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Gunsmith cats: Lock and Reload
By meanbow
Disclaimer
Much as I hate to admit it, but I do not own any of the 'gunsmith cats' characters, they are owned and created by kenichi sonoda, nor do I own the rights to the gun used in this story. The only one's I do own are my own original characters, and all the bad guys who appear from the darkness of my mind's recesses. This time, the gunsmith cats get to travel, so no more chi town adventures from now on!
P.s, this story will also be rated for mild language use and suggestive scenes
Part 1 : A new gun?
Down in an old warehouse on the waterfront, utilising the office space as a makeshift interrogation room, Rally Vincent and her sister, Arlene, were attempting to find out some information from a suspect caught earlier on
"TALK, GODDAMN IT!" an angry Rally Vincent spat the words out at their bust this evening, one Jack Castlemaine, who was 'cuffed to an old wooden chair in the office
"I'm not saying a thing 'til I see a lawyer…so go screw yourself lady" was the smart-ass reply
Arlene Vincent put her hand on Rally's shoulder, and whispered into her ear
"Why don't you go get me a coffee from the thermos in the car, sis. I'll talk to Mr Castlemaine while you do…"
Rally looked around at her twin, and nodded her head slowly "K, I'll be back in a few…"
Arlene smiled evilly as Rally walked out and closed the door slowly behind her, just as her sister began to talk
"…Now Mr Castlemaine…why don't we try and be civil towards each other…"
Rally started to walk slowly down the corridor, towards the main warehouse where the cobra was parked up, out of sight. She opened the door and grabbed the thermos and two melamine cups from the back seat, when she heard a loud thud noise, a scream and a howl of pain
Rally ran back to the office to find Jack blurting his heart out, telling everything they wanted to know, and then some
After 30 minutes, they had what they wanted. Arlene and Rally helped a very red-faced Jack up to his feet and out to the car
Rally kept looking at her sister all the time, and couldn't hold it any longer after he was in the car
"…How did you get him to talk?" she blurted out
Arlene raised an eyebrow
"Oh don't worry sis, it was easy. I gave him a choice, the easy way or the hard way…he chose hard"
"Which was…?" Rally enquired
"His balls, and the draw on the desk…"
Rally winced at the description "Yeowch, I'm just glad I'm a woman. But even hearing about it hurts"
Both Rally and Arlene Vincent got into the cobra, and the mighty muscle car headed off towards the police station
Meanwhile, hundreds of miles away in Los Angeles, John Bolton was chasing down a gunrunner for the cartels operating in L.A
Josef Cortez was running fast to escape this relentless man in a shirt and tie, when John threw his eagle head walking stick like a boomerang, causing it to spin through the air and hit Josef on the back of the legs hard. He fell forward; the walking stick wrapped itself between his legs, and he hit the ground hard, sliding towards a few trashcans and bags before hitting them with a thud
John slowed down and picked his stick up off the ground, and walked towards Josef
Josef pulled his jacket open and grabbed a Colt .45 from his inside pocket and tried to point the big gun at john, but the reaction was immediate. John pulled the eagle head upwards and held on to the wooden cane body, and a long, sharp blade appeared and whooshed towards his right hand, cutting him badly in one movement, rendering the gun hand useless
"I don't think you want to be doing that now, Mr Cortez…" John stood over him as he said that, pointing the super sharp sword at his chin. Josef gulped, and dropped his gun to the floor
"…Now why don't we talk about these new super guns I have heard so much about from your colleagues, shall we?"
Rally and Arlene got back to their shared house
Detective Roy Coleman had given both of the girls a stern telling off for their methods of information gathering, but were lucky that the suspect didn't want to press any charges against them whilst at the station
("Told ya he didn't have the balls to do it, Rally" had been the sarcastic comment made by Arlene earlier)
They got in, and as they walked in through the front door, the house phone went off
"I'll get it…" went Rally, as she picked up the receiver "Hello…"
"Ah good, Irene, so glad I got hold of you…I've been trying to reach you for an hour or more…" went the voice of John Bolton over the phone
"Hey John…" Rally went, and flopped down on the sofa and kicked off her boots "How's things in L.A?"
"Not good…I need your gun expertise. Have you ever heard of an O'Dwyer metal storm smart gun?"
Rally's ears twitched at the sound of the name
"I heard stories and rumours about it. It's a military prototype multi-shot weapon system, supposedly an experiment to create a gun capable of firing more than one round per shot, why?" she asked, as she took off her socks and rubbed her tired feet with her free hand
"Because it's not science fiction, Rally, it's science FACT…" was the reply
Rally stopped rubbing, then sat up with renewed interest
"…I just finished talking to a pretty reliable source, that told me a shipment of these fully working prototype weapons is due to be taken by the cartels into the continental United States."
"NO WAY!" Rally shouted down the phone "are you serious? Do you have any idea what that could mean if that thing really does exist and work?"
"Unfortunately, I do. Not only would it give whoever has that gun a big advantage over other gangs, but it could be used to start a small war."
Rally went silent, and started to think of the implications of such a weapon in the wrong hands
"This is not good, not good at all. Is there anything we can do at all?"
