One Last Con

by Rael Wissdorf

  Tranquilizer dart?

  Her mind reeled as she threw up her arms reflexively, and continued to run toward the end of the alley.

  Why are these men shooting tranqs at me? They’re not trying to kill me. They’re trying to knock me out. Were they sent by Rickenbacker?

  The shots subsided but as the redhead turned to look back, she saw the other two men pursuing her at a rapid pace. Laurina ran faster than she ever had before. Her legs burned as she jumped over trashcans and splashed through dank pools of water. Arriving at an L shaped junction, she rounded the corner and came face to face with the side of a large building. She had reached a dead end! Searching desperately, she saw no way out and nothing to aid her defense. She could see a fire escape looming above, but it was folded up and there was no way to reach it. Anxiously, Laurina glanced back to the alley’s junction, waiting for her pursuers to round the corner.

  Jump!

  Something screamed inside her head. She looked up at the building again. It seemed to be fifteen or twenty stories high.

  Jump! The thought came again.

  Maybe if I get a running start I can reach the fire escape.

  JUMP!

  Laurina took a few steps backward, crouched down and leaped up with all her might. Suddenly a spasm-like electric pulse shook her body. As her muscled propelled her upward, she watched with astonishment as the fire escape ladder zoomed past, and she continued to rise high into the air.

  What the fuck?

  The young woman’s leap carried her to the top of the building. Her arms and legs swung wildly as she cleared the edge, and as her feet made contact, she stumbled awkwardly and fell onto the tarpapered roof, rolling two thirds of its width before coming to an abrupt stop. Laying face down on the gritty surface, Laurina noticed that while she had landed quite heavily, there was no pain. The feeling of electricity that had charged her legs spread throughout her body with a warm rush, deadening the impact. She felt her skin tingling, as if it was being scrubbed hard with a loofah sponge, and a sudden feeling of euphoria began to take hold of her.

  How the hell did I get up here? What’s going on?

  Catching her breath, she pulled herself to her feet and managed to stumble forward a few meters, when a loud airy whine and thud caught her attention from behind. She turned to find one of the men who had been chasing her standing at the rooftop’s edge. A moment later, he was joined by his companions, who landed knees bent with relative ease, a brief hiss of air emanating from their footwear.

  Bloody hell!

  The young Brit dashed to the end of the roof. Once again, the voice in her head prompted her to jump, and this time she didn’t hesitate. She leapt over the edge, making for the rooftop of a building below her. She landed on her feet this time and continued to ran hard and fast. She approached the building’s edge and saw that the next one was taller and a considerable distance away, separated by the traffic of a busy street. Without stopping to think about what she was doing, Laurina jumped high into the air, propelling herself across the wide gap and onto the next rooftop. The sound of several impacts from behind told her she had not escaped yet. She continued along the tall roof searching for her next destination as she ran. Faster and faster Laurina ran until she reached the edge of the roof and kicked off of the side. As she soared in the air, the pleasurable rush spread through her brain, and in spite of the direness of the situation, her lips spread into a large grin.

  This is bloody fantastic! I almost feel like I can fly. Like I can do anything!

  Her pursuers stopped short at the edge of the roof, with the leader of the three holding out his arms protectively against the other two.

  “Abort! The Boots are not designed for that far of a jump…”

  With mouths agape, the three men watched as their quarry landed safely on the next rooftop almost half a block away, and continue running.

  “That shouldn’t be possible. She’s not wearing Boots and she has no access to CCE.”

  “A Buff perhaps?” the second man offered.

  “There is no Initiator close by performing a Script for her,” the first replied.

  “It doesn’t matter now.” The third pursuer chimed in with an authoritative voice. “It’s HQ’s call.” He reached into his jacket pocket and produced a cell phone with which he pressed a button and began speaking.

  “Subject has eluded our team by somehow using a Script. Should we continue pursuit?”

  A dispassionate voice answered, “Negative. Thanks to your efforts, the subject is entering our location. Return to base.”

  “Roger that,” replied the third man.

  Whiping his comm down, he placed it back in his pocket. Staring at their disappearing quarry a moment longer, he turned away walking back to the far edge of the roof, followed by the other two. Leaping over the side, they disappeared from view.

  Laurina continued her flight from the three men, not quite trusting that she had escaped them. Reaching the edge of yet another rooftop she launched herself forward toward another ten story building.

  “Target sighted, “a voice announced from the street.

  “In range in five…four…”

  “Fire the Sack!” another voice commanded.

  “But sir-”

  “I said fire!”

  A hollow Boom echoed at ground level, as a large projectile hurtled skyward.

  As the young Brit sailed through the air, the sound of the report caught her attention. She looked downward and noticed a small black dot appearing from below. It grew rapidly in size until it appeared to be a large black bundle. All at once, it expanded, and six slim metal arms extended from the perimeter of what was now a large mesh net that was steadily rising up to meet her. As she sailed onward desperately trying to avoid it, her concentration wavered, and she began to panic. All at once a stabbing pain lanced into the redhead’s brain causing her to gasp involuntarily, while a feeling of weakness began to spread throughout her entire body.

