Page 10 of Sidone

Well, that was easy. I nod and make my way to the roof’s exit and down the stairs. Outside, I check the parking lot. A motorcycle starts up, and I skip behind the building, then poke my head around. The shooter’s already on the bike. Shit! No time to get my truck.

A fast red sports car pulls up at the entrance. I approach. An older woman with sunglasses covering half her face exits the car and throws the keys at my chest.

Today is my lucky day. “Thank you, ma’am.”

I get in the badassmobile and hit the gas. In the rearview mirror, I see the woman can’t even be bothered to watch her car. The inside smells like a man’s cologne. I’m thinking this is Mr. Husband’s car, and Mrs. Wife gives no fucks about his wheels.

On the street, I look to the right a second before the bike rounds the corner.Got ya.I peel after him and catch up fast, but have to slow down on the half-empty streets so he won’t spot me. He stops at the red light and stares me down through his rearview mirror. I got made. Double shit.

Revving his bike, he runs the red light, and I take off after him, not seeing the truck coming at me until it’s on my right. I shut my eyes and hit the gas. The truck clips the bumper, sending the sports car into a tailspin. I grip the wheel firmly, end up on the sidewalk, crash into a few empty café tables, then gain control of the car and continue the pursuit. Adrenaline rides me. I’m driving like a cokehead, heavy foot on the gas pedal, gunning at over one twenty, empty streets now in my favor.

Still, he’s on a sports bike and zipping through the streets, cutting the corners easily, and when he jets onto the sidewalk and enters the pedestrian square, I wheel after him. It’s late, and not many people are strolling around. This is good. The few people present scream and get out of his way.

From the corner of my eye, I catch something green and fast. Lord Almighty, there’s an alien female hopping from roof to roof. She’s a blur. She halts at the edge of a building, has to flail her arms to prevent a fall.Jesus Christ.Forget the shooter. I hit the brakes. The tires squeal, the car fishtails, stops, and I get out. “What the hell are you doing?” I bellow.

She can’t be bothered with me. She’s staring down. What is she staring at? Is she gonna jump? Is she crazy? She slips down, falls, and lands on the edge of a balcony. I aged a decade just now. My heart beats a mile a minute. The shooter flies across the square, but with people gathering to watch Sidone Spider-man her way down the building, they’re blocking his way. One person flashes her phone camera. So much for undercover.

Sidone hops down four balconies and lands on the ground.

The small crowd cheers.

Sidone walks slowly, deliberately, axes spinning in her hands. “Get out of my way,” she barks.

The crowd parts like the sea before Moses. Sidone positions herself to block the square’s exit to the street. The shooter is trapped. I’m at his back, she’s at the front, buildings all around. He glances back at me.Yes, my man, I’m a better choice.I wouldn’t wanna fuck with the crazy Alpha either. My gun sleeps on top of my dresser in the hotel room, and his gun lies at the bottom of the sea. This means we’re gonna go at it like two drunks outside a bar.Let’s do it.I walk to meet him.

He turns and propels the bike for Sidone.

She runs toward him. She’s gonna play chicken. She leaps, swings the ax, and his head flies, body still riding. Sidone lands in a crouch, eyes locked with mine. She positively glows while I imagine my face displaying horror at what I just witnesses. I close the distance and extend my hand, thinking she won’t take it. She does, and I “help” her up.

“One more thing,” she says as she turns toward the people.

She unfolds her belt, which I now realize isn’t a belt but a restraining rope. She approaches the small crowd and finds the woman who took the picture. “Delete the picture.”

The woman snorts, clearly drunk or just plain stupid. “This is a free country. I can do whatever I want.”

Sidone wraps the rope around the woman’s neck and tightens it. “This is my life, and you can’t have it. Drop the phone.”

The woman chokes but manages to release the phone from her hand. Sidone cracks it with her boot and steps away from the woman, releasing her. “If I see myself in any news or papers, I will hunt you down and kill you. Thank you very much. Have a good night.” She turns, picks up the head by the hair, and walks toward the car. “Let’s go.”

I presume that’s directed at me.

Quickly, we get into the car, made smaller by the head’s presence in Sidone’s lap. “I had him,” I say.

“I know.”

“So why did you come after him?”

“You can’t have what’s mine. This man was mine.” She strokes the head’s short black hair. Blood soaks her jeans.

Unsure what to say, I scrub my face.

“Drive, Omega.”

* * *

Sidone

The Omega drives while I assess him for damage. He looks intact, if upset, and keeps running his hand through his hair. I’m certain he has no idea how cute he looks when he’s mad. I know why he’s mad. All things with penises get bent out of shape when I do my thing, meaning come after someone or enter a challenge. The Omega is no different. When he pulls into an unfamiliar driveway and turns to me, I raise my hand. “Spare me the scolding,” I say. “I’ve heard it so many times, I’m deaf to it already.”

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