Chapters 11-20
----------------
Hum of the Angels
Chapter 11
BBI_fiero
==========
Radar, angrily stomping his foot. ?Blithering idiot!!? He removed his headphones, looking skyward.
A thunderous wind broke the air. The sound of props made the tent and equipment vibrate.
Psychic and the British BBI watched a small private aircraft fly low over their heads then quickly depart.
?What was that?,? shouted the newest intern.
?Bloody Barn stormer!!? replied Radar. ?Some hot-dog pilot thinks he?s clever..I don?t know.?
Psychic kept staring at the clouds. ?Or perhaps another Island resident that?s suffering the same symptoms as Knuckles.?
?Eey??
They glanced at each other. After noting the comment, Radar returned his attention to the instruments. ?Nothing else present?.guess shows? over?..? Turning around, he continued. ?You may have a point.?
Pyschic, opening the entrance flap of the communications tent, commented. ?I?m going to join Dr. Zweibel.?
?O.K. lass, I?ll keep watch here.?
Sidney Zweibel holding his stethoscope began observing Knuckles? medical condition. He took various pulse rates, pressures, and temperatures. Tommyboy walked over and gave the tall doctor a small sheet. Jersey commenced mumbling to himself quickly scanning the PH printout. ?No signs of poison or infection. Blood analysis- o.k?no organ malfunction?Aside from slightly elevated blood pressure, and exhaustion, her overall health is good. Whatever is upsetting her isn?t anything physical.?
Psychic interrupted. ?Then perhaps it?s something in her mind.?
Tommyboy and Sid looked at the young intern.
?Maybe I should try to examine her mental state.?
?You mean perform hypnosis or something?? queried Jersey.
?Yes?with your permission of course.?
TB shrugged. The doctor began nodding. ?I don?t see any harm in trying something different.?
?All right?? She faced Tommyboy, ?We?ll use our tent.?
Jersey and TB acknowledged. They assisted Psychic with the task of carrying Knuckles into the girls tent. They placed her on the nearest empty cot.
Perfect Tommy spotted them; poking his head in, he asked, ?Whats? going on?? replied the blond HK cavalier. He was carrying an AK-14.
TB asked him ?Can you and Thunder keep watch over the base camp perimeter??
?What?s wrong with Knuckles??
?We?re still checking her medical condition.?
?Can I-? ?.She cut him off.
?I need you two to keep watch.?
?Against what?!!?
?In case there are other crazy locals lurking out there.?
?I understand?.?We?re means ?not me??..Sure?I?ll go play in the traffic like a good boy!!?
TB started to call out to him, ?Wait Tom-!!..oh?.crud!?
He had angrily sprinted off too quickly for a response.
?D@mn,? she thought to herself. She didn?t mean to isolate PT from their effort. But they did need to keep Knuckles safely quarantined until the intern could finish with her work. She would have sent Ranger out on patrol but he was busy attempting to repair Knuckles? jeep.
Slouching in defeat, Tommyboy figured the matter would have to wait until later.
It took a few minutes for Psychic to place Knuckles in a trance. The new intern was asking the Bounty Hunter to retrace her experiences on the Island. TB had a laptop with her, typing away as the woman questioned Knuckles. Jersey watched for a few minutes then he stepped outside to get some water.
He bumped into BBI_Thunder whom was carrying a rifle.
?Everything going well with her? Man, she was creeping me out earlier, what with that knife on TB.?
?Knuckles is O.K?just a little stressed. I gave her something to calm down.?
The BBI looked at the ground then up again. ?Anything I can do, let me know, Doc!?
?Just some R and R is all she needs.? replied Sidney.
Thunder nodded, swung his rifle over and continued on with his patrol. New Jersey located a full canteen from the medical stores. He began to head back to the girls tent, when suddenly Radar joined him.
?Doc, mind if I tag along??I?m really bored from all this scanning.? ?What did you find??
?That?s just it, chap, besides that Barn stormer-not a bloody thing! ? Radar whipped off his spectacles. Sid continued listening. ?All I?m detecting on my instruments are occasional Mauritius aircraft channel, local police picking up drunk tourists, and some short wave broadcasts from a couple of island ham radio operators?.I can?t find anything out of the ordinary!?
?Need a break, eh? O.K?.follow me.? The lanky doctor and the BBI walked through the high grass together.
Minutes later, they arrived at the girls? tent; Jersey was the first to look in. He was surprised to find all three chatting. ?Wow..up already??
Tommyboy looked at him and replied, ?Psychic discovered something interesting.?
The young intern shrugged.?Well, TB tied it together, actually.?
The doctor handed over his canteen to Knuckles.
?Doctor, I apologize for my irrational behavior on the radio?I know you weren?t??
?No need to explain, ? replied a smiling Sid, arm on Knuckles? shoulder. She thanked him and eagerly commenced drinking.
?Knuckles was attacked by some villagers,? said Psychic.
?They caused all this destruction?? inquired Radar.
The Jesse James' Club owner finally spoke up, ?Yes?However, I may have egged them on. My dog was missing and I assumed the worst.?
?You started a fight? - Noooooo?!!!? needled Tommyboy.
They both chuckled.
?By the way, Oddity is in the communications tent. Although he doesn?t appear angry, like you were, we secured him to the center post just the same, to prevent any of us from getting bit.?
?Well?Thank goodness you all arrived and we?re all here together again!?It?s like a bad dream?I owe you a free drink, TB.?
TommyBoy nodded.
That done,Psychic began her speech. ?Unknownst to Knuckles, she and some villagers have been affected by some disturbance.Rather than being a constant influence, it seems to be intermittent.?
