The Fifth Element

23

Cornelius and the Security Chief entered Fhloston Paradise’s Central Security Station together.

“You promised!” complained Father. Cornelius, who was leading the way—in handcuffs.

§ The Chief was behind him, holding a gun.

“I had my fingers crossed,” said the Chief.

Leeloo picked up the gold and ivory box from the floor where the Mangalore had dropped it.

Her eyes brightened when she saw the engraved icons of the four elements.

She was just about to open it—

When the door to the stateroom burst open! Zorg stood in the doorway, holding a ZF1.

“My compliments, little lady!” he said, his eyes quickly scanning the chaotic scene. Thank you for doing all the dirty work. I couldn’t have done better myself!”

His voice grew cold and the ZF1 hummed nastily.

“Now hand over the stones.”

Leeloo smiled and tossed the box to Zorg. Zorg fumbled, barely catching it—

And when he looked back, he saw Leeloo leaping high into the air. With one Olympic-class flip, she disappeared into the hole from which she had descended.

Furious, Zorg sprayed the ceiling with fire. Bratbratbrat!

The crawl space was dark, but the bullets raining through opened little points of light, like stars. Bratbratbrat! Bratbratbrat!

Leeloo danced from side to side, avoiding the bullets as she ran.

Bratbratbrat! Bratbratbrat! Bratbratbrat!

Zorg emptied his clip.

Bratbratbrat! Bratbratbrat! Bratbratbrat!

The door to the Central Security Station exploded inward, riddled with bullets.

A dozen Mangalores rushed in, firing their ZF1s.

“Nobody move!” growled Akanit. “We’re taking over this ship!”

The Security Chief hit the floor, Cornelus beside him.

“I hate to say ‘I told you,’” said Cornelius. “But I told you!”

Fog had stationed himself at the rear of the Concert Hall, where he could watch everything and still pear the Diva Plavalaguna’s magnificent song.

And a magnificent song it was.

She was taking her tenth curtain call and he was applauding wildly with the rest of the crowd, when— WHAP!

The door from the lobby flew open, knocking Inn off his feet and rattling all his dangling devices, Three Mangalores rushed into the Concert Hall. “Everybody down!” they shouted.

Then they started shooting, Bratbratbrat!Bratbratbrat!Bratbratbrat! The general alarm went off:

RAREARAREARAREA!

Zorg tossed away his empty clip. He was just about to reload his ZF1, when he heard a distant alarm RAREARAREARAREA!

The general alarm!

“I know this music,” he said, chuckling to him-

He loved chaos and confusion; and he knew how to add to it!

Reaching into his pocket, he pulled out a small

cylindrical device.

A mini-nuke.

“Let’s change the beat!” he said.

He stuck the bomb to the wall and flicked a tiny switch.

The timer started counting down.

30:00

29:59

With a sick, triumphant smile, Zorg put the gold and ivory box under his arm and ran out of the stateroom.

“Ladies and gentlemen!!” Loc Rhod shouted into his hovering skeeter-mike. “Something’s happening here!! I think we are being attacked!!”

“No shit,” Korben muttered softly.

Bratbratbrat! Bratbratbrat! Bratbratbrat! “The Concert Hall is crawling with armed aliens!” cried the excited DJ.

BuddhabuddhaBuddbabuddhaBuddbabuddhat! Fog’s security guards were firing back. Fog himself staggered to his feet, cuffs and chains clanking, and reached for his gun.

It was not in his holster!

He spotted it on the floor where it had fallen and dove for it.

He pulled the trigger.

Clikclikclik—

Jammed!

Fog stood up, trying to unjam his gun,when the Mangalores spotted his badge (or badges) and Bred.

Bratbratbrat!Bratbratbrat!Bratbratbrat!

The fusillade sent him diving through an access-door into a small storage room.

Bratbratbrat! Bratbratbrat!

BuddhabuddbaBuddhabuddha! Korben scanned the Concert Hall, trying to figure out which force was firing at whom.