"Personally…I think this would be a good time to take up my invitation to visit me in L.A, I could use all the help I could get, plus it would be nice to have someone who knows about guns around…in case. I can get you tickets onto a flight down to LAX international no problem…first class of course"
"Sure…I want to see this sucker myself. Just give me and Arlene a few days to tidy things up this end, O.K?"
"You got it…. I'll see you soon then"
The line went dead, as John hung up. Rally had a giant smile on her face
"HEY SIS…GUESS WHAT? WERE GOING TO L.A!"
Part 2:
Welcome to Los Angeles
The American Airlines 737 flight 501 from Chicago touched down on the runway of LAX international airport with a screech of tires and the engines being thrown into reverse power, before taxiing towards the terminal for unloading
Three figures got off the plane with all the other passengers, all 3 of them looking around at the airport and it's vast glass terminals and wide open floor space
"Wow…this is great" went the first girl, Arlene "I've never been to Los Angeles before. I can't wait to check out some of the shops in Beverly Hills"
"First things first, Arlene. We're here to stop that shipment of guns before we go sightseeing" her sister, Rally, replied
"I want to see some of the sights too, Rally. It's not every day you get to visit somewhere where the sun shines nearly all the time. I'm goanna strut around in my bikini all day, and get a tan" the third member of the group, Misty, went
Arlene looked at Misty, then smiled
"Who's the tan for then?"
"ME!" Misty replied, then laughed
"Come on you two, lets check out and get a taxi to John's place"
The girls got through the security gate with their guns, permits and licences, although their guns were wrapped up in security bags and disassembled for safety reasons, and got out into the main airport, heading towards the main exit
Suddenly, Rally's cell phone goes off, so she pulls it out of her pocket and answers it
"Hello…"
"Hey, are you there yet?" a man's voice asked
"John! Yes, we're here. Are you in the office?" she replied
"No, I'm nearly there to pick you up. Wait outside and I'll pick you up in a few…"
"K. We'll see you soon then" was the reply, just before she hung up
"Let me guess, lover boys goanna pick us up" Arlene went sarcastically
"As a matter of fact, he is. He said to wait outside for him"
The three girls picked up their luggage from the turntable and headed to the main doors with a trolley
A few minutes after going outside, a burgundy red 1976 Cadillac Coupe de Ville with its convertible roof down appeared and pulled up outside the airport in the taxi-loading bay, smoking like hell from its exhaust
John Bolton was sitting in the driver's seat, wearing a short-sleeved white shirt and trousers, but with a pair of leather gent's sandals on instead of shoes
"Hello ladies…your taxi awaits" he said, as he got out of the car and walked around to the boot and started to load their luggage
Rally, Arlene and Misty looked at the car, Misty opened the door and climbed into the back of the car, but got a shock from sitting down on the white leather
"YOW! It's HOT!" she yelped
"What did you expect? It's touching 90 degrees here today" John commented
"So this is your main transport round L.A, John?" Rally asked
"Yup" he replied as he threw the last bag into the back of the boot "don't be fooled by its appearance, it has a highly tuned V8 power plant beating under that long hood"
Arlene climbed carefully into the back with Misty, and Rally got into the passenger side. John got in and stuck the car into D, and pulled off from the loading zone
The Cadillac cruised slowly through the streets of L.A, the 3 female passengers looking around at the various sights as they passed them
"HEY! It's Manns Chinese theatre!" called Misty as they drove past
"Sure is Misty, and tonight they are premiering a new film there. All the tinsel town glitterati will be there tonight so don't forget your autograph book. I'm not sure what the film is though, so many films get released all throughout the year here, it's hard to keep up with them all" John told the group
"It must be great living in a town with so many famous people…" Rally commented
"Not really, all the stars are regular people too, you know. I know loads of them through my work. You could say I'm detective to the stars here. Sometimes I go to their parties, or out to lunch with a celebrity who wants something. It's no big"
Rally looked at John with amazement on her face
"Here's a famous sight that everyone knows…" John went, and pointed out to the right of the car. The girls all looked in the direction he was pointing
"The Hollywood sign…big whoop" went Arlene
The Cadillac continued on past the sign, John took the girls on a brief sightseeing tour before he turned around and headed back towards the houses, rather than the shops
It took around 20 minutes to reach john's house and shop in long beach
"Ah, here we are" he went, as the Cadillac pulled up outside a 3-storey house with a shop front on the ground floor
John got out and walked over to the front door and unlocked it, and jammed a door wedge underneath to keep it open; the girls had got out and stood on the pavement
Rally looked at the sign on the pane of glass in the shop frontage 'John Bolton, Private Investigations service and Bail Recovery Agent'
"Wow…" went Misty, who had turned to look at the beach instead of the shop/house "if you need me, I'll be on the beach with those…" she went, as she started walking towards the beach, pulling her top off to reveal a bikini top.
