A Brush With Trouble

“Where are we going now?” Calix asked, arms gripped tightly around Rei as they rode through some of the back end streets of the city. A night wind whipped around them, sending a hazy chill through the air.

“To see an info broker,” Rei replied, scanning their path through her helmet. “If anyone knows what’s going on, it’s probably her.” And even if she didn’t, it was a good starting point for the rest of their mission.

Given the time of night, downtown was probably going to be crowded, but not so much around the residential areas. Rei set a route for the info broker’s home, hoping that there wouldn’t be another blackout, or that they would run into trouble.

And though she was thankful for Calix’s presence, he seemed…suspicious, but at the moment Rei couldn’t think of why. Perhaps just this offering to help her, or this apparent trust he had in her. People like him usually wanted something else from her, and were the reason why she preferred working alone. No one to backstab her or steal her money, or try to pull her into unsavory situations…

Just as they veered around the corner, however, they were met with a crowd of headlights, and Rei was forced to brake, the bike screeching to a halt.

Was it the gang from earlier? No, these people carried a different vibe. Black clothing, black bikes, sitting taller and straighter and more professional… A guy in the front was wearing a fox mask, and Rei assumed that he was the leader. Leader of what, though?

“You know these people?” Calix whispered.

“No,” Rei replied. “Do you?”

“I’ve seen a couple of them around, but…”

“What do you want with us?” Rei asked, her voice coming out distorted and deep.

“You took that recent job, didn’t you? About the lights?” the man with the mask asked, his voice also muffled.

“That’s none of your business,” Rei replied. “What, you guys bounty hunters too?”

“Close,” the man replied. “Mercenaries. The Sunset Eyes. You ever heard of us?”

“Maybe our paths have crossed on occasion,” Rei replied. “Let us through, won’t you? We don’t want trouble.”

“Who says we didn’t?” The man dismounted his bike, and pulled out a hefty gun, readying it.

Rei tried to turn back the way they came, but the rest of the mercenaries pulled out weapons as well, pointing them straight at her. After everything she went through today already? This was infuriating…

“You got any weapons on you?” Calix whispered.

“Yeah, do you?”

Calix pulled out a pair of pistols, holding them out around her. “Why don’t you focus on driving? I’ll take care of this.”

Rei considered, albeit briefly. They were for sure outnumbered, and if they both tried to fight they would surely be overwhelmed. The main goal here was to get to the info broker’s place, not defeat this gang, so focusing on an escape route was a priority. Besides, even if she didn’t trust him, he might as well be useful while he was here.

“Go for it.” She revved the engines and began backing away, and as expected, the mercenaries opened fire. She felt a bullet brush the edge of her helmet but ignored it, quickly turning, and Calix returned fire, taking out several members, at least that was what Rei observed out of the corner of her eye.

She accelerated, hearing the gang’s motorcycles chasing after them, and quickly floored the pedal, praying that the repairman had thoroughly fixed up her bike. Right now it was most important that she lose them first, before heading to the broker’s place. It was during times like these that she found it infuriating that the cops didn’t do much anymore, especially during gang wars.

Her helmet mapped out a few openings for her in neon pink, thought it glitched a little from the damage sustained earlier, and she took the first left, hoping to shake the members off their tail. Of course, that didn’t completely work, as she saw the man with the fox mask gaining on them in her side mirror. At least he couldn’t exactly fire and ride at the same time…

At the intersection she swerved right, and heard Calix fire off several more shots. “Keep straight!” he shouted, reloading.

Up ahead, the street lights and store lights were all a blur, with the ongoing traffic and a few loitering pedestrians on the side. Rei grit her teeth and left the main road, skidding onto the sidewalk, knocking over several signs and decorations. A couple of pedestrians cursed at them, but she ignored them, zipping right by. The pavement was bumpy but doable, and she prayed that she wouldn’t tear too much rubber off her tires as they went.

The light turned, and she held her breath as the flow of traffic began again, a blur of lights streaking through the city’s night air. Rei debated on jumping again, like over a river, but knew that she wouldn’t be able to make it, so instead she swerved right and joined them. The gangsters wouldn’t dare shoot into the crowd and make a scene. That much she knew.

Calix let out a laugh, seeing the Sunset Eyes members stopped at the curbside. “Nice going!”

“They’re not going to leave our tail that easily,” Rei muttered, watching them change directions in her mirror. “They’ll find us again.”

“Well, you can lose them again, can’t you?” Calix held onto her once more. “We’re safe for now!”

“Probably.” Rei leaned over the handlebars of the bike, feeling slightly more refreshed now that traffic had thinned out. “Are you hurt anywhere?”

“Bullet brushed my leg, but other than that, I’m fine. You?”

“I think a bullet scraped my shoulder, but it’s nothing.”

As they continued on, the city settled into the quiet darkness of the outskirts, where there were less lights, most of them shattered or broken, and Rei could only hear the sound of her own bike, besides the din in the background. Looked like they were safe for now. She could probably start rerouting her way to the info broker’s house. She was around this area anyway…

“Do you usually get this much trouble?” Calix asked, pocketing his pistols, the smell of gunfire lingering in the air.

“Depends on the job,” Rei replied. Usually trouble came more at the end, not right at the beginning.

“Were you expecting this?”

“No, I thought this was just going to be a quiet, technical job.” Rei let out a sigh of frustration. “I didn’t even know anyone knew I took the job. Wonder what those guys want… Who were they, Twilight?”

“Sunset Eyes.” Calix loosened his hold on Rei, just a little. “I’ve seen a couple of them before come into the bar. And that guy with the mask. He’s an interesting fellow.”

“What, you know him?”

“Not really. Know of him. Heard his name tossed around during turbulent times. Boston. Always wears that mask.”

“So he’s important, then?”

“Hmm, you could say that. Though I don’t know what that guy Boston would want with us.” Calix let out a small laugh. “We’re probably in trouble.”

“I got us out of trouble once, I can do it again,” Rei replied. “That’s a whole lot of money they’re offering, anyways. They had better make it worth it.”