Just another day... - Chapter 1

	It was too damned early in the morning when I awoke. There was a rapping of fingernails against the glass of my office door. Deliberate and slow it continued on annoying me to no end. Slowly I moved off my sofa and slid the suspenders over my shoulders. I was disheveled and had slept in my clothes one too many nights lately. I made my way over towards the door dreading who it was. In this city there would only be one person who would think to wake me like this at seven in the morning. Just in case It was someone else I picked up the snub nosed Smith & Wesson on my desk and held it behind my back. With a yawn I opened the door and she grinned with her hand still hovering where the glass had been.

  “You look like hell.” She lowered her hand and licked her lips.
  “You are hell, what do you want Lil?” I yawned again.
  “Is that any way to talk to an old friend?” She reached out her hand towards my arm.
  “Cut the bullshit. We both know you're the reason I'm here.”
  “May I come in?” She raised a brow.
  “You aren't a vampire, you don't need an invitation.”

	She mistook my meaning and pushed past me. I moved back mindful of her wings and horns. The hell bitch was in a red satin dress that accented everything about her I hated. She'd had a good night out and probably with a dozen men that had fat wallets and small wills. She sauntered over to my desk and sat down a manila file all the while making sure I looked at her hips sway. I couldn't deny it that she was stacked like a deck of cards in the house's favor. Her ample rump sat on the edge of my desk and she ran a fingertip in a line over the dust that had accumulated over my phone. I walked around the opposite side of the desk than sat down in the hard chair and placed the revolver next to the file with the barrel facing her.

  “You been keeping busy?” She chuckled.
  “You already know that answer.” I sighed.
  “Well... my dear... I have a contract that will set you up for at least a year with how much I'm paying. Its a special deal that I'm only going to offer to you.” She leaned towards me.
  “All its going to cost me is my soul?” I leaned back in the chair.
  “I already own that and such a worthless thing it is. Why don't you look over the file and make a decision. I'll be a phone call away. You remember how to dial right?” She stood up.
  “I know what buttons to push.”
  “If you did I'd have kept you around longer.”

	She sauntered out of my office and left the door open. The way she moved looked like she was on a ship deck during a rough patch of water. I couldn't help feel stirrings again yet I knew what road that lead down. Its not a path I wanted to walk a second time. I stood from the desk and crossed the distance then slammed close the door. The glass rattled in the frame and I returned to my seat. The file was thin and my fingers traced around the edge before opening it. Inside was the standard contract form from her. All I had to do was sign it and we were working together again. The paper smelled faintly of cherry blossoms and had her typical sakura mark at the top right edge. I ran my finger over that embossed pink flower then moved the contract and looked at the photographs and sheets underneath.

	The target was a rogue Kitsune who had gone off the deep end and started killing people. I couldn't recall hearing about a Kitsune killing anyone when I was with the force. There were photographs of her and her known associates. A brief list of possible addresses and contacts were under the photographs. On the final page was the sum and the condition that the target had to be eliminated. I closed the file and drummed my fingers on top of it. I was no contract assassin. Why did the Lilim want me to take out a Kitsune? What had caused her to go rogue? She had a great service record as a police officer. More to the point, why did Lil want me to kill my former partner?

	The last was distressing to say the least. I had not seen her since things between us soured a couple years ago. As far as I had known until now she was still on the force. I thought about picking up the phone and telling Lil she could go to hell for dropping this contract in my lap. It would have been nice had some come to me with a clear cut case. The money alone was worth hunting down my former partner but why was it so damned much? What did she do to piss of the Lilim?

	I chased the thoughts down with a glass or bourbon before finally getting my ass into gear for the day. I washed up as best as I could in the sink and chose the least rumpled pair of pants and shirt I had on hand. Topping them off with a red tie, shoes and my suit jacket I was ready to head out of the door. The file sat on the desk tempting me to drop it in the river. I picked up the revolver and slipped it into my shoulder holster. The file I decided would lay there for now and stepped out of my office locking the door closed behind me. There were a few people milling about downstairs in the lobby as I left the building and headed out onto the street.

	The city itself was large enough to hold millions of monsters myself included. Humans were definitely the minority and sometimes we were treated as such. We were seen mostly as the breeding stock for some of the races that inhabited the city. Males were a high commodity to be studded out to some. They always chose the top of the line stock and I'd never been eligible for the breeding programs. There was never a choice who you were suppose to stick it to so I felt I had dodged a bullet. The tales that came back of some of the monsters was enough to make me want to slit my own wrists in a bathtub or lukewarm water.

	Down the street a ways was a diner I frequented that had a couple cute waitresses. One of them was a dark haired beauty with a single large eye set in the center of her face. She was slow and methodical but always saw when you wanted a refill or if you were ready to order. She was working the tables when I entered and there was a quick smile spared before she went back to work. My stomach rumbled as I sat down an at empty table and overturned one of the coffee mugs. The cyclops came to my table and filled the mug with black coffee. She did not even have to ask what I wanted to order since I always got the same thing. Someone down the line called out and she danced away to wait on them leaving me alone with the coffee and my troubles. I palmed a slight bit of salt from the shaker then dropped it into the coffee.

	A few minutes passed as I watched the people walking on the street outside the window. Some of them seemed happy on the surface. They were going about their lives with purpose and hope. Both were something that had been drained from me a long time ago. There was a young Centaur girl with her school mates that couldn't have been more than fourteen or fifteen. She was one step away from hooking up with an asshole that would completely throw her entire life out of balance and knock her up with kids. I'd seen that type of man far too often. Always about himself and never taking responsibility for any of his actions. He'd leave her high and dry without any money and abscond off to the next hole waiting for his cock. Would the women ever learn? Eventually when they were in their late thirties and their second or third husband was in prison. A pair of street walkers stopped at the corner and I watched them for a moment. Neither were particularly pretty but they were good enough if you had the money and the time. Prostitution was another thing that the police turned a blind eye too all thanks to Lil and her influence.

	A plate of bacon, eggs, toast and pancakes was set in front of me. The sound pulled me out of my observations and I turned to see an unfamiliar face setting down the syrup and butter. The woman was no waitress and she slipped into a chair on the opposite side of me. Her features were more human than monster and she was pretty if a bit too scaly for my tastes. The lizard girl removed her glasses and wiped the lenses on a napkin. I slipped the knife and fork free from the plate and started buttering the pancakes. If she wanted to talk she'd talk sooner or later. Until then I was content to play this game and eat my breakfast at the same time. Just before I was about to take a bite she reached out slim fingers and snatched away a piece of bacon then munched on it. I grimaced and looked up from the plate.

	Under her eyes were patches of scales and the tip of greenish ears peeked out from under her mop of blonde hair. She wore the type of clothes a librarian would wear if she was in one of those dime novels about sex that were never any good. I took a bite of pancake and she drank my coffee. Her lips curled as she tasted the salt and quickly the mug was sat back down. With a soft chuckle I picked it up and drank from it. The salt offset the syrup from the pancakes and made the coffee taste much better. The two of us went back and forth like this for the rest of the breakfast. I'd take a bite, she'd take a smaller but not insubstantial bite of whatever I was not working on. Finally after I finished off the last part of toast she dipped her fingers in the leftover syrup on my plate and licked them clean. I could see the small clip in the middle of her tongue that made me wonder what getting a good blow from her would be like. I could demand compensation and she might just be up for it but I also knew this little iguana had a nasty bite. Her teeth were sharp and gleaming like the set of ivories on a freshly polished piano.

  “That was delicious.” She wiped her fingers clean on the napkin then put her glasses back on.
  “That was three dollars and fifty cents.” I signaled for another refill.
  “I'm sure you can cover it. I work for a mutual associate that's interested in seeing you today.”
  “Yeah?” I nodded to the Cyclops as she refilled the coffee then looked back to the lizard girl. “Who's the associate?”
  “She goes by the name of Mahatma now days.” The girl flicked her tongue.
  “Sorry, don't know her.” I added more salt to the coffee.
  “You'd probably know her from a previous life. She was one of the people you arrested.”
  “I arrested a lot of people, you'll have to be more specific.”
  “She was a whore that you took a special dislike to. She said that you even tried to pin a drug charge on her. Such a naughty officer you must have been.”

	My brain searched back through the people I'd dealt with since being on the force. I couldn't recall anyone I tried to pin any charge on. I was not exactly the most honest cop but I never compromised my morals until that one night with Lil on the chief's desk and then again at her apartment. There was no one fitting the bill and I finished off the rest of the coffee then pulled out my wallet and left a tip. As I moved to stand up I heard the click of a hammer being pulled back and looked at the lizard girl. Her right hand was under the table and she smiled with no warmth behind those eyes. I rested my palms flat on the table knowing that I was at a distinct disadvantage.

  “You could shoot. How many rounds do you have?” I grinned from behind the table. “How many witnesses are there?”
  “Enough to make it troublesome for me if you force my hand.” She licked her lips again.
  “So why don't you just decock that pistol and we go our separate ways?” I tensed my arms and looked behind her.
  “This is not a request you can simply walk away from.” She was become frustrated with me.
  “No... I suppose its not but I think I will.” I nodded my head and pushed myself up from the table.
  “If you think you can just walk out of here Mr.....”

	Before she could finish the sentence the Cyclops hit the back of her head with the coffee pot. It shattered and hot black liquid and glass covered her. She screamed out and turned quickly. I had been in the middle of drawing my revolver when her tail knocked the table into me and we both hit the window hard. The table was spared most of the impact when I acted as a cushion for it. I felt my left arm bruise up and I pushed the table away from me in time to see the lizard girl turn on the Cyclops. She had dropped the pistol but her claws and teeth were still weapons ready to shred apart the poor waitress. I couldn't move fast enough to intercept her so I aimed and fired a round into the lizard girl's shoulder. She wailed and turned her attention on me with fire in her eyes and blood down her blouse. I cocked the revolver for a second shot and she ran from the diner.

	Scrambling over the tables and chairs I picked up her dropped pistol and gave pursuit. The Cyclops called out to me but I couldn't hear her over the pounding of my own heart. My shoes rang off the pavement as I held both guns and tried to get an angle on her. There were far too many people and she was going entirely too fast for me to catch up. Her slim and powerful propelled her around a corner and it took me nearly twenty seconds to catch up. The alley she had chosen was shadowed and full of garbage bins waiting to be emptied. I slipped my revolver into a coat pocket and stopped at the entrance of the alley. Checking the pistol she had dropped I saw finally it was a Browning Hi Power and it had the full compliment of thirteen rounds in the magazine plus one in the chamber. The hammer was still cocked back and I advanced carefully into the alley.

	Half way down I heard sirens in the distance and considered heading back out the way I came. Talking to the police would do me no good however. Any clout I had was long gone and they would only throw me in a cell for the night. Turning back I continued on and my heart sank when I heard the clicks of several gun safeties. I knew those sounds and I knew exactly what they had. The heavy sliders made a distinct click as they were moved into the firing position. Lowering the pistol I dropped it to the brick floor of the alley and several girls stepped out from bins and boxes wielding MAC-11's and looking none too happy that I had pursued one of their own. I raised my hands and put them on the back of my head.

	The wounded lizard girl hissed as she stepped out and picked up the pistol I had dropped then drew the revolver from under my coat. She whipped her claws at my face with blinding speed and left three small gashes across my cheek. The others placed the barrels of their sub machine guns against my back and urged me to move on. All of them were street walkers like the others I had seen earlier except a much higher class than the rats on the corner. They smelled clean and looked well taken care of. Their guns were bright and new. They had to have a supplier considering such things were illegal for civilians to own in the city. I wanted to delve to the bottom of it and find out who that supplier was. There were a couple items I had my eyes on for years and they may be able to acquire them for me. My train of thought was cut short when they forced me into the back of a Buick and threw a bag over my head. One of the girls tied my hands together with a silk cord.

	The car screeched around the corner and I could feel the tires temporarily leave the road. Wherever we were going they wanted to be there in a big enough hurry to risk the cops. The Buick rocked back and forth as they darted between cars. I wouldn't be surprised if they suddenly opened fire on any motorist not quick enough to get out of their way or let them in. The final corner we took so sharply that I was sure the vehicle would roll. Suddenly the driver slammed on the breaks and my forehead bounced off the seat in front of me. I groaned at the impact and the doors were thrown open. They dragged me to my feet and pushed the gun barrels into my back once more. So far this was just another day in Monster Girl City.