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Date: Fri, 9 Jan 1998 23:21:31 -0500 (EST)
X-Sender: sgthead@digital.net
To: jq@edc.ml.org
From: Liza Hearon 
Subject: JQ: FIC: "Reality Check" (1/3)
Sender: owner-jq@edc.ml.org
Reply-To: jq@edc.ml.org

Hey Questors!
        Here's my first attempt at Quest fanfic. I tried to break it up into
small, easily digestable parts. The other two will be on their way,
eventually. Please send any comments, criticisms, flames, cookies, or
anything else to sgthead@digital.net. I would really appreciate your feedback.
                Hope you enjoy!
                   Liza

-----

"Reality Check"

DISCLAIMER: All characters except for Corina and Anthony D'amato were used
with love, but not permission, and are owned by someone else. I'm not making
money from this. Please don't sue me. All I own are a few cookies.
ARCHIVERS: Go for it. Just tell me where.
CATEGORY: A/E, part HR, part DBN
SUMMARY: Adventure, romance, and a bit of jealously await the Quest team in
dark Manchester, England.

	It was a typical day in Manchester, England.
	
	There was a chill in the air that no one could warm up from. The sky was
its usual gray haze from the industrial city's never-ending stream of
pollution. It was raining the type of rain that isn't repelled by umbrellas,
raincoats or windshield wipers, the type of rain that seems to drench your soul.
	
	"What a desolate place this is," muttered Hadji Singh in a false British
accent.
	
	Jonny Quest flashed his friend a quick grin. But the humour of the
situation slowly faded. Hadji was 17, Jessie Bannon 16, and Jonny 15. Soon
Hadji would be going off to college. The trio's childhood together would
soon be over. Jonny and Jessie didn't want to spend some of their last times
with Hadji in a place like this. But Dr. Benton Quest and Race Bannon had to
attend an important conference, and Manchester seemed a fitting place to
hold a phenomenology conference.
	
	"At least the shopping here is good," Jessie remarked.
	
	Jonny was about to reply when they were startled by a sudden commotion. He
saw a girl about his age, running for her life. She had what looked like a
loaf of bread in her hands. A store clerk and a policeman, 'Or bobby now,
we're in England,' Jonny thought, were chasing her. The three silently
watched as she deftly dodged startled shoppers and worked her way down
Market Street. Soon she disappeared into one of the many alleys.
	
	"Well, that's something you don't see everyday," said Jonny.
	
	"Yeah," agreed Jessie. "We better get back to the hotel to meet Dad and Dr.
Quest."
	
	"Right," agreed Hadji. "And since that spectacle took up our time, we'll be
late -- unless we take a little shortcut I figured out."
	
	"Well then, college boy, lead the way," smiled Jessie.
	
	The three made their way out of the more densely populated sections of
Market Street. This was the industrial city's heart. Shops of all kinds
lined the streets. They made their way to an alley.
	
	"Hadj, are you sure this is the way?" asked Jonny dubiously.
	
	"I am certain, Jonny. In fact, I...." He was cut short by a loud "thump!"
nearby.
	
	"What was that?!" Jessie exclaimed. The next thing they knew, they were
being attacked from all sides. Big men dressed in black hit Jessie hard in
the back. She screamed and fell hard on her stomach.
	
	Jonny reeled around, only to receive a well-placed punch in the face. Hadji
had attacked Jessie's assualter with a flying kick, but was quickly subdued.
"What... do you want..." he growled through tightly clenched teeth.
	
	"We was hired to take out you Quest kids," a tough replied. He pulled out a
gun. "Now we is gonna finish the job... except for the girl."
	
	The three kids flinched, awaiting their fate, when suddenly the man with
the gun fell with a crash. Jonny gasped when he saw the girl who had been
running earlier. She was now busily taking care of the attackers, with Hadji
and Jessie helping her. Her hand-to-hand combat skills looked a lot like
Race Bannon's. For once, Jonny didn't do anything. He stared at her,
dumbfounded.
	
	When the attackers were unconscious, Jonny got his first good look at her.
He was shocked.
	
	She was drop-dead gorgeous.
	
	The girl had long, jet-black hair and deep, dark brown eyes. Her tattered,
ragged clothes revealed a slim, athletic figure. A small scar about her
right eye somehow only added to her incredible beauty.
	
	Now she reached down to help him up. "Are you OK?" she asked in a soft,
pleasant voice.
	
	"Uhhh.... yeah...." he stammered.
	
	Hadji was expereincing similar effects. He thought it ironic that a prince
like himself would fall for a street rat like her.
	
	'Men!' Jessie thought. 'They're all the same. Who does this girl think she is?'
	
	Now the girl spoke. She said, "I, uh, try to help out visitors when I can.
Where are you going?"
	
	Seeing that the boys were too enamoured with the girl to speak, Jessie
answered, "To the Brittania."
	
	"Just keep on going that way. You'll find it," she said. "Bye." She started
to walk away.
	
	"Wait!" Jonny called. She turned around. "What's your name?"
	
	"Corina D'amoto," she answered.
	
	"Uhhh... I'm Jonny. These are my friends Hadji and Jessie," he said
desperately.
	
	"Nice to meet you."
	
	"Uhhh... thanks for saving us. We'd really like to repay you somehow,"
Jonny said.
	
	"Oh, there's no need," answered Corina. "Really."
	
	Hadji looked at her tattered clothes and sunken eyes. "Please, why don't
you come to the hotel with us and have dinner?"
	
	"Well...." she said hesitantly. "I need to go get a bench before someone
else gets it for the night."
	
	"You can sleep in Jessie's room," volunteered Jonny. Jessie shot him a Look.
	
	Corina seemed to come to a decision. "OK, let's go."
	
	The four headed towards the hotel. On the way, they learned about their
strange new friend. She was an orphan who had been abused at an orphanage,
so she ran away. Now she lived on the streets. Corina spent her days in the
library, learning, and her evenings stealing food so she could sruvive. It
was a lifestlye none of the Quest kids could imagine.
	
	They reached the five-star hotel, and immediately Corina looked out of
place. She got shy and drew into herself.
	
	The elevator ride was a quiet one. Corina was nervous, Hadji and Jonny
excited, and Jessie suspicious.
	
	When they entered the room, Dr. Quest started to say, "Hurry, kids, we need
to get ready for dinner... oh, excuse me..." He stopped when he saw Corina.
	
	Jonny came forward. "Dad, this is our friend Corina D'amato. Some toughs
tried to kill us but she saved our lives. Corina, this is my dad, Dr. Benton
Quest, and Jessie's dad, Race Bannon," he finished as Race entered the room.
	
	"Nice to meet you, Dr. Quest, Mr. Bannon," said Corina politely.

	"Wow, thank you for saving the kids," said an amazed Dr. Quest.

	"Can she come to dinner with us?" Hadji asked.
	
	"Sure she can. She should run home and get changed real quick," said Race
amicably.
	
	"Dad, she doesn't have a home," said Jessie quietly.
	
	"Oh, well, she can borrow something of yours, right?" asked Race.
	
	"Sure Dad. C'mon, Corina, I'll find you something."
	
	"Thanks, Jessie."
	
	The two girls headed off to Jessie's room in the 4-room suite. The guys
looked at each other. "Well, we better get ready," said Jonny. Him and Hadji
went to their room, and Race and Dr. Quest went to their rooms.
	
	"What do you want to wear?" This is what I have," said Jessie, laying out a
few dresses.
	
	"What are you going to wear?" asked Corina.
	
	"I don't know," answered Jessie honestly.
	
	Corina pointed to a short, sleveless emerald green dress. "This would
really show off your hair. It's so pretty."
	
	"I guess you're right," said Jessie. "Why don't you try this." She pointed
to a slim, long, black silky dress.

	Corina smiled. "I will." The girls got changed. Corina quickly braided her
hair into a neat, long french braid.

	"Wow, that's awesome!" Jessie enthused, admiring Corina's hair. "I wish I
could do that!"

	"Oh, it's easy! Here, I'll show you." Corina braided Jessie's hair,
explaining what she was doing. "Hmmmm..... why don't we try this...." She
pulled the end braid into a bun and pinned it.

	Jessie admired herself and thought that Corina wasn't so bad after all.
"Wow, Hadji will love this...." She stopped suddenly. Her secret, given away!

	"You like Hadji?"

	No point in denying it now. "Yeah. He doesn't even know I exist, though..."
she said dejectedly.

	"Hmmmm, well, after tonight, he'll know you exist," said Corina thoughtfully.

	"Why, what are you planning?" Jessie asked suspiciosusly.

