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Furious, the female Guardian turned on Bob, and shoved the binoculars roughly at him.
"Your stupid friend Enzo dragged my daughter into the Game!" she yelled, fury burning in her brown eyes.
Bob looked quickly through the binocular's lenses. She was right, confirming his original suspicions. Enzo was huddling with Adena in the remains of the light buggy.
"Look, I'll go and get them while - "
"NO!" Her tone implied she was not to be argued with. "Go and set the detonator, and as soon as I get the two kids in the car, hit it!"
"But - "
The other Guardian was already running down the path hell-for-leather towards the jeep.
"Wait!" he called after her, but he already knew he couldn't persuade her to change her mind. He swore, and ran down to meet Dot as his counterpart threw on a helmet and gunned the jeep's engine.
"What's going on?" Dot asked of her, over the noise.
"Your idiot brother, is what!" came the snapped reply from the other Guardian. Dot looked puzzled, but couldn't get a word in as the jeep lurched away at full tilt, kicking up dust and small stones in its wake.
"Dot!" Bob yelled over the racket, "Get the detonator set!"
The sprite nodded, and ran back to the device as Bob caught up to her.
"What's going on, Bob? Why is she going back out there?"
He closed his eyes as he caught his breath.
"It's Enzo, Dot. He got into the Game somehow, and brought Adena with him."
Dot buried her face in her hands.
"Oh, Enzo!"
The Guardian floored the accelerator as she hit the bridge, anger in her every deliberate movement. She'd done her best to keep Adena out of the Games, safe, and now these idiots show up and create chaos in the matter of a few nanos!
Enzo spotted the approaching vehicle, and hoped it wasn't one of the User's allies. When he saw who it was, though, he found himself wishing it had been - anything would be easier to deal with than the dark fury that screeched and spun round on its back wheels to a stop just in front of them.
Adena was first on her feet as her mother got out of the jeep.
"Mom!"
"Adena! Careful!"
She scooped the child up in her arms and ducked as a bullet ricocheted off the car's back bumper. She gave the girl a helmet, and sat her in the jeep, then turned to Enzo. He gulped.
"You and I are going to have words after we get out of this Game," she hissed at him. "Assuming we get out of this Game *alive*, that is."
"I'm sorry!" Enzo blubbed, just before she picked him up roughly by the collar and deposited him on the front seat next to Adena.
"Down!" she yelled.
Another hail of bullets sang as they struck the jeep. The Guardian pushed the two young sprites down until there was a brief respite, then climbed behind the wheel, wrapped an arm around Adena's shoulders, and hit the accelerator. The tyres spun in place for just an instant, then the car shot forward, Enzo clinging to the car seat for dear life and hoping Adena's mother wouldn't delete him once they got to the other side.
Bob watched the proceedings through his binoculars.
"She's got them both - Go!"
Dot nodded, and yanked up on the detonator.
"Bob, shouldn't I wait - " she hesitated, worried for Enzo.
"Dot! Now!" He could see the User running towards the buggy; then tipping it over, checking to see if it still ran... "DOT!" he yelped, dropping the binoculars and placing his hands over hers, forcing the detonator's plunger down.
Nothing happened.
Bob opened his eyes.
"Oh no."
"It's on a five second delay!" Dot said.
Bob looked horrified. "We don't have five seconds!"
"It was *her* idea!"
The jeep raced across the bridge. Adena was clapping her hands, urging her mother to go faster. The Guardian gritted her teeth, resisting an admonishment, and chanced a brief look in the wing mirror. She could see the User turning over the buggy, presumably to try and use it to get across the bridge after them. Cursors! Why hadn't the dynamite gone off yet?! She raced through the possibilities in her head, and shook it at each one. Reluctantly, she slammed on the brakes, and brought the straining vehicle to an abrupt stop.
"No, Adena. Stay put," she said, as the young sprite tried to get out.
"But Mom - "
"Adena! Don't argue with me! Sit down!"
Adena stopped, and stood stock still, somewhat shocked at her unusually sharp tone. She sighed. "Look, I'm sorry, honey, but you need to sit tight, ok?"
Adena sniffed and nodded slowly, then sat back down with Enzo. The Guardian sighed, and reached into the back of the car, searching the various contents stuffed randomly into it. A split-nano later, she found what she was looking for, and yanked it out with a, "Yes!"
Enzo's purple eyes widened. "Whoa!"
She stepped out of the car, and hefted the bazooka onto her shoulder. "Enzo... cover her ears; keep her head down. I don't want her to see this."
He nodded dumbly, and reached over to the girl, who fought him to begin with, but after a sharp word from her mother, gave in.
She flipped up the sight on the weapon, and tried to calm herself down. Her emotions were going to get the better of her if she didn't rein them in. She could be mad at the newcomers later. Right now she had to end the Game. She took a deep breath, and lined up the target - the User. Bracing herself for the recoil, she paused just a moment before hitting the launch button.
Dot grabbed the binoculars from Bob as they watched anxiously. The connections to the detonator were right; they were just waiting for the delay to kick out. Bob mentally counted in his head... 3 more seconds...
There was an explosion on the bridge.
"That can't be the dynamite!" he said. Dot turned to him.
"No, it wasn't - she used a rocket launcher!"
Bob snatched the binoculars back again. He saw the Guardian piling back into the jeep with the two children as the explosion rocked the structure. She'd blown up the buggy, and the fire was going to set off a chain reaction with the dynamite! She'd managed to take away the last but one life of the User with that shot, but there was still one more to go.
The worst thing about this was that there was nothing he or Dot could do but wait.
The last nanos of the Game were the longest of their lives.
End Part 6