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City Streets
#16: The End
cover: Allan, standing over a pair of tombstones. Harnagorn's name is clearly visible on the one. The name on the other tombstone is obscured by Allan's shadow.
"I'll hate myself if I kill you," Heather stated, pulling the pin. "So I'm doing us both in."
"NO!" Harnagorn yelled as the grenade fell.
Allan paused, as Joe entered the showers.
Gotta time this just right, he thought, as a bar of soap slid across the floor, right where Joe was about to step. Joe's foot came down on the edge of the soap, and he slipped, falling onto his back and sliding towards Allan. Al, on the other hand, ran towards Joe, leaping over him, and out of the showers.
"Whew," Lee muttered, turning back from the monitors. She flipped a switch, and the monitor she'd been watching changed to one of the underground labs.
Josh and Robin snooped around a few of the other labs. Even a cursory sweep of this floor showed it to have been unused for a least a few weeks. Never the less, the two teenagers did as detailed search as they could, and came away with little to show for it.
"This getting boring," Robin muttered. "Let's see if we can find any of the others."
"Gotta agree with that, "Josh replied.
Runt entered the bar from a side door, making certain that no one had seen her. Slipping into the main room, she picked out a back table and tried to make herself disappear into the shadows. Unseen by Runt, Jack had witnessed her actions via the bar's security cameras.
"I was wondering if any more of those kids would show up here," he chuckled.
"Oh, no you don't, Heather," Pete called out, diving for the grenade. His dive had thrown her off-balance, tripping her, and she fell out the doorway.
The reinforced steel door swung shut, trapping the resulting explosion in the room.
The explosion may have been contained by the office room, but the shockwave hadn't been. Allan stumbled as he landed, only to have his ankle grabbed by Joe.
"What have you done?!" Joe yelled.
"That came from Harnagorn's office," Allan replied. "If we can stop trying to kill each other for the time being, we might want to check it out."
Pulling each other to their feet, the brothers raced through the hallways.
"No!" Heather cried out, opening the door. The entire room had been blackened. The desk, computer, and filing cabinet were nothing more than slag. And two charred corpses laid on the floor. Slowly, she sank to her knees, crying.
Allan and Joe rounded the corner, and came to a dead stop.
"Whoa."
"No."
Ignoring his brother, Allan went over and sat next to Heather, pulling her close. Heather didn't say a word, but just kept crying on Allan's shoulder.
Joe, however, had other things on his mind. He stood there, behind Allan and Heather, gazing at the smouldering corpse of Harnagorn with a confused expression on his face.
In time, others appeared. Lee arrived first, followed shortly by Josh and Robin, along with a few of the orphans who lived in the building.
Josh was the first one to speak. "I think we'd best get out of here before the cops arrive."
Allan pulled Heather to her feet, and nodded. Silently, mournfully, the five remaining members of the team turned, and started walking for the back door.
"What about me?" Joe asked.
"You can come with us, Joe," Allan replied, looking over his shoulder. "That is, if you want to."
"I don't think I can."
"If you need me, for anything," Allan told his brother as he left, "go to Jack."
Without another word, the kids left the building, just as the first sirens were heard.
Epilogue:
A week later, Allan, Lee, Robin, Josh, Heather, Jack, and Runt stood over Pete's grave.
"He burned bright, for the short time he lived," Runt muttered softly. "I am proud to have known him."
"He... he sacrificed himself to save me," Heather said softly. "Why, I don't know." Allan hugged her close.
As they turned to leave the graveyard, Jack pulled an envelope from his jacket pocket.
"You kids'll never believe what this is," he told them.
"Hrrm?" Josh asked.
"It's the ownership papers for the Orphanage. According to Harnagorn's will, she'd left it to me."
"What?" Runt asked, incredulous. "A few weeks ago she mentioned something about ownership to Senator Broderick."
"I smell fresh ink," Jack told them. "Mussmoth's handiwork."
"You're not gonna?" Allan asked.
"Sell the place? Maybe. Maybe not. Who knows, I could find someone there to help me run my businesses." Changing the subject, he asked, "But what about you? Any thoughts as to what you'll do now?"
"We're heading west," Allan replied. "Maybe Denver, maybe Vegas. Just someplace to start fresh." He glanced at Heather. "Maybe start a family of our own."
"Good luck, kid. You need anything...."
"Just holler. You've helped out plenty, Jack. But this, we've got to do on our own."
finis.