Then it became a moot point.

The Diva was hit.

Bratabrat!

Once, twice!

She spun around, doubled over—

And fell off the stage, straight into Korben’s arms!

Korben lowered her to the floor, out of the line of fire.

Ignoring the panic all around, he wrapped her in his dinner jacket, trying desperately to stop, or It least slow, the flow of bright blue blood.

The door of the docking garage opened.

A ZFX200 rocketed out, speeding Phloston Paradise, into the high, white fluffy clouds.

Zorg sat at the controls, his scarred to a happy rictus of demonic joy.

He patted the gold and ivory box on the seat beside him.

“If you want something done,” he said to himself smugly, “do it yourself!”

Korben set the Diva’s head on the floor as gently as possible. Her eyes were fluttering…

Loc Rhod was crouched behind his seat nearby, rapping non-stop into his still-hovering skeeter-mike: “They’re hideous!! They’ve got a crest on their heads, the eyes of a toad, and fingers all over their hands. Totally hideous!!”

Half a galaxy away, in the President’s office, the assembled scientists and generals were listening intently to the radio broadcast.

“Totally hideous!!” rapped Loc Rhod. “Mangalores!” said General Munro.

President Lindberg had already figured it out “Send a battalion immediately!”

“I was sent by the government to help you,” Korben said to the Diva Plavalaguna. “I guess I blew it!” “Don’t worry,” the alien beauty whispered. “This is my fate.” Her eyes fluttered. “How was the concert?” Korben was shocked. She was dying and all she cared about was how the had sounded?

But why not? She was, after all, an artist.

“I’ve never heard anything so beautiful!” he said—quite truthfully.

The Diva smiled weakly. Already her voice sounded as if it were coming from far away.

“You’re a good man,” she whispered. “She was right to choose you…”

Korben thought he had misheard. “Who?”

“The Fifth Element. The Supreme Being. Sent to Earth to save the Universe.”

Korben was stunned. “Do you mean…?”

The Diva nodded. “Leeloo. You must give her the Sacred Stones. She’s the only one who knows how to use them!”

Bratbratbrat! Bratbratbrat! Bratbratbrat! BuddhabuddkuBuddhabuddha!

Korben looked up. The battle was still raging. He pulled out his gun.

“But she needs your help,” the Diva went on. “And your love. She’s more fragile than she seems.”

Korben crouched and blasted two attacking Mangalores.

They fell back into the cheap seats, screaming in pain.

“Yeah, so am I!” said Korben.

The Diva took his hand and pulled him back down beside her.

“She was created to protect life, not to live. If you want her to live, she must learn how to love. Her eyes closed.

The door to the Diva’s stateroom swung open noiselessly.

The housekeeping robot looked in, beeped twice, and trundled on.

On the wail, the little cylinder glowed and the liquid crystal counter turned over.

20:00

19:59

“You can’t die!” Korben said.

He slapped the Diva’s cheeks gently.

Her eyes were closed. Her gown was soaked blue with blood.

“We have the world to save here, remember? You hear me? Where are the Sacred Stones?”

Her eyelids fluttered. Just barely.

It could have been from Korben’s breath.

Orbit Achieved said the readout on the instrument panel of the ZFX200.

Zorg floated up from his seat. The little ship was so primitive—no faux grav!

But what did Zorg care? He had what he had come for! He grabbed the gold and ivory box that was floating nearby.

It was deja vu all over again.

Empty!

“Where are the stones!?!”

The Diva’s eyes opened one last time.

On Korben Dallas, cab driver, one-time war hero, now intent on saving the Universe.

She smiled weakly.

One last smile.

“The stones… are with me…”

And the blue blood flowed from her mouth, and she closed her eyes for the last time, and she died in Korben’s arms.

In the crawl space above the Diva’s stateroom, Leeloo clutched herself, in sudden indescribable pain.

“NNNNOOOooooooo!”