A/N: Next chapter is finally up. Sorry it took a few days, I had writer's block. I decided to throw a little action into the story, just to break things up a bit. Also, I added a few terms to the glossary, including Happy Fun Burger!
alleycat1312- Samus still has her power suit with her, but the ship she used was commandeered by the Galactic Federation Police.
PixieGirl13- I'll be praying for you! I'm sure it will be a life-changing experience. You'll have fun!
tikitikirevenge- Hee hee! I'll see what I can do as far as updates… But no promises!
Deception
The thugs stood in a circle around Samus, leaving no room for escape. She might have been able to take on one or two of them, but there was no way that she could escape from this many.
She simply stood, her arms crossed, trying her best to seem tough. Inside, she was quaking like a leaf. She looked around the circle at the creatures around her. They were all men, it seemed, were of different species, and they each wore a tough snarl on their dirty faces. It was clear that whatever they were here for, they intended to get.
After a moment, one of them spoke. "Let's get down to business, shall we?" He gave Samus a dirty look. "Why were you spying on us?"
Samus was confused for a moment. Then she realized that these must have been the men who robbed the bank. Her mind raced, searching for an answer. She simply blurted out the first logical thing that came to her mind.
"You fools! I was going to steal your loot from you as soon as you escaped," Samus paused to see if they were buying it. They seemed to. "Unfortunately, I misjudged the location of your lookout and had to take care of him instead. By the time I had finished, you were already gone."
The men just looked at her, unsure of what to believe. Dei had said that she was an incredible fighter, but could she really have pulled off robbing them? The one who seemed to be the leader glared at her for a moment, trying to see if she would crack. She simply glared back.
"Hold her here," He said, walking out of the circle for a moment. "I need to talk to the boss." As he isolated himself to talk on his telecom, Samus merely shifted her leer from one thug to the next, trying her best to keep up her false bravado. She was frightened out of her wits that she had just made things worse for herself.
After a moment, the leader returned to the group. He looked around at his men, and then made a single statement.
"Test her."
Immediately the men sprang into action. They all ran at Samus at once, giving her little time to react.
Her Chozo instincts snapped into effect. She ducked under one of the men, effectively bringing herself outside of the circle. She now had two choices: She could stay and fight, as her Chozo instincts compelled her to do, or she could run.
She turned around and faced the confused jumble of men. She could feel her heart pounding in her head, and she could sense the adrenaline rushing through her veins. Suddenly full of the thrill of the fight, Samus ran up to one of the men and executed a kick to his back, sending him flying across the alley into another thug.
Two men ran at Samus, intending to knock her into a wall. Thinking quickly, Samus swung her foot low, tripping one, and then stuck out her arm and clotheslined the other. The one started to get up, but Samus brought her heel down hard upon his back, sending him sprawling again.
Samus looked up to see about five men rushing at her. She carefully timed a roundhouse kick and managed to take out four of them. The fifth she punched in the face. He caught the blow, but was not expecting Samus' knee to his gut. He crumpled to the hard cement floor.
"Enough!" The leader said, actually fearing for his men's safety. Samus was panting heavily from exertion, but the adrenaline rush she was receiving at the moment would have allowed her to remain fighting for a good deal longer.
The men, who were scattered about the ground, were now getting up, groaning and grumbling over their bruises and scrapes. Their leader turned to face Samus. "We have an offer that I think you might be interested in. We would like you to join our crime ring. You can have ten percent of all of the booty you help us get."
Samus' eyes widened. She couldn't do this! Pretty soon, she would be the one wanted. But then another thought came to her. What better way to catch the leader of the crime ring then becoming a part of it?
"I want thirty percent," Samus said, realizing that she had to play hard-to-get if she wanted to be credible.
"Twenty."
"Twenty-five."
"Done."
"So," Samus inquired, trying to sound nonchalant, "When do I start?"
"Come with me," Came the reply.
The band of thieves led her through several back alleys and eventually brought her to the back door of a broken down, abandoned shoe factory. The leader slowly opened the door. The rest of the gang followed him into the factory.
Samus looked around. It still looked completely untouched. There was a thick layer of dust on all of the broken down machinery, as well as a good deal of cobwebs covering everything. There was no sign that a band of thieves had been meeting here.
The gang headed to a staircase leading to the basement. As soon as Samus reached the steps, she noticed the contrast between the basement and the upper levels. It was clear that this space had been used frequently.
The light was fairly low, and there were a few beat up chairs sitting here and there. The basement seemed to be filled with halls and corridors leading to who knows where. The leader turned and faced his gang. "You guys are dismissed." He then turned to face Samus. "You, come with me."
Samus' heart was beating fast again. Where was he going to take her? What was he going to do to her? He led her down a corridor and through a door on the left.
Samus suddenly found herself standing in front of Url-Krym himself. He was sitting in a chair behind a large desk. There were a few other chairs in the room. Url looked from the thug to Samus, then back to the thug again.
"Leave us here." He ordered. The thug nodded and left the room. Now Samus was standing in the presence of the crime lord himself. Alone.
