CHC: THE KISS OF DEATH
Gideon - New York City

[Michael Gideon seems to have closed the book on Cindy Cornoe, for 
the moment, and is now enjoying a reunion with his on-again, off-again 
girlfried, Alicia Ramirez. But Cindy is still very much on his mind...]


Amazingly enough, there are no messages on your machine at work. 
With less anxiety than you've felt in days, you straighten up your 
apartment, then go to your folks place, get a take-out dinner (with a 
knowing wink from your dad), and bring it back to Alicia's apartment.

The next few days pass normally and fairly pleasantly. You can only 
hope things will work out between you and Alicia better than they did last 
time, but for now, it feels wonderful, and after the Cindy Cornoe episode, 
you really didn't want to be alone.

It's rather jarring, watching the news from Germany, where someone 
actually used an ATOMIC BOMB, for God's sake, to kill Paladin! And 
closer to home, it seems another metahuman-related disaster was 
narrowly averted at Boston's Logan International Airport. On the other 
side of the country, Seattle looks like a city under martial law (though it 
isn't- yet), as they wait to see if the metahuman called "Terrarizer" will 
carry out his threat.

"Good thing that Cornoe chick doesn't have THAT kind of power," Alicia 
comments.

The power to destroy cities, maybe not. But you can only wonder what 
she's up to right now, trying to insinuate herself into the Mob. You had 
almost assumed she would call you again, but a few days have gone by 
and she hasn't. And though you dread it, and tell yourself you never 
want to face her again, you can't help wishing she WOULD call....

You work on some of your more routine investigations, get a couple 
more clients, for mundane things like finding out which employee is 
stealing money, where an estranged son and the girlfriend he eloped 
with have gone to, and so on. They almost take your mind off of Cindy. 
Almost. You remember Richard's junkie-like expression when he first 
described his "fiancee". You only spent one night with the woman, and 
are now experiencing what has to be a minor form of "withdrawal". 
Richard spent months, maybe years, under her influence.

It's with a sort of fatalistic expectation that you read on page 2 of the 
morning paper;

"Yet another visitor to New York has fallen prey to the violence of the Big 
Apple. Police found the body of Richard Stofeld, 20, an Idaho native, in 
an alley not far from Madison Square Garden late last night. He was shot 
multiple times, and had bled to death before paramedics could arrive. The 
NYPD has not said whether there are any suspects, nor is a motive known 
at this time. Stofeld's next of kin have been notified, but declined to 
comment when contacted by the press."


Richard didn't take your advice.

<><><><><>

Gideon:

   Michael's shoulders sag when he reads the article. "Oh, Richard. Why 
didn't you listen to me." When he completes the article he stands up and 
just seeths. His anger is directed in many directions. Some to himself, 
for not being more forceful with Richard. Most of it is directed at Cindy. 
He doesn't know how he knows, but he is sure that she had something 
to do with his death. Richard couldn't have made an enemy in so short a 
time that they would want to pump several rounds into him. SHE did it. 
He knew that SHE had it done.

  He slammed his fist into the back of the chair and sweared. He didn't 
have a shred of proof but he KNEW. He decided not to tell the police of 
his involvement until they came asking. He would have enough 
explaining to do then. His rage would not be assuaged until he 
confronted Cindy himself. There was no doubt in his mind this time, he 
was going in armed for bear. He left his office and headed for Cindy's 
place of work.

<><><><><>

[GM]

At the office Cindy rented, you find the same pretty receptionist as 
before. She stands as you enter, somewhat alarmed, and says "Ms. 
Cornoe isn't here!" You get the impression the woman was expecting 
you.

<><><><><>

Gideon:

   "That's fine. I'll just have a look for myself if you don't mind." he said, 
never breaking stride. He pushes through the doors into her office.

<><><><><>

[GM]

Her office is empty.

"I TOLD you she's not here!" the receptionist says. "Now I'll have to ask 
you to leave!"

<><><><><>

Gideon:

   Michael quickly scans the room with his eyes, looking for any evidence 
of Cindy having been there today. When the receptionist asks him to 
leave, he heads out of the office and stops at her desk to flip the 
appointment book around. He will quickly look for any events on today's 
calender involving Cindy which are occurring close to the present hour. 
Before the receptionist can say anything, Gideon whips around, cutting 
her off. "DON'T even think about telling me not to look at this. Because 
of your boss I'm feeling less inhibited than I normally am. I understand 
your position and it pains me to jeopardize it, but I'll be out of your way 
in a moment." Towards the end, he tries to lower the intensity of his 
emotions.

  "I apologize for trying to 'kill the messenger'. If Ms. Cornoe returns, 
please tell her I'm looking for her."

<><><><><>

[GM]

There's nothing in the appointments book that indicates Cindy; mostly it 
seems to note when "clients" are going to call, or who needs to be called 
back. You suspect that book would be worth quite a bit of blackmail- if 
nothing else, Cindy could end up as New York's Heidi Fleiss.

Coming out of the building, you almost run into another familiar face; 
Francis Ricca. He's flanked by two lethally efficient-looking gentlemen, 
and you don't at all like the way they're keeping their hands inside their 
overcoats.

"Gideon," Ricca says, with mild surprise and not a little irritation. "Fancy 
meeting you here." He has a very unpleasant look in his eyes.

<><><><><>

Gideon:

"Yeah, fancy that. I didn't think they let you out in the daytime, Ricca. I 
have some really pressing business so I'll be on my way. Excuse me 
gentlemen." He knows that Ricca is not at all pleased with him. And the 
fact that Ricca is at Cindy's office at all means that he doesn't know 
where she is either. He finds himself feeling relieved by that fact. *Now I 
only have to worry about myself.* he thinks.

<><><><><>

[GM]

"Hey, what's the deal with this bimbo you fed to Luciano?" Ricca 
demands, as you walk away. "You pimpin' now, Gideon? Watch out, pal, 
that chick is major trouble, an' major trouble is what's likely to happen to 
anyone too close to her!"

Like you needed him to tell you that...

<><><><><>

Gideon:

   He halts abruptly at the 'pimping' statement. "I'll disregard the pimping 
joke. I know you can't help yourself. Nobody wants to see her go down 
more than I do, Ricca. She's more cold-blooded than you. And by the 
way, what exactly are doing in front of her office? I would have thought 
that you would know exactly where she was."

<><><><><>

[GM]

"I don't," Ricca says flatly, and his open admission of ignorance is 
almost frightening. It's not like him to admit to not having a complete 
handle on things, especially something that *does* fall into his domain.

"I know she comes and goes like the goddamn Queen a' Sheba, and she 
has that moron Luciano drooling along after her like a goddamn puppy." 
His face is tense, angry. All is not well in the Navarone family. "She's 
s'pposed to meet the old man later this week." His hands seem to be 
moving in the deep pockets of his overcoat, or perhaps clenching 
something. You get the impression he is violently opposed to this 
meeting. "What the hell do you know about this slit?"

<><><><><>

Gideon:

  "There is an old saying, Ricca. I would rather go with the devil I know, 
than the devil I don't. I figure I know you pretty well." Gideon looks at the 
two torpedoes and then back at Ricca. "Can we have a word in private, 
Frank?" Gideon steps a few paces away and waits for Ricca to 
approach.

  "I can't tell you much about her. She is almost as much a stranger to 
me, as she is to you. I can tell you that she is a killer. As cold-blooded a 
killer as you'll ever meet. She has those eyes you know. You have to 
keep her away from the old man. If she sinks her claws into him, you're 
finished. She wants your end of the operation. She might even want the 
whole thing, and she'll get all of you to do her work for her. The way I 
see it, she can cause an internal struggle that will drag all of you down. 
You'll kill each other for her, and she'll wait in the wings to clean up the 
whole thing. I don't know how you're going to stop her but you have to. 
I'll do what I can but it might not equate to much."

<><><><><>

[GM]

"This bitch may be some kinda sexy mata hari," Ricca says grimly, "but 
she's still human. You just make sure you keep your nose outta this, 
Gideon. I think you messed around too much already." He turns and 
stalks off, his men following.

<><><><><>

Gideon:

  "You don't have to warn me twice." he says to Ricca's back. All the fire 
gone from him, he decides to head back to his office. He feels 
responsible for Richard's death. He knows he shouldn't, but he does.

<><><><><>

[GM]

And almost as if you expected this (you did, really), Cindy has left a 
message on your answering machine.

Even through the imperfect medium of a tape recording, her voice 
triggers all kinds of nerve impulses throughout your body.

"Michael, it's Cindy." <pause> "I know what you're thinking, but I *didn't* 
want Richard dead. It's not my fault."

