Lisa the Legend: Chapter 82 - Last Night on Earth now up! (24th June 2013)

[Sike Saner]

I've got to say, I thought there was a nice sense of realism about Larry. He exhibited concern for his own safety, and he made it clear that his was not an easy job to do, and I just found that really believable--I daresay that people who have little to no concern for their own lives and are immune or oblivious to the pressure of a tough or dangerous job (or who thrive on the pressure) are fewer in number than people who would be likelier to think and react to a situation like that in the ways that Larry is.

And holy crap, "murkron" is a cool name for a pokémon species.

Other highlights:

Perhaps the fact that Larry wore the black clothes common to Union members made it easier for Lisa to rage at him; in any case, something in her snapped and she rose to her feet, pushing Larry in frustration.

“TELL ME WHERE MY POKÉMON ARE!”

To her surprise, the tall, solidly-built man actually pushed her back, sending her reeling backwards. Her legs smacked against the chair, forcing her to fall back into the seat.

The smile that had fleeted across Larry’s face was long gone now: his mouth was set in a rigid line, his stubbled jaw jagged and fierce, his eyes glowing with indignation.

“Listen to me, girl, I am risking my fucking life to get you out of here,” he snarled in a dangerous undertone. “I’ve seen Joseph Sterling murder people for a lot less than being a double agent. The chances of me keeping my cover and you actually making it out of here alive hinge upon nobody walking in on us in the next two minutes, so shut your mouth, do everything I tell you to and don’t ask me again about your bloody pokémon.”

Dude means business. o_o I found it kind of neat to see a character viewing a situation like that so pragmatically; I don't think I've seen that sort of thing in fiction very often, so "hearing" something like what Larry said there was kind of refreshing in a way.

“No. No, that’s not going to work,” he muttered, his voice growing anxious. Lisa looked down at her pocket: the bulge of the Buzzball was abundantly clear to anyone who might look at her. “No, they’ll see it, and then they’ll take it from you, and then I’ll be dead …” fretted Larry. He looked Lisa in the eye. “How old are you? Do you wear a proper bra yet?”

Lisa felt her face blush deeply. “That’s a bit personal!” she cried.

I laughed at this bit. XD

“Lisa Walters, you are a ridiculously lucky pain in my arse, and I will not play cat-and-mouse games with you any longer,” he said smoothly.

Awesome line there.

He reached into the hip pocket of his black pants and produced the silver key belonging to the handcuffs. Gripping Lisa’s right wrist viciously, he uncuffed her right hand and disentangled the cuffs from the armrest. Lisa was seized by a sudden urge to strike him in the face, but she reminded herself how vital it was to follow Larry’s plan; and in the time it took her to rationalise her fury, Joseph Sterling had placed his right wrist within the cuff and secured it tightly, placing the key in his pocket.

That got a nice "oh crap" reaction out of me.

The only good thing was that none of the agents had bothered to use the seat belts, not even on her. An old television advertisement – “Safety first!” – bubbled to the forefront of Lisa’s mind, almost cutting through her fear long enough for her to smile.

Those little thoughts that can pop into people's minds are awesome. X3

Shaking, Lisa forced herself to meet his mad black eyes with her golden-brown ones. In her peripheral vision, she glimpsed the handle of a Stunner, the trigger almost touching her right hand.

Slowly … slowly …

“You won’t shoot me,” she said slowly, steeling her resolve despite being almost overcome by the hunger in Sterling’s eyes; he appeared quite determined to defeat her gaze. “I’m too important to your plans – you can’t risk it … without me, you have nothing –”

“You are wrong,” snarled Sterling, “I won’t think twice about –”

Lisa felt her fingers tighten around the Stunner at last; gripping the handle tightly, she wheeled it around in Joseph Sterling’s direction and pulled the trigger firmly.

A pulse of green light sliced through the second half of Sterling’s sentence; his open-mouthed gape froze on his face as his entire body spasmed and then crumpled to the floor.

That was cool.

At once, the rush of wind became no more than a gentle breeze. Altaria was cruising at a steady altitude, singing softly.

I liked the contrast between that pleasant image and the action and peril that preceded it.

As Altaria began to pick up speed, Lisa raised her eyes skyward, scanning for the distant shadow of the Union helicopter.

Her heart stopped.

A dark shape was streaking downward through the firmament, plummeting almost as fast as she and Altaria had a moment ago, except this fall looked ludicrously controlled. Lisa gasped, incredulous, as the dark shape grew nearer and more visible … indeed, it was coming so fast that, as she watched, it slowed and became level with her and Altaria.

“No…”

Twenty metres away on their left – and rapidly approaching – was what looked like a giant, razor-taloned Murkrow. Perched upon its back was Joseph Sterling, the madness on his face visible even from such a distance.

That got another nice "oh crap" reaction.