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Chapter -22- Zero Wing

October 2, 2049 - 9:20pm San Francisco, California ...

** "In proper Japanese etiquette,** I would continue to speak in a proper, polite and formal way, known as 'keigo,' regardless of the fact Tamamo and I did not always see eye to eye." Sinopa shook her head with a frown. "It is difficult to explain. But over a period of many years, my relationship with her has eroded, evolved, dissolved, matured, and become repaired. What started as a relationship between senpai and kohai changed many years ago."

"What happened next?" Laura asked.

"First there was the ever-childish 'kenshu,' and I complied. Later, we fought side-by-side in a war, in 2014. She saw my potential and we formed a bond, much like sisters." Sinopa brushed her hair back with a soft sigh. "And then we bickered much like sisters. The more I learned about her, the more I realized I had much left to learn. So I began to treat her like a sensei."

"Which requires more formal etiquette?"

"Surprisingly not as much as a senpai requires of a kohai. The keigo I mentioned ... it was not as necessary. Just as a student can speak to a professor in a casual manor at times, or an office worker can share tea with a CEO, closer ranks have more control over one another. So Tamamo loosened up, in a matter of speaking."

"So how did the two of you come to treat one another as you do, now?"

"I perceived that she broke my trust." Sinopa placed the hairbrush into a small bag of accouterments. "And we bickered. And then ... we realized we were both fools. And we've become friends. It is _very_unusual for a four-tail to become so close to a nine-tail, especially one who has seen the world for as long as Tamamo. However, twenty-five years ago, I restored her honor and we've grown close."

"You became like sisters again? So you came full circle?"

"We both had our memories stripped from us. We later learned she helped to raise me, to honor her friendship with my dead parents. Now I see her as an older sister, or perhaps as an aunt."

"I thought rank, in Japan, would have demanded you to show her formal respect?" Laura tilted her head. "I'm still learning about this whole ... cultural difference."

"You are correct, Laura-san. However, Tamamo predates modern Japan. Her idea of social ranking differs from what has become ingrained in the Japanese culture over the past several thousand years. We did treat one another in such a way at one time, though."

Laura fidgeted briefly. "So, what you're saying is, Tamamo-no-Mae changed her outlook on life, and became relaxed with how you interact with her."

"Ah ... yes, that would be accurate. It has grown lax over the last few decades, especially when she saw my grandson as a love interest."

Laura cracked a slight smile. "She's going through a second childhood. Or, perhaps, in this case, a fifth. Or a tenth. Who knows."

Sinopa smiled in reply. "Perhaps so. By contrast, I cannot imagine Natalia changing how she interacts with Kalen. But I suppose even that would be possible if their age became advanced enough. However, Natalia sleeps away her slow years. So it is unlikely she will ever change how she acts anytime soon."

"Yes ... it is amazing to me how someone so stern can also be so tender. Natalia demands me to act a certain way, but if I comply, she is ... motherly."

Sinopa nodded. "Agreed." Sinopa smoothed a stray fabric dune on her kimono. "I rather enjoy your thirst for knowledge, Laura-san. I am pleased to teach you about Japanese customs for as long as you will enjoy listening."

Laura adjusted the lay of her borrowed hoodie. She stood up, turned directly to Sinopa and bowed. "I am being foolish. I'm just passing time, but it is stupid of me to do nothing."

Sinopa narrowed her gaze. "I tried my best to keep you here, but I see, now, that your mind is still outside."

"I came back through the portal because I felt I could find this weapon. Please. I need to do this. It's important."

"You could die," Sinopa reminded her.

"Yes. That is possible. But doubtful. I've tried radiation. I've tried an explosion. Granted it was not nearly as powerful as what's expected to happen in the city, the fact remains I can..."

Sinopa stood up, hands raised, to stop the girl from speaking. "I am selfish. I remember you as a little girl, hiding behind your mother. I am selfish to keep all of you here."

"You knew my mother?" Laura frowned, confused.

"Only in passing. Fifty years ago I saw her. When our paths crossed, it wasn't as friends."

"I'm told I protected her," said Laura. "But I lost the ability to protect the ones I love when I transitioned into a creature. I became 'genetically unstable.' My father lost interest in me when I could not shield him any longer. I looked at the world through deranged eyes."

"Laura..."

"No, Mrs. Sinopa. I mean, I could not function normally. I considered myself childlike. I have those memories, but that wasn't ... me."

"Hai, and that is why Vincent avoids you."

"Yes, ma'am..

"But please, Laura, you must understand that Vincent is not avoiding you. He is does not want to confront a part of his past that has defined him as a person. If Dr. Falcon did not have to resuscitate Vincent, he would have lived out his life in San Francisco, as a normal person. His death was a defining moment in his life and part of him wants to avoid dealing with how it changed him."

"I will search for the bomb by myself." Laura bowed again and headed across the room of the main bunker.

"Wait." The voice belonged to Vincent Nevada. He stepped into the doorway from the adjoining room. "You can't go out there by yourself."

"I can and I will."

"I won't let you," said Vincent. "That's stupid. You'll be arrested by the military or by the police. They'll put you into jail and then you'll help nothing."

"I'm going." Laura narrowed her eyes. "Unless you want to face me again, I suggest you step aside."

Vincent licked his lips apprehensively. "When Dr. Falcon restored my back, and after my ump-teenth spinal surgery, he apologized profusely."

"What?" Laura canted her head. "What are you talking about? So what?"

"He said he felt responsible for what you did to me."

"I was not in my right mind," she said. "I live with my guilt every single day. My guilt defines who I am, every bit as much as that attack defined who you became."

Vincent shook his head, placing his hands on either side of the doorframe. "He said he injected you with something to make you more aggressive. He said you were useful to him as a weapon to test the abilities of those he deemed worthy to steal. He made you aggressive on purpose because you didn't want to hurt anyone."

Laura pursed her lips together and looked down.

"So how can I blame you? They amped you up on hormones and drugs. I don't blame you, okay?"

Laura looked away. "I don't have time to talk about this right now. Move, or I'll go through you."

Vincent looked back, over his shoulder, and then forward towards Laura. "I came here from Seattle to find the bomb. Sinopa talked me into staying. But I wanted to look for it, too."

