Raising her voice, June tried diplomacy. ‘Everyone, calm down! This is no way for you to beh–’ A bottle came sailing toward her and she raised her hand. The bottle shattered against her shield.
In front of her, a red-faced man with blood streaming from his nose felt the impact of glass shards and beer on his neck and turned, swinging. ‘Shut the fuck up you–’ His fist also smashed into June’s shield and he cut off in a yelp, shaking his hand.
June frowned at him. ‘That is quite enough of that,’ she said. She raised her voice again. ‘Everyone is going to stop this. Now!’ She stamped her foot to emphasise the point, but it was not that or her tone of voice which brought the room to sudden stillness. A wave of golden light expanded out from her, enveloping everyone in the room briefly before fading away, and everyone it touched stopped in their tracks. Peace descended upon The Four-Leaf Clover for a second or two, and then someone at the back started crying. Seconds later, the people who had been fighting were sobbing, loudly proclaiming they did not know what was going on, or apologetically helping other ex-combatants to their feet.
The man with the bruised knuckles gave June a sheepish look. ‘Uh, sorry. I don’t know what I was thinking. I mean, I tried to hurt you! Why would I do that?’
‘Don’t worry about it,’ June said, turning and walking back out of the building. The two men the cops had cuffed were no longer struggling and even the police officers looked a little bemused. ‘Well,’ June said, still not sure what to make of it, ‘that was unexpected.’
~~~
‘You can turn crowds into pacifists?’ Penny asked. She was grinning: June had still looked weirded-out when she told the story.
‘Apparently,’ June replied.
‘That would appear to fit with your theme, June,’ Denny said. ‘Astraea was the herald of the return of the Greek Golden Age, bringing peace and justice to the world.’
‘I hadn’t thought of that,’ June admitted.
‘Well, we know who we’re sending in to handle brawls from now on,’ Penny said, still grinning. ‘When does it wear off? Do you know what your range is?’
‘Maybe fifty feet. More than thirty for sure. They were still talking like hippies when I left so… Not sure when it wears off. Maybe we could call in the morning and find out.’
‘I will make a note to do so,’ Denny said. ‘I believe the main issue with this ability would be the need to be among the fighting before triggering it.’
‘That’s why I want to know how long it lasts,’ Penny said. ‘It’ll probably take both of us to get June into position in a bad fight. I could probably come up with a counter, but if I did get hit with a sudden desire to become a Buddhist monk, I’d like to know when I’ll be able to hit people again.’
June giggled. ‘Can girls become Buddhist monks?’
‘I have no idea.’
‘Technically,’ Denny said, ‘that would not be possible. Monks are always male. There are the equivalent of nuns, however. So, Penny would need to become a Buddhist nun.’
‘Always good to know,’ Penny said.
‘You’d better not,’ June replied. ‘I have a strong feeling that Buddhist nuns are celibate, and you are not going there.’
Hong Kong, China, 25th October.
Méilǐ lay sprawled on the bed beside Midnight, exhausted. The little dancer had done a good job of tiring Midnight out too, which was impressive. The fact that Midnight felt ready for sleep meant that Méilǐ would be receiving a little extra in her pay packet this month.
Midnight had been watching 8G sites for a week now and there had been no sign of anyone attacking, or even of people watching, the locations being guarded. It was as if the mysterious saboteurs knew Midnight was keeping watch. That was simply impossible. Unless there was someone inside the triad providing information…
Shrugging aside the thought, Midnight turned over and closed her eyes. She had to take a break at some point.
~~~
Andrea opened her eyes and turned her head, checking on the cute Chinese girl lying beside her. The girl’s name was Méilǐ. She danced at the club Midnight had taken from the triad. Along with the triad might be a better term. Midnight liked the girl because Méilǐ was quite willing to indulge in a few activities which Andrea considered to be well past her comfort zone. Midnight, it seemed, had more or less no inhibitions. It sort of made sense: Midnight was not really human.
