Poll Results:
Allow the guy in and pretend to be FEA: 5 votes
Shoot the guy through the door: 5 votes
Escape out the back: 3 votes
--Author's note: Uh-oh! A tie. I'm told this means I have to do both things somehow. Forgive me if it's a bit clumsy. It's my first time.--
BANG!
"What did you do that for?" Zim whispered to Phil, who had removed the blaster from his pocket and shot through the door.
"We have to look around more."
"HAHA missed me!" shouted the voice from the other side of the door. Phil froze. Zim walked to the door and opened it.
"Sorry about that" she grinned "He was... cleaning it." Phil looked at the blaster.
The man entered the room. He was tall, lean, and clean-shaven but his manner of speaking was unsophisticated. He sounded like a native to Q450 and that meant one of two things. Either his parents were complete idiots and left Earth to live there, or he wasn't a human at all.
"I'm Norm." Phil held out his hand.
"Jack." Jack looked around. "What happened here?"
"Well, we were told to get our next assignment here but the place was empty when we arrived so we've been looking around... to see if we could tell what happened."
"Empty?! The place was empty when you got here?" Jack looked panicked.
"Yeah?"
"You idiot. Don't you remember protocol?" Jack pulled a blaster out of his pocket and started looking around.
"I guess it's been a while..." Phil looked at Zim. She shrugged.
Jack walked over to the wall and ripped out the communicator. He messed around for a moment with the wires before replacing it. "It hasn't been bugged." He then began running through the house and banging doors down. Finally, he came to the door to the garage and kicked it in. Phil put his finger on the trigger of his blaster, ready to fight Jack.
"OH SHIT! Norm! Come look at this! They're all dead!"
Phil walked over to where Jack was standing and carefully looked over his shoulder.
"Oh, Jeez, this is bad. This is really bad. We're in trouble." Jack went back to the communicator and dialed a number. After a few beeps, a voice responded on the other end.
"Hello?"
"Hi. This is Jack. I'm at 47."
"Jack at 47. Why are you breaking silence?"
"I'm sorry sir, but I just arrived here and everyone is dead. There's a guy Norm, he says he just got here."
"Norm is there?"
"Yes, sir."
"Jack at 47. Proceed with extreme caution. Norm is the enemy. You must either bring him in or terminate him immediately. Once you have the situation under control, return to rendezvous ASAP."
"Copy."
Jack turned toward Phil and leveled a blaster at his head. Phil squinted. Suddenly, Jack lowered his arm. Phil lunged forward to grab the blaster from him but Jack began to fall. His eyes rolled back into his head and he fell to the ground revealing Zim behind him with her inner wrist exposed.
"YOU CAN'T JUST KILL EVERYONE! If we leave a trail of bodies we're going to have more than the FEA after us in no time!"
"I didn't!" Zim smiled and grabbed Phil's hand, shoving it against Jack's neck. "See? He still has a pulse. He's only shocked."
Monday, June 2, 2008
Thursday, May 22, 2008
Chapter 6
Poll Results:
Attempt an answer: 2 votes
Feign ignorance: 0 votes
Fight his way out: 2 votes
Try to escape: 1 vote
action scene happens and sexbot and protagonist are split up. sexbot is alone and ends up in area that hates robots LIKE IN THAT SCENE FROM THE AI MOVIE. only sexbot meets a teenage girl that looks exactly like Kristen Stewart. Kristen Stewart girl has no parents and sexbot saves her from a gang (that is how they meet) and Kristen Stewart girl gets a girl crush on sexbot and sexbots malfunction kind of increases so they kind of have this not-quite-so-platonic love thing going on. they go on a big adventure thign to find protagonist guy and Kristen Stewart girl gets infected with nanobots that may possibly kill her. Luckily sexbot is powered by super future shit that has cold coolant shit whatever in her. Sexbot then creatively collects Kristen Stewarts dna in order to clone her if anything should happen.: 3 votes
write in vote: before phil acts, zim kills the first armed man by smashing his nose up into his skull, and transitioning seamlessly to the next move, kills the second by slicing his neck with a blade concealed in her foot. The third comes at her and she punches him an open palm out of which a pneumatic spike is driven into his stomach. The fourth runs away and she picks up one of the blasters and shoots him in the head. Phil is upset and disturbed afterwards and begins to suspect she enjoys killing humans.: 1 vote
-- Author's note:
Yes, I missed a post. Sorry about that. Husband had a birthday, Son had a barfy sickness, and I had a midwife appointment. I don't intend for this to happen again, at least in the near future, but I can't promise things won't come up.
As a favor to Jes, I removed a vote that she said she cast and could not remove since the poll was closed. I never said that I wouldn't do that, so I did it, but now I'm saying I won't do it again. The reason for this is that I can't ever be sure who cast the vote and people could be asking me to remove votes that weren't theirs in favor of write-ins or whatever it is they want to win.
I also can't promise that if your write-in vote derails my plot entirely that it won't be... hehehehehe... derailed --
A flash of light illuminated the garage. Phil was blinded. He could hear shuffling around him as he struggled to regain his vision. When the spots in front of him finally dissipated, he saw Zim standing in the garage amid the limp bodies of the men who had only seconds ago threatened his life. Phil spun around to look behind him. Zim was there. There were two of her.
He eyed the new Zim. She was shuffling through the pockets of the redheaded man. When she finally emerged she had in her hand a small purple orb.
"I know what that is. I'm going to need to confiscate that."
"Only if you want to die." Zim indicated the bodies around her. "Unless you think you could have handled this yourself..."
Phil sighed. He was quickly learning just not to argue with Zim. The new Zim passed the purple orb to the old Zim. "You need to get to downtown."
"They'll kill her there! They hate cyborgs!"
"In case you hadn't noticed, she - I - blend in pretty well. Why would they even know she - I - was a cyborg unless I told them? It's hardly a threat at all! I've survived for years among humans! What makes you think I would have gotten anywhere outside of the brothels if I couldn't blend in? You couldn't have figured this out?"
"Sorry! Sorry." Old Zim rolled her eyes at him.
