The Writers Guild Presents: 9/27/13

Oustside El Cascavel Headquarters

Siwang watched the shadow on the computer screen move slightly on the chair he was sitting off as she felt the cold muzzle of the M21 on the back of her head. Limping out of the building she and the other hostage were ushered into a blacked out Jeep Cherokee by a woman dressed in a chauffeur's uniform before hearing the door close behind her.

"Start driving." The gunman stated in a British accent, something that caused Siwang to look at the group again. The gunman was well built with shoulder length blonde hair, if he didn't have a cold look on his face he would actually be attractive. The woman holding the laptop wasn't a hit woman, that much was clear, she seemed nervous and her manicured hands suggested she didn't get her hands dirty too often. The last figure was a Hispanic woman, athletic but not a killer, it was clear she was terrified by the ordeal.

"So Miss Siwang how has your day gone so far?" Bochanegra asked, the synthesized voice masking software buzzing over the speakers.

"You know." Siwang answered calmly. "You paid Gomez to stop Ross knowing I was following. After that you seemingly called in the giant to protect El Poco but it was a test to see my reaction and ingenuity."

"As I suspected." Bochanegra stated. "You are as good as they say you are and now I'm going to give you a chance to prove it. I assume you are wondering what Dr. Jael Montero is doing here?"

"Not really." Siwang told him, "Now tell me what you need me to do."

"Dr Montero was transporting a collection of historic artifacts from Peru. Unfortunately for her she was traveling with one of my smugglers who was carrying a special shipment for me." Bochanegra explained. "It would have been fine except that the Drug Enforcement Agency stopped my cargo from being unloaded."

"And you grabbed the good doctor because you thought she good access the plane." Siwang said smartly. ''But she couldn't access the vehicle. How many agents are on the case."

"Two." The British gunman announced. "We need them removed but not killed, naturally we thought of you."

"As 'Romeo' stated we need them removed so the doctor can retrieve what we're looking for." Bochanegra ordered, "He will be on site keeping an eye on you."

"So what's the catch?" Siwang asked.

"You have forty minutes to get us the cargo." Romeo stated, "And if you fail you get a bullet to the brain."

_____________________________________________________________________________

El Paso International Airport

Frank Hill yawned as his partner Franklin Rose slipped his handgun from his elbow holster and switched on the tactical light mounted under the barrel and shone it across the perimeter of the crime tape. "I thought I heard something?" He grunted.

"I heard nothing." The other Frank grunted.

"There it is again." Frank stated. "Sounded like someone throwing rocks."

"Well scare them off!" Frank ordered as Franklin ducked under the tape. Walking into the darkness there was a moment of silence before a thud sounded causing Frank to reach for his pistol. Before he could draw his weapon something bit into his neck. Reaching up he pulled a seven inch brown feathered dart from his neck, the metal tip coated in a thick black liquid. Within seconds he was on the floor drooling as Siwang stepped out of the darkness, her exposed midriff lined with a belt loaded with darts.

"Okay they are both out cold." Siwang stated as Jael followed her out of the darkness, a red dot dancing on the back of her head. "So any idea what we're looking for?" She asked over the Bluetooth headset.

"You'll know it when you see it." Romeo answered. "Now get searching we are on a deadline." He added as he watched Siwang pull on a pair of lace gloves from a plastic bag in her pocket and pulled them on.

"So is Romeo your real name?" Siwang asked as she ducked under the tape and walked up the back ramp and headed inside. Romeo smiled before cocking his weapon "You ask a lot of questions. I'll do you a deal, find me the cargo and I'll tell you everything you want to know."

"Jael get in here." Siwang called as she picked up an inventory of the cargo. "I don't want to disturb anything." She added as she levered the lid off of a crate to reveal a set of golden masks inside.

"Please don't touch those." Jael squeaked causing Siwang to withdraw her hand. "Those are very expensive. I packed the museum pieces myself, whatever you are looking for isn't in my stuff." She spat before picking up a second crowbar and raised it above her head. Twisting around Siwang slapped the tool away causing it to clatter away down the back ramp.

"Are you trying to incriminate yourself?" Siwang asked. "You would not do well in prison."

"What do you care?" Jael grunted.

"Because they will kill you when they have what they want." Siwang answered before turning off her headset. ''I know a place where you could be kept safe. But first help me so I can help you." She added before switching the headset back on. "Now I need you to explain some of the things on the manifest."

Taking the chart Jael narrowed her eyes before looking over to the set of crates in front of her. "*Podocarpus macrophyllus, Ginko biloba, Cycas revoluta* and *Dicksonia antarctica*. These are all plants, according to the shipping instructions they are going to a dinosaur theme park."