Radar quipped. ?That?s one reason it could be bloody hell to pinpoint!?Blimey.?
She continued to explain. ?Tommyboy found a few incidences in the history log..It occurred when Knuckles last communicated with The Institute, then again 15 hours ago, during her scuffle with the locals.?
?That?s interesting.? quipped Sidney.
?That?s not all, it coincides with seismic activity.?
?Seismic activity??
TB showed New Jersey and company a global map. She reduced it until it displayed only Mauritius Island Topology, with colored ovals indicating various stresses.
Tommyboy explained to the doctor. ?There?s seismic activity happening around the world all the time. Here, you can see most of it in this Island region falls under the Richter scale. But none the less, it?s measurable??
Radar cried out in an exasperated voice,? Sayyy here-lass, You?re telling me the energy source I?m trying to find could be a physical phenomenon rather than electromagnetic in nature?!! ?.Then I?m wasting my bloody time adjusting radios when I should be using sonar imaging equipment!! ?.Wonderful !!?just ruddy wonderful.?
Tommyboy almost laughed at the strong accent. Reassuring him, she said, ?Nothing wrong with covering all bases?Have to start from some place?.right??
He collapsed in the next cot. ?Right.?
Psychic glanced to Sidney.
?That could explain the lack of birds,least when we arrived,that we noticed earlier?Some animals seem to naturally detect earthquake phenomenon.? ?Makes sense.? Zweibal acknowleged.
?So that?s why the mother left her baby chicks! ? whispered Knuckles. She pointed back in the direction of the nest she had commandeered. It lay behind Knuckles? jeep in the distance.
Ranger was presently hunched over the engine trying his best to ignore the occasional chirping. Thinking out loud, he said, ?Hey!! I?m not your Mom!?keep it down kids!?
Back at the tent, everyone turned their attention to Knuckles. The bar owner calmly explained. ?I rescued some birds just before I was attacked by the villagers.?
?So that?s why you ran off.? said Tommyboy, whom was thinking about the earlier knife incident.
Psychic added, ? Under those stressful influences, it wouldn?t take much to get people agitated. And without medical attention, the mental effect seems to take hours to wear off?as we seen with you.?
?How are we going to protect ourselves from this? It?s probably just a matter of time before it happens again!? exclaimed Knuckles, looking at everyone.
Psychic, pulling out her small cache, continued. ?Hikita and I devised these earplugs. Once tuned to a set frequency and upon detection - the electronics generates an opposite waveform counterpart, thus negating it?s effect. Abeit, we may not hear it, they do work.?
?You have enough for all of us??
?Yes, Knuckles.? She handed her an earpiece. ?It?s passive. Electronics self adjusts within milli-seconds.?
?Cool?? replied the Bounty hunter, curiously studying the devices.
Psychic kept the pouch open.
TB took a set then commented to the rest of the present members.
?We all better wear these, now that we are forewarned - we are forearmed.? A random thought had just occurred to Tommyboy. She jumped up off the cot.
?Oh my goodness, Perfect Tommy and Thunder are out on patrol?Radar !! Could you search for them and give??
The Brit cut off her sentence; he was ahead of her. ?Right!? Radar carefully took two pairs and quickly departed the girl?s tent.
Psychic took off in the direction of Ranger.
Sid Zweibel stood alone with Knuckles and TB. Placing his arms cross his chest, he asked out loud, ?A good question now would be, is this phenomenon a freak occurrence in nature? Or is this something man-made??..And for what purpose??
The present members of Team Banzai looked up at New Jersey, pondering the statement.
----------
Hum of the Angels
Chapter 12
By Nicki Knight
----------
Perfect Tommy kicked at the ground, sending a pile of leaves flying into the air. "Oh, poor me, no traffic. Now what?" he grumbled to himself. "Wonder if there's a drunk wart hog here abouts might run me over."
He stopped and dropped his chin to his chest. Damn, his head hurt.
He knew Tommy Boy didn't mean anything by what she said. Hell, what would he have done to help Knuckles' anyhow? Rewire the girl? Considering the fact that he and Knuckles tended to spend every waking moment at each other's throats, or pushing each other into the biggest, meanest trouble they could find, it was probably best that he wasn't around right away anyhow. He did promise Tommy Boy he'd behave... sorta. Help her out.
Then again, they were talking about Knuckles, a.k.a. Jessica James, a.k.a. Pain in the Butt... HIS pain in the butt. He REALLY wanted to make sure she was alright.
Something snapped.
Perfect Tommy's head came up, coming alert. His eyes scanned the trees, his ears perked. Was something out there? Someone?
All he saw were more trees and he could hear nothing.
'Course, that just wasn't right. Perfect Tommy might have been a city boy, but even he knew a forest shouldn't be empty like this one.
Another snap.
He spun about, bringing up his AK-14.
But there was nothing there.
His head was really hurting. And that damn snapping was not helping!
As if just to mess with him, another snap sent him spinning around again.
When he saw nothing, Perfect Tommy called out "Hey! This is getting really boring really quickly!"
Something crunched in the leaves behind him.
Sighing, Perfect Tommy dropped his head. He was not going to spin around again. Things keep going like this and all he was gonna get was dizzy.
"Get out!"
Perfect Tommy stiffened.
"Leave! We don't want you hear!"
Before he could turn, something heavy was slammed across his back, dropping him in the dirt.
Damn, now his head really hurt.
----------
Snap.
Thunder spun about. This was getting really irritating. Hell, this whole damn think was starting to get irritating.
A crunch sounded behind him.
"Get ou..."
Thunder dropped down, somersaulting forward, and rising to one knee, his hand gun trained on the local who stood behind him with a rather large tree branch.
