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THE SUNSET
* 10 *
Quickly catching up to the rumble of full-galloping beasts, Million sped towards the slightly-leading left Agent holding the still-unconscious girl, while Threads sped towards the right Agent holding the still-unconscious boy.
Hoping his intense headlight in the kicked-up dust would help to blind the Agent, Threads kept his distance from the horse, weaved from side to side, and stayed directly behind it to make it even more difficult for the Agent to twist back and aim his handgun.
The Agent opened fire! Brack!
The shot whizzed way wide.
Another shot! Brack!
This time, Threads heard the shot zip past his helmet.
"Shit," he muttered.
Threads didn't have the patience or expertise to wait forever for the Agent to run out of bullets. He had to take the risk... and force the situation NOW!
Sitting low, he pulled the automatic pistol from his left hip, and aimed at the galloping legs ahead.
He opened fire! Brat-tat-tat-tat-tat!
Its powerful legs shattered, the maimed beast toppled forward at full speed, flinging its riders as it tumbled across the cold hard dirt in a broken and bloody heap.
Clutching the boy against his own chest with his left arm, the Agent flew headfirst through the darkness, curled his gun-gripping right arm over his head, and landed with an arm-shielded thud and roll.
Despite his gymnastics, the Agent reacted too late as Threads followed his thud and roll, skidded to a sideways stop behind him, and thrusted a warm weapon against the back of his head.
"Sayonara."
And Threads pulled the trigger.
Glancing back to see Threads take down the other horse, Million returned her attention on the horse ahead of her. Like Threads, she hoped her headlight would blind the Agent.
"Now it's my turn," she whispered, as she weaved from side to side.
Like the other one, the Agent twisted back and aimed his handgun.
He opened fire! Brack! Brack!
The shots missed.
But unlike the other one, this Agent possessed some creativity. He commanded his full-galloping beast to cross the shallow but rocky Mirrorbrook, making it more difficult for Million to follow on her motocross bike.
"You're a tricky one," she noted. But as her alter ego in the Matrix... and as a magician's apprentice... the mysterious Maxine de Mille loved tricks.
As the hooves of the tireless horse splashed starlit water, muck, and mud across her bike, her helmet, and her outfit, Million allowed her growing disgust and anger to feed her focussed intensity.
The Agent fired his weapon again! Brack! Brack!
Again, the shots missed its zigzagging target.
"Just three more," Million observed.
Just three more... before the Agent would run out of bullets.
At that moment, Captain Helios was startled by the inexplicable flickering and weakening of the fragile flames that sat at the center of the tepee floor... the same flames that represented the only known way back home... back to the real world.
He stood and stepped back, stripping the cellphone from his belt.
"Operator," replied the voice at the other end.
"Unicorn!" the captain barked, "What the hell is going on? What's wrong with the fire?"
"Shit!" the senior operator answered. "Hang on, Captain, we're figuring it out right now."
Then the voice of the junior operator added, "Looks like a disruption of the ground signal program... along the nearby waterways... Give me a sec to pinpoint it..."
The captain knew. "The Mirrorbrook."
"Yeah, the Mirrorbrook," Hitchhiker confirmed. "Actually... you're not gonna believe this..."
The captain gazed at the wavering fire. "What is it?"
"The disruption is being generated by Million and the Agent she's chasing... They're running right through our signal!"
"How bad is it?"
"Well, if they disrupt our signal too long..." Hitchhiker began.
Unicorn finished, "...then Agents or no Agents, you're stuck there for several hours."
Conserving his bullets for the moment, the Agent commanded his horse to recross the Mirrorbrook and head for the irregular series of stony mounds and sizable boulders scattered further along the western bank.
"That's not gonna work..." Million allowed herself a small smile, as she streaked along the eastern bank.
Even if his horse could leap over the dark patches of jagged terrain, it didn't necessarily mean her bike couldn't do the same thing... In fact, her motocross bike was specifically designed for this sort of thing!
"Unless..." Million wondered.
Unless the Agent wanted her to jump... dared her to jump... A mid-air jump would definitely make her an easier non-weaving target... which would explain why he was saving his bullets... saving them for her jump.
"Let's try the front door," she murmured.
If the Agent expected her to jump from behind, then Million would have to surprise him with an unexpected jump from the FRONT. She had to take the risk... and reach the ragged western bank BEFORE he did.
Sitting low, she opened the throttle and accelerated along the eastern bank.
When Million gained nearly thirty feet past the oncoming Agent, she leaned hard towards the Mirrorbrook, and her mud-splattered bike sliced through the shallow water, hurling water, muck, and more mud high on either side of her.
As she approached the western bank, she glanced over her left shoulder, and caught the dim figure of the Agent bringing his handgun around towards her.
Facing forward and racing at high velocity as her intense headlight revealed the full ferocity of the rugged terrain, she found the best-sloped mound, and braced herself for her impending jump.
Whoosh!
For the second time, Million felt the cool rush of the nighttime wind, as her motocross bike soared through the darkness.
The Agent fired his weapon! Brack!
Instantly, yet in seeming slow motion, the maroon-clad biker drew the twin automatic pistols from her hips, and with acrobatic elasticity, arched into a backward bend that curled over her taillight.
The shot zipped past her arched form, just inches above her chest.
She aimed both pistols at the unfortunate horse... or program of a horse.
The Agent fired another shot! Brack!
Another miss, just below her.
And at the peak of her trajectory, Million finally unleashed her full firepower! Brat-tat-tat-tat-tat! Brat-tat-tat-tat-tat!
Anticipating the likely attack on his mighty beast with the possibility of being flung into the jagged rocks ahead, the Agent clutched the girl against his chest with his left arm...
At the moment of attack, he leapt backwards into a semi-tucked backflip, exploited the girl's momentum by swinging her legs into his gun-gripping right arm, and landed with a single-kneed thud... the deep-sleeping girl now draped across his forearms... and his once-powerful horse now decimated among the scattered blood-splattered rocks.
Rising from the starlit dirt, the Agent spotted the headlight on the northern side of the irregular terrain.
He called out, "Impressive!"
Million gave no answer... except for the revving of her engine.
Once more, Agent Gray called out, "Did you hear me? I said 'Impressive!'"
And once more, no answer... except for another revving of the engine. Brummm! Brummm!
'What game was this rebel biker playing?' he thought curiously.
Despite the temporary setbacks that befell his superior Agent Greene and his partner Agent Graham, Agent Gray still held the girl... and the unusual set of markings along the inside of her left forearm... the marks of the Matrix that burned Graham.
'But was it worth it to play these damned rebel games?'
As he carried the sleeping girl in his arms, he also felt the familiar weight of the weapon in his right hand... and it had one last bullet.
He was tempted to expend it on the sleeping girl... but he was bound to his orders... he was bound to Agent Greene.
And he had another idea.
Once again, Gray called out, "Show yourself!... Or I'll kill the girl!"
No answer... not even a rev.
"You have 3 seconds!... 3!..."
Nothing.
"2!..."
This time, the revving returned. Brummm! Brummm!
"1!..."
Suddenly, the revving kicked up to high-pitched buzz, and the brilliant headlight bounced towards him... approaching... approaching fast!
"Excellent," he muttered.
His simple bluff had worked... The rebel biker would show herself... and would receive her well-earned payment... his final bullet.
Without lowering the sleeping girl, Gray aimed his semi-automatic pistol at the darkness just above the blinding headlight.
He waited for it to come closer.
Just a little closer.
And he opened fire! Brack!
Agent Gray smirked contentedly as he witnessed the oncoming dirt bike wobble over the rocks, swerve westwards, and skid awkwardly into a dust-scattering spin far from the Mirrorbrook.
"So gullible," he noted.
But he reacted too late to the feetfirst impact behind him -- Thud! -- and the unexpected feminine voice that thrusted a warm weapon against the back of his head.
"Abracadabra."
And the rebel biker pulled the trigger.
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