This late in the night, the streets were always as quiet as can be the moment you leave the Plaza. It was almost like there was a door separating the bustling center with the solemn concrete buildings beyond it. Once you stepped through the doorway, it closed off all sound to where all you heard were crickets and the sound of your own breath. And maybe, if your ears were keen, the soft footsteps of someone trying to creep along unnoticed.
My ghosts were trying their hardest to remain undetected, but when you’re searching for something, it’s almost always easier to find. A red moon was out indeed.
Pursuers were not a foreign topic to me. I’ve had my fair share when I was a teenager doing things befitting a teenager. Running was how I became so well acquainted with the Outer Districts. These particular tails perplexed me though. Not in their skill, but rather in how quickly they found me. The Plaza wasn’t exactly the easiest place to locate a person, especially during the heat of the night where you have throngs of people of various levels of drunkenness mulling about. Although, I was out for a lot longer than I normally am.
It was no matter. I began my usual winding route through the alleyways and streets, testing my pursuers. They seemed experienced given how they kept to the shadows and stayed with my every move. Three people from my count. The main tail switched between the three every few minutes. That meant gangs. The police wouldn’t bother with this; they would just attack me the moment they found me. They would shoot anyone that even looks like someone on their wanted list.
After a few minutes of playing ring-around-the-alleyways, I made my way to a small area hidden away in one of the various tendrils of the Outer District’s streets. It was a secluded little place, devoid of light as the sparse beams from the streetlights were halted by towering walls of metal and concrete. I melted into the darkness, watching the one entrance for my pursuers. They came not a minute later, slowly creeping in as they tried to make as little sound as they could. Their hesitant steps betrayed their blindness.
I waited a bit longer for them to tread further in before stepping out, silent as can be. The three were in a triangle of sorts with the two men in the front and the girl taking up the rear. I tapped the girl on the shoulder as I stood a few inches behind her. She whirled around, fists rising up, before freezing as she gave me a look of befuddlement.
“Good morning,” I said.
I could see the gears in her mind running as she tried to make sense of my words and the obvious discrepancy between them and the pitch black alleyway. In her confusion, I cupped the back of her head and drove it into my knee before slamming her to the ground. She let out a small groan of pain as she sprawled out on the concrete floor. Then she collapsed, her consciousness leaving her for the moment.
My actions alerted the other two people to my presence, both of them whirling around to find me standing over the body of their partner. The one on the right only had enough time to discern my figure before I grabbed his shirt and drove my right fist into his face, metal meeting against flesh. His head snapped back and he began stumbling away as I let go of his clothes.
Pivoting my feet, I focused on the final man. I leaned away from a swing, before uppercutting him in the ribs. His bones gave in, my fist going further into him than any fist should. As he doubled over, gasping, I elbowed him in the temple, knocking him out cold. I only needed one person.
The man I hit in the face was regaining his bearings as I grabbed him again and gave him a small love tap in the head. Taking a closer look at him, it seemed that I broke his nose given the way it was bleeding profusely. That was unintended.
“I have a few questions,” I said to him, holding him up by the collar of his shirt. He groaned in response. “Who sent you?”
“Fuck you,” he said in what was probably intended to be his intimidating voice, but given his broken nose, it didn’t come out quite the way he wanted.
“I’ll ask you again, unless you prefer I kill you right now. I have no problem with that,” I replied. I grabbed his jaw and turned his face towards mine. “Now. Who sent you?”
I could see the fight in his eyes go out as he stared at me. He could tell I wasn’t bluffing.
“We from the Sunbreakers,” he muttered.
That, of course, I already knew. But if he had lied, then that would have told me he needed a few move knocks on the head to get the message through. Luckily for me and him, he had a working survival instinct.
“Good. Besides you three, who else have you sent after me?” I asked.
“A couple groups. Blue jackets, too, I think. At least, that’s what I heard. I didn’t go look for myself. Don’t make it a habit looking for blue jackets.”
I stared at him, watching him squirm and shift under my gaze. He didn’t seem to be lying. They really went that far.
“That’s all I need. Good night,” I said before hitting the back of his head and dropping his slumped over body on the ground.
After a quick check on the other two people, making sure they were going to wake up anytime soon, I headed back to my apartment. I could have eliminated the three if I wanted to, but there was little need. They were the least of my problems now that the police were involved.
It took some self control to stop myself from rushing back. Now was when caution was especially important. Staying out of sight from both physical and electronic eyes, that was my objective. If, somehow, they obtained my address and arrived at my apartment before me, Sapphire should know how to escape. The only regrettable thing would be that my possessions would be all but gone. Or maybe that would be for the better.