Slipping out of bed, Andrea went to the closet to get something to wear. There was Midnight’s ‘working’ outfit, but Andrea was staying away from that for now. Black jeans and a T-shirt would do fine: no one was going to see her anyway.
Dressed, she pulled the shadows up around her and shifted her perception toward an apartment block in Kowloon City. It had taken her a while to get used to the changes in her powers. She had done a little theorising over the last week, while Midnight kept her night watch. Midnight was a direct expression of the Shadow Andrea had absorbed back at Schatten Schloss. Perhaps finally gaining permanent access to a body had changed things. Perhaps the proximity to the cosmic energy burst from Naryan Tan’s ship had altered how the magic expressed. That seemed like a question for Doctor Ultimate or Viviane. Or both.
Whatever, the way things worked now was fantastic! She could see more or less anywhere there was shadow or darkness. She had been tempted to go searching for one or two people, but… It was better that she kept things local while she only had temporary control. She was strong enough to take over when Midnight slept, but not otherwise. For now, that worked because she did not want Midnight to know what she was up to. Especially tonight.
A thought had her physically entering Leung Gāng’s apartment. There were three guards here, plus the man who kept the triad’s money. Tonight, Leung was going to die. It would not cripple the 8G, but it would make Midnight look even less in control.
Ignoring the two guards on the bedroom door, Andrea shifted herself into Leung’s bedroom. It was after four in the morning and the accountant was asleep. He was, in fact, on his back, snoring loudly. Andrea shook her head: that was going to have to stop. Pulling her fist back, she braced one knee on the edge of the bed and slammed her fist down into Leung’s throat. The snoring cut off in a choking noise and his eyes snapped open. He made a grab for her, but she pulled the shadows up around her again and his fingers passed through nothing. Phasing back into reality, she slammed her fist into his throat again and the choking noises stopped. His fingers brushed her arm briefly and then he stopped moving.
That was when the door burst open and the two guards swung into the room with drawn submachine guns. Andrea shifted deeper into the shadows, becoming little more than an awareness. The guards took a second to really appreciate what they were seeing, and then they opened fire. Bullets riddled the headboard of the bed, the mattress, and Leung’s body. If there was any chance of the accountant surviving, it was now entirely gone.
Andrea swept back to Midnight’s bedroom, checking that Méilǐ was still soundly asleep before she began to undress. It would not take too long before someone came to tell Midnight that Leung was dead. Poor old Midnight was not going to get as much rest as she had expected when she took the dancer to bed. Served her right for being evil.
~~~
Midnight marched out of her bedroom with a scowl on her face, still fastening a short robe around her waist. ‘This had better be good,’ she said in English.
‘Leung was killed last night,’ Billy said.
‘How?! What were his guards doing?’
‘Whoever it was, they got into his bedroom without being seen. There were two men on the door. None of the windows were open. His windpipe was crushed. The guards say…’
‘What? They say what, Billy?’
‘They say there was a cloud of darkness over Leung’s bed. Then it just vanished and there was no one there but Leung.’
Midnight frowned. ‘That’s impossible. That’s… When?’
‘Around four fifteen.’
; ‘Well, I was in bed, asleep. Méilǐ is still in there. She would’ve known if I went out to murder an accountant. There shouldn’t be another like me, but… But there could easily be someone with similar powers. The attack was purely physical?’
‘That’s what the guards are saying. Crushed windpipe.’
‘Put the word out. We’re looking for an Ultra. Someone with the ability to teleport and hide in darkness. Probably has martial arts skills too. This time, I want this person found. And I want them alive.’ Turning on her heel, Midnight started back toward her room. ‘I want to personally make their life a living Hell before I kill them.’
28th October.
Midnight was dancing again. Topless, she hung on the pole and watched the upside-down world of the club, taking in the tiny shifts in its ecosystem. Things were not going well. People were tense, worried. Even the customers who were not 49ers were picking up on the tension. Traffic and profits were down: people were getting the impression that the 8G had lost it and they were staying away.
