T-Minus 6 Minutes, 36 Seconds.

Three minutes and ten seconds after X's remarks, the marines drag away the last of their squad and throw them over their shoulders to head north as quickly as possible toward the stairwell and the fast elevators.  They are ominously silent the whole time.

The elevator will arrive in 1 minute, 12 seconds.

There has been no sign of the Agent.  Your radios have either cut out completely now or X has not said anything.

[If you noticed a discrepency between times, it is because I counted out the seconds of speaking and action between the 10 minute countdown and X's remark that you have 4 minutes 22 seconds.  It cost you 11 seconds.]

T-Minus 6 Minutes, 12 Seconds

The first elevator will arrive in 48 seconds.  Your eyes have never been so glued to your watches.  The second elevator will follow a half minute or so behind.

Something is moving toward you, walking slowly.  It pushes aside the computer parts in the far western hall and begins to walk south toward the rubble where you wait.  It is too dark to make out its form.

T-Minus 6 Minutes, 9 Seconds
Elevator Arrival Time: 45 seconds.

Viper swings his AK to cover the hallway down which the 'something' is approaching. "Hold it right there!" His left hand fumbles for his flashlight to aim the beam down the hallway.

Laz points his beretta towards the walking figure, his flashlight on top of his weapon illuminates the hallway.

T-Minus 6 minutes, 6 seconds

Viper calls out and everyone swings their guns in the direction of the approaching figure.  Lazarus' light illuminates the figure of the agent who called himself Mulder.

The Agent stops in his tracks.  As calm as always, he says, "Now, isn't this nice?  You trick me with the disks.  You trick me into going off to find you elsewhere.  And where do I find you?  Holed up in the rubble like rats.  There will be no more tricks."

He takes a step forward and holds out one hand.  "Give me the disks and I will let you go."  He pauses a second.  "I promise."

He waits.

T-Minus 5 minutes, 52 seconds
31 seconds until the elevator arrives.

Laz chuckles, and looks at the Agent. "Where is Binary?" he asks.

T-Minus 6 minutes, 3 seconds

"He is safely with Agent Eastwood," the Agent responds.  He indicates with his fingers to put something in his hand and says slowly, "And will remain so if you give me the disks."

He takes a couple steps forward, stopping cautiously at about 36 feet from you.  His hand is still extended.  As he stops again, Laz's light reflects a glint off the gun in his left hand.  The gun is pointed at the floor.  It could be Twitch's beretta; it could be the Agent's own gun.

T-Minus 5 minutes, 58 seconds
Elevator arrival time: 23 seconds.
This message was last edited by the GM at 04:43, Thu 10 June 2004.

In the midst of all this, Grid feels something moving.  It is Mitose.  The shot given to him by Viper seems to have kicked in.  Grid sets Mitose down.  Although weak, Mitose leans against one arm on the wall.  The loss of blood has drained much of his strength, but he is conscious and able to move freely by himself.  (Mitose now has 1 HT.)

Mitose's eyes flutter open with an electric twitch.  Quietly, he coughs, "How'd they get a Mack truck down here?"

"X?" Mitose pauses, assessing himself, and giving Grid a nod of thanks. "I'm online, but non-combative...what can I do? Where's the exit?"

"Up the elevator," X replies.  "I'll have to guide you from there."

To anyone watching, Mitose looks pained, as if he has heard something that will either be monumentally difficult, or was already somehow painful.  Then he nods, and moves very slowly to one knee.  He scans the area, looking for enemy eyes, and then staying near a wall (if possible) for support, he begins to make his slow but steady, and  hopefully stealthy way, to the indicated elevators.  Mitose seems to mumble to himself as he goes, his brow furrowed, his focus on teh task at hand.

"The Mind is the weapon..."

Her machine gun trained on the agent, Jade walks slowly backward toward the descending elevator, ready to fire if the agent does anything threatening.

Laz reaches into his jacket, debating what to do with the disks. If he should throw them and give the team sometime or if he should play it cool?

T-Minus 5 minutes, 50 seconds

The Agent takes another step forward.  His left hand comes up slowly...the hand with the pistol.  He does not point it menacingly at you, but he definitely means business.

"We can do this the easy way or the hard way," he says.  "Give me the disks."

He takes one more step forward.

T-Minus 5 minutes, 47 seconds
Elevator Arrival Time: 12 seconds.

At first, Viper says nothing, simply slipping the M-16 off his shoulder to catch in his left hand. He now has an automatic weapon in each hand pointing at the Agent.

We need to get rid of this joker.

"Whatever you think we have, you're not getting a damn thing until you bring us Binary, pal."

Mitose does his best to make himself obscure, staying low, for several reasons, and continuinghis deliberate pace towards the elevator.  As he approaches, and hears X's ETA on the elevator, he steels himself for a last dash into the Elevator.  Mitose mutters, "No pain.  Pain is a signal to your Brain that your body is in jeopardy...but my body is safely aboard  our ship.  The signal is false.  The Mind is the weapon."

"Assuming I make the elevator, X, what floor am I punching up?"

Grid gives a furtive glance at the others, lingering a moment on the injured Mitose,  as he slowly moves back down the corridor away from the agent.  His brown eyes narrow as they focus on the agent, an intense dislike evident in their deep brown depths.

“You want the disks?!” he spits at the agent as he begins to move quicker, his body turning slightly as he readies to run, “You can get  them off me, IF you can catch me.”

At those final words he turns and bolts, running as fast as possible down the corridor.

“X” he yells into the microphone, “Guide me quick towards the fast elevators.  I’ve got the disks and need out before a certain mug in a bad suit catches me.”

T-Minus 5 minutes, 42 seconds

The Agent ignores Grid but hesitates.  "Mr. Peterson was very..."  He trains the pistol on Lazarus. "...helpful.  He told me who has the disks."

X replies, "North.  The elevators are straight north.  But you can't make it that way."

The Agent is standing about 30 feet to the north of you, his gun pointed at Lazarus.  There is rubble between you and him.  The elevator doors are about 8 to 10 feet behind you.

Mitose makes it to the elevators and leans against the wall next to them.

"Mitose," X says, "there are only two buttons: up and down.  Go up."

"Go up?" the Agent says, as if realizing for the first time that the elevators are there and will take you up to safety.  "Not on my watch."

T-Minus 5 minutes, 39 seconds
Elevator Arrival Time: 4 seconds
This message was last edited by the player at 02:05, Tue 15 June 2004.

Lazarus calmly looks back at the agent, his body ready to head in the direction of the elevator when it reaches them.

Grid races to the fire escape stairs, listening to the suited man’s words and pauses long to say to the Agent.

“Öf course Binary told you who was holding the disks! He’s a weak old man.”  he challenges, “Why do you think they were passed to someone else, just in case a situation like this occurred?!”

He gives a grim smile.

“Now if you really want these disks” he pats the pocket in his jacket, “Then you can risk getting caught in this building as it comes down around our ears.  In either case Ugly, you ain’t getting these disks.”

With that he bolts up the stairs.
This message was last edited by the GM at 07:43, Tue 15 June 2004.

Laz looks at Grid as he takes off; concern etched on his face foe his teammate but he also realizes it buys him the time he needs to get out if the agent falls for it.