Gamay-Morgan Trout watched the colorful fish swim around her and smiled with delight. She had loved the water and all its creatures since a very young age.
Her reverie was interupted by her husband's voice. "How's it going?"
"Very well," she answered brightly. "Did you finish your project?"
Paul nodded in the affirmative. "All samples collected and ready to be tested. What about you?"
"I need a couple more minutes to finish up," Gamay answered, nodding her head toward a large pile of rocks a short distance away where the school of fish she had been studying had swam to while they talked.
"Do you need help?" he asked.
Gamay shook her head. "No, I'll be right back. I promise not to be too long." A mischevious smile crossed her face.
It took almost all of Paul's self control to keep from laughing aloud, but he couldn't stop himself from smiling at her comment. He knew that tone and smile well. "Please remember we only have so much air left, darling."
"I'm watching the gauges. We still have plenty of air and you know it," Gamay said with a laugh. "Five minutes is all I need. Find something to occupy yourself with until I get back."
"Certainly easy enough to find more to do," Paul replied, rolling his eyes.
With that she swam off and circled the rock pile, hoping that the fish would either come out or that she would find an opening that would allow her to see inside. She was just about to call it a day, when out of the corner of her eye she spotted the figure of another diver swimming up behind her.
She spun around and started to swim to the person, thinking that it must be Paul, but quickly revised that belief when the diver lunged at her with a sharp knife.
She cried out, mostly from surprise. She quickly collected herself and dodged the next blow. She swam out of range, but her attacker pursued. In the time before the intruder reached her again, she grabbed the dive knife that had been stapped to her leg. It wasn't as sharp as the attacker's weapon, but it was better than nothing she decided.
Another body entered the fray. A tall figure wrapped a strong arm around the throat of the attacker and grapped the arm that held the knife.
"Paul," she realized quickly. There was no mistaking him.
The attacker used his free arm to elbow Paul in the ribs, knocking the air from him and causing his grip to loosen. Gamay brought her arm down as hard as she could on the back of his neck.
The attacker went limp, and Paul, who had recovered, grabbed the figure before it sank away.
"Are you okay?" Gamay asked him anxiously.
"Fine," he answered. "And you?"
"I'm good," she said smiling. "You have fantastic timing."
"Why I let you go off on your own is a mystery to me," he teased. "You can't seem to stay out of trouble."
"And you think you're better at staying out of trouble?" she retorted, her eyes twinkling.
"Who rescued whom here?" he demanded.
"Should I really answer that? she laughed.
Paul's face suddenly turned serious. "All joking aside, what happened here?"
"I don't know," Gamay answered honestly. "He just attacked me."
Paul's face clouded with concern. "Let's get topside. We need to regroup and see if we can figure out what's going on here."
Gamay nodded. She glanced around one last time and then looked at the unconscious attacker. She had a bad feeling that this wasn't going to be simple.

Yay! Welcome back to the writing desk, Gamay! th:

YAY!!! w: Fantastic start Gamay! th:

A terrific start, Gamay!! My guess is something important about that group of rocks that Gamay was investigating, right? It's always great to see someone besides myself writing stories here in the fan fiction area. Welcome back, Gamay!!! snor: w:

