[Detective Thursdays] The Roles We Play
#3 of Detective Thursdays
'Hey boys~' Uki gushed as she walked towards the fox and the ferret. She looked a provocative mess; her jacket was mis-buttoned and conveniently showed a strap of her brazier as both hung loosely from her shoulder. Her fur was a shambles, some of it sticking up in weird directions. She clutched an empty wine glass in her left hand, a lit cig between two fingers on the right.
Needless to say the two riveted their attention on her.
I felt uneasy about making her play the part of distraction as I watched them chat her up. It had been her piece of the plan but I had a gut feeling I'd still end up hearing about how it was my fault she missed out on the action again. After the thirty second count we'd agreed on I dashed across the narrow road and climbed up the fence where a pile of boxes on the other side gave me some cover. As I'd clambered up the chain link the murmur of conversation sounded relaxed. It put me at ease, so far so good. Topping the fence I put my leg over and paused as the conversation below was interrupted suddenly by the sound of punches finding their mark followed by a cheerful giggle. Two more for Uki.
With a sigh at my partner's odd ferocity I flipped my other leg over and slid down the fence. Pulling out my old p85 I pressed up against the boxes that had protected me before. On the side of the fence I realized just how big an area the dock was. A puddle on the ground let me watch the clouds for a chance to to move up while keeping my focus on the area around me. A pair of poodles passed by my hiding place. I counted to five to put them in the shadows of the containers to the left and slipped out behind them. A quick tap to the inside of their heads with the heavy pistol put them on their asses. A kick to the ribs kept them there. One passed out, the other lay there holding his gut looking up at me with fear and confusion in his eyes.
"What're your bosses bringing in?" I growled at the conscious one as I hunched down.
"I don know, Monsieur. Dis was our first night on duty." His accent has thick but still understandable. "We don even 'ave guns." He rolled over and put his hands on his head. "You can search me, Monsieur, but I am telling you da truth."
I quickly checked the prone poodle's pockets and he was indeed unarmed. He didn't seem the violent criminal type, I was sure there was a story there. The foghorn sounded again. I stood and shook out my coat.
"You should get out of this line of work, it's not good for your health." Without waiting for a reply I moved on. I climbed up the first container I came to, the broad metal rows were a cake walk to use for hand and foot holds. Rolling over the edge onto the of the container. Someone, a rifle held at the ready, crouched at the far end.
Treading softly I got right up behind him, I realized he was another fox, and set the muzzle of my gun against his head.
"Drop it."
The foxed tensed but set the rifle on the roof of the container nonetheless.
"Heh. Vu sink you're clever don't you, government dog?" He spun and swept my legs out from under me. Before I could even blink he had a knife to my throat. I kicked up, tossing the fox over my head. Rolling for my feet I lined up a shot for his shoulder and pulled the trigger. The sound of the shot echoed out over the silent bay as the fox clenched his shoulder and fell backwards off the container.
A light flashed on, bathing the roof of the container with light. Out of reflex, I threw my arm over my face. I heard someone yell followed by the sounds of AK's firing at me. Out of the corner of my eye I could see the shadow of the ship I was working towards. A bullet whizzed past my ear and I took off running, my foot falls booming in the metal box.
I jumped to another box. In the air I realized the gap had to be two feet. I landed hard, falling forward and then rolling back to my feet. The sound of bullets hammering into metal was deafening, it reminded me of a pulp I'd read. Something about robotic alien bugs. The edge of the second box was coming up as I ran full out, beyond it was the bay. I holstered my gun and then made great leap, hoping I could cover the three feet of pavement between me and the shelter of the cold bay water.
It looked like I'd make it Scott Free when a burning pain blossomed in my side. Everything went dark for a second and the next thing I knew I'd hit the water. In the back of my mind I knew I had to dive, even if just for a few seconds, but my body wouldn't respond. The beam focused on me. I knew it was the end if I couldn't pull it together. I took a breath and pushed myself under the waves and hoped that I'd come back up.
April 22 Response to Poetigress' Thursday Prompt. Theme was 'play'
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