Luna on the Run (The Carmsborough Vigilantes #1)

Chapter 3

Freckles and I descend to the docks in our hijacked ship. A horde of people surrounds the damage I caused with the laser beam. The ships behind us are a stone's toss away, but clearly letting us land instead of tearing us apart with bullets.

"I think I messed up, Freckles." Fear pricks at the corners of my eyes, and my arms are permanently tensed. Adrenaline's coursed through my body too many times today, and I can already feel myself winding down again.

Freckles doesn't even spare the energy to reply. We both understand how bad of a situation this is.

And, unlike every other situation I've been in, I can't just run away. Even if I do manage to escape the scene somehow, there'll be cops and mobsters looking to hunt for me on every street in Carmsborough. It wouldn't be long before I'd be caught.

How do you explain that to the cops? "A mob boss was chasing me, so I stole one of his airships and tried a technology I didn't understand as a last-ditch effort to avoid death, only to find it would vaporize an entire portion of the Commerce District?"

For that matter, how would I explain this to the mob boss? 'I wanted to exploit you for money, and when that didn't work, I took the nuclear option?'

I'd get off easier with the cops.

I shakily land the ship, barely making it to one of the cloudship docks. There's no way for me to tell if anyone's waiting for us outside, but I can almost guarantee there is. I look at Freckles. Even though he has no way to show emotion, I can tell he has the same somber weight looming over him as I do.

"Let's go, bud. If it's the mob that meets us at the dock, we have to go out swinging. If it's the police, I want you to find yourself another best friend. Maybe next time, meet someone who isn't getting into trouble every day."

"Meow."

I offer my hands again, and he leaps onto my shoulders. Friends 'til the very end. If we weren't about to walk into certain doom, I'd probably cry.

We climb the stairs and brace ourselves for whoever's waiting for us on the dock. By now, the enemy ships should've also had a chance to dock, so we'll for sure get visitors at some point.

"Meow."

"I realize that. I'm not looking forward to it, either."

I peer off the deck of the ship for a split second. There's... only one person, standing in anticipation. He's wearing a bright red business suit with fuzzy white accents, a red tie, a white button-up shirt, and a Santa Hat to top it all off. His left arm is resting on a cane, which he's pivoting back and forth in front of him in a wide motion.

"Hello?" I call, staring at the man.

"Well, I don't have all day," he says, his accent different. Australian, or maybe New Zealand. I don't know the difference.

I cautiously step off the ship and to the dock, Freckles as suspicious and attentive as I am. The stranger has a smile on his face, with no sign of hostility.

This is confusing.

"Who are you?"

"I am your ticket out of this mess, young girl. Please, come walk with me, and we'll talk."

I have no reason to trust this guy. Actually, I have negative reasons to trust this guy, with my number one reason being the fact that none of the mob boss goons have made their appearance yet, even though I can clearly see that their ships landed.

"Fair enough," he says, noticing my lack of movement. "I understand that trust is a difficult thing, especially to those who have to fend for themselves. Let me tell ya, kid, you've made some pretty powerful enemies today, you realize that?"