Judgement Day

Driving by the wreckage of the massive bombing attack firemen and other volunteers still tried to rescue victims that were trapped beneath the rubble. Andrew looked over at June who was focused on driving her Lawmaster. Even after the events that had happened a few days back the two had managed to come to some sort of reconciliation about the event. Choosing to try and ignore it and move forward.

June took a right and headed down deeper into the Pleasure District while Andrew took a left and headed towards the hospital for Judges. He wanted to check up on Yvaine as he hadn’t had a chance to see her since she was stabbed through the stomach and inches from her heart. June would head into the Pleasure District and try to find any sort of information over Culverton’s operations. The two would meet up later and stakeout the area.

His Lawmaster weaved in and out of traffic, riding his Lawmaster was one of the few pleasures he had. He enjoyed the feel of the wind flowing over his face, the thrill when he gunned the engine causing him to shoot off at high speeds. Weaving in and out of traffic as he turned onto the correct highway to take him nearer to the Hall of Justice, where the hospital was located a few blocks away.

Soon he pulled up to the hospital; he found a place to park in the extremely crowded parking lot and went inside. The aroma of ammonia and bleach assaulted his nostrils, two smells he could never stand. Strolling up to the front desk to see the Iron Judge, an elderly Judge that would have made Margaret Thatcher quake in fear from her presence alone.

She was about seventy years old, although this was hard to tell as she looked like she was still in her fifties. With grey hair pulled back into a tight bun that would forbid any stray hair to slip out from it. Her eyes misled everyone; they were kind and gentle light blue eyes. The type someone’s grandmother who baked him or her cookies would have. Not the kind a hardcore Judge had. Even if she was nicknamed Judge Iron she almost at times acted like a grandmother, Andrew remembered she was Judge Nurse back when he was at the Academy, he had seen her a lot because of the nature of his training, he believed she had liked him but he could never be sure.

Walking up to her, he looked at her typing away on a computer. Filing papers no doubt, this woman had once taken on a group of twenty block maniacs and killed every last one with nothing but her bare hands, making it odd to see her reduced to a desk job such as this.

“Excuse me Judge Shiva?” he asked while addressing her as he would with any Judge.

She stopped typing for a moment and looked up at him. “I haven’t been called that in years, it seems to be required to call me Judge Iron now. The last person to properly call me that was a young recruit with a scar, that so far, looks much like yours.” she said as her mind drifted off to the past.

“My name is Judge Grey. I was a recruit back when you were a Judge Nurse there.” he told her as he pulled his helmet off to reveal his inch long blonde hair and his half scowled face.

“I remember you, good to see you became a full eagled Judge, are you here to see someone?” she asked as she pulled up a list of patients and their room numbers.

“Judge Yvaine,” Andrew began until he realized he never actually learned her last name. Remembering that she had never told him before.

“Room 257.” Judge Iron told him. Andrew thanked her and walked to the elevator. Once inside he pressed the button for the second floor. When elevator lurched upwards he regretted not taking the stairs.

When the elevator dinged a few seconds later he walked out trying not to pass out. People looked at him with that look that said, “are you okay? Not that it matters because you’re probably going to say yes and then I will stop caring.” Waving at them Andrew knocked on the door to room 257 and opened the door.

Yvaine had been in bad shape after the spider thing had plunged a spike the size of Andrew’s hand into her stomach. She had somehow managed to survive on sheer force of will alone. Then to make matters worse a rocket launcher had taken the H-Wagon they had been evaced on out and it had crashed and broken both of her legs and arms. The sheer fact that she was alive was a miracle in itself.

“Hey good lookin.” Yvaine’s voice drifted over to him as he entered the room. She was hanging from a bar attached the ceiling doing pull-ups as some form of physical therapy.

“How do you do it? First you break all the bones in your arms and legs to the point where modern medicine can’t actually do anything more than just put them back together and hope to Grud they heal, and a month later here you’re acting like nothing happened?” Andrew joked as he put his helmet down on a small table in the corner.

Yvaine smirked and dropped from the bar, he could tell it had taken a lot out of her, a thick layer of sweat matted her hair and had turned her light grey tank top dark from all the sweat. She looked tired, so far she had spent more time benched in the hospital then she had on the streets. Walking over she sat down on her bed and then looked up at him with a small smile on her lips.

“Sit for awhile, don’t be a stranger.” she told him while patting the bed next to him.

Andrew shook his head as he walked over and stood in front of her. “I don’t have much time, I need to get back to Judge Summers and get back on a case I’m working. I stopped by to give you this though,” he paused as he dug through his belt and pulled out a small rectangular box.

He handed it to Yvaine who tore it open with feverish intent. It revealed itself to be a rather thick, jagged bladed knife with a black and silver handle. She looked up at him with a small smile.

