New chapter, not my best I'm afraid, but I still hope you will enjoy it. And it would mean the world to me if you commented.
Thank you and have fun.
Disclaimer: Dredd 3D belongs to Lionsgate, 2000 AD belongs to Rebellion Development
Concentration
She checked her jacked again, briefly touching every item hidden in it. Lawgiver hung in its holster under her left arm, spare magazines tucked away in an inner pocket under her right, field medical kit in the jackets right pocket, badge and cuffs in its left. She zipped it only halfway up, retaining easy access to the weapon, but not risking accidentally revealing it.
„I'm ready. You?" she asked. She didn't need to, of course he was ready. In his black pants, standard-issue boots and a black jacket with inwrought carbon-composite threads, a piece that made Anderson slightly jealous, he looked very much like wearing a uniform. It made her wonder if he even owned something that didn't make him look that way. Probably not.
„Yes. Let's go."
They were parking about 20 minutes away by foot from the block, their bikes hidden in a private garage. With their heads held down they blended into the crowd outside, occasionally bumping into others, their pace quick but not enough to attract attention.
After 12 minutes of walking, Anderson felt a cautious touch on her thigh. It disappeared almost immediately but then she felt the slightest tug at her jacket. Her reflexes kicking in, she snapped the object touching her. She found her fingers curled around a child's wrist so thin, she could probably break it without second thought. The little perpetrator let out a surprised yelp and squirmed in an attempt to break away. She tightened her grip a little and inspected the child's face, briefly checking its mind aswell. It was a boy, 12 years old, mother deceased recently, run away from the institution, two weeks on the streets.
She brought her face on eye level with him. „Don't steal. You're not good at it." she sneered, the child flinching visibly, expecting to be hit. She reached into the back pocket of her jeans and pulled out its contents, mostly gum wrappers. Without sorting it she pushed it into the boy's hand and released him from her grip. He run of but stopped few meters to inspect his loot. She felt his mind light up with happiness when he found a few coins amongst the junk.
Pushing the boy out of her mind, she caught up to Dredd.
„Very charitable." he commented, his perpetual sneer not leaving his face, but she could see approval in his eyes.
She shrugged and followed him, a small smile displayed on her face.
Opperman Block was one of the better faring Blocks in the city. Its employment rate was over 55% and so far it didn't seem to house any major gang, nor got entangled in a block-war. Over all it was a happier place to live than most of the city.
They trailed through the atrium, Anderson taking the lead in navigating them.
„So, who are we looking for." Dredd asked when they reached the coffee shop plainly named Opperman Café.
„Male, 35 years, height 175 centimeters, weight 80 kilograms approximately, short black hair, brown eyes... or maybe green, or blue, I really don't know, burn scar under left eye and few smaller ones, probably from acid spray on left cheek, pierced right ear. He's known under the name Spin." she recounted all the details she could recall.
Dredd nodded and entered the café, Anderson slipping in right behind him. Since it was still relatively early, the dimly lit interior was mostly empty, only two people sitting at the tables. Dredd picked one, making sure their backs were protected by a wall.
The waitress came to their table. With her long glossy black hair, sparkling eyes and perfect figure she seemed almost too pretty to be working here. And Anderson wasn't the only one to notice, a patron seated in a far away corner was so oozing arousal, she was picking it up without trying whatsoever.
„So what will you two have?" she asked, flashing her teeth in a bright smile.
„Black coffee."
„Cream? Sugar?"
„No."
Of course he would have it without any enjoyment, Anderson hid a smirk as she probed the waitress's mind. „I'll have a coffee too, with cream and sugar, thank you very much." she shot a smile at the waitress, who nodded and went to get their order.
„She has seen our target. He comes here sometimes and he wasn't here yet, so either the meeting with the Judges wasn't scheduled to be just yet, or he knows they failed and won't come at all." she whispered hastily.
„Don't you know when they were supposed to meet?"
„No, sorry."
Dredd nodded. „We wait 2 hours, in that time look for him your way, cover as much of the building as possible. I will search the records for a man of his description."
She huffed. „With my range, it means that I will be scanning more than twenty thousand people."
„You did the same thing yesterday."
„Well yes, but on a much smaller scale and anyway, I'm not saying that i can't do it. Just with this many people concerned, I will be... incapacitated. The first time I did it in such extent, I got a seizure and woke up three days later in a hospital. But that's not important. What I'm getting at is... if I start crying, or laughing, or drooling on my shirt feel free to poke me... or slap me for that matter." she spoke unwillingly. She despised how vulnerable she was when she expanded her mind to its limits.
For the first time she had seen him taken aback. „Is that an actual option?"
„The seizure? No. The crying and drooling? Hate to say it, but yes. But even if it happens, it should be nothing major. Just, you know, poke or shake or slap me and cover your face while you do it, I might try to hit you back." she added.
He nodded curtly. „Anything else I should know?"
„Uhh... I don't think so."
„So, here's your coffee." sounded the waitress and placed their order on the table.
„Thanks." Anderson smiled. She mixed in the cream and sugar and took a sip. „See you in 2 hours." she winked at Dredd and leaned back in the chair.
Last time she had to expand to her limits was four months ago, during a drugs bust and she reached level 57 before feeling like passing out. Now she reached 58 and covered 32 thousand people, their minds mingling with her own, almost overshadowing it at times. She took a deep ragged breath and dove in.
...Anger. Control. Walls. Familiar... Dredd. Not her target.
...she ran a hand through her hair. It was as soft as it looked... Waitress. Not her target.
