Chapter 26
LEGION
Igripped the handle of my handgun, the cold steel biting into my palm. My boots splashed through oily puddles that shimmered with a toxic, iridescent sheen. We were back near the piers.
"Target is moving west. She's hitting the catwalks," Obsidian's voice crackled in my ear.
"I've got eyes on the perimeter," Roulette replied. Her voice sounded tight. "She's fast. Too fast for this terrain."
"Shut up and move," I snapped.
"Some of us prefer to keep our boots dry, Legion," Roulette shot back.
"Dry boots don't catch assassins. Keep the flank."
I stepped over a collapsed pipe, the metal groaning under my weight. I scanned the shadows but didn’t see any movement.
"Demise, report," Obsidian commanded.
"She almost took my finger off with a throwing knife," Demise grunted. "Gypsy and I are cutting her off at the loading docks. She's trapped in the center block."
"Copy that," Obsidian said. "Legion, Roulette, close the gap."
I surged forward, keeping my focus. I didn't breathe. I listened to the rhythmic drip of water from a leaky valve. Then, a scuff. A boot sliding on grit.
"Now!" I roared.
I broke into a sprint. My boots thudded on the concrete, echoing through the hollow shell of the plant. I saw her. She bolted, leaping over a rusted conveyor belt, her movements fluid and precise.
"Don't let her reach the vents!" Roulette yelled from the left.
"I see her!" I shouted.
Vesper spun, her blade flashing in the dim light. She launched it toward my throat and I jerked my head to the side just in time. The projectile whistled past, embedding itself in a wooden crate with a sharp thud.
"Missed," I growled.
"You're slower than you look, biker," she hissed. Her voice sounded distorted, muffled by the mask.
"I've got enough speed to put a hole in your head," I replied.
I fired a shot. The bullet sparked against the metal railing inches from her hip. She didn't flinch. She pivoted, sliding under a low-hanging pipe, her body twisting in a way that defied bone structure.
"Legion, she's circling back toward the pits!" Obsidian warned.
"I've got her cornered!" Gypsy's voice boomed from the distance.
Vesper skidded to a halt, quickly looking back at us. Demise and Gypsy stood at the exit, their silhouettes massive and immovable. They blocked the only way out. She then turned back to me, her chest heaving.
"End of the line," I said.
I stepped forward, my gun leveled at the bridge of her mask. The silence crashed down on us. The only sound was the distant rumble of thunder and the wet slap of rain on the roof.
"Drop the blade," I commanded.
"Make me," she whispered.
She lunged and I met it, my forearm slamming into her throat, the impact stopping her at full force. She gasped, the air rushing out of her lungs in a ragged wheeze. I gripped her wrist, twisting it until the bone popped. The blade clattered to the floor.
I drove my shoulder into her midsection, pinning her against a rusted support beam. I pressed the muzzle of my gun directly against her forehead. The metal was cold. Her breath came in shallow, panicked bursts.
"Don't ever underestimate a Royal Bastard.”
She spat blood onto my boot. "Go to hell."
My finger tightened on the trigger. The tension in my forearm peaked. I wanted to feel the recoil. I wanted to see the mask shatterl.
"Legion, stop!" Roulette screamed.
I didn't move.
"Legion, lower the gun!" Roulette shouted, her voice echoing through the warehouse.
"She's a dead woman," I muttered.
"Duchess wants her alive!" Roulette yelled. "Do you want to explain to both her and Jameson as to why you blew a hole in the only one who could get us out of this mess? Lower the damn gun!"
I froze as I stared into the dark slits of the mask. I could smell her sweat, and I wanted to see who I was pointing a gun at. I yanked the mask off her face and was stunned. She was stunning. Light blue eyes, an innocent face, and wild blonde hair.
“They fucked me over,” she hissed.
“That doesn’t excuse what you’ve done. That was your choice,” I answered.
“Fuck you.” She spat at my face and I flinched, wiping the spit with the back of my hand.
“Legion?” Obsidian questioned on the other end of the line.
“She’s alive," I spat.
I didn't lower the weapon, but I shifted the pressure.
"Get the cuffs," Roulette ordered. "Now."
I stepped back, finally lowering the gun.
I didn't take my eyes off her. The adrenaline began to ebb, and I stepped back allowing the Harlots to do their job.
Demise grabbed her arms, wrenching them behind her back.
The woman struggled, kicking at Demise's shins, but she didn't budge.
SHe gripped her by the back of the collar and shoved her toward the exit.
"Move it, princess," Demise grunted.
I watched them lead her out into the rain. The grey light of the morning began to bleed through the clouds, illuminating the wreckage of the factory.
"You actually going to hand her over to the feds?" I asked, as Roulette stepped up beside me.
"Maybe," she said.
"Jameson will be pissed if we lose the leverage."
"The Duchess gets what she wants. But the feds get what they need. She'll handle the politics."
I looked at the silver blade still embedded in the crate and yanked it out, the metal humming slightly in my grip.
"Let's get out of here," I said. "This place smells like shit."
"And you need a shower," Roulette retorted.
"That's the perfume you chose to wear today."
"Shut up, Legion."
The engine of my bike roared to life, and I kicked the gear into place and tore away from all of it, the wind whipping against my leather jacket as I rode back to Lantana.