Arlene turned her head to look, and saw a load of bronze beach gods and surfers
"Figures…" she snorted
"You coming in or what?" John called from the first floor front window
"What about our luggage?" called Rally
"Already in babe, I bought it in while you were admiring the views" he went sarcastically
Arlene and Rally went in, and went upstairs to the house. The stairwell was well lit and decorated in a light cream with some pictures of scenes from Los Angeles hanging on the wall. At the top, the entrance lobby was warm and inviting, a large mirror and some photo's of a man in a police uniform decorated it.
"If you don't mind, could you take your shoes off please, I just had a new wooden laminate floor put down" John went and opened a door that was a closet with a coat stand and a shoe rack inside.
They obliged, but Rally had a question
"Who's this man in this picture?" she asked, looking across at the picture, whilst leaning against the wall to take her shoes off
"That's my dad. He was a police officer in the L.A.P.D... 25 years on the force, 'til he was killed on the job during a break-in with some raider in a computer store about 3 years ago, just as I was going to join the police force. I know it was a set-up, as he uncovered something by accident that would implicate a few high ranking people for various things. That's why I became a private investigator instead…to find out and finish what he started"
Rally looked at John "I'm sorry…I shouldn't have asked" she went
"Yeah man, that's so sad" Arlene added
"My office downstairs has more pictures of him, as well as his gun and badge and the flag they covered his coffin with…they remind me every day of why I do what I do. So don't feel sorry" John replied
John led the two girls upstairs to the second floor, and showed them to the bedrooms
"I have 4 bedrooms on this floor, plus I have an attic room with stunning views over long beach…I'll leave it up to you which rooms you take. Mine's on the end of this corridor, so choose any other room you like and I'll fetch your luggage up"
John went back down stairs to get their bags; Arlene and Rally looked at each other and went "BUGSY I GET THE ATTIC…"
The two girls burst out laughing, then suddenly went silent and started pushing each other out of the way to get to the attic stairs first. They both got up the stairs and went over to the bay window
"What a view…" went Rally, Arlene went "Yeah…nice"
Arlene turned round and looked at the room, it was set up as a small living room, with a surround sound T.V. and a small couch, standard lamp, and a hi-fi. It had lots of little decorations that gave the room character, mainly a warm beachy feel
"I think I'll go look at the bedrooms on the floor downstairs" she said, and then walked back towards the stairs to find a room to stay in
Rally pulled away from the window, and looked at the room herself. She also decided on finding a room downstairs
A few hours after arriving in L.A, the gunsmith cats crew were all settled in and were enjoying John's Alfresco cooking on his rear patio that was on top of his garage out the back. Rally was reassembling her CZ-75 and her sister's Sig Sauer P228 whilst eating a freshly cooked, albeit overdone, burger
"So…what do you think of L.A so far…apart from seeing the sun here, rather than rain?" John asked the cats
"I think I burned on the beach…" went Misty, who was rubbing cold cream into her shoulders, wincing as she did
Arlene smirked, and replied "I like it here. Compared to some places I've been, this city is warm and friendly"
"I've never been this far away from Chicago before, but I love this town" Rally went, but asked, "Where's the Maserati?"
John pointed and signalled down "in the garage below us"
"Do you mind if I borrow it while were here? We'll need transport"
He smiled, "yeah, go for it. I don't use it very often"
Part 3:
Smart guns and short skirts
Arlene leant back on her plastic garden chair, and looked at John
"So, what's this 'smart gun' then?" she asked#
John looked at her, and answered "I found out it's supposed to be a prototype multi-shot handgun that uses electronic pulses instead of mechanicals to fire the bullets. The user has to have their thumbprint stored on the guns sensor so the gun can recognise them, and respond to them only. I have no idea about how many, or where they are supposed to be coming in, but I have a rough idea when."
Rally looked up from the Sig Sauer P228 and pulled the chamber and barrel back to engage the gun "I see you've been reading up about your firearms then, John" she went
"Most of it's hearsay and speculation, and rumours on the 'net" he replied, "I've never seen one"
"Nor have I…" replied Rally "I'm goanna see if I can 'borrow' one for examination purposes"
"Excuse me for sounding thick here…" Arlene started "but what's the point in making a gun that can shoot more than one bullet at a time?"
"Personal defence…" Rally butted in "it's the next generation of automatic weapon. Imagine if you will, a gun that shoots more than one shot at once…now imagine that that gun has fired anything up to 100, or 1000 bullets at once…it gives you an impenetrable wall of bullets for defence, and a deadly force for attack. Shooting at a rate of 1/500th of a second, and firing 3 shots at once…That equates to a rate of 60,000 shots per minute…they could blow holes in brick walls, destroy cars or other vehicles in a single press of the trigger…or leave you a bloody mess on the floor…with nothing left to identify your body with"
Misty looked at Rally "EWWW! Geez, thanks for that mental picture, Rally"
Rally apologised, but went "I had to tell you what we are going up against. This is tipped to be the biggest innovation in handgun technology since the bullet clip"
John nodded his head "this is indeed a dangerous weapon, and I don't blame any of you for wanting to back out now for your own safety" he went
"I'm definatly in…" went Rally "and if I can get my hands on one…BONUS!"
