VFF The Book Continues part 5
POSTED BY: Colt999
UPDATED: Monday, March 16, 2009 23:49
VIEWED: 74804
PAGE 11 of 15
Mobbex walks Oram across the ravaged lobby, his hand holding her intact shoulder to prevent her from tumbling down should her legs collapse under her. He taps the call button as they come against the elevator doors, but the machine issues a negative sound cue, and the doors remain shut.
Mobbex: Huh... seems they's still got 'nough sense to lock the place tight *snickers as he rubs his meaty, callused palms together* Fat lot o' good it'll do 'em.
He pries his fingers into the narrow slit between the panels and huffs, puffs and grunts until he has wrestled them apart. Beaming self-approvingly, he ushers Oram into the car and leaves her leaning against a wall before turning his attention over to the elevator's controls. A set of half a dozen round-shaped buttons are embedded in the door body, but the polymer coating that once displayed the numbers and markings listing their respective functions has been thoroughly abraded.
Mobbex: *frowns as he attempts to call to mind the estate's layout*
Oram: *produces indistinct mumbling noises*
Mobbex: You say sum'in'?
Oram, her voice scarcely audible: ...Cheesecake...
Mobbex: *scoffs* Thanks, you a shinin' ball of help.
He shrugs and presses the bottommost button. The doors grate along their tracks as they come together, Mobbex's feat of strength having damaged their mechanism. He gives them a slight thrust to ensure that they're properly secured. The blaring whir of a hydraulic pump resonates around them, and the cabin slowly begins its descent.
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*She scoured every inch of the lock on the door, especially trying to ascertain how it worked. It was a single lock that operated two pins into the door. Knowing that it wasn’t going to be easy, she moved on. She pushed on the glass and it didn’t budge. She tried knocking on the glass to see if she could rouse the girl they had just savagely raped, but she didn’t move. She was probably in shock.
She looked around at the walls and knew there was no way to hide, no corner by the door she could hide and hope she could get a jump on at least one of them. She started to feel desperation and panic creep into her mind. She scanned the floor.
In the far corner, she spotted a discarded spoon. Probably left over from when someone was being fed. She realized that since the people in these cells were drugged most of the time, they probably were a bit cocky about details. abbey went and picked it up. It wasn’t sharp, but it was metal and sturdy. She went over and looked at the lock on the door again. She tried to shove the handle of the spoon into the locking mechanism, but it wouldn’t go. abbey leaned forward against the glass and looked down the hall to the best of her ability. She didn’t see anyone coming. She went back to looking at the door and saw something. A hinge. And the pin inside it was slightly loose. She went over to it and jammed the handle of the spoon in the space between the top of the pin and hinge itself. It fit perfectly and she started wiggling it. To her relief, the pin started to move.*
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*Oram leaned against the wall as Mobbex went off to play with the buttons. She didn’t miss the dead guy in the elevator with them. He looked like he’d been dead for a while… his chest looked like a splattered…*
Oram (more to herself than anyone): Cheesecake…
Mobbex: *scoffs* Thanks, you a shinin' ball of help.
*Oram ignored his remark, and kept herself busy with not doing a blackout from the blood or from how small the elevator was becoming around them. She could hear Mobbex pacing the small space like a caged animal and she opened her eyes just a bit to see him rubbing his right shoulder and grimacing in pain. He caught her glancing and followed her gaze to the dead guy.*
Mobbex: Ohhh! Dibs!
*He began rummaging through the dead guards pockets, tossing out what he didn’t think would fetch a penny or what was worth stealing. A long low whistle came from his lips when he found the money access card and a few pretty coins. Oram noticed this and Mobbex was about to tell her to shove her moral talk when she quietly piped up, still seeming to struggle with her words*
Oram: I get half…
*Mobbex snorted as he straitened up, shoving the loot safely within a sealed pocket, especially at the Docs cheek she was showing towards him.*
Mobbex: Aw, ya ain't gettin' half nothing! I jes saved yer skin an' dragged yer busted ass to safety. Consider it payment.
*She merely raised an eyebrow, sniffed from her still bleeding nose and looked away.*
Oram: Saved your arse first.
Mobbex: (indignantly) Saved my arse? Nigh crispy cookin' my manly bits is what ye did!
Oram: Should have left you there then if I knew this was the thanks I'd get.
*She was getting wordy with him and… well, two could play at that game. He just looked her up and down, leering.*
Mobbex: Yeah, an' by now you'd have the whole lot of 'em slavers taking turns to ram their bone up yer…
Oram: (sarcastically) Aw, you do care.