Part of the problem was that the other triads were starting to think that the 8G was not as powerful as it had been under Kuàng. Billy had become really good at playing the part of Dragon Head, but he was acting. He followed Midnight’s directions and some of the other gangs had figured some of it out. They did not seem to have worked out just how much power Midnight wielded, but the fact that Billy took advice from a foreign woman had got out and it left an impression of weakness.
Then there were the members of the 8G. The ones who had actually seen Midnight at work feared her and what she might do if someone tried to oust Billy, but the information that someone with powers very like Midnight’s had killed Leung had been widely disseminated: there were those who had begun to believe that Midnight was working against the 8G. Midnight had heard the rumours and the explanations for her duplicity varied. Some thought she was an undercover hero working with the state police. More thought she was just straight insane.
There had been no more incidents since Leung’s execution, but Midnight knew she needed to get everything wrapped up soon. If she did not, someone was going to try to wrap it up for her. Probably terminally. She was quite sure she would survive any such attempt, but it would be really bad for business. That would not do.
30th October.
Midnight stepped out of the elevator on the parking level of her apartment building and scanned the cars and concrete for any sign of trouble. Nothing. She raised a hand and waved for Billy and the two 49ers with him to follow.
Things were getting bad in the city, hence the increased security. Around the city, various 8G 49ers had found themselves on the wrong end of a baseball bat, a length of scaffolding pipe, a number of fists and boots, and a couple of bullets. No one had claimed responsibility. No one had been identified. Midnight doubted that it was the mysterious, shadowy hero, however, because random killings did not fit their MO. No, this was another of the city’s triads attempting to weaken the 8G.
Leading the way to the car, Midnight considered her options. To use an annoying common metaphor, there was blood in the water and the sharks were circling. She had three options, as she saw it. One, fend off the sharks as they moved in for the kill. Two, drop a nuke on the sharks, wipe them all out, and hope the fallout was not too bad. Three, take out a few specific sharks as a lesson to the others. She liked the last one best, but it needed the right sharks. She was starting to consider who those sharks might be when six men stepped out from behind parked cars, all of them brandishing assault rifles. They were using Type 81s, probably stolen from the military at some point. They were technically obsolete as far as the Army was concerned, but that did not reduce their lethality.
One of the men was apparently the leader because he noted the inaction in his targets and opened his mouth. ‘The New Peace Society hopes you enjoy Hell!’
Midnight inwardly winced, but she was happy enough to have the time to pull the shadows up around her just as the bullets started flying. Billy, who had developed a very healthy sense of self-preservation ever since meeting Midnight, was already flat on the floor. The two guards died as they reached for their weapons, of course, but that was your average thug for you. Midnight was going to have to deal with this herself.
The first stage was the fear. She had them in her darkness and she allowed the fear to take hold as she slipped her revolver from its holster. Three of them went down in dead faints immediately. One let out a wail and stood there, shivering and wide-eyed. Another shrieked at the top of his lungs and began madly firing his rifle while the last looked shocked but was still capable of cogent thought. That last one began to back away, presumably hoping to find some light to work with.
Raising her pistol, Midnight fired at the one who was trying wildfire as a tactic. The heavy slug punched a hole in his forehead and then ripped the entire back of his skull out. Her aim shifted and she put a second round through the cautious one’s heart before the first had finished falling to the concrete. That left one standing, so she put a round in his chest and then, her shadows drifting away as she moved, she walked between each of the fallen men, putting a bullet in the back of each one’s head.
Midnight looked around as Billy clambered to his feet, glancing sourly at the two 49ers. ‘So, the New Peace Society,’ she said.
‘They’ve been trying to take over Eight-G operations for about the last five years,’ Billy said. ‘If they thought we were weak in any way, they’d try something. This is… a bit more than their usual attempts.’
