Date: Tue, 07 Aug 2001 20:49:28 -0700
From: Joan Banks <joanbanks@ivillage.com>
Subject: TG Story: Absolute Power 7

Absolute Power 7: Incognito
By Joan Banks

"Mr. Collins, Colorado Child Welfare is on the phone again." The secretary
announced through the speaker. The little girl rushed over to the desk and
hit the button that activated both the microphone and the voice changing
circuit.

"Tell them I'm unavailable!" she squawked.

"Sir, they claim that you have custody of Sarah Jean illegally. She is
officially a ward of the state and should be in an approved foster home."

"Are they claiming I provide an unfit home?" The little girl was furious.

"No sir, they just want to talk with you."

"Not now." She severed the connection. The child sat back in the oversized
chair and peaked her fingers to her lips. This could get messy, she
thought, and inconvenient. She keyed the microphone again.

"Mr. Simmons. How many teams do we have deployed?"

"Seventeen. Two more by next week."

"That is not acceptable. Deploy ten more teams by Monday morning."

"That is stupid, Casper! They require training and..."

"Simmons, do not question me. I know what they have to deal with. I don't
care how, just make it happen."  She muted the circuit, which left an
audible shut off to the connection.

"Crazy old coot." She heard the man say. She smiled and severed the
connection completely.

Excellent, she thought, he is even fearless of me! Father was much too nice
in his approach. This is a war, and I need warriors.

***

The relaxed atmosphere of Miami was a relief. Sarah and Debby wandered the
streets to the campus, where they hoped to find Professor Al-him. A noted
expert on Middle Eastern legend, he might just hold the key to finding the
Djinn.

Debby acknowledged the need for disguise. Both of them now appeared to be
in their early twenties and their features had been altered slightly to
take on a more Cuban look. Each of them had long black hair and did not
feel out of place in the community at all. Except for the fact the neither
of them spoke Spanish they blended quite well.

Debby was still nervous about submitting to transformations. Larry had been
stuck as Sarah for seven months now, and Debby was nervous about a similar
occurrence happening to her. This time it was vanity that won her over. She
was tired of being the thirty-something. Sarah tightened up her body and
slimmed her down in such a sexy way that she thought she must have been
crazy before.

"Which building?" Debby asked her friend.

"How should I know? Let's just find the history department, okay?" Sarah
replied, "Just relax. No dramatic rescues or adventures, just a simple talk
with a knowledgeable man."

Sarah was reveling in this body. She had been in the body of an eleven year
old for the last month and any kind of adulthood was a relief.

Shortly, they reached the campus. It was definitely home of the beautiful
people, that was for sure. Young, healthy students were everywhere but few
of them seemed interested in classes. They lounged about the campus,
talking, flirting and generally goofing off. Sarah went right up to one
group of young men.

"Hi guys." She said, smiling "Where's the history department?"

"You're kidding, right?" one of them, a tall blond man said, "I'm Carl. A
hot babe like you shouldn't be spending a day like this in a class. Party
with us!" The entire group agreed. "And bring your cute friend, too."

"Maybe later." She dropped the smile "History building?"

"Over there." He pointed across the quad. One of them stuck a flier into
Debby's hand.

"Thanks." Sarah's smile lit up again as they walked away.

***

"...it is vitally important these women be captured." The videophone
announced. Instead of a moving picture, there was just a photo of Casper
Collins to go with the old mans' voice. "Do not kill them. You will find
that very hard to do. Be wary, they are strong, and slippery. Do not be
fooled by their appearance.  They must be captured at all costs. " The old
mans' monologue stopped abruptly. The group stared at each other. It wasn't
a very polished group that was for sure. Two of the four had been released
from prison due to a certain amount of political pressure. The other two
didn't appear to be happy with what they had for teammates.

"What is it?" Robert fairly shouted at the speaker. His secretary had paged
him with the 'urgent' signal.

"Colorado Child Welfare..." she started to say.

"I don't have time for them! Put them off!" There was a moment of silence.

"I was trying to tell you, sir." She said slowly "Is that they are here,
right now. They have a warrant for Sarah and to arrest you or anyone who
gets in their way."

"Just a moment!" If he could just finish this call, he could get out the
back. He keyed the videophone again.  "Good hunting. Mr. Simmons will give
you any further details."

He dropped off the chair and started for the back door. The door opened
before he got there, simultaneously with the front office door. Huge, burly
policemen barged into the room. One of them dived for her and scooped her
up in his arms. The police officer didn't use a restraining grip on the
child, at first. But he soon found that the girl to be a fighting,
squirming little demon. He handed the child to a female social worker that
deftly controlled the child with a firm hug that precluded any movement at
all.