  What happened next was even more frightening. The mysterious flush of power that had initially filled her to bursting had disappeared as if someone had clicked off a light switch. Laurina could sense the last vestiges of warmth leaving her almost as suddenly as it had come, and in its place a distinct emptiness spread like helplessness throughout her entire being; and she was still ten stories up, in mid air between the two buildings!

  I’m not going to make it.

  At that moment, like a metal octopus, the mesh capture sack engulfed her, enclosing the hapless Brit in its fine grey skin while wrapping its dark tentacles around itself in a metal embrace. She felt them tighten quickly, pinning her arms to her side and squeezing her legs together before she could make any defensive move. Struggling was now useless. Laurina Hawks was immobilized with danger fast approaching.

  “Got her!” the commander cried out in triumph.

  “But Commander Krall,” fire control officer replied hesitantly. “She’s…she’s not going to make the roof sir. Your order was too early.”

  “What?”

  Indeed, the plan was to catch the woman at the apex of her jump, where she would be trussed and cocooned in the Sack before landing safety on the next roof. By firing early however, the weight of the device came into greater play and began to drag the woman below roof level of the approaching building.

  “Dammit! Deploy the bags NOW!” Commander Krall roared.

  “Bags deployed sir!”

  In reality it took several milliseconds for the signal to travel from the ground to the Sack’s internal micro-processor. Unfortunately, just before the signal was received, the Sack with the woman inside slammed hard against the wall of the building. From inside, came the sickening crunch of bone and a loud cry of pain. The resulting impact sent Laurina reeling into unconsciousness. After a faint beeping noise, a dull thud and a powerful hissing noise became evident as the crash bags began to fill with air. Meanwhile the Sack with its captive rebounded from the wall, and plummeted toward the concrete
far below.

  The last thing Laurina was aware of was the sensation of falling to her death.

  That, and a faint blue glow.

  Chapter 4

  Waves of exquisite pain washed over Laurina Hawks, bringing her to consciousness with a jolt. A visceral agony throbbed through her as if someone had beaten her entire body with a sledgehammer. She wanted to cry out but her vocal cords were paralyzed, denying her that form of relief. Instead, in her mind’s eye, the young Brit gritted her teeth and rode the pain until it finally subsided to a numbing ache. That accomplished, she carefully opened and closed her eyes, wincing from the light until they adjusted to the brightness. There seemed to be a rheumy haze coating her vision but with a bit of effort she could make out the faint outline of the room which she now inhabited. Stark white walls occupied her sight, lined with a variety of lab tables and cabinets. Immediately in front, she saw what looked like a thin blue blanket, and underneath, the outline of legs and feet, angled slightly outward toward the left and right.

  I’m lying in a hospital bed.

  Closer to her prone figure, she could make out the blurry shape of medical equipment, and noted grimly that she seemed to be attached to them through an ordered series of cables and tubes. Tracing them back to her arm, she saw that white gauze encased most of her body. Portions of the protective covering were almost completely soaked through with blood which gleamed bright crimson against the harsh light from above. The scent of iron and disinfectant hung heavily in the air.

  And I’m in sorry shape to boot!

  Feeling something on her head, Laurina lifted her eyes and saw wires tracing down from her forehead to a machine on her right. On the monitor above it danced a myriad of lines not unlike an EEG reading, but these seemed to have no pattern or meaning that she could recognize. She heard a repetitive sound coming from another appliance that undoubtedly monitored her heartbeat. However, at each spike of her heartbeat, the familiar sharp ping of a normal EKG unit was replaced by the echo of an annoying gong, like a mad Asian percussionist trying to gain her attention.

  As she tried her best to ignore this latest irritation, Laurina soon became aware of the sound of her labored breathing. Her respiration sounded amplified to her ears, as if she were a diver using an aqualung. The overpowering aural timbre rose to assault her hearing while all other sounds receded into the background, as if they were muffled through a wall of water. If that weren’t enough, the pain in her body that she had so far been able to control, joined the symphony of sensation, throbbing on the downbeat of every breath she took, and gaining in intensity. Laurina tried again to focus her mind, but this time the aching washed past her defenses like a breached dam. With each passing moment, her muscles tightened, and the terrible ache became more acute until the pain threatened to totally overwhelm her. She was vaguely aware of a tightness in her throat, and she felt as if the skin on the corners of her lips was about to tear. She also noticed that her vision suddenly jerked left, then right, then left, over and over again.

  A vague awareness told Laurina that she was screaming.

  Abruptly, a strange chilling sensation in her right arm made itself known, which soon spread throughout her entire body, radiating like a cooling balm. She tried to control her body’s movement, but none of her limbs would respond to her mental commands. The jerky back and forth motion of her thrashing about diminished as her tortured muscles released their tightness and relaxed. The coolness seemed to surround the core of her pain and insulate her from it, like an oyster coating an invading piece of grit. The sharp aches were quickly reduced to a shrinking pearl of dull throbbing. Soon it was gone entirely.

