Angels in Paradise by Kevin C. Coram The Lovely Angels, the Bloody Card, the WWWA, Mughi, and probably lots of other stuff are all copyrighted by someone, most notably Sunrise and Takachiho Haruka. All the other ideas within this story are mine. No part of this document is to be reproduced for a profit. You knew that, anyway. Dedications: To Gryphon, Megazone, ReRob, and the rest of the Wedge Rats. Also to Ryan Matthews. Thanks for the inspiration and the fun of your stories. To Benjamin Wai. It's all your fault I wrote this in the first place! Kei and Yuri said to tell you they are planning to attend animarathon this year for sure. To all my friends in Rec.arts.anime and the Purdue Animation Club. You've all kept me from becoming a complete hermit. To Nate Morse, who first introduced me to the Lovely Angels. Where'd you go, cousin? I lost track of you somewhere along the line. Most importantly, to Kei and Yuri, for being themselves. Angels in Paradise Prelude: It's a nice place to visit, but . . . In Xanadu did Kubla Khan A stately pleasure dome decree: Where Alph, the sacred river, ran Through caverns measureless to man Down to a sunless sea. -- S. T. Coleridge, "Kubla Khan" ================================================================== Garth Falieorn was bored. For the last ten years, he had been the "security guard" for the Earie Casino. Things were so quiet that he felt little better than a glorified doorman. Things were *always* quiet here on Xanadu. The most excitement Garth had had in the last month was when that rich couple had their little spat in the lobby. Garth grinned at the memory. The old man had looked pretty funny wearing that expensive drink the lady had thrown in his face. With a sigh, Garth checked his watch for what seemed the millionth time. Still five hours before closing. What he wouldn't give to be back in the service. At least back then things were interesting; fighting space pirates, now that was a job! Shouting from the street caught his attention. Garth grunted. Probably drunks. Well, it might prove an interesting distraction. Sure enough, as he went out the door, he spied a small group of very drunk youngsters singing in the street. :Stupid kids:, he thought. Garth never saw the expertly wielded club which knocked him to the street. As the guard crumpled, the group of drunks, suddenly sober, straightened and grew silent. Their leader signaled, and they moved to the door. Once inside, the group fanned out, their dress out of place in the posh surroundings. Around them, the regular guests of the casino laughed, drank, and lost more money in an hour than any of the youths ever saw in a year. The planet Xanadu was one of the most exclusive resort planets in the United Galactica, and the rich and powerful flocked here year round. Until this point, the planet had also been considered one of the safest planets to visit. Things were about to change. The leader of the youths, somewhat older than the others, fired his gun into the ceiling. It was an old fashioned chemical explosive firearm; the noise it made going off silenced the crowd in an instant. Throughout the crowd, the youths revealed guns of their own. "Do what you're told, and no one'll get hurt!" With that announcement from the leader, the youths started stripping everything valuable from the shocked guests. One old man started to protest, and was clubbed down as efficiently as the guard had been. After several minutes, during which every youth filled a bag with loot, the leader barked out, "Come on! Let's go." At the door, a couple of the thieves turned to spray gunfire into the casino. They aimed to frighten, not kill; the ceiling lights exploded in a fiery shower and several old fashioned slot machines were reduced to slag. With a final handful of grenades thrown carelessly behind the bar, they laughed and exited. Outside, the stragglers ran past the still-prone form of the old guard, and piled into a black van with the rest of their group. Before the doors were completely closed, the van tore off down the street. Xanadu may have been a quiet planet, but it did have a police force. Within minutes, the van was being pursued by three police hovercars, and a police helicopter was closing fast. "Pull over and surrender!" came the amplified voice from the lead police car. In reply, the back doors of the van were opened to reveal an anti-tank gun. Before the shocked police officers could react, their lead car exploded. The second car swerved too late and slammed sideways into the fireball. The third hovercar managed to avoid the others, but was destroyed by a second burst from the van. Above the street, the helicopter arrived in time to see the last of the hovercars explode. While the pilot radioed for a roadblock to be set up, the police gunners in the helicopter opened fire. They did more harm than good, destroying several parked cars and the fronts of several stores while missing the van completely. Spying a bridge ahead, the pilot sped past to lay an ambush on the other side. It seemed like a good plan, and might have worked. However, the van never emerged from the underpass. When the police ground forces arrived, no trace of the van was found. If it hadn't been for the damage, there would have been no evidence that anything had ever happened. Angels in Paradise Chapter One: The game is afoot! We enact many laws that manufacture criminals, and then a few that punish them. -- Abraham Tucker, "Instead of a Book" ================================================================== "That's the last time I let *you* make the arrangements," the young redhead shouted. Her companion looked uncomfortable. "It was your idea to go to a seaside resort. You were the one who just *had* to go surfing." "So? You wanted to go too. And *you* were the one who booked it!" "How was I supposed to know that there was going to be a hurricane?" "You should have asked!" "I didn't think of it. Next time, *you* make the arrangements." "I will, don't doubt it." "And don't make it like the last time, when we spent two days stuck in the spaceport because you were too busy to double check the reservations!" The argument abruptly cut off as the girls heard their names coming over the paging system. "Trouble Consultants Kei and Yuri, report to the Director's office immediately. Repeat, Trouble Consultants Kei and Yuri, report to the Director's office immediately." The girls looked at one another for a minute. "What now?" Kei asked. "We *just* got back from our vacation." Yuri only shrugged. * * * Director Goulett threw down another antacid tablet. :Great. Just as things were getting calmed down around here, the central computer comes up with *their* names for this job. Someone must hate me.: Before he could get too uptight with his brooding (and well before the antacid kicked in), the door opened, and the objects of his vexation entered his office. Kei and Yuri looked sullen. They had counted on a little time to get back into the swing of things before they got another assignment. No such luck for the Lovely Angels. "I realize that you have just returned from your mandatory 100 hour vacation between assignments, but the central computer pulled your names for this one. In fact, you would probably have been pulled back early anyway; the CC seems to think that you are the *only* team that could handle this one." Goulett was not wasting any time on small talk. Kei and Yuri exchanged startled glances. It wasn't often that the CC would pull a team of TCs back to work before the 100 hour period was over. Too many TCs had burned out in the early days of the WWWA for *that* rule to be causally disregarded. Goulett continued as if he hadn't caught their surprised looks. "To be brief, Planet Xanadu is being besieged by terrorist attacks and organized crime." "The resort planet?" Yuri interrupted. "The same." Goulett replied, looking annoyed at the interruption. "Until recently, there had been no crime worth mentioning on the planet. Most of the people on the planet are tourists and the wealthy looking for some excitement. It was as close to paradise as one could get." "Sounds like a nice place for a vacation," Kei muttered to Yuri. "Why didn't we go there?" Kei winced as Yuri's elbow caught her in the ribs. Goulett rolled his eyes, but otherwise ignored them. He was used to their lack of etiquette after all these years. "Two months ago, things changed. It started with armed robbery in the middle of one of the more expensive sections of the capital city. Since then, there have been numerous bombings, holdups, and break-ins. The planetary government is trying to keep the incidents out of the media, but things are starting to leak." "Yeah, can't let the word get out that there's a snake in paradise. They rely on tourism for all their money," Kei sneered. "In any event, things quickly became more than the local police could handle, so they petitioned the WWWA for help." Goulett continued, after glaring at Kei. "They believe that the terrorism and the crime wave are connected, rather than coincidental. The CC concurs. All the hard data has been uploaded to your ship. You should review it enroute." :As if they *ever* bother to do that.: "Remember, keep a low profile. Most of the tourists don't know what is going on. Not to mention that only the wealthy and powerful can afford to