Lisa Williams was working late. Her eyes began to blur from her exhaustion. She worked as an engineer for a large mining company owned by Daniel Ferrar, and recenty Ferrar had started demanding results faster and making strange demands with no explanation.
Williams blinked and wiped her eyes in disbelief. "Not another one," she thought angerly. Ferrar had been giving them projects and telling them where to start on them. He would then stop them in the middle of the project without any explanation. This last one had been a large drilling machine to help with mining operations. They were almost done and she had actually thought they would be allowed to finish a project.
She slammed her fist against her desk. She wanted answers and this time she was going to get them. She got on the elevator and went up to Ferrar's office. Before she reached Ferrar's office, she came face to face with Drew Ellison, the company's chief of security.
Known by many as Ferrar's guard dog, he was a large, hulking man with cruel eyes. There were rumors that his job extended to more than just managing general security. Many of Ferrar's competitors had gone missing without a trace, but nothing linking Ferrar or Ellison to these disappearances could ever be found.
Whether or not these suspicions were true, the man still scared her. Something about the way he looked at her disturbed her. It wasn't really a look of sexual interest. It was more like he was measuring her for a coffin.
"What are you doing here?" Ellison growled, blocking her path.
"I need to speak to Mr. Ferrar," Williams said, firmly standing her ground despite the overwhelming urge to run.
"He can't see you now," Ellison said, roughly pushing her back toward the elevator.
Her eyes flashed angerly. "Get your hands off me and get out of my way. I am going to speak to him. This is important." She pushed him away from her.
Ellison growled menacingly and took a step toward her. The crazy look in his eyes frightened her. Williams no longer doubted that this man could kill.
"Drew, that's enough," a commanding voice said.
Ferrar stepped into the hall. Despite being a tall and handsome man, Williams always felt a chill run up her spine when she spoke to him. He was indifferent to any idea that didn't benefit him. She could well-imagine him watching a building burn to the ground, and not lifting a finger to help the occupants.
"But boss," Ellison started to protest.
"I said enough," Ferrar said, in a voice that indicated that any further debate would have serious consequences. Ellison backed down, although it was obvious that he hadn't forgotten her by the way he stared.
"Can I help you Lisa?" Ferrar asked.
"Yeah," she said, looking nervously at Ellison. "Can we speak alone?"
"Of course," Ferrar said, leading her into his office and shutting the door behind her. "Now what is it?"
"Look I need to know what it going on here. Why are you giving us these projects and stopping us before their complete. Why do you insist on keeping us in the dark?"
Ferrar's eyes darkened. "You don't need to know that."
"Yes I do," she said. The frustration that had been building over the last few months flooded out. "If you won't tell me I'll find out on my own. I know something strange is going on here."
"That would be a mistake," Ferrar said, reaching for his desk and pushing a small button on it.
Williams suddenly realized she had made a mistake. She had let her anger out and had revealed too much. Something wrong really was happening here. She needed to tell the police. They were equiped to handle this kind of thing. "I'm sorry," she said trying to soothe Ferrar. "I'm just frustrated. You tell me what to do and I'll do it. In fact I'll go back to work right now." She had been backing up slowly as she spoke and now she reached for the door, yanked it open, and prepared to run. Standing in her way though was Ellison.
"Please step aside," she said, trying to keep her voice from trembling.
"Why don't you stay for a while," Ferrar suggested.
Williams eyes darted back and forth looking for an opening. "I need to go."
"I think you'll stay for a while," Ellison said, pulling out a large gun.
Her eyes fixated on the weapon pointed at her. She desperatly tried to think of ways to escape, but before she could act, Ellison hit her over the head with the gun. She was unconscious before she hit the ground.

JUst when I was itching for the 2nd instalment, here it is!

Thanks!

Cheers beer:

Andy

I pray Lisa gets to live!!! Please don't kill her off!!! Have her rescued, p l e a s e!!!

I thought this story was about Gamay Trout. Wait... is this a side plot?? COOL!

Keep up the great work! th:

I feel as though I've been neglecting two of my favorite characters. Shame on me!!! This will be a NUMA files story so it will be Kurt, Joe, Paul, and Gamay(:)) as the main characters. Others may be in for brief appearances, but no promises are made (but I appear to be easily influenced as I think my first story proved and suggestions are welcome so we'll see :lol: ) You've listened to me babble enough. On with the story!


