. He got up close to her and she could smell his reaking cologne and a slight scent of garlic. The Snake sneered at her.
"You're trying my patience," he said putting the gun to her face.
He grabbed her by the hair and tossed her back into the wall. Angie hit it hard and it knocked the wind out of her. He gestured at Mary and she ran to Angie's side, whimpering.
"I am going to enjoy teaching you a lesson, woman," the Snake said, "on how to respect a man."
The Snake thumped his chest with the words.
"How to respect El Serpiente!" he cried.
"Respect this," a voice said from behind.
Then suddenly the fourth man, the only who had been untouched by Angie, was flying into the third, just getting up off the ground. Angie caught a glimpse of a man in a gray jogging outfit, but that was all. The large man spun around, and Angie saw the jogger's foot lash out and hit him square in the jaw. The large man spun on his heel, falling.
The Snake was spinning also, but before he could aim his gun the jogger's other foot hit the Snake's hand. The gun flew and smacked against the wall, and another kick sent him sprawling against the wall. The Snake growled and came at the jogger in a rush. The jogger sidestepped the man, grabbing hold of his wrist. With a judo move he sent him flying across into the other wall. One final punch and the Snake fell to the ground, unconscious.
The jogger picked up the gun and yelled for everyone to stay on the ground. He glanced at Angie and Mary.
"Are you all right?" the jogger asked.
Angie and Mary nodded slowly, both speechless.
"We'll get the police," he said.
"Who are you?" Angie blurted out.
"My name is Jordan," he said with an easy smile, "Jordan Hunter."
Jordan Hunter was a head taller than Angie with dark brown, extremely wavy hair. He had somewhat thick eyebrows, and was, apparently, in very good shape.
"Well, thank you," Angie said, and Mary nodded in agreement.
"No problem," Jordan said, "just so happened I was jogging this way when I heard your trouble. A shame about these kind of people, far too many of them in the world."
The large man shifted and Jordan spun around to him again.
"I said don't move!" he yelled.
The large man froze. He turned back to Angie and Mary.
"So," he said with another smile, "what are your names?"
* * *
Rollie paced back and forth above the stairs. His head was down and he was muttering furiously. Where was Angie? She had said she would 'keep in touch.' Let him know where she was. He knew he shouldn't be with her, but he needed to know she was all right. What if she was in trouble? What if she was in danger?
Rollie shook his head. Angie had proven herself capable. More than capable. She could take care of herself, no doubt. Rollie walked down the stairs. Jay Jr. was rummaging around the computer desk.
"Looking for something?" Rollie asked.
Jay Jr. flipped around fast.
"Oh," he said, "just wondering if you had, like, a joystick anywhere."
"Why?" Rollie asked.
"Well," Jay Jr. said, "you've got this awesome modem connection speed, and these huge harddrives, so I, like, downloaded a couple of things to, you know, pass the time."
Rollie raised an eyebrow.
"What time?" Rollie asked.
"Aw," Jay Jr. said, "you know. Down time. Relaxing time. You can't work nonstop you know. I have to have a break now and then while working to cool down, have a little fun. Takes the stress off, man. You should try it."
Rollie frowned.
"And just how often is 'now and then'?" Rollie asked.
Jay Jr. shrugged.
"I don't know," he said, "depends. I usually need a kick every hour or so. Keeps the mind from slipping into monotony."
"Every hour?" Rollie said, aghast.
"Yeah, about," Jay Jr. said, "with a bruskie thrown in between. Works wonders for the, you know, creative juices."
"You're not here to have 'creative juices,'" Rollie said dryly, "you're here to work. To program, to organize, and most of all to do what I say. Got that?"
"Yeah, dude," Jay Jr. said, holding up his hands, "no prob."
Rollie nodded and walked away.
"Testy," he heard Jay Jr. mumble.
Rollie rolled his eyes. He decided to run through the script. He had to take his mind off of Angie, she would contact him when she was ready. She was probably off somewhere peaceful, with no guns, no goons, and no police.
* * *
A police officer took the gun from Jordan. Four police cars had responded to the call, hauling in the criminals.
"Yeah, we've dealt with these guys before," the officer was saying, "real nice guys. Call themselves 'The Snakes' because their leader is named 'the Snake.'"
"Very creative," Angie remarked.
"You'll have to come down and file charges,," the officer said to Angie and Mary.
"With pleasure," Angie said.
The officer walked away and Jordan looked over at them.
"So," he said, "you sure you're all right, um, Angie and Mary you said, right?"
"Yes," Angie said nodding, and smiling, "that's right. And we're fine. We want to thank you for your help."
"Any time," Jordan said with a smile, "so, where are you from?"
"I live here in Cleveland," Mary said, "Angie's visiting from New York."
Jordan raised his eyebrows.
"New York?" he said, "What a coincidence!"
"How's that?" Angie asked.
"My father owns Hunter Studios, a film making company," he said, "they're stationed in New York. I lived there my whole life, till I transferred here, that is."
"Hunter Studios?" Angie asked, "So your father is Jay Hunter? The company I...used to work for...did some work for him. Tyler F/X?"
"Oh yeah!" Jordan said nodding, "I've heard of you guys before. My Dad's mentioned you a couple times too. So just visiting a friend? On vacation?"
"Something like that," Angie said with a tight smile.
"Well," Jordan said, "you've got to get down to the station, and I have somewhere to be as well."
"Oh," Mary said, "well, you live around here?"
Jordan nodded.