"There's someone there who needs you. You'll recognize her cause she looks just like Kristen Stewart."
"Who?" old Zim asked.
"You know. That b-list actress from centuries ago that we wouldn't know anything about except that she was in this AWFUL movie, Jumper, that Benjamin used to like." Old Zim nodded, took the orb, and ran.
Phil climbed out of the transporter. "Where did you send her?"
"Things didn't go as well last time... they killed you."
"KILLED me?"
"Yes. I managed to get the time orb from that one afterwards but I couldn't save you."
"So you've been hiding out downtown?"
"It wasn't difficult." She rolled her eyes. "Honestly. Even you didn't recognize that I was a cyborg until I actually took my hand off. Why would you think anyone would even notice?"
"Sorry! So who's the girl she's going to find?"
"Oh, just a girl who looks just like Kristen Stewart. She's an orphan and I had to save her from a gang. She then developed a crush on me, so we kind of..."
"Hot."
"Well, it's what I'm programmed for. Anyway, she got a nanobot infection that was going to kill her so I stuck my tongue in her vagina to get some DNA from her and keep frozen in my coolant compartment in the back of my neck. When she died, I used the orb to come back and make sure you would be okay." She smiled. "I missed you."
Phil smiled uncomfortably. Cyborgs weren't supposed to miss people. "As hot as that sounds... and I'd like to hear more about it later, why couldn't you have just gotten DNA from her mouth or hair?"
"Well her mouth was contaminated with the nanobots which could have killed me. Hair is hard to swallow."
"Hot."
Zim rolled her eyes. "We need to get in there and snoop around and see what we're dealing with."
Phil nodded and shook the images out of his head. They let themselves in through the garage door. The house looked much like Norm's - underfurnished and disheveled. There were several bags of garbage piled in a corner that smelled of rotting food. Papers, pencils, blasters, and disposable plates littered the surfaces. Zim went straight for the closet while Phil sorted through the papers. They were mostly communiques. Phil noticed a few with stationery from his own department. He grabbed a handful into a pile. He would have to read them later.
Zim emerged from the closet with eight shoeboxes. "It appears they all use the same filing system." She placed them on the table. "And there's more." She looked worried as she opened one of the boxes. It was filled with the same variety of identifications that Norm had. Phil was starting to feel panicky. How many of the people in his agency were FEA? What would happen to him if he went back?
The doorbell rang. Zim looked at Phil. Phil shrugged. Zim walked over to the door. "What agency do you work for?" Zim shouted through the door.
"All of them."
Attempt an answer: 2 votes
Feign ignorance: 0 votes
Fight his way out: 2 votes
Try to escape: 1 vote
action scene happens and sexbot and protagonist are split up. sexbot is alone and ends up in area that hates robots LIKE IN THAT SCENE FROM THE AI MOVIE. only sexbot meets a teenage girl that looks exactly like Kristen Stewart. Kristen Stewart girl has no parents and sexbot saves her from a gang (that is how they meet) and Kristen Stewart girl gets a girl crush on sexbot and sexbots malfunction kind of increases so they kind of have this not-quite-so-platonic love thing going on. they go on a big adventure thign to find protagonist guy and Kristen Stewart girl gets infected with nanobots that may possibly kill her. Luckily sexbot is powered by super future shit that has cold coolant shit whatever in her. Sexbot then creatively collects Kristen Stewarts dna in order to clone her if anything should happen.: 3 votes
write in vote: before phil acts, zim kills the first armed man by smashing his nose up into his skull, and transitioning seamlessly to the next move, kills the second by slicing his neck with a blade concealed in her foot. The third comes at her and she punches him an open palm out of which a pneumatic spike is driven into his stomach. The fourth runs away and she picks up one of the blasters and shoots him in the head. Phil is upset and disturbed afterwards and begins to suspect she enjoys killing humans.: 1 vote
-- Author's note:
Yes, I missed a post. Sorry about that. Husband had a birthday, Son had a barfy sickness, and I had a midwife appointment. I don't intend for this to happen again, at least in the near future, but I can't promise things won't come up.
As a favor to Jes, I removed a vote that she said she cast and could not remove since the poll was closed. I never said that I wouldn't do that, so I did it, but now I'm saying I won't do it again. The reason for this is that I can't ever be sure who cast the vote and people could be asking me to remove votes that weren't theirs in favor of write-ins or whatever it is they want to win.
I also can't promise that if your write-in vote derails my plot entirely that it won't be... hehehehehe... derailed --
A flash of light illuminated the garage. Phil was blinded. He could hear shuffling around him as he struggled to regain his vision. When the spots in front of him finally dissipated, he saw Zim standing in the garage amid the limp bodies of the men who had only seconds ago threatened his life. Phil spun around to look behind him. Zim was there. There were two of her.
He eyed the new Zim. She was shuffling through the pockets of the redheaded man. When she finally emerged she had in her hand a small purple orb.
"I know what that is. I'm going to need to confiscate that."
"Only if you want to die." Zim indicated the bodies around her. "Unless you think you could have handled this yourself..."
Phil sighed. He was quickly learning just not to argue with Zim. The new Zim passed the purple orb to the old Zim. "You need to get to downtown."
"They'll kill her there! They hate cyborgs!"
"In case you hadn't noticed, she - I - blend in pretty well. Why would they even know she - I - was a cyborg unless I told them? It's hardly a threat at all! I've survived for years among humans! What makes you think I would have gotten anywhere outside of the brothels if I couldn't blend in? You couldn't have figured this out?"
"Sorry! Sorry." Old Zim rolled her eyes at him.
"There's someone there who needs you. You'll recognize her cause she looks just like Kristen Stewart."
"Who?" old Zim asked.
"You know. That b-list actress from centuries ago that we wouldn't know anything about except that she was in this AWFUL movie, Jumper, that Benjamin used to like." Old Zim nodded, took the orb, and ran.
Phil climbed out of the transporter. "Where did you send her?"
"Things didn't go as well last time... they killed you."
"KILLED me?"
"Yes. I managed to get the time orb from that one afterwards but I couldn't save you."
