Running on Fumes Pt. 01

Simon walked over to the back door and called in the hounds. He'd taken time to set up a few targets on the back lawn when he went to get his arsenal. "You ready for some target practice?" he asked.

"Yeah, sure. I'll be out shooting Annie Oakley by noon," Kimmi said as she walked onto the lawn. She paused in surprise. "You just happened to have those targets lying around? Well, why not? You have the guns. Guess you need something to shoot at when you can't sleep at night. Or something."

Simon's eyes held amusement. "Do you think you might be able to hit one of those targets from here," he asked.

"Sure. Which one? I aim to please." Kimmi grinned, pleased at the pun.

Simon laughed. "That one." He pointed to the closest target. "That's right. Just point and squeeze gently."

BLAM! The shot went wild. Kimmi looked stunned.

Simon shook his head. "Good thing I don't have any close neighbors.

"That's a lot more powerful than what Alex and I were shooting. I wasn't ready. Let me try again."

"Be my guest," Simon said mildly.

Kimmi tried again. And missed. And again. "Damn it," she cursed. What's wrong with this thing?"

Simon tried not to laugh. He gave up, and walked up behind her, his amusement apparent. "Let me help. Lean back, into me. Okay. He placed his arms on hers, showing her how to balance herself and the weapon. They aimed the gun together. "You have to adjust for the kick. See?" he said as they squeezed off the first shot. The bullet slammed into the top of the target.

"But you're gonna want to strike lower. Remember? Where are you gonna aim? Show me. Good. Okay, squeeze. BLAM. The bullet hit home, almost where Kimmi had wanted it. "Better," Simon said. "Try it yourself this time." He stepped away from her. She aimed carefully, balancing the gun just so…. BLAM. "Bingo!" Kimmi yelled.

"Great," Simon said. "Now this time, after you squeeze the trigger, I want you to hold it and squeeze further. Take your time. Aim."

Kimmi followed his instructions. When she held the trigger back, the rest of the clip fired off in one long spurt. When it stopped firing Kimmi looked down at the gun, astonished.

"That's for if you really get into trouble." Simon took the gun from Kimmi and reloaded. "Hold the trigger down, like so, and it goes to semi-automatic. Then start swinging your firing arm in an arc…" He demonstrated. "to get as many bullets into as many people as possible. But watch where you fire," he admonished. "You don't want to hit any friends." He passed the gun back to Kimmi. "Try it."

"Uh. Simon?" Kimmi was kind of dazed. "Do you think this is going to be necessary? You're talking about warfare. I don't know if I…."

"Hell," he said harshly. "I don't know if it's going to be necessary. That's why it's so important. It could come down to you and me against a swarm of yellow jackets. I'd say that's warfare, wouldn't you? I'd be a whole lot more comfortable if you knew the basics." Simon wanted to take back his words when he saw the look on Kimmi's face. She sure didn't know what she was getting into when she went to bed with me last night. What was I thinking? That I could leave this side of me behind? He cursed himself silently.

"I'm sorry, Kimmi," he said. "But this could be deep shit we've gotten ourselves into. We've got to be prepared. If I could go back to yesterday maybe I'd drop the whole damn thing. I should have let it go like I was talking about earlier."

"No." Kimmi struggled to get a grip. "Go back? Leave me wondering for the rest of my life about Alex's death? Let Krowe continue its experiments? I don't think so. At least, that's not what I'd want."

"I was hoping this side of me was ancient history." Simon said. "You shouldn't have to deal with it."

"No?" Kimmi sighed. "Would you have wanted to hide it away for ever? Would that have been possible? Its better it's out. It's one less murky package to explore later."

Simon sighed, and then laughed. "Okay. And I'm going to enjoy giving you a package to explore later."

"That's more like it," Kimmi said, smiling. "Now where's that gun?"

They continued their target practice for a few more minutes. Kimmi was getting the swing of things, but her arms were starting to ache. They knew they were running out of time. They had to get into Krowe as soon as possible. Hopefully before the company had a chance to figure out what was going on.

