I slipped the phone into my pocket and drew the Warhawk, padding over the door as quickly and as quietly as I could. Once there I pressed my back into the corner between the door and the wall and held my breath.
I heard foot steps on the other side, and then the door began to yawn inward. I waited for a tense moment as the door creaked open. Just as the person on the other side stepped up into the doorway, I planted my foot into the door, slamming its wooden face back into the body behind it. There was a scream and a curse, and I sprang into motion before the poor bastard could make any sense of it. I reached around the door and grabbed the bull-ring wearing punk by the collar of his jacket, bringing the butt of my pistol down on his nose. He howled, dropping the knife in his hand as I yanked him into the doorway. His partner outside tried to bring his pistol into line, but I was faster. I jammed the business end of the warhawk into the bull-nose's head.
"Drop the gun or I'll blow his brains all over the wall," I sneered.
The kid hesitated.
"Do what he says!" bull-nose sputtered through the blood dripping down his chin.
The other ganger wisely dropped the weapon.
"Good, now kick it over to me."
He did as he was told, and I let go of Bull-nose, shoving him back out into the hallway. I kept the warhawk trained on the gangers as I stooped to pick up the pistol and knife. I tossed them into the apartment and turned my attention back to the gutter trash in the hallway.
"Where are the others?"
They exchanged looks. It was obvious they were both scared shitless, but they tried not to show it.
"Fuck off, tusker," Bull-nose growled.
I admired his bravado, so I gave him a swift kick in the groin as a reward. He groaned and keeled over onto the floor. I let him lay there for a few seconds to let the pain soak in, then hooked a finger in his nose ring and pulled him up. He squealed like a pig more than a bull but obediently rose to his feet. The other one just sat there staring.
"Now, don't make me ask you again."
"Down in the lobby," he wheezed
"That wasn't so hard now was it?"
He sputtered something unintelligible.
I gave him a little love tap on the back of the head in response and looked to the other one. "Why were you guarding this room? And don't lie to me."
"I don't know."
"I said not to lie to me," I said, taking a step toward him.
He raised his hands plaintively, "I swear, it's the truth. Viridian has some hot shot contact. I don't know who he is. He told us he'd throw some money at us if we looked after the place. That's all."
"Who's Viridian?"
"Leader of the Green Razors."
I gave his mohawk a once-over. "And that would be you?"
He nodded wordlessly.
I snorted and dug my phone out of my pocket, dialing Sugar's number.
She answered. "What the hell happened?"
"Had to take care of some stuff. Get behind the wheel and get the car started. I may be coming out in a hurry."
"Peaches, what's going on?"
"I'll tell you later, just do what I say." I didn't wait for her response and cut the connection.
I looked to the other ganger. "Alright, get moving. Head for the stairs. You too, slick." I shoved Bull-nose after his friend.
The three of us hit the stairs, the two of them with their hands in the air and me with a gun in Bull-nose's back. The staircase emptied out in the lobby where the other two gangers stood by the door. When they saw us emerge, they immediately went for their weapons, but one look from Bull-nose gave them pause.
I allowed myself a grim smile. "If you two will kindly move away from the door, I'd like to be on my way."
They slowly stepped away from the door, and I pushed Bull-nose and his friend up against the wall. Cautiously I started to back away from them to the door. They tensed as I neared the door, laying my hand on the knob.
Suddenly my body exploded into motion, twisting the handle and barreling out of the building like a bat out of hell. The door banged open as I leapt off the stoop and hit the ground running. The apartment door burst open just as I reached the van, and the gangers poured out, Bull-nose in the lead. I practically dove into the passenger seat as they opened fire, bullets ricocheted off the van's reinforced sides.
"Go go go!" I shouted
Sugar didn't need to be told twice. She hit the accelerator, and the van lurched into motion with the accompanying screech of tires. I twisted in my seat, looking out the back window to see the bull-nose and his buddy scrambling to mount their bikes.
"What'd you do to piss them off so bad?" Sugar shouted over the roar of the engine.
"That had it coming," I grunted, twisting in my seat to roll the window down. "You might want to step on it, 'cos things are gonna get real hairy in a minute here."
Sugar swore again and pushed the accelerator to the max, but already the cycles had started up and were hard at work trying to catch up.
I leaned out the window, centering my aim on bull-nose's friend as he rapidly gained on us. Then I let him have it. I pumped the trigger three times, the warhawk roaring with each successive report, but at that range I didn't hit a damn thing as the van swerved and veered down streets and around obstacles.
"Alright, screw this," I said, pulling my head back in. I bent down to the floor and picked up the Uzi from where Sugar had left it.
"Oh drek," she swore, "they're right on top of us."
I didn't respond as I leaned out the window, twisting to get my head and shoulders through. The lead one spied the weapon in my hand first and veered away, decelerating sharply before turning off on side street. That left the poor Bull-nose briefly wondering what the hell was going before I opened up. The automatic fire tore into the bike and the pavement around it, shredding the front tire like Swiss cheese. Bull-nose threw his arms up over his face as motorcycle skidded and bucked, somersaulting him over the handlebar. He executed an expert flip and hit the ground face-first. His body was still rolling even as I leaned back into the van.
"Jesus Christ," Sugar swore.
I breathed a sigh of relief.
"Drek, you almost got yourself killed back there."
I fingered the computer in my jacket pocket. "Yeah, well let's just hope it was worth it."