Arlene looked at John "where my sister goes, I go. Besides…she's a glory hog, and I want my share"
Rally's face had a look of shock on it "GLORY HOG?" she went "ever looked in the mirror lately, sis?"
Arlene smirked, and then went "No need, I look at you and I see myself. It's a twin thing"
Rally and Arlene stared at each other for a few seconds, before both bursting out in laughter
"I don't know what I'd do without you now, Rally. I've never felt so close to anyone before…present company excluded" Arlene went
"We're family, Arlene. I'm glad dad told me the truth, I knew something was up with us" she replied
"When we've quite finished…" John went sarcastically, and then went "I think we should start chasing any and all leads we can find regarding these guns. Any titbit of info that tells us where will be useful"
That evening, Rally, John and Arlene were sitting in the Maserati belonging to John, Rally driving the Italian Super car
"This doesn't handle too badly for a big car, and it's quick too…" she went to her sister
"So does this mean you're getting rid of the Mustang? If so…I'll have it!" Arlene went cheerfully
"Two words sister dearest…and the second one's off" Rally went dryly to Arlene's comment
"HEY…no needs to get like that Irene…god you need to get a sense of humour"
The Maserati pulled slowly up at a bar on the pier, local hangout for all the scum and filth of L.A. and home to any snitch you could want
John looked at the two girls in front
"Now remember…act friendly and they will talk to you, this lot are suckers for a pretty face. I'll record everything they say thanks to these…" he went, then held his hand out. In his palm was two tiny radio mikes', which looked like buttons. John pinned the mikes onto both Rally and Arlene, then continued, "Once we know what we need, get out before they latch on, it could turn nasty otherwise"
"Yeah, O.K John…it's not like we haven't done this before…" Rally replied
"You may have…I haven't" Arlene went "thanks for the tips"
The two girls got out of the car slowly, adjusting their short skirts and tops as they did. Rally wobbled a bit as she got out, as she wasn't used to wearing heels, especially stiletto's
"I hate this…I feel like a hooker" Rally went
"Don't worry…you look like one too, and that's how we get them to talk. Follow my lead" Arlene replied, and then led Rally in to the bar
The door to the bar opened, and two female's walked in. the bar went quiet for a few seconds, before returning to normal
Arlene walked up to the bar "Two tequila slammers please"
"Got I.D?" went the barman, eyeing them up
"Of course I got I.D, silly boy…" went Arlene, who then produced an I.D card from between her breasts, by pulling it out from a hiding place. The barman raised his eyebrows, snatched the card and looked it over
"Two tequila slammers coming right up, ladies" went the barman, passing the card back to Arlene, who then put it back in it's hiding place
Rally whispered in her sisters ear "Where do you hide those things?" she went, looking at her sister suspiciously
"Hey…I'm a pro, I hate to admit it…but this was one of the hustles I had to do to get money on times" Arlene answered back in a hushed tone
The barman put 2 slammers, a saltshaker and 2 slices of lemon down on the counter. Arlene went to pull her purse out to pay for the drinks, when the barman stopped her
"Don't bother…the gentleman on the end has paid for them" he went, pointing him out. The man on the end of the bar waved his hand once, then turned back to his drink
"That's our cue…" Arlene went in rally's ear "I'll handle this one…you sit here and see if anyone else is willing to 'chat'" she then proceeded to get up and walked over to the gentleman on the end of the bar, drink in hand
Rally sat on the stool next to the bar, when another gentleman walked up and sat down next to her.
#The gun in this story is a real prototype weapon that will be used pretty soon by American police forces for testing. To see this gun for yourself, and to find more info out about it, check out the website of the gun's creators
Part 4
The information
"You're new around here…I'm Lance" went the stranger with an Australian accent
"Yeah…me and my sister only just got into town…I'm Teri" Rally replied
"Teri…that's a nice name…can I buy you a drink?" Lance went
"Thanks, but I already got one"
"Then I'll put another one on my tab for you…when you're ready" Lance replied, then signalled to the barman, who nodded his head
Rally looked at the gentleman sitting next to her, he was of mixed race, and well built
"So…Lance, what do you do here in L.A?" she asked offhandedly
"I work for a group, mainly buying and selling" he went
"Buying and selling? Buying and selling what?"