I wove my way through the backstreets of the quadrant, wracking my mind trying to remember the various cameras and surveillance tools that were installed into the walls of the buildings. It was how the police kept an eye on everyone. They try to keep it a secret by hiding the devices, but everyone and their mother knows and a good number of them know how to avoid the devices.
As I went to the various blindspots scattered about the Outer Districts, I kept an ear open for the sound of pursuers and an eye out for any flashing lights. Nothing. The streets were as empty as can be this late into the night. Despite that, I felt a familiar sensation prickling against the back of my head. That crawling feeling within your mind that somewhere, somehow, someone was watching you.
The feeling stayed with me until I reached my apartment. My hand hovered over the door lock, a part of me urging me to go around and take another look. I turned my head, scanning the street behind me. Not a single soul.
The rational side of me knew it was useless. If I was being watched electronically, there would be no way for me to know that until they came knocking on my door. And if it came to that, I would have gotten word before that knock came.
I twisted my wrist, letting the lock scan my bracelet before the door opened up for me. As I slipped in, I saw Sapphire’s head pop up from the bed, her eyes wide awake. There was a certain joy in her when she recognized me that made me a tad guilty. The police were on our tail and here she was happy to see me, the person the police were chasing.
“Sorry to wake you up,” I said to her. I went to my cameras to make sure everything was working correctly. “You can get a few hours of shut eye if you want. Don’t mind me.”
“I wasn’t really asleep,” she replied. “I was waiting for you.”
“Sorry. I was out for a bit longer than I had anticipated. I’m here now, though, so get some rest. Never refuse a chance to get some sleep. You never know when your next opportunity could come.”
“Did something bad happen?” Sapphire asked.
I gave her a long look, trying to read her expression. Her intuition was something that I found remarkable. She had a way to just sense when something seemed off and try as I might to see if it was because of some training, it all seemed to come from her gut. A useful skill. It took me years before I could get to that level of reading.
“You can say that,” I nodded. No reason to hide the situation. Once the police came banging on the door, having Sapphire up to date would be for the best. “Discovered some new things. Police is chasing us as well, so add them to the list of people wanting to get us.”
“Police. The people in blue clothes? They already came before, didn’t they?” Sapphire asked.
“Yes. And they might come again, but this time instead of looking for a random thug, it will be for me,” I said. “Do you remember how to get out of here?”
“Tunnel under the bed. Button in the desk.”
“Good. We’re probably going to need to use that.”
I went under the bed and pulled out the duffel bag I had prepared. Opening it up, I did a quick check to ensure everything important was in it. Once that was verified, I went to my desk and took out a small knife from one of the drawers.
“Here,” I said, holding the sheathed knife out to Sapphire. “You might need this.”
She took the knife with a hesitant hand, giving the little thing a look of curiosity.
“That thing will stay sharp for a while, so don’t point it at anything you don’t want getting stabbed.”
“Why are you giving me this?” she asked. She slid the blade out cautiously as she took a gander at the metal edge. It was basically a paring knife with its short one sided edge—more suited for cooking than for combat. A knife was a knife, however, and if it was sharp enough that meant it was good enough as a weapon.
“For self-defense. If in the worst case scenario you have to go up against someone and I’m not there, you’ll have something to help you. Just remember to kick them between the legs and then shove the pointy end of that thing into their chest. That generally works.”
“Okay,” she said, her eyes telling me that she didn’t completely understand the situation. “Aren’t you going to stay with me, though?”
“I’m going to try. But, we might need to split up for a bit when the police come knocking on our door,” I said. “Better to be safe than sorry.”
I opened up the cameras to take a look around the premises. There was no one around as far as the human and digital eye could see. I checked the sensors and ran a system reboot before putting the monitor away. If anyone came within a block of my apartment, it would alert me. There was no use in me monitoring it directly. The police rarely came in secret.
“Let’s rest,” I said, turning back towards Sapphire. “It’s better that we get as much rest as possible no matter how short that is.”
“When are they coming?” she asked.
“When? Between now and whenever they do come,” I said dryly. Upon seeing her confused look, I remembered that sarcasm wasn’t the best form of communication with a child. “Most likely early morning, so five at least. They need time to organize and look through whatever records they have to trace me. Just try to get as much sleep as you can. It’s good to rest your mind and eyes even if your body doesn’t need it.”
