Testing the text

Part One

The air was muggy, and felt heavy to his labored lungs. The rain had stopped, but the back alleys were still slick and shimmering with puddles. Under flickering lights and through the stifling fog, he ran as fast as his legs would carry him. The apartment was just one more block away… His muscles burned, but he didn’t dare slow down. A gunshot whizzed by his head.

‘That chick is crazy, firing a gun without a silencer!’ he thought, ‘Doesn’t she know guns are illegal in Kyoto?’

His boots splashed in a muddy puddle and he nearly lost his balance, ducking instinctively as a bullet narrowly missed his silver ponytail. He knew her caliber well and likewise knew a .45 ACP round to the skull would quickly turn his day sour. He skidded around a corner, stumbled over a garbage can and struggled to keep on his feet. When he got his bearings, he realized he had made a terrible mistake. A dead-end. He was faced on three sides with brick walls, and behind him, he could hear the sound of high heels on wet concrete. He muttered the only word that came to mind; “Crap.”

“That’s just sad,” she said, slowly taking another step toward him. The sounds of her footsteps were nearly drowned out by his pounding heart.

“I don’t guess you’d be willing to let me go,” he asked as he turned around, a sheepish smile on his face; “Huh, Lil’?”

“You wish,” the woman replied, leveling her Glock 30 on him. The blond-haired, blue-eyed beauty tilted her head to the side, and her painted lips curled up into a sick smile.

“Lilith!” he yelled, his mind racing to figure out a way to distract her. His eyes darted over her shoulder. Lilith thought it might be the tired old ‘what’s that behind you?’ gimmick, but there was something in his gaze that said it wasn’t a trick. She heard footsteps behind her, and quickly spun around.

“Who’s th--”

There was a dull thud as an elbow slammed into Lilith’s cheek. The blow sent the petite blond to the ground, with her gun clattering beside her. The man was stunned that someone had come to his rescue. He looked from Lilith, dazed in a puddle. His eyes then locked on a pair of stiletto-heeled boots beside her. His eyes traveled up a pair of long shapely legs, clad in tight black pants, and settled on an attractive Caucasian woman with porcelain-like skin. A sight like this was worth lingering on for a moment, but he then reminded himself that sexy women were usually the ones trying to kill him.

“Who the hell are you?” he yelled, backing up against the brick wall behind him, curling his hands into fists but leaving them hanging low at his sides. He assumed a defensive posture, but on the other hand, he didn’t want to piss her off if it wasn’t necessary. The elegant brunette woman ran her fingers back through her hair, brushing a few errant strands over her shoulder as she stepped closer, causing him to bristle a little more.

“Pardon the interruption,” she said, “But are you Amatsu Tendou?”

“You been walking around asking everyone that or what?” he asked, growing even more tense. His legs burned from the ill-directed sprint that brought him to this dead-end. Even if he felt like he could run again, it would still mean getting past her.

“Answer the question,” she instructed coolly, “Are you Amatsu Tendou, or not?”

“Ooh, multiple-choice,” the silver-haired man replied. He was unable to keep his attitude completely under wraps, even when it was a matter as important as self-preservation. He backed up a bit more against the brick wall, even though it wasn’t going to budge, and continued, “It really depends on one thing… Do you want Tendou’s head mounted on your wall?”

“I see,” she replied, “I was the one hired to protect you.”

An awkward silence fell.

“You want to run that by me again?” he asked, staring vacantly.

“I was hired to be your bodyguard,” the woman rephrased, though she seemed mildly annoyed that she had to waste her breath on further explanation.

“Is this a joke?” he asked, “Or a really bad pick-up line?”

Now the woman was growing quite irritated with each passing second. She crossed her arms and said sharply, “I take my work quite seriously. I am Tsuwamono Fujin from Halcyon Security. …Are you saying you didn’t hire me?”

“I’ve got no clue what you’re talking about,” he said, relaxing slightly, “People hired to kill me, yeah, sure, but protect me? That’s a new one.”

Almost as if that were her cue, Lilith’s hand darted out to grab the fallen gun beside her. Fujin’s stiletto heel instantly pinned it to the concrete just inches away from the weapon. Lilith cried out, and her attempt to snatch her hand back only hurt more.

“We’re having a conversation here,” Fujin said, reaching down and picking up the pistol, one finger looped through the trigger-guard in a casual fashion, as though handling a gun in such a careless way were normal. She looked the gun over a moment before spinning it around to hold it by the grip properly. She aimed at the fallen woman beside her, who was now giving her a murderous, hateful glare.

“Hey,” said Tendou, growing uneasy with the situation again. Fujin turned her attention back to him now, tucking the gun away in her jacket. He relaxed slightly once she had put the gun away.

“Bottom line is, you are Tendou,” she said, turning to walk, “Come.”

“Huh? Where are we going?”

“My apartment,” she replied as she continued to move off further into the fog. He stood there with a vacant stare for a moment before his senses returned to him.

“I knew it was a pick-up line!” he whispered under his breath as he took off after her with new found energy.

Fujin abruptly stopped, and Tendou nearly bumped into her. Two cars skidded to a stop at the end of the alley up ahead, and all four doors on each automobile opened. The men who were climbing out looked none too pleased as they reached into their jackets. When Fujin looked back, Lilith was sitting up, just smugly smiling while dangling her bracelet, along with the tracker attached to it.

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