The hand that heals

[rewritable]

Regardless of how much he hated to put his own life and health in danger, John knew he would never be able to ask anyone to do what he was now up to. He had performed a similar stunt once, good seven years ago, and knew that doing it again himself is easier than go through the trouble of explaining the details and reasons why his plan is not as retarded and suicidal as it sounds.

The dead-end was now empty - the crowd had quickly retreated after the Cryer's employee was shot. The man responsible for that was standing in the center of passageway, close to back wall. He was still holding the girl in front of him.

Schematics suggested that a side corridor about 10 meters from back wall was the closest entrance to the dead-end. John opened the door and slowly walked in his hands in front of him clearly visible. Suited man tensed for a moment and gripped his gun even more tightly.

"Stay calm, I'm here just to talk. I am John Frial, captain of Crying Lightning. Who are you and what are your demands?", John said as calmly as he could.

"I am... not important. I want... no I demand a fast ship and a free passage out of this system. No tricks like pursuit or tracking, she is coming with me. I'll let her go once I land somewhere"

Jennet's voice crackled in the hidden microphone in John's ear, "I'm on standby. Waiting for signal"

John slightly nodded and took a few small steps forward, making the man to tense again, "That may be complicated. OSC politics don't really endorse making deals with terrorists. And what guarantees we have that you fulfill your end of the deal?"

"Terrorists? Deal? Do you think I am joking? Look, I only want to get out of this" As the man spoke, John took two more steps forward, "Hey! Stand still! Do as I say! I'm serious!"

The man was staring to lose his temper, John noted. Good, now to carefully push him just a bit more, "We have everything under complete control. Stop fooling around, put the weapon down and surrender yourself. I assure you personally that the situation will be solved as soon as possible", hopefully this sounds patronizing enough, John though, folding his arms.

The man moved the gun away from girl's temple and pointed it at John, "Personally? You are responsible for this mess! Now you think you can assure anything? Make sure my demands are met, I can take care of myself"

"It's a weird day when a gun pointed at you marks that everything is going according to plan", John thought as he pressed a concealed button in his breast pocket. "Countdown, five seconds, away, then you have twenty... " Jennet spoke that fast it was almost unintelligible, "3... 2... 1... "

John bent his knees slightly and tensed. A weak vibration went through the floor, then a sense of endless falling marked the shutdown of artificial gravity generator of this section. Man and her hostage did not expect it at all and lost contact with floor, girl panicked and started to struggle, giving the man hard time trying to hold her with one hand and aim at John with the other.

As soon as gravity disappeared, John pushed against floor and darted diagonally to wall near the violent passenger. A gunshot fired and a bullet passed uncomfortably close over John's head. "Another part of plan, I really need to get my head checked." The man, however, had just learned of effects of a recoil in no-gravity environment. It had pushed him back and away from the girl, and he was now spinning helplessly around his own center of mass between floor and ceiling.

Two crew members floated in from the same door John walked in previously, caught the girl and brought her close to what once was the floor. "Let's see how you can take care of zero-gravity, planetside rat", John smirked, slowed himself against the wall and launched again directly at the man, the impact threw them both against the side wall. Man was waving and struggling pointlessly as they drifted and bounced from wall to wall and from ceiling to floor. John found the hand holding the gun in the whirlpool of limbs and made sure it hit the wall hard on the next impact.

"5 seconds", Jennet's voice again. John surveyed quickly the surface they were close to at the moment. Steel and ceramics, lights. Ceiling. Excellent. The man 's spin had slowed and he was trying to grab to something on the ceiling to steady himself. John let him do so, released him, pushed slightly against the surface and floated towards the floor.

Usual procedure of activating artificial gravity is to smoothly rise it from 0% to 100% over about a minute. At this particular situation, it jumped back to full in a mere split second. John's feet were only 30 centimeters from the floor when the weight returned, yet he still landed hard, lost his balance and fell painfully against a wall. The violent passenger was not so lucky. He was at almost ten times the height and had no chance to prepare, so he landed horizontally, with a thud and cracking sounds that suggested that more than a few bones were broken on impact.

As Frial stood up, he saw the unlucky passenger being picked up and carried away by four crew members. Fifth walked up to John and handed a communication device.

"Report, Frial, what is going on?"

"Thank you Jennet, I'm fine and alive. Hostage is unscratched. I think. The gunman most likely is a peculiar set of fractures now, let's see if he can put back together. Try to establish his identity, then forward it to Cryer. I think they may be interested to know it."

***

Ross shook Julian's hand, then bowed for a good measure. Sam curiously examined the newcomer, sniffed the air and sneezed.

"Good day! Yes, I am Ross and this is Sam. He is a sort of a rodent, as much as the term can be applied to Gaian animals. Similarities to certain kinds of Sol rats are quite obvious, yes. Don't worry, he doesn't bite, it seems he can eat any kind of edible plant, at least I haven't yet found a sort of salad from Hawaii's menu he doesn't like. Now, shall we sit down, standing is awkward. "

Andrew carefully picked the cage of Sam and placed it on the table, the sat down nearby.

"Ah, and don't worry about the scan. Neither of us don't mind."

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