drowned out any other noise, and a second later she felt an agonising stabbing pain in her nose and jaw overwhelm her. She could taste the coppery blood as it flowed over her tongue and down her throat. She lifted her shaking hand to her face and could feel her jawbone dangle unnaturally below her shattered teeth. She scraped backwards to rest on the concrete platform separating two flights of stairs just as a young boy - Emma figured around 15 years old - ran to her side. Dazed, she turned to face him and was horrified to see burning red eyes staring back at her. The boy raised his foot and stamped hard on her chest. She heard the crunch before the pain exploded, and she felt the rush of air as her lungs collapsed. Gasping for breath, Emma's last sight was of a smartly dressed woman in her early thirties swing a steel-edged Samsonite briefcase at her head. With one last crack, Emma's head swivelled, and her unseeing eyes gazed up at the blinking lights of Piccadilly.
Back in the throng of late night Christmas shoppers, the man carried on as if nothing unusual had happened. The boy laughed as he ran to catchup with his friends waiting for him at the cinema. The woman continued down the subway stairs past Emma's crumpled body to catch her train. She couldn't be too late tonight, the kids were up early tomorrow for a school concert and she had things to organise.
All three continued on as if nothing had happened. Because to them it hadn't. Not really.
It was just a game after all.
#
Over the Sea of Okhutsk (Minus 18 Hours)
A loud bang woke Santos with a start. Although she didn't consider herself a nervous flyer, she didn't enjoy flying - and she really did not like turbulence. It reminded her that they were sitting in a steel tube 30,000 feet above ground, and the pilot's soothing announcement of 'one or two bumps as we near Sapporo' only made it worse.
Santos pressed a button on the seat, and it smoothly and silently slid from a flat bed to sit up chair in a few seconds. She yawned and watched as Ben Skinner silently slept in front of her. Spikes of blonde hair stuck up at the back as he lay curled up under a thin white blanket - WhiteStar branded of course. Santos knew months ago she was falling for Skinner, and suspected he felt the same. It was so hard to tell with the professor. He was unfailingly polite and respectful - as if he didn't want to press the issue. After their interrupted dinner in Georgetown, she'd come to the view that he'd never push things - and so she'd resolved to take the first step. She'd make her feelings known and see where it took them. No point wasting any more time wondering. After all, the consulting work with WhiteStar was coming to an end,and with it any excuse to see Skinner.
Yup , Santos mused, time to make things happen.
"Couldn't sleep Dr Eva? Yeah, don't blame you. I have a hard time sleeping when you're around."
Santos turned to her right and standing, slightly stooped, in the hallway was a grinning Andy Harper. His sharply pointed leather boots, tight jeans and fitted red shirt made him look, to Santos, a little ridiculous. Like a middle-aged accountant - albeit a handsome one - on his way to a singles club.
Santos looked up at Harper, leaning over her, his legs pressing against her shoulder, and with a withering glare said "Mr Harper, I'm sure women have no trouble falling asleep when you're around."
Harper leaned in further. "Dr Santos, I can assure you the only reason women fall asleep around me is from physical exhaustion. More so with the uptight ones - perhaps you would understand."
Suddenly very uncomfortable, Santos silently nodded to an attendant at the front of the cabin, currently serving Tanaka. He acknowledged her with a smile and bent over to serve drinks to Tanaka and Hill.
Santos twisted in her seat to face Harper, looked up at his handsome face twisted into a leer and said "Mr Harper, I can certainly understand
Back in the throng of late night Christmas shoppers, the man carried on as if nothing unusual had happened. The boy laughed as he ran to catchup with his friends waiting for him at the cinema. The woman continued down the subway stairs past Emma's crumpled body to catch her train. She couldn't be too late tonight, the kids were up early tomorrow for a school concert and she had things to organise.
All three continued on as if nothing had happened. Because to them it hadn't. Not really.
It was just a game after all.
#
Over the Sea of Okhutsk (Minus 18 Hours)
A loud bang woke Santos with a start. Although she didn't consider herself a nervous flyer, she didn't enjoy flying - and she really did not like turbulence. It reminded her that they were sitting in a steel tube 30,000 feet above ground, and the pilot's soothing announcement of 'one or two bumps as we near Sapporo' only made it worse.
Santos pressed a button on the seat, and it smoothly and silently slid from a flat bed to sit up chair in a few seconds. She yawned and watched as Ben Skinner silently slept in front of her. Spikes of blonde hair stuck up at the back as he lay curled up under a thin white blanket - WhiteStar branded of course. Santos knew months ago she was falling for Skinner, and suspected he felt the same. It was so hard to tell with the professor. He was unfailingly polite and respectful - as if he didn't want to press the issue. After their interrupted dinner in Georgetown, she'd come to the view that he'd never push things - and so she'd resolved to take the first step. She'd make her feelings known and see where it took them. No point wasting any more time wondering. After all, the consulting work with WhiteStar was coming to an end,and with it any excuse to see Skinner.
Yup , Santos mused, time to make things happen.
"Couldn't sleep Dr Eva? Yeah, don't blame you. I have a hard time sleeping when you're around."
Santos turned to her right and standing, slightly stooped, in the hallway was a grinning Andy Harper. His sharply pointed leather boots, tight jeans and fitted red shirt made him look, to Santos, a little ridiculous. Like a middle-aged accountant - albeit a handsome one - on his way to a singles club.
Santos looked up at Harper, leaning over her, his legs pressing against her shoulder, and with a withering glare said "Mr Harper, I'm sure women have no trouble falling asleep when you're around."
Harper leaned in further. "Dr Santos, I can assure you the only reason women fall asleep around me is from physical exhaustion. More so with the uptight ones - perhaps you would understand."
Suddenly very uncomfortable, Santos silently nodded to an attendant at the front of the cabin, currently serving Tanaka. He acknowledged her with a smile and bent over to serve drinks to Tanaka and Hill.
Santos twisted in her seat to face Harper, looked up at his handsome face twisted into a leer and said "Mr Harper, I can certainly understand
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