The NOKs on Earth, #3:
An Interesting Turn of Events
Meanwhile, just as the tiny intruder was ransacking Cyber-X's apartment, Nicole De Simone had just finished another successful show. Just before dawn, she sat in the dressing room and removed the make up from her face. You should never go to bed with make up on, she had leaned back in the Mother Planet about a hundred Nok-years ago, when she was eighteen. Now that the crowd has gone, she thought just how much strength their applause gave here. She loved singing, and the audience made her feel lucky she had made it her profession.
Leaving the nightclub where she performed, Nicole went into the underground parking lot. She was humming the encore that she sang that night. The crowd was on it's feet shouting for more and wouldn't let her leave the stage. She liked it. Now it was four-thirty in the morning and no one was around. Nicole quickened her steps though the dark parking lot, looking for her Mazda. At the other end of the parking lot she could hear other people. It gave her a false feeling of security knowing she wasn't alone. As she got near her row, she noticed the light was on in one of the cars. Inside were three men who seemed to be giving the car a thorough cleaning, removing the seats and mats and apparently searching for something. Nicole came closer and realized that it was her car.
"Hey, What are you doing there" she screamed at them as she froze in her spot.
The short one hid behind the driver's side door and whispered to the other two, who simply kept looking.
Nicole stood still, trembling in fear. "I called the police, they're already on the way" she shouted at them.
A tall thin man got out of the car and started walking towards her. Nicole's heart pounded as she stood still. She could swear they could see her heart beat through her tight tank top. Should she run or stand still?
"We need your help," the man said. He approached her slowly and removed the ski mask he wore. In his hand he held a crowbar. "We're looking for something very specific". Nicole turned and ran like crazy. The tall man shouted to the short one, and they both started running after her through the dark parking lot. As Nicole turned her head, she didn't notice the dumpster just ahead, and ran right into it. She fell to the floor with a scream. Her purse opened up and spilled its contents, her wallet, make-up, and keys scattered across the floor. The tall one was closing in on her. Nicole left her things on the floor and ran towards the exit. The tall man knelt to pick up her belongings and went back to the open car.
Nicole ran back to the nightclub. "Call the police, quick!"" she called to Joe, the bartender. The nightclub was empty, and Joe was busy cleaning and at first didn't pay her any attention. Nicole grabbed him by the collar "They tried to rape me! Call the police right now!" she yelled, and Joe dropped the glass he was cleaning. A few bottles were knocked to the floor as he jumped to the phone and dialed 911.
Three minutes later, two cops arrived. "That was awfully fast", Joe thought to himself, "I wish they'd come this fast whenever we needed them".
The cops asked Nicole to take them to the parking lot where it had all happened. Joe followed them, curious to hear the details. "You can stay here, we'll take care of it", the cop said to him. The cop's voice sounded familiar to Nicole, but with everything that was going on, she couldn't quite remember where she had heard it. "I have to lock up here anyway, I'll come along", Joe said, and followed the very tired Nicole. The cops escorted Nicole to the parking lot, looking at each other to make sure she didn't discover their secret.
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