Victoria maneuvered the hover craft out of the busy sky road and they left the city behind. Only a mile away, mansions started popping up below them, a startling difference to the sweeping skyscrapers they had been in moments before. Tall fences surrounded each mansion, but inside trees and shrubs made mini forests on their property, water from fountains glistened in the light from the city. Soft warm light spilled on their lawns and gardens from their windows, Mali could see shadows of the people inside. As Victoria lowered the hover ship down to the paved road, they past very close to a window of a mansion. Inside, Mali saw a mother holding up her baby, gurgling and making ridiculous faces as peals of laughter rang from the child. Mali turned away, but the image still burned behind her eyes, she could not ignore it. Had anyone ever done that to her? She pushed that thought away, she couldn't afford to be distracted right now.
The hover ship pulled up in front of a gate, and stopped. They were thick, black iron gates, two gargoyles sneered down at them from their perches on either side of the gate opening. The dark stone wall on either side of the gates loomed over Mali's head, she could see iron spikes lining the top of the wall. If someone looked close enough, they could see the slight shimmering effect surrounding the gate, sticking to it like a second skin. It was the alarm system, Mali assumed, and he must have an inner shield behind those glass widows, in case anyone tried to take a shot at him from the outside. Yane was right, I'll have to go in, she thought. Victoria's voice interrupted her thoughts.
"This is a great example of eighteenth century gothic architecture, the gargoyles look like exact replicas of the ones found on Notre-,"
"Vic! Shhhh! I don't care about that right now!" Mali interrupted, giddy with nervousness.
"Well, when you are otherwise unoccupied with killing someone, I'd like to educate you on the finer points of architecture." Victoria sounded a little put off by being interrupted during her history lesson. Mali took a deep breath, she had never done something this rash before without help. She gripped her credit chit inside her pocket for reassurance, it came almost as a reflex now. She let out her breath through her nose, "Extend turrets." The turrets gleaming necks unfolded from where they'd been hidden inside the ship. "Lift up." The hover craft's thrusters engaged, and it slowly rose.
Below them, Mali could see a patrol walking the perimeter of the house, and another one going through the middle of the lawn. Other guards leaned tiredly against the wall, or were congregated in small groups, talking. All wore dark armor and had rifles shouldered on their backs or in their hands. On Finnick's roof, Mali could see his hover car parked on the landing pad, he was here. Sitting atop the wall, on a mounted stand was the turret Yane had talked about, it's black body shined faintly in the dim light. If Mali hadn't been looking for it, she wouldn't have seen it, "Thanks Yane." She whispered.
"Target the turret." Vic swung the hover craft to the right, a screen on the dashboard flickered to life, and Mali could see that the turrets were locked on. Here go's, she thought. "Engage." The turrets on the hover craft sprang to life, jolts rocked the hover craft's interior as the turrets expelled their massive force, their deep thrumming numbing Mali's brain. Immediately a piercing alarm filled the air, and red lights flashed their warning around the big wall. The black gun erupted in flame, and exploded, killing the gunner man that had been sitting next to it. Shrapnel rained down on the guards below, killing even more. Shouts filled the courtyard as the guards heard the alarms and saw the silver ship suspended overhead. Rifles spit their fire as men shot at it, trying to penetrate its thick armor.
Neighboring mansions lit up as their owner's stumbled out of bed to see what was going on. The loud cracks of gunfire woke up even more houses, putting the whole area on high alert. Police stations across the city found themselves overwhelmed with alerts and messages. Their earpieces rang with the voices of panicked families who were watching the fight unfold out their windows. The office became a hive of action, everyone scrambling to be somewhere, it was total confusion as they were caught off guard.
"Take evasive action!" Mali screamed, sitting forward in her seat, as a bullet made a crack in the windshield. Victoria veered the hover craft to the left, and Mali had to grip her seat to avoid tumbling around in the cab. "Return fire." Mali ordered. Vic locked the turrets onto the outmatched guards below, the bullets making clicking noises as they hit the dirt. Guards fell as they were shot, the air filled with cries of pain. "Take out the men on the wall." Victoria obeyed, turning the turrets on them. The bullets racked huge pockets into the masonry, their pained screams torturing Mail's ears. A grimace had pertinently fixed onto her face as her eyes constantly scanned the battlefield, shining with determination.
