Remnant of the Past [Chapter 2]

Within days of our arrival we were put into training at Avalon's facilities. At first we work together in more physical activities, raising our strength and endurance until we are at the levels of athletes. After that, however, we branched off into our own distinct professions. I was put into more close combat training, both dealing with pistols, sub-machine guns, and hand to hand combat. Luck, of course, went into sniping and demolition operations, something he was quite fond of. Harvey, finally, was put into a sniping program as well, put into more of an assault position.

During this time more people like us started to show up. The tests were a success, so why not, right? They were just as clueless as us, but appeared to be even more brain-dead. Harvey, Luck, and I managed to stick together, even sharing the same quarters. We were the best of the best, though, right? Our teamwork was unmatched so far. The others seemed to be a lot different. They were distant, they didn't work as well, and didn't even seem human at some points. They had gotten a different treatment, that was clear.

A whole year has passed, filled with days of constant training, implant testing, a small amount of sleep, and little free time. A year is all you need here. Something makes us learn and adapt faster than a normal person. Another implant, I'm guessing, though there were so many tests that I can't even be sure anymore. With our year finished, there is nothing left for our masters to teach us. We are ready to move on to the real thing and work for Avalon, a company that we know nothing about. I cannot say that I am ready, though I have little choice.

It's the only way to live.

REMNANT OF THE PAST
Chapter 2

Amy walked down the docks with Luck by her side, headed towards a large passenger ship. It had three decks: the top, completely barren other than about a dozen guards keeping watch below; the middle deck, accessible by a loading ramp, had a variety of people, mostly of underground businessmen and heavy duty criminals; and the bottom deck with only access to engineers and guards, leading to the engines and lower living quarters.

Amy and Luck were to enter this "party" with forged IDs, acting as business partners in a group that launders weapons. Amy wore a somewhat formal black skirt suit with her trusty pistol carried in a hidden holster under it. Luck, wearing somewhat business like clothing, carried a suitcase that was fitted with lots of C4, something that would be incredibly useful for blowing up this ship and everyone in it. That was the plan, of course: destroy the ship to kill various members wanted by Avalon. Luck would be tasked with sneaking down to the lower deck and planting the explosives on various points without getting caught. Amy would stay on the middle deck as a distraction and last resort backup. As the two walked towards the boat, Harvey was positioned elsewhere, tasked with finding a location suitable for sniping, as things could go wrong fast. They all had radio contact, hidden earpieces on each of them.

Amy stepped onto the loading ramp with Luck, encountering a couple guards standing there. She flashed him their IDs and they backed off, not even searching them. Their business was important. Besides, many other people on this ship, no doubt, had their guns with them. It was a simple precaution when you could hardly trust anyone around here. The main deck was filled with sharply dressed people, some beautiful, some definitely not. There was a bar with drinks set up, tables everywhere, and waiters serving various people. Several people were just standing around and discussing business and other topics casually. A band played some typical soft rock music. Amy was pretty sure they were a popular band going by the name of "The Lonesome Doves." It was a shame they had to go down with these bastards.

Amy looked over at Luck as they entered the room, as if they had exchanged thoughts. It was time to act now. There was no time to waste. Luck would have to work quickly or else this whole operation would fall apart.

"I'll go mingle with the crowd," Amy said nonchalantly to Luck. "You can go do your own thing."

Amy didn't want to go ahead and announce their plans in front of all these people, so she hoped he got what she was saying. There had to be a hatch leading down to the lower deck, and Luck would have to find it. Harvey would be giving cover in case things went haywire, but he was not supposed to shoot yet, as one shot would set off a huge alarm. Amy walked towards a few important looking people, noticing one of them from her files she was given for this operation.

"Mr. Wilcox," she said, approaching an aging man, holding out her hand to shake. "A pleasure to meet you. I am May Valentine from the Avalon company. You may have heard of us."

"Oh yes, indeed," Wilcox said with a small, shaking her hand. "I've only heard of them quite recently, but I hear business is going quite well." He gestured towards the young woman by his side. "This is my wife, Angie. I am guessing you're both about the same age. You look very nice tonight, Miss Valentine. Would you mind getting a drink with us?"

"That would be wonderful," Amy replied, putting on a fake smile as they walked towards the bar. She hoped that Luck would act quickly. Just in case Harvey didn't get a hint, she turned her radio on so he'd hear everything around her. If things were getting crazy, he'd know immediately. It was a safety precaution that had to be taken.

They'd have to destroy this ship, even if it meant they'd have to go down with it.

---

OOC: Feel free to make up the ship's layout as you go along if it helps you.

The ship that they had boarded was essentially a large yacht. The only reason it wasn't considered cruise liner was due to the rather surprising absence of a swimming pool above deck. The three of them successfully infiltrated the ship as normal, faceless passengers. Their main objective was the lower deck where their overall goal was to place C4 in strategic zones in order to not only kill the intended targets, but to completely destroy the ship along with them.

Obviously, the only reason they were even allowed on-deck was because of Avalon - it seemed the company was well known both above.. and underground. Harvey had boarded the ship alongside Amy and Luck. They were all wearing more formal attire. Amy wore something that a business woman would - a rather spiffy black skirt-suit. Luck himself wore a suit of similar color. Harvey decided to wear something a bit different - he wore a business suit, however it was dark grey and pinstriped. Beneath he wore a white collared shirt and a navy blue tie. Atop his head, he wore a bowler hat, the brim wide enough just to give some shade to his face - should he need to remain concealed. His thoughts behind the outfit were to blend in a bit better with the guards who wore similar suits. He couldn't help but think he appeared as some kind of 50s style gangster from Chicago - he didn't mind it at all.


Though the guards knew he wasn't one of them, his moving about the deck would likely go unhindered - he looked like some big-shot mob boss or criminal. As long as he didn't pull anything, they would hopefully leave him to his business.

In his hand, he carried a suitcase, just large enough to contain the pieces to his CheyTac Intervention. Concealed in a shoulder holster beneath his suit, he had his HK45 and a silencer - obviously loaded and ready to go. If worse came to worse for Harvey, he did have his body to utilize as a weapon - because he took Assault Training, it was almost an obligation to learn some form of martial arts - for some reason he chose Krav Maga. It almost felt natural as he was trained in it, thus he excelled and mastered the form as quickly as he could.

The only way he could truly give his comrades cover fire was if they were at the top deck or even the mid-deck as that consisted of a rather large bar and ball-room where he could find a sufficient spot to hide and arm his Intervention. Otherwise, the ship was all hallways and smaller rooms in which close combat was the only way to go. He almost felt naked without his M4A1 as his mid-ranged weapon.

Stowing his suitcase in a hidden location - on the upper-platforms of the ballroom, he went down toward the bar. He consciously stayed very near to the stairs that led back up, should anything happen. He could see Amy not far from him, deciding to mingle and gain some more information to make his bit of the mission more bearable, he approached them after grabbing a glass of Guinness from a walking waiter.

"Ah, Miss Valentine, I didn't expect you here so soon." Harvey addressed Amy with a smirk.

At the questioning looks from the two he understood to be named "Wilcox" he gave them both a faux smile and put out a hand for them to shake.

"Excuse me for budding in - my name is Victor Patterson, I work alongside Miss Valentine at the Avalon Company."

Luck went straight to work looking for an entrance to the lower levels. Something no one would expect someone to slip through, or just too careless to guard. Immediately, stairs were knocked off the list. They were both blatantly obvious and highly suspicious. Unless the lower levels were being used for some 'special' meets, they'd no doubt be guarded and restricted. Maintenance, however-- there was likely hatches near the end that lead to these sections. An obvious path opened itself up.

The debrief, as Luck expected, included a rundown on the schematics and placement of C4 on the ship. Given the points he was shown, this would make for an easy mission. Once the ship left the harbor, it was only a matter of the well placed holes and gravity to do its work on the passengers. Cutting off supply to lifeboats was also one of his objectives, however C4 placement was first and foremost.

Finding the hatch to the lower levels quickly, he descended into the depths of the lower levels, ensuring his HK45 had been silenced and close in case he encountered anyone whom jeopardized the mission. Noticing no one about his entry point, he quickly moved out towards the first point on the ship. It wasn't too hard to find himself a few guards to dispatch of however. Leaning against the wall, conveniently shadowed by a darker part of the ship, he awaited the guard's arrival.

Pulling out his KM2000 knife, he quickly grabbed the guard as he turned the corner, covering his mouth as he thrust the knife across the man's neck, reducing his sounds to a low gurgle. Hiding him the best he could on a vessel such as this, he moved on to his destination, planting a block of C4 snugly into position. Next position was up. Pulling out his HK45, he continued across the ship. Another guard was unfortunate enough to impede Luck, and was put down easily. Hiding the body, he made his way to the next point - he had a few to go, thus far.

Amy noted Harvey's arrival with a small smile. He entered the conversation quite casually. She was impressed with his acting abilities. Acting and impersonating was, of course, one of the subjects that they went over many times before during training at Avalon, but Harvey, Amy, and Luck were simply some of the best at it. Regardless, you could learn something every time you saw this sort of false interaction.

"Ah yes," Amy said as Harvey approached. "Mr. Patterson is an integral part of our team. Not sure where we would be without him!"

"A pleasure to meet you as well, Mr. Patterson," Mr. Wilcox said, shaking the man's hand. "It's refreshing to see such young gentlemen as yourself working their way into such an important line of work. We need more people in the world such as you, my friend."

"I agree," said his wife, looking at Harvey in a way that suggested she wasn't thinking about business. Conversation went on casually for a few moments until suddenly the ship started to move. As in, moving away from the dock into the sea. Amy eyes widened looking out the window and she glanced worriedly to Harvey. This wasn't supposed to be happening.

"Is this... ship supposed to be moving?" Amy asked Mr. Wilcox.

"Of course," the man said, wondering why she was putting up a fuss about it. "We'll just be going out for a bit of a sea breeze. It was all planned from the start."

"Apparently I didn't get the memo," Amy said, glancing at her drink and taking a sip of it.

"What's the problem?" Mr. Wilcox asked, curious. "I'm sure you'll live."

"I'll live... I just tend to get a little... sea-sick."

The ship moving from dock was not according to plan. Amy was under the impression this party would take place in one location, letting them slip out easily so they can activate the C4 all over the ship. But now escape wouldn't be as easy. They'd have to locate some sort of lifeboat to get away from the ship, and that would certainly be a suspicious activity. This wasn't something incredibly terrible, but it would certainly pose as a problem if they were in a rush to get out of there. Amy gulped and took another drink from her wine glass, hoping that Luck would be quick in his little operation. She was already getting worried.

Harvey noticed Amy looking quite worried as the ship gave a small lurch upon its leaving the dock. He casually put an arm around her shoulder and gave her a soothing expression - outwardly like so, and under the seems a warning to keep her cool. They couldn't give anything away as it could lead to potential disaster if they were figured out now.

"Miss Valentine, didn't you bring some medicine for your sea sickness? It'd be in your cabin, yes? Why don't we go there and get it before this ship really starts rocking." Harvey ended his suggestion with a casual laugh that was seemingly well received by their company.

As they took leave of Mr. and Mrs. Wilcox, Harvey steered Amy through the crowd of party-goers at the bar toward the exit.

"Listen, it might not be in the original plan... but we need to find a viable way off this thing before Luck finished up." Harvey whispered low enough so that only Amy could hear him.

Luck continued on his way to the second location. Reaching his destination, he planted the C4; however before he could move on, a familiar lurch sent chills down Luck's spine. They were moving out to sea. Luck gulped - they were supposed to make sure they were off the boat before it took off. This made things worse. Any viable escape route was suspicious and anyone with two brain cells to rub together would figure that something was afoot if they abandoned ship.

Moving on to his task, he just hoped the others had a plan on how to get the hell out of here when he got back to the mid floor level. Pushing such thoughts to the back of his mind, Luck got back to work. Noticing a guard walking the same direction as himself as he patrolled this portion of the lower decks, he halted just as Luck shot him in the head. He probably had just heard him, too.

Turning around to ensure he was not followed, Luck hid the body much like he did the rest of the poor guards. They were dropping like flies. He noticed just then, as he was hiding the body, something in his peripheral vision caught his eye. Lifting his HK45 so that it was level with the man's head, he turned to view the intruder - he was an engineer present on the ship. He stared in understandable shock at Luck.

"I'll keep this short, lad. You don' work for these 'ere crooks and politicians, don't che?"

The man slowly nodded, noticeably quivering in fear.

"Good, good. You're lucky I don't like innocents gettin' killed. Alright, 'eres the plan. Given the situation I should probably shoot you and save you the pain of death-by-C4, but I'm feelin' nice. You take yours engineer friends and get off this ship whichever way you can, discreetly. Dun let any guards or guests know you and your mates 're abandonin' ship either. I'm setting this thing to blow to god almighty and I'm sendin' any guests here straight to bloody 'ell. Now I've got a question for ya."

The man's eyes indicated both shock and relief, however he settled for not talking - a cock of the head sufficed.

"I hate snitches more than ah lotta things. I could kill you now 'n save me the trouble of trusin' yer arse. Give me one good reason I shouldn't have to."

The man spoke in a quivering voice, stating "I have no connection with anyone here. Please - I know this sounds cliche but I have a family. I swear to god I won't tell anyone."

"Enough for me. May I suggest you invest some time into looking for less hazardous occupation choices? Run along. Don't let me find out yer lyin' or I will hunt yer arse down." The man ran off in a hurry - he understood the gravity of the situation, probably. He only hoped that his namesake would hold true and this was a good call. Moving onwards, Luck sighed. The guards probably deserved the same chance as the engineers, however it was harder to persuade an armed man, naturally.

Amy listened to Harvey, nodding. He was right, they just needed to calm down and figure out what they'd do after the C4 was planted. There was nothing else they could do. If they gave themselves away right now there would be no way Luck would get out of the lower deck alive.

"Let's go out on the open deck and catch a breather, okay?" Amy said casually as they exited the main room. As she expected, this didn't garner much attention. Many people went outside to smoke or talk privately. There was simply nothing strange about it. Amy turned to him.

"No one should be able to hear us quite clearly out here," she said. "You're right about this, though. Our original plan is gone. We've got to improvise. The most obvious course of action is to take one of the escape boats on the side of the ship, but there's no way we'd go about that without attracting attention."

There wasn't a real good solution to all of this. Amy couldn't think of one, at least. They could, of course, blow up the ship when on-board. They could be revived right after, of course, once Avalon fished for the bodies. But no one wanted to face that. That was a last resort action only. Amy would rather go out fighting than that. Besides, there were rumors about the backside of dying so often in this form that made Amy shiver at the thought.

"Do you have any other ideas, Harvey?" Amy asked, shrugging. "Mine is that we take a boat and motor away and hopefully avoid enough bullets before we get killed. It's not a good plan, but it's the only thing I can think of."

Amy admitted that she wasn't a good improviser before. She was better at following a set plan than anything. Things going crazy like this tended to get her all anxious and upset. If Harvey or Luck didn't have any ideas, they'd just have to take her risky plan. On the note of Luck, Amy was hoping he was almost finished. There was no chatter from him yet on their com-links, so he was either dead or doing exceptionally well.

Harvey thought for a moment. Being a sniper, patience and improvisation seemed to come naturally to him. Perhaps it was a talent of his before he died. Scratching his chin he walked with Amy toward the bow of the ship. Leaning on the rail, he looked to her with a sudden grin. He had an idea... but it was risky.

"Listen, Luck is setting those C4 charges around the ship. If he's as smart as we're willing to bit, he's also making them well hidden. Hidden enough that they could be in plain sight. This means we aren't in such a rush to blow this ship. I think we should do this the old fashioned way - by the cover of night. I'm willing to bet this ride is a cruise of some sort... and we all have cabins for a reason. I think we should wait for night to come, escape by boat and the cover of darkness, and detonate this tub when we're far enough to watch the light-show. Not only will our chances be better at night, the guards will go through shifts, and naturally less armed guards will be skulking around at night - especially on deck." Harvey explained. "This is the safest alternative to your plan, Amy."

Harvey could only hope that he was right after all. He wasn't sure that this was a night cruise or not... truthfully he had no idea. But then, what use was it to have cabins and bunks if people were not going to sleep aboard the ship? All three of them saw guests boarding with luggage of some sort - this wasn't a one day thing... it couldn't be. If worse came to worse, they'd just have a shootout on their hands, but if this worked, their lives wouldn't be in such danger.

Finding the remaining places to hide his C4 was an easy enough task. Guards were surprisingly light in this sector, something Luck was both thankful for and suspicious of. Why would there be so few guards? He had not had much trouble hiding the bodies, since there were so few of the guards, however a thorough inspection would probably make other guards realize that something was no doubt amiss. They'd have to get off this boat and fast so that their cover was not blown, however Luck presumed this was not an option. He just hoped no one noticed a lack of guards returning from their shifts.

Wrapping up on the lower decks, he found an exit inconspicuous enough not to be guarded, quickly exiting the lower levels before he could be discovered. This exit in particular placed him in one of the less monitored parts of the ship - this must have been the section of the ship that housed the cabins of all its visitors. Brushing himself off he walked through the halls, finding his way to the outside. He'd originally wanted to get to the main area, but this would do.

He soon was glad he ended up where he wanted to - he noticed Amy and Harvey speaking privately nearby, probably concerning the mission. It was a relief that he found them - he was concerned he'd have to start asking around, a very risky choice for him. Walking over to the two he attempted to hide his concern as best he could possibly do so.

"What the bloody 'ell is goin' on, guys? Look, I had to take down some guards meself, so some lad is going to be bloody confused tonight, or tomorrow if we're lucky why most, if not all their guards patrolling the lower decks are playin' hookie for their shift. I hope one a' you blokes got a plan before I continue my side of the mission..." Luck lingered, obviously both concerned and somewhat agitated due to the unfortunate turn of events.

Amy nodded listening to Harvey. They could easily sneak out at midnight once everyone was gone. There would be a few guards to take care of, but with their kind of training, that wouldn't be much of a problem.

"We'll go with your idea then, Harvey," Amy said, nodding. "I think it will be safest that way. If they find anything and go into high alert, however, we're going to have to get off this ship fighting."

Luck appeared soon after this discussion, looking slightly agitated. He apparently was successful with planting all the C4 and had to take care of a few people on the way.

"Glad you made it back alive, Luck," Amy said, smiling, despite all this. "And don't worry, we've got something figured out. We're going to wait until midnight and then sneak on one of the side boats before we blow this thing out of the water. By now, it's the best plan we have. We'll all head to the same cabin to wait it out. I certainly hope it works..."


A few hours later...

Amy, Luck, and Harvey sat together in the tavern. Midnight had just come around and by the sound of it, the whole ship was shut down, no one else even awake. Amy stood up, taking her pistol out of her jacket and putting a suppressor on it. She threw her jacket off, as it was extra weight, wearing only a white tank top underneath. Amy checked the magazine quick, noting that it was fully loaded, and slid it back into the gun.

"Let's get ready to move," she said. "This is our only chance."

Amy carefully slid the door open to their cabin and rolled out, aiming both ways down the hall to check for guards. She motioned for the other two to come out.

"We have to go down this hall to get through the kitchen, and then through the main room where they were having that party. There will be guards there no doubt. Once we get through there, we'll be outside on the deck. Stay sharp. Harvey, you take point and lead us on through. We'll back you up."

Now that night had finally fallen, the ship sailed in still waters - or at least as still as the ocean might be. Harvey stayed up the entire night, cleaning his gear in the cabin alongside Amy and Luck. They were all silent, thinking many thoughts likely - how would this mission go? Would there be any issues with the escape? Luckily, Harvey grabbed his sniper rifle from where he hid it before or they might have had trouble indeed should a night guard decide to go poking around.

One thought occurred suddenly to Harvey as he finished cleaning his pistol and shoved in a full clip. Flipping on the safety, he looked to his comrades, and finally breaking their meditative silence, he spoke.

"Perhaps it would have been smart to disengage the ship's alarm system... it would've helped with our escape from here soon..." He said. "Either way, it's far too late for that, we need to just be a bit more careful with our shots... not that we can't shoot to kill." Harvey ended with a smirk.

When Amy slid the door open and they went out into the hall, Harvey was made point advance. Grabbing his HK45 from its holster, Harvey set off down the hall, keeping close to the wall at his left and slightly crouching in a squad-style approach. Getting to the corner, Harvey fished out his suppressor and twisted it onto the barrel of his pistol. Glancing down the next hall, he could see a guard approaching. Just as the guard got to their corner, Harvey swung out his arm with all his strength, smashing it into the man's throat.

Hushing the guards audible gagging sounds by placing his hand over the man's mouth, he pressed the muzzle of his pistol against the back of their skull at the nape of their neck, and squeezing the trigger he fired. The gun made a dull thump as it recoiled. The guard collapsed dead on the ground.

"Let's go..." Harvey said as he moved down the next hall quietly.

Luck was the last to exit the room, silencer already attached to his HK45, checking behind the two as the progressed through the hall silently. He was never one for stealth, instead enjoying the racket of actual battle and explosives, however this was what most missions would likely call for, so he may as well get used to it. Given the general quietness of the mission and his choice to guard the rear, it gave him a chance to speculate over their future.

They were basically immortal; for as long as they worked for this company, they could evade death without so much as a flick of the wrist. They were indestructible. However what happened when they were left behind? No longer required? Would they be spared, let go to live out a normal life beyond the bounds of some mercenary corporation, or would they be instantly killed, their use exhausted, making them nothing more than a liability?

It was concerning, brooding over what may happen to the 3 of them, however what more did they desire? They'd lived out their lives already, they in all honestly shouldn't be alive. However they were human beings, and human beings disliked being slaves. The only thing that got in the way of possible hordes of undead revolting and reliving their lives, from what he could discern, were dead-man switches-- Heh --that made the dead, well, dead.

However, this was a topic for a different time, when they had the free time to speak with each other privately. As quickly as he lingered, Luck launched right back into reality, concentrating on the mission at hand given his short meditation. Luck preferred it this way - he didn't feel like a man to contemplate much.

Harvey took out a guard swiftly and silently as they went down the hall. There were no guards around it seemed, so Amy nodded for the advance, heading into the kitchen of the ship. The swing-out style door pushed open quietly, luckily well oiled, and Amy passed through behind Harvey, Luck following closely behind. The entire room was silent, not a guard in sight.

The kitchen was rather average for a high class ship, pots and pans hanging about, a few counters with stains from meat that had been cut. The walls were made of simple iron, no effort made to make them look a little more attractive to the eye. As Amy advanced, she suddenly noticed a guard leaning against a counter. She froze in her step, as she was nearly in his sight, until she realized that he was fast asleep.

Amy didn't waste any time. She silently stepped up to the man, taking out her knife. With fluid motion, Amy thrust her hand over the guard's mouth and pushed his head back on the counter, slicing his throat with her free hand. The gurgling was slightly muffled, but it still made a sick sound. The dead guard slumped against the counter like a broken toy, his eyes rolled into the back of his head.

It did seem brutal, but it was merely strategy. If the alarm was raised, it'd simply be one less guard to take care of. It was a pity, but it had to be done for the sake of the mission, and that was really all that mattered to Amy. At first she had been a bit afraid of killing, but now she knew it was just something they had to do to survive. Amy wanted to live, and this was the only way to do it.

Amy led them out of the kitchen finally into the main room that they had entered when they first arrived. The door slid open and she quickly ducked behind the cover of a few tables. Popping her head up, she noticed that there were four guards in the room total, each spaced out a bit and in the general four corners of the area. She looked to her two comrades.

"Act on your own discretion," she said to them, making sure her pistol was ready. "I want them taken out quick and clean. Do not take any prisoners, do not raise any alarms, and do not get shot. Those are my only orders. Let's go."

Harvey looked to Amy and Luck, nodding at her orders. Thinking about their situation, he knew the best way to go in was silently and with the utmost precision. Loading his HK45, he readied his finger upon the trigger.

"Amy, flank right. Luck, flank left. I'll take the center. We'll converge at the exit at the other end of the room." Harvey suggested as the plan for action.

Moving quickly and quietly, Harvey kept himself low as he moved down a short flight of stairs and onto the main landing of the open room. Quickly, he crouched behind a small atrium garden wall that stood around the room. Between the dark form of the plants, he could see the two guards at the center pacing about their duties. He knew that soon shots would be fired from both ends of the room. Leaning against the wall, he aimed his pistol through the plant and shot the nearest guard facing away from him in the head just as the second turned to walk away.

Jumping from behind cover, he could hear noises at both of the other ends of the room. He was confident that Amy and Luck were executing their own targets with ease. The last guard of his turned and with shock and went to pull out his own sidearm. Harvey was too quick and had already shot behind him and locked the man's neck in an arm. Shoving his HK45 into the man's back, he pumped in two rounds - one into the spine, and the other for the kill. The front of the man's chest exploded outward as his last bullet penetrated past his spine and out through the ribs hitting the wall with a large spatter of blood. Letting the limp body fall to the ground, decrepit and spent of life, Harvey advanced for the exit.