‘Their mistake. I want the troops ready to move tomorrow night. By Sunday morning, the New Peace Society will all be at peace.’
31st October.
To Midnight, it seemed appropriate that it should start on Halloween. China did not really celebrate the festival, but Hong Kong had been British for long enough for Halloween to be something more than an amusing excuse to dress in silly costumes in the big cities. Not that the silly costumes were lacking, but the clubs and venues of Hong Kong went a little more all-out. Even the Midnight Dancer was offering free admission for those making a reasonable attempt at a costume.
Midnight’s combat gear would have fitted in with the clubwear on show in some of the more reputable places around the city. The bouncers might have balked at allowing her in with all her weaponry. Not that they could have stopped her, but they might have at least tried. The place she was actually going to was a gambling den owned by the Xīn Píng Huì, the New Peace Society. The place was a real classic: there was a door in a back alley with a little panel set into it through which the doorman looked to decide whether you should get in. With six men behind her, Midnight walked up to the door, rapped twice, and waited. The panel slid back and a pair of eyes looked out, right into Midnight’s black ones. The doorman let out a shriek, stumbling away from the door, and Midnight’s shadows followed him in. As the second wave of terror washed over him, he fell to his hands and knees, tossing up whatever was in his stomach, and Midnight had to step carefully to avoid slipping in the mess. Turning, she undid the lock on the door to let her people in, and then she swept on into the club.
Triad members and gamblers looked up as the wall of darkness swept down upon them. From the depths of the black, Midnight’s voice could be heard, echoing hollowly. ‘Happy Halloween, fuckers!’ And then the killing started.
~~~
‘We won’t get all of them,’ Billy pointed out.
Midnight was poring over a map of the city hung on the wall in the backroom at the Midnight Dancer. It had red and green pins stuck in it. The green ones marked Xīn Píng Huì locations which had been successfully targeted. The red ones were those yet to be hit. There were substantially fewer red pins than at the start of the night.
‘I know,’ Midnight replied. ‘We’ll make what’s left entirely inviable. It will be a lesson to the others.’
‘It’s going to draw attention to us.’
‘I’m sure it will, but the police have been warned. They’ll stay
out of this. None of them will be hurt and they won’t feel the need to step in.’
Billy paused, considering for a second or two. ‘I’m not sure I’d be so confident.’
‘No,’ Midnight replied, ‘I’m sure you wouldn’t be.’
1st November.
Midnight swept through the upper floors of an office block in Kowloon City. She was alone having decided that the primary stronghold of the Xīn Píng Huì would take too many men to attack. So, she was not using men. On the floors below, ten shadow demons were busy taking 49ers apart. If her own people had been down there, the demons might do as much damage to them as to the Xīn Píng Huì members.
The upper floors still had plenty of 49ers, but there were also higher-ranking members up here. They had come in to secure the building and their boss when it was clear that the 8G intended to destroy the Xīn Píng Huì. That had been what Midnight had hoped for and expected. It put the remaining upper ranks in one place where she could get to them.
Her sword flashed out, carving into the chest of a man too scared by the darkness around him to use his handgun. Her pistol spoke, blasting open the skull of another man. They were like wheat to her, and she was the reaper. Men fell around her, her shadows sweeping ahead to make it easy.
Climbing the stairs to the top floor, she went through the fire door behind a wall of blackness. Bullets hammered into the walls and door, passing through her without leaving a mark. She materialised in time to carve up the guards and moved quickly on. Their Dragon Head was here, and Midnight meant to find him. Then he would die, as simple as that. She ploughed ahead, her sword swinging and her pistol speaking when she wanted someone to die at range. She was heading for a corner office, the one furthest from the fire escape. She knew the man she wanted was there because she had seen him earlier in the night. He was panicked, scared half to death even without her shadows. That was why she had left him until last. It was almost six a.m. now; the leader of the Xīn Píng Huì had likely been expecting to die soon for almost twelve hours.
True Dark Page 17
