Chapter 7
The night following the ACG meeting, Mike was back on the streets of the Playground with Stardust. They’d barely started their patrol when a yell caught their attention over the din of the Playground’s vibrant night life.
“Get off me! Help!”
Mike tensed, while Stardust’s head whipped toward the direction the shouts had come from.
“Here we go again,” Stardust said grimly.
Together they ran toward the panicked shouts, dodging a group of lively old ladies exiting a casino, boots pounding pavement as they sprinted down the side of the building to reach the back parking lot. They came upon a woman being shoved up against a car. Her assaulter was a different man from the previous night. And he was dressed entirely in white. For a second, Mike thought this might be an unrelated incident, but then the man’s venomous shouts carried across to them.
“Filth! You won’t keep that filthy money!”
“Get off! Getoff!” the woman yelled back in his face as she struggled to escape from the rough hold.
Stardust took a step forward, clearly ready to jump in and fight. But Mike grabbed his arm, preventing him from rushing in as he had on their first encounter. “Remember what happened before. Assess the scene first.” Those golden eyes narrowed in anger. Stardust clearly didn’t like being told what to do.
“You’ve got ten seconds to make your battle plan and then I’m going in.”
“Just look and see if there is a second person hiding.”
Stardust jerked his head in a short nod. They both did a quick visual scan of the area. Stardust found what they were looking for.
“There. Hiding behind that blue truck.”
Mike looked to where Stardust indicated, spotting a small statured man also dressed in white, squatting behind the bumper of a pickup truck, with another of those unusual guns cradled in his arms. “I’ve got him,” he whispered. “As soon as he’s down you go after the big guy.”
Stardust nodded. He silently pulled both of his sai from their holsters, the green neon light above them gleaming off the gold blades. Mike moved to the left to get the best angle. Then he let loose with his blast. The ray shot across the dark space, colliding with the hidden assailant and knocking him off his feet. The weapon he held flew from his hands and clattered to the pavement.
“Now!” Mike shouted.
Stardust sprinted forward and leaped at the big attacker. Mike lost sight of him as Stardust’s momentum caused them to tumble away, but he could hear their fight while he went after the second assailant. He stayed low in case there was someone else they hadn’t spotted, running across the parking lot in a half-crouch to where he’d seen the mugger’s accomplice last. Mike reached the truck but there was no one there. Either the blast had knocked him really far back, or he’d taken off to hide again. Unfortunately for him, he’d left his weapon behind.
Mike carefully grabbed the abandoned gun, determined to keep it from being used against them. He remained alert, keeping his eye out for the accomplice as he made his way back to where Stardust had engaged the mugger. When he arrived, they were still fighting.
Watching Stardust fight was as thrilling as watching him dance. The raven-haired hero spun, his long braid snaking behind him, gold blades flashing as he pressed forward with his offense. His opponent had size, strength, and some fighting skill on his side. But it was plain to see that he wouldn’t be able to keep up with Stardust’s speed and training. In a quick move, the hero angled his upper body low on the left and kicked up with his right foot, leg perfectly extended, the flat of his boot catching the mugger on the chin. The big man stumbled back, arms pinwheeling as he tried to regain his balance.
Mike didn’t see the need to get involved. Besides, without any prearranged signals or tactics, it could be reckless to intervene. He tore his gaze away from Stardust and moved to check in with the victim. She too was watching the fight, her eyes wide, fingers clutching her bag so hard the skin on her knuckles was stretched tight over the bones. Mike called out softly, so that he didn’t startle her.
“Ma’am.”
Even with his quiet voice, she jerked around to look at him, eyes still wide and every muscle tense, her fight or flight reflex clearly on a hair trigger.
“You’re with the mask guy, right?” she asked shakily.
Mike nodded. “Yes.” The woman relaxed slightly from her stiff defensive posture at his answer. Under the amber glow of the parking lot light, he could see that her lip was split and bleeding and a bruise was darkening on her cheek. “Do you mind if I treat your face?”
She shook her head, so Mike set the gun at his feet and opened one of the pockets of his cargo pants to pull out single-use first aid supplies. He cleaned the cut with an alcohol wipe, then dabbed it with an antiseptic gel. “Any other injuries?”
“No. Guy’s got a wicked backhand but my teeth are all still in place.”
Mike smiled. “That’s good to know.”
He was putting the used supplies in another pocket when headlights suddenly swung over the scene, accompanied by the sound of a big vehicle gunning right for them. Nearly blinded by the high beams, Mike grabbed the woman and jumped out of the way just in the nick of time. A van roared up, screeching to a stop a foot shy of where he and the woman had been standing. The sudden distraction gave the mugger the opportunity to shove Stardust away and dive into the open sliding door of the vehicle. The door wasn’t even fully closed before the van took off, tires squealing on the pavement as the driver floored it.
“Get the plates!” Stardust yelled.
Mike was already on it. He only caught a partial, but he typed what he saw into his ACG tech watch for safe keeping.