"I'll probably be seeing you around," Jordan said, "nice meeting you."
He jogged off before they could say anything. Angie glanced at Mary, both of them had their eyebrows raised. Mary smiled slightly.
"Cute," she said.
Angie didn't reply.
* * *
Several hours later, 'El Serpiente' stood shifting on a street corner, at a pay phone he had been instructed to be at. He had been sitting in the cell fuming, when the officer to his surprise told him he was free to go, though he had a court date, becuase someone had posted bail. He had been surprised, but glad, flipping the tie of the officer with a snicker as he walked out. A man in a dark suit met him outside the station and handed him a note with the instructions. He answered the phone when it rang. The voice across the other line spoke in a vaguely Middle Eastern accent.
"We bailed you out, Mr. Rodriguez," the voice said, "we don't forget our friends."
"Hey thanks, amigo-" the Snake started to say.
"However," the voice interrupted, "you have still failed to bring us the merchandise. We have been patient, very patient. However, our patience is limited."
"One more chance," the Snake said, "I believe I know where it is, or at least who has it. All I need is another chance. I almost had it but I was, stopped, by, by a force of police officers! Several of them with guns-"
"Enough," the voice said, "you have forty eight hours to retrieve the object. After that we handle it ourselves, and tie up loose ends such as yourself."
"I understand," the Snake said gravely.
"Good," the voice said, "once you get the merchandise, bring it to us. Then you will be paid."
"Yes, of course," the Snake said, "don't worry, man. I'll get it."
"Be sure that you do," the voice said, and hung up.
* * *
Angie and Mary sat in Mary's apartment, after cleaning up the things that had been damaged. It was evening now, and they were both exhausted and worried from the days events.
"And Ricardo was involved with these guys?" Angie was asking.
"Yes," Mary said solemnly, "I knew it was bad. But he was already in, and it was too late. They're just a bunch of small time crooks, but, they still can kill."
Mary's words trailed off. Angie put her arm around her friends shoulders.
"It's all right," Angie said, "I know what it is to lose someone close to you."
Mary nodded, her head still down.
"You really don't have any idea what they might have wanted?" Angie asked.
Mary shook her head.
"No," she said, "Ricardo never mentioned anything about what they did to me. He knew it upset me. Oh, Angie, he loved me, and I loved him, and it got him killed."
"No," Angie said, "his involvement with those people got him killed, it's not your fault."
"I know," Mary said, "but it doesn't hurt any less."
Mary sighed.
"And Ricardo only gave me one thing of any big value," she said, "in fact he gave it to me at the restaurant, just before he got shot down."
Mary walked to a dresser drawer and pulled a ring out of her jewelry box.
"I don't wear it all the time," she said, "it reminds me too much of him."
Angie took the ring and looked at it. It was of fine craftmenship, a solid gold woman's ring with a small diamond seated on the top. She looked it over.
"Ricardo was going to ask to marry me," Mary said, "but first he wanted to get out of the gang. He said he wanted to give me the ring to wear, and he would ask when the time was right."
Angie peered under the ring, and something caught her eye.
"Mary what's this?" Angie asked.
Mary peered over to where Angie was looking. There was a small circular grove on the inside of the ring, under the diamond.
"I don't know," Mary said, puzzled, "some sort of logo? Or maybe a mark from when they put the ring together."
Angie shook her head.
"Get me a pair of tweezers," she said.
Mary retrieved a pair and Angie poked them against the grove. It moved. She pushed it further and it slipped and fell off the ring, revealing a minute circular hole in the ring. Mary gasped.
"What's that?" she asked.
Angie squinted. Something was in the hole. She reached inside with the tweezers, and steady as a surgeon pulled the object out. It was a tiny, flat, rectangular object with a few glinting metallic looking pieces. Angie held it up to the light.
"It's a microchip," Angie said in wonderment.
"A microchip?" Mary gasped, "In my ring? Why?"
"Because Ricardo hid it there," Angie said, eyeing it closely, and nervously, "and I'll bet anything that this is what our friends are looking for."
* * *
Rollie was half way through the script in a couple of hours. This movie had really big action sequences, and some special effects that were going to be pretty mind boggling. Rollie's creative brain was already tingling with the prospects. He would have to call in his usual crew, there would be a lot of stunt work to coordinate, and a some rather intense gunplay.
Rollie sighed. Angie would have loved to work on this. Rollie admitted to himself that her abilities were half of his creative genius. He would think up how to do it, and Angie would make it happen. She would anticipate what he wanted. He would say for her to do something, and she would already have it done, or have done it a better way.
Rollie glanced over his shoulder to see Jay Jr. rummaging through his refrigerator. He had pulled out another beer and a large chicken leg. He bit into it ferociously ripping off a piece with his mouth. He glanced up at Rollie and, with a large piece of chicken hanging out of his mouth, saluted him with the leg. He saluted to quickly and the chicken leg smacked him in the forehead with a thump. He staggered a bit.
"Dude!" he said with a mouthful of chicken, "Whoops."
He laughed at himself and walked back over to the computer. Rollie sighed yet again, and, for the millionth time in only a few days, he missed Angie.
* * *
Angie tossed and turned for an hour before finally falling asleep at midnight. Still the events of the day, the month, the year whirled around in her head in mazes of twisting dreams. She saw many faces, Rollie, Mira, Loubar, her father. She saw guns and danger and death. She laughed and then cried as she jumped from one dream to the next. Subconsciously, Angie realized the dreams were a lot like her life, going from good to bad, good to bad. The only steady good thing had been Rollie Tyler, and she had given that up.
