Ramifications: Day 9

Word Count: 54,211

Summary of Events:

A roofing contractor came to assess the Shelter roof and he and Dom discovered it was in some severe disrepair to the point that the contractor recommended Dom get the whole roof rebuilt before it caved in, as opposed to merely putting new shingles or metal on it. Lachlan went back to the dumpster where he got stabbed to see if another transfer was happening, but found nothing, until a corpse was tossed into the dumpster, whose wallet and mobile phone he took . . .

Excerpt of the Day:

"He also found some small packages of various things. He wondered if Harrison would appreciate receiving them, considering that they were all done up in the Enterprise style: black plastic wrapping around the inner clear plastic. He wondered if maybe they were what he was looking for, but he didn't have time to check their labels.

Wetness suddenly splashed on him and he startled before his nostrils filled with the heady scent of octane petrol. He'd just been sloshed with petrol!

Over his shoulder he couldn't see any heads, but suddenly another bucketful of the clear, strong-scented fuel was pitched over the edge of the bin and onto the garbage therein, this time ahead of him a bit.

Lachlan brushed a trickle of petrol off his forehead. He didn't want to know what it would do if it got into contact with his eyes.

A third bucketful was tossed behind him and then, after a few moments, plumes of slightly bluish-white smoke curled up into the air. Lachlan needed to get out of the bin, but he either needed to take them both down while he did it, or somehow do it stealthily.

It would probably be better to go for taking them out, but he'd have to do it gunless, just incase the gun going off ignited the petrol fumes — which would send him up in flames — and because civilians would immediately call the police at that sound, considering how restricted guns were in Australia. He didn't even technically have legal permits for his, and he doubted few of the people he knew did either.

Based on the positions of the plumes, Lachlan could tell the two men were close together, which was important, because he needed to take them out simultaneously, otherwise one of them could ignite him.

He moved closer to the edge of the bin and saw the two men standing in front of the bin, casually smoking. He wasn't sure that he'd be able to jump on both of them. He might have to stab one in the back as he jumped the other and hope they both dropped their smokes.

Unsheathing his knife, Lachlan raised it up and held it ready for stabbing in his left hand while he positioned himself more directly behind the man to the right.

Carefully he got himself up onto the front edge of the dumpster and balanced himself there on the balls of his feet, with his right hand holding the bin between his legs, almost like an over-crouched snowboarder.

"D'you hear something?" the man Lachlan was about to jump asked.

"Not anything unusual," the other man replied.

Lachlan threw all the force he could into pushing off the leading edge of the dumpster and made contact with the shoulders of the man in front of him just before thrusting his knife into the back of the other man, bringing them both down to the ground with him."