The Center: Smells Chapter 7 by Jennifer Sue Copyright  © 2010 Jennifer Sue All Rights Reserved.   “Children should be seen and not heard,” was the too often used phrase that was physically hammered into his budding consciousness before he even realized he could think. It became the toddler’s mantra.

Chapter 7

Everyone on the staff was concerned about Brose. They were accustomed to the transitioned having awesome abilities, but when those abilities were used they severely drained the person’s energy and stamina. Brose did need to chow down to rejuvenate her body when she was using her oudorkinetic talents. But it was her physical strength and stamina that baffled them as it didn’t seem to be connected to her transitioned talents. Dr. Lynchburg and staff reviewed Brose’s medical status before and after her transition. The transition normally eliminated any physical issues or weaknesses and left them healthy and fit, often enhancing some pre-existing prowess.

Unlike most of the other transitioned, Dave was in exceptional physical shape before he transitioned into Brose. Dave had been strong, tough as nails, and muscular. Standing six feet two inches tall and weighing one hundred ninety-five pounds he could bench press four hundred pounds, two hundred five percent of his weight. The running he’d done to escape his school yard ostracization kept him slim and fit and gave him tremendous stamina. As he grew and took on more and more farm chores his strength and stamina grew. It was nothing for him to heft two one hundred bags of feed or to work for hours non-stop. The conclusion they reached was that Dave’s superior physical strength and stamina had been fully retained just downsized to fit Brose’s smaller five feet seven inches and one hundred thirty pound frame. If anything, proportionally her prowess was slightly increased since she was able to bench press two hundred seventy five pounds, two hundred twelve percent of her weight. Basically, the muscle memory and stamina made the transition.

By the end of a week of tactical training, her skills proved so impressive she was called in to meet with Colonel Harris, Kristyn, and Max.

"Brose, you've proved an adept student in your talent training and tactical training," Max began. "We're going to put you on the active duty roster effective immediately."

"Thank you, sir," Brose replied. "I look forward to contributing to our success in the field."

"Brose, I know you had a rough life before you came here," Kris stated. "You've really blossomed since your arrival and have whole heartedly jumped into life at The Center. I do have one concern. You're open and friendly, help anyone you can, and use your talent to make others happy. At the same time, you are driven to excell. What you did in the Iron Man Race was mind blowing. What you've endured in your training is more than anyone should expect yet you do it without complaint. It seems as if you have two distinct personalities."

"I don't have two personalities, but I do have two modes," Brose declared. "I have the 'me' mode which is what has blossomed since I came here. It was really repressed and secret before but it kept me sane. The other is my 'stoic' 'get 'er done' mode. That's what I used to handle my interactions with others before transitioning. My dossier shows how I was isolated, ostracized and how emotionally repressed and inexperienced I was. It does not show how I was abused at home."

"When I turned seven the exterminator my uncle had been using to control the rats retired. That only left a local affiliate of a nationwide extermination company. When the quote came in, my uncle nearly had a stoke. The new exterminator wanted to charge over twice as much as the previous man. When he tried to negotiate a better price, the new guy refused. It was a take it or leave it bid," Brose explained. "My uncle left it. It became my job each fall and spring to go rat hunting in the sewers beneath the hog pens. There were five hog buildings built side by side with fifty feet separating each. Each building was sixty feet wide and one thousand feet long. The concrete floors were gently sloped from the sides to the center where eight inch diameter drains were spaced twenty feet apart so the building could be hosed down and sanitized. The drain pipes emptied straight down into thirty inch round concrete pipes that ran from either end of the building to meet in a cess pit in the middle. Each cess pit drained into a thirty six inch round pipe that ran from cess pit to cess pit from the outer building under the other four buildings to empty into the manure lagoon."

Kristyn began to pale.

"We'd start the job by plugging every drain except for the very last one in each run which we covered with a large wire cage with a one way gate in at the mouth of the last drain," Brose continued. "I'd then slip into an old pair of overalls my aunt had modified by sewing leather over the knees and front bib. Then wearing an old miner's hard-hat with an electric light, carrying an old .22 revolver, a pouch full of ammo, a mean looking Bowie knife and donning leather gloves, I would crawl into the exit of the thirty six inch sewer pipe at the lagoon. Once I was inside, my uncle would place a big fan in the opening to force 'fresh' air into the pipe. That ‘fresh’ air was drawn from above the manure retention lagoon."

