Old Theater
Posted on Sat Nov 7th, 2020 @ 10:46am by Alden Loxley & Alison Bliss
Mission:
Sweet Emotion
Location: Aphrodite
Timeline: 2515 - Mid-day, 2 years before finding Fortune's Echo
Alison licked her lips feeling his head was heavy. She was poisoned. That came to her few moments later as she tried to move. The move of her head caused nausea and she had to use her willpower to keep the food in her stomach. The feeling of light-headedness was passing quickly and with it also nausea.
“She is waking up, sir.” Alison heard and opened her eyes.
The light was so bright that she had to close her eyes again and turn her face to the side. She tensed and realized that she was tied to the chair she was sitting on at elbows, wrists, knees and ankles.
“Excuse us Scarlett, but this time we made sure you are tied up properly.” Came a different and familiar voice.
She attempted to open the eyes again. There were two lamps on and directed at her but looking to the side she was able to keep eyes opened. She realized instantly they were in an abandoned theatre. She knew this theatre. With that realization, came the recognition of the voice.
“Richard.” She said softly.
“Yes, my beautiful Missus Evans.” Richard was somewhere past two lamps. “It’s your husband.”
Scarlett? Alden silently cursed. He held a low position up in a box to the right of the circle, the seats high above front of stage curved about to allow everyone a good view. It had amused him to take up a position that he'd never have been able to afford when the theatre was open, but that entertainment value wore off pretty quick as he realised what was going on below. Husband? He asked in the privacy of his own head. Another one?
Alison knew what it was all about and she decided that pushing Richard's buttons might be the best option here.
"Yeah, the third one." She admitted with a giggle.
There was a movement behind lamps. She hit the mark well.
"Fuck you!" He yelled.
"Oh, you wish. Unless that was a question how you do at the background of other two husbands." She closed eyes, turned face toward him, and gave him taunting grin.
There was a shadow and then she felt a punch, which sent her flying on the ground with a loud thud and creak of the chair. For the moment, the world was spinning around and it took her a moment to get her bearings while Richard yelled at her in Chinese. "Lio Coh Jwei Ji Neong Hur Ho Deh Yung Duh Buhn Jah J'wohn."
He stopped as someone approached him.
"Boss."
"Da Chiang Wu Dahn." Alison murmured. From her position, now out of lamp beams she could see legs of at least additional three people.
"Yeah..." Richard said calming. "I shouldn't get so emotional at this point. Business first. Where is the money?"
It took a little time, and careful shadow-hidden movements, but he'd now managed to identify six people here. Six. Which had to mean that 'Richard' had lost a considerable amount of this money he was demanding back. The first one had been an easy mark, the guy had been smoking a cigar, his attention lost in images of pretty naked ladies dancing over the screen of his personal cortex. He'd hit the floor and been dragged quietly into a cleaning cupboard.
The second... Alden waited until the timing was just right and choked him out into sleepytime. That left the circle unguarded, and, as far as he could tell, four people down below.
"I invested it." Alison replied. "Yours, and also from John and William."
Richard cursed under the breath and she felt a kick right into her stomach. The air escaped from her with a painful exhale and she coughed.
"Liu Kou Shui De Biao Zi He Hou Zi De Er Zi. I don't know how did you pull all that! But I am going to get my money back!"
"Hey..." She said quietly still feeling the pain of her abdomen and tested the retrains finding that the one on her left hand loosened as the old chair began to give in. "Look at this this way... because of me, you three joined up, merged your businesses, and now are the force to be recon with." The next kick was coming immediately as she predicted. She twisted her body and it landed hard on her hip and broke the chair's arm's rest.
This was her chance. Despite the pain, she reached out with her free hand and grabbed the leg before Richard could retract it, throwing him off the balance and he fell back and off the stage. With a quick twist of her body, she grabbed the chair's leg and pulled. The old chair, already bettered, gave in freeing her leg in time to block the kick from one of the bodyguards who tried to pacify her.
Two shots in quick succession from somewhere above the stage took out the bright lights and allowed the stage area to descend with protest into shadowier darkness. The action coincided with Alison's breaking of the chair's arm, and was followed by motion in the corner of the circle's wider front arc.
A figure might have been noticed sliding down the thick red curtain forming a backdrop to the scene, if anyone had been looking in that direction. Those who didn't see the shape, heard a staggered sound of minor panic as Alden transitioned from the edge of the upper floor to said unconventional downward path. Then a follow-up thump as a pair of heavy boots hit the stage itself. He shifted swiftly left, but Alison was already mostly free.
Taking up a stance beside her, Alden fired twice at the closest bodyguard while simultaneously handing off his spare pistol to his female partner.
Alison grabbed it, aimed under the lamp, and instantly fired twice. Yelp and the thud announced she hit, but she knew she didn't hit it clean. Third shot went into the annoying lamp, that in the burst of sparks lost its bulb.
"What took you so long?" She leaned forward and broke off the other chair leg and then the other armrest freeing herself. "We need to run. Richard likely has more guys outside."