Gamay was inspecting the AUV with Bill Johnson, a NUMA engineer who had a lot of experience in piloting the underwater device, when Paul walked in.
She didn't even have to ask how the interrogation had gone. They had been at it for hours and the frustration was evident on his face. "Still nothing I'm assuming," she said motioning to a nearby chair.
Paul was too worked up to sit. "I don't want to go into it. What I really want to do is shoot him," he growled.
Gamay bit her lip to keep from laughing out loud at her husband's outburst. "Poor baby," she teased. "I feel you should know that if you wind up in jail for shooting this guy, I'm not waiting for you."
Paul rolled his eyes, but did loosen up as a response to his wife's teasing. "Very funny. I'm glad you're in such a good mood."
"Why wouldn't I be?" she asked motioning to the AUV. "We may not have gotten anything from this guy, but this baby here is ready and willing. Right Bill?"
"Yep," answered Johnson, a man of few words.
Paul slapped his hands together. "Okay then. Let's get this show on the road."
The AUV was lowered into the water and started toward the area of interest.
"Let's be thorough and circle the area around the rock first. We don't want to miss something important because we were impatient," instructed Paul.
Johnson nodded and put the AUV into a search pattern.
Time passed and nothing was found. They finally arrived at the rock Gamay had been studying when attacked. They had the AUV circle it so they could study the outside. The large crack down the side caught Gamay's attention.
"Look at that," she mused, pointing at the crack. "It's such a clean and even crack."
"Too neat," Paul agreed. "It looks like its been cut. I've never seen a natural crack that was so symmetrical."
They both fell silent as the absorbed the implication of this.
"Bill can you get this thing in there?"
"Yep," Johnson confirmed, directing the AUV through the crack.
The search light illuminated the area so that they could see that the rock had been hollowed out.
"Keep a close watch. Hollowing out this stone without breaking it took a lot of work. Whoever did this didn't do it for kicks," Gamay said.
While inspecting the inside, Johnson noticed an anomaly on the ground. On closer inspection they realized it was a large hole.
The AUV traveled down and reached a machine with a large drill. There were no markings, but they managed to get many good pictures to analyze before calling it a day. It was agreed by all of them that they shouldn't press their luck.
Johnson gave the AUV the command to rise to the surface, while Paul and Gamay left the room to confer.
"Okay," Gamay started, "Let's recap here. We have a huge hollowed out rock that seems to be there to cover up a tunnel that leds to a drilling machine."
"Now we go into the why part of this equation," Paul said. "So what do you suggest we do as our next step."
Gamay contemplated the question. "I think it's time to put NUMA's reasources on this and bring in Kurt and Joe. Maybe they have some ideas," she suggested.
Before the conversation could continue, they heard Johnson holler for them. They rushed over to find him staring at a blank screen.
"What's wrong? What happened here?" Paul demanded.
"It's gone," Johnson said in disbelief. "Gone!"

Gone!! Aieeee.... yike:

"So what do we have?" Joe Zavala asked after a long and frustrating strategy session.
After losing the AUV, Paul and Gamay had called their NUMA partners Kurt Austin and Joe Zavala for back up. They had flown out immediately and the four had sequestered themselves in a cabin to decide their next step.
"Da*n little," Austin responded.
"I don't even begin to have an idea where to go next," Paul said. "These guys have been three steps ahead the entire time."
"They screwed up a bit though when they let the AUV into that fake rock. We were able to see what was down there," Gamay said postively.
"But we don't have any of the pictures and what we saw was pretty shadowed," Paul said gloomily.
Gamay looked at her husband with concern. It wasn't normal for him to be so pesimistic, but failure was a hard pill to swallow and he was obviously taking it hard. The fact was that she also was upset. She felt like things were starting to spin out of control. This was a new feeling to her and it wasn't one she particularly liked. She set her hand on his and squeezed it reassuringly. She felt him grip her hand and squeeze back.
"Can you guys tell us what it looked like?" Austin asked.
"I can do better," Gamay said getting up and pulling a paper out of a nearby drawer. "I was able to draw what I saw. It may not be exact because it was done from memory and the machine was difficult to see clearly, but it should be close. I'm no artist, but you do enough sketches of marine life and you get better at drawing. I did this right after we lost the AUV so the memory wouldn't be scewed."
"Good thinking," Zavala praised, grabbing the drawing. As a trained marine engineer he was most qualified to asses the machine. "Quite advanced. This design reminds me of something. Do you guys mind if we break while I follow up a lead?"
"I think breaking now is a good idea," Austin answered. "You follow up on that. I'll call Hiram and see if he can find anything about similar weird activity in other areas. Maybe we'll find a connection." Turning his attention to the Trouts, Austin said, "Can you two call NUMA headquarters and get some more equipment here? I'll give you a list of what I think we need."
"Let's get to it then," Paul answered.
Gamay smiled. They weren't out of the game yet.

