Free 1 Life 2 Die 4 by Dean Waite

bobtrain, and that fat hog of a bike?
If she was feeding me
a lie, then what the hell was really going on?
    “So you’re from the Future?” I asked
weakly.
    “Yes – 2031.”
    “And w …” I had to stop to clear my throat.
“We’re … married?”
    “Yes,” she replied, her voice sounding oddly
dull all of a sudden.
    I blinked. There it was again – that
haunting, hollow kind of sadness I kept noticing.
    “And I stop this guy … Salim, what’s his
name?”
    “Sahissi … yes. You create a computer virus
that’s able to infiltrate the World’s defence networks and put most
of the World’s nuclear launch stations off-line.”
    My eyes widened in shock. If she was making
this up, she was either very lucky or she knew more about me than
I’d realised. I had always been fascinated by computer viruses. I’d
done stacks of research on them and written quite a few myself -
though I never went for any of that sociopathic
‘wipe-the-hard-drive, wreak-havoc’ kind of stuff. I just got a kick
out of discovering a way past on-line security systems, the way
some people get a thrill from finding a way past their opponent’s
defences in a game of Chess. It was just a bit of harmless fun.
    I’d certainly never dreamed it could lead to
anything as monumental as saving the world from a madman!
    This whole thing was just way too crazy. I
had to be missing something. Then, all at once, it came to me: this
had to be some kind of elaborate setup! Some complex new ‘reality’
TV show. At this very moment, millions of people world-wide were
probably watching me and laughing their heads off! I thought back
over all the things I’d seen and it wasn’t hard to see that this
was a far more likely explanation than the outrageous alternative
Veronica was proposing.
    Yes! There had to be a colossal movie crew
working feverishly behind the scenes across the Brisbane CBD. That
would explain the inexplicable tunnels and rooms we kept
encountering. And I had no doubt special effects crews could have
been responsible for the various machines, explosions and stunts
I’d seen and been involved in. The bikie woman I’d witnessed being
cut in two was probably nothing more than a spookily life-like,
‘Myth Busters’-style ballistics gel dummy, pumped full of fake
blood!
    The more I thought about it all - including
the smouldering Goddess sitting next to me and claiming I was her
dream-guy - the more I realised this had to be a setup. And I was
suddenly determined to prove it.
    “So how the hell do these doors just keep
miraculously popping open for you all the time?” Although I tried
to sound merely curious, I knew straight away I’d failed. Even to
my own ears, I sounded like a prosecution lawyer cross-examining an
uncooperative witness.
    I was caught completely off guard when she
smiled calmly across at me, almost as if she’d shared a private
joke with someone. Then her teeth separated slightly and I saw her
tongue twist over until the tip pressed against one of her lower
molars. Despite my determination to find answers, I felt my will
fail and my heartbeat accelerate as I peered past her glossy red
lips and sparkling white teeth into the moist, sensual darkness of
her mouth. Then she drew her tongue back from her tooth and I
jumped at the sound of the engine roaring to life just a few inches
behind me! On top of everything else, I felt a thrill of excitement
at the raw power vibrating through the back of the seat and
reverberating throughout the tiny chamber. I’d been right about one
thing – this sophisticated little mini-car obviously had tonnes of
grunt!
    I watched Veronica’s open-mouthed grin
spread. Then, still without a word, she opened her mouth a little
wider as if urging me to peer inside again. For a split second I
found myself imagining leaning over and sealing my lips over hers
in a passionate kiss. If I was going to be the butt of some reality
TV joke, surely I deserved to at least get something worthwhile