Splintered Reality part 12 and a half

“If you don’t want to get on the elevator with my friend, how about if I just pry the doors open and THROW you down the elevator shaft,” yelled Gunny at the dock hand that stood waiting for the “next” elevator down to the office level.

News of Brighde’s arrival had preceded her, and they obviously knew exactly who she was. In this case, that wasn’t a good thing – at least to everyone else. Whether it was a “half blood” thing or an anti-clone thing, gunny didn’t care. Bigotry was bigotry and she didn’t care what it was about or who was it’s source. If someone wanted to pull her string, and risk being hung with the same string, this was just the way to do it. The lift arrived and the doors hissed open. Just as Brighde was about to step through the door the dockhand came flying past her and slammed against the back wall of the elevator. He slumped down, and stared past Brighde in shock – unable to believe anyone would have reacted in such a violent manner.

“I wasn’t going down,” growled the dock hand as Gunny followed Brighde into the elevator.

Brighde smiled down at the dockhand and said simply, “It looks like you are now.” Then she followed up with, “and if I know my friend here, I’d say your best course of action would be to stay there on the floor.”

The elevator whisked them down to the office level. When the opened, the dockmaster, was there to greet them; in a manner of speaking.

“I’m Brighde Blackwolf and this is my friend Samantha McPhearson,” she said pointing at Gunny.

She extended her hand to the dock foreman, and said, “And you are…”

The dockmaster left her hand hanging in mid air and finished the sentence for her.

“…not happy to see you.” He said, then added, “But now that you are here, you may as well come in. Follow me.” Then he looked past Gunny to the dock hand still slumped on the floor of the elevator. “And do get up Jenkins. What is the matter with you?’

With that the dockmaster led them through a maze of twisting corridors, the layout of which was obviously meant to be confusing to any stranger trying to navigate to the heart of the floor. Once they found their way there, they found themselves in front a very large heavy oak door. It looked as if it could withstand the direct assault of at least a half a dozen men, trying to shoulder their way in to the office.

“Wait here,” the dockmaster shot back at Gunny and Brighde, and he stepped opened the door to the office, and disappeared. A moment later, he reappeared.

“Go on in,”

Brighde was about to step through the door that the dockmaster had left open when the dockmaster added from behind her….

“…and bring your gorilla in with you,” he said looking at Gunny, daring her to do anything in response.

Which was exactly what Gunny was about to do when she felt a restraining hand on her arm.

“Thank you,” she heard Brighde say a bit too politely off to her side.

They both stepped into the office of Richard Sirelli, owner of Sirelli Racing, who was a prominent figure in racing himself – a figure that was, in fact, so large, it was often thought to have it’s own gravitational pull. Despite the round figure, it was the undercurrent of ruthlessness for which he was known, that made her keep Gunny’s short temper in check. She hated dealing with someone like Sirelli but there it was. She had no other choice.