A very short meeting

[ancalagon-tb.livejournal.com]

It is the spring of 2052, southern France, in the city of Orange. A schoolteacher, mother of 2 young children, is about to be arrested, for teaching some less than flattering facts about the angel occupiers. Not a very wise thing to do, but understandable, given how her husband was killed during the last angel war. The resistance has heard about this impending arrest and has moved quickly to extract her.

Theo waits near his small truck for his "cargo". He will take them to a safe house, then make arrangements for the trip to Spain then Portugal (the eastern border being too closely watched at the moment). He is feeling nervous - the operation was thrown together too quickly. He
knows he can quickly escape if need be, and had made sure his vehicle cannot be traced back to him. He's on the ground floor of an old roman building, abandoned at night, with thick walls and several exits. The truck is idling with the lights off, ready to leave at a moment's notice.

Voices ahead, from inside the building. Ronald and Marie, leading a scared but determined woman and two anxious children, a boy and a girl. The third member of the extraction team, an American drifter that Theo knew next to nothing about (another source of concern) was no where in sight. Theo shifts slightly, puts a hand on his pistol hidden inside his jacket.

-You must hurry, gasps Ronald, I think we may have been followed!
- I reckon we have been - a deep voice, thickly accented, from behind the fleeing figures. A tall figure looms, clad in a duster and broad-rimmed hat, stepped forward. He looked at the small group assembled.
-It's only a small squad, not enough to surround the building, he adds. Go now, I will delay them. They aren't ready for trouble.

The figure turns on his heels and heads back into the gloom, his steps making but a whisper.

-Hurry, for all our lives, urges Theo, we have no time! The mother and frightened children rush into the truck and hide.
-Are you two going to be OK or do you need extraction too? adds Theo.
-We know a way underground out of here, answers Marie, they didn't get a good look at us. Go and good luck!

Theo drives away with his charges. Over the rumble of the engine, he could hear gunshots in the night.

Comments

[ironphoenix.livejournal.com]

Nice work. This sets up the next meeting well, and will provide a basis for Théo to trust your character.