Dream City Ch. 05

My mission in finding a missing girl had been challenging as of late, especially after escaping death more than once all day long. I was starting to believe that someone out there does not want me to accomplish my mission. It had to be someone with power, money, and the right connections to make it all possible.

First the chase down Dream Square, and now my reunion with Mumbo Jumbo. Yeah, someone higher up hired those guys to take me down instead of having the balls to do it themselves. If they want me, then they can get me. All it takes is one little slip up and I'll nail that bastard to the wall.

I pulled over for the red light, catching a glimpse of the digital billboard from across the street.. "Great food. Great drinks. Great music. Great fun" flashed before the screen, until Sadie and her band appeared in animated form, advertising Saturn's Moon. The entire band were shown performing on the moon, with shooting stars passing through in the background.

Even in animated form Sadie still looked good, especially in red. Their movements and mannerisms were captured beautifully; whoever drew all this did a fine job. Sadie always knew how to get things done her way. To think Frankie let her slip away was one big joke.

As the light turned green, beams of light cut through the roof, scorching the passenger seat. Just like that I was in for another rude awakening, this time in the company of drones. I stepped on the gas but it wasn't enough to lose them. One flew in front of me, blasting and cracking my already damaged windshield.

"That's all I need", I said, pouring on the gas.

Left and right they came at me blasting away, inflicting even more damage on my Porsche. So far I've spotted only three of them taking their shots. I'd loved to get my hands on those controlling them.

It was time I made my move. Once again the lead drone flew right in front, ready for another shot at me. I stuck my shotgun out the window and fired two shots. One shot nailed it and the drone spun around in a cloud of black smoke until finally hitting my headlight. The remaining two weren't going to be easy.

I set my Porsche on auto drive and planted my ass on the window sill, firing and forcing the drones to split up. One of them flew to my right and fired one shot. The laser punched a hole on the roof, cutting off a piece of the steering wheel, and grazed my left leg.

"Shit!", I complained, feeling my skin burning.

I nailed it after firing three shots, leaving the drone smoking and smashing nose first onto the road. I regained control of my vehicle, stepping on that pedal all the way down. The last drone attacked me from above, punching more holes into the roof.

"Fuck it", I said, firing bigger holes into the roof.

I poured on the fire power and managed to nail my target. The drone slid down the back window going absolutely nowhere. Without taking any chances I fired, destroying both the drone and rear window. My problems were finally solved-or so I thought when another big surprise came my way. A hail of bullets rained down upon the passenger seat, leaving a smell of burnt metal and fiber.

"The fuck was that?" I said.

The drone attacking me was nothing like the other three. This one was bigger, shinier, and fully loaded with arsenal that can tear my body apart. I steered right and it followed my lead no matter which direction I took. If that wasn't enough a heat seeker was aimed towards me. I stepped on that pedal all the way down and made a hard left only to end up on the wrong side of the road. The heat seeker ended up destroying a bigger target instead and for the moment I was in the clear.

"Make a hole!" I yelled, dodging every car coming at me until I was back on the right side.

Another heat seeker came my way . I grabbed on to my stick and spun the car around, where I stood face to face with the threat at hand. I fired my shots until one shell connected, turning the rocket into flaming debris. The sudden shock wave from the blast smashed right into me, nearly flipping my vehicle over.

I got back to driving, moving as far away as I could from anymore sneak attacks. The son of a bitch caught up to me and raised more hell. I set my vehicle on auto drive and sat on the windowsill once again, firing one shot after another. I put in a fresh clip and fired again. The drone made a U-turn and came at me blazing. Closer it came towards me; close enough to get a good shot and causing minimal damage.

I regained control of my vehicle and stepped on the gas. I made a turn towards the midtown tunnel but the drone stayed on my ass, firing away at anything that got in the way. Now civilians were feeling the drone's wrath; vehicles bursting into flames and attempting to create a roadblock. The drone was trying to trap me inside. Whoever controlled it knew what they were doing.

"Fuck this shit", I said, steering left and right from all the fiery debris.

More vehicles were being leveled by the drone's fire power and I needed to put a stop to it. Once again I sat on the windowsill, but I quickly sat back down when a big rig got hit. Knowing that a roadblock was coming my way I poured on the gas, steered a hard right, and got clear before the rig blocked my way.

"Okay", I said, "now I'm getting pissed."

I got into position and fired right back. I was going to create some serious damage before it got done with me. One shot after another until three connected and the drone was blanketed in black smoke. Unable to see where it was going, the drone hit the brick wall from the left of the tunnel and spun around making a hard landing on my cracked windshield. It went through head first, looking straight at me with its camera lens underneath.

"Go fuck yourself", I said, to whoever was on the other end.

One shot was only needed to disable the camera. The drone slid off my hood and got run over until it was scrap metal. The battle was finally over, but I was left with cuts, one laser burn, and my Porsche in pieces. I was starting to regret accepting this particular assignment. All day long it has brought nothing but trouble and a heavily damaged vehicle I loved so much. Sadie, what the hell did you get me into?

