Ebony Scales

Sticking to the side streets and alleys, Joy and Longwei made their way to the nightclub, coming out across the street. The scene looked similar to when they had driven by before, although one of the two women wasn’t outside anymore. Joy knelt down behind a garbage bin, taking a deep breath to calm her nerves. Of course she had been involved in violence, after all she had fired on armed trucks from a bunker using a machine gun, but she had never taken the fight to someone before, and never with such suicidal odds. Even if the inside of the club had the same number of people as she saw hanging around outside, she and Longwei were outnumbered at least eight or nine to one. And they were going in the front door.

Suddenly, a truck pulled up in front of the nightclub, a chubby driver getting out to speak to one of the Triads on guard. They exchanged words for a few moments, before the Triad waved over to his right, and the truck driver nodded, climbing back into his cab. “I think we might have a new option,” Longwei whispered. “That’s a beer delivery truck. I’m betting the daily beer supply just showed up.”

“That means a loading dock or at least a service entrance,” Joy replied, a smile growing on her face. “Probably won’t be as much security around the back.”

“Let’s go,” Longwei said, leading them out of the alley and down the street half a block. They crossed over, doubling back and making their way towards the club. Joy had the hood of her sweatshirt up and her hands pulled deep into her sleeves to try and hide her brown skin, just in case, the two of them darting into the alley leading to the back of the club as the guard’s backs were turned. Here she exposed her hands, hoping to play the “dumb foreigner” card if they were discovered. Thankfully, the narrow alley was deserted, the delivery truck idling about thirty meters down. Darting quickly, they flattened themselves on the far side of the truck, creeping along until they could see into the back of the club. There was one bored security guard watching the beer delivery guy, who was trundling a handcart of beers into the building through a double set of doors. While they couldn’t see inside, it looked a lot better than the front door.

“Now,” Longwei whispered, stepping out from behind the truck and springing towards the guard.

Even in his human form, Longwei was startlingly fast, and his flying knee caught the guard under the chin just as he cleared his weapon from his holster, dropping to the concrete without firing a shot. The delivery man whirled, a dark stain spreading on his pants as his bladder let go in fear.

“Get out, and drive away like everything is just fine,” Longwei instructed, as Joy jammed a flyer in the man’s hand. She had already placed one in the truck, with a stack tied to the back, rigged to flutter and distribute their contents in the truck’s wake as it left. The man nodded, stumbling out the door, Longwei watching him leave. “Get the guard’s gun. Let’s go.”

The run through the back of the club was eerily quiet. The nightclub wasn’t officially open yet, so there were few people working, and most of the Triads were hanging out upstairs, Joy assumed. Turning a corner, they skidded to a stop in the hallway, which ended in two doors. One was marked “office,” the other “staff.”

“I’ll get the office, you get the staff room,” Longwei instructed, pulling his first firebomb. Joy followed suit, checking the unfamiliar pistol to make sure it was ready to fire. The large black automatic felt heavy in her hand, thick and ugly. It was clunky too, obviously meant more for intimidation than actual performance. She wished she had the sleek rifle she had used in the village instead.

Joy thought about trying to kick open the door, but realized that even with all of the exercise she had gotten in the village, she wasn’t anywhere near strong enough to kick in a door. Instead, she grabbed the handle, jiggling it once to make sure it was unlocked before throwing it open, her pistol leading the way.

She had opened the door to the entertainer’s dressing room, it seemed. Instead of a room of Triads like she had been expecting, she was face to face with a dozen women in various states of dress, all staring at her fearfully. “Any of you speak English?” she yelled, keeping herself close to the doorway. One girl, a redhead with freckles who looked like she may have been British and was wearing only a pair of stockings, raised her hand. “Good. Here’s the skinny. You’ve got about one minute before this entire building goes up in flames. I’d grab my things and get the fu*k out.”

Two more girls, who obviously understood the context of what Joy had said, immediately started shoving their things into a bag, yanking on t-shirts and grabbing bags. The other girls followed suit, hurriedly grabbing their things and running out the other end of the room, through a door marked “front,” and Joy knew her time was running out. Grabbing her first firebomb, she reached for the lighter in her pocket, cursing when the flame didn’t start on the first squeeze. Thankfully, two more squeezes produced a flame, which she touched to the short rag and wax fuse before she tossed it into a bin that looked like it may have contained dirty laundry, or maybe just rags. In either case, the bin soon ignited, flames shooting up the wall and bathing her face in eye watering heat. She grabbed two more firebombs, quickly lighting them before tossing one more into the room, followed by fast balling the second through the open door to the front, praying there was something flammable beyond the opening. Backing up, she slammed the door, turning her attention to the door Longwei had gone through. He came out, carrying not just his own kit but another large bag, a sports bag that bulged heavily. “What the hell is that?”

“I just robbed the Triad,” he replied with a grin. “The poor bas*ard in there didn’t have a chance.”

“I didn’t hear you shoot anyone,” Joy said, as they hurried down the hallway. They could hear flames crackle behind them, and screams start to come from the front of the club. The element of surprise was gone.

“I didn’t,” Longwei said. “His back was turned, so I snapped his neck instead. Didn’t even leave a firebomb, just a note, if they get the fire out in time.”