Suddenly he felt an anxiety wash over him. He couldn't understand what could be the problem until he saw the sky growing black. The sea grew dark and crimson waves began to rock against the shore. He turned to the woman, but she was nowhere to be seen. he was alone.
All alone.
................
An alarm was buzzing loudly in the pitch black room. Only the red glow fro the alarm clock's LCD screen showed through the shadow. Arex reached over to the clock with his hand and slammed his hand unceremoniously on the "SNOOZE" button. He groaned loudly and picked himself up from the couch. The comforter arranged haphazardly on his person fell from his bare chest, revealing a still-fresh tattoo that decorated his upper body. He sat up, realizing the alarm was still ringing and he pressed he button again, to no avail. A flash of anger ran through his head until rational thought finally kicked into gear and he realized that his PDA was making the noise.
Arex looked over at his clock. 3:34 glowed red in the darkness like simmering coals. He narrowed his eyes and picked the PDA off the table. Tazami's number showed brightly on the screen, and Arex pressed the answer button.
Arex's voice was rough and laced with acidic contempt, "Alright, what-the-fuck?"
"We need to meet, now."
Tazami's voice was hurried and emotional, something Arex had not heard before from Tazami. An unfamiliar anxiety moved within him, alighting his senses.
"Where?"
"Gare de l'Est."
"Heavy?"
"Very."
The connection ended and Arex dropped the PDA back into the pocket of his pants. He grabbed his messenger bag and a loose shirt, probably the same shirt he was wearing the day before, and stood up as best as he could.
Several items of clothing were strewn on the ground near a still-packed suitcase. The apartment was one of several safe houses maintained by the Xi Detachment for operatives who did not have time to establish their own temporary residence. For that reason, they were very few luxuries in the houses and almost no indication of a human touch. It always felt a mite depressing. Arex rarely spent more time in the place than when he slept.
He walked to a large duffel bag situated next to the door of the apartment and slung it over his shoulder, grunting as the heavy weight strained against his body. A final glance around the apartment reminded him to take his pistol and his kukri from the table.
The night air was still and very moist. A bead of sweat already clung to his forehead as he rubbed the sleepiness out of his eyes. He had the strong desire to return to his apartment and put on shorts, but time was of the essence.
The sounds of the city surrounded him as he walked along the second story balcony. The drone of passing vehicles in the distance. Local wildlife sifting through the day's garbage. The occasional rustling of leaves in a lazy breeze.
As Arex descended the stairs from the second story, his eyes slowly adjusted to the bright streetlight illuminating the open-air staircase. An unearthly orange glow that highlighted the damp asphalt of the back lot. He began to jog, as much to save time as to wake himself, as he stepped off of the staircase and onto the ground. The jet lag from the journey to Beaumonde was a nightmare by itself and his lifestyle (or lack of one) in no way helped.
Arex shifted the duffel bag across his chest, a somewhat vain struggle to alleviate the pressure on his shoulder. He stopped in place at the far end of the apartment complex and began to shift the two bags on his shoulder to better disperse the weight.
He hadn't quite finished when the explosion knocked him backwards. He saw the massive plume of debris for a split second, but it was the shock wave that actually sent him reeling into the pavement. His ears rang softly from the noise, and his head throbbed from the impact with the ground. Arex pushed himself up after a significant few seconds and looked back at what had been his apartment.
A wicked glow illuminated the cloud of smoke rising high into the air. Vehicle alarms all around him began to sound and as the ringing in his eardrums lessened, he heard shouting from other buildings.
A fear gripped him like he had never felt. A true feeling of helplessness as he sat in shock. Before he realized what he was doing he was running. He wasn't sure if he was running in the right direction. he had to get out of there.
Instinctively , he reached into his pants pocket and retrieved the PDA. Without a word or hesitation, he removed the back cover of the PDA and took the memory card out of the device. he stopped in place and threw the device onto the ground. In one motion, he brought his foot off the ground and slammed it back, crushing the PDA beneath his heel. The crunch of plastic seemed sickening, like the breaking of a strange bone.