"So you've been hiding out downtown?"
"It wasn't difficult." She rolled her eyes. "Honestly. Even you didn't recognize that I was a cyborg until I actually took my hand off. Why would you think anyone would even notice?"
"Sorry! So who's the girl she's going to find?"
"Oh, just a girl who looks just like Kristen Stewart. She's an orphan and I had to save her from a gang. She then developed a crush on me, so we kind of..."
"Hot."
"Well, it's what I'm programmed for. Anyway, she got a nanobot infection that was going to kill her so I stuck my tongue in her vagina to get some DNA from her and keep frozen in my coolant compartment in the back of my neck. When she died, I used the orb to come back and make sure you would be okay." She smiled. "I missed you."
Phil smiled uncomfortably. Cyborgs weren't supposed to miss people. "As hot as that sounds... and I'd like to hear more about it later, why couldn't you have just gotten DNA from her mouth or hair?"
"Well her mouth was contaminated with the nanobots which could have killed me. Hair is hard to swallow."
"Hot."
Zim rolled her eyes. "We need to get in there and snoop around and see what we're dealing with."
Phil nodded and shook the images out of his head. They let themselves in through the garage door. The house looked much like Norm's - underfurnished and disheveled. There were several bags of garbage piled in a corner that smelled of rotting food. Papers, pencils, blasters, and disposable plates littered the surfaces. Zim went straight for the closet while Phil sorted through the papers. They were mostly communiques. Phil noticed a few with stationery from his own department. He grabbed a handful into a pile. He would have to read them later.
Zim emerged from the closet with eight shoeboxes. "It appears they all use the same filing system." She placed them on the table. "And there's more." She looked worried as she opened one of the boxes. It was filled with the same variety of identifications that Norm had. Phil was starting to feel panicky. How many of the people in his agency were FEA? What would happen to him if he went back?
The doorbell rang. Zim looked at Phil. Phil shrugged. Zim walked over to the door. "What agency do you work for?" Zim shouted through the door.
"All of them."
Thursday, May 15, 2008
Chapter 5
Poll Results:
Open the door: 4 votes
Escape out a window: 1 vote
Have Zim open the door: 3 votes
Barricade the door and search the apartment more: 1 vote
It is the swinger neighbors looking for some action. They don't mind that it's someone else. (The deafening boom, cracked walls, and shattered glass were coincidental; a supersonic aircraft had flown over too close to ground level.): 3 votes
Zim pressed a spot on her wrist with a motion Phil had seen before. Phil crawled out from under the coffee table and emptied the shoe box. He stuffed the contents into his coat pocket. Zim positioned herself behind the door. Phil hoped for his sake she had quick reflexes and good aim. He opened the door.
In the hallway, a short balding man with a permanent sneer and a 2-day beard checked a note he held in his hand. "You Norm?"
Phil looked at Zim. She shrugged. "Yes."
"I'm your transport. You got bags or something? I'm parked outside and I don't want to stay there long if I can avoid it." The sound of chaos was still overwhelming through the blown-out windows.
"No bags." Zim pressed the spot on her wrist again, deactivating whatever weapon it was she possessed, Phil assumed. "Um, I've got somebody coming with me." Phil opened the door more to display Zim. "Will that be extra?"
The man's eyes rested on her perfect bosom. "No! Uh, no. She can sit up front with me." Zim rubbed her wrist.
Minutes later they were hovering several meters over the dust, broken glass, and panicked mob on the street below. "My name is Cro. Don't ask. My parents were... well, we don't choose our family, right? HA. I'm pretty sure I can get you through all this to the CrossStation but it is going to be absolute hell to travel today. Probably a good thing you don't have bags even though you'll probably have to pay for your food and stuff the whole trip this way since you didn't bring nothing and all they have is those nasty hot dogs. You'd think they'd have more human food than that seeing as how this planet is about ninety percent human nowadays but the like five Cryleans left like to pretend we're just visiting or some shit apparently they like their denial more than profit. If only the locals would let humans get business licenses we could get some good food here. Anyway, I don't envy you traveling today. I hate traveling by ship myself but I guess that's going to be the only way to get anywhere now, eh? HA."
"Why? What happened?" Phil asked.
Cro looked around at Phil. "You uh... you don't know?"
"No. We heard an explosion and then you came to the door. We didn't have time to find out."
"Huh." Cro hesitated for a moment and then laughed. "Well, you wouldn't believe it. Another portal's blown. This time ours. Pain in the ass. I guess we're all stuck here now unless we want to travel by Ship."
Phil's head was swimming. The kidnapping had been a diversion. The transport he and Zim were now on was supposed to be Norm's escape. The entire seventeen days he had been there were just a waste of time, smoke and mirrors set up to keep Phil from finding out what was really going on. When Phil looked up, Zim was looking back at him intently. She subtly moved her eyes toward the window. She was trying to tell him something.
Phil looked out. They were surrounded by houses, nowhere near the industrial district where CrossStation was located. "Where are we?" Phil demanded.
"What agency do you work for?"
"What?"
"What agency do you work for?" Cro was more insistent this time.
"I don't know what you're talking about." Cro pulled a blaster from a compartment underneath his seat and aimed it at Zim's head.
"Get in the back with him." She complied and crawled over the seat next to Phil. They sat in silence with the blaster aimed at them for the next several minutes before finally pulling to a stop in a hidden garage behind a house. Four armed men surrounded their transport. The tallest one, a redhead walked to Cro's window and aimed a blaster at his head.
"What are you doing here?" The redhead demanded.
"This ain't him. I got there and he said he was him but he don't know anything and I asked him the question and he-"
"This wasn't your job. This isn't what we asked you to do. You are not authorized to identify agents." Phil could hear the redhead's blaster charging up.
Cro held his hands up "ASK HIM! ASK HIM YOURSELF! IT AIN'T HIM!"
"Then you should not have brought him here." The blaster fired. The transporter was instantly filled with heat and the smell of burnt skin and hair. Cro's limp, now headless body slumped over in his seat. The redhead opened Phil's door and aimed his blaster at Phil.
