Oh what the heck. Let's finish this bad boy off. Maybe if I'm lucky, I'll
finish Process next. Not tonight, of course. But on the list.

  It was in one such broadcast of the latter half of my latest
race that a young girl of about eight saw my face very clearly in a
blue and gray racing jacket. And it was only one night later that
police investigators learned from her that I had been seen in the
subway station last Monday night, and had been party to some very
unsportsmanlike conduct.

Heh. The price of fame indeed.

  "The police maintain that they have several leads, and are
currently rounding up the known leaders of both gangs. While eye
witnesses

eyewitnesses (I think)

 claim that the fire fight was strictly drawn across party

lines, the stolen government issue weapons found on the scene
were responsible for all casualties. One interesting fact was learned
from a witness, a small child riding with her elderly father on the
train, who was sadly one of the two civilian victims. As she is a
minor we cannot broadcast her statement, but the investigator who
interviewed the child quoted her as saying, 'I saw the man on that
poster over there. The racer. He was there the whole time.'

Mostly getting shot at.

  Her background switched to that of City Hall, taken from
miles out. "What does the wake of this unprecedented phenomenon
hold for the people of this city? Hopefully it means an end to the
violence and hatred which have steadily increased over past years.
But is martial law really the answer? Some political social
scientists say the answer is necessarily a yes.

Those that disagreed were killed.

  "One thing is for certain. The more that citizens try to
express their political dissatisfaction in violent ways,

such as openly expressing their views.

 the stricter

laws become. Civilians like those killed in yesterday's tragedy
were byproducts of an

a

  I turned off the screen, and

don't think you need that comma

  Chris and Alethea found me in my room at six o'clock that
afternoon, and sat down on the unmade bed across from me. Chris
spoke with enthusiasm.

  "Did you see the report on our job last night?"

  "I did. What a show."

show,

 I said.

  "If we act fast, this will be easily used to our advantage.
The reaction of the masses in any revolution is paramount. The old
woman heard the speech as well, and she believes that civilians
will back us in our efforts, especially the lower classes. Therefore
the operation is being moved up a week."

  "What?!" I said.

Ohh. Very bad idea.

  "We cannot let this pass us by," Chris said purposefully.
"That speech is certain to get quite a bit of media coverage, and
there will be a lot of confusion about what this means for the
independent broadcast freq's. Another clear attack on the Mandate
in the name of everything Sarah Wheeler said would be sure to
carry with it the support of the people. This Friday, the Cabal and
Das Uberdog will hit government buildings in Capital Plaza, Lanz
Island, and the new IMHR headquarters

My. Didn't let the dust from the old HQ settle before they made a new one.

  "Then we all die trying," he said without expression.

  "What a plan."

  "I hope you haven't doubted my sincerity in this. It's our
turn. Ours by right."

  "What right?"

  "/Damn it, are you in or out??/"

drop those slashes

  Alethea and I sat in silence on opposite ends of the small
room and wondered whether we felt far away or not. I felt like
punching or smashing something, breaking an expensive art piece,
or at least giving it the finger. There is no cure for a good mood
like the evening news. Having only found her this morning, and
already standing on shaky ground over the big decision, being
forced to force

Redundnent. I'd drop or change one of those.

  "At least my ass isn't hairy."

hairy,

  "I wanted to test you, to see if you meant what you
said. I guess you do. I really don't want you to go. I feel sick to my
stomach when I think about it. But if you have to, then I can't hold
you back. I mean, you're probably right, it's just a matter of time
before another psycho comes after you. And I don't want this to
end either," she said, motioning between us.

Heh. She got her way, so she's now doing what really needs to be done.

  "Are you sure?"

  "No, but that's the best you can expect right now."

  She played with her hair, and I ran my fingers though it,
looking around absently at the paintings that brightened the room.
In truth I knew nothing about art, but I could tell that the stuff was
old, from at least a few centuries ago. Wouldn't every one

everyone

  "What do you think I just said?! Yes, I think you are
pretty. In fact, I think you are so gorgeous that if I keep standing
on it, you won't be able to put your head in my lap any more."

  "God,

Good

okay then."

then,

  "Do you even know where Rufius is?"

  "The Cabal has planned for that contingency." Something
about the way he said that made me uneasy. But I was not
immediately sure why.

Because the answer was evasive?

  "No, I don't think we will be giving him that much juice.
You know, we gave Chris the treatment when he started working
for us too. He turned up unresponsive, but nothing bad happened to
him. Did it Chris?"

  "Well it gave me one hell of a headache, but your boy
Screw can take it, no sweat."

  "Well I

Well, I

  (///And then I lost it,

drop comma

 as the buzzing in my brain drowned them

  "The ice packs keep his head from swelling, or absorbing
any excess radiation from the merusion pulses.

Always a plus. :)

His brain will be

fine. Besides, psionics are not a cerebral function. The responses
come from certain nexus points along the body's central axis that
react to x, y, and z-rays. Only a small section of his brain will be
treated at all."

  "But then what went wrong when they tried it on you?"

  "Well, that was many years ago. Neither Mr. White nor
myself new

knew

coffin was tightening its grip, screaming something like a warning
at me. I spasmed erratically, but the cushioned grooves for my
arms and legs allowed little movement. A red light flashed
somewhere.///)

  (///The worst part was that I couldn't tell whether I was really
seeing straight, or the drugs had just affected me in more ways
than one. Through the square plate of thick glass,

drop the comma

  "Yeah, for the most part. They told me I was out the second
they gave me the IV. I woke up a few seconds before they opened
the lid. And I took the full treatment without  learning

extra space

  (///When my eyes opened again, the red dots were much closer. I
could see the tubes that emitted them, and supposed that the dots
would be on my neck now. Six hot dots. And the heat on the lower
part of my body had not gone away even after they had passed. My
neck was hot, and my breathing was raspy. But at least I could feel
it. Hands: check. Elbows: check. Shoulder: Wait! Legs! Legs?
Legs!? Oh, there they were. Only about seventeen or eighteen feet
to go. Strange, because I didn't remember being that tall. Why
were they so far away? And why was it so god damn hot and buzzy
in here?///)

Very surreal in this point. Nice work

rank fear that had gripped me suddenly reached a crescendo that
kept me too desperate to move. Cymbals exploded in deafening
clamor. The air I sucked in was thicker and fouler, and my mouth
and eyes were open, aching in the tension I was putting on the
muscles. Somehow someone had gotten to her.

Oh, I'm not so sure about that. Maybe she was 'gotten' from the beginning.

Hmm. Mind control or something else. I do believe we shall find out next
chapter. Excellent cliffhanger to end this on. I approve.

D.B. Sommer




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