Chapter 4
Instead of running down the street, Sid sprinted up the embankment to the overpass. Jet overshot her by a couple of meters after rounding the corner, not realizing that she hadn't gone straight as he had expected. He scrambled up the steep concrete wall and saw her. His heart jammed into his throat as he saw where she had gone, right into the lanes of oncoming traffic. Jet paused, self-preservation overriding his need to catch the girl momentarily. He quickly pushed himself past that mental block and took off into the speeding traffic of the expressway.
Sid was used to running through traffic while dodging the many crooked cops on Mars. She stopped dead on the yellow line as a car sped past her almost pulling her down with the wind drag left in its wake. Jet's heart skipped a beat as he saw the car miss her by a mere three inches. As soon as the car passed she was off like a shot heading to the other side of traffic. Her foot hit the concrete wall that served as a median between the directions of traffic and she used her momentum to propel herself forward into the next few lanes. She ran lithely like a cat, each foot placed deliberately on the pavement as if this was a daily thing for her. She raced across the last four lanes without another incident, Jet, however, was not so fortunate. A car swerved barely missing him, its horn blaring a lethal warning as it passed. Jet cleared the embankment and was off, finding a lull in the deadly traffic.
Sid shot up the chain link fence on the other side of the expressway, the small toes of her shoes catching the holes in the chain, as if she simply walked up the fence. Jet was less than thirty seconds behind her and easily scaled the fence. The pair raced down the city street and Jet was gaining on her.
"Wait! Kid, I just want to talk to you!"
"Fuck off cop!" Sid spit back venomously.
Jet growled and poured on more speed. The Black Dog had bitten down.
He lunged and made a grab for her, his cold metal fingertips brushing the well-worn canvas that made up the collar on her coat. Sid made a split second decision and took a sudden and unexpected left into a busy local restaurant. Jet not to be left out, followed hot on her heels, losing a few precious seconds as he did. She flew over the counter and back into the kitchen door, Jet vaulted over the same counter and was right behind her. Sid however was paying more attention to her surroundings than the man chasing her. She ducked under the arm of the lunch rush waiter and kept going. The waiter spun, attempting to keep control over his over stacked tray as he dodged the crazed child. He didn't see Jet until it was too late. Jet caught the tray, and all the food, mid-chest.
Jet had had enough. He would not let this little brat, who believe it or not was actually smaller than Ed, get the better of him. He was an adult, a former cop at that. He gritted his teeth and his eyes narrowed as he followed her out the back door and into the alley behind. Sid panicked, her ribs were killing her and she knew that the fever she had been fighting was going to start kicking her ass soon. She could not keep up this pace. She knew where the small opening was, and slid into the tiny space between two of the buildings in the alley. Jet saw her slide into the minuscule opening and snatched his hand in, grabbing her coat before she could escape. Sid was left with no other option than to slide out of its protective warmth or get dragged from her safe spot. He pulled the duster out of the space and cursed under his breath.
Sid then noticed something that made her blood chill. There was a moving van and boxes blocking the other end of the breezeway. She was trapped. Jet reached back in, but she backed up just out of reach of his grasping hand. He realized that they were at a stalemate and punched the brick wall next to him. Obsidian cowered backward as some of the brick crumbled under his cybernetic hand.
"Get out here now!" He half yelled at her.
"Piss off!" She yelled back, confidant that she could out wait him.
Jet grit his teeth and pulled out his communicator. Spike was walking down the street, dejected and frustrated. The nicotine withdrawals were driving him crazy and he was almost tempted to try and bum a cigarette from one of the many people walking around him. He hadn't found out another piece of information, his sources were dry for free tips that day. His communicator beeped signaling an incoming transmission and he pulled it from his pocket.
"You got something?"
"Spike! Home in on my signal and get your lanky ass down here."
"Lanky?" Spike chuckled sensing his partner's frustration. "What's going on?"
