Over dinner. Until Murphy's eyes were drooping. They let him sleep
then. The next day they made him part of the Resistance.
-Now he had to get to them or die - painfully.
\ No newline at end of file
+Now he had to get to them or die - painfully.
+
+==== John Behan: Detective, Resistance Operative ====
+
+Behan was riding in his AirSedan, much bigger and more comfortable
+than a Strider. He was too old for that kind of vehicle. The Sedan was
+equipped with all the necessities of a police vehicle, but discretely
+hidden. It had been quite beautiful, a soft blue with dark blue
+interior. However, the colors were obliterated by years of dust and
+dirt, and the dented, scratched surface area of the once shiny
+exterior no longer reflected the moonlight. It fit Behan's personality
+perfectly. He liked it.
+
+He was at a traffic halt. Great force shields stopped the vehicles in
+all lanes at certain points above Crater City, opening at regular
+intervals. Flying vehicles moved above and below him. A bright red
+Strider caught his eye and he thought he saw Liam Murphy on it. The
+red Strider flew off north and Behan changed direction and followed.
+He caught up with Murphy just in time to see an AirLorry sideswipe
+him, sending him tumbling. Murph managed to hang onto the Strider -
+barely.
+
+Behan came alongside the faltering Strider and yelled at Murphy. "Get
+in!"
+
+Without hesitation, Murphy jumped from the Strider and grasped the
+window edge of the Sedan. The Strider went silent and fell. Behan
+reached out and grabbed Murphy's wrist, pulling him inside.
+
+Another Sedan came up beside them and then they were dodging phaser
+bolts. Behan forced the blue Sedan into a 180 degree turn, throwing
+Murphy against the dashboard, then against the back of the seat. He
+grabbed a seat jacket and tried to put it on, ending up just clutching
+it to his chest.
+
+There were three Sedans behind them now, all black. They tried to
+spread out and come at him from different angles, but Behan was going
+too fast. One tried gaining altitude to swoop down from above. Behan
+put the Sedan into a steep dive. Murphy hung onto the handholds in the
+vehicle with white knuckles, mouth pulled back in a rictus, eyes wide
+and terrified.
+
+The Sedan pulled out of the dive with difficulty, nearly scraping the
+tops of buildings. One of the black Sedans had followed them down.
+Unable to pull up, it plowed into the top of a partially collapsed
+building and tumbled to the ground, exploding.
+
+"Push the red button to the right of the dash." Behan yelled as an
+explosion rocked the Sedan.
+
+Murphy looked. There was a small red button set among several other
+colored buttons.
+
+He pushed it. A hologram appeared in front of him, a representation of
+the immediate area with a bright blue dot for Behan's vehicle and 2
+red dots for the enemy.
+
+"Open the drink dispenser."
+
+Murphy complied. What appeared to be a joystick popped out. He put his
+hand around it.
+
+A sight appeared on the hologram, centered on one of the red dots.
+
+"Pull the trigger." yelled Behan as he slewed the Sedan into a 90
+degree left bank.
+
+Murphy pulled the trigger. Tracer rounds spewed forth, found the red
+dot. Then there was no red dot. The other red dot left hurriedly.
+
+Behan dropped down into forbidden territory, between buildings, and
+slowed to a crawl.
+
+Looking over at Murphy, he said "I guess you've blown your cover."
+
+Murphy nodded, wincing.
+
+Behan looked closer. "You're bleeding."
+
+Murphy passed out.
+
+==== Silver Santorini: Resistance Operative ====
+
+Her father woke her when Behan brought Murphy in. She flew down the
+corridors, white hair streaming out behind her like surf. Racing down
+the halls barefoot, she repeated a mantra over and over. "Please God.
+Please God. Please God..."
+
+She skidded around that corner into the emergency department and
+spotted the bay with all the people around it. Cutting through the
+bystanders like a knife, she evaded a nurse's grasp and stood next to
+Liam's gurney. His eyes were closed. He had oxygen under his nose and
+appeared to be breathing well, but he was so pale. Plastic lines
+dripped fluids into his veins as the staff prepped him for surgery.
+
+"Wake up, Liam." she said. "You're not going to surgery until you tell
+me you're going to live." She kissed him. "So open your eyes and look
+at me."
+
+A smile crept across his face and his eyes opened. "I'll live, angel.
+I'll live."
+
+The gurney was whisked off to the OR.
+
+
+A bit of the shiny exterior of the Sedan had been chipped off the
+machine and blown through Murphy's neck. It clipped the carotid artery
+on the right, opening a small hole in the artery. Behan had seen the
+blood and slammed his hand over the wound, keeping pressure on it. But
+Murphy had been almost bloodless when they arrived at the Emerald
+Palace.
+
+The surgeons had him typed and cross-matched and had started
+transfusing even before they moved him out of the vehicle.
+
+Silver sat outside the surgical suite and waited. She could have gone
+inside to the amphitheater and watched, but she just couldn't do that.
+She would rather sit and wait. People came in and sat with her for a
+time and left, to be replaced by another. Mostly, though, they left
+her alone.
+
+Leaning back in the chair, she started to sing, an old, old song.
+
+"I know where I'm going
+And I know who's going with me
+I know who I love
+And the dear knows who I'll marry.
+
+I have stockings of silk..."
+
+The ancient Irish ballad floated out from the waiting room and into
+the halls. People stopped and listened... and may have shed a tear.
+
+Silver sang until she exhausted herself.
+
+The surgeon found her asleep with a smile on her face. He gently
+touched her shoulder.
+
+Her eyes opened and she said "He's going to be all right." It was not
+a question.
+
+He smiled and nodded. "He's going to be all right."
+
+For hours, she sat beside him in recovery and in his room, dozing at
+times, singing at times. They kept him well sedated. The wound in his
+artery was very delicately repaired. It wouldn't take much to rip it
+open again.
+
+He woke the next morning to find her sitting beside him, looking at
+him with a smile on her face and love in her eyes.
+
+She said "Good morning, darling. Welcome to the rest of our lives."
+She stood, leaning over him, and very gently kissed him.
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projects / universe.git / commitdiff