The sounds of heavy clomping echoed down the stairwell above Corey. She took care to step around the dead man's feet that blocked the door from closing and took a spot on the side of the doorway, waiting for the next hunter to come test her mettle. She heard the heavy footsteps grow closer, pausing at the final set of stairs, most likely noticing the bloody body. The heavy footsteps slowed to a crawl, becoming considerably more cautious, as if the heavy figure sensed he was walking into a trap.
Corey sprung from around the corner and slammed the door to the stairwell fully open before aiming her pistol at the burly figure. Tony's body tensed as his body prepared to dart to the side, before stopping mid step as he realized who it was pointing the gun at him. Corey's eyes widened in realization, lifting the gun up and moving her finger away from the trigger.
Tony's hand suddenly sprang foreword, snatching the gun from her hand roughly, before sticking his middle finger in her masked face. "Fuck you Corey! You trying to kill me or something?" Tony snarled, doing his best to mask his embarrassment. Corey shrugged. "I didnt pull the trigger… did I?" Corey said nonchalantly. Tony glared at her, his orange hazel eyes smoldering with competitive rage. "If you did, you'd only piss me off." He insisted. Corey smiled under her mask and nodded. She held out her hand, palm up at Tony. The brute looked down at the hand, before reluctantly slapping the pistol into her grip with much more force then necessary, causing Corey to wince as the metal gun smacked against her palm.
Tony pushed past Corey, and stepped into the basement. She watched him silently, unsure what to make of his intense gaze as he began walking around the basement, moving from body to body. She shadowed the big lug as he started mumbling to himself. It took her a moment to realize he was counting. She waited, feeling a tad bit awkward as Tony ignored her existence during the whole process, unsure if she should say anything or not. Finally, Tony turned to her, his eyes wide with genuine surprise. "You did all this?" Tony said with bewildered awe. Corey couldnt help but feel insulted by his surprise. She sighed and stuck the 9mm pistol into her jacket pocket, before giving a little nod. "Yep."
Tony didnt say anything more on the matter as they made their way back up the stairs and to the first floor elevators. Corey didnt really expect a pat on the head from Tony of all people, but deep down she wanted to believe that the big lug was impressed with her. Tony pressed the up button for the elevator, and they waited in silence. Corey held the pipe in one hand, while her other hand rested on the handle of the pistol protruding from her front jacket pocket. Tony ground his teeth impatiently, and clenched his knuckles so tightly, that she could hear them crackle and creak.
The elevator opened with the pleasant chiming sound, and they both stepped inside. Tony quickly pressed the button to the top floor, or at least the top floor they could reach without a key. Corey briefly considered teasing Tony about if he managed to find the key in the midst of all the chaos, before dismissing the idea.
"Alright Corey, time for your James Bond shit…" Tony grumbled as they reached the top floor. Corey pressed the emergency stop button, before looking down at the bag of tools. She didnt know why, but she expected Tony to be the one to pry open the doors, but he just stood there with his arms crossed, like he wanted no part of Corey's "bullshit plan".
Corey knelt down front of the bag, leaning the metal pipe against the corner of the elevator. She pulled a crowbar from the bag, and handed it to Tony, who reluctantly took it after she held it in front of him for a few moments. She pulled out a pry bar and looked up at the top emergency service hatch. "I got it." Tony mumbled, pushing Corey aside, before stabbing the pointy end of the crowbar up into the hatch and popped it open.
As Tony threw the crowbar back into the bag, he glanced down at the bags content's. He suddenly knelt down, opening the bag wider and staring down in disbelief. Corey watched him, feeling a sudden wave of self consciousness. "What…?" She asked hesitantly. Tony pulled a bundled length of climber's rope from the bag and held it up to Corey. She narrowed her eyes. "Yea, its rope, so?" Corey said indignantly. Tony just stared at her for a few seconds, instead of answering, much to Corey's annoyance. He finally spoke, glancing at the rope. "Why did you bring this…?" Tony asked. Corey shrugged. "I dont know, I thought we might need it to get up the elevator?" Corey said.
Tony glanced up at the opening above them before looking back at her. He suddenly grabbed Corey around the waist, squeezing her hips firmly between his powerful hands. Corey's eyes widened and she squirmed under his grasp as he simply hoisted her up into the air without her consent. Corey closed her eyes tightly, fearing her head was going to crash against the elevator ceiling, but thankfully Tony's aim was true and she was shoved up towards the lip of the emergency exit hatch. Corey shoved the pry bar into her jacket pocket, and used both of her hands to pull herself up.
