I was beginning to experience Sin City's famous heat. After the last big rainfall, the humidity began to rise and never stopped. By this point, it was as if Spring never came at all. The deathly chill of Winter or the smoldering heat of Summer: there didn't seem to be much in between those extremes.
I showed up in Old Town and stayed low. I wanted information, not a fight. They liked to deal with things in their own fashion from what I understood and they had quite a few problems even before the Joker came to pay them a visit. The girls had just had to deal with the aftermath of Marv and the killer from the Farm. It seemed as if his way of life had finally caught up to him from what I had read. Again, that was the sort of justice this city received: a psychopath tearing through the city before being executed by a corrupt system? I really questioned if my own brand was any better. How many times would I have to go after the Joker? Was McCarthy right when he suggested snapping his neck? I put an end to that line of thinking almost immediately. It wasn't the first time I had these thoughts but they seemed to creep up more often while in the city.
I searched the area and found a neighborhood filled with debauchery and perversions of every kind. Women of various ages and sizes paraded themselves to men from different economic classes. It was disgusting. The air was rotten, hot, and stench-filled. Their leader was a woman named Gail. I only knew of rumors about Joker's attack but I needed details. She would be the one who would probably know best. I questioned a drunk in the street and found out where she lived. I wanted to speak to her privately without incident but I would not be that fortunate.
I was probably only about a block away from where she lived when I heard the faint sound of metal deflecting off a brick wall. I ducked down just as the air was sliced in half with only the slightest of whispers. A large shuriken shaped like a Manji embedded itself into the wall beside me. It was not a warning shot by any means. I spun around and came face-to-face with a small Asian woman draped in a kimono. She was little over five feet tall and barely cleared one hundred pounds. She moved quickly and was as quiet as the killer I faced on the Farm. She wielded a katana in one hand and a smaller kodachi in the other one.
She spun into the air, a ballerina suspended in time and space. I rolled along the pavement as she cut two swathes through the wall behind me. I stepped out of the alley as she somersaulted into position. I noticed that some of the denizens of Old Town were watching us but were keeping their distances. Apparently, this little one was their enforcer. They didn't need to act if she was present. Considering her apparent mood and deadliness, it wouldn't be wise to get in her way. She thrusted. I managed to catch one of her wrists and I immediately leaned back as she parried with her kodachi. I threw her into the street, bringing a pickup truck to a halt. She flipped in the air, bounced off the hood of the truck, and disappeared into the alley across the street. I followed, slipping infra-red lenses into place as I dived into the darkness.
I heard the air whistling above me and back flipped as shuriken rained down. I spun onto my palms as more and more blades hit the pavement. I sprang onto my feet and latched onto the end of a fire escape as the final star was whipped into the cement block to my left. I climbed up and got a view of my deadly little friend on the roof. I threw myself from the fire escape just as another throwing star tore a hole through my cape. My fingers grasped the ledge a few feet underneath her where she disappeared again.
When I came onto the rooftop, I heard nothing but I knew she would be attacking from the rear. I spun around, throwing a kick while catching a glimpse of her twisting in mid-air, connecting against my chest. I rolled onto my back as she pulled her swords again. One sword slid into the paneling on the rooftop. I brought my heel down, forcing the blade further into the concrete. She swung her long sword around, nearly taking my head off. I gave her a sharp palm thrust to her abdomen. If she made a sound, I didn't know it. She responded with a round house kick across my temple. The tip of her blade pierced through the air, straight for my face. I cocked my head to the right, allowing the blade to pass. My hands grasped the hilt of her sword as she pulled it away. With a twist, I finally managed to flip her onto her back and throw the sword over the side of the roof.
"Stand down," I told her.
"Why don't you do the same?," I heard a familiar voice ask.