June 17 - Dead Before Dawn?

[Lora Zalesky]

Gideon and Lora said their goodbyes to Yulia and Yuri at something line 4:00 AM local time. It was late/early enough that the crowds that had been out seeking nightlife had thinned down considerably, and this part of the city was now as calm as it ever got, at least in the summer.

Lora walked alongside Gideon, not quite staggering, but not quite in a straight line either. That was drunker than she usually allowed herself to get. "That was sooo fun!"

[Gideon Rede]

Gideon had paced himself better than Lora. There were too many risks with getting too drunk, so he found himself holding onto Lora to make sure she didn't fall over. Not that he was entirely sober either.

"We work hard, we play hard," Gideon smiled. "Can't have any regrets when you're risking your ass to save the world."

[Lora Zalesky]

"Too bad I do not have something to drink to that with." They separated from the other night owls even further, down a fairly dark, narrow streets flanked by a parking deck on one side.

[Gideon Rede]

"Any more and I think I'd be carrying you home," Gideon smirked. "Probably end up getting lost."

[Lora Zalesky]

"It is not that far back to home. You will learn the way before we had back to London, I am sure of it. Just pay attention this time. There will be a quiz at the end." She giggled.

[Gideon Rede]

"A quiz?" Gideon asked, "Will we at least get to review the material first?"

[Lora Zalesky]

"No! You just really have to pay attention right now!," she said as she staggered a bit, smiling. Once she stagger, Gideon would briefly see a glowing red dot on the wall to their left, opposite the side of the road with the parking deck.

[Gideon Rede]

Gideon pushed his senses outwards trying to find whoever was making that dot. Didn't want to overreact to somebody messing around with a laser pointer.

"I could always cheat and pull it from your mind," Gideon mused.

[Lora Zalesky]

"Cheater! Do you ever have to study anything? Or do you just pick it from p-" Lora staggered again. A gunshot rang out, the enclosed space making it seem particularly loud. It tore through the air just a couple of inches ahead of Lora's face, and a second loud noise followed instantaneously after the first, as the bullet struck the wall.

[Gideon Rede]

Gideon ducked after the gun shot as he continued searching for the gunman.

"Dammit," Gideon growled and pulled Lora towards the nearest cover he could find.

[Lora Zalesky]

<"Holy shit!"> Lora blurted, as she followed Gideon behind a rusted dumpster. "Omigod! Omigod, who was that?!"

Gideon probably didn't get a glimpse of the gunman, because he was already gone from whatever vantage point he might have had to fire that bullet from. He might get a faint telepathic reading, but he would also get a sense that either his own power, or the mind the gunman, was somehow being obscured.

[Gideon Rede]

Gideon felt around the area to see if it was clear. The adrenaline had certain gotten rid of his buzz awful fast.

"Can't be sure," Gideon said, "He was gone before I could find him and he didn't leave much of a trail either. We need to indoors."

[Lora Zalesky]

"Right, right." She tried not to sound very shaken, but it was difficult to hide. "Not in that parking deck. There is a Metro station close by, it should be well-lit and public enough."

[Gideon Rede]

Gideon put a reassuring hand on Lora's cheek for a moment.

"We'll be alright. Been in much tougher scrapes than this, eh?" Gideon smiled. "Stay close. Once we get to the Metro station we'll call in the cavalry."

[Lora Zalesky]

"Right. I know. I know...it just...ugh!" She punched the side of the dumpster, for all the good it would do. "Okay, we will run for the end of the street, than take a sharp left. The station is a couple of blocks down. Act as sober as you can, the authorities do not like drunks in the Metro."

[Gideon Rede]

"About as sober as I'm going to get," Gideon said and moved out from behind the dumpster keeping his senses a step ahead of them, so they didn't run into anything.

[Lora Zalesky]

As they turned the corner, the next street was, thankfully, much more open and well-illuminated by streetlights. It wasn't far to the entrance to the Metro, though for such a short walk, it was still nerve-wracking. "Okay, okay, let me find my phone..."

[Gideon Rede]

Gideon kept watch as Lora looked for her phone.

"Take a breath," Gideon said, "Don't want to drop your phone because you're nervous."

[Lora Zalesky]

"Okay." She followed his advice and took a deep breath as she drew out the phone. "The last thing I need is to call my dad with a shaky voice." She waiting another moment before tapping her touchscreen a couple of times and putting the phone to her ear.

<"Dad? Dad? Okay, glad I could get you. Could you send someone to come get me? Gideon and I are at the Metro station and -- yes, that one -- and...and someone just tried to shoot me. Yes, I am fine. We both are. Yes. Just...hurry. Please. Thanks."

[Gideon Rede]

"How long till your father gets here?" Gideon asked.

[Lora Zalesky]

"Five minutes, at the most." She leaned against the wall, allowing herself to relax a bit as she slowly slid down into a crouch. "God, who was that? And why did they...?" She took a deep breath instead of finishing the sentence. "Sorry. I usually do better than this in a life-or-death situation, but I really, really was not expecting to be in one tonight."

[Gideon Rede]

"I don't think either of us were," Gideon said sliding down to a crouch next to Lora. "So much for a nice and relaxing vacation, eh?"

[Lora Zalesky]

"Yeah, really. Sorry. I had no idea that I would drag you into something like this."

[Gideon Rede]

"Life that we lead, dear," Gideon smiled, "Not about to hold getting shot at against you."

[Lora Zalesky]

She gave him a weak smile. "Life's little blessings."

Now that things weren't quite so tense, Gideon might get to take in his surroundings a little better. Though this was one of the more run-down Metro stations in the city (probably owing to its location), it still looked a cut above most stations in most cities; lots of arches, chandeliers and murals.

After a couple more minutes, they could hear a lot of noise coming from the stairwell down into the station. Mr. Zalesky arrived with at least a dozen or so of his men.

<"Lora.">

"Dad." Lora got up and hugged him as he walked closer.

[Gideon Rede]

Gideon watched the arrival of Lora's father and his men as he stood back up. Gideon didn't drop his guard just yet. The last thing he wanted was this to turn out to be a trap.

[Lora Zalesky]

Thankfully, it didn't seem to be any such thing...though a little caution never hurt.

<"What happened? I want to know everything.">

<"Of course. We can fill you in, but...would you mind if we waited until morning to show you where it happened? I would like to be home again right now, and it would be better to look at everything in daylight anyway.">

<"That is fine. I will have some feet on the ground surveying everything, regardless.">

<"Good.">

"Come on, Gideon." Don not worry, they are all for real.

[Gideon Rede]

Getting shot at makes me a tad paranoid,

"Of course, Lora," Gideon said as he walked over towards Lora, but he was still watching the men Lora's father had brought with him.