Forresst

Forresst t1_je0vdbq wrote

6

Forresst t1_jdzab5n wrote

Jessica and I had just sat down to our cups of tea. It was a lovely Assam, mine black, and hers with a touch of milk. As I sat down, a faint chime sounded.

Really? An intrusion event? In the middle of Saturday morning family time? I put my cup down and pulled out my phone. Perimeter cameras showed my front door in a smoking ruin. Motion sensors flipped camera views to me until Paragon came into view. The smug, smarmy, infuriating lantern-jawed man was methodically working through my defensive lines, which were currently at minimum staffing. We hadn't launched any particular projects lately. I'd assumed he'd be busy with... any one of a dozen small-time operators in the city.

I looked at Jessica, and motioned her to the safe room door. This was familiar. We'd done this hundred of times. You don't grow up in the shadow of The Corporation without retreating to a plush bunker at least 3 or 4 times a year. But, her face told me something was different about this time.

"What is it, baby?"

"Mom, remember that time I came home with Dr. Deadringer?" Jessica asked.

"Yes dear, now let's head for the safe room," I answered.

"OK and remember when I met him, he was just Todd, yeah?"

"...yes..."

"Well, that's Jay," she finished, pointing at my phone.

"I see," I said, as a headache flared up at my left temple. "And... do you know why Jay is currently... kicking the absolute piss out of Mr. Jensen on level 4?" I asked. We'd made it to the safe room.

"Well..." she hesitated. I gave her my patented Look. "Well, I think he probably thinks you've kidnapped me," she finally answered.

"And, why would he think that?" I asked mildly as my other temple joined into the headache party.

"OK, so, we've been dating for a while and-"

"DATING?! Are you serious right now?"

"Well, yes but but butbut I broke up with him a couple of nights ago and I didn't want to hurt him but he has been-"

"Broke up? And he's still-OH I DO NOT THINK SO! Get in the room I'll be back to see you in a minute, baby!" And I closed the safety door.

I snapped about and marched through the door to our industrial complex. As I headed toward the action I picked up my favourite equipment from caches spread strategically through the compound. Fury rode behind my eyes until the world looked like a target, as the noises of a rampage got louder and clearer around me. Finally, I burst through a door, face to face with Jay the Paragon, who had just finished smashing one of my access control stations to a smoking pile with what looked to be a metal baseball bat.

"GET OUT."

"LET JESSICA GO."

"GET OUT."

"I KNOW YOU HYPNOTIZED HER TO GET TO ME."

"GET OUT."

"YOU KIDNAPPED MY GIRLFRIEND!"

"YOU HAVE BEATEN 4 OF MY EMPLOYEES, COST ME MILLIONS IN PROPERTY DAMAGE, AND ENDANGERED MY FAMILY. GET OUT OR I WILL PUT YOU IN THE DIRT."

"I'M NOT SCARED OF YOU, YOU OLD BITCH!"

"WRONG ANSWER." And I tripped the electric trap he was standing on. Several dozen thousands of volts did their work pretty quickly, and that lantern jaw glowed for the first time. The smell was awful. I wondered briefly if he'd figured out who I was, since I'd showed up out of uniform. I wondered even more briefly if he'd figured out at any point who Jessica was to me. But then I called a cleanup crew and went back to the offices to let my daughter out of her safe room.

We still had Saturday morning tea and catching up to do. I needed some ideas for her 22nd birthday party after all.

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