Chapter Six: Loaded Guns
"Uh-oh. Have you been reading those Nancy Drew books again?"
-Ranger, Janet Evanovich's 'Three to get Deadly'
"Vinnie is 5"7, looks like a weasel, thinks like a weasel, smells like a French whore and was once in love with a duck."
-Stephanie Plum, Janet Evanovich's 'Four to Score'
"Looks like you've been doing pretty well for yourself," Yumi mused aloud as they left the apartment building and emerged back onto the darkened city streets, heading towards the parking lot. "This place is pretty upscale."
"It gets lonely though," Ulrich responded without much thought.
Yumi laughed. "Starting to regret things? That's not like you."
"You act as if you know me," Ulrich snapped to cover his previous statement.
"I used to." He couldn't tell if it was anything more than a statement, a simple fact. Was there a hint of longing in Yumi's voice? Did he want there to be? Was he over-analyzing her every move? He looked down at her, and came to realize that it was a first for him. She had always been taller, but time had caught up and he had grown up to surpass Yumi in height.
"Have you kept in touch with anyone?" Her voice snapped him out of his reverie.
"Aelita. We email every once in a while. She's a business woman, a very sucessful one at that. Of course, how could she not be?"
"I haven't. I guess I just kind of lost touch with everyone. So how is Aelita doing? Does she give you finacial advice, girl advice? Is she still with Jeremie?"
Ulrich almost lost the veiled question in her statement, but caught it. "She's okay, and no she's not with Jeremie anymore. They broke up after high school. Is that your way of asking If I'm involved with someone?"
Yumi's face grew hot, though it was hard to tell in the dark, the city's ever-present lights not enough to illuminate her features. "Of course not. Why would I care?"
"If you still had feelings for me."
"Well, I don't, okay?" This was said hastily, like it had been rehearsed.
"Then you don't need to know." He felt her stiffen beside him and realized that she was still easy to irk. Ulrich allowed himself a satisfied smile in the dark.
She shrugged, trying to act nonchalant and failing. "You brought it up, not me."
"But you don't have feelings for me, so it doesn't matter and you don't need to know."
"Exactly. I don't even care." Ulrich could practically feel the steam radiating off of her. She so needed to know, but Yumi would never let on.
"Finacial advice," he admitted after a long pause. They had reached his Escalade, and he pressed the button. The doors gave a click to declare they were open, and Yumi got in the passenger side. Ulrich turned the key and the vehicle hummed to life.
"Nice ride," Yumi confessed, seeming taken with the leather interior. "You are doing well for yourself. Where exactly are we going, by the way?"
"To the bad side of town." Ulrich navigated his way out of the lot. "I assume you have a weapon of your own? Taking my gun won't help you this time."
"Why did you give it to me anyway? I was just bluffing after all."
"I didn't want to take the chance that you were armed. I don't like shoot-outs."
"Awww," Yumi cooed. "A softie bounty hunter, how cute." Her sarcasim had definately gotten more honed after ten years. "And yes, I have my own gun." She pulled out a .45.
"Carrying concealed will get you arrested you know."
"Take your own advice. Besides, I'm wanted for theft, remember? Carrying concealed is the least of my concerns."
"True." They lasped into silence.
"What would the answer be, if I did have feelings for you?" Yumi looked at him with question in her eyes. "Not that I do or anything," she amended quickly.
Ulrich raised an eyebrow at her. "No, no significant others in my life." He found himself trying to read her expression. Did she look relieved? Excited? Smug? It was hard to tell, her face was a carefully perfected mask. He decided that turnabout was fair play. "What about you? Boyfriend, fiance, husband?"
"Negative to all of the above," she answered smartly. Ulrihc stuggled to match her blank look. In school he would have been able to do it easily, but time had weakened his emotional shell and he found himself revealing a small smile, but a smile no the less. "Do you have feelings for me," Yumi's voice cut in slyly.
"It was junior high, of course I don't." Ulrich made a pffft sound and brushed her question away with the wave of a hand. "Do you want there to be?"
"Of course not," she said firmly. "So there's not going to be any sort of attraction here, right?"
"Right." Ulrich nodded his head to emphasize the word. "We are two prfessionals working together to find a stolen jewel. No attraction whatsoever." He wondered if that was true. Could he work side-by-side with Yumi without any feelings towards her? Was that even possible? Somehow he doubted it.
There was no definate line as to when they reached the bad side of the city. The first signs were the hookers who stood on the street corners. They looked at Ulrich in anticipation, but didn't seem overly dissappointed when he didn't pull over.
Next came groups of gang members loitering about guarding their turf from interlopers. They glared at the Escalade but made no moves against them. Ulrich noticed Yumi tensing up slightly.
"Nervous," he asked.
"Aren't you," she responded, eyes locked on the street ahead of them as though boogymen were going to atttack them out of the shadows.
"You do your work in the dark, and yet you're afraid to be out here?" Ulrich was hesitant to call what Yumi did 'work' but it did fit.
"I don't usually work on this side of town," she informed him. "And I'm not sure I'm ready to shoot someone."
"With any luck there won't be any shooting," Ulrich consoled her. "Just don't offend anyone." Yumi made a 'hmph' sound. He eased the vehicle over to the side of the road and parked it. "We're here." He looked her over now. "You may want to have that gun loaded."
They had stopped in front of a dingy old gas station. The lights were off and Yumi would have thought it deserted had Ulrich not gotten out and started towards it. She jumped out of the Escalade and scampered after him into the shady gas station.
Inside, Ulrich had walked over to an ancient cooler that had once stored pop and beer. He slide the door open as Yumi caught up and stepped through. Yumi followed him down a long steep staircase. "Where are we going?"
"To see Vinnie."
Ulrich stopped upon reaching a door guarded by two goons. They were built up like wrestlers and Yumi got the distinct impression they could snap her in half. Combined with the Glocks resting in holsters on their hips in plain view and the men were a scary sight.
"I'm here to see your boss," Ulrihc told them in a commanding voice. The men's eyes shifted to Yumi. "The girl's with me," Ulrich clarified. The men nodded and one opened the door to allow them to enter. Yumi squirmed under their gaze as she passed.
The room beyond was dimly lit, but Yumi could make out a desk with a man behind it. The room was smokey too, and smelled of cigars.
Ulrich marched up to the desk. "Vinnie," he greeted the man.
"Ulrich. What brings you to my humble gas station on a night such as this? And who is your guest?" Yumi could sense rather than see his eyes on her. It made her skin crawl.
"We need information on the ruby."
"What ruby? There is no ruby here."
"Don't play dumb with me, Vinnie. You run crime in this city, you must know where it is." Ulrich's voice was impatient.
"Ah, now I know who she is. Yumi Ishiyama, it is a pleasure to finally meet you. How is it that the thief is with the bounty hunter?"
Ulrich grew exasperated. "Vinnie!"
Yumi almost felt the man's gaze shift to Ulrich. "Are you demanding something from me?"
The bounty hunter nearly fell back a step, but stood his ground. "I have to know where that ruby is!"
"I told you I don't have it. Now I suggest you leave. Miss Ishiyama, you are welcome to stay of course." Yumi's skin crawled again.
Ulrich slammed a fist down on the desk in frustration. "Where is the ruby, Vinnie?!"
Vinnie stood, drawing himself up to his full height. He pulled out a gun, but it happened too fast for either Yumi or Ulrich to identify it's make. Ulrich grabbed Yumi's arm and moved to the door in a caution motion. He fumbled for the handle as he spoke.
"Easy there, Vinnie. I don't want any trouble, we just need to find that jewel." Vinnie's answer was a bullet that lodged itself into the heavy wooden door just above Ulrich's head. The fugitive apprehension agent connected with the door's handle and fled, dragging Yumi behind him.
The goons did little but stare as they ran past, a good indicator that people runnign from Vinnie was no a rare occurance, until Vinnie's voice called out, "Stop Ulrich!" Yumi gasped and caught up with him and they sprinted up the steps.
The leapt out of the cooler and were halfway across the gas station when the shot rang out. To Yumi's horror she saw Ulrich go down in a spray of blood.
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