Angie woke up with a start and sat straight up in bed. She had heard a thump coming from the living room. She slipped out from under the covers and slid her slippers on. She ripped the lamp next to her bed out of the socket, and carrying it in one hand she peeked out of her bedroom door.
She snuck down the small hallway and spotted a figure rummaging through the kitchen cabinets. It was pitch dark, but as the figure turned his face caught a glint of moonlight through the window and she was the silouette of a beaked nose. The Snake, no doubt. Angie couldn't get to the phone, it was across the room.
His back was to her, so Angie steeled herself for the thousandth time, and screamed. Running forward she caught the Snake completely by surprise and belted him across the chin with the metal lamp stand. He cried out and arms wheeling he fell to the ground. Angie screamed again and began to pummel him with the lamp.
Mary ran out from her room and caught Angie beating on the Snake.
"Call the police!" Angie yelled between blows.
Mary ran to the phone. Angie swung again but this time the Snake grabbed the lamp and twisted it, throwing Angie off balance. He bounded up off the floor and Angie faced him. The Snake with a lightening move reached to grab the set of kitchen knives on the counter. He didn't look where he was grabbing, watching Angie, and grabbed a soup ladle instead.
He peered at the thing, and his eyes opened wide as Angie came at him again. He tried to bat her aside with the ladle and threw himself over the countertop into the living room. Angie followed him, still screaming. This time the Snake was ready for her and he grabbed her arm in mid run, flipping her over and onto the floor.
The Snake raised his fist to punch her when a figure streaked across the room and with a wild scream landed on the Snake's back. Mary bit hard into the Snake's shoulder and he screamed. They spun around and around as the Snake tried to get her off of his back, but Mary wouldn't budge, like a championship rodeo rider.
Angie got up off the floor and kicked the Snake in the stomach as he spun toward her. He backed up and fell across the coffee table, he and Mary spilling onto the floor. Mary took her fingernails and raked them across his eyes. He screamed and while he put his hand to his eyes Angie bashed him in the face with the lamp.
A tooth and a bit of blood from his mouth spouted out and flew across the room. The Snake with a lung jumped up and not quite able to see still took a blind swing. Angie connected with the lamp again, across his jaw. The Snake spun and stumbled into the window. Angie heard a tinkle of glass and the Snake slumped to the ground, unmoving.
Angie and Mary walked slowly to him, and then carefully turned him over. A soft circle of blood was slowly growing on his chest.
"He's been shot!" Angie gasped.
Angie glanced up and out the window under which the Snake was now laying. She caught a glimpse of someone's back on the roof of the next building. That person was hurrying away. She walked up the window and looked down. Three men were hurrying out of the building at the ground floor, and heading their direction.
"Uh-oh," Angie whispered.
"What is it?" Mary asked.
"We'll have to leave him here," Angie said, "come on. Grab a coat, we're getting out of here."
Mary ran and got two coats and tossed one to Angie. Angie ran and grabbed the ring and microchip out of the dresser drawer. They were going to take it to the police the next morning.
"But why?" Mary asked.
"No time to explain," Angie said, "but we're about to have company."
Angie and Mary bolted out of the apartment and Angie hit the elevator button. She nervously stood while the elevator slowly ascended. Finally it beeped and the doors slid open. She and Mary walked in and the doors began closing just as the next elevator slid open. The three men walked out and one man glanced back spotting Angie and Mary. He jumped forward, but the doors had already finished closing.
Angie and Mary reached the ground floor and standing outside of the doors was Jordan Hunter. Angie gasped.
"Jordan!" she cried, "What are you doing here?"
"Follow with me," he said, "you're in terrible danger."
"Wait!" Angie said, "Who are you? How do I know we can trust you?"
"No time," he said, grabbing both of their hands.
Against her better judgement, Angie followed Jordan as he led them out of the apartment. He ran and open the door of a black sedan.
"Hop in," he said, "quickly."
Angie and Mary glanced at each other, then hopped in the back of the car. Jordan peeled off just as the men ran up to the car. They sped down the light lit streets.
"Ok," Angie said, "now tell us, who are you?"
"My name is Jordan Hunter," he said, "I already told you that. For the rest, you'll have to trust that I can't divulge any information. Suffice it to say I'm a good guy, and I'm trying to protect this country."
"What are you talking about?" Angie asked.
"You found the microchip, didn't you," Jordan said.
"How did you know about that?" Mary gasped, before Angie could say anything.
"It was stolen," Jordan said, "by some very dangerous terrorists. There's a lot going on here you don't know about, but know this. That microchip makes the difference between the life and death of thousands, maybe millions of innocent people. Where is it?"
"Hold it," Angie said, "you still haven't told us who you really are. I don't know if you're bad or good. I'm not about to just give it to you, especially while I'm still wearing pajamas!"
Jordan sighed and turned a sharp corner. Angie saw his eyes in the rear view mirror, and then saw his arm shift as he reached toward his glove compartment. The light ahead turned red and Jordan slowed and stopped. Angie wasn't sure whether he was reaching for a gun or not, but she wasn't going to wait around and find out.
She popped open the door, grabbed Mary's hand, and slid out. She darted down the street, and heard Jordan cry to wait. She glanced behind her and saw him leap out of the car and take off after her. Angie willed her legs to run faster, and heard Mary panting next to her, out of breath and trying to keep up.
"What are you doing?" Mary breathed.