"What agency do you work for?" Phil could hear the blaster charging again.
Open the door: 4 votes
Escape out a window: 1 vote
Have Zim open the door: 3 votes
Barricade the door and search the apartment more: 1 vote
It is the swinger neighbors looking for some action. They don't mind that it's someone else. (The deafening boom, cracked walls, and shattered glass were coincidental; a supersonic aircraft had flown over too close to ground level.): 3 votes
Zim pressed a spot on her wrist with a motion Phil had seen before. Phil crawled out from under the coffee table and emptied the shoe box. He stuffed the contents into his coat pocket. Zim positioned herself behind the door. Phil hoped for his sake she had quick reflexes and good aim. He opened the door.
In the hallway, a short balding man with a permanent sneer and a 2-day beard checked a note he held in his hand. "You Norm?"
Phil looked at Zim. She shrugged. "Yes."
"I'm your transport. You got bags or something? I'm parked outside and I don't want to stay there long if I can avoid it." The sound of chaos was still overwhelming through the blown-out windows.
"No bags." Zim pressed the spot on her wrist again, deactivating whatever weapon it was she possessed, Phil assumed. "Um, I've got somebody coming with me." Phil opened the door more to display Zim. "Will that be extra?"
The man's eyes rested on her perfect bosom. "No! Uh, no. She can sit up front with me." Zim rubbed her wrist.
Minutes later they were hovering several meters over the dust, broken glass, and panicked mob on the street below. "My name is Cro. Don't ask. My parents were... well, we don't choose our family, right? HA. I'm pretty sure I can get you through all this to the CrossStation but it is going to be absolute hell to travel today. Probably a good thing you don't have bags even though you'll probably have to pay for your food and stuff the whole trip this way since you didn't bring nothing and all they have is those nasty hot dogs. You'd think they'd have more human food than that seeing as how this planet is about ninety percent human nowadays but the like five Cryleans left like to pretend we're just visiting or some shit apparently they like their denial more than profit. If only the locals would let humans get business licenses we could get some good food here. Anyway, I don't envy you traveling today. I hate traveling by ship myself but I guess that's going to be the only way to get anywhere now, eh? HA."
"Why? What happened?" Phil asked.
Cro looked around at Phil. "You uh... you don't know?"
"No. We heard an explosion and then you came to the door. We didn't have time to find out."
"Huh." Cro hesitated for a moment and then laughed. "Well, you wouldn't believe it. Another portal's blown. This time ours. Pain in the ass. I guess we're all stuck here now unless we want to travel by Ship."
Phil's head was swimming. The kidnapping had been a diversion. The transport he and Zim were now on was supposed to be Norm's escape. The entire seventeen days he had been there were just a waste of time, smoke and mirrors set up to keep Phil from finding out what was really going on. When Phil looked up, Zim was looking back at him intently. She subtly moved her eyes toward the window. She was trying to tell him something.
Phil looked out. They were surrounded by houses, nowhere near the industrial district where CrossStation was located. "Where are we?" Phil demanded.
"What agency do you work for?"
"What?"
"What agency do you work for?" Cro was more insistent this time.
"I don't know what you're talking about." Cro pulled a blaster from a compartment underneath his seat and aimed it at Zim's head.
"Get in the back with him." She complied and crawled over the seat next to Phil. They sat in silence with the blaster aimed at them for the next several minutes before finally pulling to a stop in a hidden garage behind a house. Four armed men surrounded their transport. The tallest one, a redhead walked to Cro's window and aimed a blaster at his head.
"What are you doing here?" The redhead demanded.
"This ain't him. I got there and he said he was him but he don't know anything and I asked him the question and he-"
"This wasn't your job. This isn't what we asked you to do. You are not authorized to identify agents." Phil could hear the redhead's blaster charging up.
Cro held his hands up "ASK HIM! ASK HIM YOURSELF! IT AIN'T HIM!"
"Then you should not have brought him here." The blaster fired. The transporter was instantly filled with heat and the smell of burnt skin and hair. Cro's limp, now headless body slumped over in his seat. The redhead opened Phil's door and aimed his blaster at Phil.
"What agency do you work for?" Phil could hear the blaster charging again.
Monday, May 12, 2008
Chapter 4
Poll Results:
Search Norm's apartment: 5 votes
Ditch Zim and report back to agency: 0 votes
Take Zim and go into hiding: 1 vote
Phil and Zim plan and execute an elaborate assassination plot against the FEA heads that fully utilizes Zim's sexual skills and Phil's mutant eleventh finger. : 1 vote
"Well, now you've killed Norm he won't be much good to get information out of." Zim walked briskly beside Phil. They had walked about 4 kilometers since escaping from the basement and Zim had not let Phil out of arm's reach. "And obviously something was going on there. I could lose my job over this." Phil was panting and out of breath. He was starting to feel dizzy and his head was pounding. He hadn't eaten since the night before.
"Where are we going?"
"You can go wherever you want. I need to figure out what Norm was really doing here."
"I'm not leaving you."
Phil reached into his wallet. "Oh. Sorry, how much do I owe you?"
Zim actually looked hurt. Phil was beginning to feel very uneasy about her. Cyborgs weren't supposed to go on the run or kill people or get their feelings hurt and Phil couldn't think of a malfunction that would cause all of this behavior. "You don't owe me anything, I just want to stay with you."
"Why? I'm not going to turn you into authorities if that's what you're worried about."
"Does it matter why? You need me. You would have been tortured or worse if I hadn't been there."
"I guess." Phil looked around. "We're only about two blocks away from Norm's apartment now. You can come with me but try to look inconspicuous." Zim smiled.
"What's your name?"
"Dennis."
"Is that your real name?"
"No."
"Norm called you Phillip. Is that your real name?"
"No." He lied.
"Good then. That's one less thing he knew about you." Phil sighed. He wished that were true. He needed to know immediately just how much Norm did know.
Phil jimmied the lock open at Norm's apartment. It was exactly the same as it had looked that morning. There was dirty laundry lying all over the floor. The communicator on the wall looked out of order. The kitchen was bare save for appliances and a trash can full of disposable plates and forks. Flies were gathering. Phil didn't know how much time they would have before somebody came looking for Norm but he knew if he didn't eat he wouldn't be able to think clearly. He went into the kitchen and looked through the cabinets and refrigerator while Zim busied herself looking through Norm's drawers.
Fortunately for Phil, whatever Norm lacked in the rest of his self-care, he sure ate well. Phil found bread, lunch meat, potato salad, and strawberries. This would be the best meal he'd eaten in weeks. There were unused disposable plates in one of the cupboard and he sat himself down to eat. Within minutes he started to feel more like himself again. The headache ebbed away, the hunger pangs died down, and he was finally able to think clearly again.
Zim, meanwhile, had a very fruitful search. When Phil re-entered the main room, Zim had spread out a number of files and a shoe box over the coffee table. "Are you feeling better now?"
"Much."
"Good. Listen, these over here" she gestured to a pile of papers covered in coffee stains "...seem to be all the intelligence he gathered on you. He has your employment file. Apparently, he already knew what agency you were working for, Phillip." She smiled. "I don't know why he would have gone to all that trouble to torture us, then."
"Me either."
"Over here he has files on a number of other people from your agency and beyond, and over here..." She seemed to hesitate as she lifted the shoebox. "Well, this one is troublesome."
"Did you find anything about the FEA? Any uh... memos or... I don't know, anything?"
"No, sorry."
Phil took the shoe box from her and sat on the couch. She carefully lowered herself beside him, looking warily at the box. Phil opened it with care. Immediately, he could see that it was indeed troublesome. Inside the box were a number of IDs and badges. There was a police badge from Q450, a badge from Earth Intelligence Unit, Phil's agency, an Earth passport, a badge from Somia Federal Force and an operating license for class B transporters. The passport and operating license had Norm's name on them but without a special reader, Phil could not know what names were attached to the badges. For security purposes, they weren't displayed in case an undercover agent lost one.
"They could belong to anyone." Phil explained to Zim. "He could have stolen them."
"He could have..." Zim looked uneasy. Phil knew what she was thinking.
Suddenly there was a deafening boom. The ground quaked beneath them and the walls cracked. All of the windows blew out and shards of glass landed on the floor all around them. Phil could hear nothing but ringing in his ears. Zim covered him with her body and they took cover under the coffee table.
When the dust in the apartment settled, Phil stood up. There were screaming people and sirens in the street. Somebody banged on the door.
Search Norm's apartment: 5 votes
Ditch Zim and report back to agency: 0 votes
Take Zim and go into hiding: 1 vote
Phil and Zim plan and execute an elaborate assassination plot against the FEA heads that fully utilizes Zim's sexual skills and Phil's mutant eleventh finger. : 1 vote
"Well, now you've killed Norm he won't be much good to get information out of." Zim walked briskly beside Phil. They had walked about 4 kilometers since escaping from the basement and Zim had not let Phil out of arm's reach. "And obviously something was going on there. I could lose my job over this." Phil was panting and out of breath. He was starting to feel dizzy and his head was pounding. He hadn't eaten since the night before.
"Where are we going?"
"You can go wherever you want. I need to figure out what Norm was really doing here."
"I'm not leaving you."
Phil reached into his wallet. "Oh. Sorry, how much do I owe you?"
Zim actually looked hurt. Phil was beginning to feel very uneasy about her. Cyborgs weren't supposed to go on the run or kill people or get their feelings hurt and Phil couldn't think of a malfunction that would cause all of this behavior. "You don't owe me anything, I just want to stay with you."
"Why? I'm not going to turn you into authorities if that's what you're worried about."
"Does it matter why? You need me. You would have been tortured or worse if I hadn't been there."
"I guess." Phil looked around. "We're only about two blocks away from Norm's apartment now. You can come with me but try to look inconspicuous." Zim smiled.
"What's your name?"
"Dennis."
"Is that your real name?"
"No."
"Norm called you Phillip. Is that your real name?"
"No." He lied.
"Good then. That's one less thing he knew about you." Phil sighed. He wished that were true. He needed to know immediately just how much Norm did know.
Phil jimmied the lock open at Norm's apartment. It was exactly the same as it had looked that morning. There was dirty laundry lying all over the floor. The communicator on the wall looked out of order. The kitchen was bare save for appliances and a trash can full of disposable plates and forks. Flies were gathering. Phil didn't know how much time they would have before somebody came looking for Norm but he knew if he didn't eat he wouldn't be able to think clearly. He went into the kitchen and looked through the cabinets and refrigerator while Zim busied herself looking through Norm's drawers.
Fortunately for Phil, whatever Norm lacked in the rest of his self-care, he sure ate well. Phil found bread, lunch meat, potato salad, and strawberries. This would be the best meal he'd eaten in weeks. There were unused disposable plates in one of the cupboard and he sat himself down to eat. Within minutes he started to feel more like himself again. The headache ebbed away, the hunger pangs died down, and he was finally able to think clearly again.
Zim, meanwhile, had a very fruitful search. When Phil re-entered the main room, Zim had spread out a number of files and a shoe box over the coffee table. "Are you feeling better now?"
"Much."
"Good. Listen, these over here" she gestured to a pile of papers covered in coffee stains "...seem to be all the intelligence he gathered on you. He has your employment file. Apparently, he already knew what agency you were working for, Phillip." She smiled. "I don't know why he would have gone to all that trouble to torture us, then."
"Me either."
"Over here he has files on a number of other people from your agency and beyond, and over here..." She seemed to hesitate as she lifted the shoebox. "Well, this one is troublesome."
"Did you find anything about the FEA? Any uh... memos or... I don't know, anything?"
"No, sorry."
Phil took the shoe box from her and sat on the couch. She carefully lowered herself beside him, looking warily at the box. Phil opened it with care. Immediately, he could see that it was indeed troublesome. Inside the box were a number of IDs and badges. There was a police badge from Q450, a badge from Earth Intelligence Unit, Phil's agency, an Earth passport, a badge from Somia Federal Force and an operating license for class B transporters. The passport and operating license had Norm's name on them but without a special reader, Phil could not know what names were attached to the badges. For security purposes, they weren't displayed in case an undercover agent lost one.
"They could belong to anyone." Phil explained to Zim. "He could have stolen them."
"He could have..." Zim looked uneasy. Phil knew what she was thinking.
Suddenly there was a deafening boom. The ground quaked beneath them and the walls cracked. All of the windows blew out and shards of glass landed on the floor all around them. Phil could hear nothing but ringing in his ears. Zim covered him with her body and they took cover under the coffee table.
When the dust in the apartment settled, Phil stood up. There were screaming people and sirens in the street. Somebody banged on the door.
Thursday, May 8, 2008
Chapter 3
Poll Results:
Play Stupid: 1 vote
Tell Norm who he works for: 1 vote
Try to escape WITH the prostitute: 5 votes
Try to escape WITHOUT the prostitute: 2 votes
Detailed torture scene: 1 vote
Phil looked around the room for an escape route. The window toward the top of the wall appeared just large enough for him to fit through but it was behind the two large men and there didn't seem to be a ladder anywhere near to help him get to it. There was a door on the far side of the room on the other side of Norm, who didn't appear to be armed and for all his surprises still probably wasn't much of a fighting champ. Phil looked around the room. Within arms reach there was a chair, a wooden crate, and a table. Phil figured he could probably take Norm out pretty easily with the chair and make a dash for the door but then if the door was locked, there would be more problems and that still didn't account for the prostitute. Her only crime was being in the wrong place at the wrong time and Phil knew if he left her, they would probably kill her and God knows what else trying to get information. He would have to buy time to make a plan.
"Okay. Okay. Take it easy. Just let her go and I'll tell you everything you need to know."
"We're not letting her go."
"Then you will find me less than cooperative."
"That's a shame. Dorian!" The man holding the prostitute grabbed and twisted one of her arms. She screamed in agony.
"Okay. I'm going to be honest with you, Norm. I work for the FEA. They asked me to watch you, to make sure you didn't screw up the deal." Norm hesitated for a moment. "They didn't trust you. They thought you might try to make off with the money."
"Did they?"
"Yes. It's true." Norm looked thoughtful.
"They sent you to follow me? To make sure I didn't screw up the deal, huh?"
"Yes."
"That's troublesome."
"I understand. I know. They betrayed you, but I can help you. We can take them down together."
"Hm. Dorian... kill her."
"NO!" Phil watched as Dorian knocked the girl into the arms of the other man. She screamed and struggled as he held her. Dorian wrapped his hands around her neck. Phil could hear her shoes banging against the ground in the struggle but she was unable to scream any longer. "STOP! PLEASE!"
"There was no deal, Phil. The FEA didn't send me to get weapons. They sent me to waste your time while they carried out their actual plans."
"STOP HURTING HER!"
"It never even occurred to you? In the ten years they've been operating they've never once been caught and you really believed you had a hot lead?" The prostitute's kicks slowed and became weaker. "Anyway it doesn't matter. Their plans have changed now. They don't just want to blow up portals. They've decided to take on something bigger. And you-"
Suddenly, Phil heard light, high-pitched giggling. The prostitute had stopped struggling. She was laughing. Dorian looked confused. He grabbed her neck tighter. The prostitute laughed harder. "I like it rough" she purred, then reached down and grabbed her thigh, turned it like a key and removed it from her body. She lifted it to reveal a bundle of lights and exposed circuitry before jamming it against Dorian. He went stiff and emitted a high-pitched scream before falling to the ground. She turned on the man who was holding her.
"What the hell is this?" Norm screamed, panicked. Phil ran for the prostitute.
"Put your leg back on. We have to get out of here." He grabbed her by the hand and she quickly reattached her leg. They ran for the door. Phil tried to pry it open but it was locked from the outside. "There's a window."
"No."
"What? Are you crazy? They're going to scrap you for that!"
"I know. That's why we have to kill them before we go."
"What?"
"I'm not running again!" Norm was on the ground, trying to retrieve a blaster from Dorian's coat. The prostitute walked quickly over to him, pressed a spot on her wrist, and placed her hand on Norm's chest. He seized and convulsed for a minute before finally falling limp.
"What did you do?"
"Don't worry. It will look like a heart attack."
"And the other one?"
She grabbed the blaster out of Norm's hand. The man was trying desperately to climb through the window and escape but he was too large to fit. In a quick flash of light, he was dead. The prostitute handed Phil the weapon. "You'll probably need one of these."
"You're one of the Erotik models."
"Version 3.5"
"You're a long way from home."
"I killed a client. They were going to scrap me. I escaped."
"I didn't know cyborgs were capable of thinking for themselves."
She smiled. "I malfunctioned. Please, call me Zim." She climbed on top of the body on the floor and used him as a stool to get to the window and shimmy out. Phil followed. "You're in a lot of trouble if what he said was true."
"Yeah."
Play Stupid: 1 vote
Tell Norm who he works for: 1 vote
Try to escape WITH the prostitute: 5 votes
Try to escape WITHOUT the prostitute: 2 votes
Detailed torture scene: 1 vote
Phil looked around the room for an escape route. The window toward the top of the wall appeared just large enough for him to fit through but it was behind the two large men and there didn't seem to be a ladder anywhere near to help him get to it. There was a door on the far side of the room on the other side of Norm, who didn't appear to be armed and for all his surprises still probably wasn't much of a fighting champ. Phil looked around the room. Within arms reach there was a chair, a wooden crate, and a table. Phil figured he could probably take Norm out pretty easily with the chair and make a dash for the door but then if the door was locked, there would be more problems and that still didn't account for the prostitute. Her only crime was being in the wrong place at the wrong time and Phil knew if he left her, they would probably kill her and God knows what else trying to get information. He would have to buy time to make a plan.
"Okay. Okay. Take it easy. Just let her go and I'll tell you everything you need to know."
"We're not letting her go."
"Then you will find me less than cooperative."
"That's a shame. Dorian!" The man holding the prostitute grabbed and twisted one of her arms. She screamed in agony.