"That's what's bothers me." Siwang stated as she removed a lid from another crate to see tree ferns piled on top of each other. "Some of these plants are already dying, hell one of these is dead. Wait, hand me that knife." She ordered. With a gulp Jael handed over a packing knife. With a grunt Siwang stabbed into the fern's bark and cut a five foot opening in the plant before pulling out a black box decorated with yellow warning stickers.

"We have a box." Siwang called over the headset.

"Sounds like it." Romeo answered. "Open it up and check the contents." He ordered. With a deep breath Siwang unlatched the lid and opened it.

"My god is that what I think it is?" Jael gasped.

"God has nothing to do with it." Siwang answered grimly as she closed the case.

Chronicles of Argus Chapter 1

Chronicles of Argus Chapter 2

"A little about the boss"

The SUV sat parked outside of the Middle School, a good distance away from the other cars awaiting the bell. Inside the dark car, three men, one bald, one wearing a hood, and another dressed in a stylish suit, sat waiting, watching the school in silence.

Suddenly, the man in the hood breaks the silence.

"So, tell me about this Caroline."

Terry, the man in the suit, doesn't take his eyes off of the school as he says, "Caroline's 13, dark hair, short, sweet, and possibly the only thing more important to her father than his part of the city."

Stealing a glance, Terry looks at the glowing numbers on the radio's clock, noting that they still had ten minutes before school finally let out. He quickly turns back to the school, watching the front door closely as if at any minute something bad would happen.

"Tell me about the father."

Terry winces. This was a subject that he never really liked going over, especially with the hired help. With the ears of the other man in the driver's seat listening in, Terry begins to choose his words carefully about the boss.

"Johnny's the head of everything on the eastern side of the city. Anything you see down there, from law firms to laundry mats, they pay him for protection and a little action on the side. It's a tight operation, getting you in on the job wasn't easy, believe me, but if all goes well, Johnny'll will be pretty generous for the help." Another glance at the clock and Terry can see they still have five minutes.

"Why'd your boss have to leave?"

"I thought you don't ask a lot of questions?" Terry snaps, annoyed by Argus' interest.

"I don't." Argus says bluntly, "but when I'm pulled into a job so soon, I need information."

Fair enough, Terry thinks. "Fine. Johnny's not exactly 'liked' if you get my drift. When he took over a few years ago there was a little…hostility afterward."

Involuntarily, Terry rubs his right shoulder where a bullet had passed clean through two years ago.

"'Lost a lot of guys during that time. I even had to take a bullet for the boss while he was still under heat. A few months ago we thought Johnny was fine, but the price has kind of gone up since then, so Johnny had to hightail it or end up six feet under by next week."

With his eyes still on the school, Terry could hear the rustle of cloth as Argus turns around to face him.

"You're very loyal to your boss, aren't you?"

Surprised by the question, Terry looks at Argus, noticing the glimmer of his eyes under his hood. "In this business, loyalty is everything my friend."

Argus doesn't move. From the darkness of hood, he says, "Take it from me, Terry. Loyalty isn't something that's paid back in kind."

Outside, the school bell rings the end of the day.

Two Hours Later…

Terry's eyes flash open as he breathes in a sudden burst of air. He quickly sits up, finding his back and sides bandaged and hurting incredibly. He finds himself on a small kitchen table, one covered in a fine layer of grease, dust and dirt. He tries in vain to look around him, but only sees darkness except for the small amount of light coming from a pair of covered windows.

"Where am I?" He thinks out loud, not expecting a response.

"Safe."

Terry jumps, spying from the darkness a large shape sitting at the far wall of the room. The shape moves, stands up, and walks over to him, allowing Terry to see the dark outline of the bodyguard Argus. The events of the afternoon suddenly flood back into his mind.

"Where's Caroline?" He asks suddenly, frightened. "Is she hurt? Is she safe?"

Terry tries to get up from the table but feels a wave of pain rack his body as he tries to stand. A gloved hand grabs his shoulder and gently lowers him back down to the table.

"Relax." Argus says, producing a flashlight from his jacket pocket and shining it across the room. "She's fine."

The light reveals a sleeping Caroline on an old scratched up recliner, Terry breathes a sigh of relief and asks, "But where are we?"

Argus switches off the light and leans back on the wall. "It's an abandoned apartment building. I noticed it before we were attacked. Getting in wasn't hard."

Terry nods and looks up at the ceiling. "How long have I been out?"

"An hour."

"How long do we have left?"

"Our attackers haven't given up on the search." Argus says. "By my guess, we've got another thirty minutes before they get to our floor."

Terry takes a deep breath.

"Great."

To Be Continued…