"That’s it." Rally said, and stuck another clip in her jacket. "We all set?" Cowboy and May nodded. Each woman bristled with armaments of her choice. May waved to Ken, who stood in the window. Turning away, she said "Poor Ken. He’s not going to be able to work much longer." Cowboy glanced down at the blonde. "Why not? He seemed to be pretty good with those makeshift bombs in the phones." "MS." May replied. "His muscular coordination is going. I’d like to be able to settle down with him, but he’s got to keep moving…" She shrugged. "He’s got too many people after him now." Cowboy led May to the Ducati and handed over the extra helmet. "Ah." Cowboy said, sagely. "Ready?" May tapped her on the shoulder in affirmation and the two women looked over to the Opel in driveway. Rally waved and pulled out onto the street. A moment later, Cowboy pulled the bike in behind her. When May finally caught her breath, she laughed. " Now I understand why Rally liked this so much." Cowboy’s voice crackled in her ear. "Yep." There was a pause. "Are you sure we can trust your friend’s info?" May nodded, then said, "Becky’s the best in the business. If she says that all the vacated areas connect, then they do. All we need to do is get some evidence that the guns are being made there, and we can let the police do the rest." "I don’t mean to be indelicate or anything…" Cowboy hesitated. "Go ahead." May said brightly. "That hit your boyfriend was going to make…was he really just going to kill innocent people like that?" May thought about that. "Probably. He was in trouble with the mob and he needs the work. Plus, he’s got a reputation to keep up. He’s not just good – he’s the best." Almost to herself, she said, "He can’t screw up and expect it to be okay." "But I thought you worked for the law?" Cowboy insisted. "Yeah, well, sometimes there’s grey areas…and Ken knows it. That’s why I had already placed a few anonymous calls letting the police know about the bombs. But…" "But?" "But," May continued, "if the police didn’t get to them in time, then yeah, the hit would have gone down as planned." *** The vacated area didn’t look vacated at all. There were trucks, cars and a bustle of people and boxes that seemed much like any transportation center. The three women watched from a nearby rooftop. "Becky says that the middle building is the one with the lab…that’s the one we’re going to have to target first. We may not get to Keaton, but if we don’t, it won’t matter…we’ll have proof." "You see that door?" Rally pointed. "We’ll enter from there – it’s got cover, and no one seems to be guarding it…it probably dead ends, but May here can help make a new entrance." The three women slouched their way to the fire escape and lowered themselves to the ground. "Subtlety be damned," Rally said. "Let’s blow these bastards to hell." They snuck as close as they could, but when they were about to be spotted, Cowboy and Rally let loose a flurry of shots. People dove every which way to find cover. May lobbed a few grenades to add to the joy and the three of them were at the door in seconds. Another round and they were in. Or, at least Rally and May were. Cowboy, still outside, began to shut the door behind her. Rally shouted her name, but the tall woman just said, "I got something to take car of, Rall. You get the proof – I’ll meet you back at the car." And the door closed with a thud. Rally stared at the barrier, then looked around for something to wedge it shut. May stared at her. "That’s it? You’re going to leave her there?" Rally muttered, "Her choice. Come on," and ran down the hall. Gunfire grew distant behind them. No alarm sounded, but Rally kept her pistol up and twice had to pick off pursuers. They moved through offices, and down halls, heading inexorably for the plant, which was even now churning out impossible and untraceable guns, to be sold to syndicates everywhere. Rally grit her teeth and kept running. *** Cowboy dropped her gun and raised her hands. Three men grabbed her and forced her to her knees. One picked up the gun, and grinning, slammed it down on her head, hard. The world went blurry for a while, and at last, completely dark. When she came to, the pungent smell of ammonia made her head ache. She turned away from it and was slapped across the face. Her eyes opened to see the leering face of her ex-employer, Eustace Long…small-time gunrunner and drug lord. His sallow complexion didn’t get any better with proximity, Cowboy thought. "She’s awake." Long’s nasal voice was especially irksome right now. Cowboy grinned at him and was rewarded with another slap. His ring caught her cheek and cut it. Blood dripped down her cheek. "Well, well." A second voice came from behind her. "Ms. Simms – so nice of you to join us." Keaton walked around to greet her. One hand was gloved. He grabbed her by the chin with his left hand and squeezed, hard. "I’m so very glad we have a few moments to talk." He let go abruptly and stepped away. "Before we dispose of you." Keaton turned to the two men who sat in chairs by the desk. "Leave. Make sure no one rescues our lovely guest here…we have some unfinished business, she and I." The two men stood and left without a word. When they had gone, Keaton seated himself behind the desk. "Ms. Simms, I have to say that I am very disappointed in you. You obviously have some brains – you might have gone far in this organization. But they say that a woman’s heart rules her head." He shook his head sadly. "And so it seems with you. First the lovely…the delightful Ms. Day," his voice insinuated something Cowboy didn’t want to think about, "and now the equally fascinating Rally Vincent." Long shoved his face back into Cowboy’s. "Stupid bitch dyke. We’ll give you twice what we gave your little friend. She was loving it by the end, you know." Cowboy glared, but didn’t bother to speak. Long lifted a hand to hit her again, but Keaton’s voice stopped him. "No, Eustace, don’t. There’s no need to be excessive." Keaton leaned back in the chair. "It really is a pity, Terri. May I call you Terri? We