"He should be in here." His secretary (read as ex-secretary) said. "He
wouldn't leave her alone, I'm sure."

"These people can get a little crazy, Ma'am." One of the officers was
saying "He obviously thought more about his own welfare than for this
child."

The social worker started to leave, flanked by officers. She held the
little girl tight. She must be so scared, the social worker thought, he
must have really traumatized her.

"There there, baby." She pat the tiny Robert on the back "Everything is
going to be all right now." Robert wanted to kick and scream but he could
barely move in the woman's grip. He satisfied his fury by screaming, hoping
he could at least rupture her eardrums.

***

"In national news, outbreaks of the Whisperer Flu have been taking place
all over the country. Doctors have been trying to find a cause but
apparently even the trace elements found in the Denver outbreak are no
longer present. The manhunt continues for the known whisperers Larry Jacobs
and this unknown woman."  The picture changed to a split screen of Larry
and Sarah. "Any news as to where their whereabouts should be reported to
authorities immediately."

***

The Professor's Office was on the top floor of a three-story building with
no elevator. There was no air conditioning and the temperature was
stifling.

The professor seemed surprised to see anyone at his office. He opened the
door wearing a sport coat and tie. Debby and Sarah were sweating. The
professor appeared very comfortable.

"Oh yes, as to your question 'Where does a Djinn go after the last wish'?
The lamp is transported out of the immediate area. Presumably this is to
avoid re-use by the same master. Possibly it would avoid a new master
giving conflicting wishes. Contrary to popular belief, he does not live in
the lamp; he is merely summoned to it. A Djinn cannot remain voluntarily
with a previous master. By the rules, he must hide from a prior owner. But
Omar probably isn't hiding very hard, it sounds like he bends the rules
quite a bit. But there is a simple answer to your question."

He held the door for them as they walked out.

"A Djinn goes anywhere he wants."

***

"Dammit, if you re going to smoke the roll down a damn window!" Pete
Carlisle yelled to the back of the van. The fumes were
everywhere. Apparently smoking was encouraged in prison and these two were
bucking for the title of ' top consumer '. Tom wasn't any help at all, he
was afraid to even talk to them. Tom was a doctor, almost. In the last year
of med school he had taken to prescribing his own uppers. GeronTech hired
him anyway, promised him an exorbitant salary, and then went back on the
deal. Tom spent all of his earnings before he ever saw them. The company
was only too happy to cover his debts, at a price. He was the company's'
bitch now, a whore for a paycheck.

The two in the back looked like a bad characterization of bounty hunters.

'Bud' wore torn jeans, T-shirt and a leather jacket. He looked so out of
place riding in this van that Pete was tempted to buy him a bike with his
own money, just to keep him away a bit. Tony (spelled with a ' y') was the
weird one. She was a tiny woman, weak looking, really. She dressed like a
man and cut her hair down to a short buzz cut. She sat in the back splay
legged as if trying to take up more space. She claimed she used to be a man
until mysteriously changing into this dyke- looking chick. She said it all
happened after being arrested for a bogus rape/assault (so what if there
were 5 eye-witnesses and DNA evidence). The two in the back were the
chimney twins, and Pete was getting sick of it.

"Hey Petey?" Bud called from the back. " I know you have this great 'plan'
and all. Wanna let us in on it?"

"All you need to know right now is we are heading east." Pete coughed "I'll
fill you in as you need to know."

***

Tim Simmons stood in the status room. There had been no word from Casper so
he continued with his own plan. The map of the US was dotted with blue
circles, the location of every operative team he had. If there was a hint
anywhere then he could have someone there almost instantly.

"Get me a Dr. Pepper." He told the aide at his side. It wasn't her job, but
she wasn't about to piss off the new boss. She left.

"What's the status?"

"No hot spots that we can confirm." The tech in the left seat said.

"What does that mean?" Tim snapped at him. "We can confirm? What's really
happening? What can or can't you confirm?" He looked around and yelled "And
where the hell is my Dr. Pepper?"

"We show 15 cities with supposed cases of the 'Whisperer Flu'" the tech
told him "The strange thing is that we have not distributed the serum to
those cities and we don t have operatives there."

The Whisperer Flu was a bogus illness that GeronTech had engineered and
subsequently blamed on the Whisperer threat. It couldn't be carried by
anything other than the serum, which they distributed as inoculations to
schoolchildren. There was no reason for these outbreaks.

"Better check them out." He said, taking the soda from the aide without
even a word of acknowledgement.  "Send in the teams."