spend much time there. I don't need to explain that you should be careful who you alienate, do I?" The Angels give him a look that said more than words. "We're always careful," Yuri said with a smile and a wink. "Trust us." As the Pair turned to leave, Goulett reached for another tablet. Angels in Paradise Chapter Two: Arrival on Xanadu. Many faint with toil That few may know the cares and woes of sloth. -- P. B. Shelly, "Queen Mab" ================================================================== Silent, except for the distant thrum of her engines, the _Lovely Angel_ streaked through space. A few minutes more, and she would be far enough out of the system to jump to warp space. Yuri double checked the navigation calculations, trying to ignore Kei's fretting in the rear seat. "I don't get it, Yuri. If they are terrorists, why are they stealing money and stuff? And if they are really crooks, why the bombings?" In exasperation, Kei pounded her thighs. Hearing a _mwrowpt_ of protest, Yuri turned to spy Mughi taking the brunt of Kei's frustration; the large cat was sprawled across Kei's lap and looked annoyed at having been awakened so violently. "Come off it Kei. You know as much as I do about the mess on Xanadu. You *did* read the briefing, didn't you?" "Of course I did," Kei replied. Yuri cast a glance at her, at which she colored slightly. "Ok, ok. I only skimmed it. It was *awfully* dull." Yuri giggled the way that she knew always annoyed her partner. "You didn't miss much. Long lists of crimes that have little or no connection. The police haven't been able to catch anyone." Kei snickered. "The local yokels are pretty pathetic, eh?" "You might say that. Still, the planet was quiet for so long that they probably didn't have anything to do and got complacent." "Humph. Sounds boring. Maybe we'll have a chance to liven things up a little." "Careful, girl. We're on duty. You heard what the Chief said." "Party pooper." Kei stuck her tongue out at Yuri, who turned her nose up at the rude gesture. At that moment, the _Lovely Angel_'s autonav kicked in as she jumped into warp. * * * Things were uneventful as the Angels arrived at the space port and were quickly ushered into a waiting limo. Yuri knew what Kei was thinking; Kei was all too obviously hoping for the terrorists to attack, so she could *do* something. Yuri ignored her partner and took in the sights. Truth be told, Yuri was half hoping for some action too, but she wouldn't let Kei know that. A girl had to have *some* pride, after all. The sights were worth watching. Everywhere she looked, Yuri saw glitz and sparkle. Brightly lit signs and holograms were everywhere. All the vehicles on the streets were either luxurious or super sporty. And the people! Everywhere she looked, all Yuri could see were people dressed in the most recent 'in' fashions. All the wasted wealth was starting to make Yuri sick, and a bit jealous. Finally, the limo stopped at a building that shrieked 'official,' compared to the other buildings Yuri had seen. A young aide was waiting out front to meet them. He was obviously not used to dealing with such lovely ladies. As usual, Kei started flirting as soon as they left the car. Yuri tried not to laugh as the young man ended up blushing and stammering well before they arrived at their destination. At the door, where the aide turned to leave, Kei winked at Yuri. Yuri, not to be left out, batted her eyes coyly at the poor fellow as Kei leaned against him, and in a low voice asked for his phone number. It was too much for him; he ran out of the office quick as a wink. "airheaded bimbos . . . " was all Yuri heard of the conversation that abruptly cut off as she opened the door. It was a good thing that Kei's attention was still on the fleeing aide; it was all Yuri could do to keep her temper. She knew that *Kei* never would have. With a slight cough, an elderly woman rose from behind the immense desk that filled the office and spoke: "Let me introduce myself. I am Chairwoman Brianna Calindorf. I represent the ruling council here on Xanadu." She gestured to a man of indeterminant age seated on a couch. "This is Council member Edward Sinclair. As owner of several of our larger establishments, he is here to represent the business leaders of the city." Sinclair inclined his head. He was handsome: tall, well built, with brown but graying hair. Still, something about him made Yuri shiver. He seemed slightly dangerous, and more than a little arrogant. Kei, of course, was oblivious to anything but his looks. Yuri kicked her in the ankle to get her to turn her attention back to the Chairwoman. "I assume that you have read over the information we provided the WWWA. Basically, we have a group of terrorists calling themselves 'the Dreamers.' They seem to be made up of a few malcontents who want to get things without having to work for them. The few demands that they have made revolve around the theme of 'equal distribution of wealth.'" Yuri caught a look of disgust that briefly showed in the Chairwoman's face. "They see the riches around them and, rather than working honestly for it like the rest of us, they seem to think that they deserve to be given it. "Our police force was never designed to handle crime of this sort. We are a peaceful planet, concerning ourselves with providing recreation for those who need it. As you may know, the recreational activities available are the main source of income for our world. If word of these recent events gets too wide spread, our whole economy could collapse as the number of guests dwindles." She then glared at the Angels with thinly veiled contempt. "I trust that you will do your utmost to wrap things up quickly and quietly." "Don't worry. We're the best!" Kei replied, sounding offended. For some reason, the Chairwoman didn't seem any more relieved at this reassurance than Chief Goulett had been of Yuri's. "Yes, of course," Sinclair sarcastically answered. "We have all heard about the, shall we say, exploits of the Dirty Pair." Kei and Yuri both bristled at this, but somehow managed to keep their tempers. A glance from the Chairwoman silenced whatever else Sinclair had meant to say. "In any event," Calindorf continued, "you will be working with the officer in charge of this case." She pressed a hidden button on her desk. "Send in Officer Sidhelam." A side door opened, and in strolled one of the most gorgeous men that Yuri had ever met. Long, silky black hair, baby blue eyes, and he moved like a dancer. "Things are looking better already," Kei whispered. "Oh sure, *you'd* say that. He's a cop. They're never any fun," Yuri whispered back. "Besides, I saw him first." Oblivious to the remarks they were making, Officer Sidhelam walked to the Pair to introduce himself. "Hi there. I'm Charles Sidhelam. You can call me Chuck; all my friends do." He shook hands with the Angels. What really surprised Yuri was the fact that he looked them in the eyes when he did so. Most guys' gazes were several inches lower. The Chairwoman turned to address Chuck directly. "Officer, kindly escort these agents to your headquarters and fill them in on current developments. Ladies, on behalf of our planet, I'd like to wish you good luck." With that, she briskly ushered them all out of her office. Angels in Paradise Chapter Three: Watch where you're going! The opportunity for doing mischief is found a hundred times a day . . . -- Voltaire, "Zadig" ================================================================== In a dark room, a man dialed a number from memory. After a few rings, it connected. "It's me . . . Listen up. The Trouble Consultants have arrived. They are on their way out of the Council Building right now. Eliminate them." * * * At the door of the building, Chuck unselfconsciously held the door open for the Angels, raising him in Yuri's esteem. "That's my car there at the curb. It's only a few minutes to police headquarters. I'm sure you'd like to begin as soon as possible" Kei and Yuri hardly heard him. They were too busy arguing over who would get to sit up front next to "the handsome." As the three reached the top of the steps leading away from the door, a black car came speeding around the corner. It came to an abrupt stop across the road from the group. As the three looked up in surprise, a man popped out of the far door, rested a rocket launcher on top of the car, and opened fire. With a loud FOOMPH, the entrance behind them exploded, spraying glass and steel in all directions. The concussion knocked them down the steps. Kei and Yuri jumped up unhurt as the car sped away; the reinforced polymer armor they always wore over their uniforms had protected them from the worst of the explosion. The armor may have been almost invisible, but it was effective. "Bastards! Let's get them!" Kei shouted. She and Yuri dove into the nearest car, which happened to be Chuck's. "You drive. I'll ride shotgun!" "Why do you always get to do the shooting?" Yuri griped as she started the car. Chuck raised his head as the Pair tore off in hot pursuit. "Wha . . . ? Hey! That's my car!!!!" he shouted fruitlessly. "Turn left! They went down that road," Kei snapped to Yuri. "I saw." Yuri took the corner a little too sharply, causing several onlookers to dive for cover. She reached up, pulled some of her hair into view, and frowned at it. "Grrr! I think they