Pilot (15/?)
"She stole my wallet!" Dave shouted.
Kara stopped just before she disappeared from Dave's view altogether, whipped around in his direction, and said, "What the fuck are you doing here?!"
"What are you doing here?! Give me back my wallet! And for Pete's sake, put the gun away for once!"
She was pointing the gun at him again. "Oh, no. You're not getting me in any more trouble, Dave. I'm getting off this planet and I'm finishing my job, and you're going to stay right here."
"So give me back my wallet first! I don't care!"
"A girl's gotta make money somehow," Kara pouted. "Look, I'll mail you your driver's license back."
"You don't know where I live!"
"You work at that gas station, right? I'll just get someone to drop it off there."
"That's stupid. Just give it to me now so I can pay to fix the bullet wound you gave me."
"-not a bullet wound. It was an energy shell-"
"-you gave this to him?" Julia asked.
"Yeah, he tried to take the gun," Kara explained.
Julia pinched the bridge of her nose. "So give him his wallet back so he can pay me."
"Wait, do you two know each other?" Dave asked.
"The adults are having a conversation," Julia said, ignoring him completely. "Kara, just give me the wallet as payment for the ship I'm giving you."
"You're letting her go?" Dave protested.
"Hey, I stole this thing fair and square!" Kara exclaimed. She crossed her arms. "Just detain the rat and I'll go. You can keep the gun. It's worth about as much as what's in the wallet." She tossed the gun with an underhand throw.
Julia caught it as though they had practiced this many times. When she lifted her right arm, the gun was now a few inches away from Dave's nose.
That was, of course, when the police showed up.
The doors to Julia's slammed open. Everyone froze. Outside of Julia's was a task force of about ten cops, each of them wrapped in Kevlar and every last one equipped with a gun.
Through his peripheral vision, Dave saw her slip away through the hall. The cops didnt even notice.
"Gentlemen," Julia greeted the police. She didnt lower the gun. Dave's eyes were fixed on the barrel.
"Julia," one of them said. "Customer troubles?"
A bead of sweat journeyed down Dave's neck.
"You know how it is. If they can't pay…"
The cop who had spoken laughed. "You sure run a tight ship."
Dave felt the pit in his stomach open up a little wider. Was there anyone on Mercury who wasnt absolutely nutty?
"I do," Julia agreed. "Could I ask what you all are doing here before I throw this one out?"
The vocal one sidled closer to the bar, taking a seat right beside where Dave was standing. He was at least a head taller than Dave, and twice as thick. He paid almost no attention to the rat at gunpoint beside him.
"Got a tip from someone off the street. You seen a Kara Gutierrez around here? She was headed this direction."
"Name doesn't ring a bell, but then, I never ask names. Whats she look like?" Julia pushed her glasses up closer to her eyes. She was almost completely unreadable.
The wolf placed a paw on Daves head. It was warm and gross. "A little shorter than this one. Red hair. Fennec fox with huge ears."
"Nope. Never seen 'er."
"Thanks, but we'd like to have a look around first, if that's all right."
Daves blood was pounding. His fight-or-flight had been in full swing for about two minutes now, and he was pretty sure flight was about to win.
"You don't trust me, Wilkins? I thought there was a little more trust between us, considering how often you see me."
From the way he laughed, it was clear Officer Wilkins didn't take offense. "Fair enough. If you haven't seen her, you haven't seen her. Do me a favor, though."
"One drink for each of you on the house tonight?" Julia asked it as though it was routine.
"You're a pal, Julia." Wilkins took his paw off Dave, motioning for the others to leave. He followed them out the door.
As soon as the door closed, fight finally gave up. The adrenaline surge in Dave's heart nearly hurt. He ducked, turned tail, and ran for the hall Kara had left through.