Soon the courtyard was silent, the lawn slick with blood, it made Mali's stomach twist, but for the first time in weeks, she felt like her life meant something again. Smoke filled the air from the ruined turret. Trees and shrubs were cracked and afire, dead bodies littered the green grass. Mali counted twenty bodies, which meant that there was fifteen inside. "Put us down by the front door, but keep the car ready just in case Finnick tries to escape by his hover craft." The ship landed and Mali got out, the smell of smoke filled her nose and filled her eyes, making them tear up. Coughing, she neared the front door, a coded lock gleamed in the firelight next to it.
Mali clenched her hand and raised her omni-tool to the lock. "Vic, decode." In a matter of seconds, the code clicked green and the door popped slightly open. "That was fast." Mali commented, impressed.
"Everything is faster with a VI." Victoria replied. Mali pushed open the door and cautiously stepped in. Dark oak paneling covered the walls and floor, contrasting the white alienite on the outside. Finnick's mansion was three stories high, so Mali knew she had to find a staircase and quick, before the police arrived. She crept down the hallway, her omni-tool spreading its silvery light so she could see in the dark passageway.
Extravagant, was the only word that described Finnick's house. Dark carpets cushioned the floors, intricate designs woven into them. Oaken tables held up majestic bouquets of flowers, the faint trickle of water told Mali that there was a fountain nearby. Artwork in gilded frames adorned the walls, but Mali didn't take much notice. She was staring up into a vast entrance hall, where a giant chandelier hung from the ceiling. It hung there gracefully, its elegant curves rippling like water. The diamonds it was made out of sparkled like chips of ice. Across the room, Mali caught sight of a staircase, leading up. "That's where I need to go." She told herself, as she crossed the ballroom, her boots making a clickity-clackity sound as she crossed the cream tiled floor.
Suddenly a spurt of gunfire made her dive to the ground, the bullets passing just overhead. Mali cursed, "Vic I'm totally exposed out here!" She yelled. Mali started crawling on her stomach toward the staircase, her eyes scanning for her attackers. They were taking cover behind some doorways on the right that led off into other rooms. They crouched behind the door frames and were reloading their thermal clips, she only had a second before she was swiss cheese. Suddenly a blast of light erupted from her omni-tool as an oval barrier expanded out from it. Mali swung her left arm around to cover her right side just as Finnick's guards let loose another round. The bullets seemed to be absorbed by the shimmering barrier, stopping before she was hurt.
"Emergency shield activated, Mali. I suggest you move, they take up too much energy to keep on for long." Vic advised.
"Thanks, you just saved my life." Mali muttered as she scrambled to her feet. Using the shield as a barrier between her and the shooters she crouch-ran toward the stairs, and dove behind its cover just as the shield blinked out. She knelt behind it, waiting for them to make a move. A guard popped his head around a door frame, and Mali reacted instantaneously. The man dropped to the ground dead before he could fire his weapon. Swinging her rifle to the left, she fired as a man twisted out from his hiding space. He ducked for cover but was too late as bullets slammed into his chest, ripping through his shields and armor. Quickly, Mali finished the rest of them off, her rifle rocking against her shoulder, they were seven in number. "Eight left," She whispered.
She quickly mounted the stairs to the second floor, replacing her thermal clip as she went. Immediately as her head cleared the stairs Finnick's guards opened fire. They had created a small fort directly across from the landing where the second flight of stairs ended tipping over several bookcases and what looked like a grandfather clock, to create a barrier, and were crouching behind it. Mali dropped down so the top stair covered her head, and oofed as her diaphragm was squished on the edge of a stair, pain blossoming in her stomach. She peeked over the top, and was met by a hail of gunfire. She wouldn't be able to get around them, and she was running out of time.
