Leila of the Concrete Jungle [Book Three]

Spar

  Sighing, I rubbed my neck while walking to the living room. I was tired, achy, and hungry and there was a big ass alien in my house. Staring at the bastard as he sat on my kitchen island, he was casually eating a packet of lunch meat and the refrigerator door had been left wide open.

  Closing my eyes, I sighed again before opening them.

  "Why are you here, Kv'var-de?" I questioned, closing the fridge after grabbing a beer. A series of clicks and noises answered me, and I looked at the alien as if he was an idiot as I opened the bottle. Tossing the cap onto the counter, I leaned back against it. "You know damn well I don't know what that means."

  "Hunting."

  "Hunting? For who? You've been killing nothing but gang members. Mostly mules and weapon dealers." His head tilted back as he dropped another slice of ham into his mouth. Well, at least he was still just as ridiculous as I remembered. I wasn't sure if that was a good thing or a bad thing. I mean, before he had literally hung me upside-down from a tree as bait without giving me a heads-up, and I really didn't want to do that again. "You gonna answer me or keep eating my food?"

  Kv'var-de looked right at me, his face hard to read due to his facial structure being so very different from a human's, and he shoved more ham into his mouth. Rolling my eyes, I took a drink from my beer.

  "Okay, fine. Why are you here, then?"

  "Was in the....neighborhood." He paused as if searching for the right word to use.

  "Oh, don't I feel special. Checking up on little, ol' me?" I popped off, taking another drink while Panther came over and rubbed up against my legs. "You know I'm a cop, right? I should arrest you." I could tell from his eyes that he was looking at me like I was stupid. "Yeah, I know, dumbass. Can't really pull up to the station with you in tow."

  "You couldn't even if you wanted to."

  "That a challenge?"

  "Too weak."

  "If I'm too weak, how'd I get blooded?" Raising my eyebrows at Kv'var-de, his gaze drifted to my shoulder and it sounded like he scoffed. "Look, asshole, I survived back then. I may be weaker than you, but that doesn't make me weak, you steroid junkie-lookin' motherfucker."

  "....Mother....fucker." He mimicked, and I cracked while snorting. "Motherfucker." He repeated again, practicing the word to get the hang of saying it. 'Look what you've done, Leila. Taught the alien another curse word.'

  "Okay, look, you taking out all these gang members is really helpful and all, but you killing so many people is bringing a lot of attention to yourself. You should just find whoever you're looking for and then leave." I stated before downing more beer. "They think you're another gang moving in and joining the war." Kv'var-de laughed.

  "I'd win."

  "Yeah, you'd win. You're a giant ass alien with high-tech weaponry and years of combat experience. Can't really compare to that." Making a face, I pointed at him with my bottle. "That's not the point, though. You have the FBI after your ass now, and they may not be able to find you but they can find me while trying to track your ass down."

  "You'll be fine." He set the now empty lunch meat container onto the island, and I scoffed.

  "We're not out in the woods, Kv'var-de. We're in the city, and you can't just kill everybody." I paused. "Okay, maybe you can, but you shouldn't." I paused again and my shoulders slumped. "Hold up....you don't actually have a certain target, do you? You're hunting for a new prize, aren't you?"

  "Bingo." He pointed at me, mocking a phrase and gesture he had seen me do before.

  "Oh, you're going to give me a migraine."

~

  "Why are you still here?" I sighed while walking through the backdoor to the small, fenced-off yard. Chittering came as a reply as the big guy followed me outside, and I began to stretch. "My place isn't a hotel for you while you're on your little hunting vacation." Grumbling, I popped my spine while leaning backward, then bent forward while stretching my legs.

  "Spar." Kv'var-de simply said, and I looked at him to see the alien taking off some of his gear.

  "Spar? With you? Are you crazy?" He took off his mask and laid down his weapons, fully intending to go hand-to-hand with me. "I'm not in the mood to get my ass kicked, thanks."

  "Come on."

  "No."

  "Weak."

  "I'm not."

  "Weak ooman."

  "Excuse me, but I'm not a freakishly strong alien."

  "Puny. Feeble. Scrawny. Frail. Delica-"

  "Shut up, oh my-"

  "Flimsy." He poked at my arm, and I smacked his hand.

  "I know you're just trying to get a rouse out of me."

  "Weeeaaaaak." Narrowing my eyes, I swung my fist, hitting the big guy right in the gut since I couldn't really reach his face. Kv'var-de paused, and then the next thing I knew my ass was in the grass. Oh, that was gonna hurt in the morning.

  Scuffling in the backyard, I could tell he was going easy on me while my clothes and knees were getting covered in grass stains. Kicking his ribs, Kv'var-de grabbed my leg with one hand and caught my punch with the other.

  "Too predictable." He spun on his heel, tossing me further away from the house. I grunted when I hit the ground, but the impact wasn't too hard since I had landed in the flowerbed. Scrambling to my feet, I ran right at the big guy, and he braced himself for impact. I jumped to kick him in the face, and his head jerked to the side, but I wasn't done as I twisted in the air and kicked again with the back of my other heel.

  Taking my chance while Kv'var-de was trying to regain his composure, I bent down and grabbed his ankles, standing quickly to pull his legs out from under him. I felt him fall, heard it too from how heavy he was, and I dropped down onto his chest. Grabbing his wrists, I held them down by his head and grinned.

  "How's that for 'predictable'?" I panted, feeling the hot sun beating down on my back. The alien was just quietly staring at me, making me wish I knew how to read his facial expressions.

  Kv'var-de easily lifted one of his hands, flipping me over to switch our positions as he pinned me down.

  "I am at a severe disadvantage here." I huffed, and the big guy chittered. "Am I allowed to tap out?"

  "Tap....out."

  "Admit defeat. Submit." I explained, catching how his brow briefly twitched up at the word 'submit'. "You win, is what I'm trying to say. Now can you let me up?" Licking sweat from my lips, I didn't even try to struggle. I knew Kv'var-de could keep me down no matter what I tried. I was unarmed and nowhere near as strong as he was.

  Kv'var-de backed off and let me go as he was kneeling in the grass. Grunting as I got up, I gave a sudden war cry and tackled the alien. Look, I was well aware of the sheer difference in power, but that didn't mean I wasn't going to at least try and make him think twice about calling me weak again.