They finished a clip. "It's getting late," Simon pointed out. "We'd better get going."

"So where do I keep this baby?" Kimmi asked, indicating the gun.

"I have a shoulder harness. You won't mind wearing one of my jackets, will you?

"Nah. It'll be my new fashion statement. I assume you'll be armed, too.

"Oh yeah," Simon said as he helped Kimmi into the harness. "You don't have to worry about that." Simon put away the targets, secured the house and they were ready to go.

The day was starting to heat up by the time they hit the freeway. It was early, but the road was already clogged with commuters. It was white-knuckle driving – bumper to bumper at 70 miles per hour. When the tube first opened, it relieved some of the highway congestion. But the phenomenal growth of the pan-globals over the past twenty years had spurred auto commuting which was as bad now as it had been at the beginning of the century.

"God, I couldn't do this every day." Kimmi shuddered at the thought. "No wonder people get so crazy. They risk their lives every morning just getting to work. People and their cars. I'll never understand it."

Simon was amused. "Haven't you ever owned a car?" he asked.

"No. Never. It wasn't on my list of priorities. I had my mo-ped to get around on. Of course that's history now."

"You mean you didn't bug your daddy to buy you a car the minute you turned 16, like a normal teenager?"

"No. I never needed a car. My siblings were really into driving but some how it didn't seem important to me. Anyway, Alex was always there to ferry me around…" her voice drifted off. "Shit," she said. I never realized how much a part of me he was. We grew up together, you know. He was always around. We got to the point where we took each other for granted. He started changing. And I wasn't paying attention. I was living life with my head in the sand, waiting for…what? I don't know." Kimmi sighed.

They rode in silence for a while. When they hit the turn off for King of Prussia, Kimmi gave Simon directions to Alex's condo. Simon was curious about the man who had been so much a part of Kimmi's life.

It was hard for Kimmi to open the door. There were so many memories. She put on a brave front and ushered Simon in.

They walked through the condo quietly, as if it were a museum. Simon looked at the bits and pieces of Alex's life. He didn't like what he saw. There was no depth, no character. There was nothing of substance in the house except for memorabilia of Kimmi and Alex's career at Krowe.

Simon cleared his throat as they entered Alex's bedroom. "Well, Alex," what have you got in your closet?"

Kimmi was trying not to cry. "Did his life add up to so little? Dear God, he was so proud of his position at Krowe. What a waste," Kimmi said sadly.

Simon shook his head and started looking through Alex's wardrobe.

"Here's a uniform," he said after a few minute's search. "I think it'll fit. He was about my size, wasn't he?"

"Yeah," Kimmi said. "You'll make a hell of a yellow jacket. Go ahead, put it on."

Simon stripped and donned the uniform, which was designed to carry weapons. He made good use of it.

"This is a great design," he said as he slipped an automatic into a cleverly hidden pouch.

Kimmi smiled. "You look like a super hero with all that artillery. Alright, let's go get some bad guys. I hope it's still early enough to surprise them.

There was little to say as they drove to the Krowe building. They went over their plans, but talking just made them more jittery. The short drive seemed to take hours. Finally they arrived.

"This is it," Kimmi said as they pulled into the parking lot. They left the car at the far end of the lot, wanting to make it seem like they were arriving separately from the tube.

They walked quickly through the lot. It felt like there were a thousand eyes on them. A shiver of fear ran down Kimmi's back. When they got to the entrance Simon opened the door for Kimmi. They walked in. It was before opening hours so they were stopped at the security desk. Kimmi handed her card to the guard. He ran it through and raised his eyebrows at the computer's response.

The guard reached for his phone. Simon stopped him. "I have her," he said.

"But…" the guard started to say. Simon clipped him on the chin and down he went. They trussed him up and stashed him behind the security desk.

"I guess they were waiting for me," Kimmi said as they entered the elevator.