As if to echo that thought Victoria's voice sounded from her omni-tool. "Police inbound." Mali needed to think of something quick. She shifted herself into a more comfortable position, and felt something weighing her coat down. She reached in and pulled out Yane's cloaking device from her pocket, its glassy surface shimmering in the faint light coming through the windows. She had almost forgotten about this! Mali took a deep breath and then pressed the middle, immediately her body and guns turned invisible. Warily, she poked her head over the stair, nothing happened. She got to her feet and quietly crossed the landing. She circled around them, going through a nearby door and crossing through rooms till she was crouched behind a door frame peering at them from behind.
Six men cradled their rifles in their hands, one or another occasionally peeking their head over their bookcases. "Do you see her?" a bald guard whispered to one next to him. The man peeked over and then settled back down.
"No, I don't think she's moved." The bald guy pulled out a flask from a compartment in his armor, and took a sip.
"This girl is crazy! Did you see what she did to those men outside? I wonder what Finnick did to deserve this." The other guard nodded his head in agreement.
"The first chance I get, I'm outta here. This is just too much." The bald guy offered the other man his flask, but he never got a chance to drink, three silver talons suddenly protruded from his chest, his expression going slack. Mali used the man as a human shield, and opened fire on the other guards. Most of them didn't know what hit them. Mali retracted her claws and stood up from her crouched position, stepping over the guards dead bodies that littered the floor.
She made her way up the third and final flight of stairs, her heart starting to beat faster than it already had been. "The Police are five minutes away." Vic updated. Mali reached the top, and stopped. Straight down the hallway, was a big metal door, with a glowing keypad in next to it. But in front of it, and all the way down the hallway, were turrets. Mounted to the ceiling they hung down, their red electronic eyes staring at her with a cold gleam. Along the floor were weight sensitive pads, to trigger the turrets, and lasers crisscrossed the entire width of the hallway. Standing just outside the door was Spearo and two other guards, holding their guns and looking alert.
Mali was dumbfounded, she couldn't see any plausible was across; she only had five minutes. She grit her teeth in frustration, she was so close. No! She shook her head to clear it, Yane would never give up, and so neither would she. Then she had an idea. Stepping forward to the edge of the sensitive pads, she tossed her rifle as far away from her as she could. As soon as it left her body it turned visible again, and sailed through the air. Spearo and the guards immediately took notice and stared shooting down the hall. Mali activated the emergency shield, and it unfolded invisible, cloaked as well. The gun made a loud clatter as it landed on the sensitive tiles, the turrets immediately started shooting at it, making it bounce around as the bullets dismembered it.
Mali ran for it, while the turrets were distracted, gunfire spitting everywhere. The shield hummed as it absorbed hundreds of bullets that had bounced off the floor and walls, the lasers bounced off the shield and were briefly redirected whenever they came into contact, clearing a small path ahead for Mali. She kept running as she watched her gun, trying to get as far down the long hallway as she could. Right before the last piece of the gun was blown to bits, she jumped towards a patch of laser-free wall, her foot catching purchase for just one second. She launched herself from her foot and reached towards the nearest turret, grabbing hold of the pole that bolted the turret to the ceiling. Her body and legs swung forward, carried by her momentum, close to the turrets deadly gunfire.
At the last moment before her legs were blown to bits, Mali heaved her arms upward and wrapped her legs around the turrets main body, saving herself from a very painful end. She clutched at the pole, breathing hard, her hands clamped in a vice grip around it. Her emergency shield winked out, it's power exhausted. The guns fell silent and the mayhem faded as the turrets all swung back to their original state, pointed toward the stairs. Mali could see that one of the guards lay dead, killed by the turrets uncontrolled bullets. The other guard and Spearo lay crouched by the door, hands over their ears. She could now see that there was a small safe zone in front of the door, where Spearo and the guards were crouched, free of sensitive pads, turrets, and lasers.
Mali faced the turret hanging in front of her. She had made it a little more than two-thirds of the way down the hall, there were five turrets hanging in a path from her too the safe zone. Because they had swiveled back to their original positions, their long barrels formed slightly downward tilted monkey bars. It was risky, but she didn't have very many options. Mali carefully let go with one hand, and leaned across to the other one, grabbing hold of the smooth barrel. Pain ripped from her shoulder as it almost popped from its socket, Mali groaned with pain and almost lost her grip on the barrel. Quickly she grabbed the barrel with her other hand, saving herself from a deadly fall.
