Chapter XIV: Mindgames Part II

Rick wrapped his strong arms around Wilma, and carried her out of the diner. She squirmed in his grasp. "Rick, put me down. I can walk." He didn't say anything until they got to the outside corner of the building. The cook was right behind them, and in the distance was the wailing of approaching sirens. "Rick!"

Rick gently put her down and smiled at her. "Sorry, Wilma. I had to make sure you were safe. Are you okay?"

"Yeah, I'm fine. Turn around." Rick did as she asked, and she slapped out the small licks of flames that were on his back. "Thanks."

Rick craned his head around, attempting to see what she was doing. "Thanks, too." He caught a glimpse of her face, and turned back around to face her. "Gee, Wilma, I'm sorry. Please don't be mad." His eyes widened, and took on a sorrowful look.

Wilma couldn't help but laugh at his expression. "Okay, Rick. You're forgiven this time. But next time, please remember that I'm a ranger too, and trained for situations like this. I don't want to be treated like some damsel in distress." She glanced around as the sirens got closer.

The cook was moaning softly, wringing his chef's hat between his hands as he watched the fire prevention foam from the automatic suppression system fight it out with the grease fire, and was apparently losing. Heavy green smoke was pouring out of the small diner, and the insides were glowing a soft, flickering orange. The crackling sounds of the flames mixed in with the hiss of the burning foam, and occasional pops from sealed containers were heard from within the structure. A small crowd was beginning to form, watching the spectacle.

"I'm sorry, Wilma," said Rick. "Its just that you make such a pret. . ." Another popping sound, louder this time, interrupted him, and Wilma saw a chunk of the of the wall behind Rick's head vanish, and she heard a ricochet of a pellet.

Wilma grabbed Rick, and pulled him down and away from the wall. "Run. Someone's shooting at us." There was another popping noise, and a small cloud of dust rose at their feet. Rick didn't need anything else to convince him. They both darted down the narrow alleyway next to the burning diner, and reached the rear alley just as the flashing lights of the local fire department became visible at the front of the diner. They turned right, and continued running, putting as much distance between them and the sniper as possible.

Five minutes later, after numerous turns in the maze-like alleyways, they halted, and leaned up a wall. Wilma was panting slightly, her dual pair of breasts gently swaying to her breathing. She looked up at Rick, who was also slowly regaining control of his breathing. "You okay?"

Rick nodded, not wanting to interrupt his intake of air long enough to speak. They glanced around, and finally Rick spoke. "Any idea where we are?"

"Nope," replied Wilma. "I thought you were keeping track."

Rick shook his head. "No idea either. Think we lost the sniper?"

"If we're lost, then so is he," snipped Wilma.

Together, they scanned connecting alleyways, and the roof tops. There was no other sign of anyone. Their hands unconsciously sought out each other for comfort as they looked around, standing side by side. "I think it's safe, but we better start heading back towards the barracks. I don't know if they were shooting at us on general principles, or us in particular, and I really don't want to find out," said Rick.

"I copy that," replied Wilma. "I guess that when they mentioned that the Patrol wasn't uniformly liked throughout the sector, they weren't kidding."

They slowly made their way through the twisting alleys, trying to keep going in a consistent direction. The actual direction of travel didn't matter to them, as they would eventually come across a main road no matter what direction they went in. The trick was to keep from going in circles while trapped in the maze of alleys.

Five more minutes found them on the town's perimeter road, one side lined by housing quarters, and the other a sheer wall fifteen feet high, with laser sensors mounted on top, protecting the town from the encroaching jungle. They knew that this road surrounded the town, and both ends would up at the starport main gate. They decided to turn left, and started walking along the side of the road, occasionally stepping into an alley when a huge street-hogging freight grav-carrier passed by them.

Fifteen minutes later, they were starting to relax after their brief ordeal, but still kept a sharp eye out for the silhouette of the sniper, in case he decided to reappear to finish the job. They walked down the road, hand in hand, and as another grav-carrier rumbled by, Wilma pressed herself against Rick's side.