"Vincent," said Nichole from behind. "If things get bad, we might have to go through that mirror. Being out in the city seemed like a good idea yesterday. But now? It could go off at any time."

Vincent shrugged. "Not my problem. I am immune to radiation. But you know whose problem it is? Everyone who comes _back_through the mirror. They'll be trapped in this bunker, unable to leave. They'll be unable to stop Falcon. We'll be cooped up in here together, with limited resources and food."

Nichole groaned in frustration. "Vincent, please."

Laura looked Vincent over and offered her hand. "If you wish to go with me, then let's go. We're wasting time otherwise."

Nichole stepped behind Vincent and sighed. "I'm not staying here, I'm staying with you."

"Nichole, I won't put you in danger. I know you have my ability when nearby, but I don't know if you can handle nearly as much radiation as I can."

"It doesn't matter," Nichole said. "I can heal."

"As can I," said Laura. "Vincent, you cannot heal. I could take Nichole with me. We could find it together. We can heal. You can absorb the radiation if we don't find it, and protect this house."

Nichole smirked. "I like the way she thinks. You should stay here, Vincent. Protect Sinopa and the mirror."

"What?!" Vincent exclaimed. "I'm not like that! I won't abandoned you two. I'm coming with!"

Nichole pushed her way through the doorway, took Vincent by his wrist, and guided him to Sinopa. "Explain to him that we're the offense and he is the defense, Mrs. Guillot, please. Explain to him that he is not'coming with,' and that he is needed here."

Sinopa frowned, seeing Vincent outnumbered in the situation. She nodded her head, respectfully, to Nichole.

Silence.

Sinopa drew in a deep, slow breath. "Vincent-kun ... I know it is your honor to find this weapon. But you also have a duty to your family. I am your mother-in-law. Your brother is inside this mirror. Assuring your friends have a radiation-free home to which they can return is important."

"You too?" he groaned in frustration.

"Hai," Sinopa said with a firm nod. "You can absorb radiation. But you cannot heal from a nuclear detonation. You are my second son. I love you as such."

Vincent pointed at Nichole and Laura. "They could be vaporized! I can lead them to the weapon by sensing it when close! Someone has it shielded, fine, but I can hone in on it if we get into range!"

"Vincent," Sinopa said with a frown.

"No," he exclaimed. "They could be standing right next to it and never know it unless I was there to tell them! I have to help them!"

Nichole sighed. She approached Vincent, placed her hands on either side of his face, and kissed him into silence. Without warning, she sucker-punched him in the gut.

Vincent dropped to his knees, coughing.

Laura's eyes widened.

Sinopa gasped and covered her mouth.

Nichole knelt besides Vincent and said, "If you cannot heal from a simple punch to the gut, you'll never heal from a gunshot wound. And as much as I appreciate your offer to walk out there and put yourself into danger, let's face facts - there are guns out there. And they will put a bullet straight through your belly. And it will hurt more than my fist."

"Nichole," he coughed. Vincent touched his forehead to the ground, hacking hard and loud. "Ni-Nichole..."

"No. Laura and I will approach a military vehicle. We'll find one of their radiation scanners, and use their equipment to find it. It will be networked into their satellite gear, and their other ground units' gear. We will find it, and you will keep this house safe. That is how a team works."

"You could die!"

Nichole replied with a stern glare. "If I'm vaporized, then I deserved it."

Laura crossed her arms over her chest. "For all the things I've done in life, I would not be upset if I saw a bright light, blinked, and ceased to exist. But if I can find this bomb and stop it, then that would make things better. I have to do this, Vincent."

"It's settled." Nichole leaned forward and kissed the backside of Vincent's head. "I'm sorry I hit you."

Laura bowed to Sinopa. "Thank you for your hospitality. You and Natalia have shown me courtesy, respect, and understanding. You've given me reason, but finding a purpose in my life has to be something I do on my own."

"God dammit," Vincent muttered.

Laura looked down at Vincent, knelt on the floor, cradling his stomach, "Just as Kalen has left the city for Natalia, we all have our job. Have your grandmother, here, explain the expectation of duty, and how it is viewed in the modern Japanese culture. It will be quite a wakeup call. At least it was for me."

Sinopa bowed to Laura, and then to Nichole. "I will meditate and say a prayer for your safe return."

Laura reached down and ran her fingers through Vincent's hair, fluffing his short tousled brown strands. "For what it's worth, I'm sorry I stuck stabbed my fingers through your back all those years ago."

He looked up at her with a frown. "Yeah. Me, too."

"I remember doing it, and I really am sorry. I watched you crumble, I remember the other girl shooting me until I collapsed, and then I remember lying there, listening to you cry with your head on her lap. I'm sorry you experienced that."

Vincent looked up from where he knelt on the floor, arms wrapped around his waist. "Yeah. I wasn't upset I was dying. I was upset I thought I wasn't going to amount to anything."

Nichole swallowed and looked away. "We're ... we're wasting time. We should hurry." She grimaced, conflicted by how she felt for Vincent and how she felt about Topaz.

Laura nodded and lowered to Vincent's level. "So stay here and save this house and everyone that crossed over when they return. Then you'll have amounted to something great."

Vincent looked up at her with cold eyes. "You're acting like you're never coming back. Don't say that shit."

Laura shook her head. "We're coming back. I'm acting like there's a chance you'll be needed to save everyone else."

Nichole added, "This bunker is elaborate and impressive, but if the bomb were detonated right over the house, it would have almost no chance unless you absorbed the energy released by that bomb. No matter how you look at it, you're the best chance our people have to get home. You're staying here. We've got to go."

Vincent sighed, defeated. "You're really going to find a military vehicle and attack them for their radiation equipment?"

"Yes," Nichole said. "So don't leave here. If you die, I'll be pissed off."

Vincent stood up, still cradling his gut. "You didn't have to punch me."

Nichole made a fist. "If you try to leaving, I'll do it again."

"I'll stay! Goddamn."

Nichole smiled. "Good." She turned to Laura. "Let's get moving."

Sinopa shook her head and placed her hand on Vincent's shoulder. "Stay here. I'll let them out through the blast doors. I'll be right back."

"Alright," he muttered.

Kuda approached Vincent and rubbed against his leg, as if to show empathy for Vincent's situation.

Nevada sat down, leaning against a nearby wall. He ran his fingers down Kuda's back. He looked up at Nichole again, hoping she would change her mind.

Sinopa stepped around him and through the doorway of the rear bunker room. "Come, ladies."

Nichole brought her hand up as if to blow a kiss, but couldn't bring herself to make such a gesture in public. She grimaced, offering him a weak, thin smile and fell into step behind Sinopa.

They left Vincent alone in the small rectangular room.

X

X

90 minutes later San Francisco ...

Laura dropped to her hands and knees. She stared at a pair of boots belonging to a soldier who struck her with the butt of his rifle.

The bruise around her eye faded. She reached forward, snatched the man's ankle and got to her feet. She lifted the man into the air by his leg, keeping her stance open to maintain balance.

Laura pivoted, using one soldier to knock down another.

Nichole picked up one of the fallen men by their armored vest and thrust him into a lamppost. "Laura, Sinopa was right. These men are not part of the United States military. What would Falcon's men be doing in San Francisco if the plan is to destroy it?"

Laura picked up another man and threw him into the quarter panel of his vehicle. The SUV's front panel crumpled, and the truck slid sideways across the pavement three feet.

Nichole looked down at the black marks left by the tires on the pavement. "So you really killed Vincent when he was a teenager?"

"I told you, I could not control myself," Laura said with a frown. She looked back at Nichole. "If they are not United States soldiers, why is the American flag on the vehicle?"

Nichole knelt over one of the motionless bodies. She patted the man down, found his ID and withdrew a wallet. She checked it and discarded it on the pavement. "They have no dog tags. They also have no ID cards. Their uniforms are consistent with Falcon's style. Black, heavily armored, and no identification."

"So Falcon sent them to ... do what? Die in this detonation? Why would they do that?"

"There's an answer here somewhere." Nichole climbed up onto the armored truck and slid down into the turret. She rooted through the gear, looking for a computerized scanner.

"We're running out of time," Laura said with a frown.

"I_know_!" Nichole looked up, speaking through the broken armored glass panel in the passenger door. "Look, the last thing I wanted to do is get involved with Falcon's operations again. Okay?"

"Why are there so many people left in this city? I thought it was evacuated?"

Nichole rubbed her face and began rummaging through the gear inside the SUV again. "I don't know. The real question is, why are the National Guard and Coast Guard withdrawing? And why don't they realize these mockup army trucks are still rolling through the area?"

Laura approached the side of the SUV, speaking to Nichole through the window. "It seems like it's just homeless people and riffraff. And maybe people too stubborn to leave."

Nichole slid a small monitor device from a holster on the dash adjacent to the GPS. "This is it. This is what we need." She looked back at Laura. "Don't forget the looters. Those fools will be vaporized over car radios and televisions if there are any left. I went into a CVS with Vincent earlier - it was very nearly picked clean."

"Should we switch to this vehicle or resume using the bicycles?"

Nichole sat up and looked back, beyond the turret, to the bicycles on the street corner. "We should bring the bicycles. If the bomb goes off, there will be an electromagnetic pulse. It will kill anything electronic. These cars will be worthless. At least, with the bikes, if they're not vaporized or melted, we'll have a reliable way to get back to Pacific Heights."

Laura nodded.

Nichole afforded her with a smile. "We'll put the bikes into the back of this truck and use it for the time being."

Laura smiled a bit and went to retrieve the bicycles. She lifted each one by its frame, with ease, in each of her hands and tossed them up into the back of the open rear section of the truck's rear hatch. She came around to the passenger door. "Strength and endurance aside, I prefer going down hill. It's more fun than chugging to get uphill."

Nichole unlocked the door, pushed it open and used her hand to brush broken glass off the seat. "I liked the way you pulled the first guy through the armored glass. He was awfully surprised."

"So was I. I broke three knuckles punching through it. I didn't think it would be that resilient."

Nichole shrugged, moving over into the driver seat. "You don't have enough body weight to break something like that in one strike. _That's_why it took three or four punches to break it."

Laura nodded, pulling herself up into the seat. She closed the door, causing the last of the cracked armored glass to fall out of the door panel.

Laura swept it off her lap, onto the floor. "Four. It was the fourth punch that broke my knuckles. That idiot deafened me when he put a bullet into my shoulder."

"Does it still hurt?" Nichole asked.

"No. It aches, but the pain is otherwise gone. How's your thigh?"

"I barely felt the knife go in. It only hurt when it came back out." Nichole turned the keys, still in the ignition, and eased her foot into the accelerator. "I don't know my way around this city. Can you figure out the navigation thing?" She slid the tracking device into its cradle adjacent to the GPS Satnav.

"Alright. For now, just start driving towards the tall buildings. For maximum casualties, I would imagine that would be where someone would detonate the device." Laura started fidgeting with the GPS system.

"I'm inclined to agree."

X

X

11:25pm San Francisco ...

A loud piercing alarm rang out. Nichole and Laura exchanged wide-eyed glances. They both looked down at the tracking unit. Nichole pulled over to a curb.

The integrated GPS system created a 'loading' logo, briefly. It fed information over from the tracking system. The adjacent unit's beeping became partially muted, ringing out at half the volume, but it blinked.

Information from the tracking system fed into the satnav, creating a checkered flag icon on the city map. The words 'approximating nav-point' appeared above the checkered flag.

Nichole touched the screen to start a route. She turned the wheel away from the curb and hit the accelerator. "We're close!"

"Thank_GOD_! This makes it all worth it."

Nichole grinned. She gunned the engine. A yellow icon of a gas pump showed up on the dash. "We're getting low on gas."

"Are you serious? Now?" Laura exclaimed. "What the hell!"

Nichole shook her head. "Don't be discouraged. This bomb is close and the light only just came on. We still probably have two whole gallons."

"Still, now I'm nervous."

Nichole looked down at the gas icon then back up at the road. It made her uncomfortable. "Yeah. Don't be. We'll be fine," she said in an attempt to be reassuring.

The windshield became a spider web in the lower corner of the driver's side, just above the windshield wiper.

"Jesus," Laura said. "That startled me. God. We're obviously close to some sort of zealots."

Nichole frowned. "Good windshield glass. If it wasn't so thick, that bullet would have gone through and hit me in the heart."

"You can heal," Laura said. "Right?"

"Yeah. I just mean ... we're dealing with an accurate sniper." Nichole flinched at the sound of a thud against the hood. "They're going to try and shoot out the engine. Thank God they're not using something more powerful."

"Well swerve! Drive evasively."

Nichole nodded in agreement and eased off the gas. She started zigzagging from right to left.

Laura grimaced. Her eyes cut to the right, where a rearview mirror disintegrated. She expected it to happen in slow motion, but it was the exact opposite. The mirror simply shattered into oblivion. She looked back over her shoulder, seeing the parts scatter across the pavement. "I have a bad feeling."

"Yeah." Nichole cut the wheel to the right with a quick jerk. Then she cut the wheel to the right again, going up on the sidewalk.

"What're you doing?!"

Nichole jerked the wheel back to the left, avoiding a fire hydrant. "If we stick to the same zigzagging pattern, they'll compensate and we can't have that." The SUV thudded over the curb, back onto the street.

"God you're messing with my instincts. I know I can't die, but I keep tensing up and flinching."

"We'll be okay," Nichole promised. She drove up onto the left sidewalk, behind a row of abandoned cars, parked at the curb. She blasted through a pole holding up a restaurant awning. "This thing is heavy, I didn't even feel the impact."

"Yeah, well, don't hit anything bigger or we will." Laura reached for a handle above the doorframe. "What's that bright light up ahead?"

Nichole swallowed. "Christ," she hissed through her teeth. She jerked the wheel right, plowed through a Vespa scooter, which went beneath the right front tire. The SUV bucked accordingly, its rear tires straddling the trendy scooter.

A bright light zoomed up the street, grazing the rear bumper of the SUV. An explosion roared behind them.

Nichole pursed her lips and compensated for her angle of driving. "They're shooting RPG's at us, or something! Some kind of shoulder-mounted missiles; shit, shit, shit!"

"God, here comes another one." Laura reached her left hand up, using both her hands to hold onto the handle above her head. "I can heal from this," she reminded herself out loud.

"We'll be fine," Nichole added. "We're going to kick their asses." She stomped the accelerator pedal and the engine roared.

The back of the SUV fishtailed from the raw torque. Nichole swerved up the middle of the wide street, going from through-traffic to the oncoming lane, and back. "There they are," she said.

Laura squinted. "They're loading another rocket propelled thing?"

"Looks like it," Nichole said. "Don't tense up. If you relax, it won't hurt nearly as much if they hit us."

"Easier said than done," Laura replied. "You'd think I'd be calm in the face of danger. I can't die. But we have to get to that bomb in time!"

"I know, I know!" Nichole grasped Laura's shirt and pushed back. "Get into the turret! Shoot at them! They'll scatter!"

Laura unfastened her belt and climbed between the seats and rolled over, onto her back. She sat up and pulled herself up through the bottom of the turret.

"It's a belt fed thing of bullets. How do I fire it?" she called down.

"I don't know," Nichole shouted in reply. "Figure it out, quick!"

Seconds later, the fifty caliber roof-mounted weapon roared to life. The gunfire illuminated the adjacent buildings on either side of the street.

Another bright light appeared, up ahead. An RPG sailed towards the SUV. Without thinking about it, Nichole punched her left hand through the door window and reached her palm forward.

A fireball, one of her stolen abilities, formed in her palm, melting the flesh of her fingertips. The lacquer on her nails bubbled up. Her fingers tingled.

Nichole tensed her arm. The fireball ejected from her grasp, powered by an unseen force. It exploded prematurely.

The RPG sailed through the explosion. It detonated, triggered from the intense heat, intensifying the explosion. "DOWN!" Nichole shouted.

Laura ducked behind the turret's armored plating. The SUV passed through the enormous fireball. They emerged through the other side.

Nichole felt the heat on her left hand as they drove through. She glanced to the left where the heat caused blisters to bubble up on her palm and fingers.

She gripped the wheel firmly with both hands. The wounds faded, leaving pink patches of healthy, new skin, surrounded by tan areas.

"That was really hot!" Laura called from above.

"Just keep shooting!" Nichole yelled back. She heard the gun roar to life again and smirked.

The SUV barreled down the road. Up ahead, she saw the firing crew drop the shoulder-mounted RPG. They rushed to set up a mortar. Another guy shouldered some sort of tank on his back.

Nichole swallowed. "One of them has some sort of ... I think it's a flamethrower!"

"I'm sorry I talked you into this!" Laura shouted. "Thank you, Nichole." The sound of the fifty caliber weapon started again, in obnoxious volume but a comforting rhythmic cadence.

Nichole floored the gas pedal and jerked the wheel. She struck the man with the flamethrower. He went across the hood, rolled off the windshield to the right, and went flying off to the side. Nichole caught a brief glimpse in her peripheral vision of a man flailing wildly.

Laura pivoted hard, turning the turret around. She opened fire. An explosion lit up the evening street, from the eruption of the flamethrower canister.

"Nice!" Nichole called out. "Good job!"

"Are we close?" Laura called back.

Nichole looked down at the satnav. " It recalculated! It's ... it's close! Hold on!" She cut the wheel and turned right. The SUV's momentum caused it to slide across the road, but Nichole maintained enough traction to keep it stable.

"What was that?"

"What was what?" Nichole asked in a loud, clear voice.

"I think you hit a parking meter!"

"I didn't notice..." Nichole swerved back into the middle of the lane. She eased into the brakes and stopped. "It says it's right here! Where the hell is it? We should be looking at it!"

"I don't see anything!"

Nichole abruptly brought her hands to her forehead. "It's either above or below us. I think bombs are more dangerous above ground so let's check the rooftops of these buildings."

"Grab the tracker thing, we'll use it to see if we're going the right way!"

"Right!" Nichole snatched it from the dash. She was consumed with adrenaline, excited by the possibility they might find the bomb in time to stop it. She pulled off her seatbelt and patted her pants pocket. She felt a cellphone. She pocketed the keys and slid out of the driver's seat. "C'mon!"

Laura climbed up, out of the turret, and slid down the side of the truck with a grunt. She turned to look back at the dented and dinged SUV, where the paint was starting to peel and bubble in the front. "God. Look at that thing."

"Yeah..." Nichole turned in a circle, listening to the beeping sound.

"You're right, we had enough gas."

"Told ya'." She stopped, facing the building to the left of the SUV. She turned around and faced the one across from it. She walked in front of the dented truck and approached the other building.