***

Robert was not pleased.

The social worker locked him into a child seat in the back of her car. The
belt buckle was just out of his tiny reach. He kicked and struggled to get
out. He screamed at the top of his lungs. His guards ignored him but at
least he had bruised this horrible woman and at least one cop.

"She's out of control." The cop said, outside her car window. "Looks like
some kind of seizure."

"It's fairly common." The woman explained, "She wants to go back to what
she knows. Horrible as it must have been in there. She KNOWS it." She
looked into the car at the hyper child; the little girl was struggling to
release her bonds as if her life depended on it "Calm down Sarah!" The
woman tried to say in a soothing tone. Robert quieted enough to
listen. "All Mr. Collins has to do is come down to the office and sign a
few papers. If he can show you have a good life with him, you can go back."
She turned back on the child to speak with the officer.

"I swear if he sends another lawyer down, he will never see this little
girl again." She said quietly, Robert stayed very silent to hear "All we
have to do is see him in the office for a short interview and it would have
been done. She would have been his. Now, who knows?"

Robert began his screams anew, this time in true panic.

***

"A party?" Sarah was incredulous "You actually want to go to a party?"

"Yes, Sarah, a party." Debby was explaining, "After everything we've been
through we need to let our hair down a bit." She set the flier on the
table. "At least I do."

The party was at a local amusement park. The fraternity arranged to have a
portion of the admission fee of everyone with a flier to be donated to
charity. They passed out a lot of fliers.

Bull and Mr. Z had provided them with numerous fake ID's. Most of them
would pass inspection without any problem. They picked out two of them that
looked enough like their current form and they were allowed in.

"Dude!" Carl came up to them using a California surfer accent. "Didn't
think you'd come. Welcome babes."  He put his arm around Sarah. She firmly
took his arm off her shoulder. He went over to Debby and tried the same
move. Debby let his arm stay, and they walked over to the keg. each of them
got a large plastic cup of beer and they continued on.

"No metabolizing!" was Debby's admonition to her. Debby wanted Sarah to get
the full effect of the drink.  Sarah nodded as Carl led her Debby away.

Debby got into the dancing almost immediately. Apparently this is how she
forgets her troubles, thought Sarah.

She made her way to a semi-quiet corner and sat down.

The crowd was going wild. The music was loud and fast and everyone seemed
to be having a great time.  Nothing altruistic about this bunch, Sarah
thought, just out for themselves. She sat back and drank her beer.

"Wanna dance?" a young looking guy asked. He looked so nervous that he just
might be about to cry.

"I don't dance." She said.

"That's okay. Sorry to bug you." He started to walk away, heartbroken. Off
in the distance Sarah noticed a group of guys pointing and laughing at
him. She put her beer down.

"Wait." She said. He stopped. "You didn't tell me your name."

"Marcus." He said. He started to walk away again. The guys were snickering.

"Marcus," she said, "Want to sit down for a minute?" In the distance the
party was getting wilder. Young women were flashing their breasts at the
men and the noise was getting deafening. Sarah picked up her beer again and
motioned for him to sit next to her.

"Uh...sure." Marcus made his way back and sat where she motioned. He
maintained a decent distance from her.

"Not your kind of party, is it?" she asked.

"Not really," he replied "They let me in the frat 'cause my Dad used to
be. Now he's rich. He kept telling me that it would make a man out of me."
He looked back at the crowd. The men were groping the women, stealing some
of their bikini tops. Many of the girls didn't think it was very funny and
it looked like things would get out of hand quickly. The park security was
eyeing the crowd and talking into their radios.  Something was going to
happen soon.

"Looks like the party's gonna end soon anyway." Marcus told her. "Wanna
check out the rest of the park before everyone gets busted?"

"Sure, that sounds lik..."

"Sarah!" Debby was winded, "We need you." She put her hands on her knees
and panted. She had run here very fast. She couldn't speak for a moment.

"Rested." Sarah said. Debby stood up.

"Carl passed out back there." She said, "Alcohol poisoning, I think."

"Fine," she stood to take care of him, "Marcus..." Marcus was gone. Debby
was dragging Sarah quickly back towards the crowd.

"Conscious, Vomit." Sarah said. Carl moaned, turned to the side and heaved
his guts out. She turned to her friend "I'm leaving him drunk and with a
hangover." She said, "I don't want him getting any ideas that alcohol
doesn't affect him. Blood alcohol, headache."

"I reduced his blood alcohol to a reasonably safe level and given him a
mother of a headache." Sarah told her friend. Both of them stood away from
Carl and they were speaking quietly. "I won't be here to save him next
time." Sarah left, annoyed. She had better things to do than sober up a
bunch of partying college kids.  "I'll catch you later."

Sarah wandered into the park. After a few minutes of searching she found
Marcus in line for a roller coaster.

"I can't believe you ditched me." She said to him, arms across her chest
"You just disappeared."

"Sorry," he actually looked contrite "I thought your friend was trying to
rescue you from the dweeb."

"Real nice." She said, "You really don't think much of yourself, do you?"

"I do okay." He told her. Even he didn't seem convinced. "It's just not my
element."

"Right." She took a place next to him in line. They stood quietly as the
line slowly moved forward. The line was moving incredibly slow. When they
were in sight of the end of the line, they saw why.

There was a line that ran parallel to the main line. People in wheelchairs
were being taken to the front of the line and put on the coaster. A small,
frail child was being loaded onto the coaster. Sarah was within speaking
distance of the girls' escort.

"It's the 'Miracle Events' program." The woman said, before Sarah had a
chance to speak. "Terminally ill children are given a free pass to the
park." She had obviously said this line hundreds of times before.

"What's wrong with her?" Marcus asked.

"Leukemia." The woman said, "If you'll excuse me." She handed the
wheelchair over to a park employee who moved it to the exit area of the
coaster.

"Leukemia." Sarah said, the child still barely in sight. She smiled; maybe
the day wasn't a total waste after all.

***

"Now Sarah, Doctor Mary is going to talk to you for a while, okay?" Without
waiting for acknowledgement, the social worker let a heavyset woman into
the room. She sat on the floor next to the girl and grabbed the blocks the
child had been ignoring.

"So, what are you doing, Sarah?" The woman asked.

"Waiting to go home." The little girl said calmly, "You people kidnapped
me."

Both the venom in the child's tone and how coherent she sounded took Mary
aback.

"No dear, we didn't kidnap you. We just thought you would be better off in
a more nurturing environment."  She tried to build something with the
blocks, trying to interest the child.

"Is that what you call this?" Robert gestured to the room in a very adult
way "A nurturing environment?  More like a looney bin, if you ask me."

"You sure talk grown up." Mary said in a condescending way.

"You don't." The child quipped, "Maybe you should be the one trapped here?"

The conversation degraded from there.

***

Dr. Mary, disheveled and humiliated by the child, wrote her report.

'The child, Sarah Jean Doe, is severely disturbed. She exhibits paranoid
behavior and is firmly dedicated to returning to Mr. Collins. She is
precocious, demanding, and thoroughly uncontrollable. Her IQ is extremely
high, even off the chart leading me to believe she is some kind of
Savant. She should remain under close examination and the board should
seriously consider some of the more powerful Psychoactive Depressants.'

***

Sarah decided that she didn't need drinking to let her hair down. She and
Marcus went to every roller coaster they could find. There was no one
chasing her right now, and she was getting to do a little good here and
there.

Apparently there were four 'Miracle Events' kids in the park that
day. Sarah cured them all. She said nothing to the escorts and families
after finding out the infirmities. They would discover the truth later.

A group of bullies tried to push their way to the front of the line at one
coaster. It was a large group and they looked like they would rather fight
than ride anyway.

Sarah fixed them with a simple phrase 'motion sick'. They puked
dramatically after the coaster and they all looked miserable for the next
hour. An hour after whispering at them, Sarah didn't see them again. Debby
found them eating at one of the overpriced hamburger places in the park.

"I've been looking everywhere for you." Debby said. Sarah and Marcus were
smiling and joking.

"Why?" Sarah definitely looked more relaxed now.

"We've got to go." Debby said, "Or we'll be late."

"What now? Another keg?"

"No," she said with a sly grin, "it's a surprise."

Sarah and Marcus said their goodbyes and the two women left the park.

"So what's this surprise?" Sarah was asking, sounding like a ten year old
before her birthday.

***

"Bull!" Sarah squealed happily. She rushed up and hugged the man
ferociously. Bull was sitting on the hood of a car. Despite himself Bull
smiled.

"When you act like that," he said, hugging her back "I forget that you're
really a guy."

Sarah broke the hug and cooled off considerably.

"What brings you here?" she asked in a level tone.

"Christmas," he said, knowing he had put a damper on the reunion "Mr. Z and
I whipped up a couple things for you. You guys being sisters now?" He
looked at the two women. They really did look alike, dark hair tan skin and
only the most obscure of features hinted as to who they really were.

"How'd you know it was me?" Sarah asked.