"I'm frightened, Michael. I never wanted to be at the center of all this 
violence. Please, help me! Call me at my office, tonight..." her voice 
trails off, as if she's taking a deep breath to regain her composure. Then 
the click of disconnection.

<><><><><>

Gideon:

  He grits his teeath as he listens to her message. *She sounds so 
helpless, so vulnerable. (She is a killer michael.) I should just go to her 
and protect her. (she KILLED richard.) I should go to her and love her. 
(she WILL KILL you michael.) I want her. (you want alicia.) I need her. 
(you need alicia.)*

  Gideon slams his fist down and shatters his answering machine. He 
grips the end of his desk and breathes heavily, trying to bring himself 
under control. "I will not let you do this to me, Cindy. I won't let you 
destroy me. Not like you did Mathers, or Richard, or any of the others. 
You won't make me destroy myself." His breathing slows and begins to 
chuckle softly.

  "You're talking to yourself, Gideon. Sometimes though, it's the best 
company."

  He looked down at the broken answering machine and shook his head. 
He cleaned up the mess and reconnected his phone directly to the wall. 
"I'll have to replace that tomorrow." Michael picked up the receiver and 
dialed Alicia's phone number. When her machine picked up, he took 
comfort in hearing her voice. "I'm not sure if I'll be around tonight. I'll call 
you when I can. Love you, Allie."

  With that done, he waited and watched the phone. He knew what the 
next call could bring and decided to wait. He puttered around the office 
and played a few mindless games of solitaire. When the sun started its 
downward descent, he picked up the phone and dialed cindy's office 
number.

<><><><><>

[GM]

Cindy answers on the second ring. "Hello?" her sultry voice says, with a 
slight quaver that causes your heart to skip sympathetically.

<><><><><>

Gideon:

  "Cindy. It's Michael. What do want."
He tried to sound as coldly professional as possible. Inside, he was at 
war with himself.

<><><><><>

[GM]

"Michael!" Cindy sounds overjoyed, yet apprehensive. Then, relieved, "I 
knew you'd call!"

"Michael...Richard showed up and pulled a gun on Luciano. There was 
nothing I could do!" Her voice chokes in what sounds like genuine 
remorse. "I DIDN'T want him to die! I had no reason to want poor 
Richard KILLED, I just wanted him to leave me alone! But he was so 
obsessed with me, he went insane! Luciano and his men are in trouble 
now for blowing away Richard..." (No doubt; if the situation is anything 
like what Cindy is describing, it was sudden, messy, and exactly the sort 
of violent, hard-to-cover-up spectacle Navarone hates) "and HE'S 
blaming me, just like you are!" She sounds on the verge of tears.

"And Ricco....you KNOW how I make men jealous, you felt it yourself, I 
can't help it! There's no way those two can accept my being with the 
other, and I can't just walk away, they're going to kill each other, or me!"

"Please, Michael, please help me! I was naive and stupid to think I could 
manipulate a bunch of professional mobsters like this, I admit it! But if 
you don't help me now, one or the other is going to decide that if he can't 
have me all to himself, he'll make sure no one gets me!"

You can barely stand listening to her plead like this; every instinct 
demands that you go to her, comfort her, protect her (die for her?)...

<><><><><>

Gideon:

  "You have to listen to me very carefully, Cindy. Grab whatever cash 
you can get your hands on and meet me at the main entrance to the 
A&S Plaza. Don't stop for anything or anyone. Let your receptionist 
know that you won't be coming back and have her clear out. The area is 
very heavily populated with shoppers and you should be relatively safe 
until I get there. Leave now, and don't look back. I'm on my way." Gideon 
hangs up the phone and does a quick check of his weapon. He opened 
the safe and grabbed two more clips for his 9mm.

  "More blood on my hands." he mouthed as he locked the door to his 
office and made his way to the subway. If all went well, he should be at 
A&S Plaza in forty minutes.

<><><><><>

[GM]

"What?!" Cindy seems caught off-balance. "I...I don't want to leave the 
city...what am I going to do? O...OK, I'll be there."

Your heart races all the way to 6th Avenue, and races even more when 
you push your way into the throng of shoppers at the A&S Plaza...and 
see Cindy, immediately, even among the hundreds of people crowding 
the entrance to the mall. She draws your attention instantly. She's 
wearing a dark green overcoat and a hat, but it doesn't do anything to 
conceal her, at least not from you. You suspect you'd sense her 
presence anywhere.

She sees you too, and makes her way through the shoppers, who part 
for her and stare as she passes by. Whatever cool, professional 
demeanor you wanted to maintain evaporates when she murmurs "My 
gallant knight..." and wraps her arms around your neck and kisses you, 
passionately, right in the middle of the crowd. Pulling back slightly, she 
murmurs, "Now what did you have in mind, putting me on a train back to 
Idaho?"

<><><><><>

Gideon:

  He practically melted in her arms. Her lips felt like they were on fire. 
*You lost this fight before it began.* He licks his lips, subconsciously 
craving the taste of her. He takes her by the hand and leads her deeper 
into the mall. "I'm not sending you back to Idaho, but you're not staying 
here either. We have to get you into something a little more functional."

  Gideon takes her into a clothing store and has her pick out a 
comfortable pair of jeans and a button down shirt. He also buys her a 
pair of high top sneakers. "Take these into the ladies room and change. 
Make sure to take all of your identification and your money." He waits 
impatiently for Cindy to change. When she reappears, he shakes his 
head in amazement. *There's no way to hide it.*

  She wears the jeans and shirt like a second skin. "Leave your other 
clothes in the bags and leave the bags. You won't need those for 
awhile."

  He walks with her, trying to look casual. "I do plan to take you out of the 
city. You have to get away from here. Right now, you haven't done much 
damage. If you stick around, this thing will get out of control. Ground 
rules, I'll hold your hand, I'll even hug you. We may end up in the same 
bed together but as much as I'd want to sleep with you, I can't. I couldn't 
protect you, plus...I made a promise to someone. Those are my rules, 
take it or leave it."

  The words came easy. Sticking to them, would be hard.

<><><><><>

[GM]

Cindy smiles a little, partly at your comment about sharing a bed with 
her. That predatory look is back in her eyes, and you shiver internally, 
wondering again which Cindy is the real one...

"Isn't there some other way?" she says petulantly. "I don't WANT to 
leave the city. I *like* New York." She sighs. "All that work, for nothing, 
because of yet another hormone-possessed madman. Every time I try to 
make something for myself, it gets ruined by another a**hole who thinks 
sleeping with me once makes me his property." She scowls, and you see 
more cracks in the angelic visage. "So where do you want to take me, 
Michael, where I won't end up having to run *again*, the NEXT time 
some idiot goes crazy over me?"

<><><><><>

Gideon:

  "Wait a second, Cindy. It was your idea to defy these a**holes in the 
first place. If you weren't so damned stubborn and had played the game, 
you wouldn't be in this situation now."

  He starts them walking towards the mall exit. "There isn't a place that I 
could take you that would make your wish possible. All I can do is stop 
you from being killed at this very moment. What you do when I've given 
you that chance, is up to you. As for your next occupation, try a phone 
sex line." He looks at her and smirks. "I didn't mean that, Cindy. You just 
bring out the worst in me. Come on, we have to lay low for a few hours."

  Gideon plans to take her to a small motel and get some rest. He'll move 
her later tonight.

<><><><><>

[GM]

"Hmm. I'd like to think I bring out the *best* in you as well," she murmurs, 
pressing to close to you.

You head for a motel, thinking about how hard it's going to be to keep 
that promise.

[Are you going someplace outside of NYC, or whereabouts? And what 
kind of sleeping arrangements are you going to try to establish? <g>]

<><><><><>

Gideon:

   He takes Cindy to the Days Inn on Eighth Avenue. He checks in and 
pays in cash for a single room with two beds. Once he checks the room 
thoroughly, he locks the door and plops down into a chair.

  "We'll stay here for a night. I don't think that they'll try too hard to nail 
you yet. Once you miss your meeting with Navarone, it may snap those 
boys back to reality."

  Gideon takes his coat off and hangs it up in the small closet. He thinks 
about removing his gun, and decides not to do so. 

  "I'll take the bed by the door. We'll nap in shifts. I'll take mine now. 
Wake me up in six hours, and don't use the phone." Gideon climbed into 
the bed and tried to sleep on his back.

<><><><><>

[GM]

Cindy pouts at your curt manner, then sits on the edge of her bed, facing 
you.

