//------------------------------// // Case File 7 // Story: Chasing Shadows // by zerofireking13 //------------------------------// I walked back to the motel, opened the door and lied down on the bed. The door opened and Quick entered the motel room after me. I looked over at her as she gazed back at me. "Rough day?" She asked. I sighed and nodded. She lied down next to me and, "I went to the arcade, and I got the things you asked for," She said to me and I didn't reply, "What? no snarky comeback?" I shook my head as and answer to her question, "Was it something I did?" She asked, and I shook my head in response. The sun had set as I looked out the window. Whether I wanted to or not, I had inherited the legacy that my mother left for me, one of lies and deceit. It was something that had I never wanted, yet here I am. I didn't completely lie to Applejack, but it was still a lie. Today was very stressful, and I hope tomorrow will be better. I have my doubts though. "This is the part that they don't tell you about in training," I finally spoke up, "I'm tired." Quick wrapped herself around me in a hug. "This isn't anything sexual, I just feel like you really need a hug." "The worst is still yet to come," I said to her. "Covering your tracks?" Quick asked. "I don't know, I just have a bad feeling," I rested my head on her shoulders, "If anything happens to me..." "Please don't say that," Quick whimpered, "I know I haven't shown you how much I care about you but please...just don't say that." "Quick, I'm not a superhero. I'm not unkillable, I'm just very lucky and I feel that my luck has been stretched thin as of this moment," I explained. "You're not gonna die on me, nothing is going to happen to you," Quick held me close. "Quick, I was stabbed today by some gang members, who I then was responsible for incarcerating. When, not if but when word gets back to their leaders I'm going to be in huge fucking trouble," I told her then I asked, "You do know how to shoot a gun right?" "Y-Yeah," Quick answered, detaching herself from me and looking into my eyes, "Why?" "There's a spare nine millimeter underneath the passenger seat of the car with an extra magazine. If I don't get back to the motel room by at least 10 pm, get that out of the car and sleep with it under your pillow. I'll text you when I get back," I sighed. "What do you think will happen?" Quick asked. "Kidnapping and interrogation. The people I arrested were apart of the Diamond Dogs, so they're going to send me straight up to their bosses," I said, "In the short time I've been doing this, I've been kidnapped 10 times. Most of the time, I tell them I stepped into the wrong place, I don't say shit and leave them the hell alone, or that they were harassing my friend and that I stepped up, kicking the shit out of them." "What happens after that?" Quick inquired. "That's the scariest part, they decide what to do with me. If I'm lucky, they'll shoot me in the head and think nothing of it, I don't come across as a Dragonblood so they think I'll just go down and stay down. Hurts like a bitch though," I yawned, "Let's go to bed." "I want you to be here when I wake up," Quick mumbled into my back as I lay down next to her. "I'm not going to lie to you, I can't guarantee that," I told her. "Will you come back?" She asked. "I won't abandon you," I told her, "I will never abandon you." "Thank you," Quick mumbled as she soon fell asleep; I could still tell that she was worried. I did relieve some of her tension, however small that may be. I closed my eyes, and slowly drifted off to sleep. When I woke up, there was a bag over my head, they took me in the middle of the night. I sighed, "You couldn't have waited until after I had my morning coffee?" "You'll wait until our boss gets here," A voice said, I think it was male but thanks to Rainbow Dash, I couldn't really tell. "Which one? Your gang boss or your dragon boss?" I said and got punched in the head for that comment. It didn't hurt as much as you'd think but it's no bed of roses either. "Ugh," I groaned out. My legs were cold, and considering I fell asleep in my clothes, they had stripped me down to a shirt and my boxers. Thankfully, as I don't know who to thank, Bahamut or my mother, or just dumb luck; They left my ring on, must've thought nothing of it, "Anyone got a cup?" I asked. "What the fuck do you need a cup for?" Another voice asked. "I need to piss." I answered. "Whoa, what?" The first voice asked. "Look, I get the whole kidnapping me for petty revenge because I got some of your guys locked up. Had you been a little bit more cordial with your kidnapping, like say after I got my coffee, and taken a piss and/or shit. Then I would've been a little more cooperative," I told them, "Instead, you took me while I was asleep, took my clothes and my gun. I understand that, but what you have now is a cranky man, who needs to piss and has been distracting you long enough with speaking that I already cut the ropes," I said as I did just that, I cut through the ropes that were holding me, Dragonbloods have very sharp, retractable claws behind our fingernails. It's like our normal fingernails get covered in a sharp talon; Manticores can do it too. I ripped the bag off my head in an urgent fashion. I quickly looked around, there were two guys, both getting out their guns, I rolled back in the chair and threw it at the closest one, who was on my right. The chair knocked him off balance and I scrambled to close the distance, I got there just in time as the other had his gun out. I had already taken control of the situation. I grabbed the disoriented man's gun barrel, slid the back of my hand under his wrist, and turned with my entire body to get the gun out of his hand. I took the safety off and shot the other guy in the kneecap, but not before he shot me in the chest. Getting shot is not fun. No matter what species or subspecies you are, a bullet is a bullet and when shot, it's intent is to kill. I'm lucky though, I'm a Dragonblood, which means I have scales under my skin, which makes me almost bulletproof. Emphasis on the word almost, there are bullets that are mass produced, which shatter into razor blades or needles on impact, and are typically used against Dragonbloods. I pointed the gun back at the original owner of said firearm and then there were a mass of clicks, in my stupor I had failed to look up and see that I was completely surrounded. There was a balcony that stretched along the walls of what I now established as a warehouse. I then heard the soft repetitive clicks of high heeled shoes coming my way. I turned my attention toward the sound of the approaching person and my breath hitched as they came into the light, in a two-tone blue dress, a light blue on the front turning into a dark blue, was a woman. Tan skin, short blue hair with white streaks going through it and blue eyes, I knew who she was and almost dropped the gun at the sight of her. "Ember?"