literature

Meeting Places - Chapter 26

Deviation Actions

Black-Silverstar's avatar
Published:
198 Views

Literature Text

The dinner break had pretty much wound down, though there were still a few people sitting around and eating, mostly those that hadn’t had the chance earlier



The dinner break had pretty much wound down, though there were still a few people sitting around and eating, mostly those that hadn’t had the chance earlier. Ryan, having finished his food and drink, left the table he’d been sitting at. He needed to make a quick pit-stop, and then he wanted to get out of the ACTF compound for awhile. He was starting to feel a bit like a caged animal—one in a very nice zoo, but caged nonetheless.


Once he’d finished in the bathroom, Ryan slowly made his way out of the ACTF’s center of operations. The place was a maze in certain areas; he’d noticed that when he’d first been lead around on his orientation tour. After about twenty minutes of determined walking, Ryan made it out of the important areas of the base. After that, it only took him another thirty minutes at a brisk walk to make his way to the main entrance of the compound.


Speaking briefly with the guards on shift, Ryan got permission leave the compound. Assuring them that he would remember to check back in when he returned, Ryan waved to the soldiers as he left.


)Feels good to be out in the open air again, doesn’t it, kid?(


)What would you know about open air, Snake-head?(

he ribbed gently. )You live in my head.(</P>

)You’re so mean to me,(

Elegen mock-pouted.</P>

Outside the compound now, Ryan looked around at the area for only the second time. He couldn’t help but admire the ACTF for choosing an abandoned warehouse for their forward base in this area. There were plenty of them in this part of the city, so Chronos couldn’t realistically hope to check all of them. And even if they did, the ACTF’s Espionage and Counterintelligence Divisions were experts at starting rumors and spreading false leads.


The ACTF also had several decoy bases, filled with explosives that could be triggered remotely. The obvious advantage of that kind of setup, aside from costing whatever Zoanoids Chronos could send after them precious time and mobility, was that it would inevitably bring various firefighters and police scrambling to the scene. Sure, Chronos would probably be able to bribe, bluff, and/or otherwise manage to connive their way out of the situation, but anything that caused them harm and inconvenience was a good thing as far as he was concerned.


Of course, Ryan would have been the first to admit that he was pretty biased on that particular subject.


As he blended into the crowd approaching the city, Ryan wondered how many of the people he was passing were Sleeper Units. Probably too many.


He sighed; it didn’t do anyone any good to think about those things. They were facts that couldn’t be changed, no matter how much he or Sho might wish otherwise. Sticking his into his pockets, Ryan kept walking. The city was full of Zoanoids, this one and every other like it. Chronos was winning by sheer numbers alone.


)Getting kind of morose there, aren’t you, kid? It’s not as bad as you make it out to be sometimes.


)I know that,(

he sent back, with the mental equivalent of a sigh. )It’s just really hard to believe we’re doing any good sometimes. All Chronos ever seems to do is advance; they’re conquering more and more territory that we can’t get back. And now it looks like they’re speeding up.(</P>

)The ACTF’s going to start turning that all around,(

Elegen sent. )You’ll see.(</P>

)How can you be so sure of that?(

he asked dully.</P>

)Because they have something to fight for. Because they have some of the most ingenious support crew I’ve seen in a long time. Because they’re humans, and humans are the most devious, most dangerous, most tenacious bunch of bastards I’ve ever had to deal with. Yourself included, of course.(


)Yeah. Well, I guess being the ultimate living weapon

does have its advantages,( he sent, laughing inwardly.</P>

It only took a second for Elegen to join him. Once Ryan had gotten over his funk, at least until the next time that he really started thinking about the enormity of the tasks ahead, he turned his attention back to the city.


That was when Ryan started to get the feeling that he was being followed. Turning with the utmost casualness, so he wouldn’t let his tail know that he was onto them, he pretended to be looking for something else. Finding an ice cream shop, Ryan smirked. That would work just as well as any other place, with an added bonus or two.


Walking casually inside, Ryan headed for the front counter, glad he’d had the foresight to bring some cash.


"Hey, red, what can I get for you?" one of the cashiers asked in a gruff, but for the most part friendly tone.


"I’ll have a Butterscotch dip-cone and a chicken strip basket," he said, getting a strong whiff of fries that made his mouth water in anticipation.


"All right," the man said, smiling. "We’ll have your chicken strips ready for you in just a minute. Here’s your cone," he added, handing a freshly dipped ice cream cone over.


"Thanks," he said, taking it. "How much does this all come out to?"


"Never mind that," another man said, coming up from behind. "This one’s on me."


