The Fire Triangle -- Part II, Oxidizer

The Fire Triangle: Book II - Chapter 16

As of yet, he hadn't stopped to consider just who his nemesis' sugar-daddy might be; in the present circumstance, it didn't matter. What did matter was, how the heck was he supposed to make Erin's audition performance with a whole foxin' army of cops looking for him? For a moment he considered a little good ol' SWATTING; create a false alarm, somewhere else in the city, and draw off some of that army to another location, the further away from here, the better.

Nice idea...except, "What, are you THAT dumb, fox? Do you seriously think the head of ZPD Cybercrimes never considered that possibility? Lil' clue-by-four, smart guy; it's only been done about a zillion times already."

No, Conor had had to admit; Tufts wouldn't have overlooked that gag. He might even have figured out a way to turn it to his advantage.

Several more moments of wrangling with his situation and/or conscience followed—after which the fugitive young silver fox was forced to come to a bitter decision.

It was time to get his tail out of here.

Yes, he'd made that promise and yes, he'd come here with the understanding that the cops might be waiting for him—and yes he'd resolved to stick it out only a few minutes ago.

But that had been BEFORE he'd seen how many officers Tuffguy Tufts had looking for him. Jiminy Foxin' Christmas, he'd never expected that geekwad squirrel to show up with half the stinkin' force in tow!

"All right, you little nut-cracking slimeball; you win this one, but I promise you, you're gonna pay for it later—BIG-time."

Okay, fine...having, at last surrendered to the inevitable, he would head on back to the secret tunnel entrance; take that tunnel to the Lionheart auditorium, and then Sayonara ZAPA.

There was just one, teensy-weensy, but ever-so-crucial, tiny, little detail...

First, he had to GET to that tunnel-entrance—without being spotted by the cops, or overheard by them; that hidden door wasn't exactly the quiet type. Thanks to hacking into the ZPD surveillance cameras, and the two of his own that he'd planted, he would at least be able to tell when the coast was clear...he hoped.

But other than that, where was he hanging, right now? Oh yeah, in a restroom, backstage by the Gazelle Amphitheater's rehearsal area. And how was he supposed to get from here to that tunnel entrance? Lessee, there was no way to access the right side stage-wings from here; there was a door, but it was padlocked from the other side. Sooo, the only way to get there was to go back the way he had come. In other words, he'd have to return to the left side of the stage and cross to the other side—in full view of not one but two ZPD surveillance cameras and those spotters in the back of the seating area.

Unless...!

Conor could only shake his head at the thought. That stinkin' lighting gantry! It wasn't visible from either the theater seats or the ZPD surveillance cameras—and that included the stairs at either end. If he took the high-road and did it real quiet-like, then he might, just might, make it back to the tunnel entrance without being noticed.

But if he was spotted while crossing the lighting gantry, he'd be the proverbial sitting duck.

It was not an attractive option; in fact, he hated the idea of going back up there. But what other choice did he have? Bottom line, playing it safe was no longer an option if he hoped to make it out of here without getting caught. It was roll the dice or nothing.

But before he could even pick up those dice, he'd have to wait until the cops were finished with their sweep of the amphitheater. Conor didn't allow himself to dwell on what would happen if they discovered his secret tunnel entrance; if they did, they did. Of much greater concern was the possibility that ZPD might find his drone, and/or that other gadget he had stashed upstairs in the pavilion. Neither one could be used to trace his location, BUT...