Recon grinned. “Ronin, you have no idea.”
**
Mr. Franks was not a large man. He was, in fact, a dwarf, but no one ever mentioned his height in his hearing. Not that he would have cared if they did, because he was the most powerful, if the most unknown, man in San Francisco. This fact was hidden from the city government (to those who weren’t on his payroll anyway) but the most suspicious among the general public suspected. They were powerless to do anything about it, however, and City Hall too often dismissed their concerns. Mr. franks was unpredictable, and
thoroughly vindictive when it served his purpose.
“I swear, Mr. Franks, you won’t believe the story Johnny told me,” his aide and cousin Freddy said. “This guy looks like some messed up ghost, or skeleton, or something, and he sucked the life out of Red with his hand!”
“You’re right, I don’t believe it,” Mr. Franks said, adjusting g his lapels. He was a very natty dresser, and being a dwarf, and rich, his suits were all custom made out of the very finest materials. He viewed everything with a critical eye. “And if you weren’t my cousin, Freddy, I’d beat that gullibility out of you. The guy was just some ComicCon idiot in costume gone wild and stabbed Red. Johnny just didn’t see the knife.”
“B-b-but, Mr. Franks,” Freddy stammered. “You know there’s a Stargate at
ComicCon this year. Something could have come through.”
“Hmmm.” Mr. Franks had heard about the Stargate, but he had assumed it was
just for show. Some of his informants had informed him that there had been
some unusual activities there. And he knew the gate was a doorway to other
worlds. He had in fact been pondering how to use it to his advantage. What
if something had come through? If this ghost-thing was real, wouldn’t that be
a handy weapon to have?
“You say Johnny was shot? Is he dead?
“I don’t think so, not yet. He’s in the hospital. Critical, last I heard.”
“See if you can get in to see him. If his story’s not crap, I want to know more
about what happened.”
**
One of the puddlejumpers took the Atlantis team to the site of the dead homeless,
and the other, loaded with Space Force personnel, circled over the area, searching
for a sighting of the Wraith, or any disturbance indicating he might be near.
**
Rodney spoke up as Shepard and the team examined the bodies.
“John, there’s another body, shriveled up like the homeless. It’s over on Market
Street, heading toward Union Square.”
“Another homeless?” Shepard asked.
“I don’t think so,” Rodney replied. “There was some kind of altercation and the
cops are there. They can’t seem to figure out what happened, but the dead guy
is known to them. At least they think they know him. It’s kind of hard to tell.”
Teyla grimaced. “Wraith,” she said.
Shepard nodded. “Most likely.” He looked at the rest of the team. “We’ve got to get him before he gets out of the city.”
**
The Wraith caught up with the escaping thugs and finished them off. It occurred to him that he was leaving too many bodies behind for this vast population to find, and that would alert whatever security this strange city had. But the targets were so plentiful and so richly satisfying. He had to find a way to let his people know and bring them over. There would be no starvation here.
After all the feeding, however, he became aware that he was becoming satiated and needed a rest period. The life power filled him, but even a Wraith needed some down time. All this was something he wasn’t used to. Now he should search out a place away from prying
eyes. So he began to explore. People avoided him, probably thinking he hand wandered away from that festival place, and it amused him to think so he had. After a while, down some side streets, he encountered a neighborhood that looked to be largely empty. People were thinning out on the street and darkness was again falling. Some of the buildings appeared to be empty. glinting beyond, he could see what appeared to be water glinting in the setting sun, and boats docked in rows. That was worth checking out later.
**
Shepard was beginning to lose hope that they would find the Wraith before he was turned loose on the rest of the nation. There was a barrier between the populated parts of California, a wide p, barren desert, but there were people even there, and towns beyond to plunder. Worse, what if the Wraith found his way back to the Stargate and alerted his kind to the wealth of food to be found here?
Teyla seemed to sense his doubts. “ Don’t worry, John. We’ll get him. He made a mistake coming through the gate. There are many dangers here that the Writh is not prepared for.”
“Besides,” Recon smirked and nudged Ronin with his shoulder, “I’ve got some unfinished business in this city to take care of before I go home.”
Techno snorted, and both Lafe and Ronin rolled their eyes.
“We’ve got a job to do,” Lafe reminded them. “Heads on a swivel.”
Shepard put his hand to the mic at his throat. “Rodney, anything new.”
“No, but Col. Carter informs me that it’s getting more difficult to keep this thing under wraps. People are asking questions about the Soace Force being here, and the authorities are agitated about the bodies.”
“Because there are so many?”
“Because of the state they’re in, human rage dolls. They can’t explain it, and they’re beginning to suspect it’s tied to the Stargate.”
Ronin grunted. “ Tell them to relax and go to the panels at this Comical place. Tell them that guy Jason Mommy is there.”
**
The Wraith selected an empty looking building and found it was easy to get into. Earth security was lax, he decided. The faint light coming from windows set high in the wall was enough for him to make his way around. There appeared to be furnishings where he could stretch out and relax. Small creatures rustled and squeaked in the darkness, telling him that the building had been abandoned for a while. The dust and smells were another problem, but he ignored that. He lay back and emptied his mind.
Some hours later when the darkness outside was complete, he sensed something moving, something larger than the small creatures. His senses went on alert, and he slowly rose to his feet, prepared for battle.
“Uh…”. A hesitant voice, ah! A mere human.
“I am here.”
“Uh … Mister? I hope I’m not disturbing you, but … but there’s somebody who wants to meet you.”
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