The beeping of the tracker slowed, but only slightly. The tone changed completely. "What the...?"

"What's it mean?" Laura asked.

"Hell if I know." She listened to the beeping. It was rhythmic like before but the tempo was different. She walked back to the left. The tone changed in speed. "Holy shit."

"What?"

"It's smart enough to know we're not driving anymore. So it changed pace so we can follow it as walking speed. I think it changed sensitivity or whatever. It's a little faster when I point _this_direction. Come on."

Laura nodded and fell into step with Nichole. They made their way into some sort of office building.

Nichole looked around.

"Over there." Laura nodded to a stairwell sign.

"Got it." Nichole approached the door and shouldered her way through it. She lifted the unit above her head. The beeping intensified, slightly.

The flashing LED light changed color, somewhat. "I think this is the right way."

"Good. I'm so ready to be done with this."

Nichole nodded. "Me too." She took to the steps with Laura behind her. As they ascended the stairwell, the beeping quickened. The light changed from a brownish red to a yellowish green.

On the top floor, the light changed to a brilliant blue. Nichole looked around and started down the hall. The light changed back to green. "I think we were right beneath it. We just have to find a way to get to the roof."

"I'm afraid to ask," Laura said with a half-hearted chuckle. "Do you think it will be protected by guys with powerful guns?"

Nichole replied with a weak smile. "Just think, there are no pain receptors in the brain. If you get shot in the forehead, you feel a little headache above your eyes, and then it goes away."

"I've had migraines before. Not looking forward to that."

"It's quick, like when you eat ice cream too fast."

Laura shrugged. "I've never tried ice cream. What's the point?"

Nichole frowned. "You'll know when you try it." She found another staircase and headed for it. "Ice cream makes being lonely suck a little less." She ducked her head into the stairwell. A ladder went up the wall. "Finally."

Laura followed Nichole into the stairwell. She leaned over the side rail, looking down. "Okay, so far so good."

"You're getting better at this. Make sure nobody tries to trap us up here with this thing."

Laura nodded and turned to the door leading back to the hallway. She put her foot against the wall, grasped the door firmly, and twisted her body until the door ripped from its hinges. Laura leaned it up against the railing at the top of the steps with a grunt. "Okay."

Nichole nodded, impressed. "Well, that works." She ascended the ladder and pushed on a roof hatch. It opened on well-oiled hinges. Nichole paused, looking at scrape marks on the frame around the hatch. She narrowed her eyes. "This is it, it's got to be."

"I'm right behind you."

Nichole put the tracker in her teeth and pulled herself up, onto the roof. A crosswind toyed with her hair, sending it in all directions. She got up on the surface and saw several gun turrets surrounding a blocky looking object perched atop of an air conditioning unit.

Nichole reached her left hand down and helped Laura up through the hatch. She pulled the tracker from her teeth and looked down at it. The light was blue again. The beeping was now a soft, consistent tone.

"This is it," Laura said, rubbing her palms together. "I can't believe it. We found it! Do you have your phone on you?"

"Yeah."

"Call Vincent."

"You really think he'll know how to disarm that thing?"

"What else do you suggest?" Laura looked around the abandoned rooftop. "God this is surreal. I can't believe we found it."

"Yeah, maybe you're right. I'll call him. Worst comes to worst, we'll load it into the SUV and drive it out to the docks and submerge it."

Laura blinked. "How the hell will that make a difference?"

"I've seen it in a movie or TV show. The water reduces the blast and absorbs most of the radiation. It saves the city."

Laura stared at Nichole and frowned. "When did you ever have time to watch TV?"

"I had a lot of time on my hands between August and now." Nichole approached the bomb. The tracking unit changed in pitch. She thumbed a button on the side and forced it into her rear pocket, creating a lump against her backside.

Laura folded her arms pensively. "You were gunning the motor a lot. You think there's enough gas left in that thing to get to the docks?"

"I do." Nichole approached the bomb and pulled out her cellphone. The closer she came to the bomb, the more the signal dropped, effected by the proximity of the radiation of the payload in the device.

"What's wrong?"

Nichole walked away from the bomb and called Vincent. He answered after the first ring. His voice sounded slightly grainy.

"We found it."

Vincent gasped over the line. "You did!? Oh thank God!"

"Yeah. We don't know how to disarm it."

"Unless you have access to a computer, you might not be able to."

"What?" Nichole blinked, not expecting him to make it sound fruitless. "Then why the hell did we look for it to begin with?"

"Just calm down, please."

"Vincent..."

"Nichole, please. Please, babe. Don't be upset. We have lots of options." Vincent paused. He took a deep breath and released it. "Okay. I'm calm. Are you calm?"

"I guess," she murmured.

"Okay, good enough. Now, look at the device. Is there a panel, or do you see any ... anything that looks like a plug or jack, like you might see on the back of a computer?"

Nichole handed the phone to Laura. "Stay over there. I can't get close with the phone or I'll lose the call."

Laura brought the phone to her ear. "Okay, Vincent. You've got me. If she gets closer, she loses signal."

"That's not good," said Vincent. "It might be leaking radioactive material. Nichole isn't near me. I don't think she's immune unless I'm near her."

"Just ... let's focus," Laura said with a frown. "Do you want me to do it?"

"No," Nichole called back in a stern voice. "I've got this." She neared the bomb.

All at once, the gun turrets roared to life, pelting Nichole with machinegun fire.

"Jesus Christ!" Laura shrieked.

"What?!" Vincent called back. "What's going on?"

The gun turrets continued to hit Nichole with round after round. She spilled to the rooftop, pinned down by the barrage of weapons fire.

"Be right back!" Laura ran towards the nearest gun turret. There was no one manning it. She put the cellphone into her teeth, picked up the turret with a grunt and hurled it over the edge of the roof.

Stray bullets fired in all directions, growing further away. All at once it stopped.

Laura hurried along the edge of the roof, coming up behind the other turret. Same as before, she lifted it into the air and hurled it over the edge of the rooftop.

She brought the phone back to her head, "Nichole was shot by guns that fired on her when she got too close to the bomb. One moment." She hurried over to Nichole. "Oh my god, there's blood everywhere."