  Laurina became aware that the few shapes she had come to recognize began to fade from her sight like the ending of a dream. Seconds later, there was nothing left but darkness. The odors that she knew should be there were absent. Neither the pungent antiseptic stench of the hospital room, nor the slightly metallic tang of iron emanating from her bloody injuries, were detectable. Finally, the incessant beeping from the heart monitor slowly died away from her hearing, echoing into the recesses of her mind. All that remained in the darkness was her breathing, and then the frightening realization that she couldn’t even feel the air as it entered her lungs. The beautiful redhead fought panic as her respiration became increasingly more shallow and hurried. Fearful thoughts flooded Laurina Hawk’s mind as she lay in the inky void.

  Is this the edge of death? Or am I hallucinating again? Dammit, I can’t even tell whether I actually lived through the last day or so, or if I dreamed everything that had happened to me since London?

  An even more insidious notion wriggled unbidden into her thoughts. Was this some kind of Hell where she was condemned to periods of pain and relief, like a nefariously cruel joke? Or worse, what if she no longer existed at all? What if nothing actually existed outside of herself and everything she once believed had happened was simply the result of her imagination? Memories of the past flowed through Laurina’s mind like fuzzy snapshots of time.

  “Bugger off!” a chubby 12 year old Abel yelled, pointing a finger at the boy sitting on a pile of dirty snow holding his now bloody nose. Nearby, Laurina brushed icy slush from a crying Galicia’s face. A small bruise began to spread across her left cheek where the lump of coal stashed inside the snowball had hit her.

  “I was just ‘avin’ a bit of fun,” the battered boy said. “I didn’t hit her that hard.”

  “Touch my sister again and I’ll thrash you so hard that your own mum wouldn’t recognize you!” Abel cried.

  Seeing that the larger boy meant business, the snowball thrower quickly scrambled to his feet and ran off, trailing dots of blood behind him.

  “I’ll get you, you fuckin’ fatty!” he cried as he ran. “You’ll see!”

  Ignoring the retreating figure, Abel walked over to his two sisters.

  “Are you ok?” he asked Galicia with concern.

  After dinner, Laurina and Galicia crept quietly into the dark room on the boy’s side of the orphanage searching for Abel. Miss Harbedge had punished him that morning for some vague infraction, but since it was done behind closed doors, no one knew what rule the boy had broken. After giving him a severe beating, the sour woman had sent him up to his room without letting him finish his breakfast, and in addition he was banned from meals for the rest of the day. She had sternly warned the other children that punishment would be swift and severe for anyone caught bringing him food.

  Concerned for their brother, the two girls searched for any sign of the dark-haired boy. They looked around but didn’t see him on his bunk. Puzzled, they turned to leave when they heard a liquid growl pierce the silence. Walking towards the source of the sound, they found Abel sitting on the floor between two beds with his back against the wall. The grumble sounded once again into the darkness, and the boy clutched his belly.

  “Hell’s bells! Was that you?” Laurina whispered.

  “Sorry Laur, but I haven’t eaten a bloody thing since morning,” Abel sighed. “Unless you want to call two mouthfuls of porridge breakfast”

  Galicia gazed at him with a look of worry.

  “Sounds like you haven’t eaten in a week”

  Reaching into the pocket of her plaid skirt, she pulled out something about the size of a playing card, wrapped carefully in a paper napkin. Laurina did the same.

  “Here Abel,” she whispered. “This is for you.”

  Laurina proffered her own small bundle as well. “And so is this.”

  The chubby boy unwrapped the napkin and gasped when he saw he was holding a piece of boiled beef. Laurina’s bundle revealed a large crescent roll cut open on the side and slathered with mustard. The stunned boy stared first at the perfect sandwich makings then at his two sisters.

  “Are you both daft?” Abel exclaimed. “Miss Garbage will kill you if she finds out.”

  A sly smile appeared on both girls faces.

  “We won’t tell if you don’t,” Galicia replied smugly.


  Laurina nodded. “Besides, we can’t let our protector starve, now can we?”

  A thin smile crept onto the chubby face.

  “Not bloody manly to have the damsels saving the knight is it?” Abel said while stuffing the piece of beef into the roll.

  He paused a bit and looked into the eyes of the two girls.

  “Thank you,” he whispered “For being such wonderful sisters.”

  The dark room grew quiet as the three children regarded each other with thankfulness.

  Once again a large growl came from Abel’s empty stomach, disturbing the mood.

  “Just shut up and eat you big lout,” Laurina smiled blushing.

  “…HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO YOU-U-U!” two off key voices sang.

  Laurina jumped up and down excitedly after opening the small white box. Lying inside was the little sterling silver cat pin with rhinestone eyes that she had been coveting for so long.

  “Oh it’s marvy! Thank you Gal! Thank you Abel! How did you know?”

  “Well you kept goin’ on about it for the last bloody year,” Abel grunted with mock exaggeration.

  “It was the only way we could get you to shut up,” Galicia chimed in wryly.

  “But how did you get the money for it?”

  Abel hooked his thumbs into his pockets and puffed out his chest.