CHAPTER 1

Max hopped off the bridge and landed on the uneven concrete with super-human grace. She kicked at the remains of her attacker's gun and smirked slightly. Surely her effortless victory was reason enough to celebrate. A drink at ol' Ari's place was clearly in order.

Ari's was as run down as any other building around, but it had the best rum to boot. Ari was a bit of a sexist bastard, but Max could usually put him in his place any time he tried something on her. The two guns probably convinced him most.

"Yo, Ari," Max said in her usual "no-funny-business" voice, "lemme get some of your Amber rum, all right?"

Ari sighed, "Sorry, Max, we're all out."

"You're kiddin' me," Max groaned. Ari's rum was the best. She sighed. "All right, lemme get some whiskey."

"Sure thing," he said, and he winked at her. Max glared. He grinned and ducked behind the counter to retrieve her drink. When he resurfaced, he handed Max the entire bottle rather than a shot. He knew her too well.

"So who'd you take out this time, ol' Quick-Draw?" asked Ari, grinning madly as he awaited the epic story that was sure to come. Max just shrugged and took a long draw from the bottle, something small and smile-like tugging at her lips.

"Just some dumbass who thought he was hot shit. No big deal."

"That's lame," said Ari, disappointed.

"Yea, except I blew him up."

"Oh, fuck yea!" shouted Ari, ever the sadist, "tell me about that!"

As Max told the tale of her victory, someone near the back of the place was watching her with fascination. He took her in; her short brown hair, the leather vest overtop a muscle shirt that hung loose over her flat stomach, the cargo shorts with pockets full of magazines, and the holster around her waist.

Two girls invited Max to sit at their table to recount her story to them. She slung an arm over each girls' shoulders, and held a gun in one hand, her whiskey in the other. She looked…. Well, pretty badass, he had to say.

Ari chose that moment to slide out from behind the bar and give Max's ass a hearty slap; in an instant the cheery air was gone, replaced by something angry and intense that made everyone in the vicinity turn to look.

In seconds flat Max had shoved the bottle into a girl's hand and had Ari against a wall, one gun's muzzle in his chest while the other pressed its cold tongue to his temple. If you'd blinked you would've missed it.

"Fuck off," Max snarled, and when Ari just grinned and said "I like 'em feisty," she whipped around and fired a shot. The bottle in the girl's hand exploded, causing her to shriek and draw her hand to her chest in surprise. Perfectly good whiskey spilled to the floor, and Max fought off her disappointment.

"Point taken," said Ari in awe. Max released him and snarled "I certainly fucking hope so."

A single pair of hands applauded from the back of the room. Rather than acting out a dramatic scene where everyone in the room stayed silent and turned to look, the patrons of Ari's went back to cradling their drinks and talking loudly to one another.

Max, however, was curious, and so she turned, face smooth as stone, and faced two boys.

The boy who was applauding seemed to blend into the shadows of Ari's dusty pub; the cheap owner refused to pay for lights of any kind. Nobody minded much; one could get away with much more in the overlooked, shaded corners of a place.

His hair was dark and flopped carelessly over flat-looking black eyes in jagged strokes. The skin that covered him was of an olive shade, and so smooth that Max longed to reach out and stroke it. However, she had too much self-control for that.

The dark boy's muscles seemed to pop from his shirt, and he looked like he could take anyone out with his bare hands, he was that fucking huge. Max appraised him, trying to mask her awe.

The other boy was basically the opposite of the first. With shaggy blonde hair and pale eyes and skin, he was the other boy's counterpart entirely. His tall, lean body fit comfortably in his fitted clothing. His light blue eyes gazed just past Max's left shoulder.

The dust of the outside world stuck to their hair and skin, showing they were well traveled. Their clothes were dirty, and Max could make out the bulges of guns in their pockets.

Unless, of course, they were just happy to see her.

"Quick-Draw Ride, am I right?" the dark boy said, smirking. "Not hard to guess. You're pretty fuckin' badass, you know?"

"Thanks," said Max in an obviously bored tone. The boy's expression didn't change from that of complete calmness. He tilted his head. "I can see how you earned the name," he said.

"Well yea, they don't just call me that for fuckin' nothin'," Max said, getting irritated. "Get to the point all ready, I'm a busy lady. I got shit to do. C'mon, chop chop."

Something like anger flashed in the boy's eyes, but in an instant it was gone. "My name's Fang," he said, "and this is Iggy-" a motion towards the blonde boy- "and we've got a proposition for you."

"Yea? Well what the fuck is it?"

"We want you to join our crew."