This starts off in third person omniscient, but, I change the POVs around with Shadow and Julie-Su. See if you spot the POV switch. Hopefully I did it smoothly.
3: A Dance with Jackals.
It started with a delicate flick of the notes, low in the octave, before the shimmer and saunter of the slide against the strings sharply hit the air. It was electric, slightly over powering, yet, lackadaisical as a taunt.
"We love you, Mina!" shouted a woman from the black in front of him, a few other's joining in a cheer. He could see the bodies swaying in front of him, side-to-side on their feet, their silhouettes against the only light in the large open club where he was sitting against: the bar. An island in the middle of the once lofty warehouse, its shore a raised counter with a pink glow from the lights under the lip of the bar, the drink side blue, the female black fox bar tender swaying and watching as well.
The guitar died down, the slide scraping against the rough metal strings as the sustained note fell...until the red-furred coyote guitarist tapped the pedal that amplified his tone more, the feedback coming like a howl before he strummed his open chord and brought the slide up. What had once been a simple electric tone had become a spitting distorted venomous snake, stalking ears and souls to reverberate it's venom in.
And the lights flashed when the drummer kicked the down beat twice on the bass drum, the slide moving like an oar over rapid water from the root chord, to the third and forth in a screaming wail of fuzz and feedback before slipping back to the root note. And it repeated, the lights flashing twice with the second set of down beats. Five members of the band stood their ground on the elevated stage...then black engulfed the stage...until the last run through the riff, lights back on fully, and the drummer slamming his stick at the snare before settling into the moderate bump-and-grind groove of a blues song Shadow had not heard before. The coyote pressed on with the guttural tone of his amp and guitar.
The stage was now illuminated, the crowd raising their arms high, Shadow now able to see the yellow furred mongoose, her knee high skirt matching her purple hair in color, two sets of ring pierces on each ear, a black with purple accent lines down the center of her tank top over her chest. Her shoes were almost the same contrast, but it was her studded black bracelets that made him want to shake his head. She and the band were underdressed for the attending crowd. And he? From his black suit and shirt he had worn most of the day, he had switched to black dinner jacket and slacks, changing to a white buttoned up shirt, closed all the way up with a black bow-tie around his collar. The combination went decent with his black fur and red accents on his quills, but still, he felt uncomfortable with it on.
But again, as he reached for his Cuban Libre, sweat from the ice hitting the warm air inside Club Havana dripped over the glass, he was on the clock. Mentioning, he grumbled to himself.
And where had she gone, he thought as his lips sipped at the purple straw. The sweet soda hit his tongue, the hit of the rum and alcohol gave the slight burn he was looking for, his red eyes closing from it. Swallowing his sip, knowing that he could down the whole glass and not feel the effects, he sat it down instead and turned back to the–
She was wading through the outer rim of the crowd, her black-gloved left hand holding up the black loose fabric of her dress that Shadow–even after seeing her come out from Cabrera' Fashion with it on, and helping her out of the Dark Reaper to come inside the Havana Club–was still finding himself still looking her over with it. It was a one slit dress, her right pink-furred leg stepping through it, her black platform sandal landing on the polished wooden floor with an uneasiness that he could tell she had not worn such an article before, her mid-riff exposed on the right side only by a crescent that seemed to follow around to her back, her womanhood open only as a taunting peek at the top along with her right shoulder as the fabric traced under her arm, her left covered with the dress' broad sleeveless strap.
"Oh–I'm numb!" Mina's voice was sharp, filled with an agony that seemed real as she sang. "Oh, woman I can't feel a thang!"
Julie's gate was rigid, almost a march than with elegance that would have been more fitting with what she wore. And her dreadlocks, her lavender hair brushed down the left side of her head, the cybernetic spine, the wires and metal decoration, they didn't match but they also did in an odd way. But her natural eye and glazed lips beamed an odd confidence even with her uneasy stride and posture. She was uncomfortable, yet wanting to be. It was unfortunate her left replaced iris was the blemish that he noted could be the only reason male eyes were turning away. Though the artificial eye looked close to her natural right eye, there was still a start difference, mostly in a red glowing hue and the unnatural blackness of the eye in her socket. She was lucky, from his understanding, to still possess her long eyelashes.
Shadow understood the feeling if she'd felt the dejection as he had.
"Oh–I'm numb!"
Shadow looked to the swaying crowd, Islanders of different species finding their partners as they began to get close to one another. Envious eyes of both male and female were darting from partner to the pink echidna walking to him–
"Yeah–Woman I can't a thang!"
She was gloveless on her right hand, but wore a velvet black one on her left that went all the way up to her shoulder, stopping where her arm transcended from mechanical to organic just before the shoulder, all five fingers visible.
"You're starring," she said when she glided to a stop in front of him, absent a smile.
He bowed his head to the dancing crowd. "So are they," he said, hiding a smirk.
She turned to where he had nodded, then back to him, her face a mix of doubt and sarcasm. "Yeah, right. I look out'ah place."
"She give me hard time in the day!–" Mina sang with a controlled timbre. The band had slipped into a slight bridge in the song just as his lips slid half way open.
"If you drop your military baring and stiffness, you'd be more natural," he said, reaching for his drink. "You seem rigid and not wanting to be here."
"–A Hard time at night–!"
He saw her own eye narrow to him. "Calling the kettle black, are we?"
"–She can be so sweet till she wanna–!"
His lips hoovered over his straw for a beat. He said nothing and took another pull while lowering his red eyes.
"–Fuss and fight!"
She took the white padded chair next to him, giving a fidget from her face when she forgot to tuck her dress under her. She sat sideways from the cushioned back, her tail hanging close to the bar.
"You could chat like you're interested in me," she said after a moment, her gaze studying the scene before them.
Mina had gone back to the beginning verse, Shadow his brooding self. He didn't know what to say, only cursing Tower in the back of his mind.
She leaned back over to him, giving a faint smile. "You really need to before some guy comes over to me."
"Why?"
He felt the her sigh at his ear, a hint of anguish and frustration from her lips.
"Because I'm afraid I'll make a scene when miss Echidna bitch comes out." He looked to her, searching her eye, his face remaining even. "I'm not ready for a Casanova, and I will be nasty."
"Oh, I'm numb–!"
"Is that by choice?" he asked, still indifferent, still holding his eyes to her.
