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Satine had finished off her night in the slums. It was the usual "Freeze!" followed by whatever the police said if anyone was stupid enough to stand around and listen to when they had a mouth full of fangs they needed to keep hidden. The police were once again on foot in pursuit of what they likely took for another jacked up chick trying to get lost in the transit before they could reach her. Each shift of her feet on the pavement beneath reminded her she really needed to work out more. She was no runner before and she certainly wasn't now. The sound of three diamond teeth bouncing in her pocket while she ran towards the station was annoying enough that she almost tossed them out to the paved surface beneath her feet.

Satine had more than diamonds to worry about. The sounds of footsteps closing in on her from the right offered her little room to work with. Her eyes fixed on the fence in front of her and the parked car to the left. There was no time to think twice. Her steps increased until she felt the bumper beneath her foot and pushed down so the other could clear the hood followed by the other reaching the top of the roof. From there she looked back once then lunged to catch the chain link fence in her grip. Each hand lifted to clasp higher until she reached the top and swung one leg over and barely got the other before another command to stop was shouted. Satine felt the catch of her pocket holding the teeth snag on a protruding broken link. The collective sounds of panting humans and their struggling footsteps gave her little choice.

Satine writhed quickly to free herself from the jacket that not worth saving. Her hand slid down as the weight of her body started to drop head first. Her fingers locked down just before she was about to kiss the pavement. Her legs fell back and she flipped to land on both feet with little effort. Even she was impressed with this new move she pulled off. The sound of an unmistakable click from a gun had her drop and roll behind some shipping crates. She stayed still and out of view as the uniforms pursuing her doubled over trying to catch their breath. They were not motivated to start climbing a fence in search of her.

“Forget this.” One patted the other on the back to head back the direction they came from. “We will likely will find her later tonight strung out. See if she wants to run from us then.”

The sounds of footsteps were quick to fade as well as the lights that carried them from the next block. That was close. Too close. Satine had been shot at more times in the last week than she could count. It had to be those losers in the slums. They had some connection to the police just like that quack doctor running that Asylum. She didn’t have time to dwell on what the link was or wasn’t. She was still wound free and needed to get out of the area. It was too much of a risk to stay where she was. Toming back to the hotel was not an option yet. She still had that craving for something she had yet to sink her teeth into.

Satine weaved her way through the shadows that skirted the buildings around her. Finally with a station in view she opted to take the back route of that as well. Soft as a mouse making its way back to a nest with the latest back alley refuse she moved. That is when she arrived to a scene she found worth watching. It seems someone was in trouble. A few more were teaching him a lesson. Same sad story each night. Gangsters and wanna be urban kings. She watched intently putting her hopes on the one with a gun pointed at him to pull a fast move and blow the other away.That is exactly what happened. Another loser bites the dust. The bodies dropped and remained still on the ground while the one remaining stood solid holding the element of surprise in his hand. She was impressed. That was short lived as he turned and the jogged her memory before she could start any fire to calm down the rage it brought with it.

It was the son of a ***** who robbed her in the sewers and then cackled about it. Who robs someone and laughs about it? She should have shot him back then. Well there was no time like the present. Her hand went to the back of her pants and pulled out her gun and she took aim and fired. The night was already looking to be more promising as he grabbed at his chest.

“When you are done bleeding over the shock of it all feel free to walk down a couple blocks to the ATM and get me my god damned money.” Satine’s fingers held the gun comfortably aiming it right at the spot he covering with his hand. “Or you will get another reason to start moving instead of standing around.”

Satine was feeling the path of the bullet as it ripped into her stomach. Her empty hand chased after it as if somehow she could stop it with the press of her palms over the point of entry. finally the bullet lodged itself where it would rest for the time being. That is when the shock settled in that she actually had been shot in return. The man was a blur of movements up until that point. Now she was the one clutching at her gut thinking that the cool fluid oozing beneath her hand was not at all in her plans for the evening. Leave it up to some wise guy to **** up a perfectly good night. She could feel the weakness trying to move in over her kneeling body as the blood dripped to the ground beneath her. It was beautiful and it was hers. Now he owed her more than a trip to the ATM.

