From: eah4@po.CWRU.Edu (Elizabeth A. Hlabse) Newsgroups: alt.ql.creative Subject: Flashover, Part 2 Date: 22 Apr 1993 15:31:58 GMT Organization: Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, OH (USA) Message-Id: <1r6dpe$qp4@usenet.INS.CWRU.Edu> Reply-To: eah4@po.CWRU.Edu (Elizabeth A. Hlabse) Nntp-Posting-Host: slc12.ins.cwru.edu "Flashover" Part 2 by Tracy E. Finifter After about two hours, the members started heading home. I followed suit, discretely checking my car keys and drivers license to find the type of car I drove and my address. My key fit a red Toyota Celica and, though it took some time, I was able to find my home in this small New Jersey town. It turned out that I lived alone in a small townhouse in a quiet, tree lined development. The townhouse was modest, but comfortable, and I noted with pleasant surprise Steve's fully stocked refrigerator. I pulled out a few items, began fixing a late dinner, and began eating. Al arrived a few minutes later. His outfit du jour, with a bright gold sports jacket over a fluorescent pink shirt and checkered gold and pink pants, seemed loud, even for his tastes, and it was all I could do to not stare directly out it, lest I be blinded in the glare. "Mmm, looks good there, Sam," he said longingly over my rather hastily prepared chicken. "Wanna bite?" I mused. "Ha, ha," Al relied humorlessly. "I see you found your home well enough." "Yeah. Did you get any more info from Ziggy?" "Some, but he still won't venture a guess as to what you're here to do." "Terrific," I muttered, swallowing another bite of chicken. "Let's see..." he pulled the handlink out of his pocket and began punching a few buttons, as well as occasionally slapping the side. We have some more information on some of the folks down at the fire house. The chief there is name Jim Walters. He's been chief for a while and generally known as an all around nice guy." "I don't think I met him." "Then there's Barry Stuart, the assistant chief..." "Him, I did meet," I commented. "Been around for as long as anyone can remember, also known as a pretty decent fellow." "What do you have on a Chris, Mike, and Joe?" I asked, recalling the three firemen whom I had spent most of the evening with. "Let's see..." Al gave another whack of the handlink, to which it squealed in protest. "Those would be Chris Simpson, Mike Kramer, and Joe Reynolds. They've all been in the department for about six years, give or take. Mike is a lieutenant." "Okay..." I took in the information, although I really didn't see how any of it mattered a whole lot. Now I knew people's names, which was good, but I still had no clue as to my mission. That is, until I saw Al's expression change. "What is it?" I asked. "Uh oh, Sam, according to Ziggy," Al began, "in two days, Mike dies in a house fire." "Oh, boy," I breathed. "That must be why I'm here." Instead of confirmation, Al just grimaced at the handlink and gave it yet another harsh whack. The handlink responded as usual. "Gooshie! Tell Ziggy if he doesn't cooperate, I'm going to feed his math coprocessor to Tina's tarantula!" Al yelled into the air. "What's wrong?" I asked with concern. Al dropped his handlink hand to his side in frustration. "Ziggy's refusing to lay out any odds on this one, Sam. He's refusing to say for sure what you're here for." "What are you talking about? It's obvious. I'm here to keep Mike from dying in that fire." "Maybe, maybe not," Al countered. "Until Ziggy gives me numbers, we can't say for sure. But don't worry," he amended, apparently upon seeing the worried look on my face, "we'll get the odds if we have to physically yank them out of him." I took a breath. Two days was still plenty of time. "I'm not worried, Al." Well, okay, I was a little worried, but there was no need to panic about anything, not yet. Then a thought struck me. "Do you have the details on this fire?" "Details?" Al asked. "Yeah, where it is, what time it started, that kind of stuff?" With yet a few more whacks and a few more squeals, Al managed to drag the information out of Ziggy. "Yeah, it's in a house on Chelsea Ave. Saturday morning. The fire department is dispatched around 7 A.M. Fire departments from two other nearby towns are called in as well. "Okay, then. I know what to look out for and when. And I have faith that you and Gooshie will come up with somethingJa little more concrete." "Yeah, Sam, we will," Al replied, though with little confidence in his voice. "I'm going back and taking a look at it now. You take care." "Thanks," I said. Al stepped out into the Imaging Chamber door again as I cleaned up the kitchen. Realizing that I was probably working tomorrow, I looked around to find my persona's place of employment and hours and found that it was a nine to five job at the local mall which I had already found earlier in the evening. After an hour of television, I turned in. To be continued... * Tracy Finifter | "We are all born mad. * * finifter@gandalf.rutgers.edu | Some remain so." * * Douglass College, Rutgers University | - Samuel Beckett * * 13 days 'till "Mirror Image" | *