singed my hair." "That's nothing. I think I broke a nail." Kei retorted offhandedly. About to continue, she broke off, nearly dropping her gun out the window, as Yuri hastily swerved to avoid a car pulling out of a parking space ahead. "Yuri! Both hands on the wheel!" Yuri sped around another corner, and spotted the black car ahead. "Kei," she shouted, unnecessarily. Kei laughed gleefully as she leaned from the window and tried to shoot the fleeing car. Her shots all went wide, as Yuri was being forced to dodge the dozens of grenades being dropped from the windows of the black car. "Hold still, Yuri. How am I supposed to get him with you driving like a drunkard?" "You'd know more about that than me. Who was it that almost got us arrested because she didn't know enough not to drive after that party? Hey! What's he doing?" The guy with the rocket launcher had climbed halfway out of his window. Before Yuri could continue, he had fired another missile at the Pair. Yuri swerved into the other lane, forcing several cars off the road. She glanced at Kei, and was relieved to see that she had ducked back into the car. The rocket roared past, and destroyed a fancy restaurant just as a well dressed couple left. Yuri checked her rear-view mirror. "Opps. I hope they are all right," she said in a small voice. Kei leaned back out the window and squeezed off a few more shots. "Yippeeeee!" she exclaimed as she managed to knock the weapon from the terrorist's hands. "Yuri! Red light!" Kei shouted suddenly. The driver of the black car wasn't as observant. The car sped into the intersection ahead as a shuttle bus was going through it. The bus clipped the front of the black car, causing it to go into a spin. Another car, one of the big luxury models, slammed into the rear end of the black car, crushing the smaller car between itself and the bus. There must have been explosives in the trunk of the black car; it went up in a *huge* ball of fire, taking the bus and luxury car with it. Yuri managed to skid sideways to a stop shy of the intersection. She looked at Kei in shock. "That bus wasn't full, was it?" Kei asked. Yuri looked ill. "I think it was, Kei." "That's what I thought too. Shit." Angels in Paradise Chapter Four: Let's get going, already! The worst is not So long as we can say "This is the worst." -- Shakespeare, "King Lear" act IV. sc. 1 ================================================================== Yuri stared moodily at her boots. The accident was depressing enough, but now she and Kei had to listen to the Chief of Police rant about it. It wasn't like it was their fault or anything, but it was obvious that the Chief didn't want to hear any explanations. Yuri hoped that Kei could keep from getting defensive. "It's bad enough that I had to accept WWWA help in an internal affair. But this! The Dirty Pair?!? As if we didn't have *enough* trouble here! The very first thing you did is cause the destruction of a city block. Not to mention all the people killed in that explosion!" "But . . ." Kei started to retort. At Chuck's panicked look, Yuri clamped her hand over Kei's mouth. "I don't think he wants to hear it," she whispered. Kei looked a little angry, but nodded and quieted. After several more minutes of ranting, the Police Chief threw them out of his office. "Don't mind him," Chuck said in a low voice. "Chief Olstein gets steamed and needs to shout a little. Once he calms down, he'll realize that it wasn't anyone's fault. "We've got a couple of new leads. Wait a sec, while I call it up on the computer." Yuri, still depressed, sat on the end of a desk. Kei, trying to get her mind off the incident, resumed her flirting with Chuck. At any other time, Yuri would have been amused, but not right then. "Your friend is looking to get her heart broken," a voice behind Yuri said. She turned, to see a police woman watching Kei with laughter in her eyes. "What do you mean?" Yuri asked. "She's definitely not his type. I've seen it before, and it always ends the same way." "What, he doesn't like pushy women?" "He doesn't like women period. He's a great guy, and a fine officer, but he's gay." Yuri pondered that for a moment. "We should probably tell Kei, but let's not. Let her suffer a little." The thought of being able to tease Kei about this later made Yuri cheer up somewhat. "Ah, here we are," Chuck said. "We managed to get a couple of pictures of one of the leaders of a group of terrorists. It seems like there may be several groups operating independently, but this one guy shows up a lot. Look." Chuck turned his screen to let Kei and Yuri see the picture. "It isn't very good, but the computer was able to enhance it and we got an ID." He punched several buttons, and a dossier overlayed the picture. "Randy Markov. He's got a record of being a trouble maker. Brawling, public intoxication, that sort of thing." "Nice guy," Kei muttered. Yuri's eyes twinkled. "You'd get along with him just fine, Kei. And look, his hair is as red as yours. Maybe there's a connection." "Shut up, Yuri." Chuck cleared his throat. "Well, we've poked around and found out that he tends to spend a lot of time at a casino-bar called _Arachnos_." "Maybe we should stake out the joint," Kei grinned. Yuri groaned. "Great, another bar. You're going to get us in trouble." "Good thing it's not a mall. You'd never come out." "What's that supposed to mean?" "What do you think?" "Ladies, please. I think a stake out is a good idea," Chuck interrupted. Kei stuck her tongue out at Yuri as Chuck continued. "I can back you up, but I'm afraid that my face is a little too well know for me to actually go in the Arachnos with you." "You're famous too?" Kei asked breathlessly, employing her girlish charm. Chuck remained oblivious. "Well, no. But, I'm the one that keeps getting thrown in front of the cameras during press conferences." Kei laughed. "No problem. You can just wait for our signal. Yuri and I will bring this Randy guy to you, gift-wrapped. Right Yuri?" "Piece of cake," was Yuri's prompt reply. Angels in Paradise Chapter Five: The stakeout. The best-laid schemes o' mice an' men, Gang aft a-gley. -- Robert Burns, "To a mouse" ================================================================== The _Arachnos_ was a theme bar. The lighting was dim, with only the webs of lights covering the walls and ceilings providing illumination. All the serving girls wore tights with spider-web designs. The table tops had relief patterns of various spider shapes. Yuri did not like this place. "What kind of weirdos would come to a place that looks like this?" she asked Kei. "What are you talking about? It's kind of nice," Kei replied. Yuri kept silent, and tried not to look squeamish. "Hey Yuri, what's that climbing up your shoulder?" Kei asked in her best "I'm innocent" voice. She laughed as Yuri jumped and swatted at her sleeves. "I'll get you for that," Yuri muttered. Heads turned as the Lovely Angels crossed the floor toward the bar. Kei wore tight pants the color of her hair, and a green vest open in front to reveal a matching bikini top. Her tiny purse was of shimmering gold satin. Yuri was a little more conventional, with a shimmering blue dress slit high on the side and cut low in back. A white sash tied around her waist, with the bow opposite the slit up her left leg, completed her outfit. Yuri ordered the two of them drinks, not trusting Kei not to get something too strong. Then, they found a table where they could watch both the bar and the casino at the same time. "Don't you think that we should mingle in the casino? Maybe place a few bets to blend in?" Kei asked. "No way. You'll get too involved in having fun and forget why we are here." "I never . . ." Kei started to protest. Yuri cut her off. "Yeah, right. I remember the casino where you got so involved in playing Meteor that you almost forgot that we were there on a mission." "I was just playing my part . . . Oh, have it your way. We'll sit here and be bored." Kei looked thoughtful for a moment. "Say, Yuri. Do you think something is wrong with that Chuck guy?" "No, why?" Yuri asked, barely keeping a straight face. "He doesn't seem to notice me, at least not the way he should." "Maybe he doesn't like redheads." "Be serious." Kei looked mildly, but genuinely, upset. "Well, maybe you are trying too hard. Some men don't like that." "But it usually works." "Really? What about that kid you scared off at the Council building?" This time, Yuri did laugh. "Pft. That wasn't serious. I was just teasing the little guy." "Sure you were." Yuri noticed a red haired man approaching one of the dice tables. "Don't look now, but I think I see our terrorist friend." "Where?" "He just came in the other door, and looks like he is getting into a craps game." "All right, like we planned it," Kei, now all business, said as she stood. Yuri followed Kei from the table. Their plan was to separate at the casino and make their way through the crowd to Randy at the dice table. They didn't make it that far. A rather drunk fat man spied Kei passing his table. He reached out a large hand and grabbed her wrist. "Hey there, good looking. How's about a good time?" he slobbered. "Loose the grip, or loose the hand," Kei said in a low, but dangerous, voice. "Wha's the matter? Not good enough for ya? I gots plenty o' credits." Kei went white, then red. "Listen fat boy. I'm