Satine’s fingers tightened around the gun in her hand. With the strength she had left she gripped with full intent on making her next move count. The man had a lot of nerve shooting her back when he owed her money. In her mind it was all about not taking anymore **** from anyone. The words rolling from his lips and the pinch and pat to her cheek was enough that her body erupted into an inferno of rage. Who did he think he was talking to? She was not at his mercy. No matter how hard he pressed the barrel of the gun in his hand to her head. In her mind she was already dead. What more could he possibly do? Give an asshole a gun and they suddenly think they are a god of the concrete jungle handing out permission to live or die. Two could play that game. She had a few words and they certainly wouldn’t be her last.

“Your shoe is untied.”

Satine angled the gun just enough as her finger pulled on the trigger releasing a bullet to the place the man would least expect it coming. If he had any luck he had balls made of steel. Was he faster than that speeding bullet heading north?

Satine had to hand it to the guy. So far each time he said something he was showing he was a true wise guy. He figured out her gun went off and that he was the recipient of a mighty powerful shot. Of course she shot him in the dick. At least she was pretty sure she did. On this point she would take his word for it. After all, it was his dick. If it was full of lead and wounded surely the man would know. Then again, he could be lying about it through his teeth. She was the crazy ***** that was about to ask when he took to trying to shoot her again while crawling.

A disturbing hiss of air being cut was followed by the feeling that something was not right. A piercing bite set into the joint of her shoulder and she could swear she felt the lead drill into the middle of her bone. This two bit gangster had a death wish she was debating granting.

“No ****, Sherlock!” Satine’s hand lifted to take aim with the gun. “So are you!”

Instead of getting a chance to pull the trigger to fire at what insisted on attacking her, Satine found the weight of him landing on her roughly. Her hand holding the weapon had not given up on the fight. She growled at the pain of moving her arm to compensate for the one that would not give up its weapon so easily. The sound of her bones in her wrist popped and cracked as he slammed it repeatedly down into the cement beneath it. Once her fingers gave into spare the loss of further movement his knee pressed into her chest. Her eyes bore their barbed focus into his as he took numerous swings to her face then collapsed. What a punk. How many times was a chick supposed to tolerate getting punched in the face? None.

Satine was not prepared for the rage that consumed her. What energy she had left was going to be devoted to her next move. No fire burning in her head could quell the eruption that took place. Her mouth felt the explosion first. Instead of the awkward sensation of having a few sharp long points behind her lips each one lengthened and required her to open her mouth to stretch to accommodate the mass of lion like jaws that formed. She growled as the flesh over her eyes and cheeks succumbed to the swelling from his hard fists and their recent impact. Now there was no turning back. **** the money and **** him. She wanted to take a piece off of him so he would remember not to mess with her again. Her fist balled up and went sailing straight towards his mouth. It was her hope that she knocked one of his teeth out to take as a trophy.

Twenty four hours later.

The sewers still smelled like ****. Actually it smelled worse if that was possible. Satine would have avoided the place altogether but she had a piece of cardstock the size of a business card in her pocket embossed with a man’s number. It was just a number. One that she would not waste the effort dialing. Ever.

Who it was connected to was her issue. What his name was Satine had no clue. Nor did she care to. Butch? Fred? Jim-Bob? Hank? Bugsy? Bugsy. That sounded about right. Whatever it was that the man called himself was irrelevant. Not with the way he crossed her path. Technically she crossed his but that was not the point. It was the fact he had the gall to kick her ***, toss her a twenty like some used up flesh mattress that he found in a ghetto corner and tell her to clean up was all she needed to know. His *** was indefinitely marked. He was her personal moving target and she would leave another mark on him as a reminder she was not playing. Surely he was bright enough to figure that message out.

The squeal of a rat in the wrong place at the wrong time had her pausing before taking another step. Satine plucked the struggling vermin from the stone she was standing on and gave it a gentle placing in a corner where it should be happy to be out of the way. It wasn’t. It darted from view like most of what lived down in the cement bowels of the city. Anything with any sense of self-preservation made a run for it. Ungrateful rodents. There she was thinking about him again.