Not pausing for too long, she swung herself to the next one, and then to the next, and so forth until she was hanging on the last one, invisible, over a very unwary guard. As she had been swinging, Spearo and the guard had risen from there crouched positions, had gotten to their feet and were now inspecting the hallway with their eyes, looking for signs that Mali was killed.
Using their distraction, Mali silently pulled Yane's pistol from its holster, hanging onto the barrel with one hand. From her omni-tool, Mali silently ordered it to extract her claws. Swiftly, in one motion, she swung herself onto the guard below, piercing his chest with her omni-blades. While still in midair Mali shot at Spearo, hitting him square in the chest, he was pushed back against the door behind him. Mali brushed herself off before forcing her tired legs to stand up, she pulled the cloaking device from her pocket and pressed the middle again, effectively shutting it off and making her visible again. She only paused a second to look at Spearo, who had a surprised expression on his lifeless face, before she hacked into the coded lock. "Vic, open it."
The thick door slid open to reveal a dark room inside. It looked like Finnick's office at the Green Dragon, only nicer. A small chandelier hung above his desk, lighting the room, its crystals glimmering and painting rainbows on the walls. Large windows let in the rising sun, Terrace was so high through the smog that Mali could almost actually see the rays peeking over the ridges of the city. Carpets adorned the floor on either side of the desk, brown and maroon swirls patterned their faces. Everything seemed to glow in this room, looking slightly golden. Finnick sat calmly at his desk, his hands folded neatly in front of him. He was dressed in a dark suit and tie, which matched Mali's mood perfectly. At the sight of him, uncontrolled hate welled up inside her, pounding at her brain, making it hard to think. She crossed the room until only the desk was between her and her enemy.
"I underestimated you, Mali. I'm impressed." He said, his face betraying nothing.
"I'm not here for your approval." Mali answered, her voice deadly cool. Underneath her façade she felt like she was on fire, burning from head to toe. Sweat glistened on her forehead from the heat of it, her heart was being torn apart from its own rapid pace.
"You should have taken my job offer, you would have been good at it." Finnick stood up from his brown leather chair, his suite's wrinkles unfolding as he moved from sitting position, the hard lines of his face were unforgiving. Mali pointed Yane's pistol at Finnick, her hand and arm shaking with her jittered nerves, a drop of sweat rolled down the side of her face.
"Yane is dead because of you, you killed him. That was a mistake" Mali said vehemently, and a little breathlessly. She was breathing hard, she felt as if she had been cut open, pain was ricocheting through her body.
"The only mistake I made that night was letting you live." Finnick retorted. "Look at you, Somali, once a great champion, once my great champion. One day, you might have had all this," he said, motioning around the room, indicating his mansion, "but you are too consumed with your hate. You have sunk lower than I even knew was possible, you are weak Somali…weak." He sneered. A yell erupted from Mali's throat and she smacked the pistol across his face, making him fall to the ground beside his desk. Anger and hate was tearing her from the inside out, Mali could barely feel anything else.
"Stop! You killed Yane! I'm here to avenge that!" She shouted.
"I didn't kill Yane, you did!" Finnick cradled his right eye where she had hit him, the other hand pointed accusingly at Mali, as he yelled at her. "You know it's true, deep down you do. You killed him because you weren't strong enough to protect yourself!" Spittle flew from his lips and a mad gleam glinted in his eye as he accused her.
"No! It's not true! He said I was strong! He trained me himself!"
"Apparently, he didn't tell you everything." Finnick slowly got up, rubbing his cheek, and picked up a data pad from his desk. "Let me show you something we picked up on our frequencies. After a few moments of fiddling on its bright screen, Yane's voice filled the room through the speakers, Finnick held the glass tablet as they both listened.
"…I know, it won't happen again, I was just upgrading my omni-tool, and for a while it was offline." Mali looked at the small grey square strapped to her wrist. It didn't make any sense, it hadn't even been working till after he'd died. A different voice now spoke, it was choppy with static, the person must be transmitting from very far away if it sounded that bad, she thought.
"Now, about the girl." The man said.