"Stuff…" he went "anything that there's money to be made on" he replied
"Ohm, tell me more lance…" she answered, getting interested in the conversation
"'Course I will, babe…only not here, too crowded…let's slip off to my office" he replied, then made a move on Rally by placing his hand on her backside
Rally's first instinct was to grab her gun and point it in his face…but she had to fight the urge to do so…if they were going to find these guns, Lance may have the answer. She smiled smally at him, then followed him up to his office
"Come in…make yourself at home" Lance went, turning on the light to his office
It was decorated more in the style of a reception room than an office, with a curved leather settee around a glass table, facing a fire in the middle of the room. A large wooden desk was at the back of the room, with a computer and table lamp on it
"Thanks…" Rally went, taking off the stiletto shoes and rubbing her feet "these things kill"
Lance led her over to the settee, sat her down and gently took hold of her right foot in his hands "Let me rub them for you"
"Do you always do this for girls you invite to your office?" she asked, watching where his hands were going
"Only the one's I really like, Teri" he went, gently rubbing her foot, then moving his hand up her leg slowly
"I thought we came up here to talk…Lance" she went thinking quickly "My boss won't be to happy if I don't set up a deal with you"
Lance suddenly stopped where he was "Your Boss? A Deal? SHIT! I didn't know you worked for someone…" he went, panicking "Please don't tell your boss I hit on you…I don't want to end up dead"
"Tell me what I need to know, and I won't say a word to him…" she went, then winked
"Right…what do you need?" Lance went, letting her foot go and sitting down on the sofa next to her instead
"Guns…my boss needs guns. Can you get them?" she went
"Guns? Hell yeah I can get' em. You tell me what you want, and Lance will deliver"
"These are special guns he wants…I think he said they are called 'smart guns'" rally went, looking at him
Lance looked back at her "Hell, I got a small shipment of those things coming into town in the next few days, for another client. I'm sure I can get some more. It's $20,000 up front though, and another $30,000 on delivery"
"$50,000? That's a bit steep for some silly guns" Rally went, acting like a dumb broad
"These just aren't any old guns, sweetheart, these are top of the line military hardware. They haven't even been issued properly yet" Lance went, boasting
"Tell me where and when he can see them, I'll tell him and he'll be there with the cash to take delivery" Rally went, thinking 'score!' to herself
"The warehouse on the end of pier 13, two days from now. Be there no later than 9pm, with the cash, or no deal" Lance went, looking at her
"Thanks Lance…" she went, then leant in and kissed him on the cheek, leaving a lipstick mark on his face 'YEULCH' she thought to herself as she did that
Rally then got up, picked her shoes up off the floor, and walked over to the door
"I'll see you in two days time then…handsome" she went, turning around and closing the door behind her
Rally made her way back down to the bar and headed for her sister, who was still talking to the gentleman on the end of the bar
"Time to go, sis" she went, tapping Arlene on her shoulder. She turned around to face her sister
"AWW, do we have to? Me and Josh are getting on real well…"
"Yes…we do. It's all done" Rally replied, grabbing her sister by the jacket and pulling her towards the door
"CALL ME…" Arlene shouted out before being pulled out through the doors by Rally
Once outside, the two girls headed back for the car, Arlene was giving rally a hard time
"I was working there…he was going to tell me everything" Arlene went angrily
"I've already got what we need, thanks to Lance, the club's owner"
"Oh…and what I was working on wasn't important, was it?"
"Not when all he was doing was checking out your arse. I saw him doing it, He was feeding you bullshit to keep you there" Rally went, pulling the car door open viciously.
Arlene climbed in the back and pulled the seat back fast, and then Rally climbed in as well
"I got it all on tape…thanks girls. Good thinking Irene" John went, smiling, then leant over and gave Rally a quick kiss
"Let's get out of here…" Rally went
John started the Maserati up and pulled off from the pier, but the car was being watched from a window
"California plates…UNG 9275…" Lance went, reading the plates using binoculars and calling out the number to an assistant
"Yes sir Mr Connately…I'll run those plates now" she went
"Thank you Miss Carmichael…I need to know that we are doing business with someone we can trust"
Part 5:
A night out in L.A
Back at John's house, Rally was removing the heavy make-up she had put on to enter the bar in the bathroom. There was a knock on the door
"Is it safe to enter?" a muffled male voice called out from the other side
"Yeah…I'm just taking off make-up…" Rally called back
The door opened slowly, and john was standing there wearing a silk kimono robe
"Hey there pretty lady…" he went, Rally looked at him using the mirror
"Hey yourself…"she went, and noticed what he was wearing "What's with the robe?"
John smiled "It was a gift from the Japanese ambassador a few months back. Someone tried to blackmail him, and I found them out, that's all"
"Well I think it looks nice, John. Very nice"
John sat down on the edge of the bath, and looked at Rally
"I just wanted to ask you…do you…fancy going out while you're here at all? I know a few great places to eat, drink, and dance or whatever you fancy. Make it a bit of a holiday while you're here, eh?"
Rally looked at him in surprise "are you asking me out on a date?"
"Why not?" he replied "if that's what you want to call it, then yes…I'm asking you out on a date"
Rally smiled "Yeah…I think I will join you for a night out. I enjoyed your company the last time back in Chicago…and if I remember right, you were one hell of a dancer"
"I also remember the rest of the night…just" John finished off, and then winked at Rally, making her blush
John stood up again, kissed her on the neck and went "I'll let you clean up first…we'll go when you're ready" he then turned around and left, closing the door after him
Rally looked in the mirror at herself, and started using her cleaning cloth top get rid of the excess make-up, then touching up lip gloss and eyeliner
"Perfect…" she went, swinging her head from side to side, inspecting her handiwork, but looked down at her current clothing choice "…but this lot's got to go"
With that thought in her head, she left the bathroom and headed for her bedroom upstairs to go through her suitcase of clothes
John also went through his wardrobe, looking for something suitable to wear, settling on a casual surf shirt, men's slacks and cut back shoes, before styling his hair into a short spike all over. He finished off with his glasses he wore sometimes
A knock at his door made him turn around "hello…" he went
His door opened to reveal Rally standing there, dressed in a thigh length denim skirt, a small white cropped top that showed off a little of her midsection, white small heeled shoes and a denim jacket. Her hair was set in it's normal style
John looked at her with shock "WOW…" was all he could say
"You're not bad yourself either…" she went, looking at him, then went "Shall we go then?"
