Unprotected

"Your grandfather's invitation is what brings me here." Mr. Harkins smiles as he twirls Victoria across the floor. "That, and a few good drinks, some good company and... an unknown future."

He chuckles as his feet move with ease. "There is nothing more stimulating than the mystery of the unknown. Why do you think we men are so attracted to women? You are all beautiful mysteries."


Moving slowly around the room, Garret greets guests cordially, playing his part well. There were guards hanging around the doorways, although they looked far less threatening tonight. When Medridge chose to mask the truth, he did it well. Once again, the elaborate ploy could fool anyone. And there were times Garret wondered if even those who lived here chose to fall into the lie if only to live in blissful ignorance for a few hours.

Garret leans back against the wall, still keeping an eye on everyone but especially Victoria. There was a bad feeling in his bones, and over the years he'd learned to trust it. But why he felt it tonight, he wasn't sure. They were always so careful when they had events like this.

"Dirk..." Garret uses his wrist mic once again. "How things look outside?"

"No problem. Quiet. Too quiet."

"Yeah... I was just-"

Garret is cut off by a woman's shriek as she's shoved to the side by one of the men barging through the crowd. "Traitor! Traitor!"

Several more women cry out and the crowd immediately turns into a mess of confusion.

"Gun!" someone shouts.

Garret's sight catches a man who had just drawn a handgun and was aiming it towards Victoria and Mr. Harkins. His own gun appears out of nowhere and he takes aim, but there are too many people. He hears an order being shouted by Medridge, but doesn't understand - nor did he care.

Mr. Harkins spins Victoria around, keeping hold on her wrist as he faces the man with the gun. "Why you insolent-"

"You're despicable!" The man's outstretched gun shakes in his hand, his eyes blazing with anger.

Garret pushes a woman out of his way, paying no heed to her cry. He still had no clear shot, nor did any of the guards. His pulse quickens, as does his pace, though he struggles against the small mob.

Though it felt like an eternity, in reality it was only seconds.

The armed intruder glares at Mr. Harkins and Victoria both, his gun still quivering. "You have betrayed us all!" he accuses. "And you pay with your life!"

Few would realize what happened next, it was so quick. Garret's form suddenly appears as the hurls himself in front of the guest and Victoria. Gun drawn and pointed as he throws his body across the target's path and pulls the trigger as he rolls.

Only one shot is heard.

The intruder is thrown off his feet and collapses to the floor, a clean wound right between the eyes, providing instant death. Several woman scream and a round of gasps echo through the hall.

Having landed on one knee near the threatened couple, Garret doesn't move. His gun is still gripped tightly in his hand, and his eyes were dark and cold as he stares at the man he had just killed. His heart raced and a bead of sweat trickles down the side of his face.

Remaining on his knee, the scene before him blurs. Guards had finally arrived. One was pulling the body out of the room, others were calming the guests. Everything around him - all the sights and sounds started to cloud together in a strange jumbled mess.

"Garret." A hand is set on his shoulder, giving him permission to rise.

But he cannot. As his eyes roll back in his head, his gun finally drops from his hand and he collapses in a heap where he was, exposing the red of blood seeping through his clothes from the wound in his side. Two shots had been fired simultaneously. And Garret had been unprotected.