"Tell me, Michael....this sudden resolution that I'm poison, is it because 
you still think I killed Richard?" Her face is beautiful and alluring in the 
light from the bedside lamp. "You didn't seem to have any reservations 
whatsoever the other night, and you even seemed enthusiastic about 
seeing me again..."  Just the memory of 'the other night' is stirring your 
blood. "If you DO think I'm such a vicious person, why are you protecting 
me? And if you don't..." She smiles at you, and your heartbeat speeds 
up, "why are you so intent on keeping your distance?"

There's a hungry look in her eyes, but it's matched by your own aching 
need to be near her.

<><><><><>

Gideon:

  He turns his back to her, in order to take away at least that part of the 
temptation. "You might not have pulled the trigger, but you're the reason 
he's dead." Just her voice is enough to punch holes in his resolve. He 
shifts uncomfortably on the bed.

  "I wanted to see you very much. I just don't know how much of that was 
my decision. My choice of partners has always been something very 
sacred to me. You took all of that away. What I can do for you, while 
remaining true to myself, is to see you to safety. Right now, it's taking 
everything I have to stay away from you. I want you, BADLY. My body 
may want to betray me, but my heart never will, it belongs to someone 
else."

  Gideon falls silent to let her digest his statement.

<><><><><>

[GM]

"Where was this burning fidelity two nights ago?" she demands. "Oh, 
you're typical, Michael Gideon. Everything is always my fault. I can't 
HELP being what I am!" She spits the words out, angrily and tearfully. "I 
didn't MAKE Richard chase me across the country, I didn't MAKE him 
point a gun at Luciano, I didn't MAKE you do it with me on the floor of 
your office! But you want to blame everything on me! I've got news for 
you; I may have a hell of a body, and I know damn well what effect I 
have on men, but I don't have any mind-control powers! I can't make 
anyone do anything they don't really WANT to do! So now you've 
convinced yourself I'm some kind of demon who twisted your mind and 
made you do things against your will- typical male cop-out. 'The Devil 
made me do it'!" She sneers. Then her voice becomes more silky. "Do I 
look like the Devil, Michael?" You hear the soft rustle of cloth sliding 
across skin, and know that turning to look now would probably be a bad 
idea....but it's VERY tempting. And you're beginning to lose hope that 
you can exercise forbearance all night...certainly not if Cindy is 
determined to have her way with you.

<><><><><>

Gideon:

   Michael begins to chuckle. Shortly, the chuckle turns into gut 
wrenching laughter. He sits up still facing away from Cindy. "Forgive me, 
please." he mutters between a bout of laughter. "I'm not laughing at you. 
I wouldn't make that mistake." 
   He gets himself under control and takes a deep breath. "Just for an 
instant, you were the person I knew you could be. You showed more 
feeling a moment ago than at any other time I've seen you. While I don't 
know what it is you're going through, I understand. You're also right 
about me. I have never been that out of control in my entire life. It 
frightened me. It still does."

*You're trapped, Gideon. Just tell her.* 

   "I was with my old girlfriend the other night. We talked. Mostly about 
you and this craziness that my life has become. I stayed the night and 
we slept together. She noticed a difference in me. She said I was 
rougher and that was because I was thinking about you at the time. I 
was afraid that I'd hurt her. Something happened to me when we slept 
together. The first time, I thought I was hallucinating when you seemed 
to be..glowing. When we stopped the second time, I know that I saw you 
glowing. You took something from me. I don't know what it was, but it 
definately changed me. How much do know about what happens when 
you have sex? How do you feel afterward? I know that I felt like I'd been 
in a prize fight. I want to understand you, and I want to help you. You 
just have to meet me halfway. Please, put your shirt back on. I won't 
sleep with because I want it to be OUR decision. I won't sleep with you 
because I made a promise to my best friend that I wouldn't. Be my 
friend, and honor my wishes. I promise you that I won't let you down. 
There are five people that I would give my life to protect. You're one of 
them."

<><><><><>

[GM]

"Your friend." She sighs, sounding frustrated and exasperated. "I HATE 
sleeping alone, Michael. If you want to know more about just what 
happens to me when I have sex, you'll have to come and gather further 
information yourself." She slides under the sheets of her bed, and yanks 
the covers over herself. "If you can really stay in that other bed all night, 
I'll be very surprised...and disappointed."

<><><><><>

Gideon:

  *Disappointed!* he thought. *Chivalry really is dead.*

There was a time when men who showed restraint in situations like this, 
were called gentlemen. Now she had him feeling like he was doing 
something wrong. *You can't win, Gideon. You just can't win.*

  He did want her. There was no doubt about that. He thought about ALL 
of the consequences of sleeping with this woman again. Breaking his 
trust with Alicia was the one that stuck out. His heart ached at the 
thought of Alicia leaving him for good. That was a major possibility, if 
she ever found out about it. He was more than contemplating being with 
Cindy, he was planning on it. He had to face facts. She was almost 
impossible to resist. Whether it was something chemical or magical, it 
was there. He figured he should be proud to have made it this far.

 He looked back at Cindy's prone figure beneath the sheets. Even ninety 
percent covered she still looked incredible. Gideon snapped the catch 
on his holster and placed the gun on the night table between the beds. 
He walked over to the windows and shut the curtains. Last but not least, 
he took the chair and slid it in front of the door. His heart was pounding 
at the thought of what he was about to do.

 Gideon pulled his turtleneck over his head. He finished removing his 
clothes and climbed into bed behind Cindy. "So, what do I win?"

<><><><><>

[GM]

"What do you think, Michael?" Cindy murmurs breathlessly, turning 
towards you. Her arms wrap around your neck, her lips seem to literally 
burn your skin, as your heart pounds so wildy that all the jokes about 
men being driven to cardiac arrest during sex don't seem funny any 
more. "Don't look so glum...NO woman can give you what I can!"

Despite her immediate, eager responsiveness, you don't miss the 
victorious, even mocking smile curling the edges of her mouth. She 
never doubted this outcome for a second, and you feel very much like a 
fish that was already hooked, fed some line so you could swim out a 
ways and make a pretense of escaping, before being reeled in at her 
convenience. Getting away now is out of the question, of course. 
Whatever vestiges of self-control you may have had left evaporated 
when you touched her.

The feeling of being used doesn't disappear, even though the ecstacy 
temporarily erases any misgivings. It's as fantastic as before, of course, 
and for a while you have absolutely no inclination to think about 
anything but here and now....yet afterwards, the sharp difference 
between Cindy and Alicia is more clear than ever. For Cindy, you 
weren't really there at all. You were just a body, providing something she 
wanted, or needed. No doubt she's been at the other end of that 
situation more than once...but you feel more than used. You feel 
drained, even weaker than before. And it's not your imagination...her 
skin IS glowing, faintly but definitely. You want to question her, you want 
to demand to know what she's doing to you, and you want to get away 
from her. But most of all, you want her to never leave your side. She 
cuddles up against you, and you have barely enough strength left to lift 
your arm. You sink into dreamless sleep.

And wake up, you have no idea how long afterwards. Cindy is still 
pressed against you, breathing softly, apparently asleep. Someone is 
very, very quietly testing the lock on the motel door.

<><><><><>

Gideon:

  His adrenalin starts pumping with the sound at the door. He reaches for 
his gun on the nightstand, then he places his hand over Cindy's mouth. 
"Cindy." He whispers into her ear. "Wake up, we're in trouble."

  He tells her to roll off the the far side of the bed as quietly as possible, 
his eyes never leaving the door. He'll follow her off if he has the chance. 
"Put your clothes on but stay low." He'll attempt to at least get his pants 
on if there is time.

<><><><><>

[GM]

Cindy complies immediately, without making a sound. You manage to 
pull your pants on, and roll off the bed to land in a crouch next to Cindy, 
as you hear the lock pop open and the door swings inward.

You see the thin red line of a targeting laser flash across the room onto 
the pillow you just vacated.

<><><><><>

Gideon:

  He knew that their time had run out. The laser gave him a fix on the 
shooter's position. Gideon took aim beneath the beam and along the 
center line. He squeezed the trigger and hoped for the best.

<><><><><>

[GM]

Whoever it is is good- the red dot hovers on the empty pillow for only a 
fraction of a second, then the bright line whips crazily around the room, 
because the man in the doorway is already dropping and rolling as you 
fire. There's movement in the darkness across the room, the would-be 
assassin either tumbling or rolling out of the doorway. You can't tell if 
you hit him or not, but you do hear *more* men moving just outside the 
door, and the ominous clicks of weapons being readied.

"Ohgodohgodohgod!" Cindy whimpers.