"Trying to keep us alive," Angie said, "I'm not trusting anyone till we get to the police."
Jordan was catching up as Angie dragged Mary behind her. Angie darted down a side street. She flew past a large dumpster and got an idea. She screeched to a halt. She pulled Mary to the ground and hid behind the dumpster.
"What are you doing?" Mary whispered.
Angie put her fingers to her lips and picked up a large board lying on the ground. She heard quick footsteps as Jordan ran down the street. He blazed past them and Angie yelled and ran up behind him, the board raised high. Jordan spun around but it was too late and Angie struck him on the head. His eyes rolled back in his head and he slumped to the ground. Mary walked up behind her.
"You're amazing, you know that?" Mary said.
Angie leaned over Jordan and flipped through his pockets. There was no gun, but also no police, or other law inforcement officer, identification.
"I don't know who this guy is," Angie said, "but he's not a cop."
"What are we going to do?" Mary asked.
"We have to get to the police," Angie said.
"Angie," Mary said, "those guys who chased us in my apartment were the police!"
"What?" Angie said spinning to face her.
"I saw a badge on one of them," Mary said, "as the doors closed. But they sure didn't look like they were coming to rescue us."
"What is going on here?" Mary asked, "Why are all these people after me, after this microchip?"
Angie pulled the small object, now sealed in a plastic bag, out and stared at it.
"I don't know," Angie said, "but we're in our pajamas and we can't go back to your apartment. So we can't go to the police, and there are thugs after us as well."
"Oh Angie," Mary said, beginning to cry and wringing her hands, "what are going to do? These people want me dead or something! They shot at me before and now they want to grab this thing! They'll kill to do it! We've got to get out of town! We've got to disappear! Change out identities! Something!"
Angie grabbed Mary's shoulders.
"Get a hold of yourself," Angie said, "we'll figure it out."
"But Angie," Mary said, "how are we going to get out of this? I can't fight off police and criminals, and sneak out of town unseen!"
Angie turned away from her. She stood for a long moment. When she turned back her mouth had thinned into a long, determined line.
"Maybe not," Angie said, "but I know someone who can."
* * *
Rollie finished going over the script and had compiled a list of equipment he would need for the coordination. He had already notified his usual crew, and had begun compiling thoughts for the F/X needed in some of the more spectacular scenes. He had put them on paper and given them to Jay Jr. to see what he thought, if 'thought' was the proper word for it.
Surprisingly, Jay Jr. had had some decent ideas on the computer graphics area, and some rather innovative, if unorthodox, approaches to the implementation. Rollie, although shruggingly, was impressed. He was no where near Angie, of course, but Rollie was willing to place him in the idiot-savant category, at least for now.
The phone rang and Rollie picked it up.
"Tyler F/X," he said.
"Rollie?" a familiar voice said.
"Angie!" Rollie cried, "Where are you? How are you? Are you all right?"
"I'm in Cleveland," Angie said, "and, no, I'm not exactly all right."
Rollie didn't bother to ask why she was in Cleveland, or even why she hadn't contacted him.
"What's wrong?" he asked.
Angie took a deep breath then gave a quick, concise synopsis of what had happened. By the time she was done Rollie was ready to leap out of seat and run to Cleveland if necessary.
"What do you need?" Rollie asked.
"To get out," Angie said, "and find someone we can trust. I need to get Mary and I back to New York, talk to Mira, or Van Duran."
"Ok," Rollie said, "but they're obviously after you."
"Right," Angie said, "we'll need to get out incognito, that's why I called you. Listen, I know-"
"Ang, love," Rollie said, "don't say a word more. I'm on my way. Where should I meet you?"
"The main atrium of Tower City," Angie said, "it's a huge mall downtown."
"I'll be there by noon tomorrow," Rollie said, "until then you lay low, ok?"
"Ok," Angie said, a note of relief in her voice, "Rollie-"
"I said don't say a word more," Rollie said, "first I get you out of there, then we can talk."
"Ok," Angie said, "I'll see you soon."
"Stay safe," Rollie said, then waited until Angie hung up.
Rollie immediately phoned the airport and purchased a ticket on the next flight out to Cleveland, which was that night, in only a few hours. Rollie ran upstairs, and began throwing a few clothes in a suitcase, he then placed a call to the normal shipping company he used. He instructed them on packaging some of the equipment he was going to bring, and they would be flown in the next day. Normally they wouldn't do that sort of work so quickly, but Rollie paid extra without a second thought.
He ran downstairs to Jay Jr. Jay had just placed Bluey back on the floor.
"What are you doing?" Rollie asked.
Jay Jr. grinned.
"Check this out," Jay Jr. said, "walk up close to him."
Rollie carefully moved close and when he was about fifteen feet away a huge roar came from Blue's speakers. A deep, guttural voice then spoke.
"Proximity alert," Blue growled, "intruder detected. Die mutant scum!"
Sounds of gunfire and explosions then came from him, while Jay Jr. laughed hysterically. Rollie turned red.
"Listen," Rollie said, "first off, I've got to go. I'll be gone for a few days."
"What?" Jay Jr. asked, "Why?"
"Don't worry about it," Rollie said, "but I'll call your dad, tell him I'll be delayed a few days on getting a response back to him."
"Hey," Jay Jr. said, "you don't have to do that. I'll finish up the proposal on cost and stuff, and give it to him."
"I don't think-" Rollie started to say.
"Don't worry, man!" Jay Jr. said, "I've worked with my Dad plenty of times, and you already wrote down everything. I'll just do a little computer work, see what it'll take."