The man paused, a little startled by the sudden appearance of the weapon. But then he continued. Nothing had changed. "Leave! We don't want you here! You don't belong here!" he growled. "You NEED to leave!"
"Seems I've heard that before." Thunder mumbled. A quick glance about told him that the man was alone.
Then again, he had thought that HE was alone a moment earlier.
Slowly rising to his feet, keeping the gun on target, he tapped his go-phone, calling for Tommy Boy.
The little communicator hissed at him.
"Great." Thunder eyed the man before him. "Okay, we're gonna take a little walk back to camp."
"You don't belong here!" He took a menacing step toward the BBI, lifting his tree branch.
Thunder stepped back. "Buddy, you do not want to take on a gun with a twig." he warned.
"Leave!" the man screamed, taking a running leap.
"Damn!" Thunder cursed. As quick as lightening, he turned to the side, grabbed the man by the back of the neck as he passed, and slammed his head down as his knee came up.
Temple hit hard knee, and his attacker dropped to the ground unconscious.
But, no sooner had the first one fallen, than a second came running at him, screaming wildly, swinging a knife in the air.
Thunder jumped back. "Stop or I will..."
Radar suddenly came running from the other direction. "Thunder! To your left!"
Thunder glanced in the indicated direction to see a third man, this one armed with some ancient looking shotgun, coming at him.
He was distracted for only the briefest of moments, but it was enough for the second man to get too close.
"Leave! Leave! Leave!" he was screaming, swinging his knife.
By some glimpse of luck, the blade hit the gun barrel rather than flesh, turning Thunder's weapon aside. But, it was enough of a blow to send the man stumbling back. Thunder tripped over his first victim and fell, sprawled out on the ground.
"Leave! Leave! Leave!" his attacker continued to scream. He leaped like a frog, up in the air, coming down directly over his prey, the deadly knife aimed for Thunder's eye.
Radar fired.
With a cry like a wounded animal, the man was slammed back, away from Thunder.
Thunder rolled away, and, luck showing up once again, ended up with his gun hand in perfect alignment with the third man. He took the shot.
The third man screamed, skidding to the ground, where he laid whimpering.
Radar quickly moved in, scooping the shotgun up and out of reach. Once he was sure that the man was no longer a threat, he glanced at Thunder who was climbing to his feet. "Funny thing happen to me on the way to the pub..."
"Yea, me too." Thunder cut him off.
"Where's Perfect Tommy?" Radar asked.
"Very good question."
----------
Hum of the Angels
Chapter 13
By The Chronicler
==========
Psychic crossed her arms over her chest and gazed across the distance at the mission. She didn't like it even as it intrigued her. There was something to it, something she could feel, feel so strongly she had thought, even if for the briefest of moments, she could almost see something. That moment while the others had carried Knuckles back to camp and she had went to find the chicks, she had seen it then... or at least she had thought she had seen it.
"Psychic? You alright?" Ranger wondered from where he worked on Knuckles' jeep a few feet away.
"Huh?" She glanced back at him. "Yea... yea, fine." the newest of the team answered , turning back to the mission.
Ranger smiled slightly. "Yea... about as fine as this jeep." he smacked the side the beaten up vehicle. He snatched up an oil rag and proceeded to try and wipe his hands clean with the filthy cloth. He stepped up to her side so he could see just what she was looking at. "That place gives me the willies." he admitted.
Psychic frowned. "Really? It's just an old empty building." she pointed out.
"Old empty buildings are never empty." When she looked up at him for further explanation, he shrugged, simply adding "Not really, not ever." he turned and started back for the jeep.
A gunshot.
Ranger stopped and looked back. "Did you hear..."
A second gunshot.
Tommy Boy, who had been working at the computer station in the communication tent, looked up at the first shot. The second assured her that it had indeed been a gunshot.
Beside her Oddity leaped to his feet and began to bark.
"Quiet, Oddity." Tommy Boy mumbled, dropping a hand down to silence the dog with a gentle pat on the head. Though concerned (at the very least), Tommy Boy had spent too many years around guns to go jumping to her feet in a panic whenever she heard one go off.
But she did have three members of her team not in camp. And one who had already been attacked by the locals.
She turned to her go-phone and dialed up Thunder. The only answer was a hiss.
"Tommy Boy." Ranger called, urgent as he and Psychic hurried in, closely followed by Knuckles and New Jersey (who had been in the med tent reassuring his reassurances that the bounty hunter would survive).
"Ranger, call Radar. Jersey, try Perfect Tommy." TB ordered, turning to her computer.
It took only a second for the expected answers to come back: "Not getting through." "Jammed I think."
And then her computer gave her another answer. "We have ground movement." she announced.
"Everyone have their earpieces in?" Jersey asked, knowing already that they did. He just simply felt better when he worried about them.
"Everyone except Thunder." Tommy Boy mumbled.
"And Perfect Tommy." Knuckles added. She spun about and headed out.
"Knuckles?" Tommy Boy took chase. "Hold up!" She grabbed the other woman's arm. "Stay here with New Jersey and Psychic."
"Like hell."
"Knuckles." Tommy Boy spun her about and stood close so that only the little bounty hunter could hear her. "We can't afford to leave our gear unprotected. Jersey and Psychic, good fighters, but not as good as you. You need to stay and look after them." she argued, speaking in only half truths. Truth was the ear pieces was just theory thus far. If they failed.... Knuckles had already snapped on them once. She was too dangerous to risk a second snap... particularly in the middle of a fight.
The girl glared back, but, finally, gave a curt nod. She'd stay... for awhile, anyway.
