He came at them like a ram. Decked in purple with highlights of gold, including his hair, Godsend hurtled toward Colinaude and Ratbeard with his cape flapping madly behind him. He wasn’t really Godsend, but rather someone who had taken advantage of an inviting situation, much like those he was headed for. His approach sent Colinaude, the Eidolon, into action.
"Get down," he shouted toward the woman dressed as Eidolon who had come around the back of the dealership for an innocent smoke. "Get down," he shouted at Ratbeard, who had apparently not realized he should be doing the same. The man was petrified, so Colinaude shoved him down and out of the way, and just in time. The assassin dressed as Godsend had leapt the remaining feet as he prepared for his opening strike.
Colinaude rolled out of the way and threw out blows of his own, hoping his fists would catch the rebounding assassin off guard. They did, but the assassin, while flipping his cape over, blocked them harmlessly away. They took a moment to regroup.
The woman was shepherding Ratbeard to safety as Colinaude flung himself at the assassin for another go of it. They exchanged blows that seemed to have no mutual effect, but they continued all the same. The assassin flipped backward and Colinaude rolled forward again, trying the same maneuver as before and having the same luck. The assassin had a better reply this time. He flipped Colinaude onto his back, holding onto a wrist as he did so, which shot searing pain up that arm. Colinaude ignored it and attempted to kick his way out, but the assassin held strong. Next he tried twisting his way out, but that had no effect either, so he threw a punch at random and connected, sending the assassin away for a breath.
He came back with another kick that sent Colinaude flying, crashing against the station with a thud. But he landed near a pile of buckets, filled at the moment with buttons that read the slogan for the promotion Mad Jack’s was currently celebrating, oblivious to what else was going on in the lot. In an instant, he had relieved them and spun around, swinging two while kicking the third toward the assassin, who batted it away but had no reply for Colinaude’s new assault. The Eidolon was now on the offensive, and he was backing the assassin further away from the lot, and from Ratbeard, whom the redheaded woman had now ushered away from sight.
The assassin continued to try and defend himself with his arms, but seemed to finally realize he had other defenses, turning around and kicking at Colinaude, catching both buckets and sending them toward his head. He dropped them and then kicked each at the assassin, who deflected one but not the other. He had had a busted lip, and was the type to lick it and wipe away the rest with the back of his fist. "Yes," he said, "that’s more like it," and he proceeded to take his cape off and whip it at Colinaude, who was caught in this snare. The assassin took the opportunity to send him back down, and collect the two buckets himself.
He tossed them both at Colinaude now, as if toying with him. "They are nice, aren’t they?" he taunted. But Colinaude was not going to play that game. He flipped himself back up and they stared at each other for another moment.
"Maybe on the beach," he said. "But it doesn’t look like we’re there, does it? Want me to guess why you’re here, Viper?"
"If you wish," Viper replied before striking again. Colinaude responded in kind, and they went another round of that for a while, until they came upon a fence. Viper caught the same arm he’d torqued earlier and swung Colinaude into it, sending a foot as a welcoming gift. Colinaude responded by flipping over again, grabbing Viper while he did so and slamming into the pavement with a thud.
"You’re here for me," he mocked. "Just a wild guess. But I also have a good idea of who sent you."
"Is that so?" Viper said. He was coughing, but not getting up again. "I think I’d like to hear that."
"Neville," Colinaude said.
Viper laughed. "Please! It’s a good thing they aren’t paying you to do this stuff."
"And a good thing you are," Colinaude said. "Come on. Who then?"
"Rodrigo Ramirez," Viper said.
"Cad," Colinaude said.
"Yes, Cad," Viper said. "He isn’t really amused by that, you know."
"And you know what? I don’t much care," Colinaude. "But it’s nice that word gets around."
"More than you think," Viper said.
"Likewise," Colinaude said. "I’m a betting man. I say it really is Neville."
"You’re perfect for Vegas, then," Viper said.
"Actually, I already cleaned him out," Colinaude said.
"Must have been difficult," Viper said.
"And you must be stupid," Colinaude said. "Vegas has a smaller operation than the Cad did six months ago. It’s miniscule. When people like you order the starter kit of evil, that’s what they receive in the mail six to eight weeks later. Unless there’s some secret society of scum I should, or would like to, know about, there’s only one other way you’d know who he was."
"And you’re certain about that? How much?" Viper goaded.
"I don’t know, you tell me," Colinaude said. "I’m all ears. Well, under the mask I am. Trust me."
"Oh, I trust that you a load of crap," Viper said. "How’s that?"
"I’m afraid that’s not quite what I was aiming for," Colinaude said.
"Really," Viper said. "Now how could I screw that up?"
"You tell me," Colinaude. "No wait, that’s how we got here, isn’t it? You know, you’re really not cut out for this line of work. You’re just stalling for time. And if you’re not, you’re definitely wasting my time. Which could be an indicator that you really are working for Cad, or that you’re trying to make it look like you are. Or you’re confirming what I already thought."
"Which is what?" Viper said.
"That the two are in cahoots," Colinaude said. "But you don’t need to confirm or deny that. How do you want to finish this up? Making a show of going to the authorities again and taking the good chance you’ll escape again and should I let you go and wait for you to come around again and try to finish your business for real? This is getting pretty tiresome. Hey, want to bunk?"
"Bite me," Viper said. "There’s another option, you know."
"Which is what?" Colinaude said.
"You could kill me instead," Viper said. "But we both know you’d never do a thing like that, don’t we? I’m going to take the option where I leave and wait for another day."
"Suit yourself," Colinaude said. "But dress differently next time. You make a lousy Godsend." Or a good one, he thought as he watched Viper beat his retreat. There was no other way to deal with him, other than the one Viper himself had mentioned and dismissed out of hand, without knowing Colinaude was getting closer to that all the time. Like Rancor, Viper was a fairly regular foe for the Eidolon, thanks to the nature of his business. They were evenly matched, and Viper had no personal motives to foul himself up, making him an ideal candidate for repeat encounters.
He was growing tired of that. He knew he was going to have to find a permanent solution for the Viper problem, but there had never been any good ones given the assassin’s penchant for escape and the authorities’ willing and unwilling facilitating of it. Colinaude couldn’t hold it against them. They were doing their job just as he was doing his. But multiplying efforts, especially a unified one, was always a recipe for allowing cracks to appear, for various reasons that a number of other reasons meant those cracks would never truly go away.
That’s why there were those like the Eidolon out there as well. And even their numbers were far from flawless. Very far. That realization alone was tough for Colinaude to swallow if he thought about it for too long.
But Viper was out there, and he had answers Colinaude needed. The problem was in getting them. Viper was no Random Red. Psychology wouldn’t work on him, at least not any conventional kind. And Colinaude would not be able to track him down as easily. He needed to concentrate on more concrete matters, like the noon appointment. He was already late. Colinaude was already late. Viper had succeeded in that regard. Damn him.
Colinaude rushed off, leaving Ratbeard behind, a distant memory. He was getting angry again, and he was not in the mood to check it. The rendezvous was in the rodent district, but on the other side, meaning Colinaude would have to make his way across the heart of the city, which would eat even more time from his reconnaissance. He had twenty minutes to go and only twelve to cross the distance in. Maybe there was an advantage to owning a set of themed wheels, or some other convenient form of transportation. Godsend flew. Of course he did. He really needed an additional advantage like that.
He was regretting not boosting a car from Mad Jack’s. He was also debating the wisdom of continuing his slight-of-sight act in such an emergency situation. Did it really matter if someone saw him now? Yes, it did. He didn’t need someone following him when he came across Cad. That would ruin things easily enough. That’s the last thing he wanted to deal with now. He already felt as if he would crack again, and that wouldn’t be the smartest thing to do now, either. He needed to remain in control, keep his focus up. To top things off, his arm was still killing him. Viper must have dislocated his shoulder. And there was no time now to set it.
No comments:
Post a Comment