not one of your dime store floozies. You can take those credits and shove them where the sun don't shine!" she shouted. At this, the man jumped to his feet, knocking his table over as he rose. He raised a fist as if to hit her, but Kei reacted first. With a well timed kick, she knocked his legs out from under him, and he crashed to the floor. She followed this with a beautiful reverse kick to the face. Yuri, not one to let her partner's honor go undefended, finished him off with a chair over the head as he tried to sit up. "Yuri! The door!" Kei shouted. Randy had noticed the commotion and put two and two together. He was at the door and going through it as Kei alerted her partner. The Pair vaulted over the now prone drunkard, and followed. When they reached the street, they looked around, but couldn't see the red headed man anywhere. "He went that way," a voice weakly stated. Both girls look down in surprise. A young man was picking himself off the ground in front of the door. "Big guy, red hair?" the man asked. "He flattened me and went that way." He pointed down the street. "Ducked down that alley to the left." Kei and Yuri hurried in the direction indicated. "Hey, wasn't that . . . ?" Yuri asked as she ran down the street. "Yeah, I think it was," Kei replied. Back by the casino, the man was looking at a wallet in his hand. "I'll have to get this to the Angels later on," he muttered. Then he shrugged, and went on his way down the street. * * * As Yuri reached the mouth of the alley, she spotted Randy turning right. "There he goes!" she exclaimed. "Don't let him get away!" Kei responded. As the Pair rounded the corner, Yuri, slightly in the lead, came to an abrupt stop. Kei crashed into her from behind. "Yuri! Why did you . . . ?" she started. The reason was immediately obvious. Randy was smiling about 10 meters away. Between him and the Pair were half a dozen very large "toughs," all armored and armed. "I'm sorry to leave when things are getting interesting, but I have an appointment," Randy smirked. "Gentlemen, I'll leave you to your sport." With that, he turned and strolled down the alley. A noise from behind alerted Yuri, who turned and saw several more toughs closing in. "Kei, more goons back," she whispered. "Roger. I'll take front," Kei whispered back. With a shouted "GO!" Kei whipped a tiny laser gun from the change purse she was carrying and fired at the lead tough. It was a perfectly aimed shot that took him full in the chest. Unfortunately, his armor reflected the beams harmlessly away. At the same instant, Yuri whipped her skirt away, revealing that she had her WWWA uniform bottoms on underneath, complete with her gun. With her patented quick-draw, Yuri had her gun in hand and had fired at the closest thug behind the Pair. Her shot was only slightly more effective than Kei's. The thug was knocked back a step, but was otherwise unhurt. The remaining toughs, their weapons already in hand, opened fire at the Pair. Only their trained reflexes kept the two from being hit. They dove behind some nearby trash cans. "Damn their armor!" Kei snarled. She looked askance at Yuri as Yuri pressed her larger gun into her hands. "Huh?" Yuri's answer was an evil little grin, as she drew the Bloody Cardtm from her bra. "I'll cast, and you target their faces." "Butbutbut! Well, I guess even *that* can't make things any worse. Okay." As one, the Pair stood. With a banshee scream, Yuri cast the Card. For once, it worked the way it was meant to. Half the thugs were cut down as it arced through their midst. Using the shock that Yuri's shout had caused, not to mention the devastating effect of the Card, Kei quickly downed several more. The remaining two thugs, not looking so tough any more, turned to flee. With deadly grace, the Lovely Angels, now *avenging* angels, leapt the cans and in a few strides were on top of the fleeing men. Yuri executed a flying kick, catching her opponent in the back of the skull. He went down like a ton of bricks. She turned in time to see Kei throw her opponent to the ground with a fancy judo move. A karate chop to the neck finished him off. "That's the last time I go out without my rocket launcher," Kei muttered. The sound of hands clapping together caused the Pair to spin in attack stances. They relaxed as Chuck came into view. "I saw you go running down that alley from my car down the street. I called for backup, and then ran down here myself." He looked around in disbelief. "Geez, it looks like you didn't need *my* help." "Did you see where that creep went?" Kei asked. "Who? Oh, Randy? No, he must have left some other way," Chuck replied. "Damn," she exclaimed. * * * Back at police headquarters, Kei wanted to question the two surviving thugs herself. Chief Olstein wasn't having any of it. "No! We have experts at this sort of thing. Let them do their jobs. We need these two alive afterward," he exploded at her suggestion. Argue as she would, Kei couldn't convince him to change his mind. "Kei, it's been a long day. Why don't you and Yuri get some rest, and we'll tackle things fresh in the morning," Chuck said, in one of his most reasonable tones. Kei looked like she would argue further, but a yawn stopped her. "Come on, sleepy head," Yuri said. "Let's get some sleep. I sure could use some." "Okay, okay. I guess I *could* use forty winks." "Tell you guys what, I'll swing by your hotel tomorrow morning at breakfast, and fill you in on what the interrogation turns up," offered Chuck. "Deal," the Angels said together. Angels in Paradise Chapter Six: Yuri's past comes a haunting . . . God save me from my friends; I can protect myself from my enemies. -- Marshal De Villars ================================================================== Yuri awoke much refreshed. A good night's sleep, on top of the moderate success the Angels had had yesterday in the capture of some of the terrorists, went a long way toward letting her forget the bus disaster. Kei was already up, and half-dressed for breakfast. A few minutes later, Yuri was ready and the two left their room for their pool-side breakfast. After looking over the menu, Yuri decided to have a light breakfast of eggs and toast. She couldn't resist ordering the hot chocolate, for which Kei teased her. Kei ordered a heartier breakfast, but stayed with tea to drink. "Fewer calories," she smirked. The beverages arrived almost immediately. To the Angels' surprise, they were not brought by the young lady who had taken the order, but by the young man who had directed them after Randy the night before. "Long time, no see," he smiled. "Unless you count last night. Here, I brought your favorite breakfast drinks." "Chaos! It *was* you," Yuri exclaimed. Her mind drifted back to when she had first met this young man. * * * Yuri was ready for her last year at the university of Mezuiru. She had registered, and now there was nothing to do but wait for classes to begin, and try to find a little excitement. It would be more fun if Kei, her roommate and best friend, were around, but Kei had been snagged by relatives and wouldn't be back for a couple more days. Yuri was cutting across campus, heading back to her dorm, when a freshman, carrying an armload of *books* of all things, missed a step on the stone stairs in front of the science building and tumbled down them. Ordinarily, Yuri would have thought it funny, except he managed to crash into *her*, knocking her down as well. Yuri, slightly dazed from hitting her head, debated getting up, getting mad, or just lying there until the ground stopped wobbling. She heard a frightened gasp, and cracked an eye open. "Oh god! I've killed a senior," the freshman wailed. Noticing Yuri opening her eyes, he looked relieved. "Are you all right? I'm terribly sorry. No, don't move. You've got a nasty bump on your head there." After a full minute of his fretting and apologizing, Yuri started to giggle. His concern was funny, and kind of cute. Unfortunately, laughing made her head *hurt*. The next thing Yuri realized, the young student was *carrying* her to the university hospital. She protested weakly, but he ignored her. He even waited for her examination to finish, and insisted on walking her back to her dorm. When they reached it, he suddenly remembered the books still scattered all over, and ran off. Yuri hadn't even gotten his name. Somehow, over the next few months, they became friends. He was so lost and hopeless on the big campus that Yuri felt sorry for him and appointed herself his big sister. Even though he was cute, Yuri never thought about going out with him; he *was* a freshman after all. That turned out to be fine with him; in his words: "beautiful women intimidate me." Even Kei softened on him, especially after he let them crash in his room (after a party at which both girls had had much too much to drink to make it home safely) without making any moves on them. * * * "You big clutz. What are you doing on Xanadu?" Kei was asking. "Well, as you probably guessed, I stayed in school," Chaos began. "You were always a study-maniac," Yuri teased. "Still am," Chaos blushed. "I spent a semester at Erakau and was on my way back to Earth, where I transferred after graduating from Mezuiru. My flight had a layover here in the Qalihn system. Wouldn't you know it! My cab broke down and I missed my connection. I'm stuck here for another week, until the next flight to Earth leaves." "Stuck? Most people would kill for a chance to spend a week here!" Kei chuckled. "Maybe so, but it costs a fortune just to eat! You know I never have any money." Chaos looked pitiful, causing both Kei and Yuri to laugh. They knew his fake sad looks too well. "Well, besides the fact that I enjoy your company, I did have another reason for looking you ladies up," Chaos said, brightening. "Here it comes, Yuri. After avoiding us for years, he wants to talk business," Kei said, sotto voice. "Who's been avoiding who?" he asked. "You two are the ones who keep moving around! I never thought you'd get so famous." Chaos shrugged. "Anyway, did you nab that big guy who flattened me?" "No," Yuri pouted. "A bunch of his gorilla friends jumped us and he ran off." "Well then, this should come in real handy." Chaos placed a wallet on the table. "His wallet jumped out of his pocket into my hand." "You picked his pocket," Kei stated flatly. Chaos looked hurt. "Of course not. That would be illegal." A conspiratorial gleam entered his eyes. "Besides, he owed me for using me like a tackling dummy." "Pft. You didn't get out of his way," Yuri snickered. "It could only happen to me," Chaos complained. "I'm always in the wrong place at the right time." He shook his head. "Of all the streets to be on, I *would* be walking past where you two were staging an arrest." "You do seem to make a habit of crashing into people," Yuri teased. "It's not my fault. Things like that seem to happen to me," he replied. "Well, you have company coming." Yuri turned to see Chuck making his way toward them. Chaos continued, "You two are working. I'll take off. If you wrap things up in the next couple of days, look me up. I'm staying at the Ramada." Chaos took Yuri's hand and kissed it. "See you later, sis." He turned and ruffled Kei's hair; he was one of the few who could get away with that. "Take care of her, red. Yourself too." With a final wink, he turned and strolled off. Angels in Paradise Chapter Seven: Now what? All you need in this life is ignorance and confidence, and then Success is sure. -- S. L. Clemens ================================================================== Officer Sidhelam arrived at the Lovely Angels' table just after Chaos had left. "Who was that? I didn't think you had a brother," he said to Yuri. A crash, followed by cursing, distracted Yuri as she started to answer. She looked up, to see Chaos slinking away under a table. It seemed that he had sidestepped a chair, pushed in his way as an older man stood up, only to collide with a waitress, who spilled hot coffee all over one of the other guests. Yuri, embarrassed for him, blushed. Kei came to her partner's rescue. "That was an old friend of ours from school. He was a pretty hopeless freshman that Yuri took pity on, for some reason. He sorta adopted us." Chuck looked a little confused, but accepted the explanation. Kei continued, "Randy ran into him last night, literally. Chaos there found Randy's wallet which fell out of his pocket when they collided. He looked us up to give it to us." She handed the wallet to Chuck. "That's great," Chuck replied. "I've got some information from the interrogation, but it's not much." "Why don't you tell us what you found out, while we look through this thing?" Yuri suggested, taking back the wallet. "Okay. Whoever is behind these terrorists knows how to organize to protect himself. It seems that they are broken into gangs of about 20 people. Other than the gang leader, who reports to higher-ups, no one in any one gang knows anything about another." "So, unless we do catch a leader, there's no way to stop more than a handful of them," Kei guessed. "Sure looks like it. Now, there *is* some kind of central base, where novices get trained, but our 'friends' were drugged unconscious so they have no idea where it is. However, all the loot that gets stolen supposedly winds up at the base for 'equal distribution.'" "Huh?" "The terrorists see themselves as Robin Hood types -- they steal from the 'rich oppressors' and spread the wealth among themselves. Their goal is some kind of 'economic equality.' I figure that the poor, either because they are unlucky or lazy, are being drawn in with the promise of getting some of the wealth for themselves." "Sounds like a good way to attract more people. Promise them everything they've never had, plus revenge." Yuri looked thoughtful. "I bet whoever is in charge has other motives though. Certainly not altruism." "Your guess is as good as mine. Well, our friend Randy is the leader of the gang that jumped you two, and maybe others. Too bad he's bound to lay low for a while." "Nothing in this thing," Yuri muttered, tossing the wallet onto the table. "You say that the stolen items are taken to the central base?" Yuri asked. "That's what our guests believe." "Then, if we knew where they plan to strike next, we might be able to plant a tracer on them in the loot, right?" "Probably, if we knew. Which we don't" "Maybe we can find out. Kei?" Yuri stretched out her hand toward her partner. Kei, thinking along the same lines, interlaced her fingers with Yuri's. Back during their school days, the Lovely Angels had discovered that they had psychic abilities. The WWWA found out, and enlisted them. During their TC training, they learned to better control their abilities. Although not always accurate, they could often get psychic impressions from places or objects. They could only use their gifts while in physical contact and they had to be in the proper emotional state. Fortunately, that state happened to be one of righteous anger; they could easily attain *that* state thinking about the criminals they were trying to stop. Chuck looked on confused, as both of the girls' expressions went blank. Their gazes became very remote, as if they were in some sort of trance. They were. Moments later, they released their grip, and slumped to the table, obviously drained. Kei spoke first. "A truck?" "Maybe a really big car. There was something on the side," Yuri responded. "It wasn't very clear. Zig zag lines, I think." "A big Z inside a circle?" "Yeah, I think so. I also got an impression of lots of money." Chuck, unable to hold his curiosity back any longer, interjected, "What are you talking about? What happened?" Kei smiled. "Didn't you know? We're clairvoyant. You didn't think we got our job on looks alone, did you?" "Sometimes we can turn up a clue that can't be found by the more mundane methods," Yuri added. "So, you got some kind of image from Randy's wallet?" Chuck asked, confused but willing to go along with things. "Yes. A truck . . ." Kei started. "Or maybe an armored car," Yuri added. "With a green logo on the side. Something like a Z inside a circle," Kei continued. Chuck looked thoughtful. "It sounds familiar. Wait . . . That sounds like the logo for the Zantalos bank. And if memory serves, they move their weekly receipts to a central vault every Friday." "There's a good chance they are planning to hijack the shipment this week," Kei stated. "We could get Mughi to whip up some bugs to place in the cash bags that normal scans couldn't detect . . ." began Yuri. "And locate their base once they take the loot there!" finished Kei. Chuck thought about it. "It's the only clue we have, I guess. Our prisoners don't know anything helpful. I'll have to make an excuse for the Chief; he'll never buy it if we tell him you're psychic. He doesn't believe in that sort of thing." Suddenly, Chuck's eyes opened wide. "Shit! *Today* is Friday!" Kei jumped up. "Then we'd better get a move on," she said excitedly. * * * "I wish we were at the bank. It's boring waiting here." Kei grumbled. "So do I, but remember, we *want* them to get away." Yuri replied. "Can't we go chase them a bit?" "Be real. You think they'd get away from us?" "Of course not." Kei thought for a moment. "Oh, I see your point." "Not alive anyway," an unidentifiable voice muttered at the same time, from across the Police Headquarters' war room. Kei and Yuri looked angry but, not spying the culprit, soon settled down. "What time is it now," Kei asked, for the tenth time. "Five minutes later than the last time," Yuri answered. "Don't be smart. I'm not in the mood." "Poor baby. It's 1614." Yuri ducked a pencil which Kei threw at her. It continued its arc, just missing the Police Chief, who fortunately didn't notice. He was in a bad enough mood. He hated anonymous tips, which was where Chuck told him they had gotten their clue. "The armored car left 15 minutes ago. What if they don't show?" Kei asked, worried. "Then we're no worse off than we were before," Chuck answered, not realizing that it would be safer to keep quiet. "I wish they'd hurry up and do it. I *hate* waiting." Kei was starting to sound extremely frustrated. "Shhh. You're not supposed to admit that," Yuri smirked. This time she caught the pencil Kei threw. "Careful, you'll run out of ammo," she said as she tossed it back. "Baka," Kei muttered. She sat back to sulk. "Don't look now gang, but something is going down," Chuck suddenly spoke up. Kei, excited to finally have something to do, leapt over the desk. Yuri, equally excited, but less willing to show it, followed more slowly. By the time she reached them, Kei was standing on tip-toe with her head on Chuck's shoulder, looking