Sender walked slowly, with measured even steps. His hands rested in his pockets, surveying the crows ahead. Eve stayed in step with him, her eyes carefully studying his pose and manor. She waited to see if he would speak first or if she would have to. Sender guided them down a path that led towards one of the little burrows of New York, walking past old coffee and book shops, past a Chinese restaurant that Fenny had mistakenly almost torched. The people here knew of the WAD-R group if not by name but by reputation. They gave the group and anyone who traveled with or near them a wide berth. Eve sighed and placed her hand on his elbow. She could feel a slight twitch underneath.
�It is good to see you.� She spoke softly, �for a while, I believed you to be dead. I missed you so much when you left� I� I looked for you. When I got out, I started to try to pinpoint where you had gone. It seemed to me that it would be a little bit difficult for a man possessing a 30 foot tall war machine would be able to disappear� but you pulled it off. You pulled it off�� She trailed off and stared out into the crowd.
Sender�s eyes fell to his feet and he tried to pull the words together. �You know, I had never expected to see you again. I have just finally started a new life� gotten it going you know? I just� I am not sure. I�m sort of shocked right now.�
Eve laughed and put her arm through his and clasped on to his elbow. She squeezed it slightly. �Why is that? Think that you are the only one who could get out of 51 alive? You think you have all the moves don�t you? Think that poor little Eve couldn�t handle it on her own? I�m here aren�t I?�
Sender chuckled. �Yeah, you are. You are� that�s sort of what I am having trouble with. Kind of hard to believe it.� She hugged his arm and smiled at him. �But� yeah. So what do we do now?�
Eve shrugged. �I don�t know� we were so busy planning our escape we never figured out what to do after we got out.�
�Yeah we definitely missed out on allot. The culture shock alone was brutal��
�So where are we?�
�I dunno, some burro. I don�t think they have names��
�No no� I mean we, as in you and I.�
Sender�s eyebrows slanted down as he tried to figure this one out. �Don�t really know. Haven�t put much thought into it� Where are you staying?�
�I don�t know. I was thinking about crashing with you. That is if you don�t mind.�
They stopped at a crosswalk. People crowded in around them, and Eve clung tighter to Sender. He could feel her head rest on his shoulder and a sigh emerged from her. He also felt a hand slip into his back jeans pocket.
�Eve�� he spoke softly, �is that your hand on my ass?�
�No.� She sounded surprised. �But I am jealous.�
With his free hand Sender quickly caught the person trying to lift his wallet. A yelp voiced itself from behind him as he squeezed, breaking the person�s arm. He let go and walked across the street with Eve permanently attached to his arm. She grinned at him and he felt another hand slip down over his butt. This time there was a slight squeeze. �There� that curbs my jealousy.�
�Um� ok. So what were we talking about?�
�You were asking me to move in with you.�
�Oh� yeah� and?�
�Yes. I�d love to.�
�Ok.�
Eve laughed to herself. Same old Sender� too easy.
Angel stormed through the castle, a trail of bad vibes bordered on visible following her. F�nix made the wrong move by asking who had been at the door. He immediately found himself kissing the wall. Angel walked into the research room and slammed the door shut behind her. She sat down in front of one of the computers and no one was brave enough to talk to her the rest of the night.
Fenrir strolled down the hall. �Hey F�nix, I think that period of art went out in the 80�s.�
�Ahhh knoooooow daaaaaaaat. Khaaaaaan vuuuuu pweeeeese geeet mee offfff?�
Fenrir smiled. �Sure old buddy.� He was happy, finally, a chance to use his new stainless steel deluxe pull-o-matic crowbar.
Somehow they made it to the docks. Sitting on a bench, they watched the boats pass into the harbor. The Statue of Liberty was almost finished in the reconstruction; a couple cranes could be seen lifting the final pieces of the torch into place. Eve presses herself up against him, and he found his arm automatically going around her. She stared across the bay.
�Was that a bad one?�
�Yes�� He spoke softly. �That was rough. That was very rough.�
She sighed and kissed his cheek. �It�s over now. You are safe with me now. We are together, remember? That�s all that matters now.�
In the back of his mind, Sender felt like something was amiss. But� Eve had always been right, and she had always been there. Always�
Fenrir, F�nix, and Shutat were battling it out online in a game of Diablo II. Of course, Fenny was getting whipped.
�You mortals! No no! Stop that! That�s not fair! Wahhh!� After thirty minutes of this he threw the computer against the wall and stalked out. Upstairs he could hear Garr screaming obscenities in his room. Either his new DSL modem wasn�t working and he was yelling at the customer support recorded voice, or he was writing lyrics to his next song.
It had started to rain, and the two had made a temporary perch under an awning of an old Chinese restaurant. The gray brown clouds dulled the edges of the buildings against the sky. Fat drops rolled off the fabric cover and landed in a puddle on the concrete, inches from Sender�s boot. It felt like his jaw was set in stone, there was so much he wanted to say to her, but where to start? Eve stood behind him, resting her head on his shoulder. Through the ugly gray, having someone close felt like a comfort for both of them, a feeling that Sender had never really known, never gotten used to. He sighed and waited for the rain to stop.
Akari walked downstairs, the first time she had been up the whole day. She didn�t even notice the oddly human-shaped indention in the wall, gliding over the mess like it was non-existent, and found the fridge empty save for Cherry Cokes and liquid PEZ. Fenny was sitting on the couch, obviously sulking. Akari sighed and sat down across from him.
�What�s the matter Fen? I told you not to use those spells unless you had the magic to back it up.�
Fenrir growled. �They cheated.�
�How?�
He looked up at her like she had no brains between her ears. �They won. Fenny�s law! I always win!�
Akari shook her head. �Have you seen Sender or Angel? I need one of them to pry Garr off of the modem.�
�Sender left with some chick a while back. Angel smashed F�nix into the wall, walked into the lab and I haven�t seen her since. She didn�t look happy� I�ll pull Garr off the modem.� He grinned and displayed his pride and joy, the crowbar.
Akari nodded and led him up to the room. This would have to do.
Standing on a ledge above the restaurant, Shutat watched the two with half-interest. A new female� interested in Sender� something was wrong with this situation, he could taste it. This seemed to go against the rules of the universe along with purple spandex, F�nix making sense, calculus, Sender getting some action seemed to defy everything he held to be true. He grumbled to himself and pulled his leather coat around him tighter. Off in the distance, he spied an ominously familiar black van. He sighed. Code-G was supposed to be gone�
El sat in the back of the van, watching the two fugitives under the awning in a sickening display of affection. He should have snuffed that out years ago. Mistakes made. Now he just sat back to watch the action, wondering when he would be led back to the rest of this little group that had caused him so much grief these past months. Too bad, Eve did not even know she was leading Sender and his companions to their doom. She believed El to be the hero, the man who rescued her. All he had to do was tell her where Sender was, and let her know that he wanted to be kept a secret. So pathetic how these teenagers needed their emotions and their feelings. Well, he would show them. Once and for all.
The last file copied off to Angel�s personal palm computer. It was her hidden friend, a computer that fit into her hand. She hid it for fear of Fenny mistaking it for a biscuit and F�nix wishing to wrap it in tin foil. She pulled on her jacket and slipped the computer into its hidden pouch, safe from harm. Searching around, she found the keys to her Honda, and praying that Shutat had finally given up on the idea of using it for a destruction derby, walked into the garage. She hopped in, turned it on, and of course, put in the NSYNC CD to calm her nerves. With �Bye bye bye� blaring out of the modified sound system that Sender had regretted putting into the car for her as soon as he realized what the primary use would be, she hauled ass out of the castle, hoping to God she wasn�t too late.
Eve took in the old hangar. Sender leaned against the back wall. The place seemed empty without Aries monstrous form inside playing games online. All different sorts of project and gear littered the floor, under a drape lay Sender�s new toy, a classic 69 Chevelle SS convertible that he had put together himself. In mint condition, with a 389 horsepower V-8 engine, a stick shift, the car would lift the front end up a foot off the ground when accelerated. Of course he had� modified it a little bit, with hidden surprises here and there.
Eve walked over to a crate marked �PS-107.� �What�s this?�
He looked at it. �Some memorabilia I lifted from �51 after it was deserted.�
She had bent over it and was rummaging through the contents. After a second she pulled an aged photo out and squinted at it. �Is this��
He walked behind her and gazed over her shoulder. �Yes it is� it was the only picture I had of you.�
�We must have been so young then��
Sender smiled. �It was only three years ago. The year before we broke out. Remember that day? That picture? We were so excited� they finally had started to treat us like human beings.�
�I remember�� Eve seemed lost in the photo. �But we were so young then.�
�No, we only feel old. Old souls, Angel used to call it.� Sender shrugged. �I am still only 18, and have really just started to learn what that actually means��
�We lost so much time� it�s like we never had the chance to be� to be children.�
�We didn�t Eve. We had to skip that whole phase. Maybe that is why we are so screwed up now��
She sighed and put the picture back in the box. �Why do you hold on to all of that?�
�I don�t know. It�s all I have. All we have. Something in there has to mean something.�
�Yes it does�� A third voice broke through, disturbing the silence. Sender and Eve spun around to face an older man brandishing a very large handgun aimed at them. Sender stepped in front of Eve.
�Who are you? What are you doing here?�
�What� my dear Sender you don�t recognize your own master? I�m hurt, but not surprised. Eve seemed more than happy to meet me again and to lead me to you.�
Sender stood in shock. �What?�
Eve peeked over his shoulder. �Dad� is that you? What are you doing with that gun?�
Sender glanced over his shoulder. �Eve� what are you talking about? We don�t have fathers. We never did.�
Eve looked up, her eyes were blank.
