Crazy – 03 – The Scent Of Apples
"And then he said that I was too short. I swear I shoulda ripped his head off," Luxie said and slammed her drink down on the counter. "Whoops," she said with a small smile as it slopped over her hand and everything else. She looked up and completely forgot the mess in an instant. "I mean, I'm not short, am I?" The bartender shook his head.
Okay, Luxie was short. She had messy black hair with a blue shimmer too it and wore a dark purple tank top. On her right hand she wore a red fingerless glove and over her legs a pair of blue camouflage pants. She also wore big black boots with metal plates gracing the front.
She didn't look much different than any other girl on the round but for her shortness and of course the suspicious black barcode tattoo on the back of her neck. It wasn't always visible but unlike the others of 'her kind', Luxie tended to forget to hide it.
And the bartender wasn't about to disagree with someone who was a genetically enhanced killing machine.
"Excuse me, miss," someone said behind her and she swung around with a smile on her face. Then her head rebounded because of the punch that had been swung in her face.
"What the hell?" she yelled and blinked. She put her hand to her face and felt blood coming out of her nose. "Hey!" They punched her again and she looked towards who was standing in front of her.
A woman with dark brown hair pulled back into a strict ponytail and a black suit looked down at the girl. Before Luxie could comment on how bad she thought the woman looked, her opponent pulled out a gun and shot Luxie.
"Thank you," the woman told the bartender and threw a 100-dollar note onto the table. "Boys," she said and two men who had been standing moved over to her. She pointed at the girl on the floor. One of them picked her up and the other set the stool upright and grabbed the mug that Luxie had been drinking from. Then the three of them left without another word.
"Just up there," Blade said and Alec closed his eyes to the annoying voice in his helmet. Damn radio transmitters! Suddenly Blade and Hunter's bikes skidded around a corner and into an alley. Max, Cinder and Alec who had driven past, turned around and followed their canine buddies.
When they arrived in the alley, Blade and Hunter had already gotten off their bikes and were taking off their helmets.
"What's this?" Cinder asked.
"She's somewhere here," Blade said and looked around. He turned to Hunter, who was only second in command to Blade, but was a better soldier – despite his little problem. Hunter leaned his head back and closed his eyes taking in the scent the night was omitting.
He could smell the fact that it was dark and he could smell that Cinder needed to take a shower. He could smell Max's perfume overpowering her natural scent and he could smell Ben on Alec. He tilted his head back to its normal position and smelt Blade. Then he let his senses wander. Like eyes, his nose sought only what he was looking for and soon the sweet scent of apples came over him. His head jerked at the smell and he opened his eyes and looked at his brother.
"Where?" Blade asked simply and Hunter closed his eyes again. This time he smelt other things. The scent of apples was surrounded by the nauseating smell of tranquilizers and a faint whiff of something unfamiliar. He opened his eyes and took off in the direction the smell had come from and the others followed him.
"I swear to God that is the most creepy thing ever," Alec muttered and heard Cinder mutter an agreement.
"What is it?" Max asked.
"Apples," Blade said once he had caught the whiff of what his brother was following. "She's been tranquilized and there's something else," he added quietly.
"What?" Max asked and moved in closer.
"I can't tell for sure yet," Blade said and turned a corner. "I will soon." He stopped and the others followed. They looked towards a man loading a body into the back of a black van and a woman getting into the passengers seat.
"Looks like we've got our freak," Alec said and the five of them took off.