Zero Sum

Not A Mark/Potential Clients

"Stand aside, don't make me fight seriously"

"..." he could not speak, what happened just now, he wondered to himself. It was a chore to even try to move for himself from this dirty deserted street corner.

"You cannot even stand up can you? Why bother struggling just stay down." The proud Rock continued. He was very much an unassuming young man. But the officer could not deny that he was getting much more than he had bargained for.

"I have more than enough fight in me left to take you out." The officer blurted out. An empty gesture. What had just happened, he thought to himself. One minute I am tackling this thug and the next minute...

Before the officer could retrace his thoughts Rock interrupted, "Look, I don't have a reason to continue, this is a waste of time for both of us."

"I won't stop until one of us is dead." Trying to buy some time, he needed to figure out just how an unassuming nobody had gotten the best of one of the galactic patrol's finest.

"Well see, that creates a bit of a dilemma for me then." Rock continued, he had no reason to stall. Despite the officer being much better equipped, none of his fancy weapons and tools had prevented him from being downed by a single perp.

"So does that mean you are finally going to fight seriously?" Replied the officer. How was it, he wondered, that I swung at him with my graviton club, but it was not him but me that ended up floored?

"Don't flatter yourself," Rock had to be blunt now.  He was weighing his options it seemed, whether or not to eliminate the officer for good, or just carry on his way as he had been doing, "this fight is beneath me."

No, there was the officer's code to consider. No backing down allowed. He had stood in Rock's way because he had fit the description for an armed robbery that had taken place within the last hour. He steadied himself now before he replied, "For such a supposedly good fighter, you sure do spend a lot of time talking."

Rock brushed aside the officers taunt and continued, "Try to understand my dilemma first. Since you seem determined to stand in my way."

"I would die before letting you get away from me now that I have you..." The officer was speaking intensely now, there were potentially deadly consequences to officers who let suspects get away.

"Right, right," Rock waved his hand in dismissal of the threat, "you mentioned that already twice now."

"Then we are wasting time talking." The officer tried propping himself up using only his legs. His upper body ached like he had been dropped from a ten story building.

"Let me finish." Rock interjected. "I have no problem with your rushing to be killed."

A profound understanding came upon the officer, he really could die here. He responded, "So we understand each other." Again trying to will his body upwards, but his arms and especially his throbbing head would not cooperate.

"But, to be frank," chimed Rock "killing you would be a waste." He spoke as he held an elbow in one arm while resting his chin on his palm, as if he were deciding on what to order for lunch.

"I'm not giving you that choice. And there is no way I would ever make a deal with you." It felt like the painkillers had finally kicked in. They had been injected into his blood long ago. And were preprogrammed to be released only in the case of extreme injury.

"Allow me to rephrase," Rock now started pacing back and forth looking almost absentmindedly, "killing you would be a waste yes," he nodded, "but because there is no price on your head, that I know of at least," Rock continued pacing and now looked into the sky, as if he was looking at an invisible wall of wanted posters, "as such your death right now means a potential loss of a payout for me in the future."