"But I won't be here, so-" Rollie said.
"Well," Jay Jr. interrupted, "if you let me stay here, I'd get it done real fast, and stay out of my Dad's hair."
Rollie's eyes opened wide.
"Come on," Jay Jr. said, "you don't want to get on my Dad's bad side, I'll cover for you! I promise, dude, I won't break a thing."
Jay Jr. put up his right hand with a grin. Rollie sighed, if he wasn't in a such a rush, he would think it over more. As it was, he needed Jay Jr.'s help, so he would have to let him stay.
"Ok," Rollie said, walking up close to him, ignoring Blue's shouts of 'die mutant scum', "here are the rules. You don't touch anything except the computer. You sleep on the couch and bring no friends or other companions over. Everything stays as it is, and you program nothing that doesn't have to do with the movie."
Rollie pointed to Bluey, who now was snarling at Rollie.
"And you put him back to normal!" Rollie yelled.
"No prob, bro," Jay Jr. said, "consider it done. So where are you going?"
"Cleveland," Rollie said, his chest heaving.
"Oh," Jay Jr. said, "my brother lives there. He's an F.B.I. agent."
"That's nice," Rollie mumbled, and began to head back upstairs, "I've got a lot of stuff to throw together for shipping, just, just don't touch anything."
Jay Jr. grinned even wider than normal.
"Hey, dude," he said, "you don't have to tell me twice."
* * *
Angie and Mary sat in the small motel room they had rented. Mary had a small pocket book in her coat with a credit card. They had kept their coats over their pajamas, and the woman who owned the motel was nice enough to lend them a few articles of clothing. They sat together on the bed.
"So he'll really be able to help us?" Mary asked, speaking of Rollie.
Angie nodded.
"If anyone can," Angie said, "he can."
Mary nodded.
"You've got a lot of confidence in him," Mary said.
"I should," Angie said, "I love him."
Mary raised her eyebrows.
"Really?" Mary asked, "So you guys are-"
"No," Angie said shaking her head, then sighed, "it's a long story."
"I'm not going anywhere," Mary said, leaning back on the bed.
Angie smiled at Mary, and then delved into her story. She told Mary everything, from the time she had met Rollie to now. She spoke of his kindness when her father died, she spoke of the multiple times he had saved her and others lives. She spoke of all the times she had seen him with another woman and ached with pain and jealousy. She told her of how often she wanted to tell him, but never had. She told Mary what Loubar had done, and how that had finally revealed how she felt to Rollie, and how Rollie didn't feel the same way.
Angie and Mary laughed at some of the funny instances she and Rollie had gone through. Angie cried as she spoke of her father, and of Loubar, and Mary cried with her. Mary told her of her own trials, and her feelings when Ricardo had been shot down next to her. They cried further, this time for the loss of the innocence they had had while in college.
When they were done, Angie felt as if some weight had been lifted off of her shoulders. But then again, talking to Mary had always been theropeutic for Angie, her friend was like a sounding board for every thought, every emotion. Angie sniffed and wiped her eyes with a tissue Mary had handed her.
"You know," Mary said, "a thought just struck me."
"What's that?" Angie asked.
"Well," Mary said, "when your Dad died, Rollie took care of you right?"
"Pretty much," Angie said, smiling slightly, "he was great. I don't know what I would have done without him."
"And he took over your Dad's business, right?" Mary asked.
"Yes," Angie said tentatively, "so-"
"So," Mary said, shifting up, "I'm thinking back to college, and how you spoke of him then. You always talked to him about your grades, about how you were doing, you always seemed to eager to make him proud. He would ask you about your friends, and boyfriends, making sure you were hanging out with the right crowd."
"Yeah," Angie said, "I remember."
"Even though he's only a few years older than you," Mary said, "I always thought of him as sort of, a father figure, to you. He replaced your Dad, really, in the role he played."
"My father?" Angie cried, "Rollie? Oh, I don't think-"
"Think about it," Mary said, "he took care of you during the later part of your childhood. He took on the business your father had. You looked up to him, loved him, yes. Tell me, though, if Loubar hadn't, done what he had done, would you have ever told him how you felt. Did you really know how you felt?"
Angie pondered that question for a long moment.
"I would never have told him," she said, "and I think I blocked out my feelings as much as possible, because I knew they would never be returned. I just wanted to remain friends."
"But you were more than friends," Mary said, "you were brother and sister, maybe even father and daughter. Rollie may not be old enough to be your father, but after your Dad died that's the psychological position he took in your mind."
"But that's not the way I felt about him," Angie said, "I mean when I saw him with other women-"
"Every little girl," Mary said, "if their father divorces or something, is jealous of the women he sees. Every little girl wants to be the center of their father's attention. Rollie took that role, so that's how you felt."
Angie didn't respond to that. She sat staring down at the bed.
"Maybe," Mary continued, "you thought you felt that way for Rollie because he was close enough to your age, maybe Loubar pulled up an old crush from when you were little. But, in the end, the role he plays in your mind will never change. Maybe that's why you never really would have told him, maybe because you didn't love him in that way at all."
Angie held her breath for a long moment, letting Mary's words sink in. She thought about how she had thought about Rollie all these years. They way she had worked so hard to please him. They way they had joked when she was younger, and how he gazed at her like a proud father when she left on a rare date, dressed to kill. Angie thought about how he protected her with the vigilance of a big brother.
"You love him Angie," Mary said, "but let, for a moment, your mind open up a bit, and see the other possibilites."