at the screen in front of him. The report was coming in at that moment; the terrorists had hijacked the armored car and the police were in pursuit. "If things go they usually do, it'll disappear pretty soon. We think they are using tunnels, but haven't been able to trace them yet," Chuck commented. Kei reached up and activated her earring communicator. "Mughi? Wake up! What's the reading on the tracers?" Indistinct _mrowpts_ were heard, of which Kei and Yuri somehow could make sense. "He's picking the signal up loud and clear." "The pursuit lost them by the underpass, as usual. They never came back out," Chuck commented. "Mughi is mapping their progress. We got 'em!" Kei chuckled smugly. Kei and Yuri looked at each other. "Yes!" they exclaimed together, giving each other a high-five. Angels in Paradise Chapter Eight: They won't know what hit them! How lovely are the portals of the night, When stars come out to watch the daylight die. -- Thomas Cole, "Twilight" ================================================================== It took several hours for the signal from the tracers to stop moving for long enough that the Angels were certain that they had located the main terrorist base. It gave them plenty of time to plan and get ready. Being law enforcement personnel, they couldn't just go in and destroy the entire place even though that's what they would have preferred. Instead, they needed to get enough evidence to arrest the leaders, and only then could they blow the place to kingdom come. In the _Lovely Angel_, Kei and Yuri were undergoing their final preparations. Yuri checked over her computer equipment one last time. All of her gear was in order; there wasn't a computer made that could keep her out once she attached these goodies to the main CPU. Kei debated, and decided to add a few more explosive charges to her pack. One could never have enough, after all. Finally, each double checked their anti-infrared suits. The suits were not just black, they were blacker than deep space. They would absorb energy and had special insulation that, when activated, would keep all body heat from escaping thus making the wearer invisible to almost all scans. They couldn't keep the suits activated for long; they would roast. But, the suits should last long enough to get inside the base. The nice thing, in Yuri's opinion, was that the suits fit *over* their polymer armor. There was just one major drawback. "Ugh, I hate these hoods. They really mess up my hair," Yuri complained. "If it weren't so long, you wouldn't have such a big problem. Why don't you get it cut like mine?" Kei fluffed her hair for emphasis. "Right, and look like a boy?" Yuri teased. "Are you implying that I don't look feminine?" Kei, angry, snapped. "I'm not implying anything. You assumed." The terrorist base was inside Mount Abora, only a few kilometers outside the city. There were several ski resorts on the summit of the mountain; the police had been very surprised about that. It made sense, however. Mount Abora was an extinct volcano, and was naturally riddled with caves and caverns. It was a perfect location for a hidden, underground base. All the traffic to and from the resorts helped camouflage the movements of the terrorists, too. Originally, Chuck had wanted to go with the Angels, but when Kei 'explained' to him that he didn't have the proper skills, he agreed to stay behind. While the Angels infiltrated the base, the police would invade the tunnels that Mughi's scans revealed. Chuck would coordinate from the Police headquarters. * * * Their special suits worked like a charm. The Angels were able to get inside the main garage without being detected. A quiet scuffle later, they got to a computer terminal. While Kei stood guard, Yuri tried her hand at cracking the security. "No good, Kei. We can't get into anything from here. We'll have to get to the main computer." "Can you at least call up a map?" "Hold on, I'll check." Yuri tried a few more commands. "Well, what do you know. A map of the base." "Told you so." Yuri stuck out her tongue. "Well, it looks like this is the only garage in the base." She pointed to a small room on the far side of the base. "This looks like it might be a small hanger, but it could only hold one ship. Everything else is here." "Perfect. Does it show where the main computer is?" "Sure does." "Great. I'll booby-trap the vehicles here, and you go find the computer." Kei started to unpack her bag of explosives. Yuri looked uncertain. "What? By myself?" "Scared?" "Of course not," Yuri forcefully denied. "Well, it's always easier for one person to sneak around than for two." "I guess so." Yuri wasn't any happier, but she couldn't refute the logic. "It shouldn't take long here. I'll catch up." "You'd better. Cracking the computer is bound to set off some alarms, no matter how careful I am. I'd appreciate some backup getting back out." "Trust me," Kei replied with a grin. Angels in Paradise Chapter Nine: It was getting boring anyway. The race is not always to the swift nor the battle to the strong -- but that's the way to bet. -- Anonymous ================================================================== Like any sensible Trouble Consultant, Yuri had copied the map to her mini-comp so she wouldn't have to rely on memory alone. With a little careful sneaking around, and only needing to hide a few times to avoid the occasional wanderer, she reached the computer center. It was guarded, but Yuri had expected that. She had several sleeping gas grenades, just for such an occasion. The problem was the door. Sure, she could pick the lock, or even force the door, but the door was transparent. She was bound to be noticed before she could get the grenades into play. When that happened, all hell would break loose; someone was bound to set off an alarm. She needed time to think. "Kei, come in," she whispered into her earring transmitter. "What?" came the terse reply. "Are you through yet?" "Just about. As long as you don't keep bothering me." "Hurry and get up here. The door's made all of glass, and I'm sure to be spotted going in. You know what'll happen then." "Do you still have that package I put in your pack?" Kei replied after a moment. "Yes. What's in it anyway?" Yuri had been curious about that package. "Not much, just a few anti-personnel mines." Kei sounded smug. "What?" "I figured they might come in handy. Rig the hallway with 'em, and I'll get there as quick as I can." "Sounds good to me. Just don't trip them yourself." "Hah. Very funny." Kei may be the one who liked explosives more, but Yuri was good at placing them herself. It didn't take long to rig the hallway on either side of the door. It was obvious, but it would give her some extra time. That accomplished, Yuri drew her gun, and readied a grenade in the other hand. Hoping that the element of surprise might let her act before any of the technicians could, Yuri shot the door open. The grenade followed right behind the pieces of the door. The shattering door made a lot more noise than Yuri had anticipated. :Damn,: she thought. :Even without an alarm, that's going to alert the base.: The gas did its job; within seconds all the technicians were slumped on the floor. Yuri quickly ducked through the doorway. A quick scan of the various controls revealed that one of the men *had* managed to trigger an alarm. She swept a table clean of its supply of porno magazines, and got out her bag of tricks. As she got her things ready, she radioed Kei again. "Heads up girl. The alarm's gone off." "Roger. I'm on my way." "I don't need to tell you to be careful, do I?" "Shut up, Yuri. And keep *your* eyes open." Unlike Yuri, Kei hadn't thought to make a copy of the map. She trusted her memory, which proved not to be such a good idea when she quickly got lost. Like most people, she refused to admit it to herself, thinking she could figure out where she was if she pressed on. So, press on she did, right into the midst of several grumpy terrorists. They were not happy about being awakened by an alarm, and were more than happy to have someone to take it out on. Fortunately, they were more startled than Kei, and she reacted first. Her first shot took the nearest terrorist in the face, her second the man behind him. It didn't take long for Kei to take out those first two men, but it was long enough. The others brought their weapons to bear, and opened fire. Most of the shots missed, but a few connected. Kei's polymer armor protected her, but she knew it was time to leave. She fell back and rolled, grabbing a smoke bomb from her belt. She threw it in the midst of the men, where it made a satisfactorily dense cloud. She jumped up and ran back the way she had come. The men followed close behind, but not close enough to get a bead on her. She took as many corners as she could, scanning for somewhere to turn the tables on the men following her. Suddenly, the hallway opened up into a larger room. Straight ahead was a sudden drop off, with a catwalk above. Kei thought she saw several ladders leading into the pit, but knew she didn't have time to climb down them before her pursuers caught up with her. The catwalk was out, for the same reason; Kei had no desire to become a sitting duck up there. She looked to her left, and saw several crates stacked against the wall. It was the best tactical location she had found so far, so she quickly ran and dove behind the crates. Pausing a moment to catch her breath, Kei holstered her pistol and removed her larger rifle from her back. Slapping in a new cartridge of caseless exploding rounds, Kei readied herself to give her pursuit a warm surprise. Running footsteps suddenly echoed in the large chamber. Knowing that this meant her pursuers had arrived, Kei stood and sprayed gunfire down the length of the room. There were a gratifying number of explosions and shouts. Kei ducked back into the relative cover of the crates. She was certain she could hold them off long enough to plan a way out. Unfortunately for her, Kei didn't see the figure who had just emerged on the catwalk, who could see *her* all too well. Angels in Paradise Chapter Ten: Look out below! Let us do or die. -- Burns, "Bruce to His Men at Bannockburn" ================================================================== Yuri's computer equipment did its job quickly and efficiently. Knowing she was short on time, she initiated a core dump onto one of her WORM disks. She'd sort the data out later. As the dump completed, Yuri heard voices in the hallway. The traps had been spotted and she didn't have much time before they were disarmed. She looked around for another way out; the hallway would be a death trap now. She spotted an air vent in the far wall. It would be a tight squeeze, but she could make it if she dumped the nonessentials. After quickly shedding her IR suit, Yuri threw all her computer equipment except the WORM disk and her mini-comp into a pile with the suit. She dug an incendiary grenade out of her weapon belt, set it for a two minute delay, and tossed it onto the pile. There was no way she'd let the terrorists get their hands on WWWA technology. The vent's grating came away easily. Yuri removed her belt and threw it into the vent. She quickly slithered after it. As she got completely inside, she heard the incendiary grenade detonate. For the moment, she was safe. Pushing her weapon belt before her, Yuri squirmed through the narrow air vent. :It's a good thing I'm skinny,: she thought. :Kei would never fit though here.: Her map didn't do her any good here; it didn't show the air vents. With relief, Yuri discovered that there were no anti-infiltration devices installed in the vent. Obviously, no one had thought anyone could get inside to use them. She soon came to a split in the pathway. Hearing what she thought was gunfire coming from the path to the right, she decided to go that way. If she was lucky, it would lead her to Kei. Yuri's luck held. She arrived at another grating in time to see Kei leap behind a pile of crates. Then she saw what Kei didn't -- a terrorist was about to throw a grenade at Kei from the catwalk. "Kei!" she shouted as she knocked the grate loose. With the obstruction gone, Yuri shot the man on the catwalk. Her shot knocked him off and he fell into the pit. Seconds later there was a massive explosion from the pit. Yuri belatedly realized that he had been wearing an entire bandolier of grenades. The one in his hand had gone off, and the rest followed. Whatever was in that pit, it was junk now. Yuri's shout, coupled with the falling grate, distracted Kei's pursuers enough that she could again stand and fire down the length of the hallway. The explosion in the pit was echoed by several smaller ones, as the remainder of Kei's pursuit was cut down by her fire. "Yuri! What are you doing in there?" she yelled up to Yuri. "What does it look like? I'm working on my snake charmer act. Give me a hand; I think I'm stuck." Laughing evilly, Kei stood on the crates to help pull Yuri out. "How many times have I told you not to drink hot chocolate?" "Shut up and pull." Yuri came out suddenly, causing both girls to tumble in a heap to the floor. Cursing under her breath, Yuri stood and dusted herself off. "Agh! I'll never be able to get the dust out of my hair." Kei stood also, ignoring her partner's complaints. She was too busy looking over the edge of the pit. "Yuri, what do you make of this?" Yuri walked over and peered down. "Hard to tell now. Looks like a monster-size door mechanism." "You think it was to open the mountain?" "Could be. It looks like missile tubes over there." "Well, they won't be going anywhere now, that's for sure. What a mess." Kei looked at Yuri, finally noticing her lack of equipment. "What happened to you?" "Huh? Oh . . . I had to dump 'most everything to fit in that vent. All my other escape routes were cut off." Kei's eyes narrowed. "What about the data?" she asked. "I've got *that* here." Yuri flashed the WORM disk. "I think it's time to leave." "You got that right, but which way? The bombs in the hanger will go off before we can get back there. I don't fancy cutting through hell to get out." "The way I came is out too, even if you *did* fit. The computer room is up in flames by now." Yuri pulled out her mini-comp. "It looks like our best bet is this small hanger here. If we're lucky, we can swipe whatever is there and get out." "Sounds good to me. You lead, and I'll watch your back." Angels in Paradise Chapter Eleven: Look before you leap, girl! For want of a nail the shoe was lost; for want of a shoe the horse was lost; and for want of a horse the rider was lost; being overtaken and slain by the enemy, all for the want of care about a horseshoe nail. -- Ben Franklin, "Poor Richard's Almanac. ================================================================== The Lovely Angels cautiously moved down yet another deserted hallway. Only a few short minutes after they had left the large room where they were reunited, they had heard the muted sound of multiple explosions. Kei's "surprises" had gone off with spectacular results. Seconds later, a loud alarm had sounded, with an announcement for all available personnel to go to the main hanger to fight the fire. The Pair had barely enough time to duck through a nearby doorway before the hall filled with near-panicked men. Since then, they had yet to see anyone at all. "Are we almost there yet?" Kei whispered. "Not far now," Yuri whispered back. "Good. This sneaking around without seeing anyone is starting to get to me." "You'd rather be back playing with your friends with the guns?" "Better the enemy you can see than the one lurking around a corner," Kei stated philosophically. "Thanks a lot! I was trying hard not to think about that," Yuri glared. The Pair rounded yet another corner. "Let's see. Through that door, and we are almost there," Yuri said, checking her map. "I wish I still had my scanner; I'd like to know if there are any surprises waiting in there." "Next time, think ahead. I don't see anyone in the hall. Let's blow the door and catch whoever might be there flat footed." "After you, Kei." "Why me?" "'Cause you have the exploding shells, stupid." Kei looked indignant, but couldn't think of a response. So, she took aim and shot the door latch. The explosion was loud in the deserted hallway, but it worked. The door flew open; Kei and Yuri dove through. The next thing they knew, they were disarmed and held in an unbreakable grip. "So nice of you to drop in," a vaguely familiar voice sneered. "Let me introduce my friends, TX-256 and TX-295, two of Alcorp's finest security robots. After the main hanger blew, I suspected that you might try to escape this way. Bring them here." Kei and Yuri were forced forward. Both struggled to no avail; the robots had them too securely. Yuri looked up at the tall man standing behind an immense desk and gasped. "You!" she shouted. "Indeed," Edward Sinclair replied with an uplifted eyebrow. "You two have caused me no end of trouble. Do you have any idea how much the equipment you managed to destroy costs? Not to mention the morale problem I'm faced with now that you've killed so many of my men." "You bastard! What about all the damage and deaths your men have caused?" Kei sputtered. "Oh, do be quiet." Sinclair gave them the sort of look Yuri gave bugs. "Those pitiful rich people who had never suffered in any way before? They had it coming to them. They can rebuild on the insurance money, and not even loose any sleep. Every thing we've attained, we've *worked* for. And *you two* have managed to destroy thousands of hours of sweat and blood in a matter of minutes." "You call armed robbery and extortion work? What a crock." Kei, getting angrier, yelled. "It's more honest work than they ever did! Everyone who comes here has exploited the workers to gain their wealth! They never did a days work in their lives. We steal from them what is rightfully ours." "Geez," Yuri muttered. "The re-incarnation of Karl Marx. Exploited workers indeed." Sinclair's eyes looked into the distance. He seemed to have forgotten their presence. "It was going so well. Soon, the whole planet would have been ours to rule. And then, with the resources of Xanadu behind us, we could have spread our holy vengeance across the universe, freeing all our brother workers." Kei snickered, which brought Sinclair's attention back to the Angels. "But *you* have ruined it all! Well, if I can't rule Xanadu, I'll destroy it! I'll let you live just long enough to watch. Then, your execution can revive the morale of my men." Sinclair was looking more demented by the minute. "Destroy it? How do you think you are going to do that? The police know