Week 22.1 – Hiding Out

Previously: Twain escaped from the Czar’s men and was led to apparent safety by the mysterious Yi Fan. And now…

“Wait here,” said Yi Fan. “I have an errand to run, and then I’ll make arrangements to get you someplace safer.”

“How do I know you won’t just bring them here?” Twain asked.

She looked confused for a moment, as if the question made no sense. Then she smiled, but there was no humor in it. “How do you know I haven’t led you into a trap already? There could be a dozen of them waiting outside that door right now, getting ready to burst in and arrest you. If you didn’t trust me to help, why did you follow me?”

Twain couldn’t answer. “Okay, I’ll wait,” he said.

“It could take a while, but I’ll try not to be too long.” She turned toward the door, then impulsively turned back and kissed his cheek before leaving.

[blockquote type=”blockquote_quotes” align=”right”]…he chose weapons he could conceal: a taser, a collapsible spring steel baton and brass knuckles with an ultra-high discharge capacitor. The capacitor only held one charge, but it would one-punch anybody human and a good percentage of supers as well…[/blockquote]As soon as she was gone, Twain groaned and flipped, the two heavy duffel bags falling to the ground with a thump. He’d been riding unarmed and apparently helpless, hoping that looking harmless would allow him to go mostly unmolested. But now that they were on the alert and searching for him, he wanted to be prepared.

At the same time, he didn’t want Yi Fan to ask too many questions, so he chose weapons he could conceal: a taser, a collapsible spring steel baton and brass knuckles with an ultra-high discharge capacitor. The capacitor only held one charge, but it would one-punch anybody human and a good percentage of supers as well.

The only thing he kept out that couldn’t be concealed was the mask. He just couldn’t bear the thought of having it impinge on his consciousness anymore, plus if things got really hairy, he would need it. It was packed in a courier bag that he could sling over one shoulder to keep it conveniently at hand. He set the weapons and mask to one side, then lifted the duffels and flipped. The taser went under his shirt in back, the baton went in one pocket and the brass knuckles in the other. he slung the mask bag over his shoulder, thn settled in to wait for Yi Fan to return.

What was her story, anyway? She seemed to know him, yet he had never seen her before. But given the way she had hidden him away and talked about getting him out of the area, it looked like she was part of some covert rebellion against the Czar’s regime. He could use that if he could get more details from her.

But something else was bothering him as well: the way those men had shown up at a yurt in the middle of nowhere. It was as if they had been looking for somebody in that specific spot at that specific time. As if they had been looking for him.

Had the Czar been warned that he was coming? And if so, was that Digger’s doing somehow, or had the old lady Ying Chan betrayed him to the Czar?

Who can Twain trust? Join us tomorrow for our next exciting episode!

To read from the beginning, click here…