¨¨°º©o., Chapter 1: Dorothy ,.o©º°¨¨
The blaring music from the nightclub could be heard from miles away. It's pumping beat calling to everyone that heard it from the dirty streets. Pounding off the dirty walls, its electric beat was almost tangible. It rang like a heart beat in my ears.
There was a huge line gathered outside people dressed in leather, skin showing in the dim glow of the yellow streetlights overhead. The sidewalk was covered in dirty water the dripped from the ceiling over head, creating a dent in the line to avoid it. Prostitutes roamed the line selling the body to the highest bidder. Curls of cigarette smoke whirled up into the night air.
The line was slow moving, bodies shifting against each other in the hot night air. I shrugged deciding to skip and head straight for the door. Hopefully this Dorothy would have me a quick way in.
The two bouncers sized my up right away. Taking quick notice of the gunblade at my side. They were on guard right away folding their huge muscular arms across their chests.
"Can we help you" one of the huge men asked in his deep voice.
"Yeah I'm supposed to meet a Dorothy here tonight, My name's Scarecrow" I said to them flicking the butt of my cigarette into a near by gutter.
"Ah your supposed to the The 10 tonight?" The man said a grin spreading across his square chinned face.
"What?" I asked not understanding the reference.
"You'll see. Head on in Scarecrow" the bouncer said moving to the side to allow me access to the two metal doors leading into the club.
The smell of the smoke machine hit me right away, spraying it rolling fog across the lowered dance floor. The black wooden floor was covered in bodies all moving in time with the music. The swish of leather moving across body parts. Skin pressed against skin. Different colored lights flashed over the crowed from the ceiling painting their bodies in all shades.
I sauntered over to the bar leaning against it with ease. The bar tender was a curvy woman in a skirt so short her ass was hanging out the bottom.
"What can I get for ya, sugar" she asked winking at him before snapping her gum.
"I'm lookin' for a girl named Dorothy" he asked.
"Oh! She's up in her booth" the bartender said pointing to a large enclosed booth in the upper left corner of the club. I smirked at her before heading over to the glass enclosed structure. Even the stairs leading up to it was made of class.
A huge clouded glass door stood before me. I reached out and grabbed the handle tentatively. I fully expected it to have some trap to lop my arm off. It opened easily allowing me into to the dim let room. Everything was draped in red, even the lights were red. A long glass table stretched out in front of me, blood red chairs flanking each side.
A woman sat at the head an expectant look on her face. A face carved from beauty, elegance and grace. High cheekbones, full pouty red lips, and shimmering cerulean eyes. She flashed me her white teeth as she stood up. She wore a pair of black leather pants with a tight red tube top. Her breasts spilled over the top of the tube top in an appetizing expanse of cleavage.
"Dorothy" I said simply walking along the side of the table. She nodded a bit and thrust her hand out to shake. I took her hand shaking for a moment puzzled by her familiarity to me.
"Scarecrow" She said the words tumbling from her ruby lips. She sat, and I sat at the chair to her left. My eyes never left her, one could never be too cautious.
"What's the job?" I asked wanting to get right to the point. She smiled shaking her blond head before reaching around behind her. When she turned around she held a very advanced piece of cyberware in her hands.
The most puzzling thing was that it wasn't whole.
Wires and cords erupted from the bottom of it clanking on the glass table. It was a five-facetted cylindrical shape, the top coming to a point. The surface was sparkling emerald green.
"This is a Data Transfer Device. It carries information from point A to point B" she explained setting it on the table in front of me.
"Like me, a carrier" I said pinking up the glittering object. She nodded taking a deep breath.
"Only this is not complete. There are four other pieces, and no I don't have the other four" she explained.
"Who does?" I asked.
"A few of my friends. I want you to help me gather the pieces and get us to where we need to go" she said.
"How much?" I asked.
"100 million Gil" she said quickly tossing a bag onto the table. I eyed it for a moment, before reaching out to touch it.
"And another 100 million at the end of the job" I said.
"Agreed. Let's go" she said turning to grab a black coil from the small table behind her. He head shot up suddenly as the music in the club below us stopped. There was gunfire and shouting. She rushed to the door stepping out onto the small precipice that was there. I stepped out behind her looking down at the once full dance floor.
A woman flanked by two men stood there. The woman struck me with a sense of nostalgia. She was wearing a blue duster over a tight black leather outfit. A huge cyber weapon was strapped to her arm. Her face framed by black-brown hair he eyes very seriously.
"Whose that?" I muttered under my breath.
"That is Rinoa Heartilly, Leader of the street gang the Forest Owls" Dorothy muttered back to me her voice quivering a bit.
"Sorry red, your plans are done for" the woman standing on the dance floor said as she raised her weapon. Gunfire rang out through the club.
"Run" Dorothy said pushing me back into the glass room. Bullets whizzed past us as we ran, glass splintering around us. Dorothy reached the end of the room throwing open a small shaft with a rung ladder leading up.
"You first" I said to he. I helped her into the shaft, pain lancing across my chest as a bullet skimmed my arm. Just as the glass shattered from beneath my feet I leapt into the shaft. I climbed up after her, not even taking the time to enjoy the nice view of up her skirt as we moved.
The upper hatch opened into the night air. The roof of the building was open to the whole city, scaffolding of a once expansion project never finished loomed over us.
"Come on we'll lay a board over to the next roof" she said rushing to the side of the building looking frantically for something to lie across. I looked up spotting a coil of rope. I sighed racing over to it, movements as quick as I could make them.
"Here" I shouted tying it to a metal crossbeam in the scaffolding. She looked at me with wide eyes as she rushed over. She tucked the shining Cyber Emerald into my pocket before throwing her arms around me.
I wrapped one arm around her and pushed off the building heading for another roof. I only hoped we would make it that far.
A/N: Hope this was actiony enough for you. Thanks everyone for reading and reviewing! I love you all so much!