A Race Against Time
PROLOGUE: JENNY
Jenny sat in her small off-camera chair, one that she had to buy and bring to work herself because the network was too cheap to get one for her as a favor. She was going on air live in a minute, after all it was her job.
"Pull yourself together, you've done this a million times, you're the god-damned anchor for a major news network, pull yourself together!"
But no matter how she tried, she couldn't shake off the hangover she had from her 23rd birthday last night. Nevertheless, she moved in front of the camera, sat in the anchor seat, put on her best smile, and picked up the paper in front of her telling her what to say.
"We're on live in three, two, now!"
Jenny had been reading the paper, and forgot about the camera in her face.
"Oh," she looked up, startled "Good afternoon, today's headline is the ongoing manhunt for a man who alledgedly murdered two people then opened fire at an intervening police officer. Luckily the officer wasn't harmed, but the convict escaped custody. Currently the police have been following a trail of eyewitnesses and have yet to find the killer... Oh, on a lighter note it was my birthday last night and I'm still drunk!"
"We're off!" Was the reply of a nearby voice Jenny couldn't ditinguish, but was most likely a voice that would be rasied at her soon.
"You're still drunk? We're going to the laughing stock of the entire greater L.A. area for the next two years because of you!"
Jenny scowled "At least I don't ignore the fact that I'm drunk." She realized the effect of what she said immediatly, "Shit I'm fired." was all she could say.
"Yes you are, now go home Jenny." said the man curtly. Funny, Jenny had never seen him before, and the way he acted like they had known each other for a long time, albeit in a proffesional manner, infuriated her.
"Go to hell!" Jenny stalked out of the room and walked into the elevator at the end of the hall which took her to her car in the underground lot. She got into the car, and all of a sudden remembered that she put the papers into her purse. "Why the hell did I do that?" she said aloud to no one in particular, in fact she was completely alone in the garage. With nothing else to do, she read the report written for her about the convict. "Oh shit I never mentioned his name." she thought to herself. "Jason Steele" was the name. Jenny, still not having let the shock of getting fired get to her, drove home.
Jenny parked her little blue VW New Beetle into the little driveway next to her little blue townhouse with the little, well cut lawn. "Little, that's me." She said to herself as she got out of the car. It never occured to her before, but she hadn't recognized anybody in the nwesroom. In fact she hadn't even really recognized the room. Thinking back hard, she found she couldn't even remember what it looked like. "That's freaky, damn, I think I definitely drank too much last night." She walked up to the front door of her liitle townhouse and looked through her purse for the keys. She found one and jammed it into the lock, nothing happened. "What the hell? That's one of my house keys." She tried the other two she had in her purse. nothing happened.
Finally someone came around the back and screamed at her in a language she did not recognize, perhaps Middle Eastern. Nonetheless the intention was obvious, and Jenny made a break for her car which she started and drove down to the end of the block, where she parked. After a while of sitting dumbfounded she realized what happened. "Shit! I moved six months ago to that house on the hill, the only white one on the block, why can't I remember anything, is this even my car? Shit, no, I drive an Audi. Oh my god I stole that asshole's car!"