The chase is on! th:

The team is in place and ready to go!!! Let's take these bad guys down!!! p:

Consciousness came back to Lisa Williams slowly. She sat up and clutched her head. She had a terrible headache, but she knew it could be worse. If she was in pain, she had to still be alive.
Forcing the rising feeling of panic down, she looked around to try to figure things out. She was in a room with no windows and only one heavy looking door. She got up and tried to open it. Not surprisingly it was locked. "Well now what," she thought in frustration. Williams circled her prison to see if there were any weaknesses in the wall or some other option she could use to escape before...she couldn't let herself think of what might happen if she couldn't escape. She had caught Ferrar and Ellison doing something shady and they weren't likely to just let her go after locking her up.
She jumped at the sound of the door opening and turned to face the intruder. Ellison was standing in the doorway holding a large revolver and smiling cruely.
"I see your finally awake," he sneered. "Have a nice nap?"
Her resolve deepened. People like Ellison lived to see fear on others. It gave them a feeling of control and dominance. She wasn't going to give him the satisfaction.
She walked toward him and looked him in the eye. "Where am I and what is going on here?" she demanded.
Ellison blinked in confusion. It was rare for anyone to stand up to him. He certainly hadn't expected it from a lone woman who should be trembling on the floor after what had happened. He hit her hard knocking her to the floor and wrapped his large hands around her throat.
For almost a minute, Williams thought she was going to black out again, but she manged to keep her wits and knee him hard in the stomage, causing Ellison to release her throat. She made a run for the door, but before she could get out another guard stepped in front of her with a gun.
"That's enough," he said, pointing the gun at her. "Lay down on the ground nice and slowly."
Defeat flooded through her, as she got down on the ground.
Ellison grabbed her roughly off the ground. "You'll pay for that b****," he growled. "But first the boss has a job for you." He tied her hands and led her down the hall.

Zavala stared at the digital image on the computer screen. This was a program he was very familar with because he'd used it many times for his own projects. By imputting the specifics Gamay and Paul could remember about the underwater device, he was able to get a fairly accurate digital image of it. This would be of more help in identification then a sketch. "We might need the extra help," he thought in frustration.
Despite having talked to many prominant people in engineering, no one claimed it or admitted to knowing anything about it. The device was too advanced and well-made to have been designed and built by amateurs or lower level professionals. He hoped the digital image would jog some memories.
Zavala clicked the print button, and then sat back in his chair to think about his next step. His cell phone rang, interrupting his thoughts. "Yeah," Zavala grunted into the phone.
"Joe, is that you?" a familar voice answered.
"Hiram," Zavala said, his attention now focused on the call. He had talked to the computer genius earlier, and had asked him to do a complete search on his computer system. Zavala was half afraid to ask how the search had gone. Things hadn't been going his way on this. "Max manage to dig anything up?"
"Funny story actually. We did find some interesting things. Can you gather the gang and come to my computer lab? I've got some fun stuff to show you guys."