Max began to pale.

"Then I had to crawl through the hog manure sludge to the first cess pit," Brose stated. "Most of the rats would scurry ahead of me. Those that didn't I'd shoot with the .22 and crawl over them. Once at the cess pit, I'd let out a yell and Uncle Adam would open the lid. Since I was still in the drain pipe, I'd shoot any rats still in the cess pit before crawling into the pit. Uncle Adam would lower a piece of a steel frame covered with steel mesh. The quarter inch square openings allowed the air from the fan to flow through while it block the rats from the exit pipe. I’d prop it in place sealing off the pipe. Then we blocked the pipe from the next building and one of the side pipes with sheet steel covered wood. Uncle Adam would close the lid so the air flow would be forced up the side pipe I’d have to enter next. Then I'd set off down the 480 foot long thirty inch pipe under the building. These pipes were smaller so I had to wriggle through them on my tummy through the slop. It wasn't until the last fifty feet or so that the trapped rats began to panic. I had no choice but to became adept at reloading the revolver with one hand while fending off terrified rats with the Bowie knife. Uncle Dave took care of any rats that fled up the last drain into the wire cage. Crawling through the thirty inch pipe through the slimy stinking hog manure sludge while herding and killing rats wasn't the worst part though. Edging out backwards to the sump pit was an absolute nightmare. At each sealed drain I had to pause and make sure no rats were in the eight inch upright pipe above my head. I couldn’t do that on the way in because of all the rats in front of me. What that meant was that if a rat had climbed one of the sealed drains, it could drop behind me. If it decided to scamper my way behind me I had no defense."

Colonel Harris began to pale.

"Once I felt my feet push back into the cess pit, I'd yell again," Brose continued unflinchingly. "Uncle Dave would open the lid and rousted any rats. Then I'd exit the pipe feet first into the pit and seal off the pipe I'd just cleared with another piece of sheet metal covered plywood. By that time I'd be covered head to toe with hog manure, even in my mouth and up my nose. Even my nether regions were coated as my clothes were soaked. On top of that there was the rat blood and guts I'd crawled through. Uncle Adam would gave him a water bottle to rinse my mouth out and a rag to wipe my face. Then I'd set off down the opposite pipe to repeat what I'd just done. It took an entire day to clear all ten side pipes. When I hit puberty I started having problems squeezing into the thirty inch pipes. The last time I'd have gotten stuck if it hadn't been for the lubrication of the manure. My rat tally was usually between three to five hundred."

The calmness Brose exhibited while telling her story was unsettling but also signified what she said was horribly true.

"The experience forced me to become an expert marksman with the .22 revolver," Brose summed up her experience. "I'm also quite deadly wielding a Bowie knife in a confined space. I learned to overcome the terror by turning my fear into justified wrath while staying calm and being methodical. The adrenalin boost strengthened me and helped me endure the horrendous conditions and get the job done. Between the twice yearly pipe crawls, in the little free time I had, I'd take a book to read and set up a sniper post wherever there were rat signs. I had to be at least 25 yards away or the rats wouldn't come out. If the range was less than a 100 yards I used a .22 rifle. For longer ranges I used the scope equiped lever action .30-.30 my uncle used for deer hunting. Over the years I became an expert marksman with both weapons. My weapons skill translated over to small game hunting. I seldom missed rabbits, squirrels, pheasants, or quail with the double barrelled 12 gauge shotgun. I started going deer hunting with my uncle when I was twelve and we both bagged a deer every year. I used the shotgun with solid slugs while my uncle used the .30-.30 rifle."

"The animals we hunted never went to waste," Brose declared. "The meat was a substantial portion of our diet. I also learned how to field dress the animals we shot. It wasn't much different form assisting in the slaughter of a hog, chicken or steer."

"That's why I appear so calm and detached during training," Brose explained. "That's why it doesn't even begin to phase me to go into the worst conditions or situations. It's similar to how I can get into the runner's zone and just keep going. I'll probably be the same on a real mission. I guess seventeen trips crawling through pig shit in the sewers killing rats toughened me."

Colonel Harris, Kris, and Max now understood the dichotomy that was Ambrosia Shamrock. She was one tough SOB. None of them could even imagine crawling into a manure filled sewer to hunt rats, much less starting to do at age seven. They also decided they would like her by their side on any mission.