"Come on." Bull replied "I had that face for a while, remember?"

"Oh yeah." She said. Then her face lit up like a little girl again. "What
did you bring?"

Bull was amused by the change in attitude. It really was hard to tell that
this bubbly girl was ever a guy.

"This car for one." He tapped on the hood. He handed a thick envelope to
Debby "These are for you." He said. Debby took the envelope from him and
greeted him with a kiss and a hug.

"Thank you." She said, "More ID?"

"You got it." He said, "Maybe we better talk inside."

They went into the hotel room that had become their local base of
operations. Bull hauled two suitcases up the stairs, not letting either
woman help.

He set the suitcases on the floor and sat in the chair while he opened
one. He had a smile on his face that was a mile wide. Inside was a black
mass of cloth and low-cut boots.

"Your weakness, the way we see it," Bull said, "is that you can't use your
power quick enough. If a bullet breaks your spine or scrambles your brain,
you're done." He started taking the cloth out of the case and laid it flat
on the bed. It was a long sleeve unitard; similar to the one she wore when
she rescued Debby from Casper.

"I've tried this before." Sarah said "I ended up naked in the face of the
enemy, remember?" Bull blushed furiously and tried to concentrate on the
suit. Debby giggled at his distraction.

"This isn't the same," he said, "Take a look." She picked it up as he
explained. "Feel those small lumps on the spine? Those are armor, light and
nonmetallic. They are in these pockets so you still have full mobility.
The entire suit is made of a lycra-polymer blend that is a non-ripping
material. It will get a hole in it but it shouldn't shred like before." He
turned red again. Sarah was impressed. She looked into the suitcase.

"What's the rest?" she asked. She picked a rigid hood up.

"It's a little like Batman." He said, "Sorry, it was the only solution we
could come up with."

She slipped the cowl over her head. It was a good fit. Her hair came out in
a ponytail hole in the back.

"Crash helmet." He said, "The front part comes off, if you want." He
grabbed at her face and snapped the eye and nose cover off "But it looked
kind of funny. The whole thing is made of a Kevlar-like material and it has
padding to try to help you if you fall on your head. The eye piece helps
you keep a secret identity, if you want."

"Very thoughtful." Sarah said. The protection would be helpful but she
would feel like an idiot running around in this getup. Bull grabbed the
next thing out of the case.

"These boots," he continued, "Have improved traction and durability. They
won't fall apart on you."

Debby grabbed the next item. It was belt with a metal device on it, about
the size of a lipstick that extended on a small cord. When she hit the
switch, it buzzed like a tiny vibrator. Bull and Sarah instantly turned red
and Debby dropped the device, it retracted into the belt and shut off.

"Don't ask," Bull said, "Z can be a pretty sick guy. I didn't even ask him
about it."

"Where did you get the money for all this?" Sarah asked.

"Z," said bull, "When you fixed his eyes and hands, he became a hot
commodity. Everyone is coming to him for gadgets and gizmos. He's rolling
in it." Bull kicked the suitcase closed.

"Wait a minute." Sarah said, "There's something else." She opened the case
and took out the remaining item. It looked like a strapless swimsuit, but
it was definitely armor. It looked like some kind of dominatrix costume.

"I told you he was a sick guy. I think he watched too much Wonder Woman or
Xena." Bull said, blushing more than anyone thought possible "That is your
breastplate." He didn't say more. It's purpose was obvious, an armored
undergarment.

"I don't know how to thank you." Sarah said, "You've done so much."
Inwardly she wondered if she could ever wear this getup, or even part of
it. The boots were okay, she thought.

"What's in the other suitcase?" Debby asked, hoping to find more treasured
gadgets.

"My underwear and stuff." He smiled "You didn't want me to go around naked,
right?"

***

"So you say that your daughter has the Whisperer Flu?" Pete asked the
woman. She was 35 (going on 45) and carefully kept a look of concern on her
face.

"I don't say anything of the kind." She told him, indignant that her
diagnosis would be challenged. "She has all the symptoms."

This Tallahassee hospital felt hot and sticky. The air conditioning helped
but it just didn't do a complete job. Pete just wanted to get back into the
known air conditioning of the car, smoke and all.

"Would you mind if we spoke to the doctor?" Tom asked. "There is some
information we have that might help."

She had to think for a minute. Clearly there was a decision to be made.

"Of course," she said with a shaky smile, "I would like to be present as
well."

"Of course."

"Fine," Pete said abruptly "We can talk to him in half an hour. Thank you
ma'am."

"Just make my poor little girl well." She said melodramatically, "This is
taking such a toll on all of us."

