by Jack Parker
"Makes sense." Daisuke shrugged.
We walked toward it slowly, and I knocked on the door tentatively, one hand in my jacket on the grip of my pistol. The problem was that I was breaking several rules here. One; don't approach an uncleared doorway directly. Two; don't knock on the damn door, and three; don't find yourself in the position that you would need to anyway, and the first two broken rules aren't a problem.
I had a touch of good sense come in and I stepped lightly off to one side of the door, as Daisuke took the other.
Turns out my paranoia was warranted.
The old rusty steel door whooshed open and a smallish man popped out like a pissy leprechaun from hell; the muzzle of a shotgun precisely where my face had been seconds ago.
And now, our next move was a work of art in itself, I must say.
In one clean, economical movement, I twisted the sawn-off shotgun from the man's hands, while Daisuke grabbed him by the shirt collar and hefted him to the dirt. He fell with a yell and a grunt and a look of confusion.
"What the hell is this about?" he demanded from the ground.
I couldn't repress the grin that stretched over my face. "Rodney Cooper?"
"Yeah, what the hell do you want, Pryor?" he squeaked, glaring up at the two of us.
Hm. No need for introductions, then. "What are you answering the door with one of these for, eh?"
"Apparently I need to protect myself, don't I?" he muttered indignantly.
"Aw, come on. We're not going to hurt you. I just wanna ask some questions." I crossed my arms over my chest and smiled at Rodney. "Why don't you stand up and we can have a chat?"
Neither of us held out a hand to help him up, but he probably wouldn't have taken it anyway.
"If you would, please." Daisuke added.
Rodney glared up at us suspiciously before hauling himself to his feet, grumbling. "Well, I suppose if you wanted me dead, I would be already."
"Now, why would I want you dead? Have you done something to wrong me?" my smile disappeared quickly.
"No, I haven't, which is exactly why I'm wondering why I have the… pleasure of speaking with you right now."
"I was told you might know something."
"Well hell, woman, I know a lot of things, but it doesn't mean I need to get roughed up for it." He rolled his eyes.
"In our line of work, you need to be able to take a little beating."
"Example A?" Rodney sneered, looking my face over.
Apparently that wasn't a good idea on his part, because Daisuke had him pinned to the opposite wall by the scruff of the neck in three seconds.
Well then. I thought to myself, and then added aloud. "So maybe you know why someone's out to kill me?"
"Ach, get your monkey off me!" Rodney coughed.
"Please, Dai. It's fine."
Daisuke loosened his grip. But only a little.
Rodney glanced from me to Daisuke. "Do you even know what I do?"
"You handle the financial transactions of contracts." I answered smoothly, nodding.
"Okay, so you wanna know if I know who paid to have you whacked, right?"
"You catch on fast." I snorted.
"I didn't handle that contract, Pryor. There was a lot of money changing hands, but it had 'bad shit' written all over it."
"Why's that?"
"Because when you try to ice a good hitman, chances are the job won't get done properly, and the hitman in question's going to be pissed off and looking for revenge." Rodney shifted under Daisuke's grip. "As we can clearly see."
"Uh-huh. So who handled mine?"
"Lucky did. The guy's got no sense."
I smiled. This has been very helpful.
"Thanks a lot."
"Hey, look. No hard feelings, right?" he glanced at Daisuke more than he did at me.
"I think we're good. Hey, Dai, let's go." I couldn't repress a laugh.
I heard Daisuke growl under his breath before following me back out of the alleyway.
Once we were clear and on a much more heavily populated street, I nudged his arm. "What's up?"
"He shouldn't have spoken to you like that."
"Don't worry about it. I'm not concerned."
"Just irritates me." He grunted. I looked up at him, and couldn't restrain a bit of a smile. He was getting all indignant on my behalf. Aww. I feel loved.
"Relax. We have a concrete direction to go in, now."
"This is true." He was back to business. And rather quickly, I must add. That's Dai for you.