The two of them went downstairs and out of the house. Misty and Arlene had left earlier on, so it was just the two of them tonight
"So…" went rally, walking with her arm in John's arm "where are we off to then?"
"That's the great thing about this city…we can walk a few hundred yards down the road…" he went, then gently pulled Rally's arm "…And we have arrived"
They had stopped outside a café bar that had an open plan front that led from the pavement. The face of the building was glowing, covered in neon, and music was coming out from the building
Rally looked at the place "Look's old" she went
"It is, it's been here since 1985, and it's still the same…but it's also still the best night out in L.A" John told her "Shall we enter, my fair lady?"
The couple entered the building, inside it was exactly as john had said, unaltered since 1985, with period items hung on the walls, neon everywhere, glass front on the bar, poles on certain tables, and stainless steel glass-topped tables with lights and padded seats upstairs in a chill-out area. Downstairs on the dance floor area, there were lights under the floor, coloured spots and effects lights hanging from the roof, and a disco ball sending reflected light everywhere
"WOW!" went Rally, having to raise her voice to be heard by John over the music
"You go find us a table upstairs…I'll get us some drinks. What'll you have?" John went to Rally, kissing her quickly
"Anything's fine" she replied, then started to head for the stairs to get a table
From the chill-out area, Rally could see the entire floor, and John fighting his way to the stairs with two drinks in his hands
"Here we are…two bottles of bud, ice cold of course" he went, passing one bottle to Rally, then sitting down on a chair next to her
"Cheers…" Rally went, then took a swig from the bottle
Around 3 am, the bar was closing and the last of the patrons were leaving. Amongst them, a bounty hunter from Chicago and another bounty hunter from L.A, both laughing and teasing each other on their way out
"I've got a lovely bullet wound up by my right shoulder blade, and it's from a 9mm handgun" Rally went, drunkenly
"No, no, no…I've definatly got the biggest scar" went John, looking over the top of his glasses, also drunk
"OH REALLY…" went Rally in a huff "I'll have to see for myself then, when we get in…wont I?" she purred playfully
"Is that what I thought it was, Irene Vincent?" he enquired
"What? Can't a girl get undressed with her man to check his scars anymore, or don't you want to see mine?" she asked, turning away from him
He gently took hold of Rally by the arms and turned her round to face him "I never said that…did I? Come on…let's get home, it's starting to get a bit chilly now"
John and Rally started walking the few hundred yards up the road to his shop/house; he opened the door and helped Rally up the stairs, grabbing her backside as she went up the stairs. She yelped as he did that, then turned around and hit him. John just scooped her off her feet and carried her over his shoulder up the stairs to his room, growling like an animal. Rally was laughing as he carried her up the stairs
Along the corridor, Misty and Arlene were disturbed by the noise of those two coming in
"Humph, Rally…why'd you have to be so god dam noisy…" Arlene went, turning over.
Misty just stirred, turned over and went back to sleep
Part 6:
The meeting that went wrong
Two days later…the three girls and John were heading to the meeting that was arranged, courtesy of Rally's information gathering
Arlene and Misty had the Cadillac, John and Rally were in the Maserati, leading the way
John had put on a suit, a pair of glasses and a realistic looking stick-on goatee moustache; Rally had the outfit and make-up on again that she had at the last meeting
"O.K. you two listen in and record what's said…and be ready to bust in and help us if we need it" John went into his hidden mike, Arlene and Misty heard what was said, Misty gave a thumbs up sign to show they understood.
Then the Cadillac stopped, and left the others to continue on to the meeting
The Maserati pulled up outside the warehouse on pier 13 just before 9pm. The two got out and walked over to the warehouse door and John knocked 3 times. The door suddenly slid open and an armed guard was standing there, ready to greet them
"Raise your arms…" went the guard, who then proceeded to pad them down one at a time, checking for hidden weapons, checking John first, then Rally
"Hey…be careful right?" Rally went, and gave the man her CZ-75 she had on her
The man looked at the gun, and then at her "What? Every girl needs protection" she went. The guard stuck the gun down his trouser front
The guard padded her down, then signalled to Lance that they were clean, so he let them in
"Welcome friends…I hope you bought money with you…because once you see these guns, you wont want to leave without one" Lance went, starting his sales pitch
There was another two men with escorts there, John looked at them through his glasses and recognised them immediately. Mr Sam Sung, head of the yakuza in L.A, with a female escort, probably one of his personal protector assassins, and Mr Michael Cordele, from the local organised crime syndicate, also with an armed bodyguard
"I hope these guns are worth all this nonsense, Mr Connately" Mr Sung went in his best English
"Yeah…my syndicate wants firepower…not promises," Mr Cordele added
"Trust me, gentlemen. These guns are worth every cent…" Lance went, and pulled a crowbar out from inside his purple suit's jacket.