"Okay. I'm going to be honest with you, Norm. I work for the FEA. They asked me to watch you, to make sure you didn't screw up the deal." Norm hesitated for a moment. "They didn't trust you. They thought you might try to make off with the money."
"Did they?"
"Yes. It's true." Norm looked thoughtful.
"They sent you to follow me? To make sure I didn't screw up the deal, huh?"
"Yes."
"That's troublesome."
"I understand. I know. They betrayed you, but I can help you. We can take them down together."
"Hm. Dorian... kill her."
"NO!" Phil watched as Dorian knocked the girl into the arms of the other man. She screamed and struggled as he held her. Dorian wrapped his hands around her neck. Phil could hear her shoes banging against the ground in the struggle but she was unable to scream any longer. "STOP! PLEASE!"
"There was no deal, Phil. The FEA didn't send me to get weapons. They sent me to waste your time while they carried out their actual plans."
"STOP HURTING HER!"
"It never even occurred to you? In the ten years they've been operating they've never once been caught and you really believed you had a hot lead?" The prostitute's kicks slowed and became weaker. "Anyway it doesn't matter. Their plans have changed now. They don't just want to blow up portals. They've decided to take on something bigger. And you-"
Suddenly, Phil heard light, high-pitched giggling. The prostitute had stopped struggling. She was laughing. Dorian looked confused. He grabbed her neck tighter. The prostitute laughed harder. "I like it rough" she purred, then reached down and grabbed her thigh, turned it like a key and removed it from her body. She lifted it to reveal a bundle of lights and exposed circuitry before jamming it against Dorian. He went stiff and emitted a high-pitched scream before falling to the ground. She turned on the man who was holding her.
"What the hell is this?" Norm screamed, panicked. Phil ran for the prostitute.
"Put your leg back on. We have to get out of here." He grabbed her by the hand and she quickly reattached her leg. They ran for the door. Phil tried to pry it open but it was locked from the outside. "There's a window."
"No."
"What? Are you crazy? They're going to scrap you for that!"
"I know. That's why we have to kill them before we go."
"What?"
"I'm not running again!" Norm was on the ground, trying to retrieve a blaster from Dorian's coat. The prostitute walked quickly over to him, pressed a spot on her wrist, and placed her hand on Norm's chest. He seized and convulsed for a minute before finally falling limp.
"What did you do?"
"Don't worry. It will look like a heart attack."
"And the other one?"
She grabbed the blaster out of Norm's hand. The man was trying desperately to climb through the window and escape but he was too large to fit. In a quick flash of light, he was dead. The prostitute handed Phil the weapon. "You'll probably need one of these."
"You're one of the Erotik models."
"Version 3.5"
"You're a long way from home."
"I killed a client. They were going to scrap me. I escaped."
"I didn't know cyborgs were capable of thinking for themselves."
She smiled. "I malfunctioned. Please, call me Zim." She climbed on top of the body on the floor and used him as a stool to get to the window and shimmy out. Phil followed. "You're in a lot of trouble if what he said was true."
"Yeah."
Sunday, May 4, 2008
Chapter 2
Poll results:
Phil tries to save Norm: 0 votes
Phil gives up and goes home: 0 votes
Phil follows Norm and the burly men to see where they go: 10 votes
Sole is introduced as a character and killed by a fat male robot sex slave: 1 vote
The fat male robot sex slave is Blicero. Blicero expends all oil and lubricants killing Sole and dies: 1 vote
<<<
Author's note: Some of you may have noticed that I’ve changed the update days to Monday and Thursday instead of Monday, Wednesday, and Friday. I figured this would give people more time to read and vote. *I* noticed that people seemed squeamish to vote for options they felt would not lead to plot progression. I assure you, dear readers, that all ways lead to plot progression even… sigh… sex slave robot murder. I would not post a poll with options that would lead to the end unless I was ready for the story to end, in which case all poll options lead to the end. If it seems like one option or another will not lead to plot progression, that just means it’s more of a challenge for me… and maybe more fun for you. >>>>
Phil felt his microblaster in his jacket pocket. For something like this, he would have preferred to be more heavily armed but he had neither expected nor wanted to get involved. However, he could not ignore Norm being kidnapped. If Norm was captured or killed before he could make a deal and acquire a weapon for the FEA, then the FEA would surely hire somebody else. Norm’s replacement might be smarter and Phil’s agency might not be able to find him before another portal was blown.
He followed at a safe distance of about 4 meters and tried to look like an innocent window shopper as he tailed the men through the street crowd. It was difficult to maintain the pace the thugs were keeping. There were tables everywhere topped with an assortment of usually stolen but sometimes just fake wares. Aggressive hookers latched themselves on to any and all unescorted males. Get too close to either and Phil knew he could lose his fifth wallet in two weeks. Finally, he watched as they shoved Norm into a bridal shop. Phil felt a cool hand touch his backside.
“Hey, honey, I’ll do things to you that your girlfriend can’t even pronounce.”
“Perfect.” Phil grabbed some bills out of his back pocket and shoved them into the hooker’s hand. “There’s more if you don’t screw this up. Just play along.” He dragged her into the bridal shop. Norm was nowhere to be seen, likely being held in a back room Phil supposed. He walked the prostitute over to a nearby rack. “Hey, sweety. How about this one? You would sure look hotter than the bridesmaids in this!”
She sized him up for a moment. She was uncannily good-looking for a streetwalker but there was something a bit… off about her eyes. “Oh. Oh, uh, yeah. Well, if that bitch Mel is gonna hoist her tits up like a fuckin’ hoochie and show off to the whole fuckin’ congregation I should probably wear something that shows a lot of skin like this, yeah.” Phil cringed for a moment at her vulgar performance which she seemed very proud of and snuck a glance at the tired-looking alien clerk behind the counter. She was reading something and hadn’t seemed to notice. Phil needed to find a way through to the back room. He grabbed the dress off the rack.
“Here you go. Can I watch you try it on?”
“Sure thing but if you mean that you want me to blow you that’s going to be another-“
“NO, honey! Haha. Not in public. I just want to see how the dress looks on you.”
