bags, Sunny pulled loose the pole as Eile grabbed the crowbar, and they turned and charged the two goons following them. They pulled out pistols from under their jackets, but she and Sunny moved so quickly and deliberately that they had no time to aim; they shot wildly and missed.
They remembered their fighting skills from the Dreamlands, and had been practicing to train their Waking-bodies. Eile cracked the crowbar on the left goon's gun hand, jammed it into his abdomen just above his groin, and whacked it across his face, laying him out cold. Sunny had dispatched the right goon just as fast. They turned on the third and Mr. X; the former had his gun in hand and aimed carefully as X sped off across the open space for a ladder set into one wall.
Geezus! That old guy can move when he needs to! "Sunny, after him!"
Her partner took off in pursuit without hesitation. The remaining goon, however, did hesitate, and he shifted his aim towards her. Eile threw the crowbar, and it struck him in the temple. He dropped before he could pull the trigger.
X had reached the ladder and climbed as quick as a squirrel running from a dog. Sunny went up right after him, but she was hampered by the pole. Eile looked around, and spotted a second ladder on the opposite wall leading to the same catwalk. She sprinted for it and climbed as fast as she could manage. Once she reached the walk she ran down its length towards X. He spotted her, stopped, and turned, but Sunny was several yards behind him.
They had him trapped.
She slowed and approached to within a dozen feet as Sunny did the same. "Give it up, X, there's nowhere left ta run."
His expression suggested that of a rabid dog that had been cornered. "If you think two mere girls such as yourselves can succeed where all the intelligence services of the world have failed, you are sadly deluded." And he vaulted over the railing and dropped straight down towards another catwalk some twelve feet below.
She and Sunny ran up to the spot where he had stood and looked down in time to see him land. He crouched to help absorb the impact, then stood to take off again. Sunny gripped her pole like a javelin and threw it, but it missed and hit one of the walk's support struts just under his feet. The strut snapped and fell loose, and as if that was key, a chain-reaction of breaking struts avalanched in either direction along most of the length of the structure. The bed broke up in several places as its modular pieces came apart, including the spot he stood on. As he dropped with the debris he tried to grab a hold of something, but the disintegration was total and there was nothing left. He screamed in a high-pitched piercing voice as he fell to the floor nearly thirty feet down, which cut off when he hit. Large pieces of catwalk slammed down on top of him and he was quickly buried.
Sunny started to hurry down their walk back to the ladder, but she grabbed her arm.
"Just where do ya think yer goin', Missy?"
"He might still be alive!"
"Whether he is or not, we can't get involved."
Sunny flashed a shocked look. "Why not?!"
"You heard what Dizzy said. If this world's authorities find out about us, we'd be in real trouble. We might never get home again."
That sobered her. "Yeah, you're right, partner. But, we can't just leave him like this."
"Why not? He was ready ta kill us at the drop of a hat. I'm sorry he ended like this, but I can't feel any regret."
"We should at least tell Dizzy what happened."
"Huh, yeah, okay. We can leave a message for her at the hotel. Speaking of which, let's get back there before the police show up here."
Sunny smiled and crinkled her eyes. "Sounds like a plan, partner."
They descended the ladder to the ground floor, retrieved their bags, and found an unlocked door. Outside it was still night, but a quick check of one of their cell phones revealed that it was a couple of hours before dawn. The warehouse fronted on what appeared to be a main street, so they started walking east looking for an open store or taxi.
"You know," Sunny said at one point, "I should be pretty mad at you for telling them to shut me up."
She did sound pissed, and Eile wondered if she was going to sulk for the rest of the night, but when she spoke again her voice sounded lighter.
"But if it helped you to win his confidence and get us released, I guess I can forgive you."
She recognized the facetious tone in her partner's voice, and chuckled. "Well, that's good, 'cause I couldn't sleep nights knowin' you were angry with me."
"Aw, that's so sweet, partner." Sunny leaned closer and pecked her on the cheek.
"Yeah, yeah. Besides, yer a royal pain in the butt when yer in one of those moods."
That earned her a punch in the arm. She shrank away, laughing, and Sunny joined in moments later.
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For more information on Eile and Sunny, Team Girl, see the official site [https://www.teamgirlforever.com/].
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About the Author
Kevin L. O'Brien was born with a pen in his hand.
