34. The Return
The Return
Iwas flipping through the channels like a madman to calm Belle down, but nothing seemed to work.
Rock music made her angry. Pop music made her furious.
And classical music ended with threats of her shooting me.
So, I stopped on a commercial and pressed down on the gas as far as the old car could handle.
The Timekeeper. The film tells the story of a young girl in Victorian England at the turn of the century, who fights back against a wave of change.
To preserve her city and way of life. The movie tells the tale of Lilly, the daughter of a clock worker at the Tower of London, who sees the pollution and decay being unleashed in the name of innovation and the future.
Together with her friends, she faces the bureaucracy head-on in order to save her hometown. Coming to a theater near you.
And we are back after that commercial break. Thank you, listeners, for tuning in. Just a reminder that The Timekeeper movie is the first movie completely written and directed by artificial intelligence. Produced by The Genesis Arts Corporation and APOLLO Technologies.
“Just turn it off,” Belle said, pointing at the radio, and chambered a round in her sidearm. We had left the bar in a rush and were on our way back to the airport as fast as possible. Luckily, the bar was down the street, but by the time we arrived, it was dark out.
“Any luck?” I said.
“No. There’s no one nearby who can assist on short notice. We’ll have to rely on local support. They can spare three squad cars,” Belle said.
“Will that be enough?”
“There were more men in that hangar,” replied Belle.
Traffic was light until we entered the airport; the main entrance and departure lanes were backed up. It felt like the entire city had a flight to catch. Belle snapped.
“Look at this mess. We won’t reach the hangar until midnight if we stay here,” Belle said. She opened the passenger-side door and hopped out, her weapon in hand.
“Wait! Where are you going? There’s about a mile to the gate!” I said. By the time I finished speaking, she was gone. “Shit!”
I pulled over to the side, turned my emergency brake lights on, and turned the car off.
I grabbed my jacket and took off after her.
The drivers behind me weren’t too happy about it.
One driver was nice enough to flip me the bird before I left.
After a couple of minutes of leg-crushing sprinting, I caught up with Belle.
She had high-tailed it all the way to the entrance and was now out of breath.
“Open the gate!” Belle screeched. She could barely get the words out.
The guard in the booth looked at her and shook his head.
An older man who looked tired of it all.
With barely a hair on his head and a jacket that was way too tight around the midsection.
He stumbled out of the booth with a clipboard in one hand and a flashlight in the other.
He walked up to Belle, raised the light to her face, and said, “ma’am, are you high?”
His thick Southern accent made it all the funnier. At least to me. She wasn’t very amused, though.
At that moment, he glanced down and noticed her firearm.
“Whoa, now. Calm down, lady. I don’t have any cash or drugs on me,” the guard said.
“I’m not a crackhead!” Belle howled. Though her appearance betrayed her. Belle’s hair was disheveled and her suit jacket inverted.
“Whatever you say, Miss. I don’t want any problems,” the guard replied.
“Here! Open the gate!” Belle said as she flashed her badge. I showed him mine, too. The guard went back into the booth like a turtle into its shell; his face flushed red. The gate opened, and he waved us in.
Belle, restless, didn’t wait for it to open completely. She bolted in as soon as the opening was large enough for her. Fortunately, we wouldn’t have to run the rest of the way as three police squad cars approached us when I entered. Our backup was here.