She rolled her eyes. “All right.” He dragged her and the dress into a fitting room. The clerk continued reading. “Okay, so you want me to take my clothes off then?”
“Do whatever the hell you want just don’t walk out of the changing room.” She looked confused. Phil climbed up onto the chair and tried to listen through the air vent at the top of the wall. He could barely hear voices arguing. Suddenly, the dressing room door banged open. Phil felt a hard object hit him in the head and something warm trickle down the back of his neck. The prostitute screamed.
When he woke up, he found himself lying on a concrete floor. Norm stood over him. “You think you’re pretty fucking clever, don’t you Philip?” He heard squirming to his right. He turned his head and saw the prostitute in the arms the larger of the burly men who had abducted Norm. She was trying to escape but he was more than a match for her. Phil felt his pocket. The microblaster was missing. Norm laughed.
“You’re going to tell us which agency you work for, Phil. You’re going to tell us, or…” the large man grabbed the prostitute by the neck. “Bad things will happen.”
Friday, May 2, 2008
Chapter 1
Phil watched his mark from his seat at a filthy table with a rickety leg. He had given up trying to eat his hot dog. Even with all the warm relish scraped off, it still smelled wrong and he didn't want to risk a repeat of last week. Phil decided to allow his hunger to inspire him to close this case as soon as possible. He had been stuck on planet Q450 for seventeen days and had survived on a diet consisting of nothing but hot dogs, the only human food available on most planets outside Earth.
Phil's mark, a hairy fat man named Norm Fullmer, was supposed to have met up with his contact ten days ago to make a weapons exchange. Phil's job was to photograph this exchange and follow Norm back to Earth where he would then, presumably, hand it off to the Free Earth Activists which would be enough evidence to get some of them arrested before they could try and blow another portal to pieces.
For the last 17 days, Phil had watched Norm fumble endless phone calls and rendezvous. This was the eighth attempt. The first time, Norm slept through his alarm and didn't make it to the meeting point at all. The second time, Norm had brought a gun to the deal and tried to steal the bomb from the gang he was buying it from. It had taken many pleading apologies from him and a significant price increase to get another meeting. The third time, Norm kept insisting upon seeing what was in the case right then and there before he would hand over the money in spite of police presence right across the street watching them. The fourth, fifth, and sixth times he showed up at the wrong place altogether and the seventh time he didn't bring enough money. Phil was starting to wonder how the FEA had ever accomplished any of their bombings to begin with.
In any case, Phil was finished following the slob around Q450 which was, as far as he could tell, the worst planet in the universe. In the 17 days he was there, his wallet had been stolen 4 times, the hotel room he was staying in had been broken into, he had a violent bout of food poisoning, and had been beaten up one night in a bar when he tried to stop some asshole from stealing his drink. Everything was filthy and old and even the air smelled awful. Phil wasn't about to let Norm screw up another deal. He had sneaked into Norm's apartment early in the morning, checked the suitcase to make sure it had the right amount of money in it, and waited outside until it was time for Norm to leave. When the idiot inevitably slept through his alarm, Phil was ready with an air horn that he blew incessantly outside of Norm's apartment door until he got out of bed and left. Phil followed him to make sure he went in the right direction and for once, he actually did. He would allow nothing to go wrong this time.
Still, for all his planning, he could not stop Norm's contact from being late. They had been waiting half an hour and there was still no sign of a man with a suitcase wearing a red and white Hawaiian shirt to identify himself. Phil could see Norm getting restless and willed him to sit his fat ass down and just have some patience for once so they could both get home. Suddenly, a burly pair of men shuffled quickly behind Norm. The larger of the two reached out to grab him as the smaller discreetly pointed a blaster toward the back of his head. Phil looked around. The contact was nowhere to be seen. His stomach grumbled with hunger.
Phil's mark, a hairy fat man named Norm Fullmer, was supposed to have met up with his contact ten days ago to make a weapons exchange. Phil's job was to photograph this exchange and follow Norm back to Earth where he would then, presumably, hand it off to the Free Earth Activists which would be enough evidence to get some of them arrested before they could try and blow another portal to pieces.
For the last 17 days, Phil had watched Norm fumble endless phone calls and rendezvous. This was the eighth attempt. The first time, Norm slept through his alarm and didn't make it to the meeting point at all. The second time, Norm had brought a gun to the deal and tried to steal the bomb from the gang he was buying it from. It had taken many pleading apologies from him and a significant price increase to get another meeting. The third time, Norm kept insisting upon seeing what was in the case right then and there before he would hand over the money in spite of police presence right across the street watching them. The fourth, fifth, and sixth times he showed up at the wrong place altogether and the seventh time he didn't bring enough money. Phil was starting to wonder how the FEA had ever accomplished any of their bombings to begin with.
In any case, Phil was finished following the slob around Q450 which was, as far as he could tell, the worst planet in the universe. In the 17 days he was there, his wallet had been stolen 4 times, the hotel room he was staying in had been broken into, he had a violent bout of food poisoning, and had been beaten up one night in a bar when he tried to stop some asshole from stealing his drink. Everything was filthy and old and even the air smelled awful. Phil wasn't about to let Norm screw up another deal. He had sneaked into Norm's apartment early in the morning, checked the suitcase to make sure it had the right amount of money in it, and waited outside until it was time for Norm to leave. When the idiot inevitably slept through his alarm, Phil was ready with an air horn that he blew incessantly outside of Norm's apartment door until he got out of bed and left. Phil followed him to make sure he went in the right direction and for once, he actually did. He would allow nothing to go wrong this time.
Still, for all his planning, he could not stop Norm's contact from being late. They had been waiting half an hour and there was still no sign of a man with a suitcase wearing a red and white Hawaiian shirt to identify himself. Phil could see Norm getting restless and willed him to sit his fat ass down and just have some patience for once so they could both get home. Suddenly, a burly pair of men shuffled quickly behind Norm. The larger of the two reached out to grab him as the smaller discreetly pointed a blaster toward the back of his head. Phil looked around. The contact was nowhere to be seen. His stomach grumbled with hunger.
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