Ok everyone, here it is! I know the title isn't very catchy, but I couldn't think of anything else.
I hope you enjoy. w:


November 21, 1993
Marcus Island

*The very end of Dragon*

The lips spread in a flashy smile and the voice rasped hoarsely. “Am I right in thinking you’re a waiter?”
“Yes…sir.”
“Good thing too. After a diet of moldy bologna sandwiches and coffee for the past month, I’m ready to kill for a crap louis salad and a tequila on the rocks.”
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

After the shock wore off, and people started to accept what they had just witnessed, the mystery man climbed out of the large machine. As he walked forward, he stumbled and almost fell to the ground.
The waiter grabbed a hold of Pitt's arm. “Sir, are you alright?”
“I will be, as soon as I get a cold glass of water.”
“Sit down, I will get you one right away.” The waiter hurried off.
Sitting down, Dirk suddenly noticed all the people circled around him, whispering to one another.
“So...lovely day for a swim, isn’t it?” he said to no one in particular.
No one answered.
While this was going on, a man slipped out of the crowd and hurried off towards the hotel.
After a few minutes of awkward silence, the waiter came rushing back, glass in hand, and handed it to Dirk.
“Thank you.” he took a drink, savoring the taste. Water had never tasted so good.
A woman suddenly asked what was on everyone’s mind. “Where did you come from?”
“It’s a long story.” Dirk grinned.
“If you would please come with me, I would love to hear it.”
Everyone, including Dirk, turned to the man in the suit who had just spoken. No one had noticed the hotel manager, Mr. Rick Stevonsen, and his chief of security, Mack, slip into the crowd. Just five minutes earlier, Mack had approached him, explaining what he had just witnessed on the beach. Stevonsen was about call the local mental hospital, when he too noticed the gathering crowd. He walked over, and sure enough, there was the sea-weed covered machine and the scroungy man that came with it, just like Mack had described.
Dirk, slightly taken back, stood up and faced the man.
“Only if you feed me.” he responded.
“I think that can be arranged.” Stevonsen came back. He started to walk away.
As Dirk was turning to follow Stevonsen, he looked over at Mack, then back at Big Ben,
“You wouldn’t mind parking my ride, would you?” Then he was gone.

It gets REALLY good, I promise!

Thanks to all of you who encouraged me to write this. th:
*Cough, Cough* Rob, Tonym5, Gamay

Wow!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I didn't realize that Clive was a blond 20 year old :lol:


Awesome start Heather th:

Great job, Heather! And I'm really impressed with your choice of scenes. th:

Way cool, Heather!! I can't wait for more!! This sounds intriguing and you have a touch of humor too, that's great to see. Love it!! w:

Fantastic!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I can't wait for more. th: th: :)

The second installment...Enjoy! w:

Earlier that day, and thousands of miles away…
Al Giordino stood silent in front of a newly placed headstone at the Washington D.C. Cemetery. Although no body was found, a stone was still constructed, requested by friends and family. The last week had left him both physically and emotionally drained. Never in his life could he have imagined having to pick out his best friends’ grave marker.

************************Dirk Eric Pitt****************************
*************************1948-1993****************************
*************A son, a friend, a man you cannot forget.******************

The emotions he’d been hiding inside for the past month were ripping at his heart. He didn’t notice the tears streaming down his face. He was beginning to face the facts. Dirk was gone, and he could do nothing about it. Just then, a sudden movement caught his eye. He spun around to find Loren Smith standing besides a tree. If anyone else looked worse that Giordino, it was Loren without a doubt. Though she looked breathtaking in a red turtle neck sweater and a black skirt, the swollen eyes and exhausted slump of the shoulders gave her away. Giordino quickly wiped away his tears, knowing that Loren needed a composed friend to comfort her, not a blubbering Italian.
Loren could see Al had been crying, and it crushed her to see him like this. She gave him a loving hug.
“It’s okay, Al. You don’t have to be strong for me.”
Al simply held her tighter.
When they released, they both stood together facing the slab of marble.
“The headstone is beautiful, Al. You and the Admiral did a wonderful job.”
“We thought it suited Dirk.”
She shook her head, “This feels like a dream. A nightmare I’m waiting for to end.”
Al looked at her. “I know, but we should move on, Loren. Dirk is gone, he wouldn’t want us to linger on the thought.” He struggled with the words.
Loren knew better. “If you truly feel that way, than why have you been spending every day this last month at Dirk’s hangar?”
He didn’t respond, she had him there. He didn’t know why he's been visiting the hangar, polishing the classic cars and keeping the dust from settling. Or maybe he did...
“Your waiting for him to come home, aren’t you, Al.” Loren took Al’s hand, tears starting to flow.
Al’s tone was determined, “I can’t get over the thought. Why should I? He’s always shown up in the past.”
Before either of them could say another word, a car drove up the road and parked a ways short. A man emerged from the driver’s seat, and came around to open the rear door. The passengers that came out were not at all what Giordino and Loren expected. Two children, about 10 years old, a boy and a girl. They were both wearing black clothes and hung their heads clear down to their chests. Also, both wore a pair of sunglasses, which looked a bit strange on their small faces. The girl wore a hat. It was clear to see they didn’t want to be recognized. Al and Loren didn’t know what to do as the children walked towards them with flowers in hand.
“They must be going to a near-by grave,” Giordino thought to himself.
But they weren’t. They stopped in front of Dirk’s headstone, placed the flowers on the ground, and simple turned to walk away.
“Wait!” Al called out. He didn’t know what else to say.
The kids stopped and turned around. This time, Al got a clearer look at their faces. His heart skipped a beat. His knees felt like rubber and he almost collapsed. “Those two faces…” he thought.
But the boy, there was something about the boy. All at once, memories from his childhood came flashing back to him, leaving Giordino completely overwhelmed. “What’s going on?” he thought.
The children gave a faint smile, and walked back to their waiting car. When the driver opened the door for them, Al noticed another passenger. A woman. She had a black cloth draped over her face, and all that could be seen were a few strands of red hair. The children climbed in, and the driver shut their door. As he was about to climb into his own seat, he took a brief moment to look around, completely avoiding the only two people in the area. Then, he simply climbed in and drove away, leaving Al and Loren alone once again.
Loren noticed Al’s uneasiness. “What the heck was that all about?”
Al was definitely troubled, but all the same at a loss. He bent down and picked up the flowers. ”Plumerias,” he muttered under his breath. Then he stood up.
“I have no idea, Loren. I have no idea.”

The first half of that passage had me tearing up, the second half in goosebumps. A sure sign of greatness. th:

:unsure:

Wow, that was obvious!! Good clues, Heather! :lol: w:

yike: yike:
Holy s**t!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Like Erik I was almost(and I stress almost ;) ) in tears.
Awesome writing Heather

This is a really great read! Keep it up!!

Don't stop! Don't stop! I NEED more!

Wow!!!!!!! Amazing!!!!!!!!! Keep it up th: th:

Sorry this took so long. This was a hard chapter to write for some reason.
Anyways, enjoy! w:


Walking rather fast through the hotel lobby, Dirk called out from behind, “If you wouldn’t mind, Mr.……”
“Stevonsen,” he replied, without slowing down. “Rick Stevonsen. I’m the hotel manager here at the Marcus Island Marriott.”
“Okay, Mr. Stevonsen,” Dirk never missed a step. “It is very important that I get to a phone as soon as possible. I need to make a few very important calls.”
“Oh, I think you can wait.” Stevonsen challenged, now leading Dirk into a separate lobby.
Dirk stopped walking. “Sorry buddy, but you don’t seem to understand…”
Stevonsen, also stopping, whipped around to face Pitt.
“No, you are the one not understanding.” his temper started to rise. “As hotel manager, it is my job to make sure that all residents at this hotel feel safe. Now, I ask you, how am I supposed to insure that sense of security if things like gigantic seaweed-covered machines come popping out of the ocean and onto their beach?”
“Tell them its part of the entertainment?” Dirk was losing his patience. He had been gone and presumed dead for the last month, the last thing he wanted to do was receive a lecture.
“I fail to see anything entertaining about the situation.” he growled.
Dirk was definitely starting to dislike this guy. Just another arrogant big shot who loved hearing himself talk. Dirk was a good judge of character, all this one cared about was reputation and money.
Instead of turning around and continuing through the hotel, Stevonsen merely nodded to the door on his right. “My office,” he opened the door and motioned Dirk to enter.
The office was just as Pitt had expected. Leather furniture, silk curtains, a huge horseshow oak desk. It was all there, right down to the little gold plated name tag.
“This guy’s by the book.” Dirk surmised. It never failed to surprise him seeing how far some people would go to impress.
As Dirk walked across the office, a certain painting hanging on the wall caught his eye. He slowed to study the somewhat familiar piece.
Stevonsen, sitting down at his desk, noticed Dirk studying the art. “It’s a Masaki Shimzu landscape. Have you heard of him?”
Dirk now knew why it had grasped his attention. He felt uneasy. “A 16th Century Japanese painter. Revered for his seascape paintings of nearby islands surrounding the main isle of Honshu. His most famous painting called Ajima Island. Yeah, I’ve heard of him.” he couldn’t help a slight grin.
“I see.” Stevonsen replied, clearly not seeing at all.
Dirk had had enough of the small talk. “So you want an explanation as to why I’m here?”
Stevonsen winced as Dirk, not being the least bit clean, plopped down on his sofa.
“After scaring everyone on this hotels beach half to death, it’s the least you could do.”
Pitt shrugged, “I’ll tell you, but you’re not going to believe me.”
Stevonsen leaned forwards in his chair and looked directly at Pitt. “Try me.”
Dirk was just about to lay it all on the table, when the intercom on the desk started to buzz. He pushed a button. “Yes?”
“Mr. Stevonsen,” his secretary came back. “Could I please speak to you on your private line, sir?”
Obviously it wasn’t something she wanted Dirk to hear.
“Yes, of course.” He seemed perplexed as he picked up the phone. “I’m here.”
Stevonsen’s eyes suddenly bulged in their sockets as his stare turned to Pitt. He then quickly looked away. After that, Dirk noticed a drastic change in the man. His face became ghost white, his lips pressed tightly together, and his body was ridged.
“Not good.” Dirk thought.
Stevonsen couldn’t have made it more obvious that what he had just heard shocked him immensely. Whatever the news was, it wasn’t good.
Dirk noticed beads of sweat forming on Stevonsen’s forehead, and his grip on the phone had become increasingly tight. Soon, his knuckles had turned as white as his face.
“I see,” he replied, struggling to regain his composure. “Thank you.” He hung up the phone.
It was Dirk’s turn to feel uncomfortable, but unlike Stevonsen, he knew how to hide it.
Stevonsen slowly stood up. “If you would please excuse me for a moment.”
That’s all he offered as he walked out of the room.
“Easy Dirk,” he said to himself. Maybe the call was to inform him who I was and whom I worked for? “That would be enough to cause the little weasel to squirm.” he smiled.
All hopes of that possibility went flying out the window as Dirk heard the door lock behind him. Once, twice, and a third time.
Dirk shot out of the sofa and faced the door. “Oh, you’ve got to be kidding me.”

Classic. th:

I'm not liking the suspense here, Heather. :P

Very well done, Heather!!! w:

yike:
Oh,you've got to be kidding me? We have to wait? That's not fair at all!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!


Well done Heather th:

MORE, MORE, MORE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I demand more!!!!!!!! Seriously great job. I can't wait!! th: :)

“Interesting,” Dirk thought as he studied the door. “It’s manually locked from the outside as well as the inside. Stevonsen’s office must double as a prisoner cell.” He muttered under his breath.
Dirk’s mind had been running like a motor ever since the mysterious phone conversation. That was weird enough, but locking the doors? That had to be overkill. Dirk knew he hadn’t done anything wrong. After all, he’d just stopped by to say hello.
“Ok then, Mr. Hospitality,” Dirk smiled to himself. “I hope you don’t mind me using your private line to make a long distance call.” He walked over to the desk and picked up the intercome phone. He was just about to dial, when he heard voices coming through.
“What do we have here,” he whispered to himself as he put his ear to the receiver.
Though she had hung up the phone, Stevonsen’s secretary had accidentally left the intercom on, which transmitted the conversation outside the room loud and clear.
“What is there not to understand, Mr. Stevonsen?” a man shouted. “I have shown you my credentials, and I have very clearly explained to you why I am here. What else do you want?”
“But how did you know he was here?” Dirk recognized the voice as Stevonsen’s. “He showed up in that contraption hardly 20 minutes ago, and yet here you are, making orders to lock doors, claiming you’ve been desperately searching him out for a month now. It just doesn’t….”
The man cut him off. “How I receive my information is no concern of yours. At the moment, your only concern should be in moving that large machine off your hotels property.” The man paused and smiled a smile that gave Stevonsen chills. “Just think of this as me doing you a favor.”
Stevonsen felt slightly threatened by the man, and although he knew he should look into the matter, the man did have a point. He decided to give in and hand Dirk over to him, after all, he was willing to move things along silently and quickly, which would be good for his image.
“Okay, you win. Give me a second to unlock my office.”
Anyone else in Dirk’s situation would have felt pretty good. Credentials, one month spent searching for him, the quick arrival, it all spelt one thing, rescue. But Dirk wasn’t anyone else, and to him, things were looking pretty fishy. He noticed the hairs on the back of his neck stand on end.
His thoughts were interrupted as the locks in the door clicked open. Then
voices came back on the phone.
“Have you talked to him?” came the mystery man.
“Not much,” Stevonsen replied. “I was just about to when you showed up. In fact, I never even got his name.”
The man looked pleased. “Good.”
“You know it’s funny,” Stevonsen added as he motioned towards the door. “He never came across the murderer type to me.”