"They didn't exactly leave an easy trail," Alden muttered. He stepped back to give her room as Ali demolished the rest of the chair. "Doesn't look like you really need a rescue at all," he said with a grin as he indicated the side of the stage. "Back door leads to an narrow alley should give us a fighting chance..."
"Sounds good." Alison flexed her legs and stood up, just to see in the gallery above two men appearing. One of them with an assault rifle opened fire spraying the stage around them with bullets. Alison fired three shots in quick succession to suppress him but it only forced the man to dive behind seats, while he continued spraying the stage with bullets. "GO!" She shouted while the burst was perforating old wooden planks everywhere around. She didn't agree with Alden that she didn't need a rescue, but at this point, she decided not to correct him to not give him an argument for later.
"Shoulda brung bigger guns," muttered Alden as he ducked out of the way a little too late. Splinters from the stage floor spiked into his legs, bringing forth unhappy grunting sounds as he stumbled as fast as he could towards the exit. The sound of the continued gunfire made their ears ache and provided them all the incentive they both needed to hightail it all the faster.
A boot against the back door sent it flying open into the alley beyond and invited a couple of well-placed rounds. Yup, definitely someone out there.
"Ready? One... two..." Alden grinned, grabbed something small and round from a jacket pocket and lobbed it out there, exposing his arm only for a second or two. "Three!"
Flash. Bang. Light exploded in the faces of the goons expecting easy targets and Alden was already halfway towards them, eyes opening in time to chase partially blind targets with bullets. One hit the floor, head bloody, the other howled and fell back behind some crates.
Alison was running right behind Alden. She stopped short of the doors outside, leaving Alden to deal with any threats on the other side and flattened against the wall to not be seen at the backdrop of the open doors. As soon as she saw the movement down the corridor she fired remaining bullets from the magazine forcing the pursuers to dive for cover. Someone cried in pain as she apparently hit someone. Putting the weapon in her pocket, she rushed outside, in time to see Alden dealing with two guys waiting for them.
"Well, that was easy." She said run toward the howling in pain guy. She kicked him in the balls and as he bend forward she jumped in the air grabbed his head and pushed against her knee that she brought forward. With a crack the head bounced back and the big guy fell on his back unconscious bleeding profusely from the broken nose. Alison knelt by him and took his pistol.
"Too easy?" Alden checked. He'd come prepared, but he also fully expected more goons in the mix, and the fact that they weren't all running at them at the same time obviously wasn't proof that their path ahead would be clear. He kept his gaze down the alleyway towards the street as Alison despatched the screamer into temporary oblivion and added. "Where is the money?"
Amusement was buried somewhere in the question, but Alden's expression showed only tension and concern. They weren't safe here.
Alison looked around, her eyes carefully slipping over the surroundings and trying to find any threats. For the moment, though things seemed to be clear. She didn't want to stay around for too long though. Richard could be surprised but it was the type that when subtlety wouldn't work, he would bring a nuke hammer.
"Let's go." She said with urgency and started trotting away from the old theatre.
Only when they left the alley, moved down the street and crossed another alley, Alison relaxed. She pulled the gun that Alden gave her earlier from her pocket. It had the slide in the rear position suggesting no ammunition. She handed it to him.
"I literally screwed three, higher-tier businessmen out of significant chunks of their money. Do you really think I would be flying cargo of pigs if I had anything left?" She gave Alden mischievous grin.
Checking the weapon and then shoving it in the space at the small of his back, Alden found his senses on overload. Every nuance of sound, scent and colour fired of neurons in his his brain and demanded attention, but his heart rate was easing off now, the immediate danger passed.
"Feh Feh Pi Goh..." He swore. "Three?" A rough exhale followed as he looked around them, then back at Ali. "We're humped," Alden noted. "No way they're giving up on us easy." A brief grin. "You think they'd take payment in pigs?"
Alison laughed and winked at Alden.
"I don't think we would have enough pigs even if we keep ferrying them for the next year." She said and pointed up. Above the buildings, there was a colorful advert for one of the biggest chain of repair shops and spare parts producer on the planet: Baker-Evans-West. "Besides they are not in the pig business. They offer repairs, custom upgrades and produce replacement parts for discontinued ships and machinery." She paused and her face had the five-year-old-girl look that did something wrong but was pretending she didn't. "After I left, they banded together and now they are one of the biggest companies on the planet. I think they should thank me."
He followed Ali's gaze and took in the vast billboard above them for a long moment. Definitely not in the pig-business, no, he considered as he listened to Alison talk. Big money business in fact, and big trouble for them more than likely. Bigger than the theatre behind them, and more wide-reaching.
"You're cute when you pretend to be innocent," Alden said with a roll of his eyes and a grin. "But I know you, and I ain't falling for it," he reminded her lightly. "So, you're saying that a huge conglomerate of companies, a trio of strong, powerful dudes, are gunning for you. I don't think they're looking to thank you." He chuckled wryly. "Nope, think they're looking for blood, and money."
Somewhere out of immediate sight, the sound of a vehicle's tyres making a hard stop on roadway caught their ears.
"Time to go..."
"I couldn't agree more." Alison said following Alden.
----
To be continued...