Strangely, the adrenal rush going through you makes you almost giddy 
now...you've never experienced battle-lust before, and have to control 
an impulse to jump up and blaze away.

<><><><><>

Gideon:

  *Control, Gideon. Get control.* These guys weren't normal mob 
enforcers. They would have burst in and sprayed the whole room. They 
were trapped. He knew it, and they knew it. No amount of talking would 
change these killers minds. He had to think clearly, use whatever he had 
at hand to change an outcome that seemed inevitable.

  He scanned the room quickly, because every second counted. Nothing. 
Not one damned thing would help him out of this. *You have twelve 
shots in the clip and at least four guys out there. Flanking the door in 
pairs would be a standard procedure for these mercs. Noise. Noise and 
few well placed shots would have to do.*

  He prayed to Fortune, the patron Saint of the Foolish, and decided on 
a course of action. New prefab building made of new cheaper materials. 
He took aim to the side of the door that the assassin rolled towards and 
targeted a little over a meter from the floor. He was hoping to catch the 
targets on that side of the door either in torso area if they were standing, 
or in the head /chest area if they were crouching. He will fire off a few 
shots, sweeping towards his left.

  "Cindy, when I shoot, I want you to toss the lamp through the window." 
He hoped that she wasn't too frightened to follow his instructions. He 
proceeded to fire.

<><><><><>

[GM]

Cindy complies, and as you squeeze off your first couple of shots, she 
hurls the lamp with surprising strength. It flies through the window, 
showering glass as your bullets punch through the walls. Yells and 
curses from outside- someone screams, as if in pain, and you think 
maybe you got one. Either that, or the the lamp hit someone or cut him 
with flying fragments.

Then that laser beam sweeps across the room again, from where the 
first man in fell. It points up at an angle, indicating that he's on the floor. 
Cindy half-stood to throw the lamp, and the beam is sweeping towards 
her.

Everything slows down, just like in the movies. You can't speed your own 
reactions any, but your perceptions seem to have increased to hyper-
alertness, and the air pushes against you like thick, hot syrup while you 
try to force your body to react faster than is humanly possible.

Cindy is still glowing- not as brightly as immediately after you finished 
having sex with her (or is that the other way around?), but just enough 
that her naked form is silhoutted with a faint bluish-white halo in the dark 
motel room. Enough to make her a target.

A red dot settles on one luminescent breast.

You shove her aside, too late. Only a spark and a soft "thwip!" sound 
marks the firing of the weapon beneath the targeting laser- he has a 
flash suppressor and a silencer, the former being rather pointless while 
the laser is on. But Cindy jerks back violently with the impact of a hollow-
point bullet slamming into her, and blood spatters you.

You're already squeezing off rounds without thinking about it, and the 
laser drops, disappears, while you see a dark shadow crumple in the 
light from your own muzzle flashes. You got him for sure this time.

Then two men are swinging in from either side of the door, you see the 
gleam of heavy ordnance cradled in their arms, the barrels swing down, 
your arm is swinging across and you move aside-

BBBBBBBBBBRRRRRAATTTTTT! BANG!BANG!BANG! KA-POW!

[somehow this loses its effectiveness compared to when I can make the 
sound effects in a ftf game. <g>]

The point man was the stealth option, and he blew it. These guys are the 
backup, to insure the job gets done one way or the other. Ingrams roar, 
an overwhelming response to the separate and distinct reports from your 
9mm.

A dozen angry mules kick you in the face and chest and gut. Every last 
bit of breath is sucked out of you, you go flying back into the wall as your 
entire body seems to be on fire, lethal impacts blowing you off your feet 
and bouncing you off the wall. You topple to the side and slump to the 
ground, too much in shock to feel pain.

You lie there, jagged knives ripping up and down your throat and lungs 
when you try to breathe, as one man moves to where the first assassin 
lies, kneeling over him, and the other steps cautiously towards you and 
Cindy, submachine gun still elevated. A third man crouches in the 
doorway.

Your mind is a blank.

The man nearest you reaches Cindy. You can't make out much in the 
dark, but you can tell his face is turned towards you, as he kneels next 
to the naked woman. There is still a faint glow on her skin, although you 
can also see gobs of blood glistening on her. She makes a moaning, 
whimpering sound. A sound of complete helplessness and despair.

The hit man inclines his head towards her, then begins to rise. Her hand 
reaches out and catches his wrist.

"Hey," he mutters, more surprised than alarmed. He tries to jerk away, 
but Cindy holds on.

"Let go, lady," he says quietly, almost gently, and releases the barrel of 
the SMG with his other hand to reach for his coat pocket, undoubtedly 
for a sidearm or a knife.

Cindy yanks, violently and suddenly, almost lifting her torso off the 
ground as she pulls with the arm grasping the man's wrist. His arm rips 
off at the shoulder.

You're almost as startled as he is. He just crouches, stupidly, as a 
geyser of blood gushes out of him, splashing you and everything else in 
this corner of the room with gore. It's also beginning to dawn on you that 
you should be dead already.

<><><><><>

Gideon:

   He wanted more than anything to be able to move. His worn and 
battered body just wouldn't carry him. He watched the scene unfold next 
to him as the assassin's arm came loose like the cap on a beer bottle. 
"Oh Sh*t." he said as the gouting blood splashed his prone form.

   It was at this point that he began questioning why he was feeling at all. 
*Why the hell am I still alive?* He knew the bullets had hit him. At this 
range, they should have ground him up like hamburger.

   He had to take advantage of what little time he had left. He was 
determined not to make it easy for these punks. He summoned up all his 
anger, as well as the battle lust that he had tried to suppress. He started 
to crawl towards Cindy. If he could give her what remained of his 
strength, she might be able to finish them. He knew either way, he was 
done.

<><><><><>

[GM]

You find yourself possessing a surprising amount of strength, as you 
make your way towards Cindy. Come to think of it, you should be 
gushing blood yourself, but most of what's on you seems to be what 
spurted out of the assassin's dismembered shoulder.

You intend to give Cindy whatever energy you have left....but she's 
already found a source.

The hit man is opening his mouth to scream, realizing he's dying, and 
Cindy tosses the bloody arm aside and grabs his throat.

Then he really begins to scream, though it comes out as a strangled, 
gurgling whine, as Cindy is crushing his larynx. Sparks crackle around 
his face and neck, and he actually seems to be emitting wisps of smoke. 
And Cindy, holding him as he jerks and convulses, is glowing just a little 
bit brighter.

"Holy f***!" says the second man, just beginning to realize what's going 
on, and he raises his SMG.

<><><><><>

Gideon:

  *What the hell is happening? What the hell is this woman? What the 
hell am I waiting for?*

  Gideon saw the assassin raising his weapon. He had nothing at hand 
to throw at the killer. Instead, he decided his only course of action was to 
kick the bed with both feet and hope that the moving furniture would 
distract them.

<><><><><>

[GM]

The moving furniture distracts them all right; the bed feels oddly 
lightweight as you kick it with your feet, and it lifts off the ground and 
flies into the oncoming gunman with leg-breaking force. He's slammed 
back into the wall with a <<Crunch!>>, the bed pinning him in place. He 
drops the Ingram on the bed and bends over howling, trying to free his 
trapped legs.

Cindy tosses aside her victim like a broken rag doll, and with a gurgling, 
growling sound that's barely human, she struggles to her feet. Blood is 
still bubbling from the gaping wound in her chest and oozing down her 
body, turning her into an eerie, horrifically surreal figure....an 
incomparably beautiful Venus, perfect, naked body glowing in the 
darkness, marred only by a ragged, bloody hole in her chest and the 
rivulets of blood running down her stomach and legs. Flecks of blood are 
also staining her lips.

She stares at the third gunman, still crouching by the door, and then, 
horribly, *smiles* at him enticingly, though her eyes are lit with 
something closer to insanity than allure. He seems paralyzed, with shock 
or fear or something else.

<><><><><>

Gideon:

  He couldn't think about what was happening. He just had to react, and 
worry about it later. He grabs the Ingram off the bed and turns it on the 
disbaled gunman. Cindy, for her part, seems to have the other man 
enthralled in some manner. "Don't you move. I'll drop you if you try 
anything."

  Gideon calls over his shoulder to Cindy after hearing the inhuman 
sounds coming from her. "I hope you're still with me, Cin. Get your stuff 
together and lets get out of here." Somehow, he doesn't think its going to 
be that easy.

<><><><><>

[GM]

The assassin pinned against the wall groans in pain, unable to fall to his 
knees because of the bed, but unable to hold himself up because his 
legs are broken, so his weight settles on his legs and undoubtedly 
compounds the fractures.