Ooh, I like fun stuff! Keep it coming Gamay! th:

Yay!! It's always fun to see the "attractive" holographic image of Max!! :lol: Max can certainly find things for Hiram and NUMA when she has to!!! det:

Sorry this took so long to get up. Minor writers block, but I think I'm back
(fingers crossed). Enjoy.


Gamay gasped when they entered the NUMA computer lab. Right in front of her appeared to be an exact copy of the drilling machine she and Paul had discovered below the sea. She reached forward to touch it, but her hand passed through it. Gamay shook her head in amusement. The illusion was broken.
"You never cease to amaze me Hiram," Austin commented. "I would swear it was really there."
Yaegar smiled as he pushed a button on the console causing the image to disappear. "Now you see it, now you don't."
Paul was anxious to get down to buisness. "What did you find?"
"Max, why don't you fill them in?" Yaegar said.
Max's image appeared in front of them in a stylish buisness suit. She smiled brightly. "The image you saw when you entered was a prototype created by Ferrar Industies. Ferrar Industries is a marine mining company started ten years ago by Daniel Ferrar. This company has been one of the industry leaders for years. Ferrar hires only the best and spares no expense when it comes to building better equipment."
"I've read a lot about their projects," Zavala said. "They've done some amazing stuff. I wish I could get that kind of funding around here."
"There's a darker side to Ferrar Industries though," Max said. "A lot of the success there seems to be because of the failure of other companies. Some chose to merge just when it would seem least advantageous to them. Others who were competing with Ferrar suddenly stopped trying and moved to things Ferrar had chosen to ignore. Each time someone tried to surpass Ferrar, they were shut down."
"It sounds like you're suggesting that Ferrar isn't playing nice," Gamay said.
"That seems to be were the evidence is pointing," Max confirmed.
"Tell us about the drilling machine Gamay and Paul found," Austin instructed.
"I would guess it was developed from the prototype I showed you earlier. Ferrar Industries came out with it a year and a half ago. It was supposed to revolutionize marine mining. The drill was super powerful and fast. Tests showed that this drill was far more efficient and did far less damage to the sea floor because it was thinner and therefore didn't have to destroy as much to get to the bottom. When tested against other drills it was considerably faster. It was also smaller, so it was easy to maneuver and transport," Max lectured.
"Sounds amazing," Paul said. "I'm shocked I haven't heard more about this or seen it more use."
"For some reason right after it came out Ferrar discontinued work on the project. No explanation was ever given," Max said.
"Ferrar had to have a reason for that action. He forfitted billions by not perfecting that machine," Yaegar mused.
"Sounds like we need to do some more investigation into Ferrar Industries," Gamay commented.
Austin nodded. "I think its time for a field trip."

Woohooo...a Field Trip!!! Keep it coming, Gamay!!! w:

Gamay glanced around the huge building that housed Ferrar Industries. She and Paul had split off from Austin and Zavala soon after departing the plane in New York. The plan was that they would poke around the headquarters, while Austin and Zavala nosed around the warehouse where the projects were built and tested.
An attractive blonde sitting behind the reception desk in the lobby greeted them with a wide smile. "How can I help you today?"
Paul and Gamay shared a look. They both believed that the best stories were laced with some truth. Paul held out a NUMA buisness card. "My wife and I are researchers with NUMA. Our boss has been keeping an eye on you guys for a while and is very impressed to say the least. He sent us down to find out more about your operations. He thinks there may be a deal worth making that would be benefitial to both parties."
"May I ask what?" she asked sweetly. "My boss will want to know what it is."
"I'm afraid we'll have to speak directly to Mr. Ferrar," Gamay said firmly.
"I'm afraid Mr. Ferrar isn't in today, but I can set you up with Elaine Greenwood. She handles day to day operations." The receptionist leaned over the speaker phone. "Mrs. Greenwood, I have to visitors from NUMA who wish to see you. They say its very important."
"Send them up," Greenwood said over the speaker.
They met with Greenwood, but failed to learn anything new despite probing questions. They hung around questioning others in the building to find out if anyone had seen or heard anything suspicious. Two hours later they gave up.
"Well that was a waste," Paul muttered in annoyance as they left the building. He was surprised when he received no response from his wife. Noticing the thoughtful expression on her face, he added, " A penny for your thoughts."
"I've been watching that door over there," she said motioning to a large door toward the rear of the building. "It seems to be were supplies get brought in. I'll bet if we showed up with something in big boxes, they'd let us in. They don't seem to be watching that door as carefully as the others."
"You don't know that," Paul said. "For all you know each of those people have some special pass or something."
"Or they don't. We can't leave empty handed. What have we got to loose?" she said brightly.
"Just our lives," he retorted. He wrestled with the decision. He hated failure as much as she did. A look at Gamay's determined face convinced him. It was worth trying. He felt pretty confident that they could handle just about anything. They'd been through a lot together. "Let's get to work."

