Barnum Posted January 5, 2008 Posted January 5, 2008 Nanowire flew into the air, waiting for the explosion . . . but it never came. The violent journey out of the warehouse had forced open the flap that kept the contents of the satchel hidden, and Nanowire could see down inside it not explosives at all but rather two packs of cigarettes and a silver lighter embossed with a flag that the metallic mercenary didn't recognize. The warehouse seemed abandoned now. The enemy forces, whoever they were, were either unconscious or had already made a run for it as the African had, and Shinken, his work here completed, had disappeared into the night as well. The crates were full of drugs as expected. Within a minute or so of making the call, Nightrival heard sirens getting closer.
Barnum Posted January 5, 2008 Posted January 5, 2008 Nanowire flew into the air, waiting for the explosion . . . but it never came. The violent journey out of the warehouse had forced open the flap that kept the contents of the satchel hidden, and Nanowire could see down inside it not explosives at all but rather two packs of cigarettes and a silver lighter embossed with a flag that the metallic mercenary didn't recognize. The warehouse seemed abandoned now. The enemy forces, whoever they were, were either unconscious or had already made a run for it as the African had, and Shinken, his work here completed, had disappeared into the night as well. The crates were full of drugs as expected. Within a minute or so of making the call, Nightrival heard sirens getting closer.
Shadowboxer Posted January 5, 2008 Author Posted January 5, 2008 The wailing sirens slip into his ears, and Nightrival decides he's seen enough this evening. With no violent explosion blossoming in the sky like a red and orange flower, he assumes with some apprehension that either the grenade or bomb was disarmed . . . or there was nothing. He may never know. For now, he's satisfied that he and Shinken were able to find where the tainted drugs were hemorrhaging from and apply enough pressure to stop the flow. And maybe give some comfort to the victims, or their families. He thinks of his mom, and her smile. He wonders what she would say if she knew. Nightrival cannot find the words, but the emotion has a bright yet evanescent presence, a warm luminosity that melts away the icy tendrils creeping up into his chest. Is it pride? Perhaps. Whatever it is, I'll try to remember it. For her sake. Sirens draw closer. He looks over the warehouse one final time then vanishes back into the night, silent as a shadow.
Shadowboxer Posted January 5, 2008 Author Posted January 5, 2008 The wailing sirens slip into his ears, and Nightrival decides he's seen enough this evening. With no violent explosion blossoming in the sky like a red and orange flower, he assumes with some apprehension that either the grenade or bomb was disarmed . . . or there was nothing. He may never know. For now, he's satisfied that he and Shinken were able to find where the tainted drugs were hemorrhaging from and apply enough pressure to stop the flow. And maybe give some comfort to the victims, or their families. He thinks of his mom, and her smile. He wonders what she would say if she knew. Nightrival cannot find the words, but the emotion has a bright yet evanescent presence, a warm luminosity that melts away the icy tendrils creeping up into his chest. Is it pride? Perhaps. Whatever it is, I'll try to remember it. For her sake. Sirens draw closer. He looks over the warehouse one final time then vanishes back into the night, silent as a shadow.
Shadowboxer Posted January 5, 2008 Author Posted January 5, 2008 The wailing sirens slip into his ears, and Nightrival decides he's seen enough this evening. With no violent explosion blossoming in the sky like a red and orange flower, he assumes with some apprehension that either the grenade or bomb was disarmed . . . or there was nothing. He may never know. For now, he's satisfied that he and Shinken were able to find where the tainted drugs were hemorrhaging from and apply enough pressure to stop the flow. And maybe give some comfort to the victims, or their families. He thinks of his mom, and her smile. He wonders what she would say if she knew. Nightrival cannot find the words, but the emotion has a bright yet evanescent presence, a warm luminosity that melts away the icy tendrils creeping up into his chest. Is it pride? Perhaps. Whatever it is, I'll try to remember it. For her sake. Sirens draw closer. He looks over the warehouse one final time then vanishes back into the night, silent as a shadow.
Veiled Malice Posted January 5, 2008 Posted January 5, 2008 Slowly, Nanowire extricated the lighter from the satchel, still unbelieving what he was seeing. But floating there, high above the Earth, holding what he previously thought to have been a bomb but in fact turned out to be nothing more than the African merc's smoking accessories, he suddenly found the whole thing very funny. He let out a light chuckle, which led into a guffaw, which built into riotous laughter. If his sides had still been organic, Nanowire surely would have been holding them as he bend over double, unable to stop. After an indeterminate amount of time caught in paroxysms of laughter, Nanowire finally laughed himself out. "Very clever," he said, holding the lighter up in front of him. Silver strands, made up of the same nanomachines that bound him together, latched onto the little butane device, breaking it down into it's component molecules and storing it inside his body. It took no more than a few seconds to accomplish, but in that time, Nanowire saw everything it was made of, from the flint down to the small cloth wick. All inside him now. Forever. "I'll keep it safe," he said. "Maybe someday, I'll be able to give it back." He dumped the cigarettes and the rest of the satchel. As high up as he was, they'd burn up in the atmosphere before hitting the ground. Then he looked up. The moon was there, seemingly close enough to touch, just as it was before. He hadn't gone to visit it last time he was this high. And this time, he didn't feel like he had the right to soil it with his sins. "Maybe someday," he said, then peeled off, angling towards Earth, leaving the heavens behind. Nanowire had no business being here. Not yet.
Veiled Malice Posted January 5, 2008 Posted January 5, 2008 Slowly, Nanowire extricated the lighter from the satchel, still unbelieving what he was seeing. But floating there, high above the Earth, holding what he previously thought to have been a bomb but in fact turned out to be nothing more than the African merc's smoking accessories, he suddenly found the whole thing very funny. He let out a light chuckle, which led into a guffaw, which built into riotous laughter. If his sides had still been organic, Nanowire surely would have been holding them as he bend over double, unable to stop. After an indeterminate amount of time caught in paroxysms of laughter, Nanowire finally laughed himself out. "Very clever," he said, holding the lighter up in front of him. Silver strands, made up of the same nanomachines that bound him together, latched onto the little butane device, breaking it down into it's component molecules and storing it inside his body. It took no more than a few seconds to accomplish, but in that time, Nanowire saw everything it was made of, from the flint down to the small cloth wick. All inside him now. Forever. "I'll keep it safe," he said. "Maybe someday, I'll be able to give it back." He dumped the cigarettes and the rest of the satchel. As high up as he was, they'd burn up in the atmosphere before hitting the ground. Then he looked up. The moon was there, seemingly close enough to touch, just as it was before. He hadn't gone to visit it last time he was this high. And this time, he didn't feel like he had the right to soil it with his sins. "Maybe someday," he said, then peeled off, angling towards Earth, leaving the heavens behind. Nanowire had no business being here. Not yet.
Veiled Malice Posted January 5, 2008 Posted January 5, 2008 Slowly, Nanowire extricated the lighter from the satchel, still unbelieving what he was seeing. But floating there, high above the Earth, holding what he previously thought to have been a bomb but in fact turned out to be nothing more than the African merc's smoking accessories, he suddenly found the whole thing very funny. He let out a light chuckle, which led into a guffaw, which built into riotous laughter. If his sides had still been organic, Nanowire surely would have been holding them as he bend over double, unable to stop. After an indeterminate amount of time caught in paroxysms of laughter, Nanowire finally laughed himself out. "Very clever," he said, holding the lighter up in front of him. Silver strands, made up of the same nanomachines that bound him together, latched onto the little butane device, breaking it down into it's component molecules and storing it inside his body. It took no more than a few seconds to accomplish, but in that time, Nanowire saw everything it was made of, from the flint down to the small cloth wick. All inside him now. Forever. "I'll keep it safe," he said. "Maybe someday, I'll be able to give it back." He dumped the cigarettes and the rest of the satchel. As high up as he was, they'd burn up in the atmosphere before hitting the ground. Then he looked up. The moon was there, seemingly close enough to touch, just as it was before. He hadn't gone to visit it last time he was this high. And this time, he didn't feel like he had the right to soil it with his sins. "Maybe someday," he said, then peeled off, angling towards Earth, leaving the heavens behind. Nanowire had no business being here. Not yet.
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