It was just two days later when Dani had a startling precog vision. This would be a first. A set of quadruplets were going to hit first emergence in a shopping mall. It would also be The Center's biggest open confrontation with an opposing retrieval organization. Their agents would get there first but only by a few minutes to apprehend the siblings. The quads wouldn't take kindly to being kidnaped and the stress would bring about first emergence. It would be messy with many deaths and injuries. The Center Team would arrive in time to prevent a total disaster and would take out several people from the opposing organization, but they would still manage to get away with the quads with Center teams on their tail. There had been a dozen opposition (or as they had begun to call them, oppos,) vans and SUVs involved as the pursuit left the parking lot. The final outcome was unclear.

What was worse, they only had nine hours to get to there. Kris ordered Max to scramble every available person and ordered people flown in from the Beta site to watch The Center. Four one time only squads were hastily set up. Kris would lead one, Max another, Luce a third, and Ray the fourth. Five soldiers would be assigned to each squad

Alpha Squad consisted of Kris (electrokenetic), Dani (an empath), Liz (a healer), Sheri (a token reader) and Kevin (a telepath).

Beta Squad consisted of Max (a hydroknetic), Christopher (AKA Tina, an empath) Lara (a pathfinder), Rita (an eraser) and Brose.

Charlie Squad consisted of Luce (a probability manipulator), Sean (a medium), Van (a pyrokenetic), Lili (a telepathic) and Heather (Photokenetic).

Delta Squad consisted of Ray (an expert marksman), Michael (a lactokenetic), Lise (projecting empath), Sydney (a spirit diver) and Samantha (a telekenetic/dracokenetic).

As the squads packed their gear, each expert marksman was given a modified .358 magnum revolver that had an integral silencer. The tip of the bullets was a hardened steel pin designed to penetrate metal. Behind it was a rivet that slammed the pin inside and firmly attached the round. Behind the rivet was a miniature GPS locator. The GPS tags that would allow the vehicle to be tracked.

Brose was nervous as they gathered their gear and put on their commando gear. This would be her first mission. While she felt she'd do well, she felt the same unease in the pit of her stomach she'd always felt as she prepared to enter the sewers under the hog barns to kill rats. She hoped once the action began, she’d drop into rat killing mode.

The forty team members boarded the jet. Each squad gathered together to review what intelligence they had and to familiarize themselves with the layout of the mall and environs as well as to get to know each other a bit better. Brose quickly learned the smell of each soldier. She could also smell the mingled controlled fear, anxiety, and excitement. What made her smile was the scent of determination and concern for the team emanating from Kris, Max, Luce, and Ray. They were natural leaders, although Ray seemed a bit unsure as he’d never led a squad. He did have a lot of missions under his belt so knew what to expect.

They landed at Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst in New Jersey under heavy security and transferred to waiting Hummers each with a pair of fully armed Green Berets as driver and guard. Each squad required two vehicles. The five soldiers rode in one and the five Center people rode in the other. A company of armed soldiers followed in trucks to secure the Mall until the clean-up teams could arrive.

It didn't take long before they pulled up to the Ocean City Mall in Toms River, New Jersey. The mall proper was shaped like a backwards stretched open 'C'. The Southeast corner had Boscov's as an anchor big box store. The southwest corner had a J.C. Penny Store. In the middle of the western side was a Macy's. The north end was anchored by Sears. The main Mall entrance was on the eastern side opposite the Macy's. There was a second mall entrance on the eastern side about 40 yards south of Sears. The last mall entrance was also on the east side directly beside the Boscov's. That entrance led into a main mall concourse with the mall food court on the opposite side. Alpha and Delta Squads deployed at the main entrance, Delta ready to pivot right and Alpha left once they reached the main concourse. Charlie took the smaller North eastern entrance while Beta prepared to hit the remaining entrance.

As they positioned themselves to coordinate their entry, the situation went south. A loud explosion rattled the shopping center and gunfire sounded. It seemed to be coming from the area of the food court.

"Go go go," Kris barked as all four squads stormed through the doors just in time to avoid the screaming patrons running for their lives. All four squads scrambled toward the food court. Seeing the armed troops, the civilian confusion and panic increased.

Once inside and past the fleeing patrons Beta Squad immediately ran into the opposition. Four heavily armed men stood by the wall of the entrance hallway peering into the food court. Smoke was wafting into the concourse. The five soldiers raised their weapons and immediately spread out as Max called out ordering the men to drop their weapons.

As could be expected, although startled, they reacted like soldiers and opened fire. The auto fire bursts lasted five seconds. All four oppo's fell mortally wounded, one with a .50 cal hole in forehead and the back of his head missing. One Beta soldier was down, another clamped a hand over a growing red spot at his thigh but still maintained his combat stance with his MP5.

Brose was in her rat killing zone. She remained standing with a two handed grip on the Desert Eagle as she scanned for targets. A new scent filled the air, it came from the soldiers, theirs and the oppos as well as the transitioned squad members who had seen combat. Brose quickly labeled it battle anxiety and socked it away with other memorized scents.

Rita headed over to render first aid to the fallen soldier while the rest of the squad moved forward. The sound of the fire-fight had been masked by the clamoring fire alarms echoing through the mall. Several small fires could be seen in the food court and the sprinklers had been activated.

Brose whispered into Max's ear as they peered into the smoke the smoke filled concourse after they'd stepped over the dead men. “Stink Bomb?”

At Max's curt nod, Brose threw the smell of a backed-up sewer into the food court. She made it strong enough to be nauseating but not powerful enough to incapacitate as she'd done on the farm.
Max keyed his headset. "Stink bomb in food court."

The effect was immediate as dozens of coughing, hacking and puking sounds came from the effected area. The mist created by the triggered sprinklers mingled with the smoke and sewer stench to blunt the full effect of the stink bomb but it had still broken up the oppo's coordination and physically weakened their team.

As Max tried to peer through the smog Brose knelt down by one of the dead men and pulled off his headset. Placing it to her ear she could hear the oppo leader calling for his missing squad. Brose nudged Max and passed the headset to him. After listening he cut the unit's mike.

"They’re heading out the back. We're going to move in," Max notified the other squads as he organized his team to dodge across the concourse. Before he gave the signal, he used his hydrokenetic power to shape the water from the sprinklers into a wall he sent crashing into the food court to blind and further disorganize the oppos as they charged across the open space.

As Beta Squad ran forward they could see Alpha, Charlie, and Delta squads charging from the other end of the concourse. A bit of blind wild firing came from within the food court as the enemy knew what was coming. At the same time Brose felt a ferocious mind probe stab out from inside. Most of Alpha, Beta, Charlie and Delta Squads stumbled to the floor clutching their heads in pain. Only Luce, Kevin, Lili, Samantha, and Brose stayed on their feet. Luce and Brose were the only two able to immediately push ahead into the food court.

Brose was able to sniff the scent of infuriated male arrogance to it's source. The person was obviously a powerful transitioned dominator. A look of absolute surprise appeared on his face when he saw Luce enter from the one side as Brose entered from the other. Before Luce could do anything a big black hole appeared between the shocked dominator’s eyes and the back of his head exploded as his body was flung violently back. Luce looked over to see Brose still running with a two handed grip on her .50 cal Desert Eagle. The gun barked five more times in as many seconds as Brose located and dispatched the surprised frightened remaining oppos by tracing the scent of their battle anxiety.

"They've taken them out the back," Brose called into her headset as she traced the diminishing scent of those who had fled out the back leaving what they thought was a powerful rear guard.

"The rear guard has been eliminated. Brose and I are giving pursuit," Luce added as she ran after the determined yet seemingly serene Brose. She'd never seen anyone as coolheaded and calculating as this new girl but now understood why the untested girl had been included in the away team.

With the mental attack disrupted, the disabled team members staggered to their feet. Luce looked to see who was functional, obviously those not totally knocked down by the dominator. "Kevin, Lili, Samantha and Kevin, come with me after Brose."

"All transport to the Beta Squad entrance STAT. All other troops, out to the vehicles," Kris ordered as she stepped into the food court to survey the carnage. The oppo bodies she saw revealed the power of Brose's Desert Eagle. She smiled tightly, then joined the rest of the team as they headed out. "Lock down the mall and cordon off the food court and south mall entrance," she ordered the accompanying troops. "We need a complete news black-out so confiscate any and all personal communications devices. There will be NO exceptions. No one is to be allowed in or out until the investigative crew arrives to begin interrogation of possible witnesses. The only thing you can tell the interned, the local authorities, and the news media is 'NO COMMENT BY ORDERS OF THE DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY'."

Brose burst through the back door of the South Philly Steak & Fries shop. Since this section of the parking lot was so far away from any mall or store entrance, the area was virtually deserted... except for fourteen black vans and SUVS. The oppos were clearly shocked to see someone in pursuit so soon. Several snapped their weapons up and opened fire while others hurriedly bundled the apparently unconscious quads into separate SUVs.

Brose dove behind a dumpster as bullets ricocheted off and dinged the thick steel. As she dove she hurled a stink bomb into their midst. Pulling out her .357 magnum 'tagging' revolver she stood behind the dumpster and plugged each of the quad bearing SUV's.

Hearing the massive fusillade striking the steel and building Luce knew Brose was taking heavy fire. Wanting to come to her aid she cautiously opened the door just as the shooting stopped. She immediately knew why and slammed the door closed as she gasped for untainted air. From outside she could hear the steady bark of the Desert Eagle. Seven shots in rapid succession followed by a five second pause before another seven shots rang out as well as engines roaring and tires squealing.

The four man crew she’d called to assist reached Luce shortly after the third pause to reload. They could smell the dissipating remnants of the stink bomb that had made it through the door when Luce had opened it.

"All clear," Brose spoke into her headset. "They separated the quads but I 'tagged" all four SUV’s.” The continued report of her Desert Eagle over the connection could be clearly heard as she spoke.

Luce, Samantha, Kevin, Lili and Kevin jumped through the door with weapons at the ready to see the carnage in the parking lot. Brose stood calmly firing at disappearing taillights. Brose had 'tagged' the four SUV's and switched to her Desert Eagle to empty four magazines, twenty eight bullets, in ninety seconds. There were seven dead men on the parking lot as well as two vans with the engines running and dead drivers slumped over the steering wheels. Inside the vans were an additional three dead men. Of the twenty two dead oppos, Brose had nailed nineteen.

As Brose reloaded, tearing around the corner of the Boscov's store came the eight Hummers. Kris and Max stepped out of the Hummers to look at the massacre. By the massive wounds in the bodies and the size of the holes in the vans they knew it had been the .50 cal doing all the talking. No orders were needed for Luce and crew to rejoin their respective squads as they set off in pursuit.

The ‘tags’ worked to perfection. The GPS tracking showed the four SUVs traveling in line heading southwest at just over the limit. The Hummers followed. Turning from the mall parking lot left onto Hooper Avenue they traveled about two and half miles before going into a series of short runs on side streets. First right, then left, then right, left, left, right and finally a slight right onto Dover Road. After about three and half miles they turned right onto Pinewood Keswick Road. Their GPS showed the RJ Miller Ocean County Airport was a mile and half ahead.

The lead Hummer saw the taillights of the last oppo’s vehicle make a hard left where there was no road. They’d driven through a twelve foot cut out section of the barbed wire topped chain link fence that bordered Pinewood Keswick Road onto the grass clearing leading to the airport’s Northeast to southwest oriented runway. A sturdy wooden ramp had obviously been constructed across the drainage ditch just inside the fence. About 50 meters inside the fence the last two vehicles had stopped by prepared defensive positions which the men inside the SUVs quickly manned. The combination of armed posts and limited access in the open area precluded pursuit or making another breach in this area. Delta Squad was tasked with securing the fence line and keeping the rear guard busy.

The rest of the airport was ringed by the dense trees of New Jersey’s pine barrens. The other three squads continued a bit further to turn left onto Mule Road and then onto Airport road, the looping access road to the airport proper. As they turned into the northern entrance, explosions about a hundred yards ahead on either side of the tree lined route toppled trees across the road. Two SUVs were parked across the road behind the trees and automatic weapons fire opened up on the Hummers from the defended the road block. Charlie Squad was designated to pin the defenders down and if possible to breach the position.

The GPS maps indicated a trail was cut through the trees behind a large industrial building to the north side of the access road before the main tree line. Beta Squad was sent to try to reach the runway by that route while Alpha Squad continued on to the second entrance about 700 meters further down Mule road.

Alpha Squad was saved from ambush by Kevin when he sensed the enemy waiting in ambush as they barreled down the southern entrance of Airport Road. His warning enabled them to stop thirty meters short of the twin explosions that toppled trees from both sides of the road. The trees would have landed right on top of them. Even so, the men waiting in ambush opened fire. It was only due to Kris sending massive jolts of electricity into the downed trees exploding and igniting them that enabled the team to extract itself from the ambush. The surviving oppos scrambled down the road to fire from the trees lining the road. Even with Kris’ jolts, the road was still blocked.

Beta Squad swept around the industrial building to the trail through the trees. As their Hummers entered the twenty meter wide former road they came under fire from crews of two SUVS parked under the trees, one on either side. Max quickly ordered the Hummers into the trees on the northern side of the cut.

Max ordered two of the Green Berets to cross the cut to guard their flank and put suppressing fire on their attackers. Christopher and Rita stayed on their side of the road with the other green berets to put down suppressing fire. Max and the three soldiers remaining in his squad began to cautiously make their way through the trees to attempt to outflank the bad guys or at the least keep them occupied. While they did that he sent Brose and Lara off further north through the trees in a wide arc to reach the runway.

It was pitch black inside the forest. Even so Lara was able to run almost soundlessly through the trees and underbrush with ease. Brose was about five paces behind. They ran almost 200 meters through the trees before reaching the cleared area around the taxi strip and runway. Lara was breathing heavily by that time and the sound of gunfire from the four firefights echoed through the night air.

Brose snapped the night vision scope onto her Desert Eagle to look at the large aircraft parked about 240 meters away in a northeasterly direction at the end of the runway. Before transitioning Brose had developed an interest in aircraft. She recognized the new Russian built Sukhoi Superjet 100 SSJ 60. The jet was twenty four meters long with a wingspan of twenty eight meters. A large Sa M146 turbofan engine was suspended beneath each wing. The craft needed a minimum of one thousand five hundred and twenty meters to lift off so the eighteen hundred meter long runway was more than adequate. The engines were cranking up in preparation to taking off. She could see four SUV’s pulling off the runway where the drivers abandoned them to head back to the aircraft.

Brose signaled Lara to stay and took off at a dead run southeast across the taxi way in the shortest path to reach the runway, a distance of about one hundred fifty meters. The whine of the twin engines peaked and the craft began to roll down the runway. Their paths would intersect about one hundred eighty meters down the runway.

"We've lost them," Lara almost cried into her headset. "The jet's taking off."

Brose pulled the .358 magnum ‘tagging’ pistol from her vest as she ran keeping the Desert Eagle in her left hand. Running full out Brose reached the runway as the nose of the jet reached her position. Raising the revolver she fired her two remaining ‘tags’ into the right side of the jet’s body.

Dropping the revolver she did the only thing she could to keep from slamming into the side of the plane. She threw herself to the tarmac and her momentum caused her to roll beneath the fuselage as the jet wheeled over her. Even though buffeted by the jet exhaust, she was able to keep a grip on the Desert Eagle. Rolling into a prone firing position near the far edge of the runway she used both hands to aim at the jet’s left engine. The seven .50 caliber slugs in the magazine were snapped off as rapidly as she could aim and pull the trigger. Several found their mark.

As Brose regained her hearing, she could hear engines roar to life and two of the abandoned SUVs peeled rubber as they came barreling down the runway in pursuit of the jet.

"This is Delta Squad," Ray said. "The rear guard has abandoned their positions and are retreating toward the runway. Our firing knocked out their vehicles but it looks as if they're heading to the abandoned SUVs on the runway."

Brose was already on her feet, and calmly reloaded the Desert Eagle as she moved to the center of the runway to take up a firing stance as the darkened SUVs approached. Doing about seventy MPH, the driver of the first SUV suddenly saw an unflinching figure standing directly in front of him. It was the last image he'd ever see as his head exploded. The SUV swerved violently from side to side barely missing Brose who didn't move. The careening vehicle turned sideways and rolled over six times flinging the two unbelted occupants through the doors and windows before it burst into flames.

Brose ignored the carnage as the second SUV, seeing the calamity, slammed on his brakes lighting the runway behind him in red light. The driver never had a chance to see what caused the first SUV to crash as his head exploded. The two passengers bailed and dropped belly first on the tarmac firing wildly down the runway as Brose calmly sent a .50 caliber slug into the still running engine. The engine went into a death rattle and burst into flame as it died.

By then Brose was silhouetted by the growing flames of the first SUV but stood still. Calmly she put a slug through the head of one prone man. The other man hit Brose with a three shot burst knocking her to the ground.

Cautiously he looked around to see if anyone else was around, then he rose with gun ready and headed towards the prone figure. By the light of the two burning vehicles he saw the person he'd downed was a girl and the big Desert Eagle was still clasped in her right hand. When he saw she was still breathing he prepared to finish her off.

~
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> pew!
o