"Why do I let you talk me into this stuff?" Zavala demanded. Their part of this project had been less simple. They had to sneak into the warehouse and dodge guards left and right.
"Look at it this way. Where would you rather be? Here or stuck at your desk," Austin replied.
"How about neither," Zavala retorted.
A woman's scream broke the banter. They both bolted toward were the sound had originated from.
"Get back to work," a guard instructed.
"No," the woman cried. She was sprawled across the floor. "Let me go. I want to go home. Tell Ferrar I won't talk if he'll just let me go."
The guard raised his hand to strike her, but never got the chance to bring the blow down on her. Austin struck him with a pipe he'd found.
Austin and Zavala turned there attention to the woman on the ground. "Are you okay?" Austin asked kneeling beside her, as Zavala bound the guard.
"I'm fine," she whispered gratefully. "Thank you for saving me."
"What's your name and what's going on?" he asked gently.
"I'm Lisa Williams," she said softly. "Can we get out of here? I'll tell you everything I know."

Writer's block is an evil thing. I hope this is decent. I'm trying. Let me know if you guys are even slightly entertained. I may scrap the story, unless I hear otherwise (I may also just finish it anyway because Im stubborn like that and I hate to give up on it. My first story with Paul and Gamay and it is not good. Sad).


Lisa Williams sat down and gratefully accepted the sandwich and bottled water she was given. Austin and Zavala had offered to get her whatever she wanted, but they had given her back her freedom and she wouldn't ask for anymore. She took a bite and quickly decided that it was the most delicious thing she had ever tasted.
Austin and Zavala sat down and made light conversation, trying to cover the fact that they were anxious to get right down to buisness. They didn't want to push her after everything she had been through, but time was wasting and they didn't know how much they could afford to waste.
Lisa took a deep breath an began her story. "I was hired by Ferrar five years ago. In that time we made huge advancements, but these projects were stopped before we could fine tune these machines. I finally got up the nerve to challenge Ferrar, and he kidnapped me so I wouldn't go to the police. He's been luring scientists and engineers from all over to finish the work we started behind closed doors. He keeps them prisoner so they can't tell the world what he's up to." She stopped short. The horror of the plan still got to her.
"What is his plan?" Austin prodded gently.
"He plans to put drilling machines, which use both a very powerful drill we invented and soundwaves, on the underwater faultlines around the world. With a push of a button, he'll be able to start serious earthquakes wherever he pleases. Once he's set up, no goverment will dare defy him for fear of the bloodshed and chaos the earthquakes will cause."
It took a second for both Austin and Zavala to accept what they'd heard. Finally Zavala turned to Austin, and asked, "So what's are next step?"
"We fill in Paul and Gamay. They can get started on locating and removing the machines. At the very least the can destroy them were they are so they can't be operated. We'll tell the higher ups in our government and they can quietly tell the others. We don't want to cause a panic."
"And what will we be doing?" Zavala asked.
"We're going to go find those people Ferrar is keeping prisoner, and get them out," Austin said. "Then we're going to have a chat with Ferrar maybe we can throw him off by letting him know we know."
"I want to help," Williams interupted.
"Ms. Williams..." Austin started.
Her gentle eyes flashed angerly. "The name is Lisa, and I am going to help. This is partially my fault. I may not have known what he was using my work for, but that doesn't change the fact that I helped to create those things and its my responsibility to stop him," she said heatedly. Her beautiful face reflected how passionatly she felt about this, and Austin knew arguing was useless. She wasn't going to be dissuaded.
"Do you know where he put those machines?" Austin asked.
"I do."
"Will you help Gamay and Paul locate them?"
"Yes," she said. She stood up. "If you gentlemen will excuse me I'd like to freshen up a bit."
"The bathroom is down the hall," Zavala told her.
Austin watched her leave. He was beginning to feel very attached to her. Her spark and spirit were so alive, even after all she'd been through. How unfortunate it was to meet her for the first time like this when so much was at stake. He hoped they'd have a chance to get to know each other better after this was over.