Cindy seems to be ignoring you; she advances on the third gunman, 
who seems paralyzed....until she gets almost within arms' length of him. 
Then he blinks, and raises his gun.

<><><><><>

Gideon:

  *Idiot.* he thought as he swung the Ingram in the other killers direction. 
If he can get a clear shot off, he'll squeeze the trigger in order to get 
short, controlled bursts.

<><><><><>

[GM]

You have to squeeze off a *very* short burst, for fear of hitting Cindy, 
and so you don't catch the gunman full in the chest. Instead, you chop 
up his shoulder and upper arm. He screams and falls backwards as 
bullets shatter his collarbone and tear through his bicep. Blood is flowing 
freely, and Cindy, still naked and still oozing blood herself, bends over 
him, and clutches his face. He begins screaming as electricity arcs 
between her body and his.

"Jee-zus Christ!" the other gunman gasps, trying to support himself 
against the wall. "Shoot the bitch, she's a f***ing monster!"

<><><><><>

Gideon:

  He sees the monster before him as plainly as day. He hears the 
assassin's words. His finger just won't pull the trigger. Somewhere in 
that montrosity is Cindy Cornoe. He lays the gun aside and starts to 
gather up his things. He can't watch what Cindy is doing to the other 
man. The gurgling screams are almost too much to bear. When he finds 
his gun, he removes the partially spent clip in favor of a fresh one. He 
turns when the dying man makes no further sound.

  "Cindy! We have to go, now! Leave the other man and get dressed. It's 
going to be difficult enough getting out of here covered in blood."

<><><><><>

[GM]

Cindy looks down at herself. The bullet that ripped through her should 
have been instantly fatal. But the wound is now much smaller than it 
was. Blood still oozes from a hole in her chest, but somehow, she's 
closed it most of the way up with supernatural speed.

"Not enough," he mutters huskily...and turns her gaze on the last 
surviving assassin.

<><><><><>

Gideon:

  *She's going to do it.*

  He watched her practically drool, as she advanced on the last killer. He 
was shaking his head as he raised his gun towards her. "No." he says 
working the slide to chamber a round, "I can't let you do this. I can't. Live 
or die, I won't let you murder anyone else, even him. Now step aside. I 
know that in some way, I'm like you. I should be dead but I'm not. Right 
now, I have the upper hand because I'm holding the gun. Don't make me 
use it. Put on your clothes and lets get the hell out of here."

<><><><><>

[GM]

Cindy stares at you, her huge eyes glowing with a crazed expression as 
much as with whatever strange energy is flowing through her body. 
Cindy, stark naked, and you not much less so, standing there in just your 
pants, her with a still-bleeding bullet wound and you with none, though 
you *should* be ripped to shreds.

"Michael..." her voice is half whisper, half hiss.

"I'm still hurt.... I *need* more energy." She steps towards you. "Can't 
you see I'm bleeding to death? LOOK at me!" Her voice is hypnotizing, 
her eyes more so. "These men meant to kill us...it's only self-defense." 
She stares at the gun, pointed at her. "Shoot me, or let me by!" She 
moves towards you, and the cowering assassin.

<><><><><>

Gideon:

  She was right. It made an ugly, visceral sense to him. He lowered the 
gun and let Cindy pass. He realized at that moment, he was more like 
her than he was willing to admit. She was a hunter. Everything around 
her was prey. An animal was not considered evil because it killed to 
survive. Cindy was different. He was different. He should be dead. Torn 
apart by the automatic fire from the assassin's gun. Despite a little pain 
in his chest, none of the bullets had passed through his skin.

  Cindy was supposed to be with him. The odds on her finding him were 
just too great. He had some leverage now. He had something that gave 
him an edge if it came down to a confrontation between them. he knew 
that she could be killed by conventional means. You just had to get it 
done the right way.

  "Cindy. I hate to spoil your dinner, but we have to get out of here." he 
said sarcastically. "This place is going to be crawling with police and we 
don't want to be anywhere near THIS when they arrive. I can only 
explain away so much."

<><><><><>

[GM]

The last assassin perishes in as horrible a manner as the first two. Your 
stomach is churning, and you have to look away.

Cindy looks down at herself after dropping the drained corpse. Her chest 
is still blotched with an ugly red and purple bruise, but it no longer looks 
like a mortal wound. "It'll have to do," she murmurs.

She quickly slides into her clothes, and the predatory, victorious 
expression she wore earlier is gone now, replaced with uncertainty. "All 
right, where do we go now? They're going to KEEP hunting us, aren't 
they?" Then she really looks at you for the first time, and notices how 
your clothes are shredded. "What happened?" she exclaims. As you pull 
her out of the motel room, you see a fourth man slumped outside, a 
bullet wound through his throat. You did get him, after all. 

There are a number of witnesses gathering already, mostly cautiously 
peeking out of their motel rooms.

<><><><><>

Gideon:

  "I was shot. The bullets didn't penetrate my skin though. Don't ask me 
why. I don't have an explanation for you."

  He said it a little more forcefully than he had intended. "I'm sorry. I'm 
scared and pumped full of adrenalin now." He shrugged on his coat as 
they approached the building's stairwell. When they hit the street, he 
advises Cindy to hail a cab for them. Gideon hopes to make it back to 
his apartment so that he can regroup and figure soem things out.

<><><><><>

[GM]

Cindy follows you dociley, and doesn't even play games with the cab 
driver, just shrinks back into the seat, and huddles against you.

Back in your apartment, she sinks into a chair, and appears to be deep 
in thought...a rare posture, for her.

"The bullets hit you....so.... you're...whatever I am, too, right? A 
superhuman or whatever they're calling us on the news?" She peers at 
you, as if inspecting you in a new light. And her now-calm expression 
reveals a calculating schemer at work again. All concerns over the 
bloodbath back at the hotel seem to have faded into the background.

<><><><><>

Gideon:

  Gideon's thoughts race as the cab takes them to his apartment. *What 
just happened back there? What have I become? What am I going to do 
now?*

  He had no answers by the time they reached his home. Gideon 
checked the apartment before settling down. He needed to get out of 
these bloody clothes. It had caked up and was beginning to smell like 
the death it represented. He stripped off his jacket which would be now 
useless and removed the blood soaked shirt. Gideon eyed Cindy as he 
dumped the clothes into a nearby trashcan.

>>"The bullets hit you....so.... you're...whatever I am, too, right? A 
superhuman or whatever they're calling us on the news?"<<

  "Metahuman, that's what they're calling...us." he said blandly. He 
touched his chest where he knew several bullets had hit him. He 
experienced little to no pain in the areas. Gideon caught the glint in her 
eyes as she inspected him like a prized race horse. "I don't know what 
crazy ideas you're getting in your head but file them under 'No Chance'! 
I've been a party to murder, and don't tell me that it wasn't murder! 
Those assassin's, as good as they were, didn't have a chance! Two of 
us, just two of us, took out a trained killing team. The best hitmen money 
can buy. All because you decided to play 'House' with the mob. Me, like 
an idiot, helps you. We have no secrets from each other anymore, 
unless you decide to grow a second head."

  "You need life energy to live. You can take it in small amounts like you 
did with me, or you can drain it fast like you did with the killers. I can't 
and won't help you find victims. I won't be breakfast, lunch and dinner for 
you either. I'll do as I promised and get you to safety. What you do from 
there, is your own business. You're leaving New York. Staying here 
would be suicide. Another country would be good, but I don't have other 
country money. We'll be going west, probably by plane. I don't know 
where yet, so don't ask."

  He produces a pad and pencil from a desk drawer and hands it to her. 
"Write down your blouse, pants and shoe sizes. We have to get you 
some new clothes." He waits for her to jot down the information.

<><><><><>

[GM]

"Not quite true," Cindy says, eyes half-lidded. Despite your growing 
unease, and the adrenalin still pumping through you, she seems to be 
calming down. Naturally; she's no longer in immediate danger, and 
unlike you, she seems undisturbed by such petty things as a 
conscience. "I don't *need*, umm, life energy, to live. Except after I've 
been shot or something, obviously. Then I can use it to heal myself, like 
you saw. But usually, I just use it to get a rush, you know? And it makes 
me stronger and faster and...just makes me feel more than human." Her 
lips curl in a pleasant and chilling smile. "But I don't think I'd 'starve' 
without it. I mean, I only started being able to do this a year or two 
ago...and I still have to eat and drink and breath and all that. This is just 
something....extra."

She narrows her eyes, peering at you while you make plans to leave. 
"Wait a minute. Why be in such a hurry to run away? Michael, you just 
said it yourself...the two of us took on the best that the Mob had to offer, 
and wiped them out. Why should we run, when I'll bet we could make 
THEM run?" She stands, and even though you can tell that she's 
swinging back into manipulative mode full-bore, you can't help wanting 
to listen, agree with her, go along with her (touch her/hold her). 
"Michael...I didn't WANT all this violence! I didn't! You keep blaming me, 
as if I should have gone and hidden myself in a convent so that 
everyone ELSE would be safe. But all I ever wanted was a safe place, 
and to be able to live my life the way I want without every man that sees 
me thinking he can own me. You deal with the men I've had to, I'd like to 
know how YOU would have done things differently?" She glides towards 
you. "If I just run away to another city, what do you think will happen? I'll 
find myself in the same situation, and I'll probably end up doing exactly 
the same thing." Her eyes become hard, feral and determined. "But if I 
make a stand somewhere, and put *myself* on top...then I'll be safe, and 
I won't have to keep using men and killing them in self-defense. The 
Mob is already shaky here in New York, just from what little I've done 
already, right?" Your blood is running hot and cold as she puts her arms 
around you, hot from her presence, cold at what she has in mind. "What 
if we finish the job, Michael?" she whispers. "We, just the two of us, 
could probably destroy them. They don't know how to deal with 
us...metahumans, anymore than the police or anyone else does. I know 
you really ARE a knight errant underneath that hard-boiled detective 
image. I'll bet you've always wished you could take on the Mob and win, 
haven't you? You probably hate seeing them do whatever they want, 
destroy lives, ruin businesses, but you knew you had to live with it, 
accomodate them, because there was no other choice."

Her expression is so intense, all that's needed to complete the image is 
fangs, or horns, but thankfully, those don't appear. "Now there IS a 
choice, Michael. We can bring them down."

<><><><><>

Gideon:

  Cindy's words echoed the feelings that he had tried to supress. She 
was right about him. He had always wanted to put a stop to the Mob. 
Every decent person and honest cop wanted to put a stop to them. No 
one had the power to do that. Until now. He had withstood an automatic 
weapon at point blank range. Who knew what else he could do. They 
would never stop looking for them. He knew that deep down. *But I just 
can't kill them! That would make me no better than they were. * he 
thought.

  His inner arguments seemed weak, even to him. He had an opportunity 
to do what no one else had been able to. Shut down the Mob.

  Gideon stared back into Cindy's eyes. Then, he began to grin which 
eventually turned into laughter. He was laughing at the good fortune that 
had been bestowed upon him. Here he was, the self-appointed knight of 
the city, suddenly given the power to erradicate the human garbage 
called the Mob. He never really had any choice.

  he calmed himself and gave Cindy a gentle hug. "If we're going to do 
this, we have to get better organized. We'll have to be strong for each 
other because that's all we're going to have, IS each other. No more 
tricks, no more lies, from either of us. We're partners until it's finished. I 
want you to stay here with me. It will be better if we're together as much 
as possible. The first thing that we have to do is get better armed. Those 
guys came at us with Ingrams. We'll need to be more prepared and have 
plans for different situations. First though, have to get into a shower. The 
door is locked and my gun has a fresh clip in it. The safety is off. If they 
come while I'm in there get into the bathroom and bring the gun with you. 
I'll be out in a flash."

<><><><><>

[GM]

"Too bad," Cindy says. "Taking a shower together would have been 
more fun."

She waits until you emerge, however. No Mafia assassins have crashed 
through the door in the meantime.

"All right, how do we go about this, then?" she asks. "I know even with 
our powers we can't just run around the city mowing them down. I'll bet 
with a little more pushing I could still reach Navarone. I have a couple 
other ideas, but since you're going to help me now," she smiles, "what 
do you think we should do next?"

<><><><><>

Gideon:

 He makes a knowing face before entering the bathroom.

  "First things first. Get yourself a shower and I'll start a pot of coffee." 
He lays out a white cotton shirt for her and a pair of sweat pants. "We'll 
have to get you some new clothes. I don't think you'll ever want to wear 
these again." He disposes of the blood soaked clothes in a hefty bag.

>>I'll bet with a little more pushing I could still reach Navarone.<<

  "I don't think that's wise. Those goons were probably sent by Ricca. 
That kind of hit is more his style. The one thing that keeps bothering me 
is, those guys were good and prepared. Mob guys would have done the 
job in dark suits. These guys were more...military. Maybe I'm reading 
more into this than I should. In any case, getting to Navarone is 
definately out. We'll hit them where it hurts them most. In their pockets."

  Gideon places the hot coffee on the table and pours them both a 
mugful. He snaps on the radio to the local all news station. "I want to see 
if we made the news. We may have an advantage we can use 
depending on what they report."

<><><><><>

[GM]

The news describes a "possible mob-related" shootout at the hotel you 
just left. The police aren't making any comment at this time, but several 
other guests are being interviewed, and one mentions seeing a black 
man and white woman hurrying away from the scene. The news station 
reports that four bodies have been taken away from the site.

There is no mention of metahumans. You didn't really stop to see what 
Cindy's victims looked like after she was done draining them, though, so 
you can't be sure what conclusions the police will draw from the bodies. 
The one with an arm ripped off at the shoulder will certainly raise a few 
eyebrows, though.

<><><><><>

Gideon:  

  "Well, no advantage there. They know we got out alive. The people 
that they have in the police force will probably let them know about the 
conditions of the bodies. They may think twice before trying that 
particular move again. Typically, after an unsuccessful hit like this, 
they'll either up the price on our heads or try and negotiate. I'm hoping 
they'll opt for the latter but I'm not holding my breath."

  Gideon walks over to a window and peers through the curtains into the 
street below. "I think our first move should be to secure ourselves some 
capital. We need to get some things if we're going to do this right. I 
propose we break up one of the illegal gambling houses that they run. 
We can take the money and hurt they're pockets all at once. We'll keep 
enough to get us started and donate the rest to an honorable fund. 
Anonymously, of course. What do you think?"

<><><><><>

[GM]

"Why donate anythin- oh, all right," Cindy sighs.

"That seems kind of small time, though. I mean, how is going around 
busting up some of their little operations going to take them down? And 
besides, I'd rather do something less....direct. I mean, there's no 
guarantee I can heal myself if I get shot up a bunch of times. I wasn't 
planning on some kind of crusade where we go in with guns blazing."

<><><><><>

Gideon:

  "My thinking is, we have to look at this from the mosquitos perspective. 
If we sting them enough, they might stop to scratch. We have to frazzle 
them. Hit and run. Then, we can move in for the big one. I don't intend 
on having you in the line of fire. I'm the one that bullets seem to bounce 
off of. Your abilities seem very specialized. We'll have a use for them I'm 
sure, but not at the moment. This whole thing has to be thought of as a 
crusade. Two of us against the totality of organized crime. What else 
could it be?" He sighs and sips some more coffee.

  "Look, at this moment I'm probably more lucid then I've been in a week. 
I just found out I'm not a normal person anymore and people are trying 
to kill me. All in all, not your average day. I'm going to strap on my six-
shooters and take a jaunt out to your apartment. You'll need some 
clothes and other things. You can stay here or you can come with me."

<><><><><>

[GM]

"I'd just as soon take a shower myself," Cindy says.

She stands on her tiptoes and gives you a kiss on the cheek that seems 
to sear your skin. "Hurry back," she whispers.

<><><><><>

Gideon:

  "I'll be back as soon as I can." He says, wanting to hold her and feel 
her body against his. After he gets the address and the keys along with 
the locations of the items, he turns to leave. "Lock the door behind me. 
Don't open it for anyone."

  He catches a cab and makes sure to stop at an ATM before proceeding 
to Cindy's apartment.

<><><><><>

[GM]

Travelling to Cindy's apartment, you notice a new phenomenon; your 
eyes seem supernaturally adjusted to the darkness. Either this ability 
wasn't present back in the firefight, or you just didn't notice it, but you 
can scan up and down the street, and see almost as well as if it were full 
daylight.

Cindy's small but upscale and expensive apartment is on the second 
floor, with a window to the street. It appears dark and silent from the 
outside.

<><><><><>

Gideon:

  "I'll be damned." he mouthed, looking up and down the street. *Night 
vision.* he thought. He can't get a look inside the apartment from his 
vantage point. *We'll do this the old fashion way.* Gideon enters the 
building and heads for the second floor. While he does this he begins to 
wonder if bright lights will bother him. He steps onto the second floor 
and moves down to Cindy's apartment. He checks the door for signs of 
forced entry. If none are apparent, he'll draw his gun and use the keys to 
open the door.

<><><><><>

[GM]

The door seems undisturbed, so you enter, cautiously. No one seems to 
be within. Now that you have no need for light, you maneuver easily 
through the darkness.

You quickly gather some of Cindy's clothes and personal items, then 
head for the door.

That's when the street-facing window crashes inwards as something 
comes hurtling through.

You hear something clatter on the floor, as the window next to the first 
one burst inwards also. Faster than you thought you could, you're 
leaping backwards, then a flash of light accompanies a deafening roar, 
and you're being blasted off your feet, and you're dimly aware of hitting 
something, maybe the wall, while heat engulfs you and multiple impacts 
sting you up and down your body. Your clothes are disintegrating to 
shreds and tatters.

The echoes of the initial blast die down, but the roar of flames, and the 
ceiling above you creaking, ready to give way, is still loud in your ears. 
You're lying on the floor, covered with flaming debris.

That REALLY hurt!

<><><><><>

Gideon:

  *GRENADES!* 

  He thought, as he blast throws him through the air like a ragdoll. He 
screams all the way through his aerial trip. The wall stops his 
vocalization. He knows, once again, that he shouldn't even be breathing 
much less thinking. The bullets were nothing compared to this. *I'm 
going to need a whole new wardrobe when this is done.*

  His thoughts returned to the here and now when he heard the roof 
creaking. "Gotta get out of here." he voiced. "Work through the pain, 
Gideon." He concentrated on getting up and out from under the flaming 
debris. As he was clearing the rubble from over him, he thought about 
the people that might be in the building. "My God. What can I do to help 
them?" He decided to help clear the building when he himself was free.

<><><><><>

[GM]

The rubble lifts easily, much easier than it should. You're not in a 
particularly decent state of dress anymore, and you have a few gashes 
and burns, a small price for having a pair of grenades go off five feet 
away.

You hear people screaming and running in the floors above and below. 
Cindy's apartment is in flames, and part of the ceiling collapses as you 
rise, dumping more flaming wreckage between you and the door. 
Someone in the apartment above is crying out in agony.

<><><><><>

Gideon:

   "Hold on up there! Help is coming!" he yelled to reassure whoever it is. 
*Can't get out the door. Not going out the window. Maybe I'm strong 
enough to make the jump.*

   He moves as close as he can get to the area where the ceiling 
collapse. He intends to leap up through the hole in the ceiling. Gathering 
his strength, he crouches and leaps towards the hole.

<><><><><>

[GM]

Your legs snap out, and you vault through the air, making the leap to the 
floor above with ease. You'd be thrilled with the superhuman feat, except 
that you land on a floor that cracks as you land, already weakened by 
the blast. You carefully step over a smashed coffee table, and see an 
elderly man lying on the floor between the table and a sofa, the shards 
of a cup lying amidst a puddle of spilled tea by his head. One leg is 
badly bloodied, apparently penetrated by a flying piece of metal. He's 
trying to pull himself to his knees, without much success.

<><><><><>

Gideon:

  "Hold on, sir. Let me help you up." Gideon tries to reassure the man as 
he helps clear away any obstructions. "Are you injured anyplace else? I 
need to know before I move you."

<><><><><>

[GM]

"I don't know," he groans. You can't see any other injuries, but he acts 
dazed, and his eyes aren't focussing. You hear people in the hall, trying 
to make a path down the stairs, which are now consumed by flames.

<><><><><>

Gideon:

  "Everything is going to be okay. You stay low. It's easier to breathe if 
you stay down." He cleared the debris away from the old man and rested 
him up against the wall.

  *Those people are going to kill themselves trying to get out of here.* He 
opens the door to the man's apartment and calls out to them. "Everyone 
listen to me! You're only going to hurt each other if you panic! I need two 
people to help this gentleman here. Does anyone know if there is a fire 
hose on this floor or maybe in the stairwell?"

<><><><><>

[GM]

The panicking apartment dwellers seem rather alarmed at the sudden 
appearance of a half-naked man walking through the flames.

"N..no fire hose!" one stammers. "There should be an extinguisher 
around here som-"

"I've got it!" exclaims another, holding it cradled in his arms. "Maybe I 
can clear us a path. Someone help Mr. Hayworth!" Two people follow 
you into the old man's apartment, and carefully lift him.

Once they stop panicking, it seems like they should be able to get out of 
the building by the emergency fire escape. Carefully but urgently, you 
direct them down the hall (in the opposite direction of the flaming 
stairwell, which is where they were stampeding) to the fire escape 
landing. People from the other floors already came to that conclusion, 
and are filing down the stairs as well.

You lurk at the emergency exit, watching the last of your charges for the 
moment head out, debating whether to follow or risk heading back into 
the building and check for more trapped people. You noticed that 
passing close the flames, you felt less heat than you should have...but 
you DID feel heat.

Something moves in the upper edge of your field of vision. Glancing up, 
you see across the gap between this building and the next the wall to a 
higher apartment complex.

Oozing down the wall like a puddle of pure darkness is....a puddle of 
pure darkness. You can't think of any other way to describe it. A moving 
pool of utter shadow, and the way the hair on the back of your neck 
stands up (what little hasn't been singed off, anyways), you instinctively 
KNOW this is something unnatural, not just a trick of light. No one else 
can see it, as it is well-concealed in normal shadows. Only your 
newfound darkness vision let you spot it.

<><><><><>

Gideon:

  Gideon did a double take at the moving darkness. "What the..." He 
watched the darkness creep away as long as he could keep it in sight. 
All his instincts screamed one word. *EVIL* He shivered to think of what 
that...thing was capable of. He had seen quite enough for the evening. 
His clothes were in tatters he had a splitting headache and his mood 
was probably as dark as that thing he had seen. *All in all, a banner 
night.*

  He tried to avoid any news cameras that might be on the scene. He 
had to get back home quickly. Cindy was alone and he didn't want to 
think about what might be lurking in the shadows of his home. Gideon 
checked to see if any of the money he had withdrawn survived the blast 
and the fire. If enough did, he'll try to get away from the scene and get a 
cab back home. As ridiculous as he looked he placed his chances at 
slim for hailing one. He waved the surviving money as an enticmemnt for 
one to stop.

<><><><><>

[GM]

A few tattered and burnt bills remain in your even more tattered and 
burnt wallet, but "slim" was an optimistic estimate. A half-naked man with 
shredded clothes, bruises, burns and lacerations standing in the street 
waving money- if you were a cabby, you have to admit, you probably 
wouldn't stop for you either.

Unfortunately, the police are only too willing to stop for you. A patrol car 
pulls up directly across the street from you.

<><><><><>

Gideon:

  He sees the patrol car and darts across the street to meet it. "Boy am I 
glad to see you guys. My name is Mike Gideon. I'm private investigator 
and I need your help. As you can see, I'm having a bit of trouble this 
evening and I could use some assistance. If you need verification, you 
can call Detective Donald Carver at Manhattan South. He'll be more 
than willing to verify my credentials. It is extremely important that I get 
home. I believe that my client might be in danger."

<><><><><>

[GM]

The cops are a bit confounded by your approach, and your appearance. 
Finally, they gesture for you to get in the car while the driver calls in to 
the station to check on you.

"What the hell happened to you?" the other one asks, as they begin 
heading back to your apartment.

<><><><><>

Gideon:

  "I had an unpleasant one-on-one with a pair of hand grenades. 
Someone is trying to kill my client and I seem to running interference at 
the moment." He doesn't want to give away too much information. The 
less the police know, the better. "I really appreciate you helping me out 
like this. I don't know what I would done if you guys didn't show up." 
Gideon realizes that his heart is pounding. He's very worried about 
Cindy. If they blew her apartment to bits, they won't hesitate to do the 
same thing to his.

<><><><><>

[GM]

"I think we'll need to have a statement from you at the very 
least...probably downtown. Once you get some clothes on, that is."

The police take you to your apartment. From the outside, everything 
seems quiet and normal. Just like it did before you entered Cindy's.

<><><><><>

Gideon:

  "No problem, officer." answers Gideon. He would have preferred not 
going downtown but that seemed unavoidable now. "I wouldn't mind if 
you kept an eye out down here. It will only take a few minutes for me to 
get cleaned up."

  He looks up at his apartment, praying that they think he didn't survive 
the explosion. He bolts up the stairs and knocks on the door. "Cindy, it's 
Michael. I need you to open the door." He'll wait for a minute or so 
before trying again. If he still gets no answer he'll kick the door in. 
Gently.