I barely made it to Big Mo's Grease Shop, in dire need of my Porsche needing some serious repair work. It's been awhile since I've been in a fire fight and my vehicle looked as though it'd been in a war. My Porsche had taken hits before but never anything like this.

When I arrived, Mo was already busy working on one vehicle with grease stains already on her pretty face. Mo was short for Molly. Molly McGrath. Years ago the original owner, Mo, was a crook and a pervert. Every time he had female customers who couldn't afford his services, he offered them other alternatives. It was either you pay full price and if not go elsewhere-or pay half price after you fuck him somewhere in the back. Some did as he wanted, while others had their pride and walked away.

One day Molly came along and decided to put a stop to it. She did so by challenging Mo to a knife fight. Why a knife fight? The Irish blonde was once a soldier herself and had a way with knives, big and small. Rumor has it she could slice a man from stem to stern. Mo, on the other hand, handled knives because his old man told him to protect himself;. In other words he couldn't fight for shit.

Mo accepted the challenge and the conditions were if Molly won, she owns the shop and Mo is sent packing. If Molly lost, she would have to be his love toy for a week. As sickening as the deal was, Molly agreed to it. The fight went on for a full ten minutes; the two combatants even had a crowd cheering and placing bets.

Molly had the upper hand due to her skills. She was younger and in better shape than Mo, who was a pig at heart. He went down on his knees that night and Molly looked like she was to be the victor. Mo was playing her and made his move, scarring her from above her left eyebrow, all the way down to her cheek. Mo thought he won, but Molly gave no signs in giving up so easily.

With blood pouring out of her face, Molly struck back slicing his Achilles tendon. Mo went back down on his knees, spilling blood and unable to walk the way he used to. After that humiliating defeat, Molly had gained ownership of the shop and still running things to this day. She kept Mo's name and made it her own. Nowadays she's just plain Mo which she didn't mind one bit.

Once I pulled over she almost laughed; she always had a weird sense of humor but who was I to argue?

"Johnny", she said, "in major trouble, are we? Let me guess, entertaining a young lass in the backseat? I've told ya women don't do that anymore. Try taking my advice for once in yer life, boyo."

"Mo", I said, "as much as I enjoy your kind words, but as you can see I've had a long day."

"I can see that. What shite did you get yourself into?"

"The kind that nearly killed me."

"Perhaps you need a new line of work."

"Yeah, like what?"

"I could use an assistant."

"No, thanks I'm good. Look, I know you're busy but can you take a look and give it to me straight?"

"In a rush are we? I'll take a look at the poor thing and decide what to do."

"Outstanding."

"Now, I want you to keep your trap shut while I'm working. Can you do that for a wee bit?"

"I get it. You don't need to remind me."

At times Mo can be a pain in the ass, but she's the best mechanic I know. One of her so called gifts in mechanics was to study the damage up close without any distractions. She got a good look at at my Porsche inside and out, examining every single thing damaged and in need of serious work. I pretty much had an idea on what the price would be.

"Johnny", she said, "this is some serious shite you have here. In my opinion you need a new set of wheels."

"Does that mean you can't fix it?" I asked.

"Aye, I can fix it. It will take some time and I can have it done by next week."

"Next week? No, no why not this week? I've got things to do and people to hurt."

"I can't perform miracles, Johnny. If you want yer precious car back in yer arms, you'll have to give me time."

"Time I don't have."

"Time is all I need to get the right parts and the lovely paint job I intend to give it. So what's it going to be?"

"All right, fine. In the meantime what am I supposed to do for wheels?"

"Not my problem."

"Why don't you let me borrow yours?"

"Absolutely not."

"Why? You're not using it now."

"Leave me be, but I have something that might keep you company on yer next journey."

"What, a shopping cart?"

Mo led me into the garage, unveiling an old air cycle. The make and model was ancient but it could still fly at top speed. The cushioned seat was also a compartment, perfect for storing beer and my shotgun. I had little to no choice but to accept this little offer from Mo.

"Yer welcome", she said.

"Is that all you have?" I asked.

"It's all I can give you. Either you want it or not."

"Does it work?"

"No, I keep it there to collect dust so I could write me name on it. Of course it works, and fully fueled if yer wondering."

"I believe you."

"And don't damage it or it's coming out of yer pocket."

"You really know how to bargain a man's heart, Mo."

I wheeled the cycle out of the garage and started her up. I revved up the engine, getting a feel of the vibration right under me. It did feel good being on one of these again.

"Johnny", said Mo, "are ye revving her or feeling her? Could you take it elsewhere? I have work to do."

"I'm going to ignore you said that", I said, "since I am a gentleman."

"You don't seem the type that would win me heart, boyo."

"Mo, you're beautiful when you're a pain in my ass."

"Just go before I kick your arse, and don't call me while I'm working."

"Copy that."

The cycle levitated with ease, leaving a swirl of dust that nearly blinded Mo. The poor girl cursed up a storm but it felt good pissing her off. I stepped on the gas, heading for home to clean up before meeting with Sadie once again.