"Mali, what about her? I thought you called to berate me." Yane sounded a little guarded, as if he was trying to keep something away from this man's attention.
"Has she progressed any further?" Mali could hear Yane snort over the comm, he was laughing at her!
"Mali? Progress? Are you sure I'm the best you got? Cuz it's gonna take more than a miracle to even get her to add up one plus one. I'm pretty sure that she was dropped on her head as a baby," Yane scoffed, Mali could just picture him, his mouth twisted in a cruel smile, his eyes gleaming heartlessly. "She is stupid and senseless and a total failure. I seriously think that you should be thinking about new options." Yane's voice was cold. Finnick put down the data pad.
"We caught this transmission by accident, but I'm glad we did." Finnick's crafty eyes feigned empathy. Mali suddenly felt like rubber, her legs had gone weak, so she leaned on Finnick's desk for support. Tears formed in her eyes, but Mali didn't let them fall, determined to not let them show, but underneath her stony mask, her feeling swarmed like a bee hive. She tried to hide how much it had affected her, but how could Yane have said those things when he had said that he loved her? Was Finnick right, was she weak? And stupid? Yane obviously thought so, according to this transmission. She didn't know why Yane had said what he did, but she could think about that later. Right now, the clock was ticking fast, and she hadn't come all this way to exchange banter. "Get on your knees, Finnick." His eyebrows shot up into his hair, he was obviously surprised.
"You can't tell me what to do, I'm the most powerful man in the city!" He scoffed. "No one tells me what to do, least of all a street rat."
"Get down, or I'll shoot you where you stand." Mali threatened, motioned with her gun, reluctantly Finnick lowered himself onto his knees, his hands behind his head. Mali placed the gun to his temple, the barrel pressing tight to his skin. "I don't know why Yane said that, but I do know something. He took me in off the street, and clothed and fed me. He saved my life, and so I will be forever trying to repay that debt. You killed him, and so I'll start by killing you." Mali's heart beat fast, but her hand was steady, this man deserved it, he deserved every ounce of ammo she had to go straight through his brain, but yet, she hesitated. Something held her back from pulling the trigger. Was it sympathy, weakness? Mali had no time to ponder as a bright light flashed and the windows to her left imploded with showers of glass spraying inward, shredding the air.
The concussion of the grenade pushed her backward and into the air, amid the millions of rainbow shards surrounding her. Mali landed hard on her back, coughing and trying to regain her breath, her ears ringing from the sound, and a headache pulsing through her brain. Where had the flash-bang even come from? Thin black ropes appeared, like ones used for rock climbing, just outside the window, hanging from the roof above. Mali desperately searched the floor for her pistol, which had been blown out of her hand during the explosion. Chips of glass covered the floor, reflecting the morning light and shining into Mali's eyes, making it hard to see. Finally Mali saw its black handle amid the white if the glass, pushed up against a far corner. Finnick lay with his head down on the ground, his arms covering the sides of his face. She couldn't tell if he was alive or dead. Quickly, Mali pulled herself to her feet. Police officers dressed in the standard black field fatigues, were just starting to carefully slide down the ropes and into the room.
She ran at the first one before he could get his hands free of the rope to grab his gun. A swift punch to the abdomen and groin knocked him out for the count. She sprinted past the other windows and ran to the corner, picking up her gun. She turned and lifted it, but an officer she had not seen grabbed her wrists and twisted, making Mali gasp in pain and drop the gun, which he kicked away. Behind the man's shoulder Mali could see Finnick, who was carefully getting up, and making his way slowly across the room to the door, limping on one leg. Mali fumed with frustration, she shouldn't have hesitated when she'd had the chance. Officers were swarming in through the windows, too many to count, two of them stepped in front of Finnick, holding up their hand for him to stop. Mali only had this one last chance.
She kneed her attacker in the groin, and hit her head against his forehead, knocking him out. She dove for her gun, and on one knee, she raised it level with the back of Finnick's head. Officers rushed to apprehend her, but they were too late. Mali pulled the trigger, and the gun fired, she knew it was a true shot. Finnick turned his head at the sound of the commotion, and saw her kneeling behind the outstretched gun, saw her ice blue eyes shining with determination and hate, and that was the last he ever saw of Somali. She watched as Finnick's head jerked back with the impact, his eyes surprised, moving up to look at the hole between his eyes. And then he fell, and Mali lost sight of him in the mass of bodies as the police talked her and pinned her to the ground.
Black boots stepped up into her vision, and a female voice spoke from somewhere above Mali's head. "You have given us a lot of paperwork to do today, young lady, and I do not like paperwork."
"Then save yourself the trouble and let me go." Mali bit back. Her heart pounded within her chest, beating an uncontrollable rhythm." This man deserved to die." The woman above her laughed, Mali could see her feet inside her boots adjusting as the woman shifted her position.
"You've got nerve kid, I'll give you that. But you have proved too dangerous to let out of our sight." The boots turned to the left, and her voice spoke quietly to an officer standing beside her. Then the boots turned on their heels and walked away. Mali's head was squished roughly to the side, her cheek smashed against the floor. A needle was injected into her neck, and clear fluid was pumped into her blood stream. The last thing Mali saw before zonking out, was the millions and millions of shards of glass strewn about the floor looking like the billions of stars in the sky.
I
Mali awoke to a great pain in her back and neck. It was a deep ache, running from the base of her head, through her stiff shoulders, and down to her lower back. Her eyes felt puffy and crusty, and when she went to open them, the florescent lights made her brain scream in agony; Mali groaned and turned her eyes away. She tried to hold her arm up to shield the light, but it would not budge, she pulled and yanked but she could not move it. Panic started to rise up in her chest, but she formed it down and tried to remain calm. With her fingertips, Mali explored the surface of the table she was laying on. It was hard and smooth, and where her body heat could not reach, cold. Mali tried to move her legs as well, but they were immovable as well.
The hiss of a door opening alerted Mali to someone else's presence. She forced her eyes to cooperate and shoved them open. At first the light was blinding, piercing stings racked her brain but she forced herself to keep looking, and after a while, the pain receded to a dull throb. The first thing she noticed was that she was completely naked, only being covered by a blanket covering most of her body. All her gear was gone, taken who knows where, including Victoria and her chit. The second thing she noticed was the reason for her placid limbs, both her ankles and wrists were clinched to the table, which she discovered to be metal, by thick clamps attached to the sides.
A women walked in, dressed in black police attire. A basic cybernetic suite that offered maximum protection through shielding with minimum armor, recognizable by the small hexagon pattern of the flexible and skin-tight material. The woman had silky, long auburn hair, and light green eyes, which were focused on Mali with a stern, no-nonsense expression. She was in her early thirties, Mali guessed, from the slight smile and stress wrinkles around her eyes and cheeks. It looked like this woman had been having some late nights lately, from the dark circles under her eyes. She pulled up a basic metal chair and sat down near Mali's head; Mali craned her neck so she could look the woman in the eye.
The woman activated her omni-tool and opened a file on her arm, its small orange lettering scrolling down in the small sized screen. The woman's eyes scanned what Mali assumed to be her file and a report of what she had done. After a few moments she looked up and opened her mouth, but Mali interjected before she could speak. "Why am I naked?" Mali asked. The woman seemed to be confused at such a direct question, but answered it anyway.
"You were strip searched for any harmful material." The woman answered, her voice was careful and inquisitive. "It says here," she indicated her omni-tool, "that you are responsible for the deaths of thirty-six men, one of them being one of the most powerful men in this city. If I had not been at the scene of the crime I would not believe this report." Mali recognized her voice as the one from Finnick's office.
"Who are you?" She asked.
"What I want to know is, who are you?" The woman replied.
"No one you would know." Mali retorted, "Just a street rat from the gutter." The woman skeptically looked at her, not believing what she heard.
"I am Officer Alexandra Clair, and I am the peacekeeper of this city." She looked at Mali, who started blankly back.
"Is that supposed to impress me or something?" Mali asked, raising an eyebrow. "I have no idea what a peacekeeper is." Alexandra was clearly irritated when she did not get the reaction she was hoping for. She stood up from her chair and slowly paced the room.
"It doesn't matter what I am, what matters right now is what you are. Let's get down to business." She started.
