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| Chapter Three | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Pawn and Pass | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| In the desolate ruins of an elementary school, several black pawns were slowly moving forward. They had heard earlier that three white pawns were lurking nearby. Though they did not like being used as bait, they also knew that they had no real choice. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| "Nice place." Raymond said quietly. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| "After the game it will be fully repaired." Chris stated. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| "So all of this apocalyptic scenery is just for show?" Bill asked. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| "You could say that. Every time the game begins, a section of the city gets destroyed. It's kind of wasteful, but they have the money to fix it." Chris added. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| "Who has that kind of money?" Raymond asked. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| "Around here? I'd say six people. One is a duchess, one is a prince, one is the mayor, one is an ambassador, one is a former player, and the last would be the police chief. All of them have more money than fifty honest men could ever see in ten lifetimes." Chris answered. The three sat down by an overturned dumpster. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| "Where do they have that kind of money?" Bill asked. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| "Hard to say - but it doesn't take a genius to realize that it isn't legal." Chris stated. It was then that they heard a noise in the distance. Chris gestured for them to remain silent. Carefully, he looked to the right of the dumpster. Three soldiers dressed in white body armor were approaching. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| "Quickly, get in." Chris whispered. He crawled into a hole in the overturned dumpster. Without saying a word, the other two pawns did as he asked. Seconds later, they could hear the pawns meters away talking. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| "Our boss said that three of those punks are in the area." One stated. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| "Keep the noise down. We want to surprise them - not the other way around. This is Stewart to White King. Are you sure that three pawns are in this area?" Stewart asked calmly. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| "Sensor readings don't lie. There are three pawns on that square. Find them and flush them out." A voice replied. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| "That's a big school - or what's left of it. They could be anywhere." The other pawn said hopelessly. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| "Hey! Calm down Jones. We'll find them. Split up and meet back here in twenty minutes." Stewart instructed. After a few seconds of silence, Chris sighed. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| "We don't have much time. We have to get out of here fast." Chris muttered. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| "Why?" Bill asked. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| "If the white king is wanting to flush us out of hiding, that means that he has his pieces ready to move in and take the square - also the black king will be doing the same." Raymond answered. Chris smiled and laughed quietly. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| "You have played the game before - this should be an interesting game. Come on. We have to get far away from here." Chris stated. Carefully the three got out from under the dumpster. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| "By what they said, they should all be in the school." Chris said. Raymond quickly grabbed his shoulder. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| "Hold on. They might be, but five will get you ten that they have back up scouting the area. We get out in the open and we will get cut down." Raymond said rationally. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| "And to think, I was staying with you to help you through this. What would you recommend?" Chris asked curiously. Raymond looked around the ruins and debris. After a few seconds he saw what he was looking for. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| "Keep low and follow me." He answered. He led them behind several piles of debris and a few overturned cars. Within seconds, they were safely in an alley. No sooner did they get there than another black pawn walked onto the area. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| "Isn't that John?" Bill asked. The three looked at their teammate who had a piece of pipe in his hands. Raymond shook his head. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| "What an idiot." Raymond whispered to himself. Just then, one of the white pawns exited the school and saw John. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| "Well, well. If it isn't one of the people I get to kill." John muttered. The white pawn rushed him. Raymond and his two friends watched as John savagely beat the white pawn to death with the pipe. They could hear John laugh as he reached down and pulled the access card out from under the dead body. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| If he wasn't such an idiot - I might feel sorry for him. Raymond thought. The sound of a loud engine interrupted the train of thought. Over one of the piles of debris, a person dressed in white armor drove into the air on his motorbike. John stood frozen - like a deer paralyzed by the lights of a rushing car. The man fired his rifle five times and didn't miss once. John fell to the ground with five bullet holes in his chest. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| "That's weird - the engine we heard sounded much louder." Chris stated. They all watched as a black vehicle that looked to be a cross between a tank and a jeep drove over the man on the bike. The three watched as Rachel stepped out of the vehicle. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| "Pawn takes pawn - bishop takes pawn - rook takes bishop." Chris said to himself. The three watched as the black rook too the access cards from the three dead people. It was then that she looked over and saw the three pawns in the alley. With a polite smile she saluted the three and got back into her vehicle. Seconds later, the vehicle exploded violently. When the smoke began to settle, they saw the outline of a woman walking through the flames, smoke and jagged metal. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| "Let's book - that's the white queen." Chris warned. The others didn't need further incentive. Within seconds, the three had run into the shadows of the alley - and fell into an uncovered hole in the street. No one was hurt by the fall, but they landed ungracefully in the sewer. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| "Yuck - and ow - let's go..." Chris whispered. The three staggered through the dark tunnel. Meanwhile, up above, the white queen had sifted through the wreckage and collected the four cards. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| "This is the White Queen. The area is secured." She said into her computer. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| "What about the three pawns?" a voice asked. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| "Beats me. I only see two pawns here and one of them is ours." The queen responded. There was a moment of silence. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| "If the three aren't there they must have moved forward. Find them Janet. I don't want them getting too close to the Citadel." The voice instructed. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| "Don't worry. They are only pawns. I'll catch up with them soon enough. White Queen out." Janet concluded. She pushed a button on her access card. Seconds later a high tech motorcycle drove itself to where she was waiting. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| "You may think you have gotten away little pawns - but this is only the beginning. Let the chase begin." She said ominously. The tires on her bike screamed out. A trail of rubber stained the ground. The white queen was on the hunt. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| *** | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| In the elegant mansion, those who were watching the display applauded. The screen faded to black and slowly ascended back into the ceiling. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| "The battle has begun Marty...and it doesn't look promising. Black has lost a lot of its edge since you retired. I remember when you killed the white king in three moves - you just don't see that anymore." Jullien stated calmly. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| "That king was a fool. Neither of these two kings is that careless. No, the new black king is hungrier. He may have lost that square - but he is setting up to take another one. This game is far from over. What do you think Fauthorth?" Marty asked curiously. The prince was silent for a moment. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| "I agree that the black king is hungry - but hunger can not feed you. He is off to a bad start. I believe that this loss will make him careless. He will make one mistake and the white king will crush him. By the way, this wine is superb. Wherever did you get it?" he asked. Marty smiled and tossed him an unopened bottle. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| "From my wine cellar. If you want you can have that bottle. It is the same stuff." He offered. Marty then walked over and stood before the gathering. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| "This was just the first confrontation of many. I still stand behind my color and I am putting another billion on top of my wager." Marty said confidently. The others murmured for a few seconds. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| "I hate to take money from a friend, but okay, I will match it." Fauthorth replied. His attention was more focused on the bottle of wine in his hands than of the current conversation. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| "I have no such qualms. I'm still in." Duchess Gastin stated. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| "You are up to something. I will stay where I am for now." Quinton replied calmly. He knew Marty for many years and knew that Marty had a poker face carved in stone. Better to wait before committing more to the wager. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| "He may be up to something, but I know it will fall apart in his face. I'm in." Jullien stated confidently. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| "I too will wait." Kotai stated casually. Marty tabulated the wagers. Though the stakes were high, they were reachable - should the white team actually win. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| To Be Continued... | ||||||||||||||||||||||||