Laura looked away, suddenly having flashbacks of when she was in the arena. She was a creature in her memories, fighting wildly by instinct. The brief daydream dissolved, replaced by Vincent's voice over the line.

Laura swallowed and said, "Just hold on."

Nichole groaned, rolling flat onto her back. "...Hurts."

"She's alive," Laura said.

Vincent's reply was laced with static.

Laura said, "Don't hang up. Be right back." She hurried away from the bomb, repeated herself, and set the phone on the rooftop. She hurried back to Nichole, drawing the woman's head into her lap. "I ... are you okay?"

Nichole looked up, dizzy, and said, "They went all the way through. Just ... need a moment to..." She trailed off, wavering in and out of consciousness. Wounds healed on Nichole's chest, arms and legs. "God my knee hurts."

Laura reached down and guided Nichole's legs straight. The repaired patella popped back into place, once Nichole's legs were extended.

Nichole gasped at a sharp pain, followed by a sigh of relief. "My kneecap was trying to regenerate but my leg wasn't ... thank you, Laura."

"Yeah." She swallowed and replied with a weak smile. "I'm glad you're alright."

"Get the phone. He needs to walk us through this." Nichole sat up, slowly at first, and put her hands to either side of her head. "Ugh, blood rush."

"Blood rush?"

"I think I'm replenishing the blood I lost. It's happening too fast. I'm dizzy. Everything's red." Nichole rolled onto her side, panting softly. "Fuck."

Laura ran her hands through Nichole's hair, not knowing what else to do. She looked down at the woman's head on her lap and swallowed. She flinched, having a flashback to when she killed Vincent. She remembered laying on her side, watching Topaz cradle the boy's head on her lap, gently petting his hair.

"Laura?"

Laura snapped out of her reverie. "I ... sorry. I'm good. Sorry."

Nichole sat up and rubbed at her eyes. "Yeah, so am I. Grab the phone and tell me what to do." Nichole got to her feet and put her hands on the enclosure for the weapon.

Laura hurried back to the phone and picked it up. "Hey. Vincent, she's okay. She healed. We're all right. She's going to open the thing and see what we're dealing with."

Nichole used the stolen super strength of Collobulous to push her index fingers against two screws, so that the skin of her fingertips filled the indentation in the head of the screws. She turned her fingers, unscrewing the screws with them.

Once the screws became loose enough, Nichole looked down at her hands. The marks on her fingers healed. She paused and looked herself over. Her skin was moddled different colors - where her flesh was slightly tanned, and where it recently healed, and pinkish-white.

She used her thumbs and forefingers to unthread the screws the rest of the way. She stuck them into her front pocket. Nichole opened the hatch panel and looked inside the bomb.

"What do you see?" Laura asked from halfway across the rooftop.

"I see a plastic computer board with chips and wires. Someone soldered jacks into the board, like for a computer to plug into it. Like on the back of a printer."

Laura repeated everything to Vincent and switched the phone to speakerphone mode.

Vincent replied, his voice loud enough for Laura to hear, but not loud enough for Nichole to hear it clearly over the breeze.

"What's he saying?"

Laura repeated it back in a loud, clear tone. "He says now that we know where it's at, we should go back, get him, and bring him to it."

"What! Why?" Nichole stormed across the rooftop and snatched the phone from Laura. She said, "Why, Vincent?"

"Nichole? Hey, hey, please don't get upset. Listen, I can absorb the radioactivity in the payload. I can change the half-life of the materials inside of it. The bomb will still go off, but it will hardly be nuclear anymore. At the most, it might demolish the building where you found that thing. But it won't wipe out the city."

Nichole opened her mouth to argue but she knew he was right. "Shit." She looked over her shoulder at the device across the roof, and sighed. "What if it goes off soon? I don't see a screen with a timer."

"How far are you from the docks?"

Nichole smirked. "You want me to throw it in the bay, just in case, don't you?"

"Yeah." He said. "But not so far out that I can't absorb the payload. I'll be able to do it so long as I'm within a few hundred feet."

"The military pulled back. I don't think we have very long."

"Nichole, I know you two can heal, but if that thing goes off right now, you're at ground zero. You'll both be vaporized."

Nichole turned to Laura. They both frowned.

"Nichole?"

"I'm ... I'm here, Vincent." She looked over at the downtown skyline. "We're two or three miles from all the fancy buildings. We might have enough time to load it into the SUV, but it's down on the street. Then we'd have to find our way to the water."

"Have you seen a lot of people?"

Nichole blinked. "People? Oh ... yeah. Looters, homeless people. There are still a few hundred people left in the city. I mean, enough that it would be fucked up to leave them to die."

Vincent sighed over the phone. "What street are you on?"

"Market Street. We're almost to the downtown area."

Vincent rubbed his forehead. "I need an address. I'll be right there. I know the major routes, still, and I can use GPS."

"What?"

"There's a garage full of cars, here!"

"Don't raise your voice at me," Nichole snapped.

"I wasn't yelling at you, I'm sorry. I am just excited and worried and..."

"What if we put it underground?"

Vincent grew quiet. "You mean like in a sewer or subway tunnel?"

"Yeah."

"I..." He trailed off, thinking. "The radioactive fallout would be a lot worse, but the detonation wouldn't wipe out the city."

"We're running out of time," she snapped. "I'm excited, worried, and I'm standing at ground zero. What do I do, Vincent?!"

"I don't even know where you're at! Market Street is a long stretch, Nichole."

"Vincent!"

"I don't know!" he exclaimed. "I'm not thinking rationally! I have someone I care about, standing next to a nuclear-fucking-bomb! I don't care about the goddamn bums; I care about you! So find out the address. The numbers will be on the front of the buildings, on street level. I'll come straight there."

"We might be running out of time. Do I put it into the sewer or not?"

"Throw it off the building," Vincent said.

"What?!" Nichole looked down at the phone. She brought it back to her face. "Are you fucking nuts?"

"No, those things don't detonate from impact. They go off from going through a detonation sequence, sending enriched..."

"Wait!" She cleared her throat and asked, "Are you _sure_throwing it off the side of the building won't make it blow up? I don't want this thing to explode, Vincent."

"It won't go off. If you dropped that from an airplane, it wouldn't blow up if it hit the ground. If the enclosure is damaged, it might not go off at all."

Nichole turned back and glared at the bomb over on the AC unit. She licked her lips. "You swear?"

