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Chapter 27
By Agent Havoc
Lydon was laying down , face on the pavement with Darian’s boot putting pressure on his back. He clenched his teeth to give him more courage and to motivate himself to think of think of a brilliant way out of this situation.
« Nakano, barked Lydon, You’ve read the damn file on your sister’s death, you know as well as I do what happened then. Why the hell do you think that I killed her? »
Nakano bent down and looked at the detective straight in the eyes.
« Because I saw It in your eyes then, John… because I can see It in them now that you are simply trying to save your neck now by lying , as you did then. »
« You tried to shoot me in the back you cowardly little piece of crap. » said Phoenix in anger « I’m going to have my way with you after all this. »
« Well, I believe you have quite a situation on your hands detective Lydon », declared Darian bluntly « I suggest you have a change of attitude before your esteemed colleague here, or mine gets triggerhappy… If they do, I won’t be able to stop them unless you help me out a little bit here by telling me… »
From then on. Everything else that was said to Lydon by Nakano, Ashley or Phoenix Mark was a blur in his mind as every single survival instincts in his body screamed at him to get out of there. The question was simply how. In his right sleeve was a small handgun wich would be accessible to him with a simple movement of the wrist, much like the one Ashley had used when Nakano showed up a few minutes ago. Three bullets, three targets. These cards were awful but he simply had to take the gamble or risk losing everything.Now all he needed was the right timing to take these three clowns by surprise.
As fate would have It, the sound of a cell phone ringing was heard and Darian released the pressure of his foot from Lydon’s back.
He lifted his head to see that both Phonix Mark and Nakano were looking at Darian who was reaching for the cell phone in his pocket. This was obviously his cue.It was now or never. John rolled quickly towards Darian who was reaching for his phone in his pocket. Milliseconds seemed like an eternity, forest green eyes met icy blue eyes once more. Darian lifted his gun towards John as the detective flicked his wrist rapidly. His small gun in hand, both Darian and Lydon pulled the trigger at the same time. The disturbing sound of gunfire would have been heard in normal circumstances but the blood roaring in his ears prevented him from hearing anything. He felt Darian’s bullet hit the pavement right next to his left ear and saw the scarred hunter fall flat on his back. No time to gloat about a victory, one down, two to go. Only two bullets left also. Phoenix Mark was already shooting at him but his aim was was way off. Obviously, the red headed hunter was cluded by anger and wasn’t concentrationg enough. As for Nakano, he was still in shock. Lydon lifted his gun and decided to shoot at Nakano before the man could recover. Phoenix would be even more in a state of shock when he’ll see the sargeant fall. Got up in a quick movement as his gun was aimed straight at Nakano and he pulled the trigger. The bullet hit the officer aquare on the chest and he also fell on his back. Two down, one to go. Only one bullet left. Lydon could take aim at Phoenix Mark, he felt a force penatrate his shoulder and pushing him a few feet back and eventually pushing him enough to fall flat on his back. And then there was a burning sensation in him. The feeling of burning lead was never a welcome one but he knew by experience that It. He lifted his eyes to see Phoenix Mark taking cover and still shooting at him.Lydon knew that there would be another time to finish off the short red headed hunter. And went back to his feet and started to run away from the alley, with bullets hitting the brick walls around him.
Phoenix Mark emptied his clip and cursed under his breath as he saw the detective get away. The cellular phone was still ringing in Darian’s jacket as the scarred hunter was laying there on the pavement, flat on his back. Phoenix decided to go check up on the cop before checking up on Darian , simply because the cop was closer. To Phoenix’s surprise, the cop was still breathing. And he wasn’t even wounded.
« What hit me? » said the man in uniform as he started to stand up.
« Nothing! » replied Phoenix Mark « The only thing that was hit around you was your badge! »
Both men looked at each other for a moment and looked at Nakano’s badge. It was dented...It had obviously repelled the bullet.
The cell phone stopped ringing
« Talk about luck! » laughed Nakano nervously
Yeah « , answered Phoenix pointing at Darian « But I don’t think our friend over there was quite as lucky . Lydon was aiming for his head .»
It was then that Darian started to move, followed by a loud moan from the scarred hunter’s part.
« Don’t think you’ve gotten rid of me that easily Mark. » said Darian softly as he started to get up, caressing the back of his head. « I managed to dodge Lydon’s bullet but lost my balance doing so… Knocked myself out on the pavement in doing so… My head is still ringing…»
Phoenix smiled for a moment. Well, maybe Lydon hadn’t won this shootout after all, he probaly thought by now that both Darian and Nakano were dead and that would certainly give them an edge in this little cat and mouse game.
« Well sergeant, I don’t know about you, but Phoenix Mark and I really have to get going… » said Darian still rubbing the back of his head « If you want to join us, you are welcome too, but It would mean throwing your career away. On the other hand, It would also mean that you’d be fighting the good fight here. You might even be able to settle the score with the good detective if you come along with us. I don’t have time to explain now but If you come with us, I’ll explain on the way. »
Phoenix Mark’s heart skipped a beat.
« You can’t be serious! » spat out the red headed hunter « Inviting a cop to come with us? »
Darian looked at Phoenix with a mocking grin.
« I’d feel alot safer with him as a companion than with just you… »
« So what do you say sergeant Nakano? » asked Darian extending his hand.
At that moment, the cell phone rang again.
« Excuse me for a moment sergeant. »
Darian reached for his cell phone and answered.
« Yeah? »
The phone was ringing but there was no answer. Knowing nothin better to do, she lit up a cigarette and started to to take a few drags on It. It was an extremely bad habit, she knew and Darian had asked her many times to stop. But it did help her out relaxing in these stressful situations. After a dozen or so rings and no answer, Anika kicked the phone booth in frustration and hung up violently. The sound of the coin being returned to her rang in her ears and she realised that she was losing her temper. She took another drag off her cigarette and dropped it to the ground, crushing it under the sole of her shoes afterwards. She had to stay calm. She was way too short tempered at times for her own good. She took back the coin and inserted It again in the videophone, punching another number. Two rings and an answer.
« Hello » answered Talehn on the other side.
« Talehn, It’s Anika, how are things going? »
« I’m preparing myself to go to the Central hospital with Kuri and Mikan, call back in half an hour… »
« What? » asked Anika, trying her hardest to control her temper « No way, you stay put… »
« Negative, Anika… » replied Talehn « I’ll explain later on, a life is on the line here. »
Those words calmed Anika down immediately
« Alright then Talehn, but be careful. I want you back in one piece prettyboy. Take my briefcase with you, there should be quite a sum of money in there should you need any, but whatever you do, don’t lose the briefcase, we still need that file on Cisia as well as that money. And do take good care of the kid, will you? »
« Will do Anika… Talk to you later… »
And with those words, Anika hung up. This very complicated affair was getting harder and harder to control by the minute.
She punched in Darian’s number again.
This time It only rang twice before Darian answered.
« Yeah? » answered Darian in his usual cool tone
Her heart started to beat faster and faster as she heard his voice. The joy she felt was as nothing she had ever felt before. Any trace of anger that had been in her dissapeared. But of course, she had to contain herself here.
« Darian, you’re alright? »
« I’m fine ‘Nik, how about you? »
« Good enough, however, the J-10 wore off and Dalasius has possesed Cisia. Dalasius is on the loose right now and i only have two syringes left. »
A moment of silence happened and Anika could hear Darian breathing on the other sie of the line.
« Alright, listen carefully Anika, I’ll be heading down to the safehouse right now to get more J-10 and I’ll page you again from there to see where you’re at… »
« My pager is broken Darian! »
« Alright, then give me a rendez-vous point, I’ll meet up with you in an hour. »
« Meet me in the alleyways in front of the Core in an hour then, Darian. »
« Will do, I’ll be there with a friend, maybe two. Are you still with Talehn? »
« No I’m not, but he’ll probably be there by the time we meet up. »
« Good, I’ll see you later then ‘Nik… If there’s anything, call me on this cell phone number. »
« No problem there… It’s good to hear your voice again Darian… »
« Same here Anika, I’ll see you later. »
As she hung up, she felt a feeling of peace fill her. Darian was safe and she would be reunited with him in an hour. As she got out of the phone booth. Anika started to walk around, hoping she would find tracks that would lead to Dalasius/Cisia soon enough. It would be much less complicated If she managed to capture Dalasius before Darian and his « friends » met up with her. Walking around, thoughts of her pat came popping up in her mind, from the days when Merrit showed her how to survive in the streets of the Central District, to her travels with Darian, getting into countlessadventures and making alot of money, to her return to the District and her career as a Professional hunter. She considered herself as someone who has led a very full life and was quite happy for It. If she were to die in this whole situation, she wouldn’t mind because she had many friends who loved her and has had fun even If many tragedies had been put on her since the day her parents died, leaving her to become a child of the street. She had seen more than most people see in a whole life and she knew that she truly ha lived freely her whole life. On the other hand, If Darian died, she though, It would be such a shame. The thought of him dying horrified her. The man had only truly lived for the past seven years. Before that, he was constantly in training to become the perfect Genetically Engineered Corporate Raider. From the day he was born till the day he escaped when he was 22. Darian was a slave, a tool for someone else’s will. He tasted freedom for real since he escaped and was now living life as It was meant to be. That was without any doubt why he was against killing so much. He cherished life and wanted to preserve It at any cost, having done his share of killing in his days as a Raider. Anika didn’t like to kill either, having done so only once, but she knew she would do It to save her life, unlike Darian.
Anika’s flow of thoughts were cut suddenly when she saw a very fammiliar reddish glow a few blocks away. She drew her gun and took out one of the two remaining syringes and walked towards the glow.
« GO AWAY FATHER! » screamed Cisia frantically
Byrce saw that Cisia was extremely confused and seemed to fight something in her head. She was shouting out incomprehesible words to someone that simply wsn’t there and the officer felt ignored by her. Cisia was obviously in a world of her own right now and reality didn’t seem to matter to her, only the reality that was in her mind seemd important enough for her to react. A little nervous, Byrce looked at Paula, who was also shaken by the this horrible sight. Paula was obviously not enchanted to see a schizophreniac (or someone who had any other mental disorder here) in a crisis. Perhaps mental diseases didn’t exist on her home planet. He would have to ask her afterwards. Byrce stepped back for a moment and saw with a great sense of surprise that Cisia was starting to have a red aura forming around her .
« What the… » before Byrce could finish his sentence, he felt a force lifting him in the air and flinging him straight at Paula who caught him.
. The force of the impact threw both the Law Enforcement Officer and the armored alien a few feet back and into a few garbage cans filled with trash. As Cisia was floating in front of the two of them, with pitch black eyes. Byrce felt a lump form in his throat. Weird things happened tonight and he was going to end his life probably in the company of an alien and killed by a glowing red floating young lady, What a way to go.
It was then that he saw a long haired young blonde woman behind the floating girl with a syringe in one hand and a gun in the other walking with stealth towards his attacker…He recognised her as Anika Jansen, one of the most hunted people in the city tonight…
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