Please don't end the story, Gamay!!! There's plenty of room here to write a terrific and long story!!! w:

"How do I let you talk me into these things?" Zavala demanded of Austin as they crept to where Williams had told them the other prisoners were housed. They were dressed in the uniforms of two high ranking guards they had knocked out.
"What's wrong with my plan?" Austin asked. "We walk in and take custody of the prisoners. The security guard uniforms and what Lisa told us about how things work around here should keep us from looking overally suspicious. Then we beat a hasty retreat before they really think about what just happened."
"And if they refuse to just hand over the prisoners?" Zavala asked bleakly.
"We'll cross that bridge when we come to it," Austin said positively.
"Were you born crazy or did this develop?" Zavala said with a laugh. The show of reluctance was exactly that: a show. Zavala had complete faith in his partner's abilities, but he couldn't pass up giving Austin a hard time.
"It's show time," Austin commented as they approached the prison, and instantly the joking stopped and both men became all buisness.
Austin walked up to a tall man who appeared to be in charge of the compound, purposely straigtening up to use his larger size to intimidate. He wanted this done quickly before anybody questioned them too thoroughly and realized they were strangers.
"I've been given orders to take the prisoners to Mr. Ferrar. He wants to speak to them," Austin said.
"I'll need to see release forms signed by him them," the guard said, trying to avoid the hard stare Austin was giving him.
"I have them here," he waved some official looking papers in front of the guard, but yanked them away before the guard could really analyze them. Lisa had done a good job forging Ferrar's signature, but close scrutiny might give things away. "Now we have to be going. The boss doesn't like to be kept waiting."
"I don't know," the man said. The man in front of him was wearing a uniform that indicated a higher rank, but he was supposed to be in charge here and he hadn't heard anything about this. "Why didn't I hear about this before?"
"Because he just decided he wanted to see them," Austin answered. "You are to be commended. You're doing your job quite thoroughly. I'll make sure the boss knows what a good man he's got." The guard straightened up proudly at the praise. Austin's eyes went cold. "Now though I would suggest you get the hell out of the way and let me do my job or Mr. Ferrar will be told of your interferrence as well. I'm sure you know what happens to those who disobey his wishes."
The guard paled. "Yes sir," he stuttered. "All paperwork appears to be in order, so here are the keys."
Austin and Zavala moved the nervous scientists onto one of the nearby carts, and then made a show of going about normal buisness until out of the other guards' sights. Then they ditched the cart and made their way to one of the rear exits.