Im gonna post the next half to this later today...soon, I hope. w:

Good stuff, Heather, give us more!

Again, sorry this took so long.

Dirk was stunned. “Murder?” he thought to himself. “This is insane!” he set down the receiver. “What a wonderful day this is turning out to be,” he muttered under his breath. A plan was already forming in his head, but if it was going to work, he had to act fast. He opened one of the desk drawers and started rummaging until he found what he was looking for.
“Machete you ain’t,” he muttered as he slipped the letter opener into his pocket. Then he grabbed a good sized paper weight from off the desk, ran across the room, and stood by the wall to the side of the door.
“Let’s see if all those years of football paid off,” he said as he raised his arm. He picked his target and hurled the paper weight as hard as he could. The glass cabinet shattered, instantly followed by the packed shelves collapsing on top of each other. Dirk was pleased; the crash was louder than he’d expected, and the shouts on the other side of the door were ones of shock and confusion. As the door knob turned, Dirk flattened himself against the wall and behind a coat hangar.
Almost before the door was open, Stevonsen ran in to find the source of the crash. The next person to walk in was the other voice he had heard over the intercom, and also one of the largest men Dirk had ever seen. A gun was firmly held in the giant’s outstretched hand, which gave Dirk an idea of what he was up against. Seizing the advantage of having both men’s backs towards him, he quietly slipped out of the room.
“I can’t believe that really worked,” he thought in amazement as he jogged past a stunned secretary. Before turning the corner, he looked back over his shoulder, winked at her, and put his finger up to his lips in a “quiet” sign. Then he continued his escape, only to run into a road block. There, standing in front of him, where five men, maybe not big like their boss, but probably the ugliest men he had ever seen. Dirk was momentarily stunned as he looked up into their now smiling faces. When shouts erupted from around the corner, the men were sprung into action. The giant closest to Dirk, grabbed him by his collar, lifted him up, and pinned him against the wall.
“God you’re ugly.” Dirk said, right before he thrust his knee into the man’s crotch. The man let go of Dirk and fell to the floor, clutching his groin in agony.
“Works every time.” Dirk said as he took off down the hall. The, now four, ugly brothers were close behind, but Dirk felt comfortable in assuming that they wouldn’t shoot guns in a public hotel. The bullets that suddenly whizzed past his head proved him wrong.
“Who are these goons?” he thought to himself as he made a detour in another direction to avoid a group of passing women.
“First things first,” Dirk thought. “Lose the mob squad, then find a phone. Easy, if I had a tour guide.”
After 10 minutes of non-stop sprinting, Dirk had had it. Fortunately for him, his long legs had put quite a bit of distance between him and the adversary, so he had a chance to breathe. While he was zigzagging here and there to throw them off his trail, he found a deserted office tucked away in a corner. A phone sat on the office desk.
“Finally, a bit of luck for Team Pitt.” He picked up the phone. It only took him a second to decide who to call. He dialed the long number and waited for it to go through.
“Come on, come on!” Dirk whispered impatiently. He heard footsteps coming down the hall, a lot of footsteps. Finally his call went through, and it started to ring. Just when someone on the other line picked up, and before Dirk could get a word out, the line suddenly went dead. In an attempt to conceal himself, he had been standing in a tiny wall crevasse, facing away from the desk. When he turned around, he cursed his stupidity. There, standing over the phone, with the cord he had just yanked out of the wall in his hand, was the large giant man he had seen in Stevonsen’s office.
“Hide and seek is over, Mr. Pitt." he smiled devilishly. "You’re supposed to be dead, and I think it would be best if you permanently stayed that way.”

Great job! Keep it coming!!!! :)

yike: I can't help but wonder who the bad guy is. This is a surprising story that's well written and conceived. Thank you very much for some needed creativity Heather!!! It's a pleasure to see you writing a story!!! w:

Keep it coming!!!!!!! I can't wait!!!!!!!!! th: th: :)

I knew I was missing something while I was in Florida! Now that I'm back I need more! w:

D.C. better watche out ........this woman has talent th:

No pressure, but...

I need more. :lol:

:blink: w:

I'm going through story withdrawal here. MORE!!!!!!! :blink: :lol: