VIndication extended

I had failed twice before. This time, I would not be stopped.

I opened my closet and moved the various articles hanging there aside. My selection was vast, but most of it useless for the circumstances. I needed to do the job quickly and quietly. A simple blade, leather gloves, and a pair of silenced glocks. If the time came where I'd need anything louder, I would already be a dead man.

I stepped out into the dim light. As the crow flies, it would be five minutes on foot, but we all know that there is no straight path to Burnham. A twisted network of dark alleys filled with pimps, drug pushers, and real estate agents lay between me and my objective. Being 6'5", most of the scum know enough not to try anything with me, and the few who don't are never worth mentioning beyond the fact that it was a waste of my fucking time. I had half an hour to go and lateness was not an option. No one will miss them. Its entirely likely that no one will recognize them. I don’t have any mercy for cretins who waste my time.

The door. Those who were welcome at Burnham could simply give their name and get on through. I needed to trounce the pigfucker who stood outside it. Problem was, he was packing, and heavily at that. One of my general rules of thumb is not to pick fights when I’m outgunned, and this guy had an Uzi. But I needed to get through. I just wasn’t going to go back home this time. I knew what I needed to do to get by, but it was a damn shame. I threw my coat in the air so that it entered his view at the same level as the fire escape of a nearby building. He fired wildly at it. Guns drawn, I dove out into the clear. He had just about enough time to grasp just how much of a bonehead he was before my pistols chirped and his skull was pierced.

My coat was fucked. Bullet holes everywhere. I needed a coat to hide my hardware, but I’d rather not be seen in one that was fucking perforated. I liked that coat, too. I glared at the dead guard. Surprisingly thin for a bouncer. Pretty tall guy, though. In fact… He was my size! That never happened! He was wearing a hell of a nice coat, too. Slick black leather. Excellent. I decided to take his weapon as well. I figured that even though I was as good as dead anyways if I came to need it, it couldn’t hurt to take a lot of those rat bastards down with me

I was inside at last. The place was teeming with hookers with various levels of contamination. Blood, vomit, and urine were visible in various quantities scattered about the floor and occasionally the wall, which in addition sported bullet holes no one ever bothered to fix. About a dozen passed out drunks, junkies, and whores were strewn about the lobby. You needed to watch your step in a place like this, in all possible meanings of the word. There was evidence of the use of just about every illegal drug in existence here, and that was just on the surface. It wouldn’t take Sherlock Holmes to discover the connection between the management and the vice. The vending machines accepted 100 dollar bills. It only said Cheetos on the bag.

Some sorry sonofabitch who was given the Sisyphic task of cleaning the floors (I'd prefer rolling a boulder up a hill) had the nerve to ask me who the fuck I was. Clearly a new guy. A quick blow to the head and he flew face-first into the crotch of some passed-out whore with foam around the mouth. I might have killed him, but I didn't have time to check. I hope for his sake I did.

And then I caught sight of her in the corner of my eye. Tall and thin, with green eyes, and long, platinum blonde hair. Her name was Alice, and some worthless automaton was carrying her limp body down a dark corridor. And it was my fault.

Shit.

I had called her the night before if she wanted to go with me to the Basin. She must have thought I wanted to meet her there. You don’t meet people at Basin, because it’s a dangerous assumption to make that anyone would make it in alive. She obviously didn’t know what was in store. But I did. Not all of the whores in Basin were there by choice. Some were just taken from the street and pumped full of drugs. What I needed to do was clear. I might get some use of that Uzi yet.

I darted into the black corridor. Too quickly. I heard someone cock the hammer of a .45 as I stormed past their hiding place. I dove, turned, and my pistols cleared the holsters. I fired the first one at an upward angle. A sure miss, but in the flash I caught sight of the scumbag and got him between the eyes with the second. I confirmed the kill. No time to search the body, though. I continued as swiftly and silently as I could. I saw a dim red light at the end that professed to be an emergency exit. Bullshit. I knew where we were. That door didn’t lead to the street. It would lead me to Alice. But it was alarmed.

Fuck.

Well, I had two choices. I could take out the Uzi and charge in there alarm and all. Wasn’t happening. Great way to go out with a bang, but I wasn’t ready for that just yet.

I needed to disable that alarm, and I’d left my tools at home. There was no time. I’ve always hated doing it this way, but there was no other choice. I took my pistol to the alarm box, and fired. To my good fortune it didn’t sound. I pressed on through.

Four guards.

Four bullets.

Four corpses.

Two doors. But I could tell which one she’d been through. Her scent was unmistakable. I went through. A long corridor filled with cells. All were empty save one. Alice was still out cold.

There was one set of tools I never left home without. You never know when you’ll need to pick a lock, and in fact lately odds were in favor of me having to make a break-in on any given evening out. As I set to work I didn’t know that I’d forgotten something. I realized that I’d left one man unaccounted for as his fist connected with my jaw. As I hit the floor I saw an enormous man I’d assumed didn’t exist outside of a comic book. If not for the incredible pain I still wouldn’t have believed it. I barely dodged the next blow, and somehow managed to get to my feet. This guy was too fucking quick to pull a glock on. He’d have it from me in the time it took to draw it and cock it. I jumped back and took out my knife. It would have to do. An enormous fist came my way. I put the knife in his arm. I took the blow to the cheek, but he got a long gash in his arm as repayment. He staggered back for just a second, but it was long enough. I drew my rod, and put a round in his throat. He dropped, but he was still alive. Good.

My knife made his last few moments significantly less pleasant.

I finished picking the lock and took Alice into my arms. As quickly as I could, I retraced my steps back to the lobby. Discreetly, I took her to the ladies room and sat her down in one of the stalls. As rotten a place as this was, no one would disturb her there. I stepped back out. One last order of business.

A man sat behind a counter at the far wall. I strode over and made my request.

"Fuck you"

I buried my blade into the counter and repeated my request. He made a grab for it and I put a bullet in his palm.

A pair of hands grabbed me from behind.

Strong hands. Around my throat. The fucker behind the counter took the knife in his good hand and lunged at me. I kicked him in the kneecap, and he lost his balance and fell into me, knocking me and the scumsucker who was strangling me to the floor. The knife got me in the side, nothing serious. I picked up my glock from where I'd dropped it and shot my unseen assailant in the foot. His grip on me loosened, and I broke free. another shot and he was done.

Which left me with the man who was going to give me what I wanted. I pointed the gun at his crotch.

"Two tickets to the 9:45 Sin City"
"Here, theater 6 on your left! Just point that thing someplace else!"
"Sure thing." I put two in his head.
All done and with a minute to spare. No time to work over the concessions guy, though. A pity. I’d brought the knife with him in mind.

THE END

SIN CINEMA