He then walked over to a large crate in front of the group and used the bar to lever the lid off. Once it was open, Lance pulled the top layer of straw off, removed the false cargo and opened a secret compartment on the crate. In the bottom of the crate there were 5 Smart guns, 5 transceiver rings and 4 boxes of ammunition, ready to be loaded
Lance pulled one smart gun out and held it out to Mr Sung in his palms
Mr Sung took the gun and felt it's weight and balance, nodded his approval and passed it on to Mr Cordele, who also nodded and added "nice…" to the end.
John was passed the gun, he looked it over, and then passed it on to Rally, who began inspecting it
Lance passed out another 2 guns and some ammunition, and gave out 2 sensor rings to program the guns, one to Mr Sung, and One to Mr Cordele. They loaded the guns and again nodded their approval
Lance looked around at the people standing there in front of him and asked, "Is everyone happy with the merchandise?"
Mr Sung smiled, bowed to Lance and said "I expect full delivery in a week, and then you will be richly rewarded"
Mr Cordele went "When can I get more of these, so I can take out some of my competitors?"
Lance smiled "Soon, Mr Cordele, soon"
He then looked at Rally and John
"Do they meet with your approval, sir?" Lance asked
John looked at rally first, who nodded, and then back at Lance "Yes…they do"
Lance smiled, and then went "excellent, because we are now going to have a live fire demonstration of this weapon…"
With that, Lance pulled another smart gun out from the box, loaded it with the special clip, and aimed it at John and Rally
"You damn bounty hunters think you're so smart, don'tcha? Well guess what? You're busted" Lance went
John looked at Lance with shock on his face "What do you mean, sir?" he asked
"Your car…" Lance went, pointing the gun at them and using his free hand to find a notepad in his pocket "Reg. UNG 9275, registered to a Mr John Bolton, private investigator and local bounty hunter…and you, sweet thing… are in as much trouble, hanging out with a loser like him"
Suddenly, the armed guard and the two personal guards turn towards them. Pointing his gun at them, the thug snarled, Mr Sung's protector pulled a pair of sai out from her tunic and Mr Cordele's guard grabbed his handgun from his gun holster
"Err, John…" Rally went, backing up a bit. John stood there and bought his cane up and grabbed the body of it with his left hand
"Get 'em" went Lance
The two armed guards turned and opened fire on Rally, who dived behind a crate as her spring loaded .38 shot out to her left hand. She landed behind the crate and waited for a break in firing, then popped up and took out the man with her gun.
John pulled his sword cane apart, revealing the blade and adopted a fighting stance. The assassin leapt forward at him with the Sai's, and started attacking. John used the sword to block and defend the attacks. Rally got up and ran between crates, dodging bullets as she ran, to get to the man she took out. She dived and rolled past his body, and grabbed the CZ-75 in one movement, landing up on her knees and opening fire on the second guard. The guard was hit by 4 bullets from Rally's gun, and shot off some more shots from his gun towards the ceiling as he fell over
John and the female ninja were trading blows, every moved countered, every counter blocked, every block re-countered. John suddenly whipped his sword around and pulled one Sai out of her hands, sending it flying and embedding it in the wall, then countered a high kick with a low sweep and knocked her off her feet, winding her with an elbow to the sternum
Lance aimed his smart gun at Rally "sorry babes, that's business," he went, and then pulled the trigger.
The gun shot off a round of bullets in one shot, Rally tried to avoid the bullets by diving, but two of them found their target and went through her upper right arm, causing her to spin around and scream out in pain
A loud roar was heard from outside, and an old Cadillac suddenly came crashing through the front warehouse door, Arlene driving it like a NASCAR. She hit the brakes and the car slid towards Lance, who had his back to the door. Lance went flying high over the bonnet of the car, and landed hard on the concrete the other side
Arlene got out of the Cadillac and ran over to him lying on the floor, grabbed him and pulled him up with her right hand, then pulled her left hand back in a fist and hit him hard in the face, breaking his nose and knocking him out in one punch
"NO-ONE HURTS MY SISTER WHILE I'M AROUND!" she yelled at him
Meanwhile, Mr Sung and Mr Cordele had sneaked out of the warehouse and went to their cars to make a getaway, but when they got outside to their vehicles, all the tyres were flat, and a young woman was standing there with a sharp knife, cleaning under her nails
"I wouldn't bother if I were you…looks like you got a few flats" she went, looking at them.
