#25 Lead Feathers Make Dull Knives

The second the strangers made their presence known Jacquie and LBD were immediately immobilized. LBD's faithful .44 Magnum fell from his hand; however his arm remained locked out in front of him. Jacquie was frozen in place, staring straight at a very frightened Austin Tellamore.

"Austin, dear," said the short haired woman in the white pants suit, "step away from these men." She approached Austin, put her hands on his shoulders, and moved him out of Jacquie's sight.

Jacquie winced with pain. Tears dripped down his cheeks. His lips parted slowly, and then his teeth followed, "Stop!" The effort for just one word seemed exhausting. He moved his eyes slowly. The woman seemed stunned, her face was bright and her eyes were wide. Jacquie looked at the dark man who seemed to blend in with the background almost perfectly. He also looked shocked.

The woman suddenly whipped out her hand and Jacquie flinched in fear that she had a gun. He opened his eyes to see that her hand was empty. Her fingers were spread apart wide, and though Jacquie couldn't see anything he could feel the pressure on his flesh become heavier.

Despite the pain the woman was somehow inflicting Jacquie continued to force his body to move. He stretched his neck to the left and then back to the right.

The woman was again next to Austin, holding his hand. Her and her partner shared a brief glance and then shot for the exit behind them. Jacquie blinked and they were gone. He screamed at his limbs to wake up and gradually they did. After a few seconds more his body was his own again. He looked back at LBD, who looked like a mannequin except for his eyes. His eyes seemed to tell Jacquie to go after them. Jacquie's feet did the rest. 

Jacquie went through the same door that Austin and his friends used but it wasn't an exit like he thought. The door led to a stairwell. Jacquie ascended the stairs as quickly as he could. Every other floor on the stairwell had two windows and every one of them was broken, some had plastic trying to cover them up but whenever the wind blew they danced and waved as if they were alive.

At the top of the stairwell Jacquie saw the party he was chasing at the other end of the long factory floor. They didn't notice him as they climbed out of a window and onto a fire escape heading for the room. Jacquie headed after them but quickly noticed a metal ladder on the wall that lead to a hatch in the ceiling.

Jacquie reached the roof just as Austin and his two lifesavers made it to the edge of the building. They were running full speed for the end of the building.

"Wait!" Jacquie shouted out.

Austin turned around to catch Jacquie's eye but the other two didn't even notice. The big black man grabbed Austin by the collar, and the two strangers flew off the roof and out into the darkness of the night.

Austin had a terrified look on his face that will forever be scratched into Jacquie's brain.