Angie nodded slowly. It had been so hard to leave Rollie, but, was it because she was in love with him? In love with him like a wife loves a husband? Angie, all of a sudden, couldn't place her feelings. She wasn't as certain as she had been only a few days before. For the first time in Angie Ramirez's life, she thought that maybe she didn't love Rollie Tyler in a romantic way, after all.
* * *
Rollie sat in the window seat, staring out at the lit up city skyline slowly fading behind him. An attendant asked if he needed anything.
"No thank you," he said waving her away, and leaned back in his chair.
He thought of Angie. How much he had worried about her, how he had panicked in the moments he thought she might be dead. He thought about how his heart had dropped to the floor and shrunk into nothingness when she left. He thought about how he knew he would leap into the greatest danger, sacrifice his life at a moments notice, to protect her. He had dropped everything the moment she had called.
He knew he would miss her, but he didn't realize how much. The thought of her not returning was too much for him to think about. Rollie rubbed his forehead. He had always felt this way, ever since he had met her. He had always wanted to protect her. He knew he cared for her deeply, but he had always thought it was more like a little sister kind of love. Not the way a man loved a wife.
But when he thought of what Loubar had done, a foul taste came into his mouth, and when he thought of Angie in pain he felt he would do anything to make her better. He cared for her more than he had realized. He smiled as he recalled watching her grow into a woman, and the joys that had come with that. When had things changed? When had they changed?
Angie said he hadn't changed, and never would. But had he? Had this whole series of events made him finally realize something? Had it taken tragedy to make him realize that Angela Ramirez was the most important person in his life? Rollie stared out of the window again, watching the stars twinkle in the sky. A single shooting star streaked across and Rollie made a quiet wish, a wish to keep Angie safe. He closed his eyes, and for the first time in Rollie Tyler's life, he thought he just might love her in that way, after all.
* * *
Angie and Mary sat nervously on a booth in the middle of Tower City. Behind them was a maze of lush vegetation and a huge water fountain. The large, white tiles glistened and the clips of peoples heels echoes across the five story high ceiling. A large set of escalators was to their left as people moved back and fro, shopping. Angie wished she could walk about with their casual ease.
As it was, she and Mary had stopped in a store to pick up a few items of clothing, but only enough for a day or two. Angie figured they would be getting out of Cleveland real soon. Mary still couldn't believe that the police were trying to kill them, but that something far more sinister was going on. They just didn't know what, nor whom to trust. That was why Angie had decided to turn to the one person in the world she trusted absolutely, Rollie Tyler.
"I don't see anyone that looks like him," Mary said.
Angie glanced at the large clock hanging from the ceiling.
"We've got a couple of minutes," Angie said.
Angie squirmed a bit in her seat. She hated not knowing what was going on. First thing she would do when she got back to New York, was talk to Mira. She'd hand over the microchip, and let them handle it from there. No more guns and terrorists for her. Too, she would have to face Rollie again. But somehow, after her talk with Mary, that didn't seem so hard. Angie glanced around, then sat up. A dozen yards away, walking toward them in his long leather jacket, was Rollie Tyler.
* * *
"You lost them? You lost them? I don't believe this!"
Chief Michael Sturns, of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, threw his hands up in the air.
"An honored, always get his man, F.B.I. agent looses two civilian women, who don't even know what is going on!" he yelled.
Agent Jordan Hunter sat in the seat calmly.
"This are no ordinary civilian women I assure you," Jordan said, "at least, one of them wasn't."
"What?" Sturns said, "You mean they're involved seriously?"
"No, no," Jordan said shaking his head, "but this one, Angela Ramirez, she's not one to be messed with. Let's just say they surprised me."
The woman next to him, Agent Sheila Jones, snorted.
"I'll say," she said with a grin, "that lump on the back of your head proves it. Not that I blame her."
"Funny," Jordan said wryly.
"This is no joking matter people," Sturns said, "those women are in serious danger. They have no idea what they have in their posession."
Sheila shook her head.
"Unbelieveable," she said, "walking around with the key to the most sophisticated missile guidance system ever created. And not knowing it!"
"I've been getting it from above to find this chip," Sturns said, "the CIA are in on it, as well as a bunch of other organizations we don't even know about. If those Iraqi terrorists get a hold of it-"
"I know, I know," Jordan said, "they'll be able to launch from the moon, if they wanted to, and still hit the President right between the eyes."
"Exactly," Sturns said, "this thing has been out in the open for months now. We're unbelieveably fortunate no one has gotten hold of it."
"We've got to find them," Sheila said.
Jordan nodded.
"We will," he said, "because if we don't, they're not the only ones who will be in danger."
* * *
Rollie spotted Angie and her blonde friend, Mary, sitting on a white bench in front of the water fountain. He walked up to them with a smile. They both stood up.
"Angie," he said.
"Hey Rol," Angie said softly, "you remember Mary Hostetler."
"Yeah sure," Rollie said nodding and shaking her hand.
Rollie glanced around.
"I rented a car," he said, "and I've got a few pieces of equipment coming in soon. Why don't we go somewhere private."
Angie nodded.
"Sounds good to me," she said.
They began to walk off. Rollie opened is mouth as if to say something when Mary spoke.
"Um, guys," she said, "I just glanced over my shoulder and I think these two guys are following us."
"What?" Rollie said.
"They got up as soon as we did," Mary said, "two of them. About fifty feet behind us."
They continued to walk and Rollie glanced in a large store window. In the reflection he saw the two men she was speaking of.
"Could be a coincidence," Angie said, "then again, we do have reason to be paranoid."
"Let's find out," Rollie said, "see that escalator we're coming up on? At the last second, veer onto it."
They continued walking at a normal pace and just as they were about to pass the escalator, they jumped onto it in front of a couple. Rollie glanced behind him and saw the men stop and veer toward the escalator, somewhat more quickly than they had been walking.
"You're right," Rollie said to Mary.
"What do we do?" Mary asked.
Rollie glanced at Angie, and he knew she understood.
"We lose them," Rollie said, "on my mark."
They readed themselves.
"Go!" Rollie yelled and they took off up the moving stairs, pushing past people ahead of them.
Rollie looked behind them, the men were pushing past people as well, not worrying about being incognito anymore, their cover obviously blown. They reached the second floor and they took off at top speed, not worrying as much as where, but as to how fast they were going. The two men reached the top as well and were in hot pursuit.
Suddenly another trio of men appeared in front of them, also obviously heading towards them. The group skidded to a halt and veered off down another large hallway. People jumped out of the way as now eight people dashed through the crowds. As they came into another atrium a man stepped out directly in front of them. Tall and menacing with black hair he pulled out a gun.
"I wouldn't go any farther if I were you," he said.
Rollie looked back, the five men were starting to disperse as if nothing had happened.
"Come with me," the man said, gesturing with his gun.
The man seemed to be focusing on Rollie, seeing him as the biggest threat. That was a mistake. As they turned Angie lunged out kicking his outstretched arm, but he kept hold of the gun. Rollie grabbed him and began to struggle for the weapon and it went off striking the ceiling. People screamed and began running the other direction.
Rollie and the tall man spun around and around trying to gain the upper hand. Rollie slipped and they both tumbled to the ground. The five men that had been tailing them now converged behind them, cutting off escape the way they came. Angie saw a group of security men and a few officers heading their direction, guns drawn.
One of the men behind them came up to Angie and grabbed her. An elbow into his stomach caused him to release her. Meanwhile the tall man had wrestled away from Rollie and rose, gun out and aimed at his head.
"Freeze!" an officer yelled.
The tall man spun around and fired, missing, but causing the officers to scatter for cover. There was some return fire and the tall man was hit and fell to the ground. The other five men had also begun shooting and Angie and Mary dove out of the way, on the ground next to Rollie. That section of the mall was cleared out now, people having fled. An officer near the escalator was hit with a round and tumbled down the stairs.
The five men were retreating, but continued to fire.
"Let's get out of here," Angie said, while they laid on the ground.
"I'm all for that," Rollie said.
They began to crawl, while staying as close to the ground as possible, away from the gunfire. Once they rounded a corner, they got up and took off running. The police were still chasing the men and took no notice of them, figuring they were shoppers caught by accident.
"Who were those guys?" Rollie asked as they ran.
"I don't know," Mary said, gasping for breath, "but that's what we've been going through."
"We have no idea who is doing all this," Angie said, "who is chasing us, that's why I want to get back to New York and hand this over to Mira."
They reached a large crowd, buzzing with the events they had just escaped. They slowed to a walk and began to slowly make their way to the exit, trying to be as inconspicuous as possible. Finally they reached the silver compact car Rollie had rented. Hopping in, they made their way to the hotel Rollie was staying at.
"Well, I've heard the basic story," Rollie said, "any details you can fill in?"
Mary shook her head.
"All is know is that Ricardo put this microchip in my ring without telling me," she said, "he must have not wanted it to be found. The Snakes must've stole it."
"And were going to sell it to someone," Angie said, "but Ricardo must have found out what it was, or something. It must be something dangerous or he wouldn't have hidden it."
"We need to find out what," Rollie said.
"No," Angie said, "we need to turn it over, and be done with it. We need to get out first though."
Rollie nodded.
"I've got the means to do that," he said.
"How?" Mary asked.
Rollie smiled.
"Magic," he said.
Mary glanced at Angie, who just smiled as well. She patted Mary's hand.
"Trust us," she said.
Mary nodded at rode the rest of the way in silence. They reached the hotel and parked in the garage across the way, on the fourth level. They got in the elevator and started the ride down.
"The equipment should be coming in in an hour," Rollie said, "you can stay in the hotel room while I get it. After that we do a little make over, and fly out back to New York."
The elevator beeped as they reached the ground floor and the door slid open. Standing before them was the Snake and three men behind him.
"Hola, senoritas," the Snake said, grinning at Angie, "it is good to see you again. And your friend. If you please, come with us."
* * *
Angie slammed her hand on the 'close door' button, but the Snake stuck his hand through, stopping it. The door slid back open and Rollie prepared to rush him when the three leather clad goons behind him pulled out their guns.
"Por favor," the Snake hissed, "come with me."
Reluctantly the three exited the elevator, surrounded on all sides by the gun toting gang members. They walked up to a large black van.
"Into the back," the Snake said, "and no talking."
They were filed into the back of the van and two thugs kept their guns trained on them while they road out of the main tourist area of Cleveland, and into the lower slums. At last they arrived and were escorted into a dark apartment building, which smelled like it hadn't been cleaned for years. They entered an apartment on the third floor and as the door opened Rollie saw several cockroaches skeeter out of the shaft of light that struck the far wall.
One of the men shoved Angie in the back, making her stumble forward.
"On the couch," he said to the three of them.
"Do that again," Rollie growled, "and you'll eat that gun."
The man sneered and gestured again. Rollie sat next to Angie and Mary defiantly. As they sat a puft of dirt came up from the couch and something crawled quickly down Angie's leg. She didn't look, she didn't want to know.
"What do you want?" Rollie asked, "I take it you're the Snake. I've heard about you. How'd you find us?"
The Snake smiled, his white teeth glittering slightly, and he gnashed them a bit, raking his sharp encisors with a grinding sound.
"All in good time," the Snake said, "you see, I have brought you here to interrogate you."
He gestured to one of his men and he came forward and grabbed Mary roughly. He searched her up and down, finding nothing he went to Angie. He pulled the ring and microchip out of her pocket and tossed it to the Snake. He looked it over.
"Ah, Ricardo," he said, "how sad you had to steal from me. How sad you had to die."
He clutched the clear plastic bag the microchip was held in tightly.
"This has caused much trouble for me," he said, eyeing them coldly, "but the profits will be more than worth the loss."
"What is that thing?" Angie asked.
"Only something the greatest scientific minds of the United States has developed," the Snake said, "I don't pretend to know how it works, exactly. It is part of some sort of missile guidance system. Either way, other countries would pay dearly for it."
"How'd you get your filthy hands on it?" Rollie asked.
"Pure chance, actually," the Snake said, ignoring the insult, "you see, my gang hijacked a small armored truck carrying money and jewels. Little did we know the government was sneaking this little baby in as well. In a ring no less, very clever. Anyway, once I had stolen the goods, a representative from an, interested, government contacted me. He offered me more money than you can imagine for this little gem, and as you can imagine, I was only too happy to sell it."
"Ah," he sighed, "but I underestimated our government. The F.B.I., and C.I.A. were close on my heels. I had already made several contacts with this representative, and the agents were eager to capture this man. Thus I made a deal. I would continue the deal, so they could capture him. They, however, would have to ensure my safety afterward. In fact, I wanted out of the country. They agreed to this, and arranged for my death to be faked."
"When I thought you were shot," Angie said, "at the apartment."
"Precisamente," the Snake affirmed, "one of their sharp shooters hit me with a pellet full of red die. A bit of a sting, but better than death."
"But after you stole it," Rollie said, getting back to the story, "Ricardo stole it from you."
"Yes," the Snake said, "you see, I didn't actually know where the microchip was hidden. I sent my men, including Ricardo, to find it. They searched and Ricardo found it in this ring. However he was, eh, overly patriotic, and failed to tell me. Instead he gave it to his dear novia here, and pretended not to find it. Trying to go straight for her, I suppose. Anyway much later, after he was dead, I found out that the ring wanted was gone. At first I thought it had been pawned, sold, so I tried to retrace it's steps for a month. My buyer became very impatient. Anyway, finally, I put two and two together."
"But if you're working for the feds-" Angie started.
The Snake held up his hand.
"As I said," he continued, "this buyer was willing to pay much. I could not let an opportunity like this pass me by."
"So you double crossed the feds," Rollie said, nodding with understanding.
"Precisely," he said, "they will recieve a fake microchip. The real one will go to my buyer at another secret meeting, of which the authorities have no knowledge. At the 'sting' the 'feds' as you call them, set up, well, my buyer will either not show up, or be ready."
"Playing both ends," Angie said, "you win both ways."
The Snake nodded, and tapped his skull.
"El Serpiente," he said, "is very smart."
"I still don't understand how you found us," Angie said.
"Well," the Snake said, "my buyer has supplied with several toys in helping my quest. They have been trying to track you down as well, the men who chased you in the mall. I, however, was smarter, bided my time. Do you remember when we first met, and I grabbed your hair?"
Angie nodded. The Snake reached in his pocket and pulled out a tiny microchip like object.
"A minaturized homing device," he said with satisfaction, "I placed it in your scalp when I grabbed you. It is water proof, for when you bathe."
Angie rubbed her head furiously.
"You'll only push it in deeper," the Snake said, smiling viciously.
"So now what?" Rollie asked.
The Snake gestured to his men and they began binding the three of them with twine, placing their hands behind their backs. They tied their legs as well. The Snake stood up in front of them.
"Now I must decide," he said, pacing, "what to do with you."
He pointed at Rollie.
"You," he said, "you mean nothing. You will die."
He pointed at Mary.
"You," he said, "you have been nothing but trouble. You will die as well."
Then he looked at Angie, and walked up to her.
"But you," he said, "you are a different story."
He leaned over Angie and smiled. His incisors gleamed again, and Angie caught a strong whif of breath mints mixed with heavy cologne.
"Que linda," he said, "how beautiful you are. I would hate to kill such a beautiful lady. Perhaps we could make, other, arrangements-"
The Snake softly rolled his r's, blowing in Angie's face. She spit on him.
"Don't even try it, creep," she said, "or I'll make sure you'll never have little snakes."
The Snake wiped his face with a black sleeve then snapped his fingers.
"The drugs," he said.
One man left the room and came back a moment later with a vial and syringe. The Snake filled the hypodermic, and tapped it.
"Normally I would love a challenge," he said, "but you, my sweet, are far too divine to injure. So I will take away your choice. A little narcotic, sometimes called the 'date rape' drug. Works wonders."
Angie's eyes opened wide with fright.
"Dirtbag," Rollie said, "you lay so much as one slimy finger on her-"
The Snake lunged and backhanded Rollie across the face. Rollie licked his lip, now bleeding.
"Silence, dead man," he his