Mr Sung threw his briefcase down on the floor in disgust, and started to mumble some Japanese curses, Mr Cordele dropped to the ground and placed his head in his hands; just as the sound of police car sirens filled the evening sky
Part 7:
Finally
The area was surrounded by L.A.P.D black and whites, officers going over the scene with vigour. All the suspects were in custody, and the illegal weapons seized. In the back of the E.M.S ambulance, the paramedic, strapping her arm up tightly to stem the bloodflow, was putting Rally back together
"You're real lucky there miss…" he started, "they went in and straight out again. Must have been a powerful gun to do that"
"You have no idea" Rally commented
On the dolly board next to Rally in the ambulance, Lance was out cold. His nose was broken and bleeding, and would probably never be right again. Arlene climbed in the ambulance to see her sister
"Hey there, how you doing sis?" she enquired, looking at all the bandage and sling she now had
"Not bad, better now than I was" Rally replied "that was one hell of a punch you gave him…I never seen you do that before"
Arlene smirked, "hey…I was raised in New York, remember? Plus you don't get much chance to do anything else inside apart from work out and keep fit"
John walks over to the ambulance and looks in "when you're ready Irene, a cop friend of mine needs to ask a few questions"
"K. John, I'll be out in a few," she answered
The doorway was suddenly blocked by a large figure of a man, wearing a trench coat and sipping on a coffee
"Rally Vincent?" he asked, looking at the two girls in the back
"That's me" went the first girl with the sling
"Detective George Slater, L.A.P.D. we need to talk…privately" he went, and signalled to Arlene to leave
After a few minutes alone in the ambulance, Detective Slater emerged from the back with a smile on his face
"Thank you for your assistance, Miss Vincent" he went, putting his notepad away, then turned and headed back for his car
John went up to the doors and looked at her, holding his hand out for her to grab. She took his hand with her left and he helped her out of the ambulance
"Well, we did it, Rally" he went, looking at her, then leant in and gently kissed her on the lips
"Yeah, we did it…but I never got my gun to study" she replied as he broke away from her
"Oo, I don't know about that…" John went, winking at her and patting his jacket pocket.
He then put his arm around her and led her back to the Maserati, and opened the door for her
Arlene reversed the Cadillac out from the hole in the doors she made with the car; Misty climbed in next to her and called out "We'll see you back at the house, we're going cruising the Van Nuys"
"Yeah…" Arlene called back as well, "see if we can pick up any action tonight. SEEYA!"
With that, Arlene put her foot down on the gas and the old caddy moved off swiftly, heading towards the bright lights of L.A
"Well…looks like we got a night in on our own then" John went, looking at Rally
"Let's get back to the house then…I got new scars to show you now" Rally went, smiling broadly
John smiled at her
"Yes Ma'am!" he replied, firing up the Maserati and wheel spinning away
part 8:
Going home
A few days later, John pulled the Cadillac up outside LAX international airport. He got out and the trunk opened up so he could unload the suitcases for the girls, who were struggling to carry the shopping they had to take home with them
Rally climbed out of the car slowly, her arm still in a sling, and she had been told to take it easy for a few weeks by the doctors in L.A, and to go see her doctor as soon as she arrived back home
Arlene had 3 large shopping bags under her arms, two belonging to her, the other one to her sister, Misty had gone crazy and spent a small fortune on plastic, but didn't seem to care
John came back with a trolley, and loaded all their suitcases onto it, as well as their shopping
The group walked back into LAX and headed for their check-in point, john pushing the trolley
"You got your tickets and boarding passes?" he asked as they walked
"Yeah, right here…" went Rally, pulling them out from inside her sling with her left hand "this thing does have some uses then"
After checking-in and going to their gate for boarding, the flight to Chicago was called and Arlene and Misty had already boarded. John and Rally were at the boarding gate, holding on to each other
"I'm going to miss you, John" Rally went, wiping a tear from her eye with her good hand
"Me too Irene, me too" John replied, trying his best not to cry, but sniffing back tears
The voice of the stewardess called out from the intercom
"This is the final boarding call for flight C185 non-stop to Chicago. All passengers please board and prepare for take–off"
"That's yours Irene" John went, giving her a hug before he had to let go
Rally gently let go of John, but leant back in and kissed him softly
"I'll see you again…I hope" she went as she walked slowly to the boarding gate and gave her pass to the stewardess
"Of that you can be sure. I'll call you" he replied, watching as she went into the boarding tunnel and disappeared out of sight
John stood there for 10 minutes, watching as the plane prepared for take off, it was on the end of the runway awaiting clearance. The plane started moving and the engines accelerated as it built up speed, and then took to the skies
"I Love you Irene Vincent…" John said quietly as he watched the plane head skywards "I just wish I had the guts to tell you to your face"
John put his hand in his pocket, and felt something inside it. He pulled out a small envelope, which he opened and read the note inside
Dear John,
I wish I were there when you find this letter, as I have something important to tell you.
Whenever I am around you, I feel special. You treat me like a lady, even though on times I don't act like one, and I feel warm and happy. I hope we can continue our special relationship, even though hundreds of miles separate us
Irene "Rally" Vincent
XX
John read the note again, and a small tear formed in the corner of his eye
"You know my number, Irene. And I know yours…we'll meet again"
With that, John headed back to the main entrance and where he parked his Cadillac, only to find that it was going down the road on the back of a tow truck
"HEY...THAT'S MY DAMN CAR!" he screamed, chasing after the truck and driver
The end
Will John get his car back from the impound yard, or confess his feelings to Rally? Gunsmith cats will return soon in another of my fanfics!