Mister Please

[Rain Gunji]

A hard crimson flashed in a burgundy sky and heat rose up in sheets to kiss the city's miserable residents, the sound of punk ass wannabee rappers seemed to feud with a Heavy south of the border mariachi, it only pissed off the dogs and I could hear them howl for relief, but all and all the night was slow a heist here, an attempted murder nothing really out of the ordinary.

I wondered briefly how Sky was doing across town, but the thoughts were pushed away as quickly as they came, she could take care of herself. I watched from my vantage point on top an old hotel, it'd be a crack house soon enough, the bike rumbled between my thighs and I took a deep breath. I was a hunter all I had to do was wait and the game would come, it would show itself soon enough. I wouldn't get anywhere jumping the gun like some nut job.

[Emily Atrefos]

The streetlamps weren't enough with their little islands of light to stop crime in the Bowery. Most of them were shot out and the rest were easy enough to avoid, only making the shadows harder to see behind their immediate glare. Sarta and Big Tony sat in the police cruiser, sharing a pack of donuts without taking their attention off the door they were watching. An hour had passed. It would be a long night.

"Think we have enough evidence to get him yet?"

Sarta glanced at his partner, but Big Tony only shook his head. "You know these types of jobs, Atrefos. Stake-outs take bloody damn near forever."

Sarta smirked and grabbed the Shipley's bag back. "Doesn't hurt to complain every once in a while. No PSP, no playing with the police scanner or radio. We're running on sugar and caffeine and planning to stay up a full twenty-four hours, as needed."

"Boo hoo," grinned Tony, snatching the bag after Sarta took two donut holes and popped them in his mouth. "C'mon, peacock. This could be it."

This could be it. No matter what else he may say that night, Sarta didn't mind any moment trying to get this guy.

The two partners sat in silence for a while. The heat of the early summer night made their uniforms stick to them and the leather seats after the air conditioner had brought condensation too heavily on their windows. Dogs barked. A baby cried somewhere high in the apartment building. Traffic rumbled and the heavy beat of rap and mariachi made the humid air around them pulse with the rhythm. Somewhere in the cruiser, a fly buzzed.

Sarta felt his eyelids growing heavy when something opened his door and yanked him out of the cruiser.

The officer landed on the sidewalk with a thud and was instantly hit with the car door. Aside from his own pain, he could have sworn he noticed the sound of his partner's grunts as other assailants kicked him on the ground. Sarta tried to stand up. He was bodily thrown against the car and smashed into the side mirror, face first. It took all of his training and resolve to elbow his attacker in the ribs and throw himself backward. The two men fell in a heap. Sarta grappled with a man half his age who was reaching for the crowbar that fell out of his hand.

Big Tony was still on the ground on the other side of the car. Sarta punched his attacker in the face and felt his hands grow hot. He was subconsciously reaching for the fire inside that gave him his nickname among the few that knew something was different.

His wings couldn't exactly be hidden by his uniform.

"P-Phoenix!" Big Tony rasped, and was swiftly hit again.

Sarta grabbed the crowbar and melted it, but more hands were grabbing at him.

He needed help. Now.

[Rain Gunji]

A lone city squad car? Why the hell would the city just toss one car out into the Bowery Wasteland? Why would anyone send out a city cop car and just leave it out in the open with hardly any protection or disguise, even if this was a stake out it didn’t make much since the figuratively wave your arms and say ‘I’m a cop, I’ve got my eyes on you.’

I decided to keep an eye out for the car, but a ruckus sent me to the ally, drug dealers… I wish they’d all shoot themselves in the face. Holy Mother… Sarta, he was, wings… fire? I ran as fast I could Big Tony was on the ground, he needed help most Sarta was up at least, that meant he had more of a fighting chance I grabbed the man, the thug I mean by the shoulder and spun him around so I could slug him right in the nose. Big Tony better be alright damnit or there would be hell and a half to pay.

[Emily Atrefos]

Sarta was backed against the car. All of a sudden Sarta felt the hands let him go and he sagged forward, but he turned it into a grab at one of his attackers and twisted until he heard cracked bone. The attacker screamed. Sarta slammed him to the ground, still feeling the fire inside him threaten to rise again. He'd broken the man's arm, that was good enough. He wasn't going to burn him, too.

Of the three that started running, two of them turned around and tried to take swings at the half-shadowed figure that had caused their sudden panic. The third kept running and made his getaway. Sarta was finally able to see the rest of his surroundings as he pinned Broken Arm to the sidewalk; a man much larger in height and muscle mass was kicking the blood out of Sarta's partner. The police cruiser, actually an old one that had been painted over and gotten the lights taken off the roof as a cheap way to make an undercover vehicle, was now so full of dents in the doors that they would have to be replaced.

[Rain Gunji]

I stepped fully out of the shadow with a smile and I ducked one so I could block the other with my forearm on reflex or maybe it was instinct I countered with with a right hook on one. I hoped Sarta was faring well enough to get to Tony, the big guy needed some help. If it was me I'd rip the car mirror off and try to bash the big dude in the head, it'd take him down easy.

[Emily Atrefos]

Sarta dislocated Broken Arm's shoulder and handcuffed him to the car, grabbed the melted crowbar from the sidewalk, and slid over the hood of the vehicle. The big guy hitting Tony didn't see Sarta coming, but felt his feet in his back and the sharp pain of being hit over the head with a twisted piece of metal. He went down quick.

"Tony, hey man, are you all right?" Sarta knelt by his partner. Big Tony sputtered and coughed up a little blood, wiped his mouth and grunted in pain. He was banged up something fierce, but it didn't look like anything an EMT couldn't fix.

Sarta glanced back at Rain and stood up, still prepared to fight. Broken Arm was gasping on the other side of the car, and the two that had turned to the Red Fox didn't look like they would stay in the fight long.

[Rain Gunji]

I growled, this was a waste of time. Quickly I worked to knock out the thugs, when I was satisfied that they wouldn't be getting up again I ran to Tony. "They did a number on you Big Man." I smiled softly to him, I was glad he was alright. "Atrefos! You good?" he looked like he'd live but it never hurt to make sure. I looked around these punks would be put away for quiet awhile I would let Sarta do his job. "I'll call an EMT, you should go on ahead and cuff these fuckers."

[Emily Atrefos]

It didn't take long. Once Sarta had the unconscious thugs handcuffed in the backseat of his car, he turned to look at Broken Arm, still unable to move, gasping in pain. "Hold on," Sarta told Rain. "Something's not right."

The cruiser hadn't been obvious, so why the ambush?

Sarta knelt by Broken Arm and glared at him. "All right," he said. "Talk."

Broken Arm just kept gasping for air.

That wouldn't do. Sarta clenched his jaw for a moment and glanced around at the shadowed buildings around them, wondering if anyone else was out there watching. If they were, he couldn't afford to have a bullet hit his would-be informant's chest. He had to take him downtown.

So Sarta shoved him in the back, too.

"Red, could you do me a favor?" He asked. "Maybe look around for any other suspicious thugs like these before you take off? I have to go put these guys on the books."

[Rain Gunji]

I nodded. "Sure thing, I'll make another go around the neighborhood." I moved off back into the shadow and started my last go before heading home, long night I needed some sleep before work tomorrow.