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.She waved the rest to follow andwaited for them to catch up.Elgars swept her rifle from side to side, turning to cover back and sides asshe closed up the group.As she passed through the intersection something seemed to scream at her fromthe back of her mind.She had learned to listen to these little internal comments and she did now,looking around the room for whatever threat the voice was trying to tell herof.After a moment she leaned her rifle up against the console and considered itthoughtfully while rubbing the bridge of her nose.Wendy checked the far room again, but it was still clear.When she saw Elgarsput her rifle down she swore."Shari, get the kids through to the other side; I have to go find out what thecaptain is up to.""Got it," the older woman said wearily."Take a break, but we won't be long." She paused and contemplated the captainagain."I hope."By the time Wendy had reached the center consoles there was a massive gurglingsound echoing through the room and Elgars had headed to the nearest tank.She walked over to the ladder on the side of the tank and started to climb upit, drawing her combat knife."Hey, Captain America," Wendy said."We're on our way out of here in caseyou'd forgotten.""I know, 'twon't take a minute," Elgars said in a strangely deep voice."Couldyou possibly rummage me up a spot of wire, baling wire will do well, and a fewscraps of duct tape and.oh.a can of spray paint? There's a goodlass.""Hey!" Wendy said, catching Elgars' eye."Hello! Anne! We have to make like atree and leaf!"Elgars shook her head and looked down at her hands, which had started to stripPage 239 ABC Amber Palm Converter, http://www.processtext.com/abcpalm.htmlout the wiring harness for the tank motor.She shook her head again andnodded."I know," she said in a normal, if distant, voice."But I think thePosties should have a something to remember us by, don't you?""So you're mixing up a really nice batch of nutrients?" Wendy askedsarcastically."Not exactly," Elgars said with a death's-head grin."What's nutrients,Wendy?"inWendy thought about it then said: "Oh.""Roight, " Elgars said, her head going back down to her task."Now go get me aspot of wire and some duct tape, there's a good lass."* * *"Wire and duct tape," Wendy muttered, shifting the MP-5 to a better grip."Where in the hell am Igoing to find wire and duct tape?"There would be some in a maintenance section, but the nearest one on the mapwas further away than the elevators and in an area the Posleen were bound tohave overrun.She walked to the far end of the room and thought about it.Something one of the long-time "pro" firefighters had told her floated up tothe surface of memory and she smiled.She looked at her map and figured outwhich door an administrative puke would come in.All things considered, eitherthe one they came in or the one they were going out.So, where was thefurthest away from that you could get?She climbed down from the catwalk and began hunting along the walls of theroom until she found what she was looking for.On the south wall, the furthestfrom the door they had come in, behind the last tank, carefully hidden fromall but a determined search, was a chair.And a toolbox.And a pile of oily rags and roll of baling wire.And a can of gray spraypaint, half full.And a pin-up calendar."Well, at least he had some taste," she said sourly."Although that chick hasno idea how to carry a rifle.And I guaran tee that's a dye job! If she's anatural blonde, I'm Pamela Anderson."She opened up the toolbox and, after extracting a hard candy from the bag inthe top, found the roll of duct tape in the lower compartment."Okay, all the comforts of home," she muttered, rolling the candy around inher mouth.She put the baling wire in the toolbox, closed it up and picked upthe can of spray paint."Now if I can just get it all up the ladder."* * *"What took you so long?" Elgars asked."Gee, sorry, Captain," Wendy snapped back."I just found a toolbox I thoughtyou could use and all the other shit you asked for.I guess I should havehurried carrying the heavy fucker up the ladder!And trying to breathe in here isn't helping!"The atmosphere, slightly ammoniacal and earthy before, now reeked of ammonia:it stung the eyes and clawed at the nostrils.Elgars tossed her a mask and donned one herself."Sorry, but all I reallyneeded was the baling wire, tape and spray paint," she said, her voice muffledby the respirator."Thanks for the rest of it, though.What happened to yourshirt?"Wendy's shirt had taken a beating with three of the buttons torn away."I caught it on the damned ladder," she snapped, looking down at herself."Ithought about duct taping it together, but that was just too redneck.""Don't let Papa O'Neal hear you say that," Elgars said, chuckling."You're sounding normal again," Wendy noted, opening up the toolbox andtossing her a hard candy."You had me creeped out for a second there." ShePage 240 ABC Amber Palm Converter, http://www.processtext.com/abcpalm.htmladjusted the mask and refit it carefully.Without careful fitting, masks tended to leak and she could smell a trace ofammonia still."What did I sound like?" the captain asked.She had stripped out the primarypower leads for one of the mixing tanks and brought it under the catwalk sothat it reached the tank on the opposite side.Taking the spray paint can from Wendy she proceeded to tape the three-phaseleads onto the can."Sort of.British I think.All this 'there's a good lass' stuff.""I sort of remember it," Elgars admitted."All this stuff is just sort of'coming' to me as I go along.Ithink the shrinks were right; I think the Crabs implanted.more than justskills, but sort of 'memories'in me.When I dredge one up, the.personality associated with it comes upto the front too.Then when I use it for a while, when I get used to it, thepersonality fades.Sometimes I get real memories along with it.Sometimes Ieven seem to be the person for a while.I think they might have given me mostof my day-to-day skills through a single entity and she's who comes to thefore most of the time.""So who is the real you?" Wendy asked."I dunno," Elgars said softly."But for the time being I'll take what I canget; better than getting eaten by the Posleen."Wendy nodded for a moment then grinned."So, you're channeling the spirit of aBritish mad bomber? Does he know any good drinking songs? The Brits usuallyknow all the good drinking songs."Elgars laughed and went back to the main control board."Trust you to see thehumor of it
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