Part 37:Escort

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Hours later, well after midnight, it was time to turn in. I started out the door. The waitress stopped me.

“Oh no Senor. You can’t go just yet. We must call for an escort.” She said. Her boss agreed. He was already talking on the phone.

“It’ll be but a moment Senor.” There came a knock on the door. “Ah..they are here.”

He opened the door. A swarm of odd looking flying drones hovered in the parking lot. “Good evening Driver” they said in unison. “I am here to escort you to your truck.”

Imagine that. Being escorted to my truck by a swarm of Tie Fighters the size of trash can lids. I stepped into the middle of the swarm and walked toward Trog. They kept me enveloped as I stumped along.

Part way there, a shot rang out. Another and another then a whole fusillade. The belligerent customer that I had cold-cocked earlier had apparently lived. He’d rounded up his buddies and staged an ambush. They were shooting at me. They weren’t very good. Spray and pray seemed to be their mode of marksmanship.

Even so.

With enough bullets in the air one was likely to hit me. Even though I had on ballistic clothing I didn’t like to get shot. It hurt. I instinctively hit the dirt when the swarm spoke from around me. “Very good sir. We appreciate the help. Just lie there for a moment please.”

The snipers were walking their fire into their target. In this case that would be me. Oddly enough nothing hit me. The Tie Fighters interposed themselves between me and the bullets. They formed an interdiction sphere, a protective dome, over and around me. That’s why they were shaped that way. They weren’t Tie Fighters they were flying Shields. They formed an overlapping shield wall.

Then the oddest thing happened. The snipers began to die. Spread Spectrum Hell Beams I suspect although they were invisible. I imagine they came from the Bridge towers nearby. Two towers were in line of sight. The convergent beams briefly focused on each individual sniper. When hit by multi-megawatt beams, focused tight, the human body doesn’t even have time to explode..it just flashes to plasma with a slight ‘pop’. The focus was SO tight and SO accurate that the paint on the trucks that some of the snipers were hiding behind didn’t even get scorched.

“Very Good sir. I believe the hazard has been dealt with. You may carry on if you please.” The swarm politely informed me.

“You betcha” I slurred. I’d had a great many beers. I staggered onward to Trog, using my SmokePole to keep me from falling.

I’d heard about this kind of thing happening elsewhere. It seems that in some places, a LOT of places actually, the locals were getting a belly full of all the takers and fakers, the bandits that had appeared after the SHATTER. The thugs and the gangsters who’d rather steal than work. I was told that in many places the local people had formed pro-ZAP cooperatives or something. The bridge would lease them laser time. From what I heard it was practically for free. I suppose appearances must be maintained.

It’s NOT a good idea to break ZAP in direct line of sight of the Bifrost Bridge.

Those that do so are likely to get ZAPPED themselves..terminally so!

To Be Continued
The Next Episode will be
Part 38: I follow the Wild Geese
The Previous episode was
Part 36:That was the last Straw.…
the first episode was
Part 1 : Winter Storm

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@everittdmickey
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I write
SPECULATIVE FICTION
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