She stood on the elevator and immediately got a feeling of vertigo, as the elevator moved ever so slightly under her feet. She reoriented herself, before kneeling down to peek through the hatch at Tony. "Need any help?" Corey asked. Tony scoffed and jumped towards the opening, slamming his hands on either side of it, hoisting himself halfway through in an impressive display. However, he seemed to be unable to pull himself up from there, and hovered in limbo as he looked desperately for something to grab onto.
Corey plunked herself down and held out her hand towards Tony. He silently took it, and she helped pull the big man up to the top of the elevator. They turned to stare up at the elevator door to the top floor for a moment, before Corey pulled the pry bar from her jacket pocket and thrust it in between the sliding doors. Corey struggled, but managed to pry the door open a bit, before Tony got impatient, and thrust his hands into the opening, combining his raw strength with hers.
The doors slid open, giving them a view to the penthouse lobby. Before they could take in the modern, glass and steel lobby, they noticed the four mobster who had been left to guard the top floor. They were sitting around a glass table, playing cards. Their weapons were leaned against the sides of the lobby chairs, or down against the tile floor. They looked up from their cards and noticed the masked vigilantes for the first time. The mobster's eyes all widened in unison as the duo stepped onto their floor.
Corey pulled the pistol from her jacket pocket and shook her head. She was almost offended they werent on high alert at this point of their incursion. She raised her pistol at the first mobster to reach for his gun. Before the mobster could even touch his weapon, she fired a bullet into his forehead, making his body jerk and droop in his chair. She fired four more times at the scrambling mobsters, nailing a second and third mobster as the attempted to leap for cover. Their bodies fell against the table and chairs in a bloody chaotic mess.
The last remaining mobster charged Corey futilely, armed with only a simple baseball bat. Corey felt genuinely sorry for the mobster as he approached, he didnt have a prayer but still her charged head long towards them anyway. If she didnt shoot him, Tony would step in and kill him, and a bullet from her gun would be a far cleaner death.
She aimed her pistol calmly, taking the time to study the look of desperation on the mobster's face as he drew nearer. Before she could pull the trigger, the Russian exploded foreword with impressive speed. He swung his bat with startling accuracy, knocking the pistol from her hand and sending it hurdling to the ground.
Tony stepped to flank the frantic mobster giving the man with the bat pause. Tony crossed his arms in front of his chest and leaned back against the wall. "Need a hand?" He grunted in a smug tone. Corey ignored him as she tried to take the mobsters moment of hesitation to recover the pistol from the ground, only to have the mobster goad her away from it with a swing from his bat. The mobster kicked the gun, sliding it past Corey and through the elevator opening. Her heart sank as her pistol clattered down the elevator shaft.
The mobster gripped his bat with new found confidence before lunging foreword to attack. Corey dodged backwards, the bat narrowly missing her head. She dove past the mobster as he swung again, rolling across her shoulders and springing back to her feet in a somersault. Corey kept her momentum and kept running, and the mobster gave chase. Tony laughed as he followed the two, no doubt waiting to swoop in to Corey's rescue, but not before she admitted she needed his help. "Careful Corey…" Tony said with amusement.
Corey ran to the wall in front of her before jumping straight towards it. She raised her foot and kicked off from the wall, turning her body in midair before throwing her fist at her attacker as she flew towards him. Her fist connected with the mobsters jaw, turning his legs into jelly. Corey fell on top of the mobster, straddling him, as she grabbed him by the lapels of his white blazer. She lifted his body and bounced the back of his skull against the hard tile floor again and again, until the mobster stopped moving. "I got this…" Corey muttered, before panting to catch her breath. Tony approached and was about to say something smug, when a sudden chime from the elevator rang in their ears.
Corey and Tony turned as a tall figure, clad in a dark suit, stepped from the elevator. His gray, taut skin, and his expressionless eyes, sent a chill down Corey's spine, as he stared at the two vigilantes. Tony's body twitched and shivered with agitation, taking a step towards his new challenger. Corey glanced at her furious partner, the look in his eyes truly frightened her. Corey didnt know who this man was, but to Tony, he was a challenge, an insult. Every moment the tall man spent breathing, was a moment too long for Tony.
The tall man met Tony's infernal glare with dull dead eyes, before opening his jacket, to pull an old .357 revolver from its holster. Tony charged the tall man, barreling down the hallway like a hateful cannonball. He tackled the tall man back against the wall, denting in the chrome metal panel of the elevator buttons.
