Dirty Work: Volume 2

Story One - Cravings - 4

I wandered back around to the front of the club, cursing myself. I'd let her get away, someone who had most obviously come into the club with several others with murder on her mind. How the hell could I have let her get away?

I entered in again and stopped. There were still others in the club. How stupid of me. They were in the crowd now, lurking like sharks in the dark of the shadows of the rocks. But maybe they could get out the back, whilst I was standing there looking in, the crowd jumping and dancing like nothing had happened. But then, if I went around to the back, what if they came out the front? I couldn't cut off both places at once.

As if to confirm my theory, from the alleyway I had just come from, I saw a flash of movement out of the corner of my eye running behind me. In fact, scratch that; I sensed them run past the entrance. I ducked out of the club and saw the flicking of a long black coat heading into a dark side-alley. I ran into it after the figure.

As I ran, the walls closing in on me as I dived into the alley, the towering windows of businesses close for the night on either side, with the Celestrian-blue neon lining the tops of the roofs and the edges of the gutters, I saw the red flash of her skin as her arm came back to pump. So that's who I was following, the girl who I assumed was Androssian, probably from one of the colder Androssian planets like VIII or IX. She was fast as well, and I felt myself already wishing that I'd been keeping myself in much better shape during the time I wasn't at the club.

From her waist she drew out a gun and blindly whipped it behind her to fire. I ducked down behind an old, clapped-out ruin of a Zoomus as the shot went over my head. For half a second I wondered if I could use the Zoomus to chase after her, but quickly decided that such an idea was a load of absolute crap. The thing was worse than a rust bucket, and added to that had got HyperGP stickers all over it supporting Horgrus, who, as I'm sure you know, wins every time. No way was I even thinking of trying to chase after someone on a Zoomus decorated to celebrate a pampered, whiny, spoiled brat of a racer. I'd sooner get shot.

The gun was lowered and I ran off after her. Having to hide behind the Zoomus had cost me precious time however, and she flicked around the corner and back towards the main street of the Area. I pumped, I tell you. I absolutely pumped my arms and legs with every bit of strength I had for all I was worth. My shoes kicked rubble out of the way and probably dug grooves into the ground behind me as I ran, my vision tunnelling in on her coat as I rounded the corner a few seconds after her, seeing her black shape against the dazzling lights of the main street beyond.

'Oh no you don't,' I said under my breath. She slowed to turn and fire again, but this time I kept running with my head down, praying that the shot would go wide, hoping beyond hope. It did, hitting a bit of rusted guttering three floors up that fell down to the floor with an almighty crash. She tried to fire again, but she should have turned and dived into the crowd. I was on her before she could take aim again, throwing all my weight onto her and knocking the girl to the ground.

My hands went for her gun instantly. She held on tight, her nails drawing blood from my wrist that was a deeper crimson than her flesh, but I managed to wrestle the weapon from her. I took it and pointed the gun at her forehead, straddling her on my knees.

'Right,' I said. 'You've got a lot of explaining to do, little miss.'