ISSUE #3 (June 2018)
Written by John Cheese Featuring: Dare
Stallion
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Drive and Park, Fear Cay, Bludhaven
"Car Two Five Eight this is control what is your location?" The female voice asked over the radio as Katherine Riordan and her partner Wallace Ebersol headed along the water front towards the port. "We're eastbound on Drive and Park to a suspected burglary at Fear Cay Dispatch, we'll be there in a few minutes." Katherine answered as she overtook a lumbering fuel tanker heading in the same direction. "We're dispatching back-up to the location, Command wants you to break off and head to a case of trespassing at the Meadowdale Construct Site." Dispatch ordered as Katherine looked at her partner with a look of frustration. "Possible suspect is related to the Miss Morphine assault at Avalon Heights." "Okay Dispatch we are on route to Meadowdale." Katherine sighed as she performed a U-turn and headed back the way she came. "Never seen you back down so easily when reassigned." <Name> stated. "What's so special about this case?" "The vigilante aspect, I want to see if we're dealing with an actual crime fighter, or if Miss Morphine's assault was a case of rival gang violence." Katherine explained as she sped back past the fuel tanker, the driver swearing at her as she passed him. "Does it matter?" Wallace asked, a cruel smile spreading across his face. "You know that we have the authority to shoot costumed criminals including vigilantes on site, right? This guy isn't going to last long enough to become a problem." Meadowdale Mall, Meadowdale District, Bludhaven Aliki scuttled up out of the subspace and into what would eventually be a maintenance room once the shopping centre was completed. Her ambush had failed and now she had an additional two targets patrolling the area looking for her, things were getting complicated and not for the first time since her release did she wish that Margot was here. After all Margot had been the brains of the Double Dare outfit, all she'd been was the unending enthusiasm. Thinking for a moment Aliki picked up an abandoned wrench and slammed it hard into the wall. "Is someone down there?" One of the thugs up top asked, his soft Boston accent answered by Aliki throwing the wrench down towards the stairs leading up to the surface. As the ringing sound stopped footsteps on concrete sounded and Aliki watched as one of the thugs entered the room. Dropping to his knees to inspect the wrench the thug, Clancy, felt, but never saw the streak of yellow slam him face first into the floor. "One down." Aliki mused as she flipped Clancy's radio to 'on' picked up his rifle and fired a quick burst into one of the walls. Almost immediately a shout could be heard and Aliki dropped the weapon, minus its ammo clip and squeezed out one of the narrow windows into the construction yard. Forty seconds later Stallion and Mulligan arrived, the later armed and ready. "Clancy?" Mulligan called as he spotted the unconscious body. "CLANCY!" He screamed as he went to attend his brother only for Stallion to put a restraining hand on the man's shoulder. "Stay up here and cover me while I check it out." Stallion ordered as he moved into the maintenance room before bending down and checking Clancy for a pulse. "He's alive, she just knocked him out." Stallion called as he got up from Clancy's body. The only response from Mulligan was a strangled sounding wheeze as long legs wrapped round his throat choking him into unconsciousness. With a shout of anger Stallion charged for the door only to see Aliki slam it shut, the electronic lock engaging and trapping him inside. "Giz open the door!" Stallion snarled as he banged on the door before slamming the manual override lever into the 'open' position. "No, I don't know which maintenance door, just open all of them!" He added. Seconds later the electronic lock disengaged and Stallion pushed the door open. Taking a few steps out, the work lights bulbs blew, plunging the entire site into darkness. "So, you little minx you overloaded the circuit." Stallion sighed as he picked up Mulligan's dropped assault rifle and removed the tac light, the narrow beam barely illuminating the ground in front of him. As much as he hated bumbling around in the dark, Stallion pressed on, his senses and fists on a hair trigger. Aliki watched Stallion as he felt his way round the construction yard before moving towards the finished section of the mall. Each leap, each bound felt like a step towards victory and with a flourish as she landed by a fire door propped open Aliki knew exactly what she was going to do to Stallion. "Are you coming?" Aliki called as she pulled herself onto a suspended load ready to pounce like the predator she was. Arriving frustrated and two minutes later Stallion bent down to inspect the rod propping the door open, exposing his back. Streaking down like a thunderbolt, Aliki shot a two footed landing onto Stallion's back knocking him to the floor. Vaulting off her foe twisting around to deliver a leg slam, Aliki saw Stallion shift a little too late, her finishing blow doing nothing but cause the boot weakened by Miss Morphine to split open. "I ain't one to kick a lady when she's down," Stallion grunted as he got to his feet and kneed Aliki in the face as she tried to recover from her miss, "but you've more than earned it." He added as he grabbed Aliki by the throat and threw her through the open door and down some steps. "You weren't afraid to do more than that to my sister!" Aliki answered as she managed to turn her fall into a clumsy but ultimately harmless landing. Coming down the stairs Stallion froze, the mention of Margot obviously affecting him even after two years. Not wasting any time Aliki jettisoned her damaged boot, the piece of footwear thudding into Stallion's chest, seemingly snapping him out of his dream like state. "Margot came to know me as a friend." Stallion stated as he continued down the stairs and removed his nunchucks from his belt. "It killed me inside every time I saw what they had done to her!" He bellowed as he swung the weapon with unprecedented speed and savagery, the blow knocking the wind out of Aliki as a follow up swipe took out her legs sending her falling to the floor. "Rodeos over missy." Stallion stated as he towered over her, the nunchucks twisting in his hands slightly. "No shame in being tamed." He added as he spun the nunchucks ready to land a final concussing blow. In that moment Aliki panicked and lashed out, landing a double footed kick on Stallion’s knee. It was a desperate move, and she hadn't been expecting what happened next. Groaning in pain, Stallion let go of the nunchucks, the flail weapon spinning off into the darkness as he clutched his knee in pain. Looking at Aliki he swore as she hammered home another three kicks, the bones in his hand and the knee behind clicking before Stallion toppled forward like a felled redwood defeated and in pain. "Rodeos over cowboy." Aliki hissed as she delivered a kick to the side of Stallion's face before picking up a piece of rebar from a hopper of construction waste. "Is this how they break horses?" She asked as she flipped Stallion onto his side with the rebar. "Is this what you did to Margot?" "I was part of the hunting party, you know that, but I had issues with what came next." Stallion moaned through gritted teeth. "You want to kill me, the others, to make yourself feel better, but it won't hoss. I got to know your sister and she wasn't hard enough, so I have a feeling I know about you too." "Do you?" Aliki asked as she jabbed Stallion in the broken knee with the rebar. "If you two were so close then where is she now?!" "Gone, she's gone." Stallion answered sadly as he looked up at Aliki, her face warped by the hatred she felt for him. "One day I came to see her and she was just gone, there was nothing left, it was as if she had never been there at all." "You are lying!" Aliki screamed as lifted the rebar over her head for a killing blow. "Do it but let me ask one last question." Stallion stated as he held his head up as high as he could. "Can you do this four more times? Thrilldevil's just a courier, Firebug quit after she became pregnant as for Electrocutioner and Brutale, well can you even beat them?" "I guess we'll find out." Aliki whispered as the sound of a police siren echoed outside in the construction yard. Looking at Stallion's broken body, then at the rebar in her hands Aliki pulled herself back from the brink. Stallion was right she couldn't do this again. "Another time." She added before throwing the bar away and heading out into the yard. Katherine handcuffed the unconscious gunman, it was a minor win but trespassing was still a crime. Looking up briefly she swore she saw a figure silhouetted against the city lights, but before she could draw her gun, the mystery stalker was gone. "Riordan in here!" Wallace called as he popped out of the mall. Handing the criminal, she'd captured to the second response unit that had arrived mere seconds after the officers of Car 258, Katherine walked in to see the stricken Stallion lying on the floor. "Randall Hanrahan you are under arrest for trespassing. You have the right to remain silent. Anything you say can and will be used against you in a court of law." Katherine announced as Stallion was lifted up and handcuffed. "You have the right to have an attorney. If you cannot afford one, one will be appointed to you by the court. With these rights in mind, are you still willing to talk with me about the charges against you?" "Your side rode well tonight officer." Stallion hissed through gritted teeth. "But when it comes down to it Dare won it, and you're the clowns cleaning up the corral." "So, she has a name." Katherine stated as she thought about the figure she saw leaving the scene of Stallion's arrest. She knew Stallion would likely pay a fine and walk even without his lawyer or help from Bludhaven Police Departments rotten core of officers, but even still it seemed like a win, at least for the moment. Courtyard Logistics, Waterloo Docks, Bludhaven "They call her Dare, and as you can see the media is already jumping on board the Bludhaven vigilante train." Electrocutioner stated as he paced in front of the Countesses desk, his boss focused on what she was writing. "And there's more bad news." "What possibly could be worse than this?" The Countess asked. "Soames called and apparently the Bludhaven Police Department has grown some moral backbone and are refusing to release Miss Morphine on bail." Electrocutioner announced as the Countess removed her glasses and glowered at him. "The good news is that Stallion just landed a fine which he’s paid and has checked into the hospital for knee surgery. “So Aliki is far more skilled then we predicted.” The Countess mused as she looked towards the window and smiled. “For now, leave her alone, if she starts to become regular interference we will act, but for now let’s leave her be until we can determine if she’s working as an independent or as part of a rival organisation.” “I still think we should recall Guillermo from Colombia.” Electrocutioner stated as the Countess raised the card she had been writing to her lip and kissed it. “Perhaps, but for now we wait.” The Countess replied as she lowered the card and checked her message and signed ‘Love MM’ under the message ‘Get well soon Randy’. “Now let’s get back to business, after all we have a city to run.” Aliki stuck the mud stained news clipping declaring ‘Dare to take a stand versus crime?’ complete with mugshots of both Miss Morphine and Stallion. Looking over to the other pictures on her wall Aliki tore the one of Stallion down before looking at both the representations of Thrill Devil and Electrocutioner. “So Stallion held little answers about which of you killed my sister.” Aliki mused as she stared at the demonic features of Thrill Devil. “Despite appearances you seem to be the weak link Thrill Devil, so you’re next. And if you value your life you’d better tell me what I want to know.” |