Finale 1 - Steele is close

When I first came up with the idea of Rome's Evolution, I had only thought it through to Rome and Rei capturing Troutman and Steele. But when I started writing it, suddenly, I realized that this was not the end but the beginning of a deeper, more insidious plot. So here is a 6 part series on what was supposed to be the finale.

Yesterday, the blankets frantically tried to warn our intrepid couple that Steele is close. Today, the bad guy descends upon them:

     Rei pointed to the left. He saw a dark crack that could be a cave or, maybe it was just a shadow. Rei started moving forward while Rome bent down to pet one of the blankets to get more information. Realizing he did not have the Deucadon cloak to hide him, Rei dashed ahead hoping to get close enough unnoticed to peer in. If there was a cave there, then it would be the perfect hideout and it would explain why MINIMCOM couldn’t spot anything from the air. As Rei ran, he scrambled to avoid the stones, pebbles, boulders and rocks scattered about. It was more than an obstacle course. It was like somebody took a huge boulder and broke it into a thousand pieces just to make Rei’s life even more difficult than it already was. By the time Rei got to the rock wall, the blankets started to move away. They wriggled around in a haphazard manner, flopping like fish. Their behavior made no sense: it smacked of confusion.
     Suddenly, Rome screamed out loud, “Rei!”
     Rei whirled in place and saw Dan Steele, wearing a deactivated Deucadon invisibility cloak, standing there with his arm clamped around Rome’s neck. A glint of metal told Rei all he needed to know. The man was holding Jack Henry’s M9 Beretta pushed up against his beautiful wife’s temple.
     Rei started to move toward them but Steele called out, “Freeze or I blow her brains out.”
     Rei came to a complete stop and raised his hands slowly. “You only want to kill me,” Rei shouted back. “Let her go.” He slid one foot in front of the other, trying to get closer.
     “Actually, I want both of you dead but I’ll settle for either,” Steele sneered. “I’ve got enough bullets to pull it off.”
     Rei pointed up as he took another step closer. “My starship is overhead. He can vaporize you before you can do anything.”
     “Well, he won’t vaporize me as long as I have your little whore. Although I’d be curious to see what he does after I shoot her,” Steele said. He lifted his elbow so that the handgun was horizontal to Rome’s temple and pressed it in tighter.
     In an instant, Rei made his decision. Unwilling to wait until the cavalry arrived in the form of MINIMCOM’s livetar, Rei activated the cell-phone link in his head and called out to Rome, “As soon as I say go, I want you to fall to the ground. He won’t expect it.”
     “No, there is something…” Rome started to say but Rei pre-empted her.

Rei is going to pull a fast one on Steele and take him on directly. But Rome has something she wants to say, Rei just doesn't want to hear it. Tomorrow, the rumble.