"I got the little pain in the ass cornered, and I'm too big to fit in after her." Jet growled, frustration gnawing at him.
Spike just laughed as he ran for his ship, "On my way."
Sid shivered, she was cold and the fever was starting to eat at her. She could feel it burning at the base of her neck, threatening to climb higher into her mind. She was running out of time, but luckily they hadn't drawn a crowd. No one seemed to notice the odd Mexican stand off that was going on between the huge man and the trapped child. Obsidian was becoming worried; little by little the confidence that she had clung to about out waiting the large man wore down. He glared at her from the entrance to her hiding spot and waited, arms crossed for his lanky partner to come. Spike, she had known someone by that name once, but he was dead now. Joseph had told her that one of her precious protectors had died; she couldn't cry for him, not after what he had done to Vicious.
"You might as well come out." The large man spoke, a scowl still on his face. "I will catch you."
"Yeah right." She bit down on her tongue to keep from coughing.
"My name is Jet Black. I always catch my bounties," He glared down at her, "and you're worth a million wulongs kid."
"A bounty hunter?" she laughed then couldn't hold it back any more. Her body shook with the force of her wet wracking coughs. "Get real and fuck off Pops, you won't get a cent for me."
Jet's expression softened as he saw just how sick this kid was and his mothering instincts kicked in full force. Soon, Spike would be there and they could fish the poor thing out and get her some help. Jet figured it couldn't hurt to patch the girl up before turning her in, all the cops would do is send her to the infirmary after putting her through the long processing period. Even so, the cells weren't a good place for a sick defenseless kid. Obsidian, meanwhile, was wondering where Joseph had managed to scrape together a million wulongs. More likely than not, he had just posted the bounty and then would back out of it once he had her. Jet looked off to his right and nodded.
"About time you showed up." He said to Spike.
"What? You stop for lunch?" Spike chuckled as he took in the sight of Jet covered in the remnants of the waiter's tray.
Obsidian took that moment to move. She had been watching as the movers had steadily removed the boxes from the other end of the tiny breezeway until it was clear. She darted down the path and crawled out the other end, under the truck. An open sewer grate beckoned her and she slid inside. Jet's eyes went wide as he saw her move.
"Shit! She found a way out! Quick, get to the other side."
The two men raced for the other entrance to the breezeway and when they got there, out of breath, she was nowhere to be seen. The frantically looked around, but couldn't find a trace of her. Jet walked over to one of the movers who were standing around on a coffee break.
"You see a kid about so high," he gestured with his hand approximately Obsidian's height, "run out of that breezeway?"
"Yeah," the mover stated flatly, "The little piece of street trash slid into that sewer grate like she belonged down there."
Jet looked at Spike and then the sewer grate.
"Don't even think it," Spike said with disgust in his voice. "I wouldn't fit anyway, it's too small."
Jet shook his head and walked back to the alley. He picked up the girl's coat and dug through the pockets for a moment. The object of his quest found, he tossed Spike a half-empty pack of cigarettes and a lighter. Spike immediately lit one up and tossed them back to Jet. He continued to go through the pockets until his hand brushed something familiar. He pulled out roughly 4,600 wulongs from one of the inner pockets and was about to comment on their good fortune when he noticed something written on the tag in the back.
"What the hell?"
"What?" Spike asked, only half interested.
Jet turned the coat around and showed him. Written on the tag was a single word. Spike.
**
About an hour later, Sid finally exited the sewers. She was about twenty blocks from where she had gone in and was heading for one of the old abandoned syndicate safehouses. She figured she could hide there until she felt better, then figure out what to do then. The door creaked on it's hinges as she swung it open and slipped inside. It smelled musty in there, like no one had been at that house in years. All of the furniture was covered with white cloths and seemed ghostly in the dimming light. Obsidian breathed a sigh of relief and stepped into the living room. It was then that the hand darted out and grabbed her hair.
"I've been looking for you." A voice hissed near her ear.
Her blood ran cold as ice in her veins.
"Joseph!"
Instead of running down the street, Sid sprinted up the embankment to the overpass. Jet overshot her by a couple of meters after rounding the corner, not realizing that she hadn't gone straight as he had expected. He scrambled up the steep concrete wall and saw her. His heart jammed into his throat as he saw where she had gone, right into the lanes of oncoming traffic. Jet paused, self-preservation overriding his need to catch the girl momentarily. He quickly pushed himself past that mental block and took off into the speeding traffic of the expressway.
Sid was used to running through traffic while dodging the many crooked cops on Mars. She stopped dead on the yellow line as a car sped past her almost pulling her down with the wind drag left in its wake. Jet's heart skipped a beat as he saw the car miss her by a mere three inches. As soon as the car passed she was off like a shot heading to the other side of traffic. Her foot hit the concrete wall that served as a median between the directions of traffic and she used her momentum to propel herself forward into the next few lanes. She ran lithely like a cat, each foot placed deliberately on the pavement as if this was a daily thing for her. She raced across the last four lanes without another incident, Jet, however, was not so fortunate. A car swerved barely missing him, its horn blaring a lethal warning as it passed. Jet cleared the embankment and was off, finding a lull in the deadly traffic.
Sid shot up the chain link fence on the other side of the expressway, the small toes of her shoes catching the holes in the chain, as if she simply walked up the fence. Jet was less than thirty seconds behind her and easily scaled the fence. The pair raced down the city street and Jet was gaining on her.
"Wait! Kid, I just want to talk to you!"
"Fuck off cop!" Sid spit back venomously.
Jet growled and poured on more speed. The Black Dog had bitten down.
He lunged and made a grab for her, his cold metal fingertips brushing the well-worn canvas that made up the collar on her coat. Sid made a split second decision and took a sudden and unexpected left into a busy local restaurant. Jet not to be left out, followed hot on her heels, losing a few precious seconds as he did. She flew over the counter and back into the kitchen door, Jet vaulted over the same counter and was right behind her. Sid however was paying more attention to her surroundings than the man chasing her. She ducked under the arm of the lunch rush waiter and kept going. The waiter spun, attempting to keep control over his over stacked tray as he dodged the crazed child. He didn't see Jet until it was too late. Jet caught the tray, and all the food, mid-chest.
Jet had had enough. He would not let this little brat, who believe it or not was actually smaller than Ed, get the better of him. He was an adult, a former cop at that. He gritted his teeth and his eyes narrowed as he followed her out the back door and into the alley behind. Sid panicked, her ribs were killing her and she knew that the fever she had been fighting was going to start kicking her ass soon. She could not keep up this pace. She knew where the small opening was, and slid into the tiny space between two of the buildings in the alley. Jet saw her slide into the minuscule opening and snatched his hand in, grabbing her coat before she could escape. Sid was left with no other option than to slide out of its protective warmth or get dragged from her safe spot. He pulled the duster out of the space and cursed under his breath.
Sid then noticed something that made her blood chill. There was a moving van and boxes blocking the other end of the breezeway. She was trapped. Jet reached back in, but she backed up just out of reach of his grasping hand. He realized that they were at a stalemate and punched the brick wall next to him. Obsidian cowered backward as some of the brick crumbled under his cybernetic hand.
"Get out here now!" He half yelled at her.
"Piss off!" She yelled back, confidant that she could out wait him.
Jet grit his teeth and pulled out his communicator. Spike was walking down the street, dejected and frustrated. The nicotine withdrawals were driving him crazy and he was almost tempted to try and bum a cigarette from one of the many people walking around him. He hadn't found out another piece of information, his sources were dry for free tips that day. His communicator beeped signaling an incoming transmission and he pulled it from his pocket.
"You got something?"
"Spike! Home in on my signal and get your lanky ass down here."
"Lanky?" Spike chuckled sensing his partner's frustration. "What's going on?"
"I got the little pain in the ass cornered, and I'm too big to fit in after her." Jet growled, frustration gnawing at him.
Spike just laughed as he ran for his ship, "On my way."
Sid shivered, she was cold and the fever was starting to eat at her. She could feel it burning at the base of her neck, threatening to climb higher into her mind. She was running out of time, but luckily they hadn't drawn a crowd. No one seemed to notice the odd Mexican stand off that was going on between the huge man and the trapped child. Obsidian was becoming worried; little by little the confidence that she had clung to about out waiting the large man wore down. He glared at her from the entrance to her hiding spot and waited, arms crossed for his lanky partner to come. Spike, she had known someone by that name once, but he was dead now. Joseph had told her that one of her precious protectors had died; she couldn't cry for him, not after what he had done to Vicious.
"You might as well come out." The large man spoke, a scowl still on his face. "I will catch you."
"Yeah right." She bit down on her tongue to keep from coughing.
"My name is Jet Black. I always catch my bounties," He glared down at her, "and you're worth a million wulongs kid."
"A bounty hunter?" she laughed then couldn't hold it back any more. Her body shook with the force of her wet wracking coughs. "Get real and fuck off Pops, you won't get a cent for me."
Jet's expression softened as he saw just how sick this kid was and his mothering instincts kicked in full force. Soon, Spike would be there and they could fish the poor thing out and get her some help. Jet figured it couldn't hurt to patch the girl up before turning her in, all the cops would do is send her to the infirmary after putting her through the long processing period. Even so, the cells weren't a good place for a sick defenseless kid. Obsidian, meanwhile, was wondering where Joseph had managed to scrape together a million wulongs. More likely than not, he had just posted the bounty and then would back out of it once he had her. Jet looked off to his right and nodded.
"About time you showed up." He said to Spike.
"What? You stop for lunch?" Spike chuckled as he took in the sight of Jet covered in the remnants of the waiter's tray.
Obsidian took that moment to move. She had been watching as the movers had steadily removed the boxes from the other end of the tiny breezeway until it was clear. She darted down the path and crawled out the other end, under the truck. An open sewer grate beckoned her and she slid inside. Jet's eyes went wide as he saw her move.
"Shit! She found a way out! Quick, get to the other side."
The two men raced for the other entrance to the breezeway and when they got there, out of breath, she was nowhere to be seen. The frantically looked around, but couldn't find a trace of her. Jet walked over to one of the movers who were standing around on a coffee break.
"You see a kid about so high," he gestured with his hand approximately Obsidian's height, "run out of that breezeway?"
"Yeah," the mover stated flatly, "The little piece of street trash slid into that sewer grate like she belonged down there."
Jet looked at Spike and then the sewer grate.
"Don't even think it," Spike said with disgust in his voice. "I wouldn't fit anyway, it's too small."
Jet shook his head and walked back to the alley. He picked up the girl's coat and dug through the pockets for a moment. The object of his quest found, he tossed Spike a half-empty pack of cigarettes and a lighter. Spike immediately lit one up and tossed them back to Jet. He continued to go through the pockets until his hand brushed something familiar. He pulled out roughly 4,600 wulongs from one of the inner pockets and was about to comment on their good fortune when he noticed something written on the tag in the back.
"What the hell?"
"What?" Spike asked, only half interested.
Jet turned the coat around and showed him. Written on the tag was a single word. Spike.
**
About an hour later, Sid finally exited the sewers. She was about twenty blocks from where she had gone in and was heading for one of the old abandoned syndicate safehouses. She figured she could hide there until she felt better, then figure out what to do then. The door creaked on it's hinges as she swung it open and slipped inside. It smelled musty in there, like no one had been at that house in years. All of the furniture was covered with white cloths and seemed ghostly in the dimming light. Obsidian breathed a sigh of relief and stepped into the living room. It was then that the hand darted out and grabbed her hair.
"I've been looking for you." A voice hissed near her ear.
Her blood ran cold as ice in her veins.
"Joseph!"