"It won't implode if it's inoperable. I don't know what kind of bomb you have. Some are designed to shoot a radioactive element down a tube to achieve detonation. Some are designed to..."

"Science lesson over," she said. "Just tell me it's okay to throw it off the side of the building."

"It's okay," Vincent said in a reassuring voice. "I don't know what the enclosure looks like. If it's some jobber Mickey Mouse case, then the worst that will happen, is you leak radioactive material on the street. Much better than the thing going off."

"Okay. Okay. It just seems counter intuitive to throw it off the side, but that's the quickest way to get it down to the SUV, or to the sewer, if we decide to do that and..."

Laura placed her hand on Nichole's shoulder. "Calm down."

"Yeah, sorry." Nichole sighed. "Fuck. I'm standing next to a nuclear bomb. I don't know how long before it goes off, or if it's even on a timer at all. Everyone just split. For all we know, this is a Government job to try and wipe out the plague and the homeless. They might be doing this to rally the rest of the country into whatever the agenda of..." Nichole stopped herself, took a deep breath, and sighed. "Sorry. My mind is racing."

"Can you guys lift it?" Vincent's voice was tinny over the line.

Laura gestured with her finger as if to say, 'one moment.' She walked over to the enclosure and tried to pick it up. She shrugged. "It's heavy but, if we worked together, it's not impossible."

"How heavy is heavy?" Nichole asked.

"A lot heavier than those gun turrets. Plus it's covered in your blood from being shot. So it's slippery."

Nichole sighed again. She brought her hand to her face and pinched the bridge of her nose between her thumb and index.

"Nichole?"

"Yeah. Sorry. Just kind of ready to gouge out my own eyes. I'm frustrated."

"Don't say that."

"Vincent, it's just a thing I do. I rub the spot between my eyes."

Silence.

"Vincent?"

"Topaz does that. You guys are related, but you don't really know each other. Maybe genetics are..."

"Okay, enough." Nichole looked up at the sky for a moment. "Listen, what if I melt the nuclear material down? I could turn it into a liquid sludge. Would that stop the bomb?"

"It depends how it's made, Nichole. But no matter if it's a pellet or if it looks like mushy peas, it still has its radioactive properties. If it's a pellet designed to be shot into another element, then yes - turning it liquid would work. BUT! If it's designed different, then..."

"Okay, okay." She huffed. "I have all these goddamn powers, and I feel helpless. I can take the breath from someone's lungs, but I can't stop a bomb sitting a few feet away."

"Throw it over the side. Then put it into your military truck and take it to the bay. I can meet you there."

"Just wait until we call you when we're on our way. Don't just head there until I call you, okay?"

"Nichole..."

"If it goes off in a few minutes, you would be killed by the blast, Vincent! You wait until we get it in the bay. Then I'll be content that it will be safer for you to come near it. Okay? I care about you, too."

"Just do what you can. I'll wait for your call."

"Thank you." She thumbed the screen and put the phone into her pocket.

"He's going to do what you asked?" Laura appeared surprised.

"Yeah. Yeah, he is." Nichole approached her and, together, they moved on either side of the bomb enclosure. "I have an idea."

"I'm wide open, Nichole."

Nichole walked to the edge of the roof and looked over the side. She came back to the AC unit and shrugged. "I thought maybe I could make a short cut but I don't know what the hell I'm doing. I really don't deserve this goddamn powers. Let's move this thing."

They lifted together and carefully carried it to the edge of the rooftop. They eased it up onto the ledge and looked at one another.

"I'm not afraid to die," Laura said. "You don't deserve powers? I don't deserve anything. So this is either redemption for me, or it's the end."

Nichole frowned. "I could say the same."

"Then let's do this and see what fate has in store."

Nichole looked over the edge and sighed. "We'll live."

"You think so, huh? Because fate is kind of cruel that way?"

"Because Vincent is a nice boy. I genuinely think he likes me. And if that really is the case, then we don't die, because fate won't hurt him like that. He's too good of a person." Nichole looked down at her hands, sitting on the enclosure, balanced on the ledge. "What am I even saying?"

"You might be right."

"Oh yeah? I'm having second thoughts," said Nichole.

"Fate won't blow us up. They'll drag all three of us through the mud, make us bad people, ruin our lives, and cause us to kill everyone we love. But ... we won't blow up."

Nichole smirked. "I see your outlook on life is about as sunshiny as mine."

"Yup. You ready?"

Nichole peered over the edge again and grimaced. "Well, it was nice knowing you."

"You too. If we live, I say we both find Aris Falcon and throw him off a rooftop next."

Nichole grinned somewhat. "I can get onboard with that."

"On three?"

"To hell with counting. Go." Nichole tensed up and pushed.

Laura heaved the device.

It fell over the side.

Laura turned around and knelt, with her back against the ledge, eyes closed.

Nichole leaned over the side and watched, waiting for it to explode. Waiting for the blast to leap up and vaporize her.

The enclosure struck the street, far below, and shattered. The weight of the unit created a sinkhole in Market Street. Water flooded up around the hole.

Nichole could see it wedged in the street. Water bubbled up around it. Parts and pieces lay scattered over fifty feet away from where it landed. She narrowed her gaze, waiting to see what would happen.

Nothing happened.

Laura opened her eyes. "No bang huh?"

"Nope."

Laura stood up and peered over the side. "Is that water? You think it maybe shorted out all those electronics inside of there? You never put the panel back on."

"Nope. I sure didn't." Nichole reached into her pocket and took out the two screws. She tossed them over the side. "Let's go see if it's toast."

"Fine by me. I have a good feeling about this."

"Me too, actually." Nichole turned to Laura. They shared a hug.

Nichole and Laura made their way to the maintenance hatch, leading down from the roof. They hurried down the rear staircase to the first floor, hurried through the lobby, past the elevators, east end staircase, and out through the front door.

Nichole headed for the street and climbed down into the flooded hole in the street. The water was cold and soaked through her shoes right away. She knelt down in the water and closed her hands around the remainder of the enclosure. "It's wedged in here pretty good! Help me get it free!"

Laura glanced around the area. They were alone. She snatched a hook on the front of the SUV and released the clasp. She pulled the hook over to Nichole, careful not to splash with her footsteps. She handed the hook over.

