The Descent

Chapter 34 - The Chase

Time seemed to stand still as they stood there, ten feet apart, staring at each other in an awkward silence.

"It's you," Denton whispered, his voice trembling as a million questions swirled through his mind. From where had she come? What had brought her to the Forsythe Orbital Complex? Did she have business with the Forsythe's or was she just a visitor? Even worse, did she work for them?

"Gabi, what are you doing here?" he blurted out and took a tentative step forward, his hand outstretched towards the woman he had been chasing across the universe. Now, he had encountered her at the one place he hadn't expected to find her.

Gabi's stare was interrupted by Denton's question. She opened her mouth as if to say something but hesitated. Instead, she glared at Denton, then turned and ran.

"Hey, wait, come back here," Denton shouted. He jumped in his chair and raced towards the door. The surprised voices of the Admiral and Jonythan followed him through the partially closed door. He entered the lobby just in time to hear a door slam shut somewhere on his left. The stairs. It had to be the stairs.

He covered the distance to the stairs with just a few steps and pulled open the door. Greeted by the echoes of footsteps racing down the metal staircase, he rushed to the railing. He caught a glimpse of Gabi's head as it disappeared onto the landing below him. Fighting off a strange feeling of déjà vu, he started down the stairs, two steps at a time, panting heavily. Was this really happening? Was he really chasing Gabi down through a building, again? He continued down as quickly as his feet would allow and arrived on the second-floor landing just as the door into lobby closed.

"Gotcha," he muttered, pushed open the door and froze. A large crowd filled the lobby that had been mostly empty when Jonythan had brought them through earlier. A few glanced in his direction, eyebrows raised in disapproval, at the interruption by someone that didn't belong. A middle-aged man took a bold step towards him, opened his mouth to say something. Denton put up his hand. "Police business," he said and stepped up on the pot of a plant to get a better view. The man bowed and slowed stepped backward to his entourage without uttering a single word, all the while he continued to keep a watchful eye on Denton.

Almost immediately, Denton saw the bobbing head of Gabi pushing her way through the crowd. He realized she was heading for the first floor. If she made it out of the building, she could easily disappear. He had to stop her.

Almost as she could sense he was behind her, she stole a glance over her shoulder. Their eyes connected for just a moment but long enough for Denton to instinctively know she wasn't about to stop. She frowned and ducked below the heads and shoulders of the other guests. Denton set off through the crowd, mumbling apologies as he squeezed between what he only assumed were celebrities in one way or another.

Gabi was halfway down the path to the first floor by the time he made it through the crowd. He wasted no time and sprinted down the path after her, ignoring the disapproving looks of those around him. He burst through the front door, shouting apologies as he pushed through the stream of people that continued to head towards the lobby. Where were they all coming from?

He stopped outside and looked left and right, desperately looking for any sign of Gabi. He saw her duck behind a hedge to his right and set off around the building and down a gravel path lined with trees. He rounded a corner and saw Gabi on the other side of a fountain, running as quickly as she could. He picked up speed, launched onto the retaining wall of the fountain, instantly regretting trying to cut across it to save a few feet. His foot slid forward and sideways on the wet surface, and he found himself tumbling through the air. He landed in the fountain with a splash and an involuntary shout.

He gasped loudly as he struggled to get upright and out of the cold water. He rolled over the retaining wall and into the gravel, coughing and shivering.