<><><><><>

[GM]

Cindy answers timidly after the first knock. "Michael?" You hear her 
moving to the door, and pressed against it as she looks through the 
peephole, then she opens it and looks at you with great relief- which 
changes to shock as she sees your condition. "Michael, what 
HAPPENED?" she almost shrieks.

<><><><><>

Gideon:

  "Someone decided to blow up your apartment." he says, moving into 
the room. "They either lobbed or shot a pair of grenades through your 
windows. I happened to be in the way." Michael starts to remove the 
remains of his clothing, feeling extremely lucky that the clips in his 
shoulder holster didn't cook-off in the heat of the fire. "The police helped 
me get back home. They might come up here to ask some more 
questions." He grunts in pain as he takes off the holster. "I'm bruised all 
over. Never been caught in full-fledged explosion before. The fire was 
the worst part of it. I could feel the heat, but it didn't burn like it should 
have."

  He wonders if he should tell her about what he saw after the fire. He 
decides to ask her about it, just on the outside chance that she knows 
something.

  "The strangest thing about the incident happened afterward. I was 
standing on a fire escape and I spotted a mass of darkness. A blob, 
really. Pitch black. It was sliding down the wall of an adjacent building. I 
don't think anyone else saw it. I think that the only reason I did, was due 
to my newly acquired night vision. I discovered that ability when I was in 
the cab on the way to your apartment. You wouldn't happen to know if 
the Mob has access to people like us would you?"

<><><><><>

[GM]

Cindy looks on the verge of panicking. "Oh s***!" She looks around, as if 
ready to flee out the door this very moment. "What will we tell the 
police?"

"Hired...people like us? How should I know? I'll bet they would, if they 
could, but you're the first, uh, metahuman, besides me, that I've ever 
met."

There's something about the way her voice catches a little, the way her 
eyes shift back and forth...the tell-tale signs of someone trying to decide 
exactly how to couch their answer, when whatever answer springs 
immediately to mind is not the one they want to voice.

Before you can probe further, though, you hear two gunshots outside.

<><><><><>

Gideon:

  *THIS CAN'T BE HAPPENING!*

 "Jeans! Bottom drawer, left hand corner!" he says to Cindy, while 
moving towards his safe. Quickly opening the unit, he removes his 
second gun and chambers a round. As she retrieves the clothing, he 
kills the lights and moves to the window in order to see what is 
happening in the street.

<><><><><>

[GM]

People are clustered at doorways, and pointing at the police cruiser 
parked in front of your apartment.

The front windshield is shattered, and the cop behind the wheel sags 
lifelessly in the front seat. Lying in the sidewalk in a puddle of blood is 
the second officer.

<><><><><>

Gideon:

  "Damn! The officers are down. Call 911 and tell them that two officers 
have been shot. Give them all the information and tell them to send an 
ambulance." He grabs a sweater and pulls on. He decocks the gun and 
tucks it into the back of his jeans. "I'm going down to see what I can do. 
I'll be back soon."

  Gideon dashs down the stairs and runs to the side of the officer on the 
street. He scans the street with his newly acquired vision while checking 
for a pulse. He'll do the same thing for the other officer.

<><><><><>

[GM]

Neither of them has a pulse; bullets went quite neatly through their 
skulls. Whoever shot them was a marksman...which gives you an 
uneasy feeling, as you're crouching in the same spot, with very little 
cover. It's hard to accept the fact that you seem to now be bulletproof.

As people gawk, and sirens sound in the distance, it occurs to you that 
this situation is precarious in more ways than one. Two dead cops are 
going to mean an extremely intense and detailed investigation.

You also have a bad feeling (or rather, an even worse feeling) that 
there's more to this than Mob vengeance. The Mob doesn't shoot cops 
unless they absolutely have to. A double-assassination like this, just to 
make your life more difficult, is not their style.

<><><><><>

Gideon:

  *Stay or Go.* These were his two choices. His sense of duty and honor 
told him to stay. His instincts told him to run like hell. He chose to go 
with his instincts. Gideon bolted up the stairs and into the apartment. 
"Cindy! Grab your stuff, we're getting out of here!" He grabs a jacket and 
the remaining clips for his gun. He leads Cindy down the stairs as 
rapidly as possible. When they hit the street, he makes sure that Cindy 
sees the two dead officers. "I've been blaming you for this whole thing 
and feeling pretty guilty about it. Now I don't think that I'm wrong. These 
men are dead because you still haven't been straight with me!" He 
begins walking her away from the scene as calmly as possible. "When I 
asked you if you had met any other people like us, you hesitated. I think 
you lied. Tell me what this is about and I'll consider not handing you 
over to the police. Don't try anything either. I know that bullets can kill 
you and I'll splatter your brains all over this street if I have to. Tell me!"

<><><><><>

[GM]

Cindy seems shocked at your brusque manner, and looks away from the 
bleeding corpses. As you hurry her down the street (attracting more 
looks from bystanders), she glances at you, swallows, and apparently 
decides on directness rather than seduction.

"I *haven't* met any other metahumans," she whimpers. "But Ricco...I 
think he suspected...he told me that he knew how to get rid of me. He 
said 'You don't think you're the first freak we've met, do you?' I made like 
I didn't know what he was talking about, but I asked Luciano...I had to, 
you know, pour on the charm, but he told me...there are other 
superhumans in New York that the Mob already knows about. They 
probably have some of their own."

<><><><><>

Gideon:

  "Just great! How long were you going wait before you told me about 
this? I need to know about these things, Cindy. We're handicapped as it 
is right now. We're facing something beyond the Mob and they always 
seem to be one step ahead of us."

  Gideon scanned the street and low rooftops with his night vision. He 
wanted to at least try getting used to these newly acquired abilities. He 
also didn't want anyone else to sneak up on them. He was stuck. He had 
no place to go and no one to turn to. He wouldn't get his parents 
involved and definately wasn't going to get Alicia involved.

  His thoughts of her made him feel guilty. He had done exactly what he 
promised not to do. What kind of person did that make him? Was Cindy 
really worth all of this trouble? He stopped walking and just stood there 
for a minute. "Why the hell am I running away? I've never run away from 
anything in my entire life." He wasn't really asking Cindy the questions. 
He was just voicing them aloud. "I'm still on the right side of this thing 
and I'm tired of running. I've been shot at, blown up and scared for too 
long. Time to make a stand. Come on."

  He turns them around and heads back towards his apartment. He'll 
answer for what happened to the two officers. He owes them that much. 
He may have to answer for much more. He's ready for that. If he's going 
to fight these people and find the person that killed these officers, he'll 
have to do it where he always has, on the side of the law. "Running 
never solves anything, Cindy. Especially when you try running from 
yourself." he says, not knowing if it was for him or her.

<><><><><>

[GM]

% I wrote her off for the tenth time today
  And practiced all the things I would say
  But she came over
  I lost my nerve
  I took her back and made her dessert %

Cindy grabs you. "Are you crazy?" she demands, urgently. "The cops'll 
think YOU shot them! They'll ask you all kinds of questions, you'll have 
to tell them about ME, about the Mob....Michael, come with me, let's get 
out of here!"

% Now I know I'm being used
  That's okay man cause I like the abuse
  I know she's playing with me
  That's okay cause I've got no self esteem %

Her attraction is as great as ever, but the pure selfishness inherent in 
her personality is as blatant as her sexuality. You know it's not a 
revelation, yet somehow you managed to ignore it...until now.

% We make plans to go out at night
  I wait till 2 then I turn out the light
  All this rejection's got me so low
  If she keeps it up I just might tell her so %

"Michael, please..." she wheedles, blinking long lovely lashes...You can 
barely stand to think about denying her anything, you want to stay with 
her, stay touching her, protect her, go with her....

% When she's saying that she wants only me
  Then I wonder why she sleeps with my friends
  When she's saying that I'm like a disease
  Then I wonder how much more I can spend
  Well I guess I should stick up for myself
  But I really think it's better this way
  The more you suffer
  The more it shows you really care	Right? %

If you do, you know you'll cross a line you've never crossed before. 
Michael Gideon may or may not be the same person he was last night, 
but if you go with her, you leave Michael Gideon behind.

% Now I'll relate this little bit
  That happens more than I'd like to admit
  Late at night she knocks on my door
  Drunk again and looking to score %

"Michael, please..." she whispers...

% Now I know I should say no
  But that's kind of hard when she's ready to go %

"Come with me!"

% I may be dumb
  But I'm not a dweeb
  I'm just a sucker with no self esteem %

-"Self Esteem", Offspring (c) 1994, BMI