where we are, and you don't have any vehicles left to evacuate!" Kei sneered. "I have all I need. The planet is controlled from the central city. Destroy it, and the planet falls." Sinclair looked suddenly calm. He pressed several controls on his desk. "I have a dozen graviton missiles ready to launch toward the city. They are more than enough to devastate it!" "You can't do that! What about all the innocent people living there!" Yuri, horrified, shouted. "There are no innocents! Whoever thinks so is deluding himself." Sinclair pressed a final button. "It is done. The missiles will launch in one minute." "Kei," Yuri whispered. "We've got to get out of here!" "What? We've got to stop him!" Kei whispered fiercely back. "We don't have time, and we don't have to." "Huh?" "Remember? The doors for the missile tubes are jammed. They won't launch." "Oh, right. So, what's the problem, other than the fact that we've been caught by this nut case?" "The missiles will go off in the tubes!" Yuri replied, near panic. "So?" "So? You idiot! We're in a base in a *volcano*, and one probably powered by a geo-thermic tap!" Kei suddenly looked frightened herself. "And when the missiles go off?" "The explosion will back lash right to the planet's core! The volcano will erupt, and I really don't want to be in here when it does." "Shit!" Sinclair looked up to see the Angels whispering. "Be quiet! I won't have you whispering like that." At that moment, there was a massive explosion. Sinclair looked at his displays. "What have you done!" he screamed. "The missiles have detonated in the tubes!" Sinclair put two and two together, and came up with the same answer that Yuri had. With a hateful glare at the Angels, he turned and fled toward the mini-hanger. Kei and Yuri struggled, but still couldn't break free from the robots' grips. "Yuri, I think we've had it," Kei sobbed. Yuri was as panicked as Kei, but somehow managed to think fairly calmly. "Maybe not. I think these robots take their power directly from the base. When the generator blows, they might let go." "Really?" "I hope so. But, it will be close to see if we can get out before the eruption." Just then, the walls blew inward. The lights went out, and the robotic grips fell away. Yuri stood up, and saw red. She blinked, but it didn't fade away. "Kei! Get up, everything's burning!" she screamed. Kei struggled to her feet. "The whole base is on fire!" she echoed. The exploding missiles had back lashed down more than the power tubes; the explosion had funneled down the hallways too. Every door and wall had been blown in, and everything flammable in the hallway was burning. If it hadn't been for the robots taking the brunt of the blast, Kei and Yuri would have been flattened. The *robots* had been reduced to just so much twisted metal. "Huh. That worked too, I guess," Yuri muttered. The Angels dashed toward the remains of the door to the hanger. As they reached the hanger itself, the ground started trembling. "Hurry!" Yuri screamed, unnecessarily. By some miracle, the hovercar in the center of the hanger was undamaged. They couldn't say the same for Sinclair. The explosion had thrown him into a wall, and he was bleeding from multiple injuries. The Angles looked at each other; as bad as Sinclair was, they couldn't stand by and let him die. As one, they moved to his prone body. He was still breathing. Together, they lifted him up, and fought their way to the hovercar. While Kei administered what first aid she could, Yuri lifted off. The hovercar shot straight up out of the hanger doors. Yuri wanted to get as high and as far away as possible before the mountain blew. She grabbed the radio with one hand and frantically tried to contact the police. She couldn't get any response. Either the radio was dead, or it operated on a frequency that wasn't being monitored. She reached up and tweaked an earring. "Mughi! We're in major trouble! Contact Chuck and tell him that Mount Abora is going to erupt. And then come get us. We're in a small hovercar heading to the city. I'd much rather be in orbit in the _Lovely Angel_. This car isn't going to stand the turbulence of the eruption!" With a _mrowpt_ of affirmation, Mughi signed off. "Think he'll get here in time?" Kei asked from the rear seat. "He'll be here." Kei looked out the rear window at the mountain. "It doesn't look good, Yuri. There's several avalanches already, and I see smoke coming out all over the place." "He'll be here. I hope . . ." Yuri hoped she sounded more confident than she felt. "Uh, Yuri? How are we going to get *in* the _Lovely Angel_? She doesn't have a docking bay big enough for this car." "Well, *you* think of something! I'm busy!" Yuri sounded frantic, even to her own ears. Several tense minutes passed. "Yuri, I think the smoke is getting worse." "Kei! There's Mughi!" Yuri pointed out the window. "Hurray!" The _Lovely Angel_ flew under their hovercar; then, several grapple lines were fired from the open hatch. Yuri maneuvered the car slightly above the _Lovely Angel_. "Grab Sinclair and get down those wires. I'll hold the car steady," she said. "What about you?" Kei asked, concerned. "Get going! I'll be okay." As Kei left, carrying Sinclair's unconscious form, Yuri struggled to keep steady. There was a lot of wind, and she didn't like the looks of the mountain behind them. Suddenly she heard Kei's voice over her earring transmitter. "Yuri! We're in. Get going." Yuri switched on the autopilot, praying that it would hold long enough. She clipped her weapon belt to the line and started down. At that moment, a cross wind hit, and the hovercar veered wildly. Yuri lost her grip, and spun around on the wire. Her clip to the line was all that saved her. She heard a gun shot, and the cable went slack. She screamed as she started to fall. She must have blacked out for a moment, because the next thing she knew, Chuck and Kei were bending over her in the _Lovely Angel_'s airlock. Her belt was tangled with the grapple. "Wha . . . ?" she mumbled. "Kei shot the grapple free, and we reeled you in. The hovercar started to go out of control and she was afraid you'd get dragged with it." Chuck's voice sounded worried and relieved at the same time. "It was a good thing you clipped yourself to the cable. Kei saw, and knew the grapple would catch in your belt." "The mountain blew just after we got you in. Mughi went ballistic, and got us out of there just in time," Kei added. "Kei?" Yuri weakly mumbled. "Yes Yuri?" "Don't ever let me do that again. I thought I was dead when that gust hit." "Don't worry. I'll take care of you." "You do that," Yuri managed to get out, as the darkness claimed her again. Angels in Paradise Epilogue: Homeward Bound. Wise men argue causes, and fools decide them. -- Anacharsis ================================================================== The Lovely Angels left planet Xanadu with mixed feelings. They had cracked the case, and the data they collected would insure that Sinclair would spend the rest of his life in a correctional facility. On the other hand, not only did Mount Abora explode, there had been a major earthquake that destroyed half the capital city as well. The media was calling it an "inexplicable natural accident," so their name wouldn't come up in connection with the incident. That didn't take their feelings of guilt away, but did relieve them a little. They were getting tired of having their good name being dragged through the muck. "It's weird. That Sinclair guy seemed to have it all. He owned several clubs, was on the Ruling Council, and he still wanted more," Yuri mused. "He was a nut case. You can't ever predict what someone like that would do," Kei retorted. "I guess you're right. It's scary though. He looked pretty normal." "That's the way it goes. You never liked him, though." "There was something really cold about his eyes. He gave me the chills." Kei was silent for a minute. "The thing I don't get is why Chuck never seemed interested in me. Makes me feel like I'm losing my touch." Yuri laughed. Kei looked indignant. "What's so funny? He wasn't interested in you either, ya know." "Of course not. He's gay." "What?" "One of the officers told me that first night." "And you never told me? You let me make a fool of myself?" "Yep." "I'll kill you!" "You can try . . ." A voice spoke up from the other side of the cabin door. "You two never stop fighting, do you?" "Huh? Who's there?" the Angels chorused. They turned to see Chaos, looking slightly embarrassed. "Mughi let me in," he explained. "He did?" Kei asked suspiciously. "Why? He's never met you." "Oh, right." Chaos looked thoughtful for a minute. "Ok, how about: I snuck on, and managed to avoid him so far." "That sounds more like the truth. What are you doing here?" Kei demanded. "My flight got canceled due to the earthquake. Not to mention that my hotel collapsed. I figured you two wouldn't mind giving me a lift." "Especially if we didn't find out until we were in space, right?" Yuri chimed in. "Well of course. You wouldn't throw an old friend out, would you?" Chaos asked, giving another of his innocent looks. Yuri laughed. "Ok, you win. We'll drop you someplace." "Like maybe a deserted asteroid," Kei added. "I'm hurt. After all I've done for you?" The argument continued for several minutes. :Well,: Yuri thought. :At least the trip home will be fun.: