PART 139

How the good doctor could have missed this bit of news is a testimony of how busy he had been those few weeks. Of-course he once heard, a vague report of a member of the Drones team being in intensive care. But the exact details of what had happened, he failed to note, at that time.

But his companion filled him in on, an overview of what had happened after the sporting event....that evening.

At some point he turned towards the room's entry point. On the right side to the door was a couch, to which he walked to and slumped down on.

''Zain Goodfallen and Norbert Townsend, what exactly is the connection ?'' he asked as he stretched out on the couch.

''At this point all I have is the instruction from the millionaire; Barnaby Townsend to investigate the social connection between the two,'' M.G. Wesley answered.

''But you are also interested in the gunshot incidence.....I take it ?,'' Uli Yang enquired further.

''Quite so my good man,'' was the tacit response.

PART 138

At this point Geenie and a number of the other players were already on the floor of the bus lying down to avoid whatever gunshots that maybe going their way. But it was too late for three of them who were in the front of the bus. Two had sustained injuries and the third: near fatal wounds.

Drago Vitelli had been gravely injured by a single shot to the thorax.

PART 137

Less a hundred minutes after the Drones team had showered to wash off the smell of physical exertion they had taken their various positions in the official bus set to head off to various destinations. Or at least most of them had, when a man in a dark blue hoodie abruptly broke away from the exiting crowd and fired a number of shots at the general direction of the bus.

Of-course there was a stampede, and it was a stampede in confusion. No one person could safely say what direction was the safest to run towards.

PART 136

The fatigue one feels after an intensive game of XC8 is second only to the exhilarating feeling one gets from winning the same. The day was a good one inspite of the facts. Drones came up a close second to Boomers' lead, but Geenie tied the first spot for highest goal scorer with the first offensive of the Boomers' team.

After the playing event, it is more or less routine for the rest of the day, or it would have been, had not the turn of events taken a more desperate trend.

PART 135

It would be anyone's guess, I reckon: the motives and objectives of the gun man who had chosen an open and crowdy place, as open and crowdy an area as the Arena is. To consider the audacity of such brashness is to overlook the genius behind such an attack.

It is quite easy to ingloriously shoot at someone as people come out of the Arena and then in the confusion that ensues make an unhindered getaway.

This thought got the good doctor pondering with interest; what it is that had happened on the said day; that he had managed to miss, all along.

PART 134

Knowing M.G. Wesley, the good doctor refrained from saying a lot. He expected his friend would articulate further the bare elements of the investigations he was undertaking. Instead he asked, yet again, if he had been priviledged to have watched the pre-final XC8 matchup that was held in the Lightening Arena some months ago.

''The Boomers won that one,'' Dr Uli Yang said.

''Yes, yes,'' M.G. Wesley responded,''but were you in the Arena or elsewhere close to it on the said day ?''

''If I recall correctly, I actually was in the vicinity of the Arena but not quite close to it or inside of it.''

''So you must have heard the gun-shot ?'' M.G. Wesley asked again.

''Actually I heard much later there was a shot, but on the said day I never heard any such shot.''

''I heard a fellow who fired a flare gun was arrested,'' the doctor added.

''No, no this gunshot was a real gun fired within the surroundings of the Arena's entry points,'' M.G. Wesley explained.