"Looks like it." He punched the button for the sixth floor. "Now let's see if we have a welcoming committee."

The elevator door opened. The sixth floor was clear. The medical side was getting started for a new day. Health care professionals and cleaning staff were going about their business.

Simon and Kimmi looked over at the research lab. It looked normal. Kimmi'd never paid much attention to the lab. She didn't know what was normal. There was the door as Alex had shown her in the dream. She punched in the code. The door opened and Kimmi slipped inside.

Kimmi looked around. Yes. It was just as Alex said it would be. She nodded to Simon. Simon positioned himself at the door.

The room where the dream research was run was dark. Kimmi walked into the shadows. Her heart was in her throat.

Light flashed. The entire lab was illuminated. Sol Windom sat at a desk in the far corner of the room.

"Kimmi," Sol said sadly. "I was hoping it wouldn't come to this."

Kimmi went for her gun but Sol was way ahead of her. "Drop it." He raised his own weapon. Kimmi complied.

"Why, Sol? I thought you were better than this. All along you've been handling Krowe's garbage. Doing their dirty work. Did you think it would get you into the inner sanctum?

"But it did, my dear. Voila," he made a wide gesture and Glory appeared at the door. She walked over to Sol and kissed him on the mouth. "Good hunting, I see. Where's your friend?" she asked.

Kimmi blessed Simon's instincts. Apparently he'd avoided Glory. "I came alone."

"Really? I'm surprised. There's more to little Kimmi than I thought. I couldn't get what Alex saw in you. You're such a little nothing. He always ran back to you, didn't he? Poor Alex, always dreaming, never looking a head. A head. Now that's a puzzle. What happened to Alex's head, Kimmi? Do you still have it? What are you going to do with it? Mount it? Put it on your wall?"

"You're sick," Kimmi said. "What happened to you? Did you do too much dreaming? Maybe your brain will explode next. I hope so anyway"

"Oh no, I'm not that stupid."

"You tried it out on all those people and never tried it yourself? But if you knew, why did you let Alex…."

"I didn't. Alex took it upon himself."

"Christ. Well, now you know the research has to be destroyed."

"Destroyed? Don't be absurd. The problem is just a glitch. We'll sort it out. It's the most important scientific development ever. The things we can do with it are unfathomable."

"You're wrong. It's an abomination. No one should be able to invade a person's dreams. That's why the brain explodes. It can't take the violation. It's the ultimate rape.

"That's not it at all. The problem has something to do with the interface. We'll work it out and the dream technology will be on line in no time."

"I don't think so. What're you going to do, kill me? And then what? You'll still have Simon and Delacroix Enterprises to contend with." Kimmi wondered where Simon had got to. She was sure he was up to something. "He'll kill the project. He has the head. That and the personnel files coupled with the fire bombing should be enough to bring the Feds down on your project."

Glory laughed. "Grow up, Kimmi. The Feds already have their fingers in the pie. They're as committed as I am, maybe more. The uses they'll put it to are endless."

"He'll go public, then." Kimmi was bargaining for time.

"And he'll die as easily as you. Shoot her, Sol," Glory commanded.

Sol hesitated. He had a soft spot for Kimmi.

"Do as I say, you fat bag of shit,"

Kimmi whirled around and punched Glory in the face. At the same time the door exploded Simon plunged into the room with a gun in both hands.

With a roar, Sol jumped up firing. He shot right into Glory's chest. She looked at him in shock as she fell.

Simon and Kimmi froze.

"Bag of shit, am I? You're nothing but a worn out, two bit whore. He spat on her face.

"You don't know the crap I put up with from her over the years," he said, stepping over her body. Simon and Kimmi looked at each other amazed. "It was her fault the dream research went awry. She was in too much of a hurry. Wouldn't follow the protocol. Insisted on using test subjects over and over 'til their brains popped. And then she got this thing for Alex. What did he have over me? A pretty face, that's all. I'm sorry, Kimmi, but Alex was a worthless drug addict. So I turned him on to the dream technology. That made him happy, didn't it?"