Satine was now determined. She was going on a hunt for what was likely slithering around wounded. Not that she was in any better shape. Her ribs hurt, her gut was still healing and so was her shoulder. Her face was also slow to return to its original shape. It felt like it had been used for a punching bag. That didn’t bother her half as much as the fact she didn’t get to return the favor. Sometimes it took a few times for someone to learn. Satine was not thinking that applied to herself, though she should. Bugsy had some problems she was going to sort out and he may even get a chance to thank her by the time she was finished.

The luck the necromancer had that got her a get out of the asylum in a nun’s habit and winning the lotto all in the same night must have kicked in the minute Satine rounded a dark corner. She was no tracker. She was lucky she could read a tome to save her ***. However, she did have this sense of knowing how to get out of the way of danger to a certain point, where to look when she couldn’t otherwise find something and when it came to getting the best of a ******** who pissed her off she had a lot of practice dealing with that over the years. And there he was. The golden ticket was standing within range of her vision. She would recognize him anywhere. He had become unforgettable the minute he opened his mouth and said those first words that clawed at her mind and instantly raised her irritation. No fire started in her mind to calm her down. She let that rage boil up and do its work.

Satine’s weapon was drawn and her spiteful aim was for his head. The excitement of finding what she was hunting for gave her permission to pull the trigger without any warning or care for who was around to watch it happen. He should know by now he would have it coming. Her shots rapidly firing consumed her senses. It was a small rush to see the twitch of his body react. She got him! Sounds of another gun going off in the distance immediately followed. If he had friends with him she was not sticking around to entertain them with introductions. Her body was hardly in the shape to be taking anymore lead. She stuck her gun back in the spot she kept it out of view and took off for the exit making her way towards Honeymead Station. He was not getting any more chances to return fire.

Satine considered her point well made. She would not have money tossed at her and given orders like some flunky in his merry little band of hoodlums. The man was more nuts than she was if he thought for a minute she could be his patsy. Men. Two thirds of them thought with their larger brain. She was damn glad she shot him there too with every step that took her into the station. Now it was time to head to work. She had some apologies to make to her boss and a wardrobe to buy. Bunny's choices were being sent back to the circus she likely swiped the garments from. Satine was no longer playing games.

Satine needed to get herself in check. Nothing was worth losing her sanity...what she had left of it that is. One way or another it had to happen. Getting her **** together was at the top of her list. Unfortunately, the list was not short in length. It was long and needed to be worked on. With the two bit gangster out of her hair she finally was able to get around to what needed attention. Namely her employment. She covered her wounds and got back to work. She didn't get paid to be a raging ***** and shoot assholes in the sewers. That meant eight hours of retail and finally new clothes to replace what was not working for her thanks to Bunny's bitterness clouding the woman's fashion sense.

Once free from work the beginning of the night had her tying up loose ends. Satine had finally dealt with the apartment over in the qz. The place was far too bright for her liking now that she was a night owl. A few changes made it far more appealing to a few she showed it to. It was not long and she was contacted with interest. The last keys were handed over to a young female who was trying to get on her feet and needed a place to do it. It was a winning arrangement for both. The woman now had a roof over her head and Satine definitely could use the extra money a tenant could offer.

Next stop on the list of things to do was checking out the shop that she was told about that could set up all the official documents and identification she would need. And she really did need it. It was a huge effort in trying to talk her way through purchasing the qz unit when she first arrived. More than she cared for. Back then Satine was simply on the run from the mess she left back home. Now she was looking at trying to exist without drawing attention to herself. That was still anything but simple for many reasons.

Not having a current driver's license, identification or that paper that says she was born to begin with left her trying to weave up more tales than she had the patience for. She needed all of the above to get through the otherwise sticky situations. Being a full time storyteller was not in her plans. If there was the option of getting the documents to bypass all the red tape then it was worth whatever money it would require. She was pretty sure they didn’t just hand out those things like the prizes in the bottom of cracker jack boxes.

Satine followed the directions and found the place closed. Her luck was proving to be less than consistent. As she stood there she was not deterred. Her silver eyes searching the closed sign for some sort of loophole that would grant her permission where others were denied. It was something she could not accept. It was like she felt entitled to being an exception even when she knew she wasn’t. Giving in to the feeling that she was sticking out like a sore thumb she took her leave and stopped in to the one shop that appeared to have activity. A couple waves of her hand finally beckoned the aged female behind the sales counter within to the locked door of dimly lit shop.

After a few inquiries Satine found someone who knew someone else that had an idea of what she was looking to get her hands on. The shop worker was overly friendly and twenty minutes later she was given a number to use to contact someone that would set up an appointment. All of this she could have likely asked about back at the hotel but part of her was feeling like some **** she had to find out for herself so that she could ask about the important things like where to dump all the bodies. Perhaps there was a landfill somewhere. A community dump site perhaps.

Another task nearly completed on the list meant that it was another small victory in her night. If the rest of her remaining hours of productive darkness went as well she would be back to having more time on her hands to hone her skills in meeting her needs. Self-preservation was not as easy as one would think it should be as a creature of the night. Learning to go by the "leave no trace" rule of thumb was requiring practice. A lot of practice. She was impulsive and still messy.

The final stop before heading back to the hotel was a visit long over due in Honeymead. Namely the bank, then the mall and last point of interest. She had dubbed it ‘the back up plan’ in case everything took a dive and went further south than it had already. Satine had a habit of stepping into, tumbling over, tripping on and literally walking into trouble. And if she was not doing that she was getting ran over by it. She figured having a place outside the hotel room would be wise. West Towers was far more convenient than the qz. Another win. There was also the point when Velveteen would finally decided to come around and agree to have that talk that was long over due. when that happened it may be the smartest decision she ever made. The woman may be her sister but the mere thought of her also sent the hairs on the nape of her neck tingling.

Satine pulled the keys from the back up ring in her purse and closed them in the middle of her palm. The fact she felt like something was lingering behind her was all the more reason to take the shortcut through West Tower lobby and straight up the stairs. From there she made her way to the door to which she had a key. She was pretty sure it was the dipstick Krepsi and his recent antics getting the best of her. There she was nearly inviting in that craving that was a reminder she was still weak deep inside. She would be for as much power as she had been given. There was always a trade off. There had to be to become that much stronger.

Satine’s hand turned and pressed into the knob she was now connected to. She paused as her eyes saw the door in front of her that was familiar and something else for the first time beyond that. The chair to the left of the door about ten feet into the room was blurred with some glowing shape. It stretched and was moving. She swallowed slowly as she glanced down to her fingers to remind herself she was still in the process of unlocking her door. She looked back up and this time it was far more clear. It was a body moving around. Her eyes tracked it as she continued to move the key. The warm glow faded as another passed close to the door. This one was so bright and so clear she felt a subtle warmth in it’s wake when it disappeared to the right.

It would seem that Satine had company waiting for her on the inside of her apartment. Uninvited company. She felt the weight of her weapon on her hip hidden beneath her clothing. She also felt that tell tale rush of hunger flowing beneath her skin. It was back and with a vengeance. The weakness increased, the curiosity rose and the anticipation of what was beyond the door was a tidal wave of temptation that she could not resist. Satine had a lot of growing to do. It would seem she was about to do just that as she let the door open and reveal the dark apartment she confidently stepped into.

Satine made no sudden moves as she dropped her keys on the table by the door without turning on the light. Her fingers brushed the door to close. Her fingers casually turned the locks like they did any other time. Now she could see the two bodies moving in each hallway leading into the adjacent rooms before they faded once more. Slowly she peeled her dark jacket from her pale bare shoulders and set it on the top of the chair that was abandoned as soon as she turned the key in the lock. Her silver orbs danced to the left and then skipped slowly to the right.

“Come out, come out wherever you are.” Echoed in her head as she reached for her gun.