Pete and Tom stepped outside the small hospital.

"What do ya think?" Pete asked.

"Munchausen by Proxy." Tom said matter-of-factly "She's making her own
child sick. I don't know how but she is obviously trying to get attention
for herself through a glamorous disease in her child. Nothing we can do
here. Great, here comes 'the beast'.

"Hey Petey!" Bud looked uncomfortable in the sport coat that he was wearing
"We got a call from the boss."

"Simmons?" Pete wasn't expecting this kind of attention "What'd he want?"

"Said we should check out a couple of 'spontaneous emissions' in this
place."

"Do you mean 'spontaneous RE-missions'?" Pete asked.

"That's what I said."

***

"So doctor, you say that there is no explanation for this sudden change of
events?" Pete and Tom were sitting across the desk from a local physician
who dealt with the young girl.

"None, whatsoever. I would have sworn that that child only had months to
live. Now she is as healthy as a horse."

"Has anything like this happened before?" Pete asked.

"Spontaneous Remission? Sure, it happens once in a while. Usually not in so
advanced a case as this."

"We understand. This is truly a blessing."

"Blessing, sure. Personally I think it was the water."

"Excuse me?" Tom broke in, "The water?"

"Down in Miami." The doctor laughed, "Three of those kids on one of those
grant a wish things all had spontaneous remission. Quite a coincidence,
eh?"

Pete and Tom looked at each other, stood up without any indication
whatsoever, and left. The doctor was still sitting at his desk.

"Thanks for coming by." He said to no one in particular.

***

Might as well be in prison, Robert thought, at least there they don't
humiliate you.

He was wearing a frilly pink shirt and shorts. His hair was tied up with
ribbons. The family they stuck him with, the Robinson's, were sickeningly
nice. He was well fed, well rested, and totally miserable.

Mrs. Robinson insisted that he spend a good portion of the day playing with
dolls and doing 'girlie' things.  She even pierced his ears! He was
monitored closely, he couldn't move anywhere in the house without someone
noticing. Even the dog acted as an alarm if he got within five feet of the
front door.

He tried to tell them off. He told them how idiotic they were
being. Couldn't they see that he didn't need all this supervision?
Mrs. Robinson left the room in tears and he ended up with a mouthful of
soap and a timeout.

If he spent his entire life trying to design the perfect hell, hell could
never have developed one as evil as this.

"Sarah dear!" Mrs. Robinson called out in a singsong voice, "Your timeout
is over. Time for dress up!"

Just kill me now, he thought, put me out of my misery.

***

Bull was a happy man. Walking through the streets of Miami with two
gorgeous women, he was the envy of many.

The streets were full of people. Apparently there were no ugly people in
this city. It was either that or they kept them locked in their basements.

Sarah and Debby wore similar short sundresses and sandals. There were only
minor differences on how each one was cut but Sarah's looked slightly
fuller than Debby's. Debby assumed it was because Sarah had 'enhanced'
herself for some reason. Was it to impress Bull? No, it couldn't be.

Suddenly there was a loud CRACK ahead of them. Some woman screamed. CRACK
CRACK, there was more screaming and people started running towards
them. The three of them pushed through the crowd to where the source
was. There was a small park, packed with people. People ran every direction
and no one seemed to be getting anywhere. People hid behind cars, trees,
and anything they could find. CRACK, there was a flash at the top of an
eight story building adjacent to the park. Sarah pulled her companions
behind a car.

"You should go get the armor!" Bull was saying. "That'd shake these guys
up."

"It looks silly." Sarah said, "I'm not going out there looking like some
guys wet dream."

Bull looked crestfallen. He had been pretty excited about the idea of a
costume of some kind.

"At least use this." Debby was handing a slightly curved piece of material
at her. It was the cowl.

"Fine." She said. "Paralyze." she said up towards the roof of the
building. It was nearly five seconds before the next shot.

"Give me the cowl." She said. She slipped it over her head and felt utterly
ridiculous. "Stay here."

***

The police scanner in the van crackled to life.

"All units, attention all units, we have a sniper in Henderson Park, NW 3rd
and 9th Ave. Subject is at the roof of the Amsouth bank. All units proceed
immediately to assist."

"Break out the map." Pete told Tom, "If nothing else, it sounds
interesting." Bud and Tony laughed hungrily as if waiting for some action
all day.

"Aim for the Orange Bowl Stadium." Tom said "Off of Highway 836."

The tires screeched as Pete hit the gas.

***

Sarah ran toward the building at a blinding speed. As a bank, it didn't
have very good roof access from the street. A retractable fire escape
ladder was almost thirty feet off the ground.