...coffee burned in her throat... Woman siting by the door. Not the target.
...he pulled her black hair smelling of coffee and chocolate as he pressed her against the wall... Man in the far away corner. Not her target.
...dares to cheat on me with that skank. I'll kill him... Not her target.
...woman in front of him crossed her legs... Not her target.
...sharp stab of pain, fucking hell I need a new razor... No.
...another suspect, no, another, no... no, no, no... the faces flew as she worked her way through the thousands of people.
...she moaned ans he pounded into her, her nails digging into his back... guy in the corner again. She groaned inwardly and forced him from her mind again.
...red high heels hurt like hell... No.
...man in front of her leaned forward... No.
...the colours swirled in insane patterns... Someone's dream or high. No.
...bright white flash, pounding head, dry lazy tongue in her...his mouth... she felt like throwing up... No.
...where the hell was Spin lea- HE CAME, SPILLING HIS CREAM ONTO HER COFFEE-COLOURED SKIN...
„Oh, for fuck's sake!" she jumped up, bumping the table and tipping over her coffee. She ignored the liquid soaking into her slacks and stalked over to the man in the corner. He was still staring holes into the waitress's posterior, when Anderson's fist connected. He uttered a muffled cry and fell backwards, hitting the floor with a thud.
„Hey, what the fuck is wrong with you?" he whined, pain overwriting his fantasies. She smiled with relief, pain was so much less distracting than arousal. Now she could find her target.
She turned on her heel and reached into her pants pocket and pulled out a bank-note soaked in coffee. She checked the value of the note and handed it to the waitress, who accepted it reluctantly. „This should be enough. Keep the change." she smiled wryly and walked out of the café.
Dredd joined her in few seconds. „What was that about?"
„Imagine defusing a bomb, or ten, at once, and then imagine some asshole yell obscenities in your ear. Except instead of just yelling them, he projects them into your head with every fucking detail. It is infuriating... and distracting. People never get this graphic about anything except for violence and sex. Every goddamn time i read more than 20 people at once I get to deal with some horny assholes weird sick primal... what I wanted to say, before I started rambling is... I found our target." she ended her angry tirade with a huff.
„More info."
„Four men. Three hired guns, armed with handguns, they know nothing. Fourth is our target, armed with a semi-automatic, I can't read him, I don't know why yet, physical contact should help."
Dredd nodded. „Lead us to them. Focus on apprehending the target. Otherwise kill on sight, minimize collateral damage."
„Yes, sir."
They made their way to Spin, trying to look inconspicuous.
„Contact." Dredd whispered, Lawgiver already in his grasp.
She reached into her jacket, fingers curling around her weapon, and searched the crowd, finding her target almost immediately. He stood around 35 meters from them, casually looking over the area. Their gazes met. And she knew what he was, just as much as he knew her. Mutant.
He reached after the semi-automatic.
„EVERYBODY DOWN." Dredd roared.
Spins men were fast but not as fast as the Judges. Anderson fired two shots, Dredd three, before falling to the floor. Three dead bodies did the same.
Bullets rained on the concrete around them, ripping apart any civilian unfortunate enough to come in their way. A splatter on blood landed on Anderson's face, blinding her. She rolled to her right, instinctively covering her head with her arms, while she wiped the blood from her eyes. She could hear Dredd fire his gun twice. A scream followed and the gunfire stopped abruptly.
In the eerie moment of silence after, she could hear the metallic klang as the semi-automatic hit the floor and then the stomping of feet running away. Then the first scream tore the air and in few seconds the whole atrium was filled with screaming and wailing.
A rough hand pulled her to her feet. He dragged her a few steps until she found her footing. Side by side they started to gain on the mutant. He was leaving a small blood trail, Dredd obviously hit him, although not enough to significantly slow him down.
Her muscles started to burn. They took another turn left and found themselves in a long wide corridor. Spin mustered his last strength into another burst of speed trying to put enough distance between him and the Judges before the next branching. Anderson sped up aswell, determined to not let him from her sight, Dredd falling behind a bit.
A shot sounded and Spin fell to the ground. Not relenting in her speed, Anderson closed the distance between her and the mutant. He was alive but barely. Dredd's shot shattered his knee, but it was not fatal. Fatal would be the blue foam spilling from his mouth, apparently he chose to die rather than betray any information. Shallow, ragged breathing indicated he had less than a minute to live.
She fell to her knees and pressed her palms on his face, closing her eyes. She had to get something out of him before he died. Even in his death throes, he made an effort to keep up the walls around his mind. But now she was stronger, she shattered his defenses and ruthlessly dug around in his mind. His vision was starting to get blurry and she felt his breathing get heavier. She would not be able to get her info.
A sudden jolt of energy flashed through his mind, his thought becoming sharp and focused once again. With new zeal she stabbed her consciousness into his mind. Childhood memories, evidence of brutal crimes he committed, everything was unimportant to her as she sliced into him, not caring what damage he did. Finally she got to the information she needed. Slowly the details of the location crept into her mind. Once she was satisfied, she retreated into her own head, opening her eyes with a sharp intake of breath.
Dredd's shoulder was pressed against hers. She backed away a little to gain some insight on the situation. Dredd was straddling the perp still giving him CPR, a syringe with the standard cocktail of adrenaline and painkillers sticking out of the mutants chest.
She put a hand on his shoulder. „I'm finished. Thank you."
He nodded and placed a mercy shot into the perps chest. „Was it worth?"
A wide, excited grin split her face. „I know where they are. I know it."
„Hall. Now."