Rick smiled down at her, and letting her hand go, draped his arm over her shoulders. Their height difference was just right, her shoulder sliding in comfortably under his arm. They smiled at each other, gazing into each other's eyes as they heard the approach of another vehicle. Wilma glanced in the direction of the oncoming grav-carrier, and while it was small enough to go by without Rick and her stepping out of the way, it was heading directly for them.

Wilma glanced into the cab of the carrier, and saw that the driver was looking at them, a smile on his lips. The cold of fear clenched her heart, and her reflexes took over. She shoved Rick into the wall, holding him against it with her own body as the carrier went by, and Wilma felt the grav field supporting the heavy vehicle pull at her pant legs. Rick had a surprised expression on his face, a mixture of delight at having Wilma's lithe warm body pressed up against his own, and irritation at the driver of the carrier for not making room.

Wilma's eyes met his, and the fear she felt inside was transmitted to him. "It's the sniper,' she said, as the brake lights came on the carrier, and it slowed to a stop.

Rick didn't feel the need to question her assessment, and they ran back down the road with the freight carrier backing up, chasing them down the road. They dodged the vehicle by darting into the first alleyway they came to. They heard the carrier thump to a halt, and a popping noise from behind, followed by the ricochet as a projectile took a chunk out of the wall next to them.

"Lousy shot," panted Rick. They darted into a connecting alley, out of line of sight from the assassin. "That was his third shot and he still missed."

"I'll be sure to file a complaint to the tourist board," snapped Wilma. "How rude of them to use assassins with poor shooting skills. Hey, look at that."

Rick looked in the direction Wilma indicated. Up ahead, the alley turned into a driveway, and there was a personal grav-sled, power on, resting by the side of the wall, next to an open door. Without breaking their stride, they headed towards it. Rick slid smoothly onto the front, and Wilma jumped on the back wrapping her arms tightly around Rick's chest as he gunned the accelerator of the sled.

A face popped out of the open doorway, and a stream of curses could be heard. Rick smiled at the commotion. "I'm afraid this isn't going to improve Ranger relations on this planet."

"He'll live. And if we do, I'll buy him a new one. Just keep it moving."

There was another pop, and the cursor stopped yelling at them. Rick expertly flipped the sled on its side to take the corner of the alley in a racing turn, and they found themselves speeding down a crowded street. Rick dodged between pedestrians and carts at full speed, causing their path to be marked by more yells and screams.

Wilma glanced to the rear, and saw two other grav sleds join the traffic on the busy street, and they started chasing after them. "We got company," yelled Wilma, trying to be heard over the rushing wind. Rick nodded in acknowledgment, and continued moving at full speed down the street.

The two pursuing sleds were slowly gaining on them, as Rick took another tight turn, and they found themselves on the main street of the star town. Wilma glanced towards the direction of the space port and the ranger barracks, but the street was clogged with traffic. If they went in that direction, the assassins would catch up for sure. She felt the sled turn away from the port, and she glanced in the direction Rick had chosen. He was headed for the jungle gate. She glanced behind, and saw that the number of pursuers had risen to three.

Up ahead, the gates were open as a large carrier entered star town, and the barrier was beginning to close. They were approaching the gate at the sled's fastest speed, and she could feel Rick grunting, trying to coax more speed out of the small drive system. Just as the large carrier cleared the gate, another carrier, the one that had pursued them on the perimeter road, jumped out between their sled and the gate.

Rick nosed the front of the sled up, and aiming for the sloped front of the carrier, drove up it and over the top of the blocking carrier, then as the sled nosed down on the other side, Rick tilted the sled, hitting the ground sideways and skidded through the closing gate. He righted the sled, and sped down the jungle road, and as Wilma looked back, two balls of orange flame appeared over the top of the now closed gate. Their pursuers obviously didn't make it through.

Wilma breathed a sigh of relief, when she felt Rick stiffen. She looked ahead and say that another extra-large carrier was coming, blocking the road, the sides of the carrier brushing the trees on both sides of the road, and it was too tall for the sled's limited anti-gravity drive to fly over, and there wasn't time to stop. Wilma hung on to Rick as tight as she could, as their sled spun out of control, and crashed into the jungle foliage.

To Be Continued...