"Who the heck is that?" Debby heard someone else in hiding ask. She
couldn't see them but she guessed they were behind a large stand of bushes
at the edge of the park "Some girl in a ski mask?"

Sarah stood below the ladder. If she jumped too fast she would knock
herself out on the cage that surrounded the ladder to the top of the
building.

"Strong, Fast." She said. She leaped. A face peered over the edge of the
roof as she rocketed upward. Just as she grabbed the ladder she saw the
gun. It went off before she could even think about reacting.

She felt a slap on her head and she started falling downward. The falling
was the strange part as she still had a powerful grip on the ladder.

The latch on the fire escape ladder released and it extended towards the
ground. Sarah looked surprised as she started a quick retreat to the
ground. Before she remembered the snipers (she was now sure there was more
than one) another shot hit her in the shoulder and she fell to the ground.

After she hit, three more shots tore into her side.

She wasn't moving.

***

Traffic was stopped. Looking next to the freeway, dozens of police cars
were streaming towards the park.

"Come on, man." Bud whined, "We're missing it!"

"Shut up." Pete pulled the van onto the shoulder and started taking it
through the shrubs and bushes next to the road. People were honking their
horns and yelling obscenities at them.

When they reached the off-ramp, even his cross-country approach wouldn't
help them. Stopping the van in the middle of the street, they all piled out
and ran towards the park.

***

"She's dead." Debby was screaming. Bull comforted her the best he could
while hiding behind the car.

"If anyone else," a bullhorn sounded from the roof "has any big ideas of
being a hero, then they will join this little chick. No more police!"

"Bring a helicopter to the roof, right now!" Debby and Bull looked at each
other. Who was he talking to?

"Look!" Bull said, pointing to where Sarah had fallen. She wasn't there.

Sarah was standing next to the building, but nowhere near the fire escape.

"She looks pissed." Debby said, noting her friends' stance. "God help them
now."

The sirens were getting louder but no one had arrived yet. The wounded were
being cared for in various pockets around the park. Thankfully the snipers
were leaving the people that were helping alone.

Sarah's arms and legs started moving at a rate so fast they could barely be
seen. There was a vague blur as she pushed up against the wall.

The white stucco of the building turned a hazy pink as slowly Sarah started
to inch upward. There was a sickly sweet smell of burning meat in the
air. Using the friction of her hands and feet, she climbed inch by inch up
the side of the building. Before she had a chance to fall, she gained a
quick purchase for the next incremental climb. Within thirty seconds, she
was grabbing the edge of the roof.

"Flesh, skin and bone." She said quietly, "Burns."

Bare feet hanging down (her sandals had only lasted a few seconds of
climbing), she readied for the next assault. She pulled with her arms and
threw herself into the air. She somersaulted forward and landed on her
feet. She felt a chill. The remains of her dress were hanging from the side
of the building.

As they watched the shreds of cloth waft down to the street Bull turned to
Debby.

"I sure hope she's wearing underwear." He said.

***

Pete and Tony were the first at the scene. It was eerily quiet. People were
hunched down in groups, hiding.  The four GeronTech employees walked around
the crowd as if the rest were crazy.

Fanning out, they looked for some kind of 'whisperer' evidence. None of
them knew exactly what they were looking for, just something weird.

"Check that out." Tony said to him, pointing at the building. The pink
smear on the side of the building stood out like a sore thumb.

"Worth checking out." Pete said. He walked toward the building.

"Hold it right there!" A shout came from beside them. "Police!"

Bud was standing closer to the building. Pete gave him a nod and turned to
talk to the officer.

***

One of the snipers was visible. He was leaning over the edge of the roof
and was lining up another shot.

"Hey!" Sarah called. Shocked, the man turned. He started to laugh.

"What the hell are you supposed to be?" he snickered. He regarded the woman
in a black mask and strapless swimsuit with derision.

"A distraction." The man raised the gun to point at her. She wasn't
there. Within a matter of seconds the man was disarmed and tied up with his
own shirt. She heard a clank from the other side of the roof.

There was a rope tied to a metal clamp. The rope was jiggling slightly. She
knew where the second gunman was.

She peered over the edge. The man was only down about two floors down. She
smiled.

She untied the rope and held the end with one hand. She held that hand over
the edge and showed it to the man.

"Don't..." he said, panicked.

"Would you like to come back up here?" she asked. The man nodded
frantically. A helicopter was approaching from the north.

"Okay then..." she started running towards the opposite side of the
roof. The man flew up the edge of the building and bumped his head badly on
the edge. He skid to a halt at her feet.