Well, not quite, but he has been writing for as long as he can remember, at least since First Grade. Writing has always been his first, true love, but it hasn't always been his career. He worked for 15 years as a biomedical researcher, then for 3 years as a web designer. However, after 30 years of trying to be published in print with little success, he has decided to try his hand at self-publishing. Most of his works will be sold as ebooks through various online retailers, but he also plans to make some available for free exclusively on Goodreads.
He writes primarily speculative fiction--fantasy, science fiction, horror, and their sub-genres--but he also likes to try his hand at thrillers, suspense, mystery, and even westerns. However, his stories tend to have a fantasy element, no matter how subtle.
Most of his stories involve the following three main characters:
Medb hErenn [https://www.medbherenn.com/]--One-time queen of Ireland, she is over 3500 years old. A warrior and a sorceress, she cannot be harmed by any weapon made by the hand of man.
Eile and Sunny, Team Girl [https://www.teamgirlforever.com/]--They are two adorable, vivacious, fun-loving young women whose motto is ONWARD TO ADVENTURE!!! Yet trouble follows them like a love-sick puppy wherever they go.
Sir Differel Van Helsing [https://www.sir-differel.com/]--The descendent of Abraham Van Helsing and King Arthur, she heads the Caerleon Order, the premier monster-hunting organization of the United Kingdom and the Commonwealth. She commands Dracula, the most powerful vampire extant, and the greatsword Caliburn, better known as Excalibur.
He also writes a series of sword & sorcery stories set in an alternative universe known as the Lands of the Dreams of Men.
Kevin lives in Denver with his family and 4 cats.
For more information, see the Songs of the Seanchai [https://www.seanchaisongs.com/].
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Discover other titles by Kevin L. O'Brien:
A fidus Aranea, Adventurer's Honeymoon, Barbarians R Us, The Beast of Exmoor, The Christmas Vampires, Dark Vengeance, A Deliberation of Morality, The Denver Walker, Desperate Acts, The Differential Damsel, Disposable Commodities, Do Unto Others, Dribble & Maggot in the Land of Dreams, Far-Sight, Feline Savior, Felis ex Machina, Fun 'n' Games, The Golden Mushroom, Gourmand Hag, Gratuitous Crossover, Gruff Tolls, Immanuel, In an Octopus's Garden, Inseparable, Jigsaw Dragon, The Lions of Inganok, A Little Hospitality, Man Friday, Masie's Mind, No Torrent Like Greed, Oak Do Hate, One-Percenter Vendetta, The Peril Gem, Post-Traumatic Redemption, The Price of Folly, Pride and Fall, Pyrrhic Victory, Redshirt, Rhapsody in Orange, The Road to Hell, Sacrificial Offering, Shenanigans, The Steel Gazelle, The Surrogate, Survival & Sacrifice, The Temple of Ubasti, A Typical Friday Night, We Deliver
Enjoy these other titles at fine ebook retailers everywhere.
Available on Goodreads - https://www.goodreads.com/story/list/20075368
Youthful Indiscretion
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Connect with Kevin L. O'Brien Online:
; Twitter: https://twitter.com/KLOB_writer
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/kevin.l.obrien.1
Website: https://www.seanchaisongs.com/
DeviantArt: https://teamgirl-differel.deviantart.com/
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/Kevin_L_OBrien
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Sample Excerpts
From "Jellied Spiders"
(sequel to "Gruff Tolls")
Few persons could journey across the Plateau of Leng alone, and rarer still was the traveler who slept soundly at night in the open, so when Cuideog the Leng Spider heard rumors that a large woman with a bird, a Zoog, and a cat traveled overland from Lelag-Leng to Inganok through the heart of the plateau, he knew the odds were excellent that it was none other than Medb hErenn of Ulthar. So, despite the danger to himself, he left his bridge unattended and went searching for her. He found her after only a week. It wasn't hard; stories of her were the main topic of gossip in the spider-haunted valleys, among the Wamps in the precincts of the prehistoric monastery, and in the villages of the Men of Leng. Finally, he caught a Leng-man merchant who had spent a night in her camp, and in exchange for his life he told Cuideog where she had been. It had then been an easy matter to track her from there. He finally caught up with her just after dusk of the seventh day.
As the reports
The Adventure of the Double Image Page 7