"I thought we were doing business." Mali enjoyed annoying her, it was one of the only perks she had at the moment, and also the only entertainment. Officer Clair raised up a hand and stopped pacing, frustrated.
"This isn't a joke, little girl. You think killing thirty-six men and causing thirty-four thousand credits worth of property damage is funny?" She walked over to where Mali was laying and stood over her, looking down at her. "You think being a murderer is worth laughing about?"
"I'm not a murderer!" Mali burst out, she hadn't meant to, but it had come out anyway.
"You're not?" Alexandra quipped, "Because we have tons of evidence proving that you are, in fact, a murderer. The only thing we don't have is motive. So enlighten me, tell me why you did it." She sat back down and waited expectantly. Mali weighed her options. This woman had an open character, which Mali respected, but did she dare explain her actions? Despite what she had said, she did know what the peacekeeper was. This Alexandra Clair person was the head of the entire police force in the city. Yane had told her once, that if she ever did meet the peacekeeper, to keep her eyes down and have a low profile. Well, Mali thought, too late for that.
But despite what she had heard about this woman, she liked her. Mali trusted in her good character judgment, and she believed that this Alexandra woman was a good person, but however Mali felt, she couldn't trust this woman, it was just too personal. "I'm not going to tell you why I did it, just know that he deserved to die." Mali said. It was all she could say. Alexandra rubbed both her temples, frustrated. When had her job gotten so complicated? She wondered. She took a deep breath, and then released it, helping to lessen her tightening shoulders.
She stood leaned in close to the mysterious girl laying before her. The girl's red and blonde hair fanned around her head, her big blue eyes peering up at her. She didn't look like the average killers she was used to dealing with. Despite this girl's rough edges, she didn't strike her as someone who was guilty of murder, if anything she was only guilty of being left on the streets to try and survive. But what she had done was inexcusable, and Alexandra had to do her duty as peacekeeper. "I need a name, girl." Alexandra forcefully demanded, "I'm done playing games with you." Mali looked up at the pretty officer standing over her, and saw the seriousness in her eyes. For once, Mali answered, feeling compelled.
"Somali." She said quietly.
"Well, that wasn't so hard." The officer chided. She continued, "I didn't just come here to get information" Officer Clair righted herself and sat back down in her folding chair. "You have been in a drug induced sleep for two days since I picked you up. We brought you here, took a blood DNA test, and came up with nothing. You were strip searched and laid in here." She looked straight into Mali's eyes, "the court has judged you guilty, and sentenced you to death."
"What?!" Mali acclaimed, surprise and dread taking ahold of her. "They can't do that, I'm a human being! Isn't this like, illegal or something?" Alexandra was grim, her hands knotted together in her lap.
"You are a special case Somali. Your DNA scan showed nothing. Nothing! It's like you don't exist!" She stood from her chair and threw up her hands. "Even a street rat gets scanned when it is born, at the hospital or at an orphanage before being abandoned. For some reason, you weren't! So the court has no record of you. There is nothing!"
"How does that justify me being put to death though?" Mali asked.
"It doesn't. That's what I'm trying to figure out. It all seems highly suspicious, but the courts aren't talking, not even to the peacekeeper. The mayor signed off the papers this morning." Mali closed herself off from the world for a moment, holding the tears inside. She was going to die, and there was nothing that would stop it. Despair touched her thoughts, weaving its dark coils through her till it reached her heart. But Mali pushed them out, determined to face this head on, with all the fight she had left in her, they could take her life, but not her spirit, of that she was sure. She opened her long closed eyes and turned her head to look at the peacekeeper, who had silently taken her seat again, and was staring at Mali.
"How long do I have?" Mali's voice was soft and quavering, but clear.
"You are scheduled for tomorrow morning, by firing squad." Mali nodded and turned her head to the ceiling. Alexandra picked herself up and walked herself to the door, were she hesitated. "I'm sorry." She said quietly, she could do no more.
"Will it hurt? " Mali turned her head and stared at her back, which she could tell was quivering. Officer Clair grimaced, not trusting herself to answer and walked out, leaving Mali alone, the door clamping shut with a hiss behind her. That was answer enough.