ISSUE #2 (May 2018)
Written by John Cheese Featuring: Dare
Miss Morphine
The Countess
Stallion
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Aliki found herself in a less than desirable position as she watched those needle like claws streak towards her. Falling back on instinct she pulled her legs up around the arm restraining her and delivered a swift kick into Miss Morphine's attacking wrist. Cursing and spitting in ways that only someone born in the British Isles could carry off successfully Miss Morphine's other hand went to her damaged wrist.
"Her mistake." Aliki thought as she swung round the lamp post and delivered a flying kick into Miss Morphine's chest the blow knocking her off balance and the added weight of Aliki now clinging onto her shoulders sending her tumbling to the floor. "Oh, you are so naughty." Miss Morphine hissed as she swiped at Aliki only to scream out in pain at the attempted attack. "You little sod you've bloody fractured my wrist!" "If that's all you want broken I suggest you answer my questions." Aliki stated in the sternest voice she could muster. "Come on luv I just peddle the people's vices, what would I know about that's valuable to you." Morphine grunted as she extended another set of needle like talons on her undamaged hand. "First you can tell me where your boss Blockbuster is hiding." Aliki asked, only to get a reply in the form of a dry sarcastic chuckle. "Where have you been for the last two years?" Morphine snickered as she went to get back onto her feet, only to stop as the movement caught Aliki's eye. "The Block ain't hiding, he's headed north of the bloody river, hasn't been on the southern bank for over a year. His number two the Countess rules these streets, and I know for a fact that she'll be really interested in punishing a naughty girl like you." Morphine hissed as she slashed at Aliki's leg, her claws ripping through the leather of her enemy’s boots and causing Aliki to recoil slightly. "She'll have to fall in line after me!" Miss Morphine snapped as she got to her feet and rushed towards Aliki who reacted as she always reacted. She went up, leaping over the charging drug dealer before landing behind her and delivering a swift kick into Miss Morphine's back. With an audible clunk, the blow sent Miss Morphine slamming face first into the same lamp post she'd pinned Aliki to earlier. "I haven't finished asking questions!" Aliki hissed as she pinned Miss Morphine to the post. "Starting with where can I find this 'Countess'?" Katherine Rhioden watched as the uniformed officers bundled Miss Morphine into the back of a police-car. The drug dealer was supporting a broken nose and a shattered wrist, and initially Rhioden had thought that maybe an overly desperate junkie had been behind the beating. After all there was evidence in the form of two bleary eyed and barely conscious addicts just on the other side of the fence. "But no," Katherine thought as she picked up the colourful slithers of leather, "this was something else." Shaking her head, her auburn ponytail shaking slightly from the movement she remembered what Miss Morphine had been screaming about after they'd arrived at the scene, led there by a call from one of the addict’s phones. A call neither of them knew anything about. "A vigilante here?" Katherine thought as she slipped the fabric slithers into an evidence bag. As a rule, Bludhaven didn't have any vigilantes of its own, not like Gotham and the difference really showed. Bludhaven's crime rate was higher but it was mostly plain clothes crime, corruption and the like, Gotham however had a whole rouges gallery of 'so called ' super criminals. Bludhaven couldn't support super criminals in addition to the regular kind. It couldn't support vigilantes either, almost ever cop was owned by the underworld. As Katherine looked around there was no one she completely trusted among her colleagues. Bludhaven was as tough on clean cops like her as it was on vigilantes. Aliki listened as the police drove away, their sirens screaming breaking up the relative quiet of the night. A false bravado had taken over her, success over Miss Morphine was a good start, and more importantly she had names for the faces she'd seen every time she'd fallen asleep. Walking over to the pictures pinned by rusty drawing pins Aliki surveyed what effectively was her hit list. "Stallion," She purred as she turned from the cowboy to the devil themed motorcycle driver, "Thrill Devil," she added before finally stopping on the scarred man, "Electrocutioner, you three stayed in the Haven, transferred from working for Blockbuster to his deputy the Countess. Very well you three will be first, second and third on my list." That left two of Margot's attackers unaccounted for, but at least Aliki had names for them; Brutale and Firebug. Those two would likely remain out of reach until she could find or more likely steal the money she needed to hunt them down. Walking over to her sleeping bag, Aliki picked up her damaged boot. She wasn't a leather worker and the rips made the boot a liability, ultimately, she'd need to repair or replace it, but for now it'd have to stay, the rip was above the