"You bastard!" Kimmi cried. "It was you all along."

"Watch your mouth! I still haven't decided what to do with you and your friend. Besides, I saved your life."

"What do you mean?" Kimmi asked.

"At the club. I made my boys wait until you were on the dance floor before they fired."

"No." Kimmi groaned in disbelief. "You were there that night? You didn't care how many you killed, as long as I wasn't one of them?" She was disgusted. "And you and Glory. How long..?

"Years," Sol admitted. "But it was nothing. The dream technology. Now that's something. He raised his gun. You can't stop it."

Simon leveled a pistol at Sol. He tossed another to Kimmi. She grabbed it and took aim. "Looks like we have a Mexican stand off," Simon said in a low voice. "What'll it be, Sol? Shoot me and Kimmi'll drop you. And if you shoot Kimmi there won't be much left for the devil to take when I'm done with you. So why don't you drop the gun, nice and easy?"

Sol seemed to deflate. He lowered his weapon. Simon pushed him into a chair and secured him with duct tape.

"Well, that was fun," Kimmi said with a wry smile. "Now, back to business. What time is it?

It was still early, but Krowe personnel would soon be on the scene. "Work fast," Simon said "I'll guard the door."

Kimmi set about the task of destroying the dream research as Alex showed her in her dream. The data base and back up discs were easy. What should I do about the hard files she thought worriedly when she finished with the computer. There was a whole room full of files to dispose of. It's too much to shred quickly. Damn, I'm going to have to burn it all. But how?

Simon was getting impatient. "How's it going back there?" he called from the front of the lab.

Kimmi left the file room and went to consult with Simon. "The computer's all taken care of but there's a whole pile of paper we're going to have to get rid of somehow. Got any ideas?"

"Yeah. A nice big fire."

"That's what I thought. But how are we going to start it?"

"This is a research lab. There should be something. Let's take a look around."

They searched the facility and came up empty handed. Then Simon found what they needed in a small utility closet.

"Yes! He said with a laugh. There is justice in this world. Look what I found, Kimmi."

He pulled an acetylene torch out of the closet. "Do you want to do the honors, or shall I?" he asked.

"We'll take turns. This should be fun."

"This is for the human resources gang," Kimmi said as she blasted the first filing cabinet. "And this is for Alex."

They spent the next few minutes charring the last remaining evidence of the dream research. The heat must have set off the fire alarm and the sprinklers.

"We've got to get out of here," Simon shouted over the bedlam. "If we don't we're going to end up in prison."

"What do we do about Sol? We can't leave him here. And Glory." Kimmi was starting to panic. Simon walked over to the fat man who was slumped over in the chair. "What are we supposed to do with you?" Simon asked.

There was no response.

"Sol," Simon said, prodding him, "come on, it's time to go." Sol didn't move. His head lulled to the side. Simon touched his face. It was flaccid, lifeless.

Simon grasped Sol's wrist, feeling for a pulse. Nothing.

"Sol seems to have resolved our problem," Simon said to Kimmi. "Let's get the tape off him."

"What…?"

"Sol's dead. He must have had a heart attack, Or maybe he died like Alex. I don't know if he sampled the dream technology." Simon said as he struggled to tear all of the duct tape off Sol's massive body. He left Sol holding the gun used on Glory.

"Christ."

"Yeah. I guess we got off easy. Let's get the hell out of here before the troops arrive."

The fire trucks were already on the scene. Firemen were streaming into the building as Simon and Kimmi left the building.

"So, Simon, do you have any interest in hiring an out of work human resources specialist, with a broken collar bone, no assets and an apartment full of cast off junk?" Kimmi asked as they made a dash for Simon's car.

"I don't know. Can she dance?"

It was a beautiful summer morning. The air was fresh and clear. And there was a whole world of new opportunities on the horizon.