Boss King and the Blade

Guard van, En-Route to Port August

Boss King

“I think I may have wet myself” Boss King announced from the back seat. “I am not entirely sure, as I am still deciding if I am alive or dead”

“If you’re complaining then you are alive” Melody said from the front seats. “That’s what Guardfather Gregory always told us”

Trixie gave a snort of laughter, letting the tension inside of her go.

“Sounds like your Guardfathers used the same training techniques I received” she told the girl. “We are more alike than I had thought”

“Yeah, you two are like peas in a pod” Boss King muttered.

“We are sisters” Melody affirmed and Boss King saw the shy glance she gave Trixie. He supposed that after all she had lost, Melody needed to find connections in the world she now found herself.

“Hey, Trixie, how did you know those Hive vans would get out of our way?” he asked, still trying to work out if his shorts were damp from sweat or something else.

“Well, I figured hitting them with the lights and sirens at the last second might make them flinch” she replied calmly.

“And if they hadn’t?” he persisted.

“This van was built for use by the Guard and Police Auxiliary” Trixie explained. “The windows are armoured Ceramiglass and the front body is layered with Ceramite over reinforced steel. You can drive this van through a concrete wall and it will keep working”

“That sounds great!” Boss King said enthusiastically. “So we were never in any real danger!”

“What? No, if we hit those vans at the speed we were going all of us would be squishy red smears over the interior. It would have totally destroyed those Hive vans though”

Boss King regarded the back of the clone’s head as she drove, his shocked expression unseen by his companions.

“This is why they shouldn’t let six year olds drive” he said at last.

=====

Melody-Six

“Trixie, do you see those people in the road?” Melody asked nervously.

“Yes” she answered crisply. “I picked them out some distance back. They aren’t from the Hive, not dressed that way”

“I can’t detect anything either” Melody agreed. “They look an awful lot like the people that attacked us in the park though”

Trixie slowed the headlong pace of the van, the headlights illuminating two burly men and a thin woman standing on the highway. The man in the centre raised a metal arm in greeting, his Enhanced red eye locked on Trixie as she brought them to a stop.

“That’s the Violent Surrender gang” Boss King spoke from the back, undoing his seat belt to squat between the front seats. “Chalky Hammer is the guy in the front with the combat arm. The dark haired man on the left is Irongrim and the woman is Bloody Sunset”

“Are they here to fight us?” Melody wondered aloud. “I thought they had called off the job?”

“They did” Trixie answered her. “This is something Zeke Tao arranged. I think the gang want to help us get you to Port August”

Melody looked through the dusty windshield at the three Freelancers. They looked hopeful more than anything else, with their weapons slung on shoulders or sitting in holsters at their hips. The young woman caught her attention in particular, dark eyes shining in the headlights from the van. It was like she had been crying, the tears freshly wiped away as they had approached.

“I want to talk to them” Melody announced and opened the side door, climbing out onto the tarmac.

“We don’t have time for this, Melody!” Boss King snapped. “Those vans will be on our tail any second now!”

“We have time” Trixie said, her words barely heard by Melody as she stepped away from the idling vehicle.

Melody walked towards the trio, her face implacable. She felt nervous, the Shadows squirming in her blood like they wanted to be unleashed. Melody forced those feelings down, letting her heart and mind remain calm as she stood before the Freelancers.

“I’m Melody-Six” she said to the man known as Chalky Hammer. Her hands rested at her sides, completely defenceless if the Freelancers chose to attack. “May I ask your names?”

“Err, sure” the big man agreed. “I’m Chalky Hammer” he began then realised what she meant. He held out his hand to her. “I’m Charles Hamersley. Nice to meet you”

Melody duly shook his hand then faced the second man. He gave her a strange smile then bowed at the waist, his metal lower torso and legs whining softly.

“I am Phillip Grimaldi, Miss Melody” he announced. “It is a pleasure to meet such a fine young woman in better circumstances than last time”

“Charmer!” huffed Hammer, smiling as Grim got a bow in return.

“My name is Bonnie Saunders” the dark skinned woman said and proffered a hand. Melody took it and they shook hands firmly. “But everyone calls me Sunset”

Introductions done, Melody regarded the three members of the Violent Surrender gang.

“I like your names” she decided. “Are you here to help us?”

“We’re here to fight for you, Miss Melody” Hammer said on behalf of the gang. “It’s our way of regaining something we lost”

“What did you lose?” Melody had to ask, intrigued despite herself.

“Our humanity” the one named Sunset answered.

“Thank you” Melody replied. “I am glad to have you with us. Will you be escorting us to the Port?”

“No, not all of us” Hammer declared. “Only Sunset will be going with you. Grim and I are setting up here to do what we can to slow the others down”

Melody could tell Sunset was not happy with this decision, yet she did not argue with her boss in front of others. She suspected the argument had already been done and the slender woman had accepted the outcome.

“What are you going to do?” Melody asked.

“What we do best” Grim interjected and Hammer nodded in agreement.

“Leave it to us, Miss Melody” Hammer said.

=====

Bloody Sunset

Sunset watched Hammer and Grim through the rear window as the van accelerated away. She knew they would do everything they could to slow down the vans that were following, but she wondered if her partners would survive.

“I never got to hear our song” she said to herself, her hand resting on the cool Ceramiglass window. She hadn’t even asked Hammer what her father’s band had been called with all the other stuff going on.

“They’ll be fine” the boy called Boss King assured her. He was seated next to Sunset in the back of the van, watching her intently. “Us Hole dwellers are unbreakable, you know that. No matter how much they stomp on us, we keep on fighting back!”

“We’re cockroaches, aren’t we?” she tried to smile in reply, yet her face refused to obey her wishes. She swivelled on her seat to look at him directly, marvelling at his handsome young face. Given a few more years the kid was going to be a heart-breaker she decided, even if he was a trifle short.

“Speak for yourself, Sunset” he retorted. “I prefer to think of myself as Bonded Ceramite like my blade. It can bend almost double but it comes back into true every time!” The boy patted the sheathed weapon at his hip, the same one Melody had chased her with in the Maze.

“Hey, can I ask you a question?” Sunset asked. “You act all scary and tough for the visitors to the Markets, but I’ve seen you chatty and friendly with the stall holders. Why can’t you be like that with everyone? I’m sure your customers would appreciate a bit less attitude when they want to park their cars”

He shrugged his shoulders and leaned back, watching the road ahead between Trixie and Melody.

“I used to be different” he admitted. “Everyone said I was a cute kid. Strangers wanted to pinch my cheeks and grandmas patted my head every time they saw me. Like a bunch of other kids I used to run errands for the stall holders, collecting deliveries from the loading dock or picking up their lunches. It made me a handful of Pandas each day, barely enough to buy food for Mama and me”

“A couple of the older kids at the Markets didn’t like me taking even that little from their own earnings. They said since I was so small, maybe they should sell me to the meat farm. I reckon they meant to frighten me, but instead it made me angry. Really, really angry”

Boss King’s eyes blazed with the memory and Sunset moved back on her seat, feeling the fire in his gaze.

“I beat them up with my own bare fists” he continued. “Even when they were crying and begging me to stop, I didn’t quit until they couldn’t get up. I hurt them bad enough that they never came near me or the Markets again. Afterwards I went to the tool shop on the second floor and bought a second-hand machete. The blade was sound but dull, so I asked the guy who ran it to teach me how to sharpen it properly”

Boss King lowered his eyes, releasing Sunset from the stress of his regard.

“The next day I challenged Bob Grimes for the right to charge for parking at the Markets. He lost a hand and I won the Parking Lot. When I am at the Markets, I’m not Taiga anymore. I’m the King of all the Bosses”

“I get that” she answered. “It’s the same for Freelancers in a way. So why are you nice to people like Melody? You didn’t even know her and she crashed into your life like a runaway Auto-truck”

“I choose who I treat with respect and who I dislike” Boss King said in a flat tone. “Melody seemed like someone who needed my help, so I helped her”

“Ah, I see that now” Sunset acknowledged. “You know Boss King, when you are running the Hole someday in the future, I think I want to work for you”

“Sure, I’ll need some reliable people then” he agreed. “You can help me take over Spitfield too!”

He laughed at the thought and faced forwards once more. Sunset’s expression was thoughtful, wondering exactly how far this kid would go one day. She put the future aside for now, turning to look at the dark road that lay behind their speeding van. Lights flashed in the distance, the pin-point sparks of weapons firing.

“Show them what the Violent Surrender gang can do” she whispered to her partners. “Then come home to me, both of you”

=====

Chalky Hammer

The gunfire ripped across the low mound of dirt and rocks, sending grit into his left eye and leaving Hammer blinking furiously. He snatched his head down lower, hearing the zip-zip of bullets flying just over his scalp.

“You Okay?” came Grim’s voice over the comms link. “Looks like they are trying to flank your position with a pair of gun-drones”

“It figures” Hammer agreed with his partner. “The Agents are keeping me pinned down so I can’t get a shot off. If we stay here any longer, we’re dog meat”

“Well, we took out that van that launched the drones at least” Grim said. Hammer knew his partner was in a small depression in the ground, about a hundred meters away on the other side of the road. Drones and Agents were peppering his position too, forcing him to stay in cover to avoid the gunfire.

Grim didn’t ask to retreat, but Hammer knew they had achieved all they could. If they stayed here any longer they would be throwing their lives away for no reason.

“We gave them as much time as possible, Grim” Hammer said into his comms link. “Now we save our own butts. Pull out and rendezvous at the bikes. Do you copy?”

“Copy that” Grim replied. “I’m triggering the bug-out bombs now”

Hammer stayed as low to the ground as he could, hearing the short sharp booms as Grim detonated the stun grenades planted around both of their ambush positions. Shockwaves of air blasted outwards, picking up dust and gravel to make walls of obscuring clouds to hide their escape.

As he got to his feet, Hammer saw a pair of Agents staggering blindly away, their hands cupping their abused eardrums. A drone skittered noisily overhead, slamming into the dirt and scrub with a whump. He ran low and fast, grinning at the mayhem their last attack had caused.

“You always overdo it with the grenades!” he mentally chastised his partner. “But today you did good”

=====

Hammer slapped Grim on the back in welcome when they met up again, sending a cloud of dust into the moonlit night air. The Hive van had left quickly, loading their wounded aboard the one vehicle that remained operational. The second van was burning merrily, a fire-bomb hurled into the wreckage by one of the Agents.

“I called Sunset already” he told his partner as they strapped their gear onto the bikes. “Told her that they have one van and the drones still chasing them. It’ll be a close-run thing to see if they get to Port August ahead of the pursuit”

“I thought Zeke Tao told you he was sending additional support?” Grim questioned him. His words were interrupted by a growing wall of noise, like dozens of speakers were playing different songs all at once.

Both men looked to the highway and saw a sight at once familiar and unexpected. Glowing from multiple driving lights, LED ropes and laser disco balls, Jay’s Mobile Workshop roared along the tarmac. Wheels, tracks and mechanical legs screamed as loudly as the music, propelling the long vehicle at speeds it had never reached around the Hole.

It thundered past like a chariot of some warrior king, aerials and communications dishes all thrusting forwards like spears. The Frankenstein machine was past in seconds, only the fading sound and rear lights proof the spectacle had ever ventured so far from its home turf.

“Yeah, he did” Hammer answered Grim eventually. “I think that was it”