Wolfe Bite Chapter 16
By Captain Gaul
“Fine, so the guy’s in Zeal. But WHERE in Zeal? It’s a big place.”
“I don’t know just yet, sir, but…did you just a hear a—”
Purple light filled Nocius Borscht’s eyes. When he could see again, Captain Gaul was standing in front of him.
“Captain Gaul!”
“We need to get to Zeal--”
“You knew?”
“--Keep of the Elements.”
“You know?”
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“Nicholas! You’re back!”
“Captain!”
Gaul stood as Moe and Chi approached—Moe at a steady stride, Chi at something closer to a dead run. Fortunately, Chi didn’t weigh nearly as much as Gaul, so when she hit, it didn’t knock him over. Gaul blinked twice when she threw her arms around him, then smiled and returned the embrace. Moe, seeing Chi wasn't going to let Gaul go anytime soon, quietly saluted him, which Gaul responded to with a nod.
“Now it’s over…now this stupid quest is over.” Chi was saying.
“I wish it was. I really wish it was. But we’ve still got some…arrests to make. Come on, let’s get ready. Conspiracy ringleaders usually put up a really nasty fight.”
.
“I just want everybody to know, I am NOT looking forward to this.”
“Shush, Moe, you’re fine.”
The three were ready for hell, high water, and just about everything in between. Moe was wearing a full tool belt, including a tire iron about the height and weight of a small child. Across his shoulder, he was carrying what he termed “The Mother of All battlewrenchs”, a two-hundred pound, six-foot long stainless steel battlewrench, complete with a hydraulic pump to close the jaws at the far end with about four hundred PSI.
Chi was wearing a very deceptive Manatetan dress, looking as though she could be going to a formal party. Hidden, however, within the outfit were a minimum of three knives a sleeve, a pair of auto-loading pistols, extra ammunition hidden down by the ankles, and a concealed microphone plus hi-powered speakers hidden in her shoes.
And the Captain was outfitted in full riot gear—ballistic plate armor, riot shield, heavy helmet, gas mask, riot gas gun, and a battleclub that any of the ancient conquerors would have envied. For good measure, he also added a dart rifle loaded with tranquilizer darts originally designed to bring down mutants (courtesy 24th century allies) and a deluxe pack of handcuffs.
“You guys look sharp. You could go face Lavos in that gear.”
“We’re not facing Lavos. We’re mounting a raid. Care to join us, Lucca?”
“Sorry. I’m not ready for combat, not by a long shot. But don’t worry, the Patrol will be ready to send major back-up soon. Robo’s bringing back some equipment that we can use.”
“Excellent. Well, tell them to hurry, or they’ll be no fighting left for them to do. Be a shame to waste all that effort.”
“I’ve got the Telepod tuned to rig up a gate to where you want to go. Obviously, it’s before the islands crashed, so everything should be in order…well, good luck.”
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“So this is the Keep of the Elements. I’ve never seen it this close.”
“When did you ever see it?”
“The last time I was here.”
Moe looked around amazedly. “You’ve been here before?”
“Yeah. About eight months before I met you guys. C’mon, we can sitesee after we bust this place.” Gaul approached the front door, and rapped on it with his battleclub. Nothing happened. He knocked again. Nothing continued to happen.
“What a shame. They’re not answering.” Gaul put his foot against the against the door, shifted his weight slightly, and—
The door swung open. A young woman with an angelic appearance began to say “Can I help—”, and then, in stark contrast to her appearance, cut herself off with “Shit.”
“Guardia Patrol, ma’am. Everyone here is under arrest. Throw down your weapons and put your hands over your head. If you comply, you will not get hurt.”
“Wolfe! We’ve got company!” After shouting the warning, she threw herself to the ground and put her hands behind her back. Chi quickly handcuffed her.
A tall young man, or boy, around 16, walked down the corridor towards them.
“Captain Gaul. You’ve finally arrived. Serena and I were wondering when you’d show up.”
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