Corey scooped the baseball bat from the ground, and slowly approached the two titans. Never in her life had she ever felt like she was small. She was the tallest girl in her school, reaching awkward puberty at record speed, and remained taller then most women as she grew into adulthood, but after spending most of her free time with Tony, the massive body building brawler, it was enough to make her feel like "the little one" on the team. Now he was fighting a literal giant. Corey briefly wondered if the old tall man had health issues, if he might soon die of gigantism anyway, even if he didnt chose to challenge Tony.
The way Tony reacted to this newcomer was frightening to Corey, so she hung back two opponents struggled to control the tall man's revolver. Just the thought of a worthy opponent was enough to throw the already high octane Tony into overdrive, and even she didnt want to get in the way of that. Tony gripped the tall man by the wrist with all his strength, lifting the gun up into the air and away from his head, before throwing a deadly punch at his grim opponents taut face. To Corey's surprise, the tall man easily dodged the blow, using his long free arm to wrap around Tony and hold him closer, so the muscle bound brawler couldnt throw anymore punches. The two wrestled back and forth, and it took several moments for Corey to realize that neither opponent was gaining ground.
This was the first time she saw anyone go for more then a few seconds against Tony's wrath, and this guy was taking all of it, and wrestling him to a standstill. The grim fact must have been spinning around Tony's adrenaline fueled mind as well, because he suddenly threw himself and the tall man towards the open elevator shaft he and Corey had opened. Tony drove the tall man foreword, trying to shove him off over the edge. The tall man scowled as he dropped his .357 so he could grab onto Tony with both hands and yank the both of them over the edge.
Corey held her breath, as the two colossal combatants simply fell from view, through the elevator door. There was a loud thunk as their bodies landed on the elevator below. Corey sighed in relief. Luckily for Tony, the elevator was still locked in place from the emergency stop button. Corey ran to the opening and watched as the two combatants, continued to fight on top of the elevator roof, still intent on killing one another, no matter the venue.
# # #
The tall ass hole was pissing Tony off. Every time he managed to get some distance between him and the gangly fucker, he'd slip past his punch and pull him right back into hugging distance, sticking to him like a giant slender tick. The tall fuck originally looked like nothing more then a big ghoul, but it was clear to Tony, that he was an extensively trained grappler. Whether it was Judo or wrestling, he seemed intent on wearing Tony down, keeping him close so he couldnt throw a decent punch, and letting him burn up all his energy trying. Even more frustrating for Tony, it seemed to be working.
Tony roared at the man, shoving him back and throwing a vicious hook. Tony's fist connected with nothing but air. As he stumbled off balance, the tall man capitalized on it, violently throwing Tony to the side. Tony's heels slipped over the edge. The only thing keeping him from plummeting to the ground was the edge of the elevator roof wedged in between the arch of his cowboy boots and his firm death grip on the tall man's arm.
The tall man looked down at him with cold dead eyes and moved a step closer to the edge, dangling Tony even further back. Tony grit his teeth in fury, as the tall man tried to slip his hands through Tony's iron grip. Tony looked back into the pitch darkness of the shaft below him, before looking back at the tall man. The tall man's lips pursed every so slightly, as if predicting what Tony was about to do. "I'm taking you with me you fuck!" Tony growled. He pushed off from the elevator, pulling with all of his might. Despite the tall man's resistance, he yanked the two of them from the top of the elevator and sent them spiraling blindly through the long dark drop. "Got you, you fuck!" Tony thought, before the dreadful realization of his actions dawned on him.
Tony reached his hands out, clawing wildly for something, anything he could get his hands on. His adrenaline levels had never been higher, his heart beat a thousand times a minute, as desperation and the will for survival possessed his hands. His right arm wrapped itself around the elevator cable, finding it out of dumb luck more then dexterity. He squeezed tightly against the metal cable gritting his teeth as he slowed his body to a stop.
A split second later, something very heavy latched onto his ankle, jerking the cable through his grip and sending him sliding down the shaft. Tony screamed in pain as he squeezed the cable with both hands, managing to slow his descent down to a crawl at the expense of the flesh of his fingers not protected by his fingerless gloves.
Tony grit his teeth and glared down at his over sized hitchhiker. The tall man looked up at him with grim determination. Tony shook his foot. "Let go you fuck!" Tony hissed down at the tall man. The tall man still didnt let go. Tony kicked the heel of his free foot down against the tall man's fingers again and again. The giant winced, his grim dull eyes flashing with concern, as his grip began to weaken and slip. "I said… let go!" Tony roared, shaking his foot free. The tall man fell into the void of the shaft without so much as a sound. Tony panted, relieved from losing the added weight. He looked around his surroundings. "How the hell do I get out of here…?" He thought as he dangled in the dark.
# # #
"Tony?" Corey said, her voice echoing off of the shadowy walls of the elevator shaft. She couldnt believe it, Tony… was gone. She saw it with her own eyes, but still, she couldnt believe it. "Tony!" She screamed at the top of her lungs. Nothing. Only dark silence answered. Corey lingered for awhile, before stepping away from the open elevator shaft and turned back towards her objective.
She gripped her baseball bat with renewed vigor. Her arms cocked and ready to deliver the fatal blow across the skull of this Roman guy. Corey had wondered if it would be her or Tony that would be the one to punch his ticket, but since she was all that was left… fate had made the decision for them.
She wondered if Tony would have wanted her to carry on without him, if she was somehow honoring him by doing so. Sadly, from what she gathered about Tony, he woudlnt have cared either way. Tony was just using these punks to feed his adrenaline addiction, he had no personal beefs against them. Still, even if Tony wasnt the sentimental type, Corey was. She would make Roman say Tony's name before she bashed his face in. She would do Roman in, the way Tony would have, with wild and savage abandon.
Corey walked through the sterile white, modern hallway, to the door of the penthouse. Her heart began to race, not from fear this time, but anticipation. This was what it was all leading up to. The final room, the last showdown… probably her last outing as Corey the zebra ever. Without Tony, or someone like Tony, she didnt know if she would have the will to keep putting her neck out on the line night after night. She grit her teeth and shook her head clear of such defeatist thoughts. Now was not the time, as Tony would say, it was time for action.
Corey closed her eyes and took a deep breath. She was ready. She lifted her leg and kicked against the door violently. She stumbled, as her foot simply bounced back. Her cheeks flushed red as she probably should have realized she had never attempted to kick in a door before. Corey took a few steps back, and ran foreword, kicking the door again, and again she bounced off.
She frowned, the door didnt seem like it was anything special, maybe her technique was wrong. She thought back to an old Bruce Lee movie she had watched over at Mark's apartment. "How would Bruce Lee break and enter through a locked door?" She took another deep breath, before spinning in a circle, pivoting on her left foot, while twisting her right around and straight back in a powerful spinning thrust kick. Her foot crashed through the door, ripping it from the dead lock.
Corey burst through the open doorway, bat in hand, plunging herself into… a dark and silent room. Other then the beam of light from the hallway, the rest of the apartment was unusually dark. Only silhouettes of the megalomaniac's odd, Asian décor was visible. Corey knew there was something wrong with this scene. Extra guards, a giant bodyguard ambush, but nobody was home? Corey reached out and flipped the light switches on the wall. Nothing happened. "Of course…" She crept towards the closed blinds of the massive windows, hoping the light from the cityscape would be enough to move around in.
Corey stopped when she heard movement in the shadow. Something fast and light, sprinted across the room, eclipsing the beam of light behind her. Corey whirled around and strained her hearing, but all she heard was silence and her own breathing. She made sure to stay out of the pillar of light, If she couldnt see, neither could anyone waiting for her in this room, or so she hoped. She heard movement again, tiny footsteps, belonging to tiny feet, coming from behind her. She turned and swung the bat. The bat smashws against some dummy wearing samurai armor, knocking it to the ground. Corey's pulse was racing. Whatever game the shadowy assailant was playing, one thing was clear to Corey. The being in the shadows was toying with her.
Corey's breath quickened, and her heart raced as she waited, powerless to do anything else until the being in the shadows made its next move. Suddenly, the lights of the apartment flashed on, nearly blinding her. Corey saw a blur of movement out of the corner of her eyes and reacted instantaneously, throwing her body backwards across her shoulders and rolling back to her feet. She felt a sudden vibration from the baseball bat in her hands and heard several thuds against the wall. As she sprang back to her feet, cocking her baseball bat back at the ready, she noticed a foreign object out of the corner of her eyes. She reached up to her bat, and with a bit of effort pulled a disc shaped object from her weapon. It was a throwing star, a weapon Corey recognized as a ninja tool of sorts. Corey's eyed the other two ninja stars embedded in the walls and scanned the direction they must have been thrown from.
A sultry figure, holding a curved wooden staff, stepped from the bedroom doorway, causing Corey's eyes to widen in surprise. It was a small Asian woman, not the drug kingpin Roman, who had been playing with her in the shadows. Even more surprising, she was wearing the most sexualized outfit Corey had ever seen. She couldn't help but feel embarrassed just looking at the leather straps and buckles that all cobbled together to form some kind of bondage outfit. The way the woman's body swayed, and moaning noises she made when she breathed didnt help in make it less awkward for her, as the leather bound woman slunk towards her.
Corey winced at the sadistic glee, nearly glowing from behind the woman's leather mask, that reminded Corey of some kind of risqué masquerade piece. "Now this is a surprise, I wasnt expecting another woman to come." The woman's voice cooed from her lips, with only a faint Asian accent.
Corey wasnt sure why this woman was here, but one thing was certain. Corey very much wanted to kill her. She cocked the bat back in response to the leather bound minx. The sultry woman smiled in amusement. "Arent you a bold one? Yes… a big strong American woman… I love making big women cry." the leather temptress said.
A manic smile spreading across the dominatrix's lips and the seductive light behind her eyes transformed, becoming foul and dangerous. Corey lowered her masked head and tightened her grip, she had no words for this bondage bimbo. He bat would do the talking.
The leather bound temptress exploded foreword at Corey, her curved wooden weapon held back behind her body as she sprinted, her small feet moving in a blur of motion. Corey waited until the final moment, springing foreword and swinging with all of her might. To Corey's surprise, the bat struck nothing but air, as her sadistic opponent leapt over over the strike in a dizzying display of agility. The leather clad temptress landed with one foot on Corey's shoulder, before using Corey to launch her body back into a graceful back flip. Corey was thrown down to the ground and fell hard on her rump. She winced as she rotated her shoulder. "This… shouldnt be happening." Corey was supposed to be the fast acrobatic one, thats what she had been training for, but this bondage bimbo just used her as a diving board, nearly breaking her collar bone in the process.
As Corey slowly rose to her feet, the bound minx laughed sadistically, pulling two hidden blades from her staff, revealing it was just the scabbard for a light samurai sword, and dagger. Corey narrowed her eyes at the sultry woman, as she teased her own flesh between the straps of her "outfit" with the tip of the samurai dagger. "Whats wrong? Were you distracted by the leather? Dont worry… I have some in your size. You can wear it after I've broken you." The leather clad minx said with a cruel grin.
This woman clearly liked to hear the sound of her own voice. Corey narrowed her brow in thought. Perhaps it was something more. She was teasing Corey, baiting and poking her. She wanted a reaction, no, she needed a reaction. Corey stared back at the temptress silently, keeping her eyes cool and calm as she tightened the grip on her bat.
The sultry grin on the leather bound woman's face twisted into a scowl. "You're starting to bore me!" The minx hissed, as she darted in for another attack. Corey lunged to meet her, swinging a powerful blow with her bat. The woman ducked under her attack and slashed at Corey's legs. Corey leapt back to avoid the blade and redirected the missed blow of her bat down towards the woman's head. The ninja girl parried the downward blow with the smaller, dagger sized blade, before swinging the longer sword down against the bat, twisting Corey's weapon from her hands, and suspending it in between her blades.
Corey staggered backwards, not only was she without a weapon, but she was without a strategy of how she would leave this room alive. The Asian woman spun Corey's bat around her blades like a baton for a playful moment, before throwing it behind her. Corey stepped backwards as the sadistic woman approached, her arms down by her legs as she walked, with her blades pointed out to the sides.
She grinned playfully. Her eyes sparkled with twisted amusement. "I'm going to make you scream." The leather bound minx cooed, slashing her weapons in a flurry of attacks at Corey. Corey dove backwards, leaning her body left and right to avoid the cutting blows before darting around the crazy sadist. A horizontal slash swished through the air in front of Corey, cutting through the tip of her mask, forcing Corey to changed directions.
The sultry woman's wild strikes goaded Corey backwards, as she could do little but step away from the frenzy of blades. As Corey jumped backwards to avoid a swipe for her stomach, she slammed back into a trophy case behind her, falling back off her feet and crashing her shoulders against the wood and glass. Corey's eyes widened as the sultry woman stabbed her weapon foreword, attempting to run her through.
Corey twisted her body to the left, narrowly avoiding the tip of the blade, that buried itself into the wood case less then an inch from her body. Corey saw a blur of movement and the gleam of the light shimmering off of the edge of the dagger, as it swung for her throat. She managed to catch the strike by the sultry attackers hand, struggling with her to push the blade away from her neck.
The dominatrix took the time to coo at Corey, her face right up against her mask. "Why a zebra? Is it because you wanted to be my prey?" The leather bound minx said with a wink. Corey reached with her free hand and found some heavy book that had been knocked over from its stand. She swung the thick book across the sultry woman's head, knocking her flat on her back, with a loud groan. Corey briefly looked down at the cover of the book, "The Art of War, Sun Tzu" she read, before tossing it aside.
Corey slid from the display case and yanked the light samurai sword from it it, holding the leather bimbo's own weapon in her hands, no differently then she held the bat. The sultry woman turned to Corey from her spot on the ground. A trickle of blood ran down her chin where the book had split her lip. The leather bound minx sensually licked her lips, before glaring back at Corey. "I bleed… but you'll bleed more!" The sadist promised. The sadist flung her left hand foreword, sending the dagger she held spiraling from her grasp and flying towards Corey's body. Corey easily dodged to the side, avoiding the dagger that buried itself into the wall, but the sultry woman had anticipated that, taking the opportunity to dart past Corey, towards the rack of swords along the wall. Corey swung her sword in a horizontal swing, which the temptress dove over, rolling to her feet without skipping a beat. Corey approached from behind just as the sultry temptress pulled a sword free of its scabbard. The leather bound sadist whirled around, her eyes burning with determination. The playful sadism no longer present behind her fiery gaze.
Corey clashed steel with the sword woman and as she probably should have predicted, she was unable to keep up with the trained combatant. Corey's movements were sloppy and wild, while her opponent moved with efficient grace and speed. Corey could only stagger backwards, and block the sultry woman's flurry of strikes, unable to put up any form of an offensive. The back of her calf slammed against a small oriental table, causing her body to topple backwards, her back landing flat against the ground with her feet propped up on the table.
The sultry swordswoman swung her her blade in a powerful downward blow, aiming for Corey's foot. Corey quickly retracted her legs, avoiding the blade that dug into the table, before kicking the table foreword with all of her might. The table slid and smashed painfully against the agile woman's shins, causing her to stumble foreword.
The leather bound woman's eyes burned with cruel hatred, as she leapt onto the table, and jumped high into the air, swinging her sword back over her head as she descended down upon Corey. Corey had to time her next movements perfectly. She threw her legs up, catching the woman falling down on her by the shins, letting her weight and momentum slide over the top of Corey, before extending her legs with a sudden burst of athleticism, springing the woman through the air. The leather bound woman's eyes flashed with horror as she flew face first into the window. Corey heard the sound of shattered glass and the loud high pitch sound of the woman scream as she plummeted down towards the cold night pavement.
Corey rose to her feet and stretched her neck to the sides, and rotated her shoulders. The fight had made her stiff and sore all over. She glanced over at the large bimbo sized break in the glass. Corey approached and squinted her eyes at the pavement below, the leather bound minx's body barely visible from where she was standing. Corey kicked a shard of glass over the edge, before stuffing her hands into the pockets of her jacket, turning from the hole to walk back to the broken doorway.
Corey spotted one of the mobsters outside start to rise to his feet, shaking his head and wobbling with each step. She was almost glad Tony wasnt here to rub it in her face, but the mobster she had beaten down on the ground (and whose bat she had burrowed) had survived. Corey darted against the wall, holding her pilfered samurai sword in front of her masked face.
The mobster yelled something in Russian, followed by the words "Nyet, nyet!" As he ran past where Corey was hiding, to the broken hole in the glass. Corey tilted her head and watched as the mobster threw his hands to the side of his head. She imagined he was left here to guard Roman's woman, and he probably wasnt going to be very pleased with his job performance. Corey decided he would spare him any awkwardness with his boss.
She moved towards the mobster as quickly and quietly as she could before ramming the tip of the sword through the man's back, burying it all the way to its handle. The mobster coughed and groaned, sinking to his knees, still facing the broken hole in the glass as Corey slowly walked to the fallen baseball bat and picked it up from the ground. She walked over to the mobsters side, raising his chin with the tip of the bat, before swinging it at the back of his head with all of her might. Blood and skull matter sprayed into the dark Miami night sky and against the shattered glass as the mobster fell foreword, his rump up in the air as the sword in his guts kept his waist suspended from the ground. Corey slung the bat over her shoulder and nodded to herself. She was done here.