The main in question handed his credit card over to the cashier. Ryan turned, looking back at the man who had offered to buy him food completely at random. He fully intended to thank the guy, then ask him if it was a habit of his to walk into random shops and buy people stuff.


)The hell?! What’s

he doing here?( Elegen demanded.</P>

)What’s with you?(


)That’s Zancrus.(


)

Zancrus?!(</P>

)Yeah,(

Elegen sent grimly. )Zancrus in human form.(</P>

)Well,

this is distinctly not good.(</P>

The man – rather the Hyper Zoanoid Zancrus – was just taking his credit card back from the cashier. Ryan would have cursed his own lack of attention, but he had bigger fish to fry at the moment. As Zancrus nodded towards one of the tables near the far wall of the restaurant, Ryan took a moment to study the Hyper Zoanoid.


He had to admit that Zancrus’ human form wasn’t all that impressive—certainly nothing like Elegen’s memories of Zektor. In fact, the similarity between Zektor and Zancrus was purely in terms of their hair color and the fact that both of them were Hyper Zoanoids.


Zancrus was kind of short in human form, with a wirier musculature than Ryan had ever seen on a Hyper Zoanoid. Of course, given how his Hyper Zoanoid form was built, Ryan supposed he really shouldn’t have been as surprised by that fact as he initially had been. Still, when he thought of Hyper Zoanoids, "big" was pretty much the first thing that came to mind.


Messy black hair fell to just above the base of the Hyper Zoanoid’s neck, and while it wasn’t quite a windblown stork’s nest, it did come pretty damn close. Zancrus had also chosen to hide his eyes behind a pair of dark, reddish-brown sunglasses, which seemed to be a staple of Chronos goons. Following Zancrus over to the booth he was heading for, Ryan made up his mind to wait and see just how this whole thing played out.


He partly wanted to satisfy his own curiosity, of which he had plenty, but starting a fight in a crowded place like this would end up getting scads of innocent people maimed, traumatized, or killed. No, it was better if he didn’t provoke Zancrus into a fight.


At least, not until they were both safely far away from here. Besides, starting a fight in a Dairy Queen was something that Ryan could barely even think about without wanting to burst out laughing from the sheer weirdness of the idea. Once he and Zancrus were seated at their table, Ryan began to eat his ice cream cone in earnest so it wouldn’t end up melting all over his hands.


That ended up occupying a fair amount of his time, and of course left him with a pleasantly sweet taste in his mouth.


"So, what’s your angle?" he asked, giving Zancrus a sidelong glance.


"What?"


"Why did you go out of your way to buy me food, considering the circumstances?" he asked warily.


"What circumstances?" Zancrus asked, with obviously faked innocence.


"Oh come on, bug face. I’m a Guyver, you’re a Zoanoid. Put us together and we almost always end up beating the living hell out of each other. Your bosses all hate me. So why in the name of all things sweet and fruity did you come out here to buy me a late snack?"


"Sweet and fruity?" Zancrus asked with a hastily suppressed laugh.


"Will you just answer the freaking question already?" he demanded, irked.


"All right, I will," Zancrus said, smiling with the air of someone why was about to give out some supremely important information. "Truth is, Red, I admire you."


"In what sense?" He paused to think for a minute, then cringed slightly. "Unless it’s some kind of weird, squicky thing that I really, really wouldn’t want to know about. In that case, please feel free to leave me in the dark."


Zancrus laughed louder, and some of the other patrons turned to look their way. Both Guyver and Hyper Zoanoid ignored them, and they soon turned back to contemplating their own meals.


"You’ve got a real mouth on you, Red. That’s what I like most. Well, that and the fact that you’ve somehow managed to put up with those pathetic ACTF losers for even this long."


Someone announced that order 82 was ready for pickup. Ryan, having been too deeply absorbed in his conversation with Elegen to take much note of what had been going on around him when he’d finished ordering his meal, continued to stare at Zancrus as if the Hyper Zoanoid had just confessed to having a secret love of frilly pink dresses.


"Let me get that for you, Red. Least I can do."


With that, Zancrus rose from his seat and headed over to the pick-up counter. Taking the order that Ryan had made, he headed back to their shared table with it.


"Eat up, Red." Zancrus grinned as Ryan picked up one of the chicken strips and took a bite. "After all, we can’t have one of our best double agents going hungry."


Hearing those words, Ryan was so absorbed in trying to both avoid choking on his food or performing a spit-take that he didn’t even notice a certain patron slamming their hands down on the table in front of them and storming out the door. But Zancrus did, and he smirked slightly in passing.

© 2013 - 2024 Black-Silverstar
Comments0
Join the community to add your comment. Already a deviant? Log In