Circuit City

Chapter 7

I gawked at my anonymous savior who was now standing by my side with his arm stretched out in front of us, his gun being the shield that protected us against the smirking criminal. The assassin's eyes sparked in some twisted amusement as he studied the man behind the smoked glass.

"Are you really going to use that? Panic will erupt when you pull the first trigger in thirty years," He didn't lower his hands though but started to take small steps to the side, circling us. "Those things have been banned for a reason, you know."

"I know why you've been after her," the robotic voice cut in, making me do a startled jump.

Where did that voice even come from?! 

My eyes fell one the curled cord that connected with the backside of the helmet and twisted to his left shoulder. The heels of my feet lifted from the ground as I surreptitiously tried to see where the other side of the cord went. His right arm, which was currently in between us two, blocked my vision of his chest as it followed the assassin's movements. "But she won't be able to give you what you're looking for."

"Neither will she to you. I am a criminal and you are a cop."

"Glad the introductions are out of the way." The computerized voice somehow managed to sound sarcastic, making me glance up once again at the black helmet that was a head above mine. Something else the computer couldn't hide was the accent that coated his words- I had heard it from somewhere, but I couldn't pinpoint from where.

 The words were pronounced with the diphthongs which emphasized the sophistication that set the city apart from the more rural areas of the country, but the rhotic drawl that purred out behind the mask was a detail that gave away the stranger's mysterious background, as it created an unmistakable contrast to the otherwise non-rhotic way of speaking that the Domerians had. 

"I still won't let you take her," the cop stated. "If I have to shoot you, then I will."

The hitman stopped his circling and stared at us. The sinister smirk was back and he threw me an amused glance. "If you haven't noticed, she's just waiting for the opportunity to run and disappear. She has repeatedly told me that she didn't want anything to do with this, meaning she would run away from both of us if she could. Waste of bullets and time, in my opinion. How many bullets do you carry in that gun anyway?"

"I don't know. I'll tell you, though, one will be enough to kill you."

My head whipped to the man in the black helmet again. "You're going to kill him?" I asked incredulously. Wait, wasn't he supposed to serve and protect? Emphasis on the word 'protect'.

The armed man ignored me.

A throaty chuckle burst out in front of me "Yes I know, but will it be enough to kill me and the other ones watching?"

The blood in my veins grew cold as my eyes snapped to the hitman in front of us. His smirk grew larger as he took in my wide-eyed expression and I almost fainted when he nodded at me. "And trust me, there's a lot more where they came from." 

"But I have to say, I'm flattered that you're willing to throw all rules to hell for me." He turned back to the cop. "Sadly, I'm suspecting that it's not me who's got you so worked up but instead little missy over here. I've never seen a cop run so fast in my entire life,  you practically left a condensation trail over the whole square! The fact that you work so hard makes me want to ask for your boss to give you a raise but first and foremost...it makes me wonder how important she is to you guys."

Next to me I felt the cop shift on his feet, his arm brushing against the top of my left shoulder. "Protecting citizens from harm is our upmost priority."