might have been able to come to some accommodation, but now…" he shook his head sadly. "Now there’s really nothing we can do but kill you and your friends." Cowboy grinned. "I think you greatly underestimate their resources. The police are coming, you know. You can’t possibly move this all out in time." Keaton smiled nastily. "No, no. It was a good idea, you know, but our people intercepted the message before it got to Ms. Vincent’s police friends…there’ll be no cavalry, I’m afraid. In fact," he looked at his watch, "I’m waiting for a phone call. When I receive it, I’ll be handing you…and your friends over to some of my associates to deal with." He turned to Eustace. "I assume you’ll want to sit in on this session too?" Long licked his lips. "Yeah. It’ll be even better this time, with the three of them." Cowboy made a moue of disgust and Long sneered back at her. He pulled a hand back to hit her, then thought better of it. Laying his hand on one of her breasts through her shirt, he squeezed, hard. "Laugh it up, Simms – you and your friends are dog meat now." Cowboy didn’t give him the benefit of wincing. Glancing at the clock, she smiled. "I’m not worried." Keaton sat upright at this. "Why, Terri, I think you think you have an ace up your sleeve." He stood and pulled a metal case from one drawer. Steeping around the desk, he opened the case and withdrew a hypodermic needle. "We can’t have that now, can we?" Cowboy’s eyes widened at the sight of the hypo. Long snickered. "Look, the big butch bull dyke is afraid of needles." His laugh was tiring. Keaton shot Long a look, and approached Cowboy. "Hold her." Long threaded his arms through her bound ones. He was a strong little weasel, Cowboy thought. She struggled but he held her steady. She winced as the needle punctured her skin, and tried to turn her head. Long’s breath rasped harshly in her ear and she could smell his breath. The drug slid through her blood like a flame. She knew Long had let go of her, but she had no real sense of it, the sensation receded rapidly. Smiling pleasantly, Keaton leaned close to her. "So, Terri. What is it that you and your friends have planned? You can tell me." His voice was gentle, reassuring, and Cowboy smiled, relieved. "Nothin’ much." Her voice slurred a little and was very quiet. Leaning a little closer Keaton had all his attention on her. She grinned up at him, like a little girl. "Just this." She stomped once with her right foot, then kicked it up quickly between Keaton’s legs. His eyes bugged out as he slumped forward. Cowboy retrieved her foot, then shoved Keaton away, the spike projecting from her boot’s toe dripping with blood. Long jerked away in shock, but he pulled himself together quickly. Drawing his gun, he aimed at the tall woman, who was trying to stand. Cowboy lurched as she got to her feet and the bullet missed her by millimeters. Stumbling towards Long, she was unpredictable, he couldn’t aim as she weaved, fell, stood and made her way inexorably across the office. Long retreated behind the desk, but Cowboy barely even saw him. She rolled over the desktop and swung her legs at Long, while the sallow man tried to bring his gun up. Cowboy’s boot caught his hand and the gun went flying. "You little pervert." Cowboy hissed through the haze, "I’ll carve you up and eat you as breakfast sausage." Long jumped out of her way and tried to reach for the gun. Cowboy laughed. She couldn’t see anything but colored blurs – the room was beginning to spin. Slowly the tall woman corkscrewed into the ground and lay there, motionless. Sneering, Long stood up and brushed himself off. He retrieved his gun and walked over to the unconscious form. He felt a hand grip his leg and looked down. Keaton was trying to pull himself up, while blood streamed from his nose and down his legs. "Help…" Keaton hissed. Long stared down at the politician for a second, then leveled the gun at him. Keaton’s body was slammed back into the floor with the violence of the shot. Long aimed down at Cowboy and fired. His hand jerked as he pulled the trigger, and blood erupted from it. His shot went wide and left a hole in the carpet just above Cowboy’s head. Staring at his bleeding hand, Long didn’t think to look up for a long time. When he did, he noticed that the office door was open and Rally Vincent stood, her legs spread, her gun leveled right between his eyes. "Do it," she hissed. "Move. Please." Long stared at her, and began to lift his hands over his head. At what he thought was a motion of relaxing the gun, he leapt forward to grab his pistol once more. Rally’s shot was so clean, he never knew what hit him. By the time he hit the ground, Eustace Long was dead. Rally holstered her gun, as May kicked Keaton over. Taking one look at his wounds, she made a face and stepped over to the telephone. Rally didn’t notice, her eyes were on Cowboy’s slumped form. Grabbing her shoulders, Rally shook the tall woman a few times, until Cowboy’s eyes fluttered. "Cowboy, you in there?" Rally asked urgently. Cowboy opened her eyes and saw a blurry Rally Vincent hovering over her. Her smile was bright, genuine. "Hey Rall. Glad you could make it." Sirens were audible in the distance. Rally smiled grimly. "You hurt?" Cowboy’s eyes closed, then opened slowly. "Nah. Just some truth drug stuff." Her eyes closed again. "Keaton dead?" she asked, her voice slipping. Rally shook her slightly and grabbed for a wrist to take a pulse. "Yeah. You do it?" Cowboy nodded, sliding her hand out of Rally’s grip, wrapping her hand over Rally’s own. Rally looked down at Cowboy, watched her blue eyes phase in and out of focus. They locked on Rally’s own for a moment, then crinkled up in a sardonic smile. "I gotta tell ya, Rall, I’m pretty far gone on ya." They went unfocused again, and her head lolled back. Rally lowered Cowboy’s head onto the floor and brushed the hair off her face. "I know." She stroked Cowboy’s head gently, waiting for the sirens to come, while May stood guard over the two of them.
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