Knight walked down the corridors of the museum idly, a small flashlight in his hand. He didn’t need the flashlight, but his boss pressed it on him anyway.
He had just gotten the position as guard three weeks ago, and knew it was because he finally got a legal permit to carry a pistol. He worked part time, on call as needed for the most part. He made more money shaking down villains and other shady sorts, but he felt that he needed something respectable to do with his days.
He glanced at his phone, wondering if he had missed Mal’s call, but it was just as blank as it had been for weeks. Mal was obsessed with finding his money, and Knight could understand it, as he would be the same way. He didn’t like living on another person’s charity, either. And Mal had certain impeccable tastes that Knight didn’t understand.
Knight heard a shuffle, and stopped. His eyes narrowed to slits, cat’s eyes now, looking into the dimness. He looked through the glass cases, and could see something move just to the right. He started walking toward it, slowly and softly. He stood just to the left of the glass case, and could hear rapid breathing. He turned his body just a little and rounded the corner.
The man crouched there got up and started to run. Knight was faster, though, and ran into the man, throwing both of them into the nearest wall. The first thing he noticed was how small the other man was. The next thing he noticed was that he was holding onto the person by their chest, which was thick and full.
Then she sliced at his hand, but he held on tighter. “I bet you like this, don’t you?” she said, squirming in his arms.
He lifted her clean off the floor and backed up from the wall. “Only if ya’d stop movin’.”
She gave him a kick in the shin, but it was a soft boot’s heel against his bone and she didn’t have enough strength behind it. “Oh, you like your girls to just lie there and take your tiny dick?”
“I don’ like chicks that’re tryin’ t’ steal shit.”
“I wasn’t stealing, I was just looking!”
He carried her, even as she stabbed at his arm again. He hissed against the pain. If anything, the stabs were making him angry. “Tha’ bullshit an’ we both know it.”
She took a different tactic, and aimed up with her knife, scratching at his face. She just barely missed his eye, but scratched across his cheek and nose. That pissed him off, and he slammed her into the wall. She grunted, but didn’t drop the knife and raised it again. He took a chance, letting her go with one arm and the other grabbing her raised arm. At the same time, she hooked one leg around him in an attempt to trip him.
He stumbled and fell, landing hard on top of her while his hand grabbed her wrist and squeezed tight, at the same time pushing the knife away. He heard felt bones slip, and he slammed her hand onto the marble floor.
She kicked up at his nuts, and he turned his body to avoid that blow while she cried out, letting go of the knife. She started to scramble on the floor to get out from under him, but he grabbed her by the hips, holding her again. She tried to reach for the knife but he dragged her back, away from it, and held her in his arms again.
“Will you jus’ stop?” he said. She thrust an elbow in his ribs, and he squeezed her tight. She started fumbling for his gun.
Finally, he punched her in the side of the head. Her head lolled forward and she moaned. “Jesus Christ,” he said, disentangling himself from her. He still kept one arm around her and held her almost like a football as he got to his feet. He started carrying her up the stairs.
He got to the top and heard a loud commotion in the main lobby. He hefted her over his shoulder and crept toward the other room. The glass case before him exploded, and he dove around a corner. He hadn’t heard a shot, or saw anything to make it explode, unless…
Standing in the middle of the room was Medusa, pink hair flying all about her as she used her telekenetic abilities to shove the three night guards against the wall. He drew his pistol, knowing that if he shot at her, not enough to kill her, he could break her concentration and get the guys free.
He aimed for her chest, knowing the gun went wide a bit, so it would hit her shoulder. He fired, and it hit true to the mark, as she screeched and put a hand to her shoulder. He dove around the corner again as knives and swords whizzed past his head.
The girl was waking up, her head moving a little. He raised his eyebrow at that; it would have put out someone her size for hours.
“You’ll pay for that, worm!” yelled Medusa, and he knew she was coming his way. Tiles from the floor raised up into a jagged vortex, preceeding her approach. He looked at the woman on the floor, and abandoned her, heading deeper into the museum.
He’d beaten her once, though it took a lot more than one shot. He hoped that leading her into the museum would distract her long enough so that backup could be called in. He saw a sword across the room, and went for it.
He didn’t realize he was in her line of sight when he did that. She was fast, blindingly fast, as she roared in his mind, and brought him to his knees. He couldn’t shut out the sound of her screaming in his head, and he struggled to get at the sword. He forced himself to stand, but then went back to his knees as she unleased further fury on him, with roaring klaxons of the museum alarm echoing in his mind along with the screaming.
“I will kill you, worm!” came a voice in the cacophany, and he put his hand on the sword, ready to swing back and out.
Then, the noise stopped as abruptly as it had started, and he collapsed on the floor with a thud, still holding the sword. The cool marble floor never felt so good against his aching head.
“Nice work, Joey – better check on Knight.”
Knight rolled to his side as he saw feet approach, then Joey knelt down to look into Knight’s eyes. “You okay, man?”
“Girl…”
“We got her,” he said. “Thanks to you for distracting her, man.”
“Heh,” Knight said, and struggled to sit up. It took him a while to focus, but when he did, he only saw Medusa lying in a heap and the cops coming into the museum, but no other cat burglar.
“There’s another girl.” His head pounded as he struggled to get the words out.
“What happened to your face?”
“Other girl,” Knight said, and finally passed out.