Dream City Ch. 06

'We'll lay low for a while," I said. "If it's clear enough we run like hell. By the way, you're pretty good with that cycle."

"Dad taught me."

"Smart man."

"Where exactly do we go now?"

"Your place is somewhere back there, so I don't think we'll make it. We'll be lucky if we get out of here. Period. We need some wheels fast."

"Any suggestions?"

"Try to find a cab or hot wire one nice car."

"This is insane."

"Insane is part of the job. I'm sorry I dragged you into this. It was never my intention."

"You don't need to worry about me. I'm not afraid."

"It's not about being afraid, it's about staying alive."

I did feel bad dragging her along for the ride; all because I wanted to be the nice guy. In my line of work the good guys finish last. I heard the chopper draw near our position. Sadie and I stayed put once it passed us by, still in search for its prey. I waited until it was nowhere near us, waiting for that right time to clear out.

"All right," I said, "let's move out."

We both ran like hell. Both of us turned to the nearest corner where a pair of bright lights came in our direction.

"There," said Sadie.

"Yeah," I said, "outstanding."

The lights belonged to one yellow cab. It was the best thing to ever come our way in this time of crisis. I walked onto the middle of the road to stop it from going further. I didn't care if the cabby was through for the evening or not. One way or the other we were getting a ride.

The cabby made the wise decision of pulling over inches in front of me. He was very pissed off after forced to do so, with plenty of guts sticking his head out the window despite the fact I was armed.

"What the fuck is your problem," he complained, "you fucking pendejo?"

"Julio?" I said, getting a good look at the guy and relieved to see him.

"Johnny? Johnny is that you?"

"Julio, your timing is perfect."

"What the fuck you doing, man?"

"Later, get us the hell out of here."

Sadie and I rushed right into the backseat. Quickly slamming the door shut , I looked over my shoulder for any sign of the chopper.

"What's going on?" Julio asked. "Why you waving your gun at me, and who's the senorita?"

"Get us out of here. I don't care where, just go."

"Must be an emergency."

"A big fucking one. Move it."

"Johnny", said Sadie, alerting me over the problem floating in front of us.

"What the fuck is that?" Julio asked.

Right there our old friend stood blocking our way, ready to fire upon us without mercy.

"Go!" I shouted.

Julio stepped on the gas, forcing the pilot to move his machine out of the way. Right behind us the firing started all over again. It didn't get any better than this.

"What the fuck, amigo?" Julio asked. "Are you in trouble?"

"Yeah, something like that," I said. "I hope you don't mind the noise."

The noise I meant was the roar of my shot gun. Julio was an old friend of mine. The day I came to Dream City he was my guide, showed me how to lay low and blend in. He too was running away from the past and never shared his old life with me. I didn't need to tell him my former life; the eagle tattoo I once sported gave it away. He told me he knew a guy who can remove it , for a price that is. One day I made an appointment with that guy who happened to be an unlicensed doctor, whose specialty was facial reconstruction. Removing tattoos was a procedure he'd done many times before. He worked on others like me sporting the exact design, all with the same thought I had in mind. An eagle that prefers to stay grounded.

After getting that out of the way Julio offered me a job in the taxi service, but I wanted something more exciting and that's when I turned to bounty hunting. At least with this job I could kick some ass and get away with it. Right now I was worried about his own safety after dropping my problem onto his lap.

As I did my Porsche, I planted myself on the window sill and fired my weapon. I really wanted to nail the pilot but he kept on dodging every shot made. The laser fire got hot and heavy, turning vehicles into scrap metal, and lighting up the dark streets.

"Who is that puto?" Julio asked.

"I haven't figured that out yet," I said, reloading. "Keep doing what you're doing and don't get us killed."

"You got it, man."

One fresh clip and I was back on my ass exchanging fire with the enemy. Maybe I should have climbed up there and knock some sense into that prick; he probably would have resisted like the last guy did. One vehicle in front of us blew up, forcing Julio to make a hard left. The chopper made the same turn, staying right on top of us.

"It's right behind us," said Sadie, taking a peek through the back window.

"Keep your head down," I said.

Then the pilot decided to try a different approach in taking us out when all else failed. It looked to me he was desperate.

"What the fuck?" Julio said, getting a view of the explosions up close.

"The hell?" I said, noticing something wrong. "That wasn't laser fire."

That's when I heard it. They were either bouncing or sliding off the cab before finally exploding all around us.

"Son of a bitch," I said. "He's throwing grenades at us."

"What?" Julio said. "Are you fucking kidding me? Johnny, you better get that fucking puto off my ass right fucking now. I don't play that shit."

Who knows how many grenades this fucker had on him. I stuck my head out once again blasting away, forcing him to close his door and steer clear from my view. I may have stopped the grenade droppings but I was back where I was before. My cartridge ran empty and time for another reload. It turned out I had a bigger problem worse than the chopper itself.

"Shit," I said, checking my pockets, "I'm out."

"What?" Julio said.

"I'm out of ammo."

"Shit. Not good, man. Not good."

"You wouldn't have a weapon on you, do you?"

"Sorry, amigo."

Without ammo we were done for. The only option I have was to hop on board the chopper and put a stop to all this shit. It wasn't going to be as easy as the last time.

"I got this if you want it," said Julio, pulling out an object from the glove compartment.

It turns out the object was a flare gun. Why Julio happened to have one I never asked. It was loaded and I had a crazy idea that could work if the timing was right.

"Is this all you have?" I asked.

"That's it, man," said Julio.

"Anymore shells on you?"

"Sorry, Johnny. Whatever your plan is, you better do it ahora. Right now."

"How is that going to help you?" Sadie asked.

"Just keep your head down and let me worry about it," was all I could tell her on such short notice.

One more time I sat on the window sill, pointing the flare gun straight at the enemy. All I needed was one shot and it had to be perfect or the show was over and done with.

"That's it," I said, "just a little more."

I nearly lost the weapon after Julio hit a bump on the road. I got back to aiming my target, focusing primarily on the chopper's broken windshield. One shot was all it took and one I couldn't afford to lose.

"Fire in the hole!" I shouted, pulling the trigger.

The flare soared like a rocket, straight through the broken windshield. The cockpit was smothered in smoke, blanketing the pilot's view. Unable to see where he was going, the rotors were cut to pieces after getting too close to one apartment complex. His big mistake caused the chopper to spin out of control. It spun straight above us and smashed right in front of Julio's view.

"Shit," said Julio, "hang on."

Without hesitation Julio drove right through the fiery debris. Finally, another hour of hunting Johnny was over. I couldn't wait to get my hands on those making my assignment so much fucking fun.

"Fuck you, motherfucker!" Julio yelled in excitement. "Burn in hell you fucking maricon!"

"Well done, Julio," I said. "I owe you."

"No problema, bro."

"Is it over?" Sadie asked.

I looked over my shoulder through the back window and said, "it's all clear. For now."

Exactly, for now. That is until something bigger comes my way.

"Where to now?" Julio asked.

"My place," I said, "asap."

"You got it."

"Johnny," said Sadie, wondering the change of direction.

"I want to get out of here," I explained, "and my place is close by. Sorry about that."

"I understand. I wouldn't want to stay out here any longer either. You really know how to show a woman a good time."

We went forward with our new destination. Hopefully the rest of the way would come out smooth sailing. All I thought about was reloading my weapon immediately and keep it by my side from now on. The hunt for Johnny Octane was far from over.