He reached into his messenger bag and removed a thin strip covered in silver on both sides from a small utility pocket. He removed a single layer from the strip, revealing a sticky brown layer beneath it. He placed the memory card on this sticky gel, then removed the thin silver from the opposite side. He slapped he strip and card onto the pavement and began to run again. Faster and faster until he was nearly sprinting. Behind him the strip of plastic burst into white-hot flame, melting the asphalt and the memory card together into a strange black soup. Sparks flew into the darkness as the circuitry snapped and popped like kernels in the darkness.
Arex didn't turn back to see. he ran off into the shadows, leaving the hellish flames to burn in the quiet night air.
Arex looked over at his clock. 3:34 glowed red in the darkness like simmering coals. He narrowed his eyes and picked the PDA off the table. Tazami's number showed brightly on the screen, and Arex pressed the answer button.
Arex's voice was rough and laced with acidic contempt, "Alright, what-the-fuck?"
"We need to meet, now."
Tazami's voice was hurried and emotional, something Arex had not heard before from Tazami. An unfamiliar anxiety moved within him, alighting his senses.
"Where?"
"Gare de l'Est."
"Heavy?"
"Very."
The connection ended and Arex dropped the PDA back into the pocket of his pants. He grabbed his messenger bag and a loose shirt, probably the same shirt he was wearing the day before, and stood up as best as he could.
Several items of clothing were strewn on the ground near a still-packed suitcase. The apartment was one of several safe houses maintained by the Xi Detachment for operatives who did not have time to establish their own temporary residence. For that reason, they were very few luxuries in the houses and almost no indication of a human touch. It always felt a mite depressing. Arex rarely spent more time in the place than when he slept.
He walked to a large duffel bag situated next to the door of the apartment and slung it over his shoulder, grunting as the heavy weight strained against his body. A final glance around the apartment reminded him to take his pistol and his kukri from the table.
The night air was still and very moist. A bead of sweat already clung to his forehead as he rubbed the sleepiness out of his eyes. He had the strong desire to return to his apartment and put on shorts, but time was of the essence.
The sounds of the city surrounded him as he walked along the second story balcony. The drone of passing vehicles in the distance. Local wildlife sifting through the day's garbage. The occasional rustling of leaves in a lazy breeze.
As Arex descended the stairs from the second story, his eyes slowly adjusted to the bright streetlight illuminating the open-air staircase. An unearthly orange glow that highlighted the damp asphalt of the back lot. He began to jog, as much to save time as to wake himself, as he stepped off of the staircase and onto the ground. The jet lag from the journey to Beaumonde was a nightmare by itself and his lifestyle (or lack of one) in no way helped.
Arex shifted the duffel bag across his chest, a somewhat vain struggle to alleviate the pressure on his shoulder. He stopped in place at the far end of the apartment complex and began to shift the two bags on his shoulder to better disperse the weight.
He hadn't quite finished when the explosion knocked him backwards. He saw the massive plume of debris for a split second, but it was the shock wave that actually sent him reeling into the pavement. His ears rang softly from the noise, and his head throbbed from the impact with the ground. Arex pushed himself up after a significant few seconds and looked back at what had been his apartment.
A wicked glow illuminated the cloud of smoke rising high into the air. Vehicle alarms all around him began to sound and as the ringing in his eardrums lessened, he heard shouting from other buildings.
A fear gripped him like he had never felt. A true feeling of helplessness as he sat in shock. Before he realized what he was doing he was running. He wasn't sure if he was running in the right direction. he had to get out of there.
Instinctively , he reached into his pants pocket and retrieved the PDA. Without a word or hesitation, he removed the back cover of the PDA and took the memory card out of the device. he stopped in place and threw the device onto the ground. In one motion, he brought his foot off the ground and slammed it back, crushing the PDA beneath his heel. The crunch of plastic seemed sickening, like the breaking of a strange bone.
He reached into his messenger bag and removed a thin strip covered in silver on both sides from a small utility pocket. He removed a single layer from the strip, revealing a sticky brown layer beneath it. He placed the memory card on this sticky gel, then removed the thin silver from the opposite side. He slapped he strip and card onto the pavement and began to run again. Faster and faster until he was nearly sprinting. Behind him the strip of plastic burst into white-hot flame, melting the asphalt and the memory card together into a strange black soup. Sparks flew into the darkness as the circuitry snapped and popped like kernels in the darkness.
Arex didn't turn back to see. he ran off into the shadows, leaving the hellish flames to burn in the quiet night air.
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