	"Enlisting Jonny's help to find out if Hadji likes you."

	"Is this a setup?"

	"Maybe.... do you mind?" Corina had a wry grin on her face that reminded
Jessie of Jonny.

	"Not a bit!"

	The girls walked out of the room laughing. What might have started out
wrong was quickly turning into a friendship.	
	
	Meanwhile, in the boys' room, Jonny and Hadji were fussing over their
appearance. "Do you think Corina will like this?" Hadji asked, holding up a
jeweled vest.
	
	"You mean you like her??" Jonny asked increduously.
	
	"Sure I do," answered Hadji defensivly. "It's the classic love story: A
prince and a pheasant."
	
	"It's just that... never mind."
	
	"What?"
	
	"Never mind!!!"
	
	"You like her, my friend?"
	
	"Yes, I do, but she'll never like me now! Girls always go for you because
you're royalty!!"
	
	They were silent for a minute.
	
	"That hurts me, my friend." Hadji's quiet tone turned hard. "But we'll see
who the better man is tonight."
	
	With that, Hadji left the room, leaving a confused Jonny behind.
	
	It was an odd ride to the conference formal banquet. Jessie and Corina were
talking a mile a minute, while Hadji and Jonny remained silent. Up front,
Race said quietly, "D'amato... I'm getting this sneaking feeling that I know
that girl's father."
	
	"Really, Race?" 
	
	"Yeah. Anthony D'amato was a fellow intelligence agent. He was a great guy.
She looks like him."
	
	"Did he die?" asked Dr. Quest.
	
	"Yeah..." Race's mind flashed back to the horrible night when Anthony
D'amato died.

	It should have been a normal drug bust. It was in a South American country,
one of Tony and Race's first missions. They carefully made their way through
a dark corridor of the huge mansion to a large, spacious room. Their mission
was to photograph the drugs and arrest the boss. Immediately, Race didn't
like all the open space. He motioned for Tony to take one side while he took
the other.
	
	Race slowly moved against the wall. He shifted his weight to check on
Tony's progress. All of a sudden, the wall turned around, taking Race with
it. He had stumbled onto a hidden panel! Now he was in a vault of some kind,
lit only by his mini-flashlight. He could see shelves with neat rows of
white powder in bags.
	
	'Bingo!' he thought. He took some pictures of it.
	
	Then he heard gunfire outside. He found the hidden panel and got back to
the main room, where he saw two thugs holding Tony with a gun pointed at his
head. "Your friend will live if you surrender. If you call others, he will
die," the leader said. Race noticed a gruesome scar on the top of the man's
right hand.
	
	Race felt torn. Backups weren't coming. This was supposed to have been
quick, clean, and quiet.
	
	He made a decision. "I'll surrender, companero." 
	
	Tony didn't say a word. 'Companero' was a code that meant that Race had a plan.
	
	The two were tied up tightly to uncomfortable chairs. The drug dealer was
setting up equipment to transmit a ransom notice to the government.
	
	Suddenly, Race's watch beeped. It was a signal from command, wanting to
know if he needed any help! It surprised Race.
	
	"What's that beeping?" demanded a thug.
	
	"Just the clock on my watch going off. Just his the 'A' button to stop it,"
replied Race.
		
	Tony shot him a Look. Race kept an innocent face. 
	
	About 15 minutes passed. The goons were having problems with their
equipment. Just as one of them yelled, "I am tired of it flashing 12:00!!",
government agents stormed the room.
	
	The toughs were confused. "Your watch must have signaled these men!"
accused one of them.
	
	Race didn't deny it.
	
	"Then, as promised, your friend will die!" exclaimed the leader. Before
anyone could stop him, he had drawn his gun, leaped across the room, and
shot Tony cleanly in the head. It was almost slow motion as Tony died.
	
	Race had been horrified by Tony's death. They had had some great times
together. Hawaii, Paris, D.C., women, drinks... in fact...
	
	"Look out!" yelled Dr. Quest.
	
	Race snapped back to reality. He slammed on the brakes to avoid crashing
into the car in front of him. 'Close call, Bannon,' he thought.


TO BE CONTINUED

send all feedback to sgthead@digital.net



---
Liza Hearon, sgthead@digital.net  sXe
Space Ghost RULES!
Oh, bite me, it's fun! 
"If I knew what was going on I'd really be indignant." -Crow. #403(City Limits)


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