CHAPTER II

Fled

She had been chasing him on foot for the better part of two hours, now. Her feet hurt, her breathing was labored, and she was ready to break the jaw of the very next lowlife who got in her way, trying to pick her up. That had happened twice in the past hour, and she almost found herself wishing that it would happen again. At least that way she'd have a legitimate reason for injuring a citizen. Interfering with military personnel was grounds for immediate detainment. Imprisonment, even.

During the course of Lieutenant Sonya Blade's pursuit of the Black Dragon member, she'd knocked over three or so passerby on the street, unintentionally of course. The first had been a man in a business suit who had yelled something about calling a lawyer. Second was some stupid blonde bimbo - reinforcing stereotypes and chewing bubblegum loudly, in fact - who had made the mistake of not moving when the Lieutenant had ordered her aside. No, instead, she'd looked her up and down, as if she was some tramp, and made an unimpressed-sounding noise. That young lady had been unceremoniously shoved into a nearby lamppost for her troubles.

Then, there had been the unfortunate senior citizen, who had been having a bit of trouble getting her other foot up onto a curb. Sonya hadn't even seen her, intent as she was on capturing her quarry. She'd actually run straight into her - her eyes had been fixated on Kano, who was already across the street, and running fast, not caring who he knocked down. She had a soft spot for the elderly, so against her better judgment, she'd spent a valuable minute helping the poor old woman up whilst apologizing all the way. That had been five minutes ago, and she hadn't seen Kano since. Still, she kept pressing onward, hoping that her instincts were right. Kano wasn't one to simply run for his life; he played games with his pursuers, staying just out of reach. Close enough to see, too far away to nab. He was overconfident, and that was his weakness. Sonya intended to capitalize on it.

OK...think, Sonya. Where would I be...if I were him...

She kept on, her gut telling her that he'd come this way. She was out of the main streets now, the thoroughfare behind her. The slums, a back alley...that's where she was. Five or six apartment complexes, on each side. Nice and dark, plenty of places to hide at this time of night. She unholstered her pistol, and breathed slowly, ears intent for any sound, any motion...any clue...

She brushed a loose lock of blonde hair behind an ear, and took two cautious steps forward...that open doorway. There. No light whatsoever. He was right there...had to be.

And then she saw it, in the distance, inside the building, glowing dully. The single dot of red. That fucking eye of his.

Got you.

She raised her gun. "There's no running this time, Kano. Come out...nice and slow. You're finally under arrest, you murderer."

Not a sound. Not a word.

This wasn't right. He would have something to say, he always did...

A thought occurred to her. Not lowering her gun, she scooped her night-vision goggles from her belt, and brought them up.

That's it, baby...take a good, close look.

He slowly unsheathed the knife from its place on his boot, and brought it to bear, grasping it by the very tip of the blade. He brought his arm back.

The goggles draped everything in a blood-red curtain. She saw clearly, the pipes, the fixtures, the trash bin inside the room...and the small back box at eye level on top of it that was devoid of features save for a small LED, its only purpose being to glow...

He threw it.

A decoy. He's...

She heard it, and ducked in time to see it whizz through the air and embed itself into the brick. A half second later, and that would have been her head. Without pause, she turned, and fired off three rounds at the stairwell in the shadows. Three pings told her no. Saw his eye for real this time, blazing a streak of red like a sniper rifle's sight as he moved. Heard him laughing, laughing as he jumped off the balcony, hit the top of another dumpster, jumped from that and dashed back out into the city streets at the other end of the alley.

"Dammit! KANO!"

She ran after him. Holstered her gun, and pulled her radio out from under the vest which covered her black, green and white SF uniform. It had been set to the Chicago Police Department's frequency. She dialed as she ran, jumping on the hood of a parked car, and across the street. She could still see him. Two rings, and a bored female voice answered.

"Lieutenant Sonya Blade, USSF, to CPD, over."

"We read you, Lieutenant. Can we have some ID, over."

She screamed inwardly, and wished she could reach through time and space to smack the receiving officer, whoever she was.

"Code 709BLAD-68. That good enough for you?"

"Just a moment, please...yes, ID confirmed. What can we do for-"

"Stow it! I'm on 25th and Parkway heading north on foot, pursuing a wanted fugitive. Can't open fire, risk of civilian injury. I need backup NOW, over."

"Got you, Lieutenant. We'll send our nearest cars to pick you up, form some roadblocks."

"Give me a chopper, too."

The voice, which had gone from bored to alert, now sounded skeptical. "A...chopper?"

"You heard me. You don't know who we're dealing with, here. That's an order."

This talk was slowing her down. She hung up, and ran even faster, if that was possible. The crowds were thick here - they were slowing him down, too. His trail was easy to see now, she just had to follow the people he knocked over.

She just hoped he hadn't stabbed any of them.

Sonya was saved from her morbid thoughts. Not 10 meters away, she saw his head shining under a streetlight, and actually cracked a smile.

"OK, you bald bastard. I'm coming. Just you wait."

Author : Bob J Dole

Creation date: 2004-12-28-20-20

Modification date: 2004-12-28-20-20