Dick Dodgers SFPI- Chap 2

For Chapter 1 of our intrepid Space Faring Paranormal Investigator's Adventures check this link: Below that is the link to Chapter 3 as well.

https://shopping-feedback.today/fiction/dick-dodgers%3C/strong%3E%3C/p%3E%3Cstyle data-emotion-css="14azzlx-P">.css-14azzlx-P{font-family:Droid Serif,Georgia,Times New Roman,Times,serif;font-size:1.1875rem;-webkit-letter-spacing:0.01em;-moz-letter-spacing:0.01em;-ms-letter-spacing:0.01em;letter-spacing:0.01em;line-height:1.6;color:#1A1A1A;margin-top:32px;}

https://shopping-feedback.today/fiction/dick-dodgers-sfpi-chap-3%3C/strong%3E%3C/p%3E%3Cstyle data-emotion-css="14azzlx-P">.css-14azzlx-P{font-family:Droid Serif,Georgia,Times New Roman,Times,serif;font-size:1.1875rem;-webkit-letter-spacing:0.01em;-moz-letter-spacing:0.01em;-ms-letter-spacing:0.01em;letter-spacing:0.01em;line-height:1.6;color:#1A1A1A;margin-top:32px;}

*********************************************************

Dick Dodgers SFPI - Chapter 2

Graphite Daphonite Dynamite:

Dick Dodgers was cornered. Stroung’AzPhuc knew that he had him at last. Taking careful aim, Stroung’AzPhuc pulled the trigger and missed. Behind and just to the right of the trench-coated dickhead chasing him the wall exploded, sending huge chunks of rock, and one Space Faring Paranormal Investigator, slamming to the mine floor. Stroung’AzPhuc knew his weapon well: There was no way that he should have missed, especially at such close range. Taking a step closer he aimed again and squeezed the trigger. This time the floor right where the intrepid SFPI detective laid just a second ago burst into a million fragments of shrapnel, sending a cloud of dust into the air making it nearly impossible to see or breathe. Stroung’AzPhuc had no problem breathing though. It was like the ash fields where he grew up on Daphon; however, back then he had his goggles to help him see through the thick clouds. He also didn’t need to see Dodgers when he could hear the tenaciously persistent old man’s labored breathing and movement. Taking a steady aim at the point he heard the heartbeat, Stroung’AzPhuc pulled the trigger again. This time, the concussive blast caused the dense wall right next to his erstwhile pursuer to fling itself outward toward both of them.

Pieces of debris rained on the SFPI agent from all directions, disorienting him. Great, a mergetroid shower, he thought. In the ensuing chaos, Dodgers did not know which way to go. Should I Dodger left, Dodger right or just pray that he aims a plasgun as well as he does a sonic whip? The echoes grew into a rebounding crescendo and the small space seemed larger now. Sounds were echoing back and forth with rock and dust coming from every angle in the tunnel. Fracking Daphon mercs! Why did I take this case again? Oh, yeah… Lisa wanted a new Preekoital Feline…. Hmm, there’s a joke in there somewhere … Dry as a precoital pussy perhaps? Crap! Almost forgot to duck. Stay on task Dick! This job’s hard enough without thinking of her.

Dodgers fell to a knee, tightly clasping his right hand over his ear, trying to stop the deafening roar that he now heard. That pounding sound, however, was just his own body attempting to repair itself. Thankfully his only half human physiology had a built in healing factor. Through the dust he could see Stroung’AzPhuc, but not hear him anymore. He recognized the weapon that Stroung’AzPhuc held in his hand. Dodgers knew from experience that Stroung’AzPhuc was strong as fuck, although not quite as fast. Years of running from old girlfriends and angry husbands, as well as the occasional angry Ractorian Veptid, had given him decent stamina for a ‘man’ of over 86 GS years. Maybe I should call myself Agent 86, he thought. That would be Smart. The cascading roar was now just a smattering of white noise that was more bearable and less painful than a few seconds ago. Thanks Mom, he thought, sending down a brief prayer of gratitude. He could make out Stroung’AzPhuc calling out, “Detective, are you there? I know I got you that time. Are you dead or just playing at it again? I can smell Dick blood.”