*Oram pulled a look of mock adoration, pulling the merc off track with his usual sexual comments. And she could tell it baffled him… the man couldn’t read a face if his life depended on it. She could see a vein throb in his neck, then he grimaced and turned away.*
Mobbex: Well… no… it's not…
*A *ding* drowned out his answer as did the grinding of the elevators gears and hydraulics. They shuddered to a stop and the doors opened to what could only be described as the underbelly of the estate, with a long corridor in front of them, he turned to her expectantly. Like he was waiting for an answer, but Oram could only blink blankly at him.*
Mobbex: (huffily) Thought so.
*This time she was able to semi-walk without much of his help, but he still guided her down the corridor.*
Oram: What… what did you say?
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Quote:
Originally posted by Oram:
Oram: What… what did you say?
Mobbex: Ain't none o' yer damn business!
Oram: Well it was half a minute ago! ...
Her foot slithers over a slimy surface. Frowning, she looks down and spots a narrow rill of blood winding from a pile of human bodies cavalierly thrown together against a wall, their uniforms stripped from them.
Oram: *a tremor of alarm prickles the back of her neck* I... assume that's your doing?
Mobbex, : What's it to ya if it is? *hunkers down before the roll up steel door barring entrance to the freight elevator and hefts it open*
Oram, her brass somewhat dulled as she is direly reminded of the kind of man she is dealing with: Not a thing, not a single thing. It's... good work.
Mobbex: *enters the elevator and turns to face her, his hand lingering over the controls* You comin'?
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FOURTH FLOOR
*It took some time to finish removing all the pins from the hinges. She was surprised that the guards hadn’t been back already. She set the spoon down on the floor next to the hardware she had removed. She bent down at the floor and shoved her fingertips into the space between the floor and the door and pulled. The bottom part pulled free, but just a couple of inches. She followed the space up to the side of the door and kept pulling until a gap formed all the way up. The locks on the opposite side of the door restricted the amount that the door could be pried open from the hinge side, but it was enough. abbey squeezed through the gap, accidentally ripping her pants when a beltloop caught on the edge and into the hallway. abbey rushed across the hall to where the other girl lay. She was dead; her neck twisted in an unnatural angle. They had killed her, probably because she fought back. abbey spied the gun still on the floor from where she had dropped it earlier and picked it up. The guards were so cocky that they either didn’t bother to pick it up or didn’t see it at all. She started towards the landing pad door but stopped and looked down at the dead girl again. Something inside of her snapped. abbey tightened her grip on the gun as she whirled around and walked back towards the elevator. When she got there, she heard loud music and raucous laughter coming from the right. She turned and followed it. Five guards sat there (Nasty #1 an #2 included), eating and drinking. They didn’t even see her coming. She fired at them, cutting one after another down. The last one died as his hand hit the alarm, but she kept shooting until the clip was empty. She stood there for a moment before the noise of the alarm jolted her back into reality. She dropped the gun on the floor, turned and ran towards the door leading out to the landing platform. As much as she didn’t want to leave the remaining slaves there, she knew she had to. She couldn’t help these people. She had no way to get them outside and even if she did, she had no means to get them away. She glanced down at the dead girl as she passed by and a lump formed in her throat.
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**Gorramit do something Captiany** Colt thought to his self. He glanced around at the only crew he knew to be breathing. Brit was looking a bit more unstable than usual. Her hands were locked in tights fists, her knuckles starting to turn blue.
Sky had a blank look on her face. Colt had seen it before. For every job that went well there were those that went pear shaped. Most times he figured a way around it but sometimes you just lose. Sky had done more jobs with Colt than anyone. Losing in our line of work …usually bloody. Sky was closing it out, going into survival mode.
Spots just kept reading the papers in his hands. He hadn’t spoken since he found them.
And that left him. Doing little of nothing. **There looking for your do something. Get your ass in gear** he screamed to himself. Nothing came and he knew why…Abbey. “I should have made her stay. She aint supposed to be in there. Hell the whole crew shouldn’t be here…least ways they signed up for it…This was bad. We’re losing.**
He looked at the crew in the small boat. “Bullshit we aint losing.” The crew snapped their heads around and he realized he had said that out loud. “Spots be ready to move when I get back. Brit..” He took her hands and unclenched her fists.”I need you to focus, you see me go down, you tell Sky Dong Ma?” Before he could turn to Sky he heard the action of her gun lock and load.
*Sky* You got a plan or we just going to feel our way through it like on Hera?
*Colt* I got a plan. You’re staying.” Before she could object Colt held up his hand “Sky they get me going up they sure as hell are going to start searchin down. They won’t make it back to the ship without you.”
She pondered this for a minute then holstered he gun. “You die, I’m taking your ship”
*Colt* “Fair enough”
Colt moved up the ladder and across the dock area to the elevators. As he was about to push the button he heard a grinding sound and thud. He moved up to the side of the door and waited for them to open. Nothing happened. He thought for a second that it had went back up but heard a grunting sound from inside. He moved back in front of the doors and could see a finger jammed into the space between the doors and the floor. Then another squeezed into place. Soon two meaty hands were prying the door up. Colt leveled his pistol head high and waited.