"So. Let's pay Lucky a visit, shall we?" I grinned, almost ecstatic that we were close to solving the mystery.
And I nearly allowed myself to hope. Maybe I had a chance at survival?
CHAPTER 7
Well, most of that hope kinda vanished when I heard the first gunshot.
Bang.
A small whizzing noise by my left ear.
Time instantly slowed to a crawl as I dropped into a crouch and whirled to-and-fro, searching for the source of the shot.
Pandemonium reigned, as the people on the street scrambled in alarm, screams shrill in my ears.
I think Daisuke grabbed me by the jacket and pulled me toward a car, just as the window shattered above us from another bullet that I never heard.
"Fuck!" I heard Dai hiss.
My head was spinning, as it had left a just decent dent in the car's door. But I momentarily regained my composure and focus and drew one of my pistols. My hands were shaking violently.
Damn adrenaline.
Bang.
My head jerked to the direction of the source of the sound. Above me… to the left?
Sniper. There's not much I can do from here with a semiautomatic handgun. Jesus, Mary and Joseph, help me out here.
My free hand clasped the two crucifixes around my neck, seemingly of it's own accord.
I peeped my head up over the edge of our makeshift bunker, trying to find the sniper when a bullet nearly removed my brain from my skull. Dai pulled me back down just in time, and kept a hand on my shoulder. Probably to suppress any psychotic urges on my part to move out of the safe zone. Thanks, Dai.
"Stay here." He muttered so quietly, I wasn't sure I heard it. But I sure as hell followed that particular directive; I wasn't planning on moving anytime soon.
My hands shook more, and my heart rate jumped. I was sweating.
Wait… I was sweating? That hadn't happened in a while.
Then I realized that if you looked me in the eye right now, you'd probably think I was about to piss myself. I probably was.
I was afraid. How long had it been since the last time I was truly scared? How long even, since I had not been able to do anything about a situation?
I was completely helpless, and that scared the hell out of me.
Where'd Daisuke go?
I cast around, staying behind the car. Looking for Dai. Looking for a way out of here. Something hit the side of the car I was sitting by, making me jump.
Nearly leaped out of my skin when I saw the dead guy flop over beside me. His neck was snapped. Actually screamed when Dai skidded to a halt on my other side, grabbed my hand, hauled me upright and dragged me away from the car.
"Just follow me, Grace," Sure thing, Daisuke. Anything you say, because you're the one in control of yourself right now.
Unfortunately, I wasn't scanning my surroundings as I subconsciously knew that I should, and that tended to get people killed.
So it surprised me greatly when a large black clad figure blind-sighted Dai, throwing them both to the ground; and Daisuke didn't get up. The other guy did.
I scrambled backward, raising my gun to fire at him, but he kicked upward quickly before my panicked mind could react; connecting with my wrist and sending the weapon clattering off to my side somewhere. I thought I felt a crack as I recoiled in pain and alarm, holding my arm to myself.
He dropped into an easy stance and pulled a knife from his belt.
Crap.
Befor
e I could do much more than blink, he swiped with the blade. I dodged it neatly. Good. I was still a little bit faster than he was.
Another swing, this time the knife nicked the shoulder of my coat and he added a sweeping kick to my knees, which I knew was a distraction, but it made me look down just long enough that he could come back with a vicious uppercut.
I'd barely thrown my left arm upward to protect my throat when the blade caught on my elbow and dragged upward to my wrist, ripping through the canvas of my coat and the skin of my arm as though it were gauze.
I backpedaled frantically, holding my mangled limb to my stomach, and he followed. I chanced a glance at Daisuke, who was finally stirring, there on the sidewalk. Come on, Dai. Get up. Please.
I was dripping blood on the pavement, and things were starting to blur around the edges. I swayed from pain and disorientation. But I'd stare down my assailant and fight back until one of us was dead.
We stared at one another for a moment, but I caught movement in the corner of my eye. Dai was stirring.
Lo and behold, Daisuke shook his head and rocketed to his feet, faster than I would have thought possible. He looked pissed.
Next thing I knew, Daisuke'd seized the man by the shoulders and run him into the concrete wall that made up the face of the building on one side of us. He hit it with a good meaty thump and fell still in a heap.
Dai seized my uninjured arm again and pulled me away. I couldn't really see where we were going, nor did I much care, actually. I trusted Daisuke.
I trusted him with my life.
At some point, I nearly passed out and fell over, but Dai threw an arm around my waist and half-carried me the rest of the way.
I think I saw some people on the street that shot odd glances at us or just plain stared. I guess we were a bit of a sight, too.
"We've got to get home." I vaguely remembered muttering. After all, this "Lucky" that we were supposed to be talking to was based not far from our place. Oddly convenient.
"No… if we don't get you bandaged up, you will bleed to death, Grace." He told me frankly, panting with effort.
That was roughly when my legs decided to give up altogether, and I blacked out. I vaguely remember being lifted and actually carried. Not sure what happened after that.
Waking up… I could sort of hear some background noise, a shuffling sound, and a… sigh of relief?
"Graaaaaaycieee…"
A slightly taunting voice that I couldn't quite identify cut through the haze that was my mind. And I was met with a face that I couldn't quite identify, either.
"Hi there, sleepyhead." The face got clearer, more distinct. Olive complexion, grinning face, chocolate brown eyes. That all too familiar lightly accented Hispanic voice.
"Well, since you're here, I suppose I'm not dead." I managed to croak.
"Not quite. Welcome back, Ghostie." Her smile widened.
"So… why are you here, Julie?" my eyes were dry and didn't want to open, but I got them wide and alert with a little effort.
"What are you on, Grace? I live here." Julia snickered with mild amusement, giving me time to look around.
Holy hell, I was lying in my bed. Under my covers, and… in different clothes. Hm. Interesting.
"How long have I been out?" I asked with mild curiosity. "Because I really don't know how I got here…"
"About a day or so…funny story, actually." Julia laughed again, but this time, it was forced. She looked off into the distance, in the general direction of my door.
"I don't recall it being that funny, to be honest," I mumbled. I noticed something odd in Julia's expression. What was that?
She didn't say anything for a while. "You know… I thought you were dead, when Dai walked through the door… both of you covered in blood, and all of it yours… and I thought about something." She turned her head back toward me slowly, and I saw… tears. Threatening to well up in her eyes.
Had I ever seen Julia cry?
She continued, her voice distant, sad. "You were always the stronger of the two of us… you know that? You were the one who actually… did it, when Kendall was going to kill us. You were the one who helped me adapt when we needed to. I wouldn't have survived, if not for you, Grace."
"I was just too much of a coward to die." I spat.
"Doesn't matter. I always depended on you. Always." Julia just barely smiled, a little rueful quirk to one corner of her mouth. "And I started thinking, when you couldn't leave the little girl… I thought, you know… she's still human. She still feels something. Not like me. I'm just numb… there's only really one person that I care about in this entire world… and I feel so empty, you know?"
Julia blinked, and one single tear fell down a dusky cheek. She wiped it away impatiently. "You feel something, and I guess… you help me feel a little more human, too. And then I thought… you were slipping, not able to do your job… something was bothering you. And when we can't function anymore, we're tossed aside. Forgotten."
"Julia…" I started, but she continued, her voice stronger, more convicted.
"When Daisuke walked in that door with my only real friend bloody and broken in his arms, my one thought was; If they've killed my Gracie, how long will I last? When I'm not strong enough to do this by myself."
"But I'm not dead yet." I quietly pointed out.
"You're not. But you were really close. And that scared me like nothing else has in my life." She straightened in her seat. "That's twice, now."
"Two close shaves…" I mused. Was it luck? Divine intervention? I truthfully doubted it. In both cases, there had been someone I cared about to bail me out when I couldn't crawl out of a hairy situation myself. And Julie called me the stronger one?
Right.
Julia was quiet, leaving me to my thoughts.
I can't do anything right; and I have another injury to prove it. What if I had been just a little faster… less afraid? Would any of this crazy shit happened? Why hadn't I noticed the sniper before? Why hadn't I been looking out the way I should have been?
"You don't need to worry about me, Julie. I'm fine." I muttered.
"You know… you say that, but you're the one lying there with a sliced open arm and half-dead from blood loss." She said in a slightly sarcastic tone. "Can't take my eyes off you for a second, can I?"
"Guess not." My voice got a little stronger.
She waited a few moments before continuing. "Well… Dai asked me to tell him when you woke up, so I'll be right back, okay?"
"Alright." I mumbled, watching her disappear through my door.
Only then, when she was gone, did I even notice the throbbing pain in my left arm. Since there was nothing else for my mind to focus on, it snapped to that. I wished it wouldn't.
I'll tell you one thing, too; it stung like a bitch.
Which reminded me; I tried to move my mutilated limb. It wouldn't, because it was wrapped tightly in several layers of gauze and Ace bandages, bent at a ninety-degree angle. So I could put it in a sling easily when I got up. Chances were, my arm would be useless for quite a while.
I didn't want to get up, either. I was feeling rather lethargic at the time.
Julia padded back in, Daisuke in tow. Dai was still in his clothes from before.
Apparently, I was a bleeder.
The front and side of his white t-shirt were splashed with great dark spots of crimson, and blotches of it stained his jeans, as well.
"Hi there." I gave a tired little wave with my right hand, which fell on top of the covers.
"Hey, how are you feeling?" Dai asked, occupying the chair that had previously been Julia's, and Julie perched herself carefully on the edge of the bed, smiling at me.
"Sleepy. And my arm hurts like a sonuvabitch, but I think I'll survive." I returned their smiles, and added an afterthought. "I've had worse."
"Bullshit." Julia half-coughed, half-laughed.
I chuckled. "You don't know."
"No, I have no clue. Lived with you for years,
but no, I have no idea." She snorted with derision.
"Such a smartass."
"But you love me for it."
I mock-growled, trying to look severe. "Maybe. Sometimes I can't decide whether to hug you or strangle you."
"There doesn't seem to be much danger of either, at the moment. I'm not concerned." Smug grin.
"Bitch," I laughed.
"Yep." She smiled wider.
Daisuke's soft laughter distracted me momentarily. I turned my head to look at him. "What's funny?"
"You two are," he chuckled. "You're so damn mean to each other."
"Oh, but we mean it with all the love in the world." Julia smiled at him.
"If you say so." He shrugged. "I'll just stay out of it."
"Good choice."
I interceded on Daisuke's behalf. "So… what have I missed?"
Julia shrugged. "Not much. Daisuke's been pacing a rut in the floor."
He looked away, said nothing. I waited a beat, looked back toward Julia. She was gone. How… nevermind. On to matters at hand.
"Thank you, Daisuke." I said, rather lamely.
"For what?"
"For saving me. I'd have been toast."
He met my gaze, his dark eyes flashing with something I couldn't quite fathom. "You don't have to thank me, Grace. I'm going to protect the person I love."
"I…" Wait…
What?
"Yeah, you heard me right." He interpreted my blank expression correctly.
"I did?" Was all I could think of to say. Conversation fail. "Dai… I…"
"Don't worry about it. You don't have to say anything." He was still smiling at me when he stood up and left the room.
I lay there in stunned silence for a few minutes before Julia padded back in, looking rather amused. She parked herself daintily in the recently vacated chair.
"Where the hell did you go?"
"Dai was sending off that 'I'd like a moment alone' vibe, so I decided it would be prudent of me to disappear for a moment." She shrugged. "Even though I know what this is about, already."
"Do you?" I chuckled, doubtful.
"I knew before you did, anyway."
