His lungs were burning by then. Pathetic, perhaps, but the cigarettes were what did him in. It barely registered in his mind that he'd run straight through the entire working class area to the Marina. Cold air struck him from the ocean and he pressed on, smelling the strong saltiness of the water. The baritone horns of cargo ships in the bay echoed loudly in the night. A shadow fell over him and he looked up to see several battered warehouses, each with boarded windows and machinery lying dormant for the weekend. Razer winced at the pain in his chest, breathing heavily, his breath coming up in the faintest wisps of vapor. He jogged for one of the shipping crates and hid behind it, throwing his head back to gulp air into his lungs. Sweat shined brightly on his cheeks and forehead.
"I'm getting tired, Razer," came a surprisingly melodic voice.
He pressed his back to the crate, slightly frowning. He wouldn't have expected her voice to sound so sweet; oddly calming. Cautiously, he peered around the edge of his hiding spot, barely able to see. The woman came into view, framed by the large crates, stopping to stand in the center of the 'maze.' Moonlight washed over her fully in a cool-white glow, and he could see her in full detail.
Her long trench coat hung to the back of her calves, her hands still clutching the shotgun tightly. She was tall, wearing a form-fitting crew shirt and slacks that stretched to just above her knees. Her eyes swiveled side to side as she hunted for him; her long sapphire hair spilled over her shoulders, odd curls flipped outward. A single braid framed the left side of her face and swayed as she walked. Her footsteps were almost silent.
"I have to say, I'm actually happy it's gone like this so far," she continued, her voice ringing in the empty lot, "I was going to be so disappointed if I killed you on the first try."
Razer couldn't stop the smirk playing across his face. The girl had every right to show arrogance, but perhaps she had too much of it. He checked the remaining rounds in his pistol and decided he had plenty. Leaning off the wall, he took another glance at her and this time curiosity struck him.
"I admire your skill with a weapon, Angel," he called to her, unable to control his smile, "Tell me, have we met before?"
He jumped behind another crate as the shotgun went off again, shattering something into splinters off to his left. His voice had carried and she'd aimed farther away, much to his relief. The shot echoed loudly through the air as the assassin continued her trek through the crates, a scowl across her face.
"I've never had the pleasure," she said with a sneer.
Razer studied her face from his hiding spot, frowning curiously as he moved to another position further away. There was something familiar about her; she had a heart-shaped face, a small pointed nose and a birthmark on her left cheek. A pang of recognition suddenly came to him.
"Ah, yes," he murmured. Raising his voice, he continued. "I seem to recall someone like you winning several of the pre-season races. That would explain the lovely vehicle you so skillfully tried to kill me with."
The shotgun roared and Razer started slightly, looking behind him at the box he'd just left. She was getting closer.
"So you finally guessed it," the assassin laughed, "There's been a lot of buzz around me hasn't there? The newest up-and-coming-racer, ready to "make the crowd scream" as Blitz would've said." She paused to roll her eyes. "The man always was a bit of a blow-hard."
Razer couldn't help laughing, louder than he'd wanted to. The girl tensed at the sound.
"My, my. You certainly have a way with words. I have seen you race as a matter of fact- you're not half bad. Though you're still an obvious amateur."
The following shotgun blast blew a hole in the crate beside him and he fell to the ground, horribly startled. His heart roared in his ears. Too fucking close!
"If you call me that one more time, you'll die a slow and painful death," she shouted, "I can promise you!"
Warily, the former racer rose to his feet once again to peer through the hole, heart throbbing against his chest. He could see that she was furious, turning to search for him again. Razer flicked his wrist and another dagger fell into his palm, his mind swirling with the latest near-death experience. Anger was steadily replacing the adrenaline. She had apparently thought that she had aimed at random, and was looking for him off to the right, unaware of his position. Razer growled and aimed, throwing the knife hard. It tumbled end over end, heading straight for her. The assassin caught the flash of steel at the last second and held up the shotgun. The blade stuck into the stock with a dull thud, trembling slightly. She turned and fired in his direction.
Blind luck, he thought bitterly. He'd already moved on to the next hiding spot, muttering swears under his breath. This woman was completely different from anyone else he'd ever had to fight off- clearly she was almost as good as he was. And it was in that moment he remembered her name. Razer braced himself against his latest hiding spot, making sure he'd put a fair distance between them.
"An assassin moonlighting as a Combat Racer- how exciting. Krew sent you, didn't she, Jyil?" he called, smirking at the look of alarm that flashed across her face. It was obvious she hadn't expected him to remember her name.
