Doctor's Orders, Part Two
06 Nov 2021Sally Forth
This is not how I thought today was going to go.I wake to the sound of voices; and someone is not happy. I slowly lever myself off Angelo's sofa, the micro-servos of the RemLok whining and humming. Yes, I slept in my flight suit. So what? Trust me, when you've been a pilot for a while, you learn to sleep when and wherever you can. As I rise, the cats stretch and yawn, springing softly from the sofa.
Moving cautiously, I pad across the room towards the hallway.
" - camera footage shows her coming here. You're in enough trouble, Rossini, without harbouring a known fugitive!"
That...sounds like Chandra. The psychiatrist.
What's going on?
Angelo is facing away from me as I step round the corner. Yep. It's Chandra, and there are two burly uniformed men with her. Not FedSec either. They look military, but there are no insignia that I can see.
"I'd like to know why I'm a fugitive all of sudden," I say coldly . There's a pause and Chandra's eyes meet mine with startled recognition.
"It's her!" she exclaims, and glares at Angelo. "Get the cuffs on them both. We're taking them in!"
"Oh, really?" snarls Angelo, "on what trumped-up charges this time, Chandra? " He moves so that he is between them and me.
At my feet, the cats only I can see are hissing, backs arched. I lurch slightly as Annie jumps and climbs her way up my flight suit, onto my shoulder.
One of the goons roughly shoves Angelo aside and advances, one hand yanking a set of cuffs from a pouch -
- and then Annie leaps, claws out, straight into his face. As far as everyone else is concerned, a series of bloody gashes appear on his cheeks from nowhere. He screams and batters at the unseen thing that is slicing his skin, the cuffs clattering to the floor. In the moment of shock, Angelo cannons into the other soldier and they hit the floor in a furious tangle of limbs.
"Sally! Run!" he yells. I turn for the door, but Chandra is there, a look of astonishment and desperation on her face.
"How the hell did you do that?" she barks. I charge at her but she's ready and grabs me in a bear hug. I try to throw her off but she's a lot stronger than she looks. All she has to do is hold me until one of her thugs can come to her aid...
Since she's taking the weight anyway, I lift my legs and shove hard into the opposite wall. We crash into the doorway and I slam my head back into hers. She is winded but won't let go; not until Mack pounces, nipping her hands lightly. Not enough to draw blood but sufficient to make her recoil. Free, I swing round to face her, raging.
"Whatever your game is, bitch," I growl, "next time you see me coming, you better fucking run! " And I drive a gauntleted fist into her jaw.
She collapses and I'm out of the door, the cats dashing along behind me.
"Stop that woman!" roars an angry male voice, and there is a sudden chatter of gunfire. People shriek and scatter in panic, ironically clearing a path for me. I run and run until my lungs are burning . But I'm in the express lift now and the doors open to the hanger. Shaking and gasping for breath as I board Felicette, requesting launch even before I've sat down. I've got a chance now; if those goons were local cops, they'd have the ship locked down already. But the delay in them trying to contact the police, explain the situation...that's my window.
The Anaconda is out of the station and two k away before flight control comes online, demanding I stand down and return. Well, duh. Boost kicks the ship forwards, even as FedSec Vipers converge on me, lasers licking my shields. Ha...they can't mass-lock me and the ship dives into supercruise.
That buys us bit more time. But interestingly, the COVAS hasn't reported any fine or bounty against me.
I set a course for my current base of operations. The main station in the Wolf 25 system, which I chose because its name seemed appropriate.
Now it really does describe how life seems to have gone, suddenly.