AN: Just a random oneshotish piece that I wrote a while ago. Kurtis POV. Enjoy (or else! Muahahaha!)
From my perch on the roof of the building, I could see out over Paris at least to the Seine, maybe even a little further if I really tried. I had been watching the area nightly for a while, and the darkness and solitude usually helped clear my thoughts. That is, until that one night when everything went to hell, as things usually do when I'm involved.
Police sirens wailed every few minutes, if I had to guess, I'd say another Monstrum killing happened recently. Normally I would have gone and done some digging, see if I could find any more leads, but I didn't really feel like it at the moment. Maybe later I'd yell at myself for letting the trail get cold, but to be dead honest right now, Eckhardt could be behind me and I still wouldn't give a damn. I was going to enjoy what little true freedom I had these days.
A lone figure ran down the street below, throwing glances behind them every few steps. I was pretty sure that the figure was female, but I didn't bother to look closer and check. She seemed to relax a bit, throwing fewer glances as she continued along. Another siren screeched, and she froze, as several armed policemen whirled around the corner, headed straight at her. Although I couldn't hear their exact words, I could easily guess what the police were shouting.
"Madame! Levez vos mains dessus de votre tête!" The lady was silent, and I don't think she moved since they showed up. I couldn't help but laugh at how easily they were catching her. At least, until the fugitive chick turned on one heel, and tore down the street in the opposite direction, heading for an alley on one side. I found myself enjoying this little spectacle, silently rooting for her to make it to the alleyway while the police scrambled to stop her.
The gendarmes opened fire, and completely missed, not surprisingly. What startled me was the fact that they attacked while she seemed unarmed; unless, of course, she was heading to get some cover to pick off the officers from a distance. But by the way she was running, I doubted it, and from the looks of things she could use some assistance. Me being the gentleman that I was — one who had serious life issues and hadn't killed anything in the past two weeks — I immediately jumped down to help her. Using my telekinesis, I softened my fall from one that would have shattered every bone in my body and sent my guts spilling all over the street to something that merely jarred my knees and ankles upon impact. Super powers make life so much easier.
"Pardonnez-moi, Messieurs." The startled policemen turned, only to meet their sudden, if slightly brutal, deaths. I quickly killed two without drawing a weapon; the first with a snapped neck, and the other with a solid blow to the head. I then pulled out my Boran and finished the rest off without a second thought. When I had finished, I looked up to find the young woman standing — stunned, apparently — some distance down the street.
Down at street level, I could see her more clearly. Jeans, dark shirt, jacket, auburn hair, tied back. Not exactly a supermodel, but not an old hag either. One could've said she was pretty, but something about her was unusual. Unable to place it, I dismissed it for the time being.
"Hey!" She blinked at me, and started to take a halting step backwards. I really didn't feel like chasing her all across Paris, she seemed more than a bit skittish – for good reason – and I needed answers. Lowering the tone of my voice, I continued. "You speak English?" She gave me a barely perceptible nod.
"I need to ask you a few questions." I holstered my gun, and extended my hand, to prove I wasn't planning on killing her. I shouldn't have bothered. Her eyes narrowed, and she took a couple more steps away from me. She then spoke, her voice quiet, but laced with fury, in the silence of the night. "Who are you working for?" Somehow I could tell she wasn't an average thief or druggie. Maybe it was the tiredness that was apparent in her speech, or the hint of sadness, or how she backed away; not fearful, just wary. Like she knew I didn't intend to harm her, and she planned on using it to her advantage. In many respects her voice sounded like mine had, through the long days of the past few months. Tired, wary, but trying to hide it with a mask of anger. I offered her a smile. "I don't work for anyone. I just need some answers. Ever hear of the Monstrum?"
Immediately after I finished speaking, she turned and sped toward the alley again. With a muttered curse, I stepped over a body and ran after her. I suppose that's what I get for attempting to be a gentleman.
I had almost caught up to her when she reached the alley. She reached out and grabbed a drainpipe, swinging around the corner without losing her momentum. I regret to say my turn was not nearly as graceful; my boots slid on the wet pavement as I stopped and started again down the alley. To my amusement, the alley was cut off by a high fence. She was trapped, and she knew it.
She didn't stop though, she kept running. For a moment I wondered if she was going to climb the thing. I certainly hoped not, things were more likely to get messy that way. I was almost close enough to grab her arm when she jumped. Alright, jump doesn't quite cover it. Whatever she did, she struck the fence and then flipped over my head. I wasn't sure if she did so purely out of necessity, or to show off. The truth was probably a bit of both.
Instead of opting for acrobatics, I shoved off the fence with both hands, intending to catch her before she got far. Unfortunately I had underestimated her; the second she landed, she launched into a twirling kick that connected with my jaw. I cursed again. Loudly.
I pulled out my gun, and leveled it with her head. I had rather hoped that asking for information wouldn't result in me threatening her, but at the rate things were going, nothing else looked promising. "Don't move or I shoot."
She turned around, and smiled, unperturbed by the weapon in my hand. Her unblinking gaze met mine, and she spoke again. "Go ahead. It might even solve some of my problems." She then turned and quickly walked out of the alleyway, leaving me pointing my Boran at the place she had just occupied.