“Well, I know that you were never a fan of the standard issue knifes we get. Plus you mentioned to me you like it large.” Andrew said with his standard half smile.

Yvaine laughed, she looked relaxed for the first time in a long time. “I think I’ve finally gotten to you Andrew Grey.” she told him with a big smile.

Grabbing a roll of tape on the small table next to her and swinging her foot up onto her bed she pulled the sweat pants leg up to reveal a knife taped to her leg. Pulling that one out she replaced it with the new one, taping any loose parts down enough so she wouldn’t cut her leg up. Andrew walked over to the table he had set his helmet down and put it back on.

“I got to go. See you soon,” he told her as he began to walk towards the door.

“Andrew,” Yvaine called to him as he turned away from her. “I heard what happened with June. Just remember it’s not your fault.”

“See you later Yvaine.” he repeated darkly as he walked out of the room and left the hospital.

As Andrew exited the building and walked over to his Lawmaster, as he revved his engine his helmet beeped. A transmission from Control was beaming in, he pressed his comm button and answered the call.

“Control this is Judge Grey, what is your concern?” he asked dryly.

“Judge Grey, Judge Summers has been abducted by enemy forces. Please report to the following coordinates being sent to your Lawmaster.” the lady on the other end of the line told him emotionlessly. Andrew shot out of the garage and began to build up as much speed as he could so he could reach the destination as fast as he could.

“Not this time Culverton.” he growled as he raced to the Pleasure District as fast as he could.

*****
June separated from Andrew and rode deeper into the Pleasure District. With Andrew gone she could just think. Her mind had wandered back to the night where Culverton had made Andrew unintentionally rape her. He had been as gentle and kind as he could, keeping her clothed and trying to even give her a climax to make it ever so sweeter. But the event was imprinted on her brain.

She had managed somehow to be calm and cool while the act was taking place, but when she went back to the apartment she sealed herself in the bathroom and cried in the shower. Crying like a newborn right after birth. An act she had only done twice in her life, once when she had been found outside the walls of the Mega City, and the other after her whole group had been killed in front of her during her Hot Dog Run and she spent a week surviving the Cursed Earth by herself.

Gunning her engine she shot in-between two giant mobile homes and moved over into the lane that let her exit the mega highway and head back into the slums of the Pleasure District. This part of the city always disgusted her, even when she was in the academy and just had to look at pictures.

The first slum block had been firebombed, all fifty stories. A total of seventy-five thousand civilian deaths in the course of twenty minutes. Riding deeper she saw whores standing out on the streets, it wasn't called the pleasure district for gourmet chocolates and rainbows. When she had to stop for a moment a pimp with three rings on each hand and a multitude of good piercings covering his face walked over.

"Why hello there good Judge, my name is Georgio Vindetti. By chance have you stopped by to take a look at my fine merchandise?" he asked her in that slick, greasy voice that every used car salesmen had.

June kept her breathing even; she might be able to find out some information. "I'm very picky. Who's your supplier?" she asked coldly, as if conducting a business deal.

"Why, the good lord Xiao Mei."

June quickly ran through her mental list of Culverton's semi known gang. Xiao Mei was his Lieutenant of the west part of the Pleasure District. He would be rather helpful in bringing down the bastard. She couldn't ardent Georgio on being a pimp alone, due to the ninety percent unemployment rate; jobs weren't exactly crawling out of the woodworking.

“Show me what you got.” June said, weary of her surroundings. Nobody was stupid enough to just show her evidence so they could get arrested. Then again the only Judges typically seen around these parts were either paid off or looking to satisfy some itch they acquired from the stress of their job.

Pulling her kickstand out with her foot, she leaned the Lawmaster on the side of the curb. No one would steal it; her bike was calibrated to respond to her DNA alone. Walking behind Georgio they entered the club.

The club sickened June, the smell of blood, sweat, and sex stung the inside of her nostrils worse than when they trained to build up a tolerance of Stumm gas. She could hear the sound of whips cracking, liquid hitting the ground following a loud moan, someone crying out in pain following a loud slap. She was glad she still had her helmet on, the disgusted look in her eyes would have given her away in a heartbeat.

Georgio took her to a small room in the back. Letting her sit down on a greasy looking couch, no doubt from the accumulated fluids of the past. Uncomfortably she did so and waited for him to come back. Looking around the room made her more uncomfortable than the couch had.

Various sexual toys were placed on shelves on the wall, sitting next to chains, whips, gags, straps, cages, and other things that made her shudder a bit. Georgio left and came back with a male prostitute. He was skinny and looked like he hadn't eaten in weeks. The man got onto his knees and crawled over to June. He began to lick her boots; she tried to keep a tight face.

“May I please you mistress?” he begged, the look in his eyes screamed out for help. Even with this she didn’t have solid enough evidence.
“No, this is not my idea of a good time.” she told him, the words coming out robotically.

The man whimpered and crawled out of the room. Georgio ignored him and clapped his hands. This time two women came in, they were young and healthy looking. Clad in a skimpy bra and G-string that revealed everything June would need to know. Still not enough to bring this bastard down, she would have to make a choice soon.

“Not these either.” she said calmly and the two girls went away.

Georgio looked stumped, until he snapped his fingers and then left the room for a moment. When he came back June had enough to book him for life, but he wouldn’t make it to an Iso-Block alive. Georgio walked in with a little girl of about five in tote.

“Perhaps a younger crowd appeals to you?” he asked with a hopeful gleam in his eye.

“No, not at all.” June told him as she stood up and walked over to him and shoved him against the wall.

“I don’t normally get involved with my clients but I might make an exception for someone like you.” he purred, unaware of what June really had on her mind.

“Georgio Vindetti, your crimes include human trafficking, child abuse, and unconsensual sexual intercourse. The sentence is twenty-five years in the Iso-Blocks, how do you plead?” June growled as she pulled her Lawgiver out of her holster and put it to his neck.

“Go to hell bitch.” he spat.

“Figures.” June replied as she turned him around and slapped a pair of handcuffs onto him.

June pressed the button for her comm link, “Control this is Judge Summers,” she began. “I need a wagon and some backup, I just broke up a human trafficking headquarters and the leader of this portion is Georgio Vindetti. I need him evaced and sent back to the Hall of Justice for questioning. Also I have picked up a young girl who appears to be of Judge placement age, I need a representative from the Academy as well.”

“Roger Judge Summers, ETA five minutes.”

“Over and out.”

June looked over at Georgio, what a piece of scum. So terrible she couldn’t even look at the man he made her physically ill. She left him handcuffed in the corner and walked over to the small girl who had run into the corner, crying as she tried to hide from the Judge.

“Hey now,” June cooed as she put her hands out to pick her up. “I’m here to help you sweetie.” June picked the small girl up, her nose was running and her brown eyes were all red and puffy.

“Are you my mommy?” she asked, sending a twinge of sorrow through June. “My mommy was a Judge before she was kidnapped by the bad men.”

June furrowed her brow; there had been a string of random Judge disappearances a few years ago. Maybe she could provide some sort of information on the illusive subject.

“No, I’m not your mommy. But we’re going to get you cleaned up and we’ll get you a nice place to live alright?” she asked as she set her down on a coffee table, there was no way she was going to make her sit on that couch. Sighing as she heard the heavy grind of the wagon’s engines and the purr of the Lawmaster’s. She picked the child up and her tan arms wrapped around her neck. Then she walked over and grabbed Georgio by the scruff of his fat neck after holstering her Lawgiver.

June walked outside to see the Judges who had been sent down. At the forefront giving orders was Dredd, odd that Control sent him for such a low level job. She spied three others, Judges Eggleston, Remendiez, and Clive. Eggleston had been a Judge for the last four years, generally liked amongst the other Judges and the population at large. Remendiez was old, old enough he should have taken the Long Walk already but didn’t, he helped teach at the Academy. June remembered him teaching Ethics 101. Clive was an asshole in her graduating class; she was amazed that he had even passed his final test. Obnoxious and rude, the big thuggishly built Judge knocked a civilian over and stormed over to her. She wasn’t quite sure why he was in a foul mood already.

“Hey there Summers.” Clive said in that toothy grin that made everyone want to punch him in the face, he stopped in front of her, standing a foot and a half over her. “Heard you were here, so I thought I would come down and see how bad things were fucked up already.”

June was emotionless, wishing she could pull her helmet off to give him her death glare. Instead she would have to settle for verbal taunts.

“Yeah, cause I’m the one that lost in capture the flag because he was pigging out on contraband donuts.” June retorted as she walked over the Remendiez and Dredd.
“DAMN STRAIGHT YOU WERE!” Clive yelled as he walked into the whore house.

“Excellent work Summers, remind me to ask the Council to invite you to speak at the Academy one of these days.” Remendiez said as she took the child out of her hands. June nodded and took her helmet off, it had been rather hot out later and she would appreciate the breeze on her forehead. When the wind blew on her forehead, it was greatly appreciated. Dredd turned to look at her.

“Good find.” he told her as he turned and ran into the whore house with Eggleston.

June smiled, she had done good for a change. She was about to give herself a small victory whoop when all of a sudden her hair was being yanked, causing her to give a sharp yelp, and she was pulled off the street.

June was yanked into the back of a truck and it shot off before anyone could do anything. She lashed out, trying to hit someone so she could try to get a handle on the situation by at least getting one of them off guard. Instead she missed and hands pushed, groped, and squeezed her. A blindfold was thrown over her eyes and then was a sharp pain on the top of her head. Then she couldn’t feel or hear anything as she went limp and her mind became dazed and disoriented long enough for a rag to slip over her face.