Dick blood? Really? I think Stroung’AzPhuc needs a lesson in male versus female human/Alteiran biological processes, Dodgers thought as a small crimson drop of blood dripped from his burst eardrum, landing on a rock near his left hand. Quickly running through the scenarios in his mind, Dodgers thought of several things he could do: throw the rock at Stroung’AzPhuc’s head – it wouldn’t kill him; Dodgers doubted that it would even hurt the Daphonite, so he threw out that idea, just as quickly discarding the next two ideas. Consequently, Dodgers picked up a rock and threw it over his left shoulder just as he rolled to the right.

Falling for the feint, Stroung’AzPhuc raised the weapon and started moving towards the sound. Dodgers could feel a slight breeze coming from the area behind the collapsed wall. From the echoes he could tell that there was a chamber just beyond. Trying his best to attune his hearing – thank the deity below for his not completely human ancestry - He waited for Stroung’AzPhuc to approach. When the alien came even with him, Dodgers targeted the Daphonite’s weapon. Fast as a striking zelotte, his right hand hit the release button for the energy pack. Disengaging, the pack flew off into the dust cloud, slightly distracting Stroung’AzPhuc. Praying his luck would hold, Dick Dodgers used the split second of time he had gained to throw his entire body weight onto Stroung’AzPhuc’s supportive appendage. With his free arm, Stroung’AzPhuc caught the detective square in his not yet fully healed right ear, instantly bringing back the deafening noise along with a momentarily dizzying wave of pain.

Dodgers rolled back into the wild, whirling mergetroidium-dust storm, shouting out to Stroung’AzPhuc, “Don’t fire again! Do you know the one flaw that weapon has?”

In the heat of battle, Stroung’AzPhuc had not yet realized that his energy pack was no longer connected to his weapon. Ignoring Dodgers’ warning, the Daphonite mercurial pulled the trigger. With no other escape channel, the last charge made the weapon explode, taking his right hand and most of his forearm in the blast. Stroung’AzPhuc’s right shoulder and side took the rest of the concussive force. His battered body fell to the floor, both tentacles whipping wildly. Despite the drummer beating a rapid tempo in his ears, Dodgers grinned as he noted the sucker pads on the undersides puckering in and out like a puddle of silvery mercurium exposed to Nitrogen, Well, there’s a puckered sucker view I haven’t seen before. Guess being a Space Faring Paranormal Investigator has some perks. At least I get to meet interesting …, well, beings I suppose… oh, and occasionally kill them.

Dodgers could sense that Stroung’AzPhuc was close to dying as he walked over to him. Lord, what a mess, he thought.

Stroung’TnAc looked up at the man who had defeated him, and in the strongest voice he could muster, which was barely a whisper, he hissed, “You’re not human. What are you?”

Dodgers said, “I am human! Well half human, half Alteiran.”

“What are you doing here?” came the next question.

“Protecting the future from you,” replied Dodgers. “Oh, and by the way, the cost of a new trencher coat is coming out of your loot. You got a tad close on one of those plas-shots.” Pointing out a scorched hole on the faded long coat he wore – said hole being right about six inches below his groin - he gave the assassin a glare. “Any higher and I really would have been a Dick Dodger.”

Stroung’AzPhuc said, “I’m dying!” with a sadistic grin on his face.

Belatedly, Dodgers realized what that meant. He knew that Stroung’AzPhuc was from a small planet called Daphon, and when this race died they went out with a bang – and a big one at that. Ah Frack, he thought. Thinking fast, Dodgers picked the nearly deceased Daphonite up bodily by the rubbery torso and pushed him through the broken wall into the chamber beyond. Retreating fast, Dodgers ran for cover, diving behind a large piece of the wall which had been thrown into the corridor of the mine shaft by the previous blasts.

When Stroung’AzPhuc was pushed through the wall, the merc realized he had found too late exactly what he was looking for - his pod-brother’s crashed ship. The dying alien’s last mortal thought was, “Thank you Dick Dodgers. You helped me find what I was looking for. Now, thanks to his own demise, the galaxy would never obtain the horrific secret contained therein. Closing his eyes, Stroung’AzPhuc fell into a deep hyper-coma mere moments before his corpse exploded. An intense blast shook the entire mountainside at the release of the pent-up energy that is the soul of a Daphonite’s mercurial being.

