Unfortunately, the low numbers were nearest the lift, so they had to
trundle the laundry cart some distance before they reached room 34 and Malena
was relieved when they got there, but that was only half the job, she would
have two in the trolley for the return journey.
She stopped the trolley and whispered to Shiyne
“Is it still all clear?”
And a moment later Shiyne’s muffled voice replied
“Yes, all clear”
So, using a tool Lyris had given her, she punched out the lock and the
door flew open.
A few moments later
she had pushed the trolley into the room safely away from prying eyes.
“We’re in” Malena said
and closed the door as Shiyne sprang out from her hiding place from beneath the
bedsheets, then they both drew their weapons, Shiyne checked the bathroom and
then they went deeper into the room, but the sitting room was empty, so they
proceeded into the bedroom and found Merri laying bound and gagged on the bed,
in a state of agitation.
“It’s ok Merri we’ll
soon have you out of here” Mal said and quickly loosened her gag
“What’s happened,
where am I?” she asked
“You were abducted”
Shiyne replied as she began untying her feet
“Why? I’m on holiday”
she retorted indignantly
“It wasn’t you they
were after” Mal replied and freed her hands
“That should make me
feel better, but it doesn’t” Merri snapped but then the penny dropped
“Oh God is Dwyn ok?”
“Yes, she’s fine,
we’ve got her on the Tornado” Mal replied
“Thank God” Merri
exclaimed and then the three friends hugged.
“Right let’s get out of here” Shiyne said and climbed into the trolley
“What are you doing in there?” Merri asked
“Its part of the plan” Mal snapped “So shut up and get in”
“Ok bossy”
It was a bit of a squeeze with two of them in the transportation and
it was necessary to discard some of the laundry to accommodate them.
With them safely concealed Mal said into her comms
“Mal calling Tornadons, we have the Captain, leaving the room now”
It was much harder
work pushing the Tornado’s Captain and Navigator but Mal managed, though she
made slower progress, then as they were about half way to the first corner
three men came around it in the other direction, and two of them they
knew.
The one in front was
the tall, good looking and well-dressed abductor, named Geloc, and behind him
was the little weasel of a man called Hatt, while the third man was a stranger,
but they were clearly together.
They passed Malena
without even a sideways glance, as she suspected they would, because no one
pays attention to Melmanc’s pushing laundry trolleys.
However, when they
reached the room and found the lock smashed they might view her in a different
light so she tried to increase the pace, and failed, but nonetheless she was a
trolley length away when all hell broke loose, as the three abductors on
discovering Merri was missing began shouting and two of them charged along the
corridor towards them.
“Ok, everybody out”
she shouted and tipped the trolley on end so Merri and Shiyne tumbled out on to
the floor.
“Hey what’s going on”
Merri asked
“Bad guys chasing us,
that’s what’s going on” Mal replied as she blocked the corridor with the up
turned trolley.
“A bit of notice would
have been nice” She retorted
“Never mind that just
get to your feet and run” Mal urged then she said “Asti! Ambor! We’ve got
company”
“Ok we’re on our way”
Ambor replied
When Merri and Shiyne
reached the second corner Asti and the Andraxian were in position to give them
covering fire if necessary.
“Keep going, get to
the lift” Ambor urged them
Some distance behind
them was Mal, who was struggling to cover the ground, so she shape shifted back
into human form, as it turned out that Melmanc’s can’t run very fast, and in
her more familiar form she was able to cover the ground much quicker and but no
sooner had she reached the corner when a pulsar laser burst passed
uncomfortably close to her head striking the wall,
“Keep going” Asti
said, and Malena ran for the safely of the lift and got there only half a
minute behind Merri and Shiyne.
It the meantime Asti
and Ambor had begun returning fire at two assailants one they recognized from
the security footage as the weaselly looking man, Hatt, the other one was
similarly dressed but was not the second man who took part in the abduction.
The second man was
crouching down in a doorway, but Asti hit him three times in quick succession,
arm, shoulder and neck and he slumped against the door dead.
“Ok fall back to the
lift and I’ll cover you” Ambor said and Asti nodded in response but as soon as
Asti made a sprint for the lift Ambor took a Pulsar strike to the hip, and let
out a yell, but she managed to turn as she fell to the floor so she was still
facing the weasel and was able to get off two shots before Hatt was able to
fire again, and they struck him square in the chest, and with the power of the
double strike he was thrown backwards, his face contorted in agony, and his
second shot hit the ceiling, but he was dead before he hit the floor.
On hearing Ambor yelp
in pain Asti halted her retreat and went back to help her, and Mal left Merri
in the lift to do the same
Merri had also stepped
forward and was watching intently as Mal and Asti got the stricken Ambor to her
feet.
But just as she began
to take another step she felt someone grab her arm.
“Oh no you don’t”
Geloc said and Merri turned to face him and the realization that he was the
abductor spread across her brain and she hit him with a knee strike to the
groin, twice, in quick succession and he crumpled to the floor and writhed
around in the fetal position groaning.
Meanwhile Malena and
Asti were carrying Ambor towards the lift, so she looked down at her captor and
said with contempt
“Have some dignity you
pathetic moron”
Then Merri stepped on
him, even though she didn’t need too to get back in the lift.
As the lift doors
closed Malena opened her comms
“Malena to Stroller,
Malena to Stroller”
“Receiving Mal” Parse
said
“Pick us up from the
basement vehicle park” she said “And tell Terrell to have his medical kit
ready”
“What’s happened?” he
asked, praying that nothing had happened to his beloved Merionwen
“It’s Ambor, she has a
Pulsar strike on her hip,” Malena said as she looked down at the stricken
Andraxian and the large green sodden stain on her side “she losing a bit of
blood, so quick as you can”
“Ok we’re on our way”
Parse said “Stroller out”
The Journey down to
the basement parking level seemed to take an eternity but in reality, it took
no time at all and when the car came to a stop and the doors opened the
Stroller was just screeching to a halt.
Parse jumped down from
the driver’s seat and ran towards them, resisting the temptation to hug and
kiss Merri he said
“You drive Shiyne,
I’ll take her” and the huge Gouveian scooped the semi-conscious Ambor up in his
arms and ran with her to the Stroller.
When everyone was aboard the Stroller, Malena said
“Ok let’s move it” so Shiyne floored it and Terrell began attending to
the wound on Ambor’s hip and she winced with pain as Terrell cut the fabric
away.
“How is it?” Malena asked
“Not too bad” Terrell said “it’s a nice clean wound, but I’d prefer to
get her straight to sickbay when we get aboard”
And as they sped towards the space port Merri cuddled up to Parse and
said “I love you Beefy”
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