While Austin and Zavala did this, Gamay, Paul, and Williams went about locating the drilling machines. With Lisa's able help they quickly became experts in locating, disarming, and destroying the machines. It was a race against time to disarm the majority of them before Ferrar was ready to set them off.
Out in the Pacific, Paul went about disarming another one while Gamay watched his back. The two divers they had found guarding the thing were quickly captured and were now being held on the NUMA ship. As Gamay kept watch, she saw two shadowy figures approach purposefully. She cursed mentally. She doubted these two were innocent divers. Either these two were returning from doing rounds or they had realized something was wrong.
"Paul," she whisered through the underwater communicator.
"Yeah," he answered, not really focused on her.
"We have poachers at nine-o-clock," she warned him. "How much longer to destroy that thing?"
"Five minutes," he told her. "I'll help you take them out and then I'll finish this."
"No," she said firmly. "That first. There are only two of them. Nothing I can't handle."
She picked up a large wrench and hid behind a rock not to far from the intruders. The large weapons the divers held erased any thoughts that these might be uninvolved people. They wouldn't have been burdened with those weapons unless they believed they would use them.
She stirred things up, causing the many fish to scatter and then hid herself not far away. The fish fleeing drew the other divers' attention, and they came to investigate. Finding nothing they went back to their original plan. Gamay replayed the same thing, and once again they found nothing. The third time she didn't run and hide. This time only one came over to do a half-hearted investigation. Not expecting to find anything, he didn't even notice Gamay until she she brought the wrench down on his head. She then dragged him out of sight. Now the odds were even, and she knew she wouldn't have to wait long for the other diver to come looking for his companion. This one would be harder because he would be expecting trouble now. She didn't have to wait long. The other diver came swimming over warily. Gamay smiled. She had home team advantage. She knew where he opponent was, but he had no idea were she was. She stayed completely silent and then when he got close enough she sprang like a cobra and kocked him out with the wrench.
"Not bad," she thought to herself, catching her breath.
"Remind me not to get on your bad side," teased her husband. He had finished up with the machine and had come to find her.
"Just remember this next time I ask you to do something. I'm not a good person to annoy," she answered, her eyes twinkling. Together they dragged their two captives back to the surface.
Williams and the captain greeted them as the arrived topside.
"I see you made more friends," Lisa commented drily.
"We had fun, but they seem to be partied out. We thought we'd let them rest with their buddies," Gamay responded.
Paul and Gamay got out of the water and dried themselves off as the captain got the boat moving quickly to the next spot. They still had a lot to do.

Okay I'm having minor writer's block, but I think I know where this is going now. Hopefully at least. Enjoy.



"Please tell me you're joking," Gamay cried, her hand clenched so tightly around the phone that her hand was turning white.
Paul looked up at his wife in concern. That certainly didn't sound good. He moved toward her and sat down beside her.
Seeing the questioning look in her husband's eyes, she held up one finger to tell him that she'd explain in a minute.
"Right Kurt," she said. "We're working as fast as we can. Can you get us more help or buy us some time? Both being preferable." She listened for a second. "I'd have to ask Lisa to be sure, but I think she said that there are ten more to destroy. We've been going day and night, but we can only travel and work so fast. This guy needs to find a hobby that doesn't involve planning world domination." Quiet again, she then responded, "Keep us updated. Be careful." Hanging up the phone, she turned to Paul. "They got the scientists out, but our deadline just moved up. The scientists say that the project will be operational in two days."
Paul gasped. "Shouldn't the fact that the scientists are now missing slow him down some."
Gamay shook her head. "They said that everything was in place, and their job was basically done. They were just being kept around to make sure that if glitches show up, there would be someone to fix them."
"We can't get to the rest by the deadline. Hell if he figures out we're onto him, which he will now that his prisoners are gone, he might even push up the deadline."
"According to the scientist, he can't push up the date anymore. Those two days are necesary," Gamay said. "Austin says he'll try to get us more help, but the last time we asked for help they ignored us. If they don't believe us, it's going to be difficult to recruit help."
Paul rose from his seat.
"Where are you going?" Gamay asked.
"To kick some butt out on the deck. We're going to move faster if I have to push," Paul said, leaving the room.

it is great I can't wait for more w: th:

Keep it up, Gamay!! It's looking good!!! w: