"Damn," I breathed from the top of the roof. Alli sat behind the dumpster below me, hidden in the dark. Usually, when it got this quite she tried to spark a conversation. Not tonight. She wouldn't tell me why but tonight we sat in silence.
"Alli. Are you okay?" I finally asked. She didn't respond.
"Alli? I'm sorry. I understand that you're sad, but you have to be on your toes. Something could happen any second now." I warned. Again, no response.
"Alli?" I peeked over the edge of the roof. Even in the dark, I could tell she wasn't there. I hopped down. I tried to keep cal, but my nerves got the better of me.
She could be anywhere. She could have run away. A criminal could have nabbed her and killed her, or worse. My heart hammered in my chest. Surely that couldn't happen right under my nose. What if I was so fixated o the street that I didn't see it?
I shot down the ally. The smell of urine and trash was almost overwhelming. I followed the seemingly endless path of broken flower pots and various types of waste. A pile of garbage bags blocked my path. I stopped.
That's when I heard a scream. My body went cold. I knocked over the bags. A rancid smell filled the air.
"I said, give us yer money," Demanded the snaggle-toothed man. He was holding Alli by her hair, clamped between his fingers.
"I told you. I don't have any." She growled. The other man cocked a gun and pointed it at her. She winced as the first twisted her hair tighter.
"Maybe that'll change yer mind," He grinned. He thrust her head forward. Alli fell to her knees.
"I don't have any money!" She shouted. The man twisted her hair so she was facing him.
"Well hen ye' better like hell find some," He snarled. His face was only inched from her own. Alli glared at him. The man chuckled.
"I'd mind my manners if I were ye'." He wiggled his finger in her face. She followed it with her eyes. Before he could react she bit. She held his nasty finger between her teeth until she tasted the metallic tang blood.
The man howled in pain. She took the opening and elbowed him in the stomach. He fell to his butt.
"What are yoo doin', shoot 'er!" He screamed. The other man fired, but Alli had already moved. The bullet shot into the first's leg. He screamed. Alli scrambled to the wall of a building. She snatched a pipe off the floor and ran to the second man.
His hands shook as he reloaded the gun. Alli ducked to the floor and swing at his knee. He screamed as his leg buckled beneath him. The gun fired into a window above them. Tiny specks of glass pittered on the concrete. Alli threw the pipe as hard as she could at him.
The feeling of a metal barrel on her neck made her shiver.
"You're going to regret that," A feminine voice threatened. Not the one holding the gun. Another person.
"On the ground," The woman commanded. Alli huffed, but slowly lowered herself onto her knees.
"Hands," The voice said. Alli reluctantly put her hands behind her head.
"Look down," The voice said. Alli could tell she was smiling. Who the hell smiled at this? An image of Bates awe struck face popped into her head. She shivered. Anger spiked through her.
"Why?" Alli challenged. The gun pressed deeper into her neck. She slowly lowered her head. Click. Click. Click. Click. Soon a pair of blood red high heels were standing in front of her.
"So, I heard you were instructed to kill me today," She declared.
"I don't know, I kill a lot of people these days. Maybe if I could see you I would know." Alli mocked. The woman tapped her heel once.
She grabbed Alli's chin and tilted it up. Alli's face paled. That was her. That was the person she was supposed to kill and she was so close that she could smell her perfume. The fact that Alli couldn't do a thing was intoxicating.
The woman's gaze drifted over her face. Alli knew she was studying at her scars. Everyone does now.
"You're livid. You must know who I am." She taunted as she removed her hand. She made a show of wiping it on her leather pants.
"Ma'am. I need an ambulance." The man behind her moaned. The woman rolled her eyes before putting back on her seductive expression. She swayed over to the man, walking as slow as possible to let him savor it.
"Maybe this will help." She offered as she crouched down. The man's eyes almost popped out of his head. The woman gently brushed his hair back until she reached the base of his skull. Alli wanted to gag. PDA. The woman lifted his head and pressed her lips to his. Her long blonde hair brushed against his face.
After what must have been the longest kiss in history, she pulled away. The man was limp in her hand. She stood and reapplied her dark red lipstick. Alli looked at the man. He wasn't breathing.
"How?" Alli questioned. The woman smacked her lips together.
"Nicotine poison in the lipstick. Instant death." She exaggerated. Alli would have asked how she didn't die, but she already knew the answer. Slowed exposure until she was immune.
The woman looked at the other man. "Do you need an ambulance too?" She asked innocently as if she hadn't killed someone only seconds before. The man shook his head violently.
The woman turned to Alli. "I heard you like girlies too. You want a kiss?" She taunted. Alli's face burned.
"Not any girlie. Me," A voice replied. Alli looked up. Cierra was pointing a gun at the man behind Alli.
"Drop the gun. Now!" Cierra barked. The woman nodded. The man lowered his gun cautiously.
"Alli!" Cierra commanded. The woman huffed.
"You're no fun," She pouted.
"Let Alli go!" Cierra commanded. The woman flicker wrist. Alli stumbled her way behind Cierra.
"Now, no one is going to die if you all stay right there," Cierra warned. The two backed started backing out into the street. Cierra didn't lower her gun until she was sure they weren't following her.
Cierra tucked the gun into the waistband of her pants and pulled Alli into a tight hug.
"You're okay. You're okay." She repeated. Alli shuttered.
"Thanks, Cierra." She breathed. "But I'm fine. Really." She said. Cierra shook her head.
"No, this is for me. I thought I lost you." She admitted. Alli closed her eyes.
"I love you."
"I love you too."