But she broke their stare, looking down, her muzzle and eye drifting into a longing sadness, before returning her gaze to him. "Because I'm still holding on–"
"Yeah, woman I can't feel a thang!–"
She stopped mid-sentence, turning her face around to the stage. He saw a tear trying to form.
The blonde girl stepping off the bus from the morning filled his inner-vision, his mind concluding what Julie-Su's last word would have been.
"Mina sounds great," she said finally, her voice perking up, her smile returning. He took another sip and set the glass down between them. He was about to ask her the same question he had asked about Dr. Quack...but she answered it for him, instead. "Me, the Chaotix...my Equal–we used to do security for her when she went on tour...back in my time...my Mobius"
He allowed a swallow. "Do you want to meet her? See if she remember's you?"
A shake of her head, her head turning back to the stage. The mongoose had stepped back, the guitarist stepping forward, his hand running the fret-board as he began his solo.
"No...No, I already had one disappointment today."
He debated to ask her the thoughts he had stashed away in his head from yesterday when Tower briefed him about her and the rest of the new Team Paladin Sigma members he was being placed with. This time he let his lips command him.
"I understand a Sally Acorn from your time is also here? She came before you...working for the Restoration."
This made her head turn to him, her eye beaming a joy that hid sorrow, only betrayed by her lips. "Yes–yes I know."
He held a breath, before asking, "Are you going to meet her?" He waited as his question found her. "I understand you were friends?"
The crowd's cheers picked up when the guitarist ripped higher on the chords with the slide. The distortion from the amp was feeding-back but dying when he moved back down an octave.
And she nodded. "Yeah. And I do want to see her...to help her when I can."
"Why not now? Why not before you joined us?"
Steady had his voice been; her reaction mute, yet, her shoulders lowered.
"I don't know...Things have been too fast–too painful." She lowered her head with her posture, Shadow leaning closer to her. "I want to reunite with her, feeling–looking strong, and–"
When her head turned away, Shadow did the same, looking at the crowd again. A few male Islanders–a short wolf in particular–were migrating towards the bar, their eyes looking for spirits and company. Looking to Julie-Su, he sighed inwardly, seeing a pain begin to take hold of her. Her suggestion from the first bridge came to him, not wanting them to strike up what he was now sure to be an explosive conversation:
"What was the Shadow of your time, like?"
His question seemed to have snapped her out of her trek from somewhere dark.
"He–well, he smiled a lot more."
Shadow leaned back from this, blinking at her from what he didn't know was either a barb or truth. A slight twinge of regret filled him.
"Did he have something to smile about?" he asked as a reply, his voice firming.
The solo was still playing; his heart matching the beat waiting for the echidna's answer.
And she gave him a single nod. "He found answers...and purpose."
Something in him pulled his curiosity back inside his inner seclusion, foregoing another question.
"You know, you could–" she looked to him, her furred hand going to his black-furred right hand. He choose not to wear gloves this night. It wouldn't seem right with the black dinner jacket, and he didn't want to draw attention to himself. The white excess from his shirts sleeves peaking from his jacket's sleeve, and the black pearl cufflinks were enough.
He turned away from her. "I haven't smiled for sometime," he finally confessed. Still, he kept his tone indifferent.
"Why?" she asked, her eye softening with her lips.
"Oh–I'm numb!–" Mina sang.
He didn't answer her. He just held his red, resisting eyes to hers.
"Well, you could at least try," she poked with a smile of her own to him, her eyes beaming back. "C'mon, before some bottom feeder tries to talk with me." She let her words hang, her head turning towards the gather male's waiting for their drinks to be made.
"Yeah, woman I can't feel a thang!–"
So he did, his head turning back to her, his eyes at half-mast. And he opened his lips, leaving the corners of his mouth closed and taunt, giving his best forced smile to her more out of annoyance with his teeth.
To his inner delight–and where it had come from inside him he could not tell–she giggled. Yet, he still felt he was being patronized by her.
"Well," she said with a hint of a mirth, but more in exaggeration, edging to him, "that's a start."
But, he leaned back, taking his glass and sucking a good volume of his drink down. The rum burned through his esophagus, but the sweet taste from the black soda chased his dour look away from her. He cruised the dance floor and the room with his eyes and head, looking for threats and something to change the subject with.
"How many exits does this place have?" he asked, turning to her.
Julie looked around, pointing with a nod of her head to his left. "One at the side, single door–" He noted it before she nodded behind him "–a fire exit to the rear, twin doors, to a two lane street–" Which was where they managed to find a spot to park the Reaper "–and one down the hall at the entryway towards the bathrooms and the kitchen." Which she threw her head over her shoulder behind her. He could barley see the black opening form the throng of dancers and the shadow from the stage lights.
"And the main lobby and entrance," he added.
She bowed her head with the correction. "The bathroom on the lady side has five stalls, three sinks."
"Okay?" he said with mild caring, going for another sip. His glass was almost empty.
She lowered her eyelid. "And some red lemur girl called me a cyberpunk chick while I was freshening up from our trip here."
Shadow nearly swallowed his sip through his windpipe, giving out two coughs as he put his glass down.
Mina shouted into the microphone, the crowd still twisting and contorting to the bump-and-grind rhythm. "One more time, Evan!"
The male coyote guitarist began hitting the mid-octave triple stops with the slide between the snare hits.
Two solos; one female echidna with knives in her eyes in front of him. "Ha–ha!" came her exaggerated voice to him.
"I didn't mean–"
"It's alright," she huffed, but still letting half her mouth twitch with a residual mirth. "It happened to me at Echindolopis when I left the Legion. I got used to the stares...before everything went–"
Her trailing off, her face becoming distant brought his attention to her. Again, he looked evenly at her, but looking around the dance hall again, finding his next subject to change when his right elbow touched his holstered pistol on his hip. "You have your weapon on you?"
He had broken her train of thought. "Yea...small thing–got it in a small holster around my hip just above the slit." She cocked her right leg inwards, only pulling at the black smooth fabric to show the small kydex holster holding the equally small sub-compact blaster. "I'm glad I'm not wearing my gloves. I'd have a hard time getting a good purchase on the small grip." She leaned in to his ear. "Wish I had my double-barrel blaster."
He rose his brows. "What double-barrel blaster?"
He saw her swallow. "My main weapon I had for years," she replied, her eyes softening. "It's back on my Mobius...from where I got pitched from."
"It doesn't sound like it would be discreet for here, anyways?"
"No," she cooed with sarcasms. "But neither is that antique you're carrying." She let her words linger in his head. "At least mine doesn't have a loud report to wake the dead after you've drilled them."
And the solo just hit the fourth down beat of the last measure, Mina walking to the edge of stage, microphone coming up to her lips.
"Oh, I'm numb!"
"I've had problems with blasters," he said over the screaming crowd. She gave him her only eye for skepticism. "I have a habit of shorting them out because of what I am."
She slide back, studied him, and pressed back to his ear. "Your Chaos Control?"
"Oh girl, I can't feel a thang!"
And it took him off guard. She did know about him. Tower was right...he had been wrong to think of her as naive. "I tend to short them out..."
His reply hung between them, only looking away from her to search for the female ghost leopard bartender, tapping his nearly empty glass when he found her eyes to his. She nodded to him before turning to search for the amber rum on the shelf. He fished a five-note from his pocket and placed it on the bar's counter.
"What is that?" Julie asked from her seat.
"Yeah, I'm numb!"
"It's a Cuban Liber," he replied close to her. The echidna gave him a puzzled look. "A rum and coke."
"Can I try?"
A cynical eye, and a half frown. "How old are you?"
"I'm technically nineteen," she said back.
He shook his head, his eyes tracing away from her as the bartender sat down his next round, taking the five note next to it. "Not old enough here," he said, placing his straw into the full glass. "Besides, you're on duty."
"And you're not?"
"Yeah, woman I can't feel a thang!"
He almost got a hold of his glass but stopped, his face deadpan to her narrow gaze. "Look," he began as disarming as his indifference would let him. "It would take me ten of these in a span of five minutes before I could even feel the effects."
"Then why do you even drink it, then?" she asked, her voice and face in a wrinkle.
A small surge of annoyance echoed through his tone. "Because I like the taste and burn."
Mina's voice hammered through the air with the second bridge.
"Ain't passing from the right–"
"I am of age of consent and majority in my culture," she bit back, though she held her voice in reserve from the authority she was challenging. And he didn't care. He was indifferent to facts of her wants.
"I'm, passing to the left–"
"Well, this isn't your culture," he said, leaning in. Somewhere in him this was becoming a game which he wanted to see how far she would go.
"Burn this whole thing down–"
And he found out when she picked up his full glass, glared at him, and pressed it to her lower lips and up ended her head with it.
"All, by myself!"
Three hard swallows he saw her take through her throat, her chest following suit with each hard gulp. She let her head drop with a forth swallow, wiped the excess liquor from her glossed lips with her furred hand, starring at him with firm eyes, her red iris just as equal before setting his now half empty glass back on the bar. He watched her chest rise when she took a breath. He nearly had to remind himself to breath.
"Till I'm numb–"
And she coughed!
He held his sarcastic laugh at bay, only shaking his head. "You okay?"
She brought her right forearm up to shield her mouth. "Yeah...I'm good." She gave out one more cough before leveling to his ear. "You're right. It is good–and it's gotta nice burn."
"Yeah woman I can't feel a thang–"
His head rose, his expression for once betraying his surprise.
Mina's guitarist was hitting high on the fret-board now with the slide, the song coming to its end. Shadow only closed his eyes briefly from her before opening them to search his surroundings–
The side entrance Julie-Su had noted opened to the outside night city scape. The stage lights had brightened just as two figures walked in, a tall grey bulldog in a dark navy suit with a white shirt and black tie underneath, trailing behind a tan looking fedora hat on a tall black rabbit whose ears he could only see through the dancing crowd.
"Three o'clock," he firmly said to Julie. The echidna's head turned to her right. "Is that–"
"Blackjack!" she nearly shouted, her body nearly coming up out of the seat before Shadow's hand stopped her when it found her thigh.
"I see rabbit ears in front."
"Then that's Ebony Hare–" she looked to him "–Tower was right?"
"Or we got lucky."
The last note of the slide hit the high octave of the root chord, hanging with a tremolo before the bass drum was kicked, ending the song. With it, the hall erupted with cheers.
Julie-Su gave one scant look to the stage to see Mina bowing, extending her arms towards the band. For a moment she stayed that way before bringing the microphone to her lips. And Julie brought her head back to Blackjack.
"Thank you, Central City!" she cheered on, holding the last syllable out for the crowd.
The ex-Legionnaire thought to switch through her night vision or thermal, but the concert lights were too bright. Instead, she followed the grey bulldog, zooming in with her enhanced ocular, closing her right eye to cease the parallax effect and to keep the vertigo at bay. She wondered for a brief instant when the two gulps of the coke and rum would hit her, regretting her impulsive reaction of defiance to Shadow. But it did taste good, she smirked inwardly.
"And the Restoration Project thanks you as well," Mina blared through the clubs sound system. "This private concert is to raise money for the different Restoration chapters around the world in their rebuilding from the Egg War, and the Metal Virus."
The pair walked against the black painted wall, coming to a stairwell that they climbed up. Here, Julie was able to lay her eyes on Downtown Ebony Hare. He was wearing what looked to be the same, cheap tan suit and fedora that she remembered he had worn back in Echindolopis over three years ago. It made her question if this was the same Ebony, or one that was of this time but somehow still found the allure of crime as a vocation.
In his right hand swung a silver case.
"They are walking up a set of stairs," she said to Shadow. She was looking past him to his left, her right. The two Mobians turned left and vanished up another flight behind a wall. She looked up where she figured the stairs went to observe three rectangular windows on the upper rear of the Club. "I lost them."
Shadow shifted, seeing him when she zoomed her vision to normal, opening her right eye to wince when her pupil constricted from the bright stage lights beaming to the crowd and bar. "Is there anyone posted by the stairs."
She shook her head. "Negative."
"You can cut the military jargon," he said, Julie giving him a slant eye from her red and black iris. He didn't see it; he was looking away from her.
A light came on in the middle window. She saw the two black ears of Ebony step forward, but turn to the left. Blackjack then came up next to him and turned as well. She could see the bulldogs lips move just briefly, apparently leaning over to maybe shake a hand or something...she wasn't sure.
But, she was sure they were meeting with someone.
Mina spoke through the microphone, the crowd silent. "So all ticket's purchased and–well, sorry for the overpriced drinks–" the crowd gave a small boo before giving a laugh and cheer "–but your good time tonight will go to help others at their worst time." And the crowd cheered louder.
And Julie saw Blackjack take a seat, Ebony's ears lowering. "Someone is with them."
"They dealing?"
"Has to be," Julie answered.
"And we can't hear them–"
"Unless you want me to press my ear–"
She cut herself off when a thought pricked at her mind.
Her replaced eye wasn't voluntary–in part thanks to her demented half-sister who tried to blow her up–and almost succeeded, taking her arm with a fragment taking her eye–but the enchantments had their perks. She thanked G.U.N. with a short prayer on her lips that they had given her better replacements than the crude workings Lara-Le and Rykor had no choice to use, and correctly programmed and synched her mind to be able to blink in time with her still natural right eye. With this, she remembered the laser her ocular possessed, along with the other visual enhancement that she might as well discard for the night.
"I might be able to do something," she said, looking to Shadow who still had his red eyes to the middle window. They both saw the bright light blink out with blue hue glowing in the room.
"And that is?"
She turned her mind inward, selected the phone program from her small CPU in her cybernetic lock, and dialed Clip's number. "I'm going to use the laser I have in my eye to bounce off the window."
"And that does what?" Shadow asked, his voice leveled, his demeanor focused on the problem at hand.
"I can capture the vibration of the glass as they talk. Their voices cause differing pressures with the sound waves hitting the pane–"
The phone rang to the other end, the sound of it reverberating through her mind and inner ear canal–
"And the laser will pick up the vibrations and feed it back to you," Shadow concluded for her.
She gave a quick smile. "I'm glad Tower gave me a smart partner."
The phone connected, Saffron's voice surprising Julie:
"Circus!"
She was about to say her name before she remembered she needed to use code names over the open line. "Ghostrider–it's Tempest!" she spoke quickly, yet quiet enough for only her and Shadow to hear. The wires and circuit connected to her brain and ear canal allowed her to communicate through her lock, her skull acting as the microphone from the reverberation her voice generated.
"Code in."
"Foxtrot–Kilo–Papa!"
The lights dimmed, swirls of blue and purple lights that looked like dancing snowflakes on the floor and crowd beamed down. Mina controlled her voice through the sound system as she spoke:
"Okay everyone. Since y'all dressed so good for tonight, y'all should dance and look good doing it."
Saffron spoke with a mirthful gasp. "Is that Mina?"
Julie tilted her head. "Yeah..." She looked to Shadow who was now beaming a quizzical stare at her. "I'm about to send you a live sound feed. I'm recording it on my end through my eye, but I want you to capture it."
"Gotcha...starting the feed now!"
And Julie switched on the infrared laser with a tick of her mind.
For a brief instant there was quietness before a scratch and a male voice talked inside her head. It was Ebony's–his distinct high pitched tone, his lower class street drawl pinched at her repressed anger at him.
~~See~~~~it's intact~~~harmless~~~~~~
A pulsating sound like water finding a drain began to play that grew louder with each pass of the measure. And when the first downbeat note hit with the song starting it's seemingly echoing trance like journey, Julie felt the feedback of the song bounce to the window pane and amplfied in her mind.
"Oh, fuck!"
She might as well have had the speakers right next to her head and cranked passed the stops.
"What?" Shadow asked, closing his mouth to the side of her head.
"An oversight!" But she kept her iris to the window. "The song is vibrating the window."
But Shadow's voice leveled his next concern. "And you're getting attention."
She snapped her head away as the song began to slip past the intro and entered into the main riff and timbre of single notes hitting like sharp drops of water in a metal pipe. The reverb she could bath in if–
Shadow took her black gloved cybernetic hand. She nearly blinked with both eyes in the surprise and pull from him as he lead her to the dance floor of the club, weaving around a few couples dancing slowly to the echoing harmonic hits. Keeping her head to him, her eyes glanced side to side, her mouth open, her right hand trying to grab at the fabric of her dress so she wouldn't trip over it–even though the seamstress said the trail with her platform sandals were tall enough she didn't have to worry. But she did. It was her fifth time being in a dress, and the second time she had worn a dress this formal, the first being the traditional clan dress she wore at Antoine's and Bunnies wedding...and her equal wearing a matching garb next to her.
Knuckles...
Shadow turned, his face to the concert stage, the lights now dark with blue holographic orbs now dancing in the heavy air of elation and sweat.
"Can you see the window?" he asked.
She looked up. Between his top most spine of quills and the two to each side of his head, she could spy the middle window, the blue light still on, between them. "Yes," she answered.
"I hope you know how to dance," he said more out of a statement than a question.
And a sinking revulsion brewed up to her heart from deep within her soul. Betrayal...unfaithfulness. It sank into her like a knife when Shadow, not forcefully, but with a suddenness that made her uncomfortable when he pulled her into him. Her body filtered heat throughout her when he placed his black-furred hands just above her hips, his fingers with a nearvousness she could sense through his touch when they wrapped around to the small of her back, her exposed pink-fur feeling the warmth on her right side.
Focus girl.
She got close to him, her chest–her womanhood–pressing up against his, her chin resting on his right shoulder, her nose and muzzle peering through his two quilled spins. A flick of her mind to select the laser in her left cybernetic eye and beamed it over his top side quill and aimed for the window pane.
~~~~~~The price is firm~~~~~
Ebony's voice touched through her head like slime–
The heavy bass finally dropped and it completely rattled the window, and her psyche.
"Holy crap that's loud," Saffron blurred out from the still open comm-link to Julie's cybernetic enchantment.
"Walls around your heart–"
"Is that Mina singing!?"
Julie could only smile at the bee's incredulous voice–
"I wanna get in–I wanna know you–"
"She sounds good, doesn't she?" Julie remarked, letting her smile hold for a moment before fading. She still had her iris focused to the window, but only knew she had the mark with the song still overpowering the voices from inside the room.
~~~~~~deposi~~~~here~~~~~
It was a second voice. Not Ebony's or Blackjack...male, she thought, firm...professional.
"I'm still getting the feed, but I'm getting more of the concert than them," Saffron said more out of a plea than an observation.
She wanted to say she knew, but it would only interfere with the recording, and her brainwaves could not be turned into radio frequencies. Well...not yet, she scoffed to herself.
Mina's breathless voice returned, like a taunt to Julie's Soultouch pulsing with its grip to every beat around her inner being.
"You're scared to loose it all–"
I am...
"I know who've been–"
Knuckles' face flashed to her; his hands wrapped around her waist. A sweet musk of fragrance finding its way through her nostrils as she breathed in to temper her trembling heart.
Mina didn't help when she flexed her vocal chords to a seductive timbre.
"But I'll take a chance–on–you–"
But it was her Soultouch that sang back–
Please...I can't–
The song gave into a break with the base, but the heavy harmonic reverb notes reprise their curt drops in the measure.
~~~~~it seems safe~~~~~
Ebony's voice was back, her attention with it. She held her cybernetic wrist with her natural hand around Shadow's neck, the fragrance becoming more profound in her senses.
Is he wearing cologne? She asked herself, almost wanting to dart her eyes quickly at the black hedgehog, who was swaying her in his timid hands. He felt uncomfortable as she did.
~~~~It's as~~~adverti~~~~to~~~~payment~~~~
It was the other male voice this time. She caught the payment word between the bass returning and the harmonic hits in the riff–and before Mina returned with the chorus, her voice higher pitched, the band reposed in an ambient trance.
"Pull me in tonight–"
~~~to these accounts~~~~perat~~~~~~
"Stay forever–"
I'm still here, Julie, beckoned her Equal's voice from behind her, almost sounding frightened...betrayed.
"I wanna know the secrets of you heart–"
~~~~transf~~~~~~~
"Let's begin to–night–" Mina was holding out the syllables, like a call that reached to Julie's love light she couldn't put out. His voice–her lover's voice was fanning the flame.
"It's now or never–" Mina held out the note. Julie's hope letting her know it was doing the same...holding her hostage.
"Love won't happen till you try–"
~~~~~looks~~~good~~~~~
It was just enough of a break before Mina possessed the air and the hall with her heart torturing lyric and decrying vocal chord:
"–to you cross the great divide!"
And so was her Knuckles. I'm right here, babe!
~~~~And about my bat prob~~~~~
The downbeat of the heavy bass ripped into her brain that felt it was trying to explode through her skull! She heard Ebony's voice...and she heard Knuckles calling to her.
"This isn't going well," she finally said. She was helpless with the music and Mina, defenseless with her equal still speaking to her from within. She tried to sway with Shadow, but she shut her good eye, breaking the laser for just a brief moment–breaking her trembling heart for a breath to keep her from drowning. Shadow...he was dancing almost like Knuckles had...like they had when they tried.
Because the hedgehog can't...just like–
Stop it! she shouted at herself. She was immensely glad Saffron couldn't hear the inner turmoil raging inside her.
"What's wrong?" came Shadow, his voice firm but alert. She let her iris return for just a moment to look left and find his red right eye starring at her.
"Nothing...it's just the music," she answered as the middle bass drops were wrapping with the sounds of melodic high pitched electronic pitches like draining water from a sink.
"You're tensing up," he said with a leveled tone, sounding as if he was trying to relax her. Reflexively, however, she wanted to bark at him to shut-up...but it was Knuckles' voice filtering up to do so.
Laser back on point, letting her body ease at his advice.
~~~~It is~~~dealt~~~~~tonight~~~~
And the second male voice vanished when Mina's returned with her breathless verse.
"You fight the light–you push it away–You're gone with the wind...at the end of the day–"
She held the last word open for a few beats–
~~~~~Fantas~~~ic~~~~Here~~~itcase~~~~
"But where are you going?–"
Nowhere with me–
She squinted her eye from Knuckles' voice within her, tried to hold her voice back...but failed with a whimper, "Stop..."
"Stop what?" Saffron's voice jolted.
And Shadow stopped his swaying.
Julie shook her head. "Sorry...nothing..."
And the torture continued with Mina at the microphone.
"You play it safe–so there's nothing to win–"
~~~~Great~~~business~~~you~~~~
"They're wrapping up," she announced, more so to Shadow.
"I want to come closer–but you won't let me in–"
But Knuckles answered:
I'm right here...inside you...just look back–
"I wanna go where you're going–"
And she nearly lost her fight, a tear forcing it's way through down her cheek, her inner voice shouting as a waling plea, I can't–please...let me be–!
But the chorus returned from Mina's lips:
"Pull me in–tonight–" She held it. "Stay forever–"
I'm here forever...
"I wanna know the secrets of your heart–"
And she answered back, You already know.
The light in the middle window flickered on, Blackjack rising along with the twin ears of Ebony Hare.
"Let's begin–to-night...it's now or never–"
I can still feel you, Julie–
"Love won't happen till you try–"
I know, my love– she answered.
And she clenched her arms around Shadow's neck, bracing for the final lyric...the next whisper from her Equal from beyond.
"–to cross the great divide!"
I love you–
The slam of the band hit her at full force, the laser feeding back the bass and electronic instruments straight through her brain to tear her soul apart with Knuckles raking it with his twin claws.
And yet–she still held her composure, though it felt her lover–her Soultouch–was ripping her wide open.
The song began its close, her closure an infinite darkness ahead, and Ebony's close for business signaled with him and Blackjack standing. Still, she only saw the rabbit's ears, but letting her iris zoom in, she caught what she thought were black fur tufts, the rest of the Islander obscured by the bottom edge of the window. The static and the bass of the music kept blaring through her psyche and ears. It now seemed pointless to continue with her laser.
"They're leaving," she said, looking to Shadow who was now turning his eyes to her. When they locked, Mina sang the last lyric in a breathless voice.
"Across the great divide..." It lingered in an fading echo.
"You want me to stay on the phone?" Saffron asked.
Julie mouthed the question to Shadow.
He considered it, but turned his head towards the rear stairs in time to see Ebonay Hare and Blackjack to descending to the main open floor. He shook his head, formulating what needed to be done next.
"Negative, Ghostrider," Julie said, still close to him. He let his hands fall from her waist, feeling the discomfort he had fall away as well. "Catch you tomorrow."
He let his eyes go to the echidna for a brief instant to see her smile before her emotionless visage returned. "What now?" she asked, her attention now to the two Mobians. He could see a burn of anger begin to form, answering the question in his mind for him.
"See if you can find out who they talked to," he replied, keeping his voice even, but loud enough for her to hear over the cheering crowd. The stage lights brightened–neither Ebony and Blackjack had the silver case in their hands as they disappeared into the crowd after taking the last step to the floor.
"I can tail Ebony and Black–"
"No!" he nearly barked at her, cutting her off. The single violet eye bit back in anger to him. He closed the distance to her face and got close to her hidden ear behind her dreadlocks. "You're too personal–find the guy with the silver briefcase. He's the one we want." He looked to her, finding his reasoning striking the chord he needed from her affirming gaze and nod. "I'll follow Ebony and see where they go."
"Talk with them?" she asked, her gaze now looking to the tall ears following along the far wall.
"Yes," he confirmed.
Mina shouted through the microphone, her band's bass player starting the next song, the drummer hitting the snare at the rim. "Okay! Here is our number one song–you know it as a cover–but we know it as the one that put us back on top!"
When the guitar player strummed the open chord, the tone overly distorted with a wah-pedal fully closed–Shadow reached down and squeezed the echidna's right bicep in an assuring and motivating gesture–one in that instant felt alien even for him to convey, wondering briefly where it had come from. He did not wait for a return acknowledgment, but stepped past her and headed for the throng of Islanders who were watching at Mina and her band more than figuring what next dance routine to go with next.
The yellow mongoose's voice barely made it over the band's blaring instruments.
"I can feel it–coming in the air–tonight...Oh, lord!"
He glided through the crowd, weaving through couples and individuals, aiming for the side door he could see Blackjack leading Ebony Hare toward.
"And I've been waiting for this moment–for all my life–"
They were just about to the door, Shadow losing sight of them from behind a female grey wolf and her male orange cat dance partner, both dressed to the nines.
"–Oh lord–oh lord!"
He divided through them, getting a curse from the cat. He kept going, seeing the door had opened to the outside. He unbuttoned the lower part of his dinner jacket with his next footfall of his heavy thruster shoe–
Two figures seemed to materialize from the dancing crowd at the far end. He quickened his pace, maybe twenty meters from the door upon seeing them. He undid his last black button on his dinner jacket, feeling his holstered pistol riding in the kydex between his pants and white shirt, calling to him to be ready. Two spare magazines were held in a twin leather holder on his left side, eight rounds a piece, weighing down his belt.
He didn't have a plan when he set off towards Ebony, and the one coming to him was shady at best. Turning around, he looked for the pink echidna through the crowd. He didn't see Julie, hoping she was doing what he told her to do.
The band was hitting the high mark of the intro, the drummer hamming out a primal fill with the guitarist stabbing the wah pedal with every strum. Then the song went quiet, save for Mina's voice:
"Well, when you told me you were drowning–"
He stepped forward, turning his red eyes to the door that had just shut.
"–I would not lend a hand–"
The two figures he saw–he thought they were jackals.
"I've seen your face before my friend–but I don't know if you know who I am–"
Stepping through the last thong of Islanders, four steps later and his outstretched hand met the push bar.
"Well I was there and saw what you did–saw it with my own two eyes–"
He opened the door, only cracking it just ajar enough to squeeze through. Closing it, he looked out toward the open space of brick buildings and a wide alley way to a street. Mina and her band were muffled from behind the closed door, Shadow twitching his ears, letting his eyes adjust to the darkness. There were street lights on ahead of him, and a overhead florescent light above him to illuminate the side entrance. Further ahead were the two figures he had seen walk out after Ebony, their pointed ears and heavy tails confirming they were Jackals.
Blackjack was ahead of Ebony, keeping the path clear of any threats, but oblivious to what was behind.
Shadow stepped faster towards the Jackals, calculating a gamble. He needed to talk to Ebony, possibly dispatching Blackjack to do so. But the two jackals complicated things...including his past.
The one on the left started reaching in front of him, his torso obscuring what it was, though Shadow suspecting a weapon. They were there to kill Ebony.
Who's paying for the bullet? No time for an answer!
He was almost at a run when he pushed between the two jackals, both males, making sure he shoulder checked both of them as he passed.
Five more steps forward, he let his firm, but challenging voice range into the open alley way, Ebony and Blackjack just getting to the curb of the street:
"Ebony Hare!"
Both dog and rabbit stopped, Blackjack reaching for a weapon underneath his blue jacket, Ebony frozen.
Shadow gave a quick glance behind him, more so to indicate to Blackjack of the threat lurking at his back than himself. He then beamed his resolved face back to the two.
"–Run!"
Rabbit and bulldog looked to each other, the later grabbing the suit jacket of Ebony and pulling him away as he pulled out a pistol. Shadow nearly went for his, but stopped when the two ran around the right edge of the building, and disappeared from view.
"Well–what shithead decided to fuck with us!?"
Pulling his right hand up to the right edge of his dinner jacket, thumb out and hooking it underneath the fabric, Shadow turned, slowly, to give them the answer.
He knew it was his red eyes that made the jackal on the right widen his. Shadow had already swept his jacket open, the web of his hand finding the pronounced beaver tail of his 1911 pistol, fingers wrapping around the checkered grip and the chaffed metal for friction on the inside of his fingers. The black jackal at his left, his face ashen in fur color, tried for his weapon at his side.
But Shadow had already cleared his holster.
Safety off, digging the hilt of the magazine and grip into his side–
He pressed the trigger with his black furred finger, the .45 caliber round ripping through the heavy night air, the concussion of the report and sound deafening–the bullet ramming through the stomach of the left jackal–but firing a second time in quick succession, letting the recoil of the first shot lift the muzzle that let his second round leap into the jackal's upper chest, blood staining his shirt as it punched through him.
As gravity pulled his first target's contorting body to Earth, Shadow took one sidestep back and to the left–the left Jackal, his fur more black than his counter part, trying to grab for his pistol tucked in his appendix. The hedgehog raised his pistol, left hand filling the grip in support with his right, thumbs forward to aim, red eyes to the glowing green front sight past the two faint orange glows of the rear–
And fired before the jackal could clear his gun from his waist–the bullet hitting square at center mass–firing two more follow up shots in quick succession but in a rhythmic cadence as not to rush the heavy recoil in his hands. Two more impacts hit the jackal's grey shirt. Shadow witnessed the wide eyes from pain and defeat, the jackal's body falling, crashing to the dark concrete with his head hitting the ground, sounding like a grapefruit busting open.
Three pings and rolling of hollow nickle sounded when the violent shots echoed away, brass casings rattling on the concrete before going silent.
Shadow pivoted slightly back to the body of the first jackal he downed, seeing he wasn't moving through the sights of his pistol... shifting to the right, the second one motionless as well.
Releasing his left hand from his pistol, he swept his black dinner jacket and found one of his spare magazines. Pulling it out, he rotated the 1911 in his right hand, placing the palm of his left hand under the grip, pressing the magazine release, ejecting the now partial magazine, and with practice motion pressed the full magazine in, taking the partial in his left and replacing it from where he took the other.
Stepping forward between the two dispatched jackals, he kept his pistol up, looking to his right then to his left before further looking to his rear. No threats, he announced to himself.
Walking to the side door, hoping it would still be unlatched, he holstered his pistol, and reached for the handle. He had to get back to his partner.
The Jackals were out.
Infinite!
Julie-Su had barely made a dent through the jumping crowd, the stage lights bright, her sense battered from Mina's voice and her band kicking the song. It was partially a distraction, but it fostered the memory of when she and Knuckles had gone on tour with the yellow Mongoose and the Love Me Knots. Mina still had the same energy. Turning her head to the stage, she could tell Mina was about to slam the chorus down as she worked through the lyrics.
"It's all been a pack of LIES!"
The drummer worked through the toms and the lower drums. Then he smashed the snare!
And Julie saw sneers from envious female eyes. And lust from males, their dance partner doing one or the same.
"I can feel it, in the air tonight–oh, lord–"
It must be the dress, she thought, refocusing her mind on her rushed mission. Black fur ears or head! she reminded herself.
"And I've been waiting for this moment all my life–oh–"
Mina's voice cut off abruptly, forcing Julie to twist her head to the stage–and green eyes met hers. Recognition...familiar. A stare with lips agape, Mina's microphone nearly falling away. The shutter in Julie's heart reverberated across her face. It was Mina! She was the friend she looked after with her Equal.
And all Julie could do was raise her right hand, and give a shy smile to Mina. A smile that conveyed it was good to see her...but they would meet in another time–
The band, the drummer, worked through the turn around in the fills.
And to Julie's delight, Mina gave one back, more emphatic than the echidna had given. More of being blessed in happiness. She was not alone, either, in this new world.
The mongoose brought her hand back with the microphone, and this time she belted the next verse with an energy that felt renewed:
"Well, I remember–I remember–don't worry–" She looked one more time to Julie, nodding to her. "How could I ever forget–it was the first time–the last time–we ever met!"
A grin etched across her face before turning it back forward. She waded more through the dancing Islanders, tails waving, ears twitching...bodies thrusting and jumping. Could they be leaving through the front entrance? she asked herself. Her answer came as she saw something that wasn't present when she had returned from the bathroom: two male jackals, both at either side to the opening that lead to the kitchen, the bathrooms, and the back entrance. They didn't wear suits, but windbreakers of grey and green color. Concealing weapons? Had to be, the elastic band holding her small blaster reminding her it was there just at her hip above the slit in her dress.
"But I know the reason why you keep the silence up–"
Still, there was a dancing crowd ahead of her. Julie darted to the left, finding the booths and tables off to the side of the dance floor.
Her eyes still to the two jackals, she saw one turn away a Racoon male, his suit white, his face angered. Then the jackals pointed to their left and past the island bar. Guess there are other restrooms.
She also knew they might be waiting for someone.
"–Oh no, you don't fool me–"
Think, girl!
Did she need to confront whoever just bought themselves a radioactive case? Did she just snap a picture of them and follow? Or did she engage them as targets? She and Shadow were technically in denied territory as Tower had said they didn't have jurisdiction, or diplomatic immunity, in Central City if she preemptively smoked possible terrorist.
She kept her pace, her left hand holding her dress up, her right leg coming through the slit, her left concealed.
When she walked passed a table, she spied a wine glass at the edge, half full of a clear yellow sparkled wine.
"Well the hurt doesn't show–"
She reached for it impulsively!
"But the pain still grows–"
Picking it up, her eyes lurched her to a stop when she saw a boy wolf and a girl cat, she in a gown, with him in a dark suit, completely engulfed with themselves, their mouths locking lips, the male's then tracing his muzzle down–
Knuckles had thrown his mittens to the wooden floor, his lips at her neck, her hands gripping his body, his breathing energizing her as his nostrils flared from his exhalation through her dreads and neck. And his red-furred hands felt nervous ...shy as they held her cheeks. So she gave him permission, taking his right hand, guiding it to the edge of her black and teal vest. To shed the barrier of their–
She snapped away from the memory, her heart still beating, her stare still at the fully enveloped couple.
Get a room!
Two steps forward, her hand still holding the wine glass, she placed it to her lips, and up ended it. The heavy fermented taste of grape filled her mouth and sinuses, but she swallowed it down after a quick swish. She left a smattering of drops in the glass, up ending it and directly over her dress, feeling the wetness go down her chest and her womanhood. Passing the next booth, she sat the wine glass down to the empty table, still keeping her pace towards the jackals.
"It's no stranger to you and me–"
And the band leapt into the fill before the chorus, the drummer repeating the same crescendo hits of the drums. The crowd cheered with it.
Her head snapped behind her. She thought she heard two loud thumps–three more somehow filtered over the loud band. Gunshots! Shadow?
But Mina's voice drowned out any other thoughts to come.
"I can feel it, coming in the air tonight–"
Julie looked forward in time to catch one of the jackals looking to follow behind a short tailed Islander. She thought she saw a silver case. She thought she saw the black pointed ears, but the bright lights from the stage placed a heavy shadow through the threshold, giving her no good edge to see. Even if she turned on her night vision from her left eye, the brightness from the stage would wash out the image.
"–Oh lord!"
Pressing on, her left hand still holding the fabric of her dress high, her feet becoming unsteady between her platform sandals that she was not comfortable in, or accustomed to, but she thought she was starting to feel the effects of the alcohol from her four gulps from Shadows glass, and the wine she had just downed.
"And I've been waiting for this moment–for all my life!"
She let her tail go limp, her gate in her stride becoming shaky, wavering. She made sure she got right up to the jackal's face when she spoke with a slurred tone.
"Hi!"
He had initiatively placed his right hand at her shoulder to stop her from coming any closer. His grey windbreaker was open, but she did not see a gun on him. "The bathroom is on the other side!" he exclaimed with a firm demeanor.
"But I need to go, like, right the fuck–now!" she slurred out, getting closer to him that she noticed made him uncomfortable.
He pressed his hand harder on her shoulder. "I don't care!"
"I can feel it coming in the air tonight–"
She saw his eyes go to her shoulder, no doubt he had felt where her skin was wrapped around her cybernetic arm before his eyes saw the small unconcealed metal parts before her black elbow length glove.
"–Oh, Lord!"
And she didn't give him time to let it sink in what she really was. She reached up with her right hand and grabbed his that was attempting to hold on to her shoulder. Julie squeezed and crushed his fur hand before placing her left over it. In one fluid motion she twisted his palm upwards, and bent his wrist back upon itself. She saw the pain connect through his eyes, holding the arm bar as she lowered herself to the floor...the pain compliance commanding the jackal to do the same.
Releasing her left hand, she powered back her cybernetic arm–and gave the jackal a hard punch to his face. His weight collapsed, but his eyes were still open, alert, but dazed.
"I can feel it, coming in the air–tonight!"
Mina's voice was now on fire! Julie's blood like lava!
She stepped over the jackal who was attempting to collect his senses, and marched through the open threshold to the kitchen and bathrooms.
Turning right, remembering where the exit was, she continued forward. Julie wanted to pull her blaster out and to have it up, however, she was concerned she would frighten others with it pointed, and possibly eliciting a scream that would derail her chase.
A chase she now pursued as she saw the second jackal in front of her, moving behind the Islander she could not see–
A sheer pain from her two long back dreadlocks inner-tangled with her hair jerked her rearward from a sudden pull.
"–Oh, Lord!"
She fell backwards and hit the floor, letting out a grunting scream when her body took the force! Looking up, her dreads and hair still being in the grip of someone, she saw it was the jackal she thought she had stunned.
"Frank!"
She darted her eyes down to see the other jackal turning and making a bee-line to her. Still, the jackal with her his hands pulling her at her dreads, she fought the urge to fight with her hands to his, but instead twisted her right leg over, thumbed the corner of the slit of her dress up, and haphazardly found the small grip of her compact blaster. She was thrilled she wasn't wearing her gloves, the purchase of the grip not the best like she would have with her larger double-barrel blaster. But it was going to have to do.
She produced the small squared weapon, seeing that Frank was closing in on her to deliver a heavy punch at her stomach, his eyes went wide when she hastily aimed the compact pistol as she yanked on the trigger twice.
The crisp report of the two hot plasma bolts, though small, lit the dark hallway as they leapt across the three foot void and sliced into the advancing jackal's chest. His eyes went wide, searing pain halting him as he started to fall back.
Centering her eyes and head, finding the triple green sights, she punched her small blaster up, placing the larger green dot at the center of the jackal's forehead. He dropped her dreads and hair that stopped her from being dragged and flung his right hand to reach down to grab her pistol. And he achieved it just as she pulled the trigger, twisting it in her hand when she did that sent the hot bolt passed his head–
His eyes lite up with excruciating agony before all of his features and muscle commands ceased when a flash of neon green illuminated the dark hallway from behind the jackal. And then a figure seemed to materialize when her vision found the harmony of light and dark as the jackal's body succumbed to gravity.
Shadow had given the jackal a hard dose of chaos control, the black hedgehog aiding what Julie was hoping the now lifeless jackal's body to the wooden floor. He did one check at the man's neck, twitched his head in an affirming motion of satisfaction, and stepped forward and reached down to Julie-Su.
"We need to go!" he said, his voice still holding his firm professional tone. Julie wondered if this Shadow really did feel anything?
"Help a girl up?"
His left hand found her left armpit, his right her hand, and rolled her up to her feet. The black door in front of them with the exit sign glowing green commanded them forward. Julie-Su kept her weapon out, both fur and mechanical gloved hands wrapped around the grip, keeping it at a compressed ready.
Shadow, however, pulled his black sleek pistol from his waist under his jacket and held it with both hands but cocked the pistol's sights over to the left, compressing his arms back some. He passed the small archway to the restrooms, keeping his pistol close to his chest as he seemed to pivot and scan around the fatal funnel before pointing him and his pistol forward. Julie did the same, checking their rear in case their were more of these jackals.
Clear! She shouted to herself.
Shadow hit the push bar on the single black door, nearly running outside, darting left, Julie close behind, weapon up with her right hand, her left holding the door open before she darted right. Still, no threats.
Instead, she found the open one way–three-lane street with the traffic flowing to her right. She scanned the filled streets of cars, cabs, and vans. Islanders wove in and out of the heavy traffic as they went across the street.
"Black pointed ears. Tan short tail," she more or less shouted to Shadow.
He only nodded, pulling back his jacket and holstering his weapon, scanning the street with his red eyes.
Julie did the same, feeling the luke warmth of the pistol after discharging it three times. Scanning right, she could only observe so much with the heavy activity of the street. People leaping in and out of cabs. A tabby cat shutting the rear doors to a white van on their side of the curb. A white skinned hand...feminine–human–the arm covered with a black sleeve reaching for the handle of an open passenger door of a black sport utility vehicle. It slammed...along with the white van's and a few cabs doors, and one of those uber rides she's heard about.
No cell phone...no care.
But she didn't see the Islander. They had missed him between her engaging the jackals–with Shadow–and the time it took for them to get outside.
"Damn it!" she seethed under her breath that she knew Shadow heard when he turned his head to her.
He didn't sigh nor say a word to her.
Turning her head, she asked. "What happened to Ebony and Blackjack?" She almost wanted to ask if she had indeed heard gunshots.
Shadow frowned, looking behind them at the new closed rear door. "It's Ebony's lucky night..."
His posture betrayed his uneasiness to her. "We need to go...now."
She nodded. "After you."
She glided to his left, her left hand had holding up her dress, the adrenalin dump along with what spirits she drank carving through her body. But she kept her confidence in her stride, almost wanting to snag Shadow's left arm to make them look like the fun couple they were supposed to be portraying.
We killed two people, tonight, her voice admitted with a dour tone.
Shadow looked to her. "You hungry?" he asked, leading her down the sidewalk, past the main elegant entrance of the Havana Club they just darted out from.
She though for a moment. "Yeah...a little."
He nodded. "I know a place..."
Please leave likes and comments. This chapter was a blast, but very much a challenge to write. Synching up the songs and lyrics and trying to get a good pace of the timing of the story was brain raking.