I'll Take the Shot for You

Lyra shook the bodyguards for the fourth time that day. She only hoped that it would stick. When she had told Tom that she had wanted to have a day to herself, he argued with her to wit’s end about her protection. He forcefully insisted on bodyguards.

To her dismay, they were good at what they did. Then again, they had been with Bill and Tom since they were about sixteen, and being like twenty now, Saki and Tobi had wizened up to every escape trick there was. However, they didn’t know that Lila was on her side. She was waiting at the end of the block for her signal. They were standing outside a coffee shop when Lyra started looking around.

“Look! It’s LaFee!” she shouted, knowing that Saki was a fan of hers. Saki and Tobi both looked and Lyra took off in the other direction. Tobi didn’t fall for it. He noticed that she was gone and took off, Saki behind him. They saw Lyra standing on the corner, apparently waiting for traffic to subside. They seized her arm and she smiled.

“Lost again, didn’t I?” she laughed.

Meanwhile, the real Lyra tasted her first bite of freedom. She had almost forgotten what it tasted like, she savored the moment. She walked down the cold and busy streets of Hamburg , in wide wonder. She loved it as well as she loved L.A.

Kenneth was watching as the Hero rounded another corner. She was alone. He found that so odd. He figured that the Sinner would have her locked up super tight, in fear of the worst. And today was the day his fears became hers. Kenneth hobbled up to her, looking wounded.

“M-m-miss, would you h-help a-a-an old m-m-m-man find his apartment?” he said weakly. The Hero smiled.

Of course, what direction?” she asked. Kenneth pointed behind him.

“I-I-I don’t remember w-w-what building though.” Kenneth said.

The Hero took him by the arm and led him down the street. Asking him about what was on the outside of his building. Kenneth pretended not to know what she was talking about. He pretended to be a senile old man, and it was working quite well to his favor. He finally decided to point out the building that they had past twenty times over.

“Oh my, there it is!” He said pointing at a red building. “Would you mind helping me up to my room?” He asked.

The Hero smiled and agreed. She walked Kenneth up the stairs and to the room he had rented, for this very moment. He pretended to have trouble with the lock and allowed Lyra to take the key. Once she had the door open, Kenneth kicked her inside and locked the door. Her screams were drowned out with chloroform.

Tobi and Saki returned to the house with Lila, thinking that it was Lyra. Tom heard them walking in and ran to greet her, but stopped short.

“This isn’t Lyra, where is Lyra?” he said. Saki and Tobi exchanged looks. They realized that they had been duped.

“Where is my Lyra?” Tom demanded. His phone rang, “Letzte Minute” by Die Killerpilze. Lyra’s ringer. Tom answered.

“Lyra! Where are you?” He said.

A raspy breath came from the other end. “Sticking to only one woman, these days, Sinner?” it said. Tom’s heart stopped as the line went dead.