4th Shot: City of Crooks

4^th Shot: City of Crooks

            Clouds of dust settle around Vincent as he parks in front of the gate of Neptuna. He patiently waits for a caravan of Elves to finish crossing his path. A small elf boy waves a hand and a smile to him and he returns the friendly gesture as he resets himself on his bike and continues his path.

            The day though in its middle most moments has just begun for Vincent. He is in search of the wanted duo in the most awful crime infested city in the world. Goblins, ogres, and dwarfs run rampant in this place.

            After entering the wooden gates and the stone statue of their patron deity Neptuna, the mermaid goddess of the seven seas Vincent speeds onward to a particular bar in the center of the city known as the Hush Room. The funny thing about the bar is that there is always a cowardly snitch that will sell out their-own mother to keep safe.

            On the way Vincent see’s the familiar riverboat like symbol of the Styx gang polluting the walls of buildings. “This must be their nesting place,” Vincent says turning his nose up at the sight.

            As Vincent enters the terribly built door of the bar the room goes silent. Ogres of green skin and incredible height with cowboy hats and tattoos fill the bar stools, and every other race in the world save elves and zooanthrope fill the floor tables. The bar stank of a peculiar aroma. The smell of drugs and week old cooking filled the air as Vincent makes is scenic walk to the bar.

            “Turn around boy. We don’t serve your kind at tables. You eat on the floor.” says a disgusting, sloppy, loud mouthed dwarf from behind the counter. His hair stuck upward as if he had recently pulled his head out of an horse’s a*s.

            “That’s not very nice, you’re gonna break my poor widdle feelings.” Vincent puts hands to his eyes and gestures for tears. Dwarfs and Zooanthrope have never been favored to each other. This inbred dislike was simply primordial, even a peace loving young zooanthrope is completely unable to avoid it. “…but of course you know all about being low to the floor don’t you?”

            “What did you just say to me?” rage builds in the dwarf.

            “I said…”

            “He said that he is very sorry and that he won’t cause any trouble sir.” an older blonde man interrupts waving for me to come to his stool at the bar.

            “That’s what I thought you b*****d, go run to your consort.” the dwarf says spitting at Vincent’s feet, but he ignore his goading and walks to speak to the human.

            “Hey there boy, I’m Wallis.” the human says with a smile and a beer.

            “I’m Vincent.” he introduces himself with a nod. Vincent begins to study the man form his brown boots with sharpened spurs on the back to the dirty blonde hair hiding his face like mask.

            “Well Vincent, what’s a young zooanthrope like you doing in a bar in Neptuna?” the man asks finishing his beer and slamming it down on the table.

            “I’m looking for a woman.”

            In a horses heart beat two boys, looking as if someone beat the dog s**t out of them stumble in the doors, tripping over one another. 

            “WALLIS!” they call, one holding his neck and the other holding his stomach.

            “WALLIS! We need help.” The boys sound pathetically weak. One boy had blonde hair and khakis, and the other one in all black. They approach completely ignoring that Vincent was there.

            “That crazy sword b***h is here!” screams the blonde, Vincent’s eyes widening as they spoke.

            “She got us off guard at that weapons shop on the far end of town.” The one in all black says trembling at Wallis’s feet.

            As they tip to the ground Vincent’s eyes study the Styx gang tattoo on the backs of their necks and the one peeking from under the short sleeve of Wallis’s shirt.

            “So you say that one girl jumped two men at a weapon store?” Vincent smirks. “Now I’m not the sharpest card in a deck but I know that even that dwarf behind this counter could defend himself from a single girl when surrounded by weapons by his self.” Vincent points leaning against the bar table top.

            Wallis looked at the boys and disappointedly shaking his head and waved for them to approach closer. When they were close enough he dropped them both with one punch and stood before them in anger.

            “You two aren’t worth the material your daddy put in, or the effort your mommas put forth to push you out. How in hail and high water did a little red headed girl with a sword get the jump on you? What part of that damn lie made since to either one of you?” Wallis explodes and Vincent attempts to leave the bar.

            As Vincent straightened his jacket on his shoulders and walks back around the bar for his exit the dwarf throws a bottle and it breaks against Vincent’s head.

            “Get the hell outta here you filthy dog breed!” laughs the dwarf to a flock of ogres and pointing.

            Vincent did not speak a word. He only reached behind the counter and began to hammer his fist into the dwarf’s face while holding him against the floor.

Soon the whole bar became a war zone. Humans, ogres, and goblins had arisen from their seats and began to brawl.

An ogre from the bar stood and crashed a wooden chair over Vincent’s back. In pain Vincent rolled over and kicked the ogres feet from under him, making him fall atop of the dwarf. After bringing the ogre to his level Vincent began kicking it in the face. Another ogre lifted Vincent from the floor and began to strangle him, until a goblin drew a knife and began stabbing at its heels. The ogre fell back and the goblin turned his attention to Vincent. The little baby blue creature with white hair rushed toward Vincent aiming to stab him in the face, but Vincent drew his two semiautomatic twins and began to cripple the fighters with shots to the knees and shoulders. Soon another people began drawing guns until the bar was empty. Vincent found himself in a shoot off with the battered dwarf.

“I’m gonna have you stuffed and put on my wall you freak!” the dwarf insults on the other side of the ogres body.

Vincent reloads the clip in his Silver and black gun and puts its twin back into its holster. The new clip was a black color with a diamond shaped ruby quart on the side. When it was pressed into the gun a spark leaped from the bottom of the gun.

Vincent took aim and fired at the now dead ogre’s body and it combusted and an awful smelling mass of purple blood rained over the dwarf. It burned his eyes and he rolled on the floor in pain.

“It’s been fun little one perhaps another day.” Vincent says rising from the floor and walking out of the bar.

Upon exiting the destroyed bar, Vincent is faced with the two boys and Wallis who must have snuck out before the real meat of the fight had begun. 

“Goodness graces, you sure do know how to throw a good old fashioned bar brawl, but could you wait till I finish my drink before you kill the bartender.” Wallis says walking over with a smile and a straw of wheat in his mouth like some country farmer.

“I’m glad you enjoyed the show, but right now I have a job to do, so I’ll be on my way” Vincent says pushing Wallis to the side like an annoying fan at a pop concert.

As Vincent mounts his bike and turns the key of the ignition he hears three guns c**k and aim at him.

“Now you see, I can’t just let you walk away partner. The Styx have been looking for a guy that looks like you, so I’m gonna have to ask you to get your a*s off of that bike and into the back of my van, and if you could do so without talking of fighting that would be very much appreciated.” Wallis that dirty snake in the dirt chuckles in a faint victory as he and his two little wimps aim at his head and chest.

“Well since you asked so nicely” Vincent says with his hands in the air and walking toward a white van parked on the side of the bar as the two nameless boys take his guns from his chap holsters.