"Rayn finally made her move, I see," Razer continued.
Jyil let out a short laugh, covering up her surprise with a shake of her head.
"If you want to say that- I'm doing all the work."
Razer could sense the hint of irritation in her voice. He pushed off the crate and began to circle around her, listening for what she had to say next. Whatever keeps her distracted. He flicked another knife into his hand and kept walking, her voice masking the sound of his footsteps.
"But the game's over now," she went on, "I've got to get this over with; it's not fun anymore once they start back talking."
"Not one for conversation?"
She didn't say anything in reply, instead marching forward to go after him. Razer knew she was still confused on where he was and continued weaving through the maze of shipping crates, his spindly shadow following behind. She was ahead of him now, her back to him. He was dangerously close to her, close enough to see her finger nails were painted a glossy pink. She was maybe a crate away from him, now. Razer was certain if he made any sort of sound, she would turn and kill him. If he was going to make his move, now was the time.
"You know," Jyil said, "It's almost a shame for a guy like you to die this way but…it's just business, right?"
Razer lunged from behind the crate, throwing the knife as he went. It stuck fast into her thigh and she shrieked in pain; he wrapped his arm tight around her neck. The shotgun clattered to the ground and he kicked it away, moving to press the pistol hard against her temple. She thrashed around, but his grip was too strong. His arm tightened around her neck and her hands clawed at him, nails digging into his flesh.
"The same could be said for you, darling," Razer told her, teeth bared.
Jyil growled, struggling fiercely, doing her best to ignore the hot needles of pain traveling up the length of her leg. In one swift movement, she hooked her hands together and drove her elbow into his side. He groaned in pain and his grip loosened just enough for her to move. She chopped his wrist and the pistol flew from his hand, clanging to the ground and out of sight. Jyil scrambled for her rifle instead, but he'd already recovered, disregarding the throbbing ache in his gut. Jyil's hand grasped the stock of the shotgun and she gathered it up quickly into her arms to pump a round into place. Razer took a running dive and slammed into her, wrapping his arms tightly around her in a tackle. The shotgun roared, bullets missing them both by inches. They hit the ground hard and rolled several times; the rifle flew from Jyil's hand and skidded away from them with a loud scrape, spinning in place for a few seconds before the barrel stopped, trained on the pair. Jyil screeched after landing on her wounded leg, managing to drive a knee into Razer's solar plexus and tried to squirm away, her fingers still straining for her weapon. Razer snatched the knife in her thigh and pulled. She screamed and whirled to punch him savagely, cuffing him good across the cheek. He was distracted long enough for her to roll away from him and struggle to her feet. With a sharp gasp of pain, she pulled the dagger from her leg and threw herself at him, one arm hooked under his, the other slung over his shoulder.
"You… dirty…bastard…" she spat.
Razer suddenly wrapped his right arm around hers, locking her elbow straight and yanking hard. She shrieked and flipped cleanly over his back, slamming back down to the concrete. The dagger stained with her blood spun away from them. Jyil struggled viciously, managing to punch him hard right in the jaw, good enough to almost allow her escape once again. He practically fell on top of her in order to keep her from moving, his elbow digging into her left arm to pin it down. Her other hand was trapped painfully at her side by his knee. She only stopped struggling after the cold blade of a butterfly knife was pressed against her throat. Jyil glowered at Razer's smile, gasping for air.
"Interesting turn of events, wouldn't you say, Angel?" he said, breathless from their struggle.
Jyil clenched her teeth, feeling a strong surge of rage course through her veins. The knife pressed closer to her throat, stopping her movement before she even started it. Razer could see the contempt blazing in her eyes. He arched an eyebrow; they didn't seem like a killer's eyes to him: a beautiful tawny gold, slightly almond shaped with dark lashes. He watched as she glowered at him, moving to struggle again.
"I'm sure you've enjoyed this little 'distraction' as much as I have," Razer began, "But it ends now."
"Get off of me," Jyil growled.
Razer laughed, increasing the pressure on her arm. She winced.
"Hold on a moment. I have every right to kill you here, right now- but…I just might have a proposition for you."
Jyil swallowed hard, feeling the knife cut slightly at her skin. She raised her eyebrows, managing a short, humorless laugh.
"I'm listening."
Razer smirked. "To tell you the truth, you are a very good racer. I know for certain you're going to race for Princess Krew's team- that gives you the perfect opportunity to win the champion ship and make her top crime lord of this city."
Jyil laughed. "You're quite the optimist."
Razer dug his knee into her leg and she cried out in pain. He pressed the knife closer to her throat and went on.
"I'm offering you the chance to race for me instead; your talent would not go to waste, and you'd be earning more money than she would ever give you. I place bets on you to win and we beat Rayn at her own game. The franchise and the city will finally be mine, and you'll get keep your money and never have to deal with us again."
"I suppose this means I can't kill you," Jyil sneered.
"Right you are," Razer smiled, "Use your money for whatever the hell you want- that's your business. All I ask in return is for you to race on my team, and that means cutting all ties with Krew."
Jyil squirmed uncomfortably, wincing at the jabs of pain in her arms. Her shoes scraped uselessly against the ground as she twisted beneath him. She stared back up into his deep emerald eyes, knowing there was more to what he said than he was letting on. There had to be- no one in Kras City told the truth; experience had only taught her well. One of the top crime bosses in the city was no exception.
"Rayn doesn't cut corners," Jyil said, squeezing her eyes shut from another wave of pain, "If I don't come back to her, she'll know exactly what happened. And even if I do end up working for you by some ungodly chance, I'd be the most wanted person in Kras."
"You'd be surprised at how much one can do in that situation," Razer said with a smirk.
Jyil sucked in a breath through her teeth, trying desperately to rid her arms of the sharp tingling. Her leg throbbed with every movement and jabs of pain traveled up through her body once again. She opened her eyes and looked up at the former racer, remembering what Rayn had promised her.
If you kill him, that's a lot of money, dear. Enough to put your darling nephews and your unborn niece through college. I'd love to be the hero to those little ones.
Jyil could still see the friendly smile on the woman's face, the way she'd tilted her head slightly after mentioning the only weakness Jyil had. Her light little laugh and the shake of her head.
It's too good to pass up, isn't it?
"I can't," Jyil whispered.
"What was that?" Razer demanded.
Jyil shook her head. He leaned in dangerously close and she glared at him. The blade pressed deeper against her neck.
"You're running out of time, Angel," he hissed.
Before she could say anything in reply, her eyes caught a flash of brilliant ruby light that shined out of the darkness over his shoulder. It swept across the ground, headed right for them. Jyil exclaimed in surprise, quickly moving to push Razer aside. Caught off guard by her swift movement, he fell to the right; the knife cut across Jyil's chin and she grimaced as her momentum took her with him. She was practically sitting on top of him, now. Razer clenched his teeth.
"What the hell-?"
A bullet thudded into the ground beside his head. Jyil tried frantically to untangle herself from him.
"Let go of me!"
Razer had finally become aware of the red beam trailing across the ground, swinging back toward them. Jyil suddenly punched him in the stomach and he jerked, curling slightly into a ball. Panting fearfully, Jyil finally freed herself from his grasp and scrambled to avoid the dot that was now whirling around to lock on to her. Razer rolled to his feet, running for the nearest shipping crate, grasping his fallen pistol as he ran. Jyil scooped up her shotgun and fell behind cover opposite him, just ahead of two more shots. Razer had leveled his pistol at her, still holding the knife against the grip. She froze.
"So you brought back-up. The surprises keep coming."
"I never do," Jyil snapped, "Someone's either trying to steal my kill or get the both of us!"
Razer looked as if he didn't believe her. The ruby light flickered around in front of them; Jyil moved to lift the shotgun, but he tensed, leaning forward slightly.
"The only thing preventing me from killing you right now is the fact someone is waiting to do the same to me," she told him, "And I have yet to accept that offer of yours."
Razer stared at her, turning her words over in his mind. His grip remained tight on the pistol, however. He watched a small pearl of blood appear on her chin, running down her neck. She arched an eyebrow at him. He smirked.
"It's been a fun night, darling," he told her, "Unfortunately, I must be going."
Jyil's expression quickly fell into a scowl as she watched him begin to backpedal away, still holding out the pistol to keep her in place. The laser sight spun from side to side between their hiding places, waiting for one of them to show themselves. Razer had almost backed fully into the shadows, leaving Jyil rooted to the spot, knowing he was capable of shooting her from any distance.
"I'm dying to know what kind of racer you have," he called, "I'm sure it runs beautifully."
He held up his hand, and on the end of his finger swung her car keys. They glinted briefly in the moonlight, and her mouth hung open stupidly in shock. Jyil glowered at him. Once he knew he was out of range of the shotgun, he lowered the pistol and fixed her with a broad smile before turning to head back the way he'd came.
Problem solved.