Everybody found a place to sit or recline and the meal began. Joey and Deb had done their research and the food offered was, if not Roman, certainly M...diterranean. A large variety of cheeses, shaved Parma ham, water and honey melon slices, and grapes were offered, together with fine Italian ciabatta bread. At first they kept to the red grape juice but when Chet and Wayne started to bug Joey he went and fetched two bottles of Chianti wine, extracting promises from each guest that they would take. ’ The lead swiftly took his baton and hit Damien in the ribs, dropping him slightly. He coughed but quickly recovered. His torso throbbed. ‘No talking.’ The lab coats began taking notice of their guest as he stomped forward in his thick, black boots with ten guards, on top of those lining the room. They stopped to stare, some of the women more than others at his dark, cropped hair and the veins on his biceps that protruded from the short sleeves of his light blue Skin Suit that was now torn and. Emma was half hoping she would have the car to herself but she didn’t mind sharing too much. When she saw her travelling companion she did a double take. There was that instant familiarity about her face and for a second or two Emma couldn’t recall where she knew her from. The other girl had long brown hair and lovely, soft brown eyes. She smiled at Emma, who must have looked a bit crazy, staring as she was. “Hi. Nice little sleeping car isn’t it?” Said the girl. Emma was sure she was talking. The car won’t start and…’ He looked at the steep slope leading out of the building site. Even with three of us we couldn’t attempt pushing the car up that hill. ‘Why not try again, Jack?’ Bert suggested. It didn’t start. The starter motor turned sluggishly before stopping with a dull clunk. ‘Have you got the starting handle?’ I asked. ‘Yes, Geoff. It’s under the bonnet.’ ‘OK. Turn the ignition off and back on when I lift my hand. OK?’ Jack nodded. I unclipped and lifted the side of the car’s.