ankle and for the time being she could still run and jump while wearing it. COURTYARD LOGISTICS WATERLOO DOCKS, BLUDHAVEN The raven haired young woman rested her glasses on her nose before tearing her eyes from the spreadsheet full of data figures regarding last month's drug sale. "Phone call for you boss." The brutish muscle-bound man dressed in black leather trousers and jacket announced as he poked his head round the door. "It's Soames, MM she's in the clink." "Thank you, Stallion." The woman sighed as she picked up the phone, the sleeves of her ice-blue dress sliding across the table to put the device on speaker mode. "Evening Soames, why are you ringing me here tonight? Are the police finally taking action against me?" "Cops ain't your worry Ma'am." Soames replied as the woman gestured for Stallion and the rest of her associates to enter the room. "You got a vigilante in town, some hussy with red hair dressed like she's taking part in a ballet but with none of the innocence." He announced as the sleek devil helmed Thrill Devil and the sparking form of the Electrocutioner gathered round the table. "I see." The Countess sighed. "Tell me Soames you're Blockbuster's key man in the Haven's police department, what would it cost me and by extension him to get Miss Morphine out on bail, and to get the police to drop charges against her?" "I'll find out and let you know." Soames replied. "Look tread carefully we don't need the Gotham effect occurring here in the Haven, if it does we all suffer." "Don't worry officer, my men can handle this." The Countess reassured him as she put down the receiver. "I assume Protocol 15 is appropriate here." "With all due respect Ma'am," Electrocutioner hissed, "this isn't a simple lock up job by the police. Sure, elements of 15 are applicable but this isn't someone we can buy off." "But we can." The Countess stated as she picked up a pen from the desk and twirled it through her fingers. "We were all here when those thieving magpies the Double Dare sisters stole a courier drive containing ten million dollars from Blockbuster. Tell me does the description sound familiar?" "The other sister." Thrill Devil snorted. "Suddenly things aren't so troubling." "Indeed, Stallion you have no outstanding warrants at the moment so I'm tasking you to find this lost sister." The Countess ordered. "Thrill Devil if you cover Miss Morphine's deliveries, the Electrocutioner can cover yours." "I don’t know boss." Stallion sighed as he flipped his sexton onto his head. "I'm in the business of breaking the ladies’ hearts not their legs, because I'm sure that girl's going to be as unhappy to see me as a frog placed on Texas tarmac." "You're not going soft on me are you Randall?" The Countess asked in a soft sickly-sweet tone. "Lester perhaps we should recall Guillermo from Colombia, see how his knife cuts the little girl. Or maybe we'll call up our associate Mr Rose. he wouldn't balk at this job." "I can handle it." Stallion grumbled. "Can you, we don't need you growing a conscious like you did when we were holding the other sister!" The Electrocutioner sneered as a blood red discharge began to crackle around his clenched fists. "Come now, if Mr Stallion says he can handle it, he can handle it." The Countess purred as he stroked his cheek as she walked past before standing next to the Electrocutioner. "After all, when have my boys ever let me down before?" WILD HORSES MEALTIDE, BLUDHAVEN The manager of 'Wild Horses' looked the red-haired woman up and down before grunting slightly. "Okay Miss Marco, you have no papers, are clearly an illegal alien and are underage to boot. What makes you think I'm willing to let you work here?" "Well you don't have to pay me as much, and I'll take cash." Aliki replied as she stared down the lecherous eyed man known in the local area as 'Billy Tripod' a difficulty for her since he was tall and big chested. At this remark Billy stopped looking at Aliki's chest and pondered if the young woman dressed in a bedazzled jean jacket, chinos which were far too long for her and a deep cut blouse was worth the hassle. Then he looked at the stoned bartender drooling on the counter and the closed sign on the door. "I'm trying to clean house, make this place respectable again." William growled. "I cleaned the drug dealers out of the alley behind us, dealt with the protection racket on my front door and yet the rot creeps back in. You're clean, that I can tell, my years with the Bludhaven Police Department taught me something. "If you're willing to work the lunch shift you have a job." "Then you have a bartender." Aliki replied enthusiastically. Between the win against Miss Morphine and her plan to hunt down Stallion by letting him come to her she was pretty smug right now. "Two last things, we just need to measure you for your uniform." William grunted as he returned to his lecherous stare, "and we need to get you a new name cause Aliki sounds too European, and my clients ain't found of anything made outside the US of A." The first three days working at Wild Horses revealed no bites, at least not in regards to the big fish Aliki or 'Miss Allison' as she was called inside the walls of the bar, was hoping to land. Despite the initial horror Aliki had felt upon seeing her uniform, a pair of Demin short shorts and low-cut blouse that barely covered her breasts paired with a tassled waistcoat, the lechery was limited to a few cat calls and stares. She suspected that anything else would evoke William's wrath. On the fourth day she got a bite as Stallion swaggered through the door, the metaphorical shark scattering the baitfish that normally sheltered here. "You new?" He grunted. "Sure, am Tex, what can I get you?" Aliki replied cheerfully. "A shot of lemon-juice, I'm working darlin." Stallion answered as Aliki took a tumbler and filled it with soda water before squeezing the juice from a slice of lemon into it. "Working on anything particular cowboy?" Aliki asked as she stirred the soda water with a stick before presenting it to the thirsty Stallion. "Looking for this girl, got to find her but I'm not sure either of us will be happy when we cross trails." Stallion sighed as he removed a photo of Aliki in costume prior to her incarceration and a five-dollar bill. "Don't suppose you seen her?" "Maybe, someone said they saw some kind of acrobat over near Meadowdale a few nights back." Aliki replied as she took the note and handed back his change. "Thank you darlin' most appreciated." Stallion grumbled as he downed the lemon and soda and headed out the door. "No thank you." Aliki replied as she mentally planned her next and hopefully last encounter with Stallion. "Thank you very much sir." MEADOWDALE MALL MEADOWDALE DISTRICT, BLUDHAVEN Stallion stepped out of the Ford 550 he owned flanked by two men dressed in combat fatigues clutching M16s. Watching from atop a scaffold of the uncompleted Meadowdale Mall, Aliki watched as Stallion gave his cronies their orders. It was clear they were here to guard his car and nothing else. Watching as her prey stalked into the jumble of scaffolds and platforms Aliki smiled. She'd chosen the battleground to hinder the massive horse of a man and favour her agility. This fight would be as easy as the last. "Little Miss I know you're in there." Stallion called as Aliki swung down onto a lower platform with a loud thud, in order to draw him further in. Obliging Stallion removed a heavy torch from his holster and tentatively and carefully made his way into the field of scaffolding posts. "Look I just need to talk to you." He called as he moved under Aliki's perch. "And I want you to die!" Aliki bellowed as she swung down and wrapped her thighs round Stallion's neck. Bucking like his name sake, Stallion slammed back first into one of the scaffold posts, the blow sending shockwaves through Aliki and forcing her to disentangle and swing up the pole onto a platform. Her opponent moved first spinning round and shaking the pole until it came loose, the duct board above collapsing under Aliki's weight and sending her tumbling to the floor. Years of acrobatics allowed Aliki to land harmlessly, recover quickly but by that time Stallion was charging her, down. "Pretty little thing like you shouldn't be holding a grudge." Stallion stated as Aliki just about dodged his charge before landing a kick on his torch, the tool skidding to the floor. "And a big thug like you shouldn't be holding a torch. “Aliki answered as she kicked the aforementioned torch away, glad that she was regaining something of an advantage thanks to the infer-red lenses in her mask. "Giz do it." Stallion ordered to an unseen partner. Seconds later the work lights all switched on, blinding Aliki as the looming shadow of her opponent stood over her stunned body. "You think you were being smart." Stallion stated as Aliki felt a metal chain loop round her neck. "Thing is I could have taken you right there and then in the bar." Stallion continued as Aliki blinked her eyes to adjust them to the influx of light. As she did she felt her feet leave the ground as Stallion lifted her by the nunchucks wrapped round her neck to his eye level. "But then why deny us this little rodeo built for two we're enjoying?" He added as he began to squeeze the nunchucks closer. Aliki responded with a quick kick to Stallion's groin, only for the big man to smile and shake his head. "Ain't my first time in the ring with a spirited filly, what else you got?" "Only this." Aliki wheezed as she leaned forward and passionately kissed her captor. "See now ain't that better?" Stallion asked as he relaxed his hold on his nunchucks. An answer came with a swift painful blow to the jaw and the coppery tang of blood in his mouth. Tensing the nunchucks too late Stallion had enough time to see the tips of Aliki’s boots disappear down an underground service entrance. "That little minx." Stallion stated in a voice that was equal parts amusement, respect and annoyance as he reached for the radio on his belt. "Clancy, Mulligan move in and flush her out. Keep your eyes peeled high as well as your heads on a swivel, little miss is a climber." He ordered as he walked over to the service entrance. "If you're listening Miss Dare, I'd suggest getting the hell out of dodge," He called before sadly adding, "pretty things like you don't last long in this city." |