�I�m sorry young Sender, but you have lost. Eve has led me right to you. You have been a thorn in my side for far too long now. Now I will dispense of you just like I ended the life of your annoying comrade Jeff.�
Sender�s heart ripped in five places as he realized who he was dealing with. �You� you are��
The man smiled. �Yes� another thing I didn�t like about you. Too slow� but I will correct that mistake shortly. Now� Eve if you would please��
Eve�s face was contorted with confusion. �Daddy, I don�t understand. I told you all about Sender. Why are you doing this? He�s good.�
�Eve� now.� The man�s voice was calm. That scared the crap out of Sender.
Angel had tried every last place she could think of. Now she was on last ditch effort, the Honda blowing by the last house. Shit� there was a black van in front of the hangar. That never was a good thing. She pulled up behind it and reached in her glove compartment. Hesitating slightly she pulled out the .45 Colt that had been a Christmas present from F�nix, and checked the clip. Patting her pocket to make sure her laptop was secure; she stepped out of the Honda and glanced into the van. Seeing it was totally empty, she debated on forging ahead without backup. Suddenly she felt someone breathing on her neck. Spinning around she found herself pointing the gun into Shutat�s chest.
�Jesus H� You scared me.�
�Sorry m�lady, I did not mean to alarm thee. I was just curious as to how I found you out on this evening.� His eyes hinted at some hidden glee.
Angel closed her eyes. �I might ask you the same thing.�
Shutat smiled. �Sender with some young woman that seems to have interest in him� come on� you do not find that worth investigating?�
Angel smiled. �You have no idea��
Something on the man beeped. Sender couldn�t resist. �Call waiting� a bitch isn�t it?�
The man glared at him. �I might just shoot you now for that�� He raised something hidden in his other hand to his ear. �Yes?�
Sender looked to Eve who had moved out of the line of sight between the two men. She wouldn�t look at him. �What is this Eve?�
No answer.
�Eve��
She turned away from him.
�Eve��
Angel crossed her arms over her chest, the gun still hanging from her hand. �Well what are we supposed to do?�
Shutat looked into the night sky. �I do not know m�lady. I do not know��
A man dressed in black walked down the halls of North Gwinnett High School. He wore a plain black suit and in his right hand carried a 9-mm semiautomatic. He strolled down the halls and stopped in front of the door labeled �French III.� He checked the label with the small strip of paper in his left hand. Nodding to himself, he opened the door with his left hand, keeping the gun hidden by his body. Stepping into his classroom he surveyed the group and found his target among the students. Nodding to the male in the back who wore glasses and looked suspiciously familiar, he stopped in front of a young lady.
He grinned. �Hi bitch.�
She looked up confused.
�Bye bitch.� He aimed the gun between her eyes. The bang silenced the classroom. He looked around, nodded again to the male in the back.
�Kick ass.� The guy responded.
The agent smiled at him. �Never say we don�t take care of our writers.� He walked out.
Sender stared down the barrel of the gun. Eve was useless to him. He had never felt this emotion in his life. He could feel his hands shaking. �Well�� The man�s voice broke his thoughts. �I think it is time we wrap up this little saga once and for all. So if you will excuse me, but with the powers invested in me, I now end the project known as Sender.� The hammer clicked back.
�No!� Angel screamed aiming her own piece at the man. His focus shifted as his fingers tightened around the trigger. Sender felt something tear into his shoulder. Gritting his teeth, he tried to stop the force that pushed him to the ground. Again Angel screamed this time letting loose round after round, not taking the time to balance her shot. The man turned awkwardly to face his new problem.
Angel saw red. Suddenly she felt something pushing her down. Something feminine. She realized it was Eve, and Eve was getting to the process of kicking her ass. There was a large problem with this, and using a move she learned from Jeffy, she flipped the girl over her and rolled out. As the two stood up to face off, Shutat chased after the old man, but somehow lost him despite his skills. Growling, Shutat turned back. Ignoring the girls, he knelt down next to Sender. �Hey.�
�Hey.�
�Wasssup?�
�Sipping a bud. Watching the game.�
�True. True.�
Sender grunted and sat up. �You know� I am getting sick of getting shot. Same damn shoulder too. You�d at least think I�d get shot somewhere interesting� but know� always the shoulder or the leg or something that isn�t too debilitating.� They heard a crash. Angel was flipping over a work desk and Eve was making a mad dash for Sender�s Chevelle.
�Awe hell no!� Sender struggled to his feet. �Don�t take my car!�
Eve had jumped into the convertible and was already feeding the engine gas. It started with an explosion that rivaled any gun, and she floored it, crashing through the garage doors. Sender chased her to the end of the driveway. �Bitch!�
He walked back to the others, already finding Angel on her feet dusting herself off. �How come it I always end up finding the psychos?�
Angel shrugged. �I don�t know hon. I don�t know.�
Shutat smiled. �You should have seen Angel�s face Sender. She must have been really jealous of�� He was cut off as he felt an elbow smash into his stomach. �Excuse me,� he said in a soft voice, and clutching his stomach walked off.
Angel smiled angelically at him. �So� you were saying� psycho?�
Sender looked out of the broken garage. �Yeah��
(Hey what can I say� I had to start somewhere�)
Sender