Tommy Boy released her. "Ranger, lets go find our boys." she called, Ranger already hurrying passed, not even pausing as he tossed her an AK-14.
"Hey, wait." Knuckles called after them, hurrying into the tent and releasing her dog. "Oddity, find Tom! Find Tom!" she ordered.
With a bark, the dog leaped away. he sniffed the ground by Tommy Boy for a moment, then took off for the trees in the direction Perfect Tommy had hurried off in.
----------
Hum of the Angels
part 14
by Tommy Boy
Oddity moved ahead and then stopped barking back at Tommy Boy.
�??I�??m coming.�?? she told the dog.
The dog continued moving on. Running behind the dog, Tommy Boy pulled her 9mm out incase. With shots being fired, she didn�??t want to be under prepared.
After several minutes, Oddity stopped.
�??What is it boy?�??
The dog pawed the ground before her.
On the ground showed a struggle and blood. Tommy Boy dropped to a knee and reached for it. �??Damn.�?? She stood up and tried the go phone once more. Still jammed. �??Come on Oddity, lets find him.�??
They moved further into the lush jungle and stopped a few minutes later. Perfect Tommy was tied to a post in a small clearing. At first glance it appeared that he was alone.
Tommy Boy dropped back and down to keep herself concealed in the greenery.
Oddity whined at her.
She patted the dog. �??Just making sure we are alone boy. Don�??t want me to get tied up like that do ya?�??
Oddity shook his head.
�??Go out and check on Tommy for me, see if he responds to you, pull his leg.�?? Oddity barked once. �??Shh-hh, go see if he�??s awake. And if= you smell or see anyone go towards them and bark.�??
Oddity nodded and headed out into the clearing. He went to Perfect Tommy and pulled on his pants leg, something that annoyed him. Perfect Tommy didn�??t move.
Tommy Boy didn�??t see that in being a good sign.
Oddity sat, and cocked his head this way and that then turned to the far side of the clearing. He started barking.
Coming out of the woods were what Tommy Boy assumed to be locals. There were three of them and they seemed intent on making Oddity shut up.
�??Oh no you don�??t,�?? Tommy Boy told herself. She took aim and went for= a leg of the closets man.
He went down and the other two stopped for a moment, trying to get a fix on where the shot was fired from.
Tommy Boy fell back deeper in to the woods and moved position. Oddity took off for Perfect Tommy again.
The men moved forward.
�??Don�??t give up easy do they?�?? Tommy Boy asked herself as she took aim= once more.
With two men down, the third thought better and left the clearing. �??To get help no doubt.�?? She took off for the Perfect Tommy, pulling out her knife as she ran to him. �??Oddity,�?? the dog was by her side. �??Go get help boy, go get Knuckles and the Doc.�??
Oddity took off leaving Tommy Boy to cut Perfect Tommy from the post and start getting into forest before the villager came back with friends.
�??Leave it to you to cause me to have an angry mob after us.�??
Perfect Tommy moaned when she moved him. �??Fireman training, don�??t fail me now.�?? She started to pull him out of the clearing.
----------
Hum of the Angels
Chapter 15
BBI_fiero
==========
Radar was heading back to camp, leading on a dazed but still cognoscente BBI_Thunder. They disengaged their go-phones since failing to establish communications earlier.
Finally Radar spotted the camp. He spoke to BBI_Thunder. ?Heres? the girls? tent, let?s us get you one of Psychics devices.? He opened the flap and greeted Psychic whom seemed to be expecting them.
Jersey, noticing Thunders? torn sleeve, was the first to address them. ?What happened to you??
?I ran into some crazy locals !! They acted just like Knuckles, angry over, who knows what.?
Radar concurred, ?That?s right, I happened to come upon the chap during a rough spot.?
?Thanks again, Radar? replied Thunder, whilst handling a small thermos of water.
The lanky Doctor handed the BBI a pair of electronic ear pieces. ?Here??better wear these, Tommyboy detected some more ground movement.?
Thunder looked confused at the statement.
Psychic explained. ?That means vibrations, the energy disturbance we had been concerned with is somehow tied to seismic activity. These devices are a defense.?
The BBI got the point. After gulping down some H2O, he inserted the devices.
Knuckles had just finished feeding the orphaned birds when she entered the foray. ?Where?s Perfect-Tommy?? she asked. Thunder put down the thermos.
?I don?t know?minutes before my attack, I had lost radio contact with PT.Then I couldn?t hear anything on my transmitter?.except static.?
The Jesse James Club owner muttered. ?It would suggest Perfect-Tommy must have run into these crazed locals?I sent my dog, Oddity to look for him.?
?Ah, ha?, replied Radar. ?I thought we saw the bugger. Glad we have an alternative to electronics.?
?I take it Tommyboy and Ranger took off as well?? inquired Thunder.
?Yea?Unfortunately TB wanted me to remain and keep an eye on the base camp with Jersey." Unsnapping her gun holster, the bounty hunter finished. ?Always a chance PT may return alone, so we better make our stand here.?
----------
Tommyboy was watching Oddity sniff the ground. Ranger was following behind assisting Perfect-Tommy whom was still stumbling.
At this point, the woods had grown very thick with tall grasses, trees and vines. They were navigating around a large hilly area. It was several minutes later when the suddenly the dog ceased moving.
?What is it Oddity??More villagers?? asked Tommyboy in a low voice.
The dog was poking his nose around, scuttling back and forth.
Seconds later, Ranger and PT caught up to the pair. The intern mumbled under his breath. He observed TB and Oddity examine the grounds for a minute. Growing bored, the mechanic started circling around keeping his eyes open for locals.
Perfect Tommy was regaining his senses.