Nichole looked up with a genuine smile. "Good thinking." She reached down and pushed the hook through a section of the enclosure, brought the hook around and latched it back on the line to which it was connected.

Laura made her way back to the wench and cranked it but nothing happened. "It won't wind up. I don't understand. It came free, but it won't crank back down."

Nichole stood up and fished out the car keys from her pocket. She approached the wench and looked it over. "We must have damaged it by plowing into things, earlier." She pulled herself up into the driver's seat.

She grunted from the tracking device in her back pocket. She arched her hips, pulled the handheld device out and put it on its holster on the dash. NIchole put the SUV into reverse and backed up.

The nuclear weapon enclosure lifted slightly but remained firmly lodged in the hole. Nichole put the truck into park. She slid out of the seat and followed the taut cable back to the hole in the street.

"Now what?"

"Watch." Nichole held her hands over the water and stepped back from it. The water's molecular properties changed, causing it to solidify into ice.

"How will that help?"

"The ice will make the hole bigger." Nichole tensed her hands. The ice changed to gas and evaporated. Fresh water began to flood back into the hole, slowly filling the crater again. "I widened the hole. Now we can pull it out."

"Nice," Laura said. She nodded approvingly. "Smart."

Nichole smiled. She made her way back to the seat, put the truck into reverse again and backed up. The enclosure slid up out of the hole in the street, dragging across the concrete. Nichole shut off the engine.

She hurried back to the weapon and knelt down adjacent to her. "Help me flip it over."

They worked together and flipped the unit onto its side, so that the access panel was facing up. Nichole narrowed her gaze, peering into it in the dark.

She fished out her cellphone and activated the flashlight app. The LED flash built into the front illuminated the access panel of the bomb. She looked inside and grimaced.

"What is it?" Laura moved closer. "Is it...?"

"I think it's legitimately wrecked." Nichole looked up with a weary smile. "There's this little battery thing, and it's all messed up. The battery was all..." Nichole sighed. "Vincent was right."

"How so? Oh, you mean about throwing it off the roof?"

"Well, yeah, that too. I meant, he could have stopped this thing without even trying."

"How so?"

"He can use the radiation stored up in his body and create something called an 'EMP.' It would have killed every electronic device in the immediate area, but it would have killed the power source of this thing, too. Then it wouldn't go off. Maybe I was too mean to him."

Laura put her hand on Nichole's shoulder. "You were worried about him being hurt. That just means you care."

Nichole stood up and offered Laura another smile. "Yeah. I guess I do. We've been friends a really long time. I never thought it would turn into a thing between us."

"Sometimes, those are the best relationships," Laura said. "Someone you know so well, you can be yourself around them. Someone you know who won't screw you over later."

"I thought it would be weird."

"That's a mental thing, Nichole. I've never had my first kiss, but I know feeling awkward about someone is all in your mind."

"Yeah. That's true." Nichole stood up. "You want to help me get this thing in the SUV? We can't just leave this big ass bomb sitting here. We don't want the materials inside falling into the wrong hands again."

Laura reached for one side. With her help, Nichole was able to get it over to the SUV and drop it into the hatch, adjacent to the bikes.

The rear suspension grunted under the weight. "I hope the shocks can take the..." Nichole trailed off. "I'm sure they'll be fine."

"So do we use this thing and drop it in Falcon's lap?"

Nichole grinned. "That would be poetic, huh?" She went to the front of the SUV and froze the cable to the hook, broke the metal wire and discarded it.

She moved to the driver's side and slid up into the chair. "You know, I thought about returning it to the military but ... maybe we should drop it in Falcon's lap."

Laura climbed into the hatch and used her shirt to wipe down the outer casing. "Whatever happens to this thing, we shouldn't have our fingerprints all over it. Just incase we're caught with it."

Nichole shook her head with a shrug. "If it makes you feel better, go for it." She put the SUV into gear and headed back down Market Street. "Put Pacific Heights into the GPS, Laura. I'll figure out how to get to the mansion when we're in the area."

"Sure." Laura climbed back up to the front and slid into the passenger seat. She fidgeted with the navigation, briefly, and pulled her seatbelt on. "It's stupid to wear these, right? We can heal. It would be better to go flying than to be trapped in an accident right?"

Nichole shrugged and pulled her on her seatbelt. "Wearing it makes me feel normal."

"Huh. Never thought about it like that." Nichole pulled out her phone and called Vincent. The call was static-laced from having the bomb in the back. "Hey, we have the bomb. It's not working anymore. You saved the day."

"Thank_God_. Look, I've been using the internet - there's a Homeland Security office right in your area. Take it there."

"We_could_ use it against..."

"Nichole, please. Just drop it off with Homeland Security. I already called ahead. They have staff in the building. Not much, but someone is there. Be discrete about how you stopped those guys, but make sure you tell them most of the truth. Tell'em you throw it off the roof at my request."

"Why?"

"Because, Nichole, do you know what happens when you save an American city from a nuclear bomb?"

"You get a pat on the back?"

"Yeah and the Presidential Medal of Freedom. Beside that, we could show USPRI, and everyone in the Government that we need their muscle behind us. We could shut down New Atlantis forever."

"Vincent..."

"Half the people recruited in 2023 are still alive," he said. "A lot of them were cops or military. Remember? You make it public that Falcon was responsible ... and half those guys will probably defect."

Nichole sighed. "What's the address of the building."

"I can barely hear you and I don't want you to getting lost. I'll text you the address. You two did great work."

Nichole smiled somewhat. "You're the hero, Vincent. I never would have thought to throw the damn thing over the side of the building."

"I'm just glad it worked. I'll see you soon. They might interview you or debrief you. Make it back when you can."

"See you soon, Vincent."

Laura leaned towards Nichole and whispered, "Tell him you'll give him a kiss for saving us from that thing going off."

"What was that?" Vincent said over the line. "I can't hear what you're saying."

Nichole smirked at Laura and pushed her back towards the passenger seat. "I owe you a kiss when I get back. Your quick thinking saved the city, Vincent."

"I look forward to it," he replied. "Stay safe. I'm texting you the address now."

The phone call ended. A moment later, a text came through. The time on the screen showed '11:55pm.'

Nichole passed the phone to Laura. "Put in the address he just sent over."

---

Next Chapter: https://www.sofurry.com/view/805311