-This is just an idea I've been thinking about for awhile and since I have a little free time I figured I would write it down. I like it and I hope anyone who reads it will too. Don't own Black Cat. Just this story line and original characters. And in case I forget this warning applies for the whole story.
There are two things I hate in life: Mondays and smoke rings. Mondays are either filled with excitement or incredibly dull. There is no in between. Sometimes over the weekend, people commit crimes, get bounties placed on them, and I get a nice payroll. The other times, nothing happens over the weekend, and Eve and I are broke. Smoke rings, on the other hand, are evil all the time. I'm a heavy smoker, but I can't blow a smoke ring to save my life. So there I was sitting in the park, on a Monday, trying to blow a smoke ring. I really should have taken all that into consideration when I met this woman.
She was…gorgeous to say the least. She had shoulder length red hair that reminded me of fire and blue eyes with a hint of green like the ocean. Very interesting contrast…Even her clothing went against the norm. We were in the middle of the summer, and she was dressed in black and green. I was still hot even with my suit jacket off and tie undone, but this girl had to be roasting. She had on black pants that looked two sizes too big, and a green tank top that was as tight as her pants were loose. She even had the black boots and shades on top of her head to match. That wasn't the weird part though. What was weird was the back pack she hauled around that looked like it weighed twice as much as her.
"Sven, I found her." Eve whispered coming up behind me.
I somewhat lied earlier. This wasn't really a dull Monday. We were hunting down a huge bounty, 600k, but I wasn't eager about the target. Dangerous criminals are one thing, but this time the target was a cute little girl. The poster didn't even have a name. She had two little blue pigtails, ribbons, and everything. She was so cute in fact that I almost questioned Annette, and she's always right. If Annette said the kid was worth 600k, then the kid was worth 600k. That didn't mean I had to like the situation though. That was also why I wasn't looking too hard for her.
"Good job. Where is she?" I asked already thinking of a plan.
"Over on the swing. She's the one in the middle."
There was no mistaken the kid. I should have known she would be dressed in all pink. Pink t-shirt, pink shorts, pink socks, and pink shoes. She looked like cotton candy.
Another thing with little kids was that I couldn't exactly go up to one and say, "You're under arrest." A man in his thirties trying to take away a little kid would have caused a scene I didn't want to deal with, and that was the best scenario. The worst that could have happened was the kid was like Eve or Leon. The old Eve and Leon who were killers whether they liked it or not.
"Here's the plan…Try to get to know her. When she begins to trust you, we'll treat her to ice cream. While she's distracted, we question her." I explained quickly before anyone could overhear.
Eve nodded and left me feeling like the scum of the earth. I was about to bribe a little kid for information which doesn't fit into my code at all. I hoped Eve was having fun at least. It wasn't often she did anything except read for fun.
"Is that your daughter? The little blond girl?"
I tilted my head back in surprise to stare into those ocean blue eyes. The gorgeous woman was standing behind the bench slightly, smiling, but obviously expecting an answer.
"Well…Sorta…You could say that." I responded carefully. I don't particularly like lying to women.
"I see. I'm sorry if you think I'm prying. I try to keep an eye on Robin's friends."
"Robin huh? She's the one in pink?" I asked patting the bench beside me.
"Yes. I tried to teach her there were more colors than pink and blue, but she doesn't like listening to me." The woman replied joining me.
"That's too bad. You would think a girl her age would listen to her mother with no questions asked." I commented examining her carefully.
She was pretty and dangerous. I could barely make out the bulge of a gun in one of her pants pocket, but I had to admit she hid it well.
"I suppose so…" Was all she said before our eyes met.
We must have been thinking the exact same thing. We were up in a flash. I grabbed my attaché case the same moment she pulled her gun. People were trying to grab their kids and escape, but I wasn't worried about casualties. Something told me this woman had no interest in anyone but me.
"Who sent you?"
"Who are you?"
We were almost in sync. Eve must have heard the commotion since she came running with her arm transformed into a hammer. The woman took one final look at me before she jumped on the bench to avoid Eve's attack. She had her gun pointed directly at Eve's head before we even knew what happened.