"Brain damage, internal bleeding." The helicopter was nearly overhead. "You
won't die, yet." She said.  Inside the copter she could see a video camera.

"Get this." The pilot said on the intercom "We're talking Emmy here. You
better no miss this shot." The cameraman never lost his focus.

"More like the Twilight Zone." He said. But the shots were perfect.

"Damn." She ran at top speed back across the roof towards the fire
escape. Bud was just poking his head over the edge of the roof when he saw
this woman running at him at full speed.

Bud lost his grip and started falling towards the ground, screaming. Sarah
jumped over the top of the fire escape and landed on the building next
door. Not stopping there, she continued to the next building and the
next. The helicopter was still behind her, chasing her. But she was losing
it.

A small apartment building was her sixth jump. She opened the door and went
inside.

***

The crisis averted, Debby went into nurse mode. Tending to the nearest
victim, she sent Bull to find medical supplies.

She started barking orders like an ER doctor. People didn't want to listen
to this child giving orders but she sounded like she knew what she was
talking about. The first patient was quickly stabilized and she went to the
next.

She was elevating the patients' wounded arm when an old woman came up to
her.

"Can I help you dear?" she said. There was something oddly familiar about
the voice.

"I don't think so Ma'am." Debby said, "She's been shot in the arm and may
have internal bleeding. We need the paramedics."

"Gun shot, internal bleeding?" the old woman asked and actually smiled, "He
looks fine to me." Debby wanted to start screaming at this idiotic old
woman. Obviously there was a...she turned back to the patient.  The wounds
were gone. The patient was resting comfortably. The old woman was
beaming. Debby looked down, the woman was barefoot.

"Nice, real nice." Debby stood and started looking for the next
patient. "You were just gonna leave me hanging there."

"Of course not." Sarah said, her smile recognizable even in this aged,
wrinkled face. "But you should have seen your face. I've already checked
the other victims. They'll all be okay. Let's get out of here."

They walked in the direction of the hotel. It was time to leave. Bull saw
Debby from a distance.

"Excuse me Ma'am." He said to Sarah, he turned to Debby "Should we be
looking for..." He did a double take and looked into the old woman's
eyes. "Sarah?"

"Took you long enough." She smiled "To think you know a person, geez! Oh,
Bull, about the costume?"

"Yeah, it looks silly. I know." He relented "But on my behalf, it did save
your life."

"Yeah, it's okay. I wouldn't wear it to dinner or the theater but..."

"What?" He was slightly offended. "You want another color?"

"I was just wondering," she said, a little embarrassed, "Could I have some
gloves?"

***

"Hey Bob, get a load of this!" One of the officers interrupted Pete's
conversation. The crisis averted, the cop left Pete and went to see what
his partner was pointing at.

Bud was clinging to the ladder and the side of the building. His face was
cut and bruised, but he looked essentially unharmed. His grip was so tight
that his knuckles were bone white.

"That with you?" The cop (Bob) asked Pete.

"Yeah." Pete said dejectedly "It's mine."

"Maybe you can get him down." The other cop suggested, "We've been trying
for ten minutes."

Together they worked at bringing the tough-man ex-con down the ladder. It
wasn't an easy job.

***

"A mysterious costumed woman foiled two snipers today at the AmSouth bank
adjacent to Henderson Park, near the Orange Bowl Stadium. The woman
exhibited extraordinary strength, speed, daring and apparently the ability
to climb sheer walls. Thanks to her there were no serious injuries and no
casualties."

"In National news the case of People Vs..."

***

Nothing in the office worked right. Montgomery couldn't even turn the
television on without the proper password. Within 24 hours of Robert
accessing the system for the last time everything had reset to the off
position.

The secretaries barely listened to him and the guards laughed behind his
back. What was he gonna do now?

The sun was going down and the room was getting dark. He reached up to turn
on the lamp over the couch.  Nothing. A grown man, a giant of a man,
Montgomery couldn't even turn on a light without permission of the stupid
computer. He had to get his brother back, somehow. If he could only think,
then it would be okay. He slumped back onto the couch.

The light turned on.

Monty looked up, confused. There was a shuffle at the desk.

"Who?" Monty asked. The shuffling continued. "Wha..."

The desk chair squeaked as it leaned back. There was a flash of fire and
Montgomery got the hint of a face, a woman's face lit up as she started a
cigar. She turned and entered a password into the computer. It started.

"Who, my dear boy?" the woman laughed scornfully, "Why I'm the friendliest
ghost you know."

End Part 7