The dog had begun scratching at a spot on the ground.
Tommyboy unholstered her 9 mm. She curiously stepped forward to see what Oddity had found so interesting. Something shiny lay on the ground. ?Hello! What?s this?? whispered the intern. She reached out and lifted the object. It was smooth and odd looking. She called out. ?Ranger! PT, Come here!?
The BBI stopped walking and broke out into a trot. He arrived quickly, slinging his rifle over his shoulder.
?What do you think it is?? asked Tommyboy. She held the shiny gold object up.
Ranger lost all expression and shook his head. ?I dunno?sell it on eBay.?
Tommyboy shot him a glare of annoyance.
Perfect Tommy wiped his face and looked down. ?Looks like you found..some sort of?. tool or something.?
?It?s old whatever it is? replied TB. She ceased her fascination when a thought occurred. ?Great?We?re being pursued by crazy locals and we discover this stray artifact.?
Oddity began barking at a rock.
?What the-? Tommyboy grabbed the dog?s collar.
Suddenly the ground opened up beneath them.
All 3 Team Banzai members lost balance and started tumbling down a steep slope. Dirt and rock fell all around them.
They finally reached the bottom, dust obscuring their vision. TB was coughing as was Ranger. PT wasn?t because he was?well.
?What the hell happened? Where are we?? PT shouted. The Hong Kong Cavalier used his elbows to lift himself up.
Radar yelled. ?Looks..Looks like we had a cave-in?How the heck it happened in the woods, is beyond me!?
Pointing at the dilapidated framework, TB answered. ?That was fake ground, this entire platform disintegrated.?
Ranger stopped coughing. ?Well?I?ll be.?
Tommyboy noticed Oddity had fallen in with them. He snorted, shook the dirt off and commenced sniffing at the ground once more. TB sat up and watched. She then realized she was still holding the strange object. Deciding to put it away, she opened her backpack and zippered it shut.
She looked at PT and Ranger. ?We?ve dodged the locals for the moment. May as well use this time to take a breather?Oh before I forget,..here??
?Whats? that?? PT asked.
?It?s an electronic device Psychic brought for you. Suppose to help isolate us all against the sonic influence. We?re all wearing one except you.? Perfect-Tommy took the small ear pieces from the intern.
?Won?t mess up my hair, will it??
Tommyboy rolled her eyes. Getting back to business she asked. ?Perhaps you tell us what happened back there??
Perfect-Tommy adjusted his clothing and quickly combed his hair before replying. ?I was attacked out of nowhere by these *%## morons? sorry, still teed off.?
TB shrugged, letting him know she understood. ?Did they say anything??What did they want with you??
?Just total B.S. came out of their mouths; seemed to all be paranoid?They eventually tied me up. It was as if they were waiting for something or somebody to arrive before you guys showed up?.Couldn?t tell if I was on trial or WHATEVER.?
?I don?t believe it.? Ranger muttered.
?What don?t you believe?? Perfect-Tommy asked defensively.
?Odditys? looking for something again!? Ranger could only watch in amusement.
The dog sprinted off down a narrow passageway.
?Crazy dog.?
TB turned around, her expression of angst at the typical remark. ?Don?t just sit there! Let?s follow him, perhaps it?s a way out of here!?
PT and Ranger finished dusting off and got to their feet. Everyone immediately commenced chasing after Oddity.
After traversing the tunnel several yards, they could hear a deep hum in the background. It was becoming louder as they traversed the dark under ground tunnel.
Tommyboy, PT and Ranger all eyed each other for a second each confirming the bizarre noise.
----------
Hum of the Angels
Chapter 16
By Nicki Knight
----------
Knuckles paced back and forth across the edge of the camp, one arm crossed over her chest. The orphaned chicks were tucked warmly in her arm while she absently fed them.
Thunder smiled slightly watching her from where he sat on the hood of one of the jeeps. It had been two hours since he and Radar had returned, and it had been an effort every minute to keep the little bounty hunter from taking off after Tommy Boy, Oddity, and the others.
He hadn't had the opportunity to really meet her until now. But he had read the file. In the short time she had been with BB she had a file nearly as big as Perfect Tommy's. 'Course, most of it had his name right along side hers. Apparently she still denied that she was any more than a handy friend to the Cavaliers, but she wore the go- phone and answered the call. And her Jessie James' Club was becoming the most popular hangout for any and every Blue Blazer who visited New York. She was loyal, coldly honest, fiercely protective, and sneaky as hell.
The problem with the girl... she was angry. She was always angry. All she seemed to think she knew how to do was fight. 'Course, Thunder knew, no one could handle animals like she did without knowing a whole hell of a lot about gentleness. Not to mention her concern for Perfect Tommy showed a whole other side of what she could feel.
Jersey stepped up and leaned against the jeep beside Thunder. "You think you could talk her into sitting down for a minute so I can check her head again?" he wondered.
"Yea, right. Me and what army?" Thunder huffed. But he slid off the jeep and cautiously approached the girl. "Knuckles, you're digging your way through to China." he said, waving a hand at the ground at her feet.
Knuckles stopped and looked down, momentarily confused. Frowning, her eyes snapped up to glare at him. "More like the Pacific." she corrected.
Thunder shrugged. "Geography."
"What do you want?" she growled.
Ah, conversation. Good? Bad?
Thunder glanced around for a topic and was saved. "What is she doing?" he wondered, nodding in the direction of the mission.
Knuckles turned to see what had caught his attention.
Psychic was standing half way between camp and the abandon mission. She was stiff, back absolutely straight, standing absolutely motionless. At this distance, her observers couldn't even tell if she was breathing.
"Is that normal?" Knuckles asked.
"Don't have a clue." Thunder mumbled. He started pass her and headed for Psychic. "But I don't like it."
When Jersey started to follow, Knuckles stopped him by piling her chicks into his arms before spinning about and following herself.
----------
Sore and tired, Perfect Tommy leaned against the wall, taking a moment to catch his breath.
"How ya doing, kid?" Ranger asked, patting him on the arm.
"First thing we do when we get home..."
"Yea?"
"Buy that mutt a leash!"
Ranger chuckled and offered the younger man his water bottle. "I'll put in for that."
"Hey, if the two of you are done lounging about, you gotta take a look at this!" Tommy Boy called back to them from where she had continued around a corner after Oddity.
Perfect Tommy groaned. "Does she know that I got a tree laid out across my back?" he wondered.
Ranger grabbed PT's arm and hauled him upright. "It was a branch. And you've been through worse." he reminded him. Then, with a grin, ushered him on before him.
Coming around the corner, both men skidded to a halt.
Tommy Boy stood, staring up at a 12' tall, 6' wide cold steel door. It was dusty and dented, even rusted in some spots around the edges, but it stood before them, a solid bairrer.
Oddity scratched and winded at it, every now and then glanceing back at his humans, waiting for them to open it.
"So," Tommy Boy looked back at the men, "who asked the `nature- verse man-made' question?"
----------
Hum of the Angels
Chapter 17
By The Chronicler
==========
Thunder stepped in front of Psychic, but she didn't seem to see him. Her eyes remained locked with something through the mission gates right through the BBI.
Knuckles drew her Starr revolver as she circled the two, searching for any possible sign of danger.
"Psychic?" Thunder called softly. When she still didn't acknowledge him, he snapped his fingers beside her ear.
Startled, the girl jerked, spinning about to look for the source of the snap.
Thunder grabbed her shoulders. "Easy, girl." he spoke softly, trying to calm her down.
Confused, Psychic stared up at him. "What?" she wondered.
"Funny." Knuckles mumbled, backing up toward their position. "That's what we were gonna ask you." She backed into Thunder, which drew his attention. "But, um, we might want to discuss this later."
Thunder frowned, glancing about, trying to discover what she had. "Camp?" he asked. Though he didn't see it, he trusted her judgment. SOMETHING had caught her attention.
But it was Psychic who had answered. "No." She stepped around Thunder and continued toward the mission. "This way."
Thunder spun about to watch her go. "What the hell is going on here?" he growled.
There was a crash back at camp.
Suddenly both of their go-phones began to chirp.
Radar was calling Thunder, announcing "We've got our com back."
New Jersey was calling Knuckles: "We've got company! A lot of them! And they are not very polite!"
Another crash announced just how unpolite they were being.
"Crap." Knuckles started back for the camp.
Thunder glanced back at Psychic, who, once again, seemed oblivious to them. He was torn between following and protecting her and protecting base camp.
"Bloody hell!" continued Radar's voice from his go-phone.
"Knuckles..." Thunder yelled, coming to a decision.
"Thunder!" Knuckles yelled back to him. "Stay with her! I'll get the boys!"
Thunder waved his confirmation. As he turned to chase after Psychic, he called to Radar "Radar, grab the portable.... anything, and clear out! We'll make our stand at the mission."
"Well, getting there is gonna be the challenge, eh, mate."
"Knuckles is on her way. You see her coming, drop and cover."
As he spoke the words, Knuckles, a big 1866 Starr revolver in each hand, strolled through the camp. It was almost a comical sight, seeing the petit, little girl, hair tied back in braided pigtails, out weighed by a pair of huge antique six-shooters... comical... until she started shooting that is.
New Jersey was backing away from a trio of machete wielding locals. Always the doctor first, he had initially approached the intruders as if they were harmless no ones simply curious about the new comers' intentions. Thus, he had left his own weapon, a Colt .380 Automatic pistol, with his medical pack on the hood of the jeep.
Radar was coming out of the communication tent, a laptop tucked under one arm, a portable something else, bagged and hanging off his shoulder. In his free hand was a British Sterling submachine gun (the twin to the one he had give Reno Nevada for his birthday way back when and the Cavalier still uses to date). But, caring the equipment, his balance was off, thus unable to properly aim the weapon as another half dozen locals entered camp from behind the tents.
"Let's move it, boys!" Knuckles called to them.
A man made a lunge at Jersey, who twisted to the side, barely avoiding the sharp blade.
The doctor spun about, letting the second man lunge passed, and brought his hand down on the back of his attacker's shoulders.
The third made his lunge while Jersey's back was to him.
"Look out for the bugger..." was as far as Radar got as he prepared to drop the gear and rush to his friend's aid.
But a deafening blast from one of the Starrs sent a .44 caliber slug slamming into the attacker with such force it threw him back a good three feet. he was dead before he hit the dirt.
"MOVE!" Knuckles snapped.
Jersey spun about, jumped out of the reach of his first attacker, and ran passed the bounty hunter.
"Don't you forget the chicks!" Knuckles warned him as he paused beside the jeep to scoop up his bag and gun.
After securing his own pack then checking the Colt's clip, Jersey held pistol at the ready with one hand, and swung Knuckles shoulder bag over his head. He glanced down to be sure the chicks were safe and sound in their nest in the bottom of the bag.
Radar tripped over a rock, nearly going down on one knee.
The locals growled in unison, charging in on him as if a pack of lions with the wounded steer in reach.
"Crap all over again." Knuckles growled herself. Both of the heavy guns bucked in her hands, each sending a bullet with deadly accuracy.
"Don't kill them, Knuckles!" Jersey protested. "Their under the influence...."
"Jersey! Ethics! Later! Move! Now!"
"But..."
"New Jersey, mate, I appreciate your concerns." Radar yelled, ducking under Knuckles aim and catching up to the Cavalier. "But, if the bugger intends to drill my personal arse, I say shoot the bloody bast..."
"I will shoot both of you if you don't start moving!" Knuckles snapped. "In case you haven't noticed, these are six-shooters. And I don't think they're gonna give me a time-out to reload."
It was all the prompting the two men needed to turn and run toward the mission.
Knuckles backed away from her base camp, wearily watching as the locals over ran it. They seemed, for a moment, intent on searching for anyone she might have left behind, before following the girl and her deadly Starrs. Knowing the distraction wouldn't last, Knuckles took full advantage of what time she had: she spun about and ran.
==========
Hum of the Angels
Chapter 18
By Tommy Boy
Tommy Boy eyed the tall door like barrier.
�??This sort of reminds me of that episode on Star Trek, you know the one with the indians,�?? Perfect Tommy mused.
Tommy Boy turned to the guys and asked, �??Are you going to help me find a way to open this thing or what?�??
With a deep sigh, Perfect Tommy stepped forward reaching around trying to see if he found anything.
Ranger stayed back, using his flashlight to look around the room.
Oddity stayed seated before the door, waiting in anticipation for what might be revealed.
�??What do you think it is?�?? Perfect Tommy asked.
�??Doesn�??t seem natural in origin to the region,�?? Tommy Boy commented. �??Though the design is simple, it�??s been here a long time, so it makes it out of place even more.�??
�??Like something brought it here a long time ago and just now we are finding it.�?? Perfect Tommy stopped moving his hand. �??I think I found something.�??
Ranger moved his light to the spot he found a bulge. Pushing it in, a high pitched squeal came to them. Peircing their eardrums.
The sound persisted, making it painful, their heads pounded. Soon they were unconscious on the floor.
Once it was known they were unconscious, the door slowly opened....
** ** **
Knuckles, Radar, Jersey, Psychic and Thunder were doing their best to run from the mob that had taken a liking to destroying their camp.
Running through the jungle, they were just barely keeping themselves ahead of the natives.
�??I heard of unsavory welcomes, but this is ridiculous.�?? Thunder huffed.
�??I�??m not looking forward to letting Rawhide know about the equipment.�?? Radar added.
That was answered by a groan by everybody.
They came to a fork in the path.
�??Where to?�?? asked Jersey.
Looking left and right, Knuckles said �??Right.�??
They went into to deeper forest and after a short rise found themselves on the edge of the clearing that Tommy Boy and Perfect Tommy had been in earilier.
Psychic stopped. �??They�??ve been here.�??
�??Who?�?? Radar asked.
�??Tommy Boy, Oddity, Perfect Tommy.�??
Thinking for a moment, �??They went that way.�?? She point straight across the clearing.
�??Come on.�?? Thunder announced and they took off across the clearing and into the woods once more.
----------
Hum of the Angels
Chapter 19
BBI_fiero
==========
Tommyboy slowly regained consciousness. Her vision was blurry and her head hurt. The first sensation she noticed was her hands being restrained. TB reacted by pulling. She realized she couldn't free her wrists. Looking down the intern saw old tarnished chrome handcuffs.
Sitting upright TB heard someone groan. It was Perfect-Tommy . He was laying to her right secured, as was Radar to her left. She broke the silence. "PT, Radar, wake up!"
He opened his eyes, then squinted. "Oh?nooo?not again!" the Hong Kong Cavalier complained. He sat up and acknowledged Tommyboy.
She looked around the room. Noticing something wrong, the Team Banzai leader spoke out. "..Looks like Oddity didn't join us".
Perfect-Tommy quickly scanned the area in reflex. "Yeaa...I just noticed that, guess he heard the warning signs before we did."
"Could be ...dogs can hear higher ranges of pitch than us humans."
Noticing Radar was still unconscious, PT continued, "Well, we still have 'him'."
TB let out a sigh. "Is he o.k.?"
Perfect-Tommy leaned over, listening carefully. "Yea?he's breathing albeit slow."
"Good?I'll wait for him since I'm in no mood for smart comments."
PT chuckled at the honesty. They took the moment to study their surroundings. It was an adobe type structure with khaki colors. An old hollowed out bell looking object lay behind them.
"Wow? we're inside some ancient city dwelling." Tommyboy replied.
PT nodded his head to the left. "I hear company."
Three locals walked in. Their clothing was half civilian/ half 3rd world militia. One held a rifle while the other two had machetes'. One remained guarding the door.
A voice boomed out instructions in their native language. TB didn't quite understand all of it but was certain it wasn't good news.
A burly man suddenly entered the room wearing a tan Bomber jacket; a camouflaged green hood covering his head.
Perfect-Tommy mumbled,."Great?we stumbled across militant Chiapas."
Tommyboy was tilting her head, staring at the man. Although she couldn't place him, he somewhat looked familiar.
The man placed a notebook on an old wood butcher block table. Looking down at the 3 interns he took up a comfortable stance on the ledge. "I trust you are well enough for questioning?"
With that said, one of the locals shoved Tommyboy forward.
She glared back at the man for a second, then addressed the leader angrily. "Who are you and why are you holding us?!"
"I should ask YOU three that question." He replied.
TB looked at Perfect-Tommy. Shrugging the young man spoke sarcastically. "We're tourists?..You know how it goes, win a trip at the office, find a cool spot to surf, meet a cute girl at a club, then wake up wearing someone elses' underwear?"
The hooded man cut him off. "Please spare me the bull, I know d@mn well you aren't here by accident."
Tommyboy decided to speak out. "My name is Cynthia, he's Tom and the man on the floor is--."
The hooded man held up a dog tag, dangling it back and forth. "And he's Ranger?"
PT looked down like some kid caught in the act of cheating on an exam in grade school.
Tommyboy noticed a particular odor. It wasn't easily noticeable amidst the musty cave, however a minute later, she suddenly connected the smell. Banzai Institute records flashed in her mind. "And YOU'RE John Smartbomb!."
The man dropped his papers on the table.
Perfect-Tommy's eyes' widened as he asked out loud. "What? Are you serious?!"
The hooded man blurted out some more instructions in native language. The three locals bowed and slowly departed the room.The one carrying the rifle was the last to exit, locking the door behind him self.
The leader reached up with his hands sliding his fingers under the mask. Pulling off his hood, both BBIs were taken back.The face revealed was that of a Red Lectroid with large black eyes. "Yes, you are quite right???TOMMYBOY."
TB realized she was caught with PT's crib notes. Realizing the charade was over, she asked. "I thought you were-. "
"Dead? No?Buckaroo Banzai may have ruined my little operation in Puerto Rico..then had McKinleys' goons destroy my base camp, but I had escaped."
"You have a thing for Banana Republics eh? " interjected Perfect Tommy.
John Smartbomb walked over to PT. Lifting him up by his shirt collar he spoke. "Do not try my patience human!. This isn't Cuba, punk, for your information, Mauritus is a Free Republic." He quickly let him down with a thud.
PT looked embarrassed landing on his tush.
TB looked at the well-educated off-worlder. "You seem to have made yourself quite at home here..What are you doing with all these Mauritus Islanders?..Is this your new retreat? ", she questioned.
"They have `eyes' but they cannot see-," muttered Mr. Smartbomb.
"You do know you're playing havoc with the indigenous Island lifeforms!!" TB continued.
"I'm not a mad Green-peace activist trying to drive away development. Nor am I here peddling drugs or contraband. I have far greater ambitions."
"Like stealing historical monuments?" Tommyboy quipped.
The Red Lectroid began pointing around at several places in the room. "On the contraire, I haven't taken anything?.There is an old legend amongst the locals. It tells of a great catastrophe long ago. What you see around your selves is the remains of an ancient machine..."
Tommyboy and Perfect-Tommy were studying the old ruins. Pointing at the ledge behind them, Mr. Smartbomb continued. "This hole extends far below. It's depths reaching the planets' interior crust?."
Tommyboy and PT now watched the lectroid point upwards.
"Above us are large steel pillers. From what I can gather, they form a sort of tuning network."
"The seismic activity we registered on my laptop!" Tommyboy asked. "That was you, wasn't it? You had something to do with that?"
"My crew was experimenting earlier?We learned quite a bit, from the items we discovered so far, but we haven't perfected the means of operating this ancient structure?.Not yet anyway..."
A cell phone beeped. Answering the device, John SmartBomb spoke inaudibly. After a few seconds, he faced the two BBIs and the still unconscious Ranger. "I have pressing matters to take care of, I'll finish explaining when I return."
"Oh must you?" muttered Perfect Tommy.
The Red Lectroid didn't appear to have heard the Hong Kong Cavalier as he left the room.
TB was startled at something in his statement. "discovered so far". She remembered the strange artifact she had found earlier outside the cave grounds. The intern deduced it might be some relevant part of the inner workings of the structure. The girl noticed her backpack was missing. Trying hard to retrace her foot steps, she whispered to Perfect-Tommy. "D@mn, I must have dropped my backpack outside the steel door. Since we're still being held captive, we can assume if they hadn't found it yet..."
PT was staring at the intern trying to make sense of her statement. "Found WHAT yet?"
----------
Hum of the Angels
Chapter 20
By Nicki Knight
==========
"What were they following?" Thunder wondered becoming frustrated with the search that seemed to go on and on.
Psychic lead the team almost blindly, following a trail only her mind's eye could see. The others following for two reasons: they had no where else to go, and they didn't think they could stop her from going alone. Thus they followed: Psychic in the lead; Thunder directly behind, ready to defend the oblivious girl; New Jersey cradling the chicks in one arm, his gear in the other; Radar scanning every step of the way for any sign of anyone friendly or foe; and, bringing up the rear, Knuckles, both six-shooters held at the ready, eyes constantly scanning the jungles for any trace of their pursuers.
"They're probably following Oddity." Jersey mumbled. "That mutt..."
"He ain't a mutt!" Knuckles snapped.
Sighing, Jersey corrected himself. "That highly trained, certified pure bred Silver Austrian Shepard tends to ignore all else when he smells something he likes."
"So, we're following a dog following a steak?" Radar asked.
Thunder stopped and looked over Psychic's shoulder. "I don't think so." he observed, looking down into a collapsed hole.
The others gathered around the edge and looked down.
"Now, that does look a wee bit more interesting than a steak." Radar commented.
"We have to go down there." Psychic announced, instantly taking a step off the edge.
Thunder grabbed her arm and pulled her back.
"They went down there!" the girl protested.
"And so will we." Thunder assured. "But let's not brake a leg in the process, eh?" He glanced back at Knuckles. "Any ideas?"
Knuckles glanced about the jungle.
"Well, we could always gut a computer or two and use dem innards." Radar joked.
"Or..." Knuckles stepped up to one of the trees, reached up, and yanked down a vine. "We could use the jungle a little."
Thunder smiled at her resourcefulness. "Excellent idea. Jersey, keep an eye on Psychic."
-----------