*Mobbex* “Wait don’t shoot!” Staring down Colt’s barrel.
*Colt* “Think that of worked with one of the guards?
*Mobbex nodding his head to the floor* “Weren’t talking to you”
Colt looked in and saw the Doc bleeding but holding a rather large gun, extremely level at his belly button.
*Colt* Abbey?
*Mobbex* “She got out with Wash and Stan”
It wasn’t quite relief that swept over Colt. His crew was shot to hell and they were still sitting in the middle of some heavily armed slavers that would take great pleasure in shooting up the other half but it was a start. “You walk?” as he moved to pick up Oram.
*Mobbex* “I’ll make it.”
They moved quickly across the dock and loaded into the boat. A short time later they could see the Book come into view.
-----------
*Colt* “What the hell you mean she’s not here?”
Spinning from Wash to Mobbex. “You said she was on the shuttle?”
*Mobbex* “Hell I thought she was. Don’t go blaming me for this I had my hands full saving that on.” He pointed into the infirmary where Sky was trying to stabilize Oram. Next to her was a much worse off Stan.
Colt let the room stop spinning before he spoke. “Mobbex get on the Cortex and wave that friend of Stans...Jimbob…Jack…Joey yeah Joey. Tell him Stan’s in a bad way and find out where the closest Med facility is.
Sky do what you can for em . They look like they might not make it you get in the air and get them to help.
*Wash* “We gonna leave you here?”
*Colt ignoring her* “Wait as long as you can.”
*Wash* “We can’t leave…Right?”
*Colt* “Spots your driving. Brit...* Colt sees her rocking back and forth on a crate with her arms wrapped around her*”I hate to ask this of you darling...bu
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She burst through the doors and up onto the landing platform. The night sky was making it hard to see, but a few well-placed lights helped enough.
It didn’t look like a platform. It was well hidden. No markings to speak of, but she knew that this must have been the way that the slaves were transferred. She looked around to try to find a way to get free of the estate, but could only see the top of a ladder illuminated on the far side. Having no choice, she ran over to it and looked down.
The ladder was lined with small lights and went down most of the height of the building, but a sense of vertigo suddenly overwhelmed her. She heard a sound behind her and saw more guards coming out of the door. Knowing she had been spotted and that there was no other way, she started climbing down as fast as she could. Oddly, they didn’t shoot at her, but she heard someone from above say something about not killing her because some high ups were coming. She got down to last rung and it was next to a maintenance shaft door. She climbed to the outside of the ladder and swung out to try to open it, but it was locked.
Guard *from on the ladder above her*: You got nowhere to go now.
abbey looked down at the water. She was probably a good 30 feet from the surface. The sound of a dog barking filled her ears. A memory that lingered made her think twice about doing what she knew she had to do… again. She felt the thump of someone climbing closer to her and looked up. He was not more than five rungs above her. She looked down, let go of the ladder and fell into the water.
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Grayson was trying to continue his work, checking up on some of his charges and monitoring intel on some of his perpetrators. The wave he got earlier made him nervous. So much so, that he had pulled up the files associated with this particular informant. He was in a key position that went across 3 or 4 known criminal operations, so narrowing it down right away was impossible. He finally gave up on work and started pacing.
Another wave came in and Grayson shot to the terminal. Again it was encrypted so he quickly tapped in the code to view it. It didn't hold many words, but they were important. It said:
Siringo Estate. Newhall.
Grayson swore under his breath.
Grayson *growling*: Gorram slavers.
He made a quick wave.
Grayson: This is Grayson Cornwell. Ready my ship. I'm going to Newhall. I'll be there within the hour.
Newhall was a good two or three days ride going at full burn from where he currently was. He didn't have any more information, but he was sure as Hell gonna be there - or on the way there - when he got more.
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...
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Quote:
Orginally posted by COLT999:
“Mobbex get on the Cortex and wave that friend of Stans...Jimbob…Jack…Joey yeah Joey. Tell him Stan’s in a bad way and find out where the closest Med facility is."
Mobbex gives a quick dip of his head and bolts upstairs. He makes his way to the bridge and seats himself in the cortex alcove, flicking random switches and vociferating at the idle screens as he struggles to recall the working of the terminal. Eventually the monitors flicker to life, and he sits expectantly as the Book's communication array attempts to link up with the nearest cortex buoy. Once the machine lets out sharp tweet signaling that the connexion has been established, he clumsily punches in Joey's cortex handle, his meaty paws seeming ill-fitted for such delicate handiwork, and the form of a mild-eyed young man of sino heritage soon materializes on the screen.
Mobbex: Joey? 'You Joey?
Joey: Might be. Who's asking?
Mobbex: Yer friend Stan's down with a bad case of gun bite. Care to lend a hand?
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