Corey rode the elevator down to the bottom floor in silence. She had done it. She had transformed, becoming as lethal as she was beautiful. The dozen or more bodies she left behind in this building could attest to that… but at what cost? Was it worth losing Tony over? She grimaced, wondering if his body would get crushed by her taking the elevator down, not that he could have survived the fall anyway. He was gone, and there was nothing to be done about it. The only thing she could do now was decide if she would continue on without him. Roman was still out there, somewhere, and it was up to Corey alone, to track him down. Corey sighed, but she could worry about all of that latter. Right now, she was exhausted.
The elevator doors began to open to the pleasant chime as she reached the bottom floor. The tall man's long fingered hand reached from the opening doors and forced them fully open. Corey leapt backwards, but in the cramped elevator, she had nowhere to run. Corey's body slammed back against the elevator wall, before swinging the baseball bat with all of her might. The bat struck the tall man across the forearm, that he raised up to defend himself with. To Corey's dismay, the bat snapped in half against the giant's bones, who didnt so much as grunt.
The tall man's long strong fingers reached around Corey's throat, tightening around her neck, and lifting her from her feet. Corey struggled and glared back at the giant, who leaned his face close to her mask, bringing his dull eyes close to hers. Corey raised the broken piece of bat up above her head with both hands, before driving the jagged point of wood straight down into the giants shoulder. The giant grunted as Corey slipped from his grasp and landed back on her feet. She pressed her arms back against the elevator arm rest, throwing both of her legs out in a savage kick, smashing into the giants knee. The tall man toppled foreword, his leg giving out, and Corey took the moment of weakness to dash around the tall man.
Just as she cleared the elevator doors, she felt the tall man's fingers tighten around her wrist, squeezing against her bones as if they were made of iron. Corey staggered for a moment, before bursting foreword, pushing off with her legs with everything she had to pull herself free from the vice like grip. She winced in pain, as her body jerked back, her arm remained trapped in the tall man's grip.
"So close…" She reached for the open hallway in front of her, that seemed to mock her attempts to reach them. Corey closed her eyes tightly as she felt her body swing back around, slamming back against the elevator wall. The tall man swung her to the left, slamming her shoulder and head against the wall, before throwing her to the right, bouncing off of that wall as well. The elevator shook and creaked as the tall man swung her back and forth, bouncing her body against the hard, unfeeling steel walls until every last bit of fight was driven from her body. Finally, the tall man threw Corey against the back wall of the elevator, the back of her head slamming against the hard wall causing her vision to blur. She slid slowly down the back of the elevator, onto her rump, her shoulders slumped foreword, her mind barely conscious.
The tall man knelt down in front of Corey, before pulling her zebra mask from her face. As much as she wanted to, her body was to weak to do anything to impede him. The tall man looked down at Corey's face, his usually dull eyes sparkling with an actual emotion, surprise. "You're so beautiful…" His voice was thick with a some foreign accent, alien to Corey. His words cracked like a teenage boy's going through puberty, most likely from lack of use.
Corey looked up at the man weakly, spotting what looked like genuine sorrow behind his off white eyes. "I dont like to kill things so beautiful." The tall man said softly. Corey shifted sorely, shrugging her shoulders. "Then dont…" She muttered, looking back at him matter of fact. The tall man smiled at that. "If I dont, Roman will… do things." The tall man insisted, reaching his hands for Corey. She grit her teeth as the tall man's fingers interlaced around the back of her head. "I'm sorry, but he would want you to suffer, for taking his treasure." The tall man said regretfully. Corey groaned in pain, as she felt the tall man's palms squeeze against the sides of her head, pushing against her temples like a nut cracker, with Corey's skull being the nut.
Her eyes flashed open, and darted around the elevator. There had to be something she could do, something she could use, something to prevent it all from ending like this. The baseball bat shard had fallen into the corner, outside of her reach, even if it was closer her body was still stunned from the thrashing against the elevator walls to reach for it. Her deep brown eyes filled with tears as she saw the elevator doors begin to close, as if the universe was letting her know that her life likewise was coming to a close.
Tony's fingers thrust through the opening before the doors closed, forcing them back open, as Corey's eyes flashed wide with surprise. "Found you!" Tony growled, reaching foreword and grabbing the tall man by his hair and pulling his head and body back at an awkward angle. The tall man looked back and up at the tiger masked man, before Tony drove his fist straight down in a hammer blow, smashing it against the tall man's forehead.
Corey saw the tall man's head snap backwards, vanishing from her sight, as Tony's blow folded the tall man's neck in half. Corey felt the tall man's long fingers twitch and shudder against her head, before going limp, his massive body leaning foreword, his shoulders and chest resting against the elevator arm rests. Corey squirmed out from under the giant and scrambled to her feet.
She smiled to herself, under the mask. Tony had been looking for the tall man all this time, and only saved her life on accident. Tony ignored Corey. He was staring intently at the tall man, and Corey made the mistake of following his gaze. The tall man's upside down head, bent against his back, stared at her with about as much expression as when the stoic giant was still alive. Corey shivered and looked away from the grotesque vision. Tony too, looked away, seemingly unnerved as well, before hardening his eyes once again and crossing his arms.
"Where the fuck have you been?" Tony asked. Corey felt an explosion of emotion, which went from surprised joy, the intense frustration at the big brute. "Where was I? Where was I? I was upstairs doing the damn mission! Where were you!?" Corey asked pointing her finger in Tony's masked face. Tony knocked her hand aside gruffly. "I fell down a fucking elevator shaft, thats where I was! I had to climb a cable back down to the basement!" Tony yelled. Corey wasnt sure why she was so angry at Tony, maybe it was just the adrenaline crash, but it felt good to let it out. "I was yelling your name and you coudlnt even say anything? I could have waited for you, met back up with you, I almost died like three times while you were playing hide and seek, with upside down guy over there…" Corey muttered. Tony grunted. "Well I didnt hear you." Tony said, turning around with a huff and walking away.
Corey leg's wobbled for a moment, before she followed Tony back to the front of the lobby. They both silently took in the bloody carnage they had spread over building. Corey stole a few glances at Tony. She recognized the overwhelmed look he had before when he had finished killing Conrad. As much as she wanted to bring it up, Corey would only do so if Tony brought it up first. Which meant she would most likely never talk about it, but still she wondered if the big guy had some hidden vulnerability to him. Perhaps it was better if she never knew, or perhaps Tony didnt know the answer himself.
"So the fucker wasnt even here?" Tony asked, as he walked towards the station wagon. Corey shook her head. "Nope… guess we gotta check where he works or something." Corey said nonchalant. Tony reached out to lift the handle of the car door, when he suddenly tensed, turning his head to the broken glass on the pavement. "Holy shit… that one yours?" Tony asked, pointing at the broken woman lying in the middle of the street. Corey blinked, noticing the dominatrix for the first time.
The sight of her mangled legs shook Corey's mind from the haze her exhaustion brought about. Tony walked towards the woman. Corey felt somehow humiliated as Tony took in the leather mynx's outfit, as if it somehow reflected onto Corey. Tony blinked. "What the fuck is she wearing?" He asked, shaking his head. "I dont know, and I didnt ask." Corey insisted. Tony leaned foreword, taking a step towards the body, before quickly straightening. "Shit… she's still alive." He muttered. Corey's eyes widened, and she walked up alongside Tony, looking down at the fallen woman's body.
Her lips trembled, the fingers of her unbroken arm curled and uncurled themselves and her eyes searched desperately for them as if they were far away. "Z-zebra…?" The leather bound mixed whispered. Tony grunted and opened the door to the station wagon. "She's your kill, you deal with her." He said, not wanting to be apart of the leather harlot a moment longer. Corey nodded reluctantly, taking a step foreword so she stood directly above her.
The leather bound minx's eyes flashed with realization as they looked up at her blood stained zebra masked. "Zebra… please… my Roman…" She whispered. Corey sighed, and took a knee next to the woman's body. "What about Roman?" Corey asked, her voice cool and indifferent. "Please… Roman…" The dying woman said, her body being kept alive solely on strength of will at this point.
Corey felt a pang of guilt, the woman was probably trying and make Corey promise her something, something in regards to her lover, something she was most likely going to violate when she and Tony caught up with him. Corey would hear her out though, it was the least she could do.
"Please… kill Roman for me… I dont want to be… alone in the darkness…" The sultry temptress's final words chilled Corey's blood. Corey straightened, and shoved her hands in her pockets, before raising her foot above the temptress's head. "Thats the plan." Corey said coolly, before stomping the heel of her foot down onto the leather mask, crushing the woman's skull against the cold pavement underneath.