----------

Rushing ahead of what he knew was an impending tunnel collapse, Dodgers barely caught up to the group a short way from the mine exit. Judging from the shaking ground and heavy dust clouds falling from the tunnel roof, the mine was going to implode any moment. He had to get the people out before they all got the shaft. Rushing ahead of the confused crowd, he shouted at them to follow him. Stopping at the final curve, Dodgers frantically gestured to the milling people to run for the exit. Several persons, including the intrepid investigator, made it past and darted into the fresh clean air of the outside world just before a large boulder slammed into the opening, effectively blocking it. Dodgers looked around in dismay. There were still people inside. Darting up to the mostly inaccessible shaft opening, Dodgers peered through an opening between some rocks. It was difficult to tell exactly how many were still trapped in the choking dirt laden atmosphere of the tunnel.

Wiping gritty eyes with a grime blackened hand, Dodgers took quick stock. It looked to be five from what he could tell. The mine entrance was no longer a viable exit strategy, and time was quickly running out. The ground shook again accompanied by a loud creaking groan from the support timbers overhead. A section of the roof let go. Two people were directly under the falling mass of timber and rock as it came down with a resounding crash. Three others were struck with smaller debris just before the rest of the tunnel branch caved in, trapping them inside. All three were coughing and hacking.

Praying they could hear him, Dodgers yelled, “Cover your mouths. Use a handkerchief or your shirt.” The escaping air was thin and contained a taint of sulfur. “Take shallow breaths.” Next to him several frantic tourists scrabbled at the wall of debris, screaming for their loved ones or friends. Dodgers reflected on the joys of taking people on a mine tour. Well, they wanted to know what it was like for the old timers. Guess they’ll find out the hard way. As for this Dick…, no more getting shafted.

Curt Wochensky, fingernails bloody and torn from digging at the tumbled mass, was the worst of the bunch. Curt’s 26 GS year old daughter Erlivinia, had still been inside, just inside, when all hell had broken loose. Dodgers had grabbed Curt’s arm, dragging him out to safety as he ran past. In the ensuing scramble, Curt had lost his grip on his daughter’s hand. Dodgers was effectively responsible for this man’s daughter’s probable horrific death.

Curt’s mind ran frantically amok with images of his beloved daughter. Dropping to his knees, he began yanking at the rocks, pulling loose any he could move and throwing them behind him, narrowly missing one of the other survivors. Curt Wochensky wasn’t even aware of his own howls and moans.

Stepping up to the horrified father, Dodgers placed a hand on the grief stricken man’s shoulder. Jumping to his feet, his blood boiling, Curt rounded on the detective. “This is all your fault! You killed her! I should frackin’ kill you, you bastard!” he screamed, apparently all unaware of the tears streaming down his cheeks.

“I’ll have you know I am quite proud to be a bastard since Alteiran’s don’t pair bond for life. But, that aside, how about we get that equipment over there and put it to good use?” Pointing to the loader and excavator parked off to one corner of the shaft, Dodgers tried to smile reassuringly. “We can use it to clear this debris a lot faster with a lot less damage to ourselves.”

----------

LISA had her hands full tending to the injured. There were two with broken legs, and a third with what appeared to be a possible ruptured spleen or kidney along with a concussion. Unfortunately, none of the three was Erlivinia Wochensky. LISA made the injured as comfortable as she could in the small storage trailer. Using a wet towel, she wiped dirt from shocked and encrusted faces. Seeing the three injured resting as comfortably as the could on the trailer floor, LISA sighed and rose. She needed to go help Dodgers get the rest of the survivors calmed down and checked out. Besides, he probably needed protection from Wochensky…, or perhaps vice versa. Regardless, Wochensky was bound to be acting Curtly. Dick Dodgers, her ‘boss’, wasn’t known for being overly empathetic. In fact Dodgers was known to be a bit of a…, well, a dick. Still, despite the explosive nature of the overblown outcome, the investigator …, rather ‘the detective’ she mentally corrected…. had successfully, more or less, closed the case of the Graphite Daphonite Dynamite.

**************************************

Stay tuned for further installments. If you enjoy my writing, check out my author page at Amazon.com: