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Sun 20th Mar 2022 07:09

Chef's United?

by Jerry J. Vahn

So, what is a hungry speedster suppose to do? I am heading out of the base to get something to eat, when Socrates suggests that I order food to be delivered, which at the time, sounded like a good idea.
 
I order from one of my favorite French restaurants to be delivered to a park nearby. I'm sitting near buy where the food is to be delivered. The bag is placed on the table and there is a note on it. That is a bit unusual, but not too out of the ordinary.
 
The note reads "Fast Food Man", not a good start. I pull out the food as I am reading the rest of the note.
 
"I'm sorry you can't come into the shop." I start eating while I digest this. "Too many of us are being targeted by Destroyer." No joke, this is why I ordered it to be delivered. "We have a warehouse of supplies,"
another bite is chewed and swallowed, ok now this is getting a bit strange. Why would they be offering me access to their supplies. "if you need anything. We know you are good for it."
 
Ok, now it occurs to me that it might not have been a good time to start eating the food. This is really quite strange. Absentmindedly, I continue to eat while I am pondering the situation. There is an address on the note. Something just does not feel right.
 
I try to contact Socrates through the L-nanite, and luckily it is active at this point. oOO(Socrates, what information do you have on the following location)OOo I show a picture to him of the address. At least the French onion soup was hot and well made. I do enjoy a good soup. I eat some of the extra croutons they sent with the soup while I wait for his reply.
 
He sends me an overhead shot of the warehouse, and the fact that it is about the only warehouse not owned by some shell company of Destroyers, still doesn't sit well with me. It is currently listed as being owned by a group of restaurantiers in the city though.
 
oOO(Thanks Socrates, uh, do me a favor, pass on to the rest of the team that I may be walking into a trap, but I have to investigate. I'm going to go in around dusk to help me hide in the shadows. If there is anyone else that might be available, that would be great. Thanks.)OOo
 
Shortly after the sun sets in that area, I go and begin to scout the area. No one was able to come along and help me out. I'm sure it is a trap, but, I'm wondering what they are using as bait. I know it's not just the food. Bad news, I'm outside the range of the L-nanite, so, I'm probably on my own.
 
Nothing on the outside of the building or outside of the fence around the building. I don't see anyone in any of the other close buy warehouses either. The overhead pictures that Socrates downloaded to me shows that the building is not in the greatest of shape. Why would anyone store food stuffs in a warehouse with leaks and holes in the ceiling. I guess they think I am lead only by my stomach. I may be a bit impulsive, but I'm not completely stupid.
 
As I enter the building, I realize that they have laced it with laser beams. I also notice that there are several turrets pop up out of the ground, and a couple tied together at the other end of the building. I guess I picked the wrong side to enter.
 
I adjust my magnetics to a different frequency and begin moving up the support post nearest to me to get to the roof. The turrets start trying to fire at me while I make my way to the far end. I send a 911 over our fobs, but no one is near enough to be of any help. Fools rush in.....
 
I drop down behind the couple and whisper to them that I'm here to help, be calm. Apparently I scare the woman, who screams as I touch her to change her magnetic resonance to match mine and pull her out of phase with the rest of the world.
 
So far, I haven't been too bothered by the turrets, or the air agents that have dropped in, but then a digitized and garbled voice speaks out "Surrender now, Fast Food Man. We know you are supporting the resistance, and you will be vanished soon. Maybe if you tell us who you are working with, we can spare you for a little while....." Oh, yea, sure. Give up my fellow resistance to live a couple of more minutes, not gonna happen. If you can call being 'spared' kept in an 'education' camp or worse until they can televise my 'vanishing' along with everyone I gave up. I think I'm going to have the spare 'little while' on my own. If they could vanish me right now, they would have. They have figured out enough about me. I wonder if they know who I am under this mask.
 
Now, finally, some of the agents are starting to get a bit smarter. Great, I have to get the Einsteins of the group. Three of them turn and put the man under 'cover'. I can see the laser pointers lining up on the man. They warn me that if I move to touch him, or move at all, they will kill him.
 
Think.... Think..... What can I do. I'm not sure that I am fast enough to get the drop on them and be able to change his magnetic resonance fast enough that if they fire before he is fully out of phase... I wait a couple of more heart beats! Ah! Yes! Liliana did it at the last restaurant, maybe I can get them to turn their heads so that I have just that slight extra half heart beat that I need.
 
So, I yell "NO!!!! DON'T DO IT!!! THEY HAVE GUNS AIMED AT THE MAN!!!!" I hope that Liliana will be proud that I am trying to follow in her footsteps of acting.
 
Whoa, it worked! Fantastic. It's a good thing that we usually work in teams and not alone, they lose their concentration and I reach out and begin to change the magnetic resonance of the man as I am starting to move us underground to get out of there. It's a good thing I move fast, so that I'm not underground for too long.
 
When we are far enough away, I pop up above ground in a dark alley. "Ok, now, here's some money, get out of town." I hand them several hundred dollars. "I'm sorry that they used you to try to get me. Good luck"
 
I turn before they can say anything and start back towards the warehouse. Ok, now they are gonna pay..... I'm hungry again!