"Alice!"
Alice--if that was her real name--gave that Robin-kid a glare that could freeze an active volcano. She used Eve's head as a stepping stone to reach Robin, but not once did her gun leave its target. Not even when Robin attached herself to Alice's leg.
"I'll tell you this once. Leave us alone, or next time I will kill you both." Alice stated simply as she kneeled to the ground.
Robin climbed on her back, and Alice stood back up slowly. She backed away with her gun still raised until she took off in a dead run. There was no doubt in my mind that that woman was a killer. The only question was the reason the bounty was for the kid, and not her.
Well that's the story. Now I'm driving through the city like a madman tracking Eve who's following the woman. Believe me I don't want to do this, but Eve's stubborn especially when her pride's damaged. It's not often she gets stepped on after all. The phone rang and I picked up on the first ring.
"Everything ok?" I asked urgently.
"No. She ducked into an alley, and I lost her. Should I search for her in the sky?" Eve asked.
"I have a feeling she won't be that easy to spot. She probably changed her appearance. Meet me in front of Annette's. We'll decide what to do then." I replied as I hung up the phone and lit a cigarette.
I turned off the police radio so the only distraction in the car would be the smoke drifting lazily out the window. My gentleman's code requires me to be courteous to women and children, but dangerous women don't exactly apply. Then again I never had to deal with a dangerous woman with a kid. Maybe she's on the run from her abusive husband and took self defense classes to protect herself? No, that woman had serious training to be able to aim a gun from that position.
The trip to Annette's has become a second habit to me. I have no idea how long I sat there in front of her shop--better yet arrived--before Eve tapped on the window breaking me from my concentration. I made sure to lock the car before walking into the shop. It would really ruin my day for someone to sneak off with my car. I mumbled a hello to Annette as Eve and I took a sit at a bar.
"Found her Sven?" Annette asked not bothering to look up from the glass she was polishing.
"Yeah and lost her. Don't ask how a kid got away from me. I'm not quite sure I understand myself. We did find out her name is Robin." I answered with a shrug.
"Well if you came for more information, I can't really help you. The bounty isn't offered by the police. Some old man brought in the paper and posted it himself. He said he had the cash for it so I didn't argue. When I saw it was a kid, I took it down as soon as he left and kept it for you. Figured your gentleman code would keep you from hurting her." Annette replied as she sat the glass down.
"What about the woman, Alice, she's with. Do you know anything about her?" Eve asked, but Annette shook her head.
"First I've heard of this Alice woman. Could be fake names." Annette answered.
No, I don't think those names were fake Annette. Robin did look frightened and fear causes people to forget things. Even things that they are conditioned to know especially when dealing with children. I can't exactly prove that right now, so I'll just keep that detail to myself. I put out my cigarette, and was about to light another one, but Annette nodded behind me.
Both Eve and I turned around, and I could have fallen from my seat from shock. There they were! They didn't even bother changing their appearance. Robin was skipping a little ahead of Alice like the park incident hadn't happened, but something wasn't right. Even from a distance I could see Alice's face was paler than about an hour ago, and she was wearing the shades over her eyes instead of her head.
"Well isn't she bold?" I muttered absently.
Eve was already at the door before I followed. This would be tricky. Robin and Alice had gone into a small restaurant across the street. If Alice's threat was serious, we had to be very careful to avoid any casualties.
"Be careful you two. I have a bad feeling about them." Annette called after us.
Well at least I know I'm not crazy for being this uneasy.
"Sven, do you have a plan?" Eve asked, and I shook my head.
"Not really. Right now I think the best thing to do is just talk with her. I think there's more to that bounty than we know, and it's against my code to abandon a woman."
Yeah, talking is good. Talking keeps guns from being pulled. Guns weren't pulled until the talking stopped, and this time, I'